(Blogged by Brad from Northern California...)

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(Blogged by Brad on the road...)

No doubt you've already heard of Swiftie John O'Neill being hoisted on his own petard, on tape, in Nixon's oval office telling Tricky Dick that he was "in Cambodia". Such a thing was to have been impossible according to O'Neill in his own book of dirty tricks known as "Unfit for Command".

You've also heard that O'Neill claimed not to be a Republican, and not to have been involved in politics for 30 years. Both lies quickly illuminated to the contrary as it was revealed that O'Neill has given some $15,000 to Republican campaigns over the last decade, and worked for Nixon, Rehnquist and other "not Republicans" during that time.

As well, Guest Blogger Jaime was quick to report here on Co-Author Jerome Corsi's habit of referring to the Democratic Nominee for President as "John Fucking Commie Kerry", Hilary "the fat pig" Clinton and other "ragheads" on various internet hate sites like FreeRepublic.com.

The lies and dirty tricks of these guys go on and on.

So it's probably not a suprise to see a story such as "And Yet Another Anti-Kerry Swift Boat Vet Caught Lying" revealing yet another of the "Swifties for Truth" as being...um...less than truthful by having sworn to an affadavit which he now admits contains only information that relied "on the account of war buddies, not what he witnessed" and that he himself lied about an extra-marital affair with a colleague.

And now I've learned that Regenry, who published "Unfit for Command" after most reputable publishers turned it down, pushes a White Supremacy Agenda! Yet for some reason, I'm still not surprised:

And if Bush wins in November, who will he have to thank for that now that this book and those ads and this nonsense has finally helped turn around a few of his polls?

(Blogged by Brad from the road...though I'll be home soon!)

(Blogged by Brad from the road...)

If you only listen to Talk Radio (and occassionally catch a snippet of Fox News), you'd think the fact that the Bush campaign has finally found their very own "Willie Horton" distraction (Swifties for Bush) is the only news worth reporting.

I've been away from newspapers and other sources of real news for a while, so imagine my surprise when I learned there actually were newsworthy items, that have to do with Americans today, but that seem to be getting little coverage from the Rightwing Extremist Media.

Thursday's USA Today was kind enough to summarize the latest report on the horrors of Abu Ghraib. You recall that place, right? The place where the America managed to create thousands of new terrorists?

It looks like at least 30 more Americans, above and beyond the 7 "bad apples", have now been implicated. And even Don Rumsfeld has been taken to task. And mind you, this is a report by the Army investigating itself. So you can imagine how horrific and far reaching the real story actually is.

I have a feeling this story, below the fold in Thursday's USA Today didn't get the coverage that it might have had only John Kerry not been such a dangerous, lying, evil, traitorous, Communist, America hater.

So, here's a few items from the report that actually matter and that you may have missed:

Okay. Now go back to fighting over whether it was shrapnel or bullets that punctured the flesh of John Kerry 35 years ago while he volunteered to risk his life for our country.

Bush/Cheney '04: Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

(NOTE: This item guest blogged by Jaime)

Knowing his support amongst Cuban Americans in the battleground state of Florida is slipping, George W. Bush went stumping in Miami today. Like a broken record, Mr. Bush accused John Kerry of flip flopping in his vote against the Helms-Burton law. Kerry had actually voted for two earlier versions of the bill and eventually voted against the final passage due to provisions he did not like in the final draft. Simple to understand. Something a Senator does all the time. But Mr. Bush wanted to highlight his point to his captive audience and added this nugget of insight:

Seeing his numbers drop from 88 percent support to the mid sixties among Cuban-American voters in Florida, he pulled the old bait and switch by addressing not what the people are so upset about (travel and spending restrictions) but by aggressively attacking Kerry's Flip Flops. Besides failing English, Bush seemingly has failed history as his unwavering stance on the travel ban proves.

The embargo didn't work with Kennedy...or Johnson...or Nixon...or Ford...or Carter...or Reagan...or Daddy...or Clinton...or 3 years into Dubya's term. By heeding the advice of dusting himself off and getting back on the saddle, Bush's election year embargo frenzy is seemingly backfiring. The embargo has outlasted president after president. It never worked and it won't ever work.

What America, and the Cuban-American families, need is a more better policy that should have been enacted more earlier. One that overwhelms Cuba with capital not deprive it of State-side assistance. Unfortunately, in the Bush administration consistency trumps accuracy and the once solid dissident base in Florida will more likely vote no' on Bush rather than Si.

(Blogged by Brad from the road...)

Not sure if last night's show was a repeat or not, I've missed quite a few while being on the road, but the interview with Bill Clinton (following the one with John Kerry a few days before) was quite a coup for the basic cable, low rent comedy show.

None the less, The Daily Show continues to offer the best coverage of Election '04 available believe it or not. So it's little wonder that so many are now getting the bulk of their news from it, according to a Pew poll released last week.

Surely Daily Show viewers are at least as informed about what the hell is going out on out there as Fox News watchers. And undoubtedly, more so.

