"Franklin Roosevelt didn't want to go to war, but he knew defeating tyranny demanded it. And my husband didn't want to go to war, but he knew the safety and security of America and the world depended on it."
- Laura Bush at tonight's RNC Convention on the Iraq War.

FDR and George W. Bush. Yes! Exactly what all of America is thinking! Two peas in a pod those two! Last night he was Churchill and tonight he's FDR!

Abe Lincoln spins in his grave in anticipation of tomorrow night's speeches! But, I digress...

Can anybody here demonstrate a single shred of evidence to support Laura's contention that her "husband didn't want to go to war" in Iraq?

While you're at it, I'll take any shred of evidence that "the safety and security of America and the world depended on it".

Anybody?

Doing a few code tweaks in the background! May cause an error or two momentarily! Please ignore!

Blog should be usable as always despite the possible error messages!
Apologies for any inconveniences!

Brad the Fisherman!

Brad the Tree Hugger!

Brad the Fireside Blogger!

...And a few other photos from our recent Pacific Northwest Road Trip now available online for those who may care.

So said Virginia's Republican US Congressman, Edward L. Schrock when trying to change Clinton's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy. Schrock, in October of 2000, told the Virginia-Pilot the he supported asking enlistees whether they have had homosexual experiences in an effort to try to keep gays from serving.

Yesterday, Schrock suddenly dropped out of his race for a third term in Congress due to unspecified "allegations", and now the Republicans are scrambling to find a replacement to run for what had been considered a safe seat.

What were those unspecified "allegations"? That the Married with Child "conservative" US congressman lived a double life as a gay man and tapes existed of him cruising gay phone lines for sex.

Still waiting for the "Liberal" media to give the same type of coverage to the story as they did to McGreevy. Have a feeling we'll be waiting for a while.

As has been pointed out by Josh Marshall and several others, imagine if it was Kerry who said about the "War on Terror" that "I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world –- let's put it that way."

Think about it. What if John Kerry had said that yesterday in a speech?

Do you suppose the Republicans, and therefore their handmaidens in the Media, would condemn John Kerry for saying "we can't win the war on terror"? That this war is not about "creating conditions" to make terror "less acceptable in parts of the world"? That it's about defeating and destroying the enemy. Period! And only George W. Bush is strong enough to understand that!

Can you imagine what would have been said about John Kerry capitulating to the terrorists?!

Well, it was Bush who said it. Not Kerry. And so he and his spinners have been out all day trying to spin themselves out of this mess, even though the Media has done little to hold Bush accountable for his statements. None the less, he realizes he screwed up when he was interviewed, as one of his spinners described it, "on a moving bus". (That can be horribly confusing you know!)

But when Dubya shows up on Rush's show, as he did today, you know Dubya realizes he needs to staunch some heavy bleeding.

The hardball interview with Rush (yes, that would be "irony" for those of you Right Wingers not familiar with the concept) included this lie from Bush:

So exactly how was Saddam "systematically deceiving inspectors"? How is it, that with no arms in the first place, as we've since discovered, Saddam had "no intention of disarming"?

I, personally, refuse --- no matter what the rules are about it --- to give up my Assault Rifle to the Authorities! Trouble is, I don't have an Assault Rifle. According to the practicalities of the "Bush Doctrine", it sounds like someone needs to throw me in jail!

It's amazing how the "Commander-in-Chief" can lie and the media says and does nothing about it. But a War Hero can tell the truth, and he's held accountable and charged with lying by the same media.

There is no more 4th Estate. There is no more investigative journalism. There are only sychophants who repeat the Press Releases of those in power. And those, like Rush and Bush, who complain about the Free Speech of Americans as expressed through the legal 30 second ads of 527's even while they have 24 hours a day of 30 seconds ads around the clock, on every radio (and virtually every television) frequency in the land where they can express any and every lie they feel like. Over and over again.

But take heart America Lovers! Don't be cowed by liars, sycophants and spinners! As Bush might cynically say, whereas I actually mean it; Have faith that Good will triumph over Evil. It will. There is no doubt. I just hope it happens by November 2nd.

Today, George W. Bush told Matt Lauer on Today that the "War on Terror" cannot be won.

Actually, he said "I don't think you can win it". Here's the exact transcript:

Not being able to win this "war" is a new position for Bush who has said over and over that "we will win" it.

As recently as July 30th of this year he said in Springfield, MO., "We have a clear vision on how to win the war on terror and bring peace to the world."

And yet that's not what he said on the bush to Matt. So the rest of the day Team Bush went apoplectic contorting to explain that Bush didn't really mean we couldn't win the war on terror...he was...referring to something else. To not being able to win, because there is nobody available to sign a surrender document. But other than that, we'll win. Or something.