Last night, Stephen Colbert's interview with "The Democratic Party" was a stitch. My quick search of The Daily's website didn't turn up the video. So if anyone has a link to it, please post it in comments. (I believe the show will re-run today at 7pm, otherwise).

And while you're there, Rob Corddry's "Don't Mess With Texas" piece was also a hoot. I was able to find the video for that one. Enjoy!

(Blogged on the road by Brad...)

Blowing back in a southerly trajectory towards L.A., I came across a review of OutFoxed in the Eugene Weekly I picked up at the motel. I never got around to posting a full "review" of the excellent documentary here. Now that it's making the unheard of jump from DVD to Theater-Near-You, I oughta get around to it.

But not for the moment. Instead, a quick thought on Lois Wadsworth's review in the Weekly. She pegs Fox News' Carl Cameron as a "bootlicker" in regards to the ass-kissing he's overseen committing with Dubya on the "feed" prior to his "Fox News Exclusive" with Bush during the 2000 campaign (Cameron's wife worked for the Bush Campaign at the time, no conflict apparently for Fox's "Chief Political Correspondent").

Imagine that.

(Another, carbon-based way to learn more about the unravelling of real "fair and balance" on the people's airwaves is The Control Room : How Television Calls the Shots in Presidential Elections, a book by Martin Plissner. It's an excellent pre-2000 examination of the breakdown of the "equal time rules" on television, and how the structure of today's Presidential Elections in America are virtually 100% the product of the News Media.)

And, of course, you can still purchase the OutFoxed DVD for $9.95 online if the film is not playing near you. Or you'd just like to have a copy to pass around to those "Fox Fans" who may need a reality check.

One other point that I'd been meaning to discuss since watching the film, is the study they document showing that people who watch Fox News regularly are far less informed than those who get their news from other sources. The study shows that Fox News viewers get an inordinate amount of simple, fact-based questions --- like, "Was Saddam Hussein responsible for 9/11?" or "Did we find WMD in Iraq?" --- completely wrong.

That survey synchs up with one a few years back (I believe it was a Pew study, can't look it up from the road for now) showing that while Rush Limbaugh listeners thought they were the most informed, it turned out that they were instead amongst the least informed of those who followed current events.

Makes sense. At this point, to be a Bush supporter, one would have to be either uninformed or misinformed. And that's exactly what Fox News, Rush and Team Bush are all counting on.

I've been in the woods for the past three days without cable or radio. When I came out, same old thing as before I went in.

Dubya, who didn't want to sign the Campaign Finance Reform bill in the first place (after originally supporting it) --- the one that paved the way for the 527's --- because it would supposedly take away "free speech" from those who wanted to band together to make political statements (presumably like the NRA, and other Right Wing groups), is still calling for the end to all those "shadowy groups". Even after he flip-flopped a second time and signed the legislation under pressure to do so.

So he supported those "shadowy groups" before, but now that it turns out most of the folks supporting their "free speech" rights through such groups are freely speaking against Bush, well, now it turns out he's against those groups. Another flip-flop. Follow all of that?

To make matters more appalling, he's against "all" the 527's only now that everyone, including Senator John McCain, has called on him to condemn the despicable smear campaign of the Swifties for Bush in which they've out and out said he lied about his record in Vietnam, including self-inflicting two wounds to win two of his three purple hearts. (Anything to win.)

Will Bush condemn the ads now that the group has been discredited? Now that two members of Bush's own campaign have had to resign because they broke the law and coordinated with the Swifties? Apparently not. Instead, he hides behind his new found distaste for the groups that he had so feared would lose their right to free speech in the past.

Yo, Dubya, you like to tell us about your moral conviction. So do your surrogates. And yet, where is it?

Let's see some, Mr. "President". CONDEMN THE ADS!

Or continue to be the flip-flopping, misleading, lying puppet you've been for the last four years. No suprises there. Just continued disappointment.

That said, some Americans may prefer to choose their President based on things like what they will do about the worst unemployment record since Herbert Hoover, what they will do about more Americans than ever without health insurance, what they will do about losing all credibility throughout the world, and becoming more vulnerable to terrorism than ever before.

Then there's the trouble with oil, a deteriorating environment, and...ya know...actual issues. I guess the Bushies would rather not discuss that.

Never mind. Shoulda stayed in the woods.

(Blogged by Brad from inside the Quinault Rain Forest 8/25/04 at 9:42am PT...to be posted whenever I find net access again.)

Who even knew there were rain forests in the U.S.A.? I didn't. But after having spent the last several days in the Quinault Rain Forest just south of the Olympic National Park in Northwest Washington state, I couldn't be happier about it.

Awesome. Be sure to spend some time to check 'em out if you ever happen to be up in this corner of the country. The hikes among the gi-normous Douglas Firs, Western Red Cedars and Western Hemlocks are awesome. Towering. And even as I write, I'm no more than 100 yards or so from the largest Sitka Spruce tree in the world.

Best thing about spending three days here, in virtually non-stop rain in the Rain Forest? Nobody ever complains about the weather! Truth in advertising. Toss on your raincoat, get out there and enjoy!