They said a lot. They apologized a lot. They spun and danced and twisted and flip-flopped. Even McCain and Guiliani had to change their speeches to try and make sense of the torturued logic and apparent lack of clarity from the "Commander-in-Chief" they tell us should be re-"elected" due to his "clarity of vision". Or something.

Much was said. I'll let you go and figure out how they're now trying to spin it. Spinning is what they do well.

The statement (and I not only read it, but saw it several times) seemed very clear to me, but the Bushies say it wasn't. Bottom line: Apparently, it all depends on what the meaning of "it" is.

Go figure.

Tonight, Rudy Guiliani successfully began his run for the White House.

It was an ignominious, though perhaps effective, start for him. It's a shame he had to start by making stuff up outta the box.

Guiliani said (quoting from his prepared text here, he may have changed the wording slightly when he said it), "Since September 11th President Bush has remained rock solid. It doesn't matter how he is demonized. It doesn't matter what the media does to ridicule him or misinterpret him or defeat him."

First, I welcome any of the Right Wingers here to demonstrate precisely when or where "the media" has "misinterpreted" George W. Bush. Please feel free to point us towards one of those "misinterpretations" here in Comments. Be specific. It shouldn't be hard, right? With such a "Liberal" media after all!

Hopefully, you'll show us a misinterpretation akin to the way Dick Cheney and the rest of the Foot Soldiers misinterpreted Kerry's "sensitive war" comments. If you do, I'll join you in condemning anything that appalling.

But speaking of "misinterpreting" folks, Rudy cynically then went on to "ridicule and misinterpret" John Kerry by saying, "My point about John Kerry being inconsistent is best described in his own words when he said, 'I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.'"

Anyone who bothered to pay attention (that would not include you Fake Conservatives, of course) knows that Kerry voted for the 87 billion when the bill included a responsible amendment that specified how the 87 billion would be paid for. That's something that honest conservatives (not Fake Conservatives) would appreciate. He voted against the bill when it was to be paid for by future borrowing on the national debt.

In case you Fake Conservatives haven't noticed, America now carries the Greatest Debt in the History of the World as created by George W. Bush for the Biggest Federal Government ever known to Mankind, also courtesy of George W. Bush and a Republican House and Senate.

John Kerry, on the other hand, supports "Pay as You Go". In other words, if it can't be paid for, he won't propose it. Something that an intellectually honest Republican should be in favor of. Or at least demanding from your own Tax Cut and Spend party.

But anyway, like Rudy Guiliani who supports Adultery, Abortion Rights, Gay Rights, endorsed Democrat Mario Cuomo for Governor and is largely more of a Democrat than a Republican, Fake Conservatives --- and presumably the Republican Party that supports them --- are more interested, in politics and power than in standing for anything.

The important note from tonight though; Rudy earned his '04 and/or '08 endorsement for President of the United States. If you Republicans (and us non-Republicans) are lucky, you may get him for your nominee. Though you Fake Conservatives are gonna have to keep flip-flopping to support him.

No biggie. You're used to it.

I know it doesn't exactly account for whether John Kerry was actually in Cambodia on Christmas Eve or a few days later, but if you've haven't noticed, there is still a war going on...

According to this week's McGlaughlin Group:

Now back to your regularly scheduled distraction from the issues.

Drudge reports selected quotes from a new Bush interview in Time. Among them:

Of course you could have. That's your j-o-b. You're the "President"! You are precisely supposed to look at all such possibilities. It's called "Leadership" and "Judgement". You know, those things you are running on and trying to trick folks into believing that you actually have!

And if you "couldn't" have imagined such a thing, perhaps had your read your own father's own book, you might have had a hint! Look what your Dad said, Junior!:

"Trying to eliminate Saddam ... would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. ... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. ... [T]here was no viable 'exit strategy' we could see... Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."

To quote you, Mr. "President" --- "Is our children learning"?

Apparently they isn't.

Back to Drudge/Time/Dubya:

Is it just me, or didn't Dubya work for his Dad in Washington when he was Veep for 8 years, and then President for 4? And yet, Dubya just "learned" this about Washington? He couldn't have "envisioned" it?!

Who does he want us to think he is, Gomer Pyle who just flew inta D.C. for the first time!?

Sorry, Mr. Smith, we ain't buyin' it. Unless, for some reason, you simply forgot everything that happened to you during the years of 1980 - 1992 for some reason. Which is it Mr. "President"? Are you lying? Do you think we're stupid? Or were you drunk for 12 years?

Or is it all of the above?

Bush/Cheney '04: You're dumber than us!

Thanks to the BRAD BLOG's three fine Guest Bloggers, Johnhp, Jaime and Bryan for keeping things lively around here for the last few weeks when I've been galavanting about the beautiful Pacific Northwest!

But hey, we've got a country (and world) to save now, eh? Thanks to all the BRAD BLOGGERS, even the confused and desperate Right Wingers for your support.