Two related political notes:

1) When driving up the near-coastal 101 Northwards toward the Olympic National Forest, it is at times like driving through the apocolypse as the landscape features thousands of acres of once-towering pines that have been devastatingly clearcut for miles in all directions from the highway. It's awful. And then suddenly, a sign that we are "Now entering Olympic National Forest" at the exact point at which the trees once again shoot up towards the heavens, replacing the scrappy, dry hillsides of scarred stumpage with thick, lush, breathable greenery --- hopefully --- protected (by the Government!) for generations to come. Sadly, trees don't get to vote, or have much of a lobby to protect them. So, it's up to folks like you and me. Don't let either party screw up that legacy of a country once smart enough to protect our natural resources. And don't let George W. Bush tell you that he's "protecting the forests" by letting his Timber Lobby have at 'em!

2) Since leaving California, we've been able to drink the water right out of the tap! And it's great! From Oregon up through Washington, we've not once had to pay for clean water. Why isn't clean, drinkable, delicious water out of the tap a top priority for all Americans? If I ever run for office, I believe I'll have to form the W.A.T.E.R. (Water, Air, Trees, Earth, Renew!) Party and run with "Clean Drinking Water from the Tap! For All!" as my number one platform. Someone's gotta do it. Apparently.

UPDATE 8/30/04: Pictures from Lake Quinault Rain Forest and the rest of the Road Trip now online here!

(Blogged by Brad from an Espresso shop in Westport, WA...)

I've been making the case for years that George W. Bush and his supporters are certainly not "Conservative". Not in any classic, Goldwater sense for sure. I've taken to referring to them as Fake Conservatives. Conservative when it serves them politically, and beyond that, happy to spend into oblivion and/or outstretch the arms of the Federal Government into just about any area of private life they wish to. Nothing "conservative" about either of those ideas.

And it looks like Pat Buchanan, of all folks, is helping to make the case.

Drudge breaks the skinny on Buchanan's new book, WHERE THE RIGHT WENT WRONG: How Neoconservatives Subverted The Reagan Revolution And Hijacked the Bush Presidency.

I'm on the move, so don't have too much time. Will just post a couple of quotes from the book. See the link to Drudge above for a full boatload that are sure to put a burr under Rove, Rush and Hannity's Fake Conservative saddles.

Hate to give it to a borderline Nazi sympathizer like Pat Buchanan, but it does look like he's the recipient of the latest rarely given "Intellectually Honest Conservative" Award as occasionally bestowed by the BRAD BLOG. And the republic gently weeps.

Beginning the long journey home now. Access to the net may again be sporadic. We'll see. So we'll leave it to our fine Guest Bloggers to jump in once again, as they have time, to help save the world in my possible absense.

(Blogged by Brad from the road...)

Yesterday, I focused briefly on the King of Republican Lies and Moral Depravity: Rush Limbaugh, in his role as "apologist" for the torturers and murderers at Abu Ghraib.

Today, we'll take a look at the Crown Prince, Sean Hannity.

The Center for American Progress, has put together a swell list of just 15 of his greatest "hits". I think it's a good idea to occassional post one or two here to remind our friends on the Right of just who it is they are getting their Talking Points from, the accuracy of that information, and the veracity of the person they are counting on to give them their "information".

So here's the first in a series. All of these quotes are from the "Hannity and Colmes" show on the Fox "News" Channel.

In case you're wondering, the definition of "Patriotism", the only one given by Merriam-Webster, is as follows:

Patriotism
Function: noun
: love for or devotion to one's country

Saying one thing, doing another. Flip-flopping. Lying. Misleading. However you wanna put it, it's the stock-in-trade for the Right's newest Golden Boy. No wonder the Rightwingers commenting here and elsewhere can't seem to get any of their facts correct. Look who their role models are!

(Blogged by Brad from the road...)

"People were --- they were saying he was a walking dead man, he was walking around with a bullseye on his head. It was scary."

So said Maxine Carroll, the sister-in-law of Army reservist Spc. Joseph M. Darby on ABC's "Good Morning America" last Monday about her brother-in-law and sister now in protective military custody. Somewhere.

Carroll doesn't know where her sister and brother-in-law Darby are now. For their own protection. Due to the many death threats he's received.

What did Darby do to bring such threats upon himself? He tipped off investigators to the abuse by his fellow soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Mind you, he didn't tell the media. He told military investigators about what was going on.

Darby would seem to be a very courageous and upstanding American to do what he did, turning in criminals who were damaging our efforts to win the peace in Iraq.

So seriously, who would put a "bullseye" on such a man's head? Who would threaten such a person with death?

I'd not think that terrorists, like al-Qaeda would do so. After all, it's arguable that folks sympathetic to their cause might have found the confirmation they were looking for in the photos that subsequently came out of Abu Ghraib.

I don't think Democrats or supporters of John Kerry would threaten Darby, given that the scandal only served to help support their argument that this war was being run irresponsibly, chaotically, and without the necessary resources.

So really, all bias aside, in all reality, what sort of people would do such a thing? What sort of people would stoop so low? Who's supporters would possibly be interested in threatening the life of the brave Army Spc. Joseph M. Darby?!