Predictably, the GOP has begun it's latest smear campaign on anyone who dares question to the perfection of King Bush.

Today's victim, Ben Barnes, who has come forward to acknowledge that he pulled strings to help get young Dubya into the Air National Guard, and thus, out of the draft for active duty in Vietnam.

Barnes, a Kerry supporter, has admitted being ashamed of having done so, but felt that the story should be told since Bush is now running as a "War President" (Bush's words), sending thousands of servicemen to their deaths, and sliming John Kerry for his war service wherein he actually went to war instead of avoiding it through Guard service (and then, as it turns out, pulling more strings to get out of that same Guard!)

In classic fashion, the GOP website has released a slime bulletin on Ben Barnes. Dick Clarke-ing him, if you will, as they've done to so many before. The screaming headline on their page reads "WHO IS BEN BARNES? A Deep-Pocketed Kerry Partisan Who Can't Keep His Stories Straight" --- after which they fail to show how Barnes has ever changed his story one bit. Instead, they suggest that Barnes claimed he was never asked "by the Bush family" to help George. And even though he's not making such a claim now (Barnes says he was contacted by a Houston Businessman and friend of the Bush's to help get George out of the draft), they're assuming most of their Attack Monkeys won't much bother with the details.

The Talking Points for these guys is all that matters. Read the link above, and watch for all the repetition of same from the Talking Heads today. Truth be damned. Anything to win.

Thoughts to come later, no doubt, on all this new Bush National Guard business. There's a few items that don't look good. Even worse than usual in regards to this matter this time around.

I'll mention off the top, that Bush's own service, avoidance thereof, commands disobeyed etc. are relevant issues at this time, given that he has built his campaign on being a "War President" and has chosen to use our armed forces in a questionable (being generous here) war of choice. Add to that the far-too-many National Guardsmen that have been deployed overseas and far beyond their expected tours of duty.

The White House seems to be on late-night deep deep damage control (see AMERICAblog's notes here and here) on this one tonight. Even going so far as to try and get out front on a few of these items as well as some of the upcoming dish from Kitty Kelly's new Bush book (rumored to include accusations that he did coke at Camp David when his father was President, and was involved in an abortion a few decades ago amongst other fresh scandals).

More on it all later, but just one question for now; If the continued defense of Dubya's now seriously questionable Guard service --- as his spokesman Dan Bartlett spun tonight on 60 Minutes and so many others have when defending Bush on this matter --- is that "he was honorably discharged by the Guard" and hence that proves all the other allegations are without merit, then why isn't the same thing equally true in regards to Kerry's service? He was given three purple hearts by the Army! Doesn't that prove that any allegations that Kerry didn't deserve those awards are therefore without merit?

In other words, if that defense works for Bush, why do the Bush thugs overlook such conveniences and benefits-of-the-doubt when it comes to Kerry's service?

The answer to that is likely quite obvious. Moral bankruptcy is an ugly business. Anything to win.

A note to all you sissy Democrats out there: SNAP OUT OF IT!

Your man is essentially tied with Bush nationally, and still beating him (though slipping in the wake of the one-two punch of lying Swifties and lying Convention speakers) in the battleground states and electoral polls!

See Zogby's latest national poll, released yesterday --- and again a reminder that Zogby was the only one to get the last two Presidential elections almost exactly right --- showing that Bush leads by just 2% in national polling! Well within the margin of error! He also explains why those Time, Newsweek and Gallup numbers suggesting a huge lead by Bush are largely hogwash.

Zogby also released yesterday his latest battleground numbers showing that Kerry, while slipping over the past week or two is still ahead in the all important swing states and electoral tally.

That said, yes, President AWOL did receive an expected post-convention bounce. And for about a day or two, he seemed to have "The Big Mo'".

But with Kerry finally fighting back, and the news quickly turning against Bush in the past couple of days with yet another record deficit announced yesterday, the media (momentarily sorta) paying attention again to our War on Iraq now that over 1000 US Troops have been killed, Texans for Truth (I need there had to be some!) fighting back with their own video ads, The Boston Globe reporting that Bush did not meet his Air National Guard commitments, and 60 Minutes' exposé on the strings Bush pulled to get into the Guard in the first place and the orders disobeyed once there, and Cheney finally leaping over the line of common decency...well, this thing is just getting lively!

So don't make me come out there and slap you! The White House is yours if you want it! Make some noise, get to work, fight for truth, justice and an America you can be proud of again, and stop all that girly-man simpering! Bullies and liars only succeed if you let them!

Got a bit waylaid yesterday after Cheney told folks in Iowa that the United States would be devasted by an attack from al-Qaeda if American's made the mistake of voting John Kerry into office. After attempting to turn some of my rage into a rapid-response video, the result is, as they say, "Mission accomplished". For now.

And with the news cycles now spinning once every 3 minutes or so, there is much to catch up on. May take a few days.

One item, is a bit of clean-up work, hopefully for the last time (though somehow I doubt it) in regards to the lies at the RNC hatefest in NYC last week.

I just got around to Fred Kaplan's great article in Slate on the "Lies, Damned Lies and Convention Speeches" of Miller and Cheney.

He sets the record quite straight (again) on the nonsense that they suckered poor old Zell into saying out loud for them. And yet, since the Bushies --- which would include all of his sorry slash confused slash ignorant supporters out here in Americaville - don't much care about the difference between reality and fantasy, I guess the bare-knuckle truth needs repeating. Again.

Kaplan's piece is very straight forward (I suggest you read it in it's entirety so you can set your daft Bush Lovin' Brother-in-Law straight between now and Election Day) on the facts versus the fiction in both Zell and Cheney's speeches.

Here's one in regards to the weapons cuts nonsense from Zell's speech:

Instead, Kaplan explains, the references were to cherry-picked items out of omnibus defense appropriations bills back in 1990 and 1995. Back when Dick Cheney, as Secretary of Defense was advocating all sorts of reductions in defense spending!

And one last comical note on one of the several "truly weird passages" from Zell's speech...

Another all-new BRAD BLOG campaign video ad is now available for your viewing pleasure! Check it out right here!...

If you are able to offer a mirror site for the files, please download them, park them on your server, and email me with the URLs where I can link to them! Much appreciated!

Please continue to spread the word high and low! The BRAD BLOG relies on you to get these things to the folks that need to see them!!! Get busy!

And the "Anything to Win" ad is still right here!

From AP:

It's official. Over 1000 U.S. troops now killed in combat in our little "miscalculation" in Iraq. 854 of them were killed after our "Commander-in-Chief" notified us and our armed forces that "Major hostilities are over".

Feeling safer yet? Feel confident in the judgement of your "Commander-in-Chief"? Or have you had enough?

"W stands for wrong", indeed!

Support the troops. Vote George W. Bush out of office!

Perhaps even funnier than Bush's gaffe from the previous item!

See the guy at left? Well, there was an all out hunt for that fine young Republican after he was video taped kicking one of the protesters who'd made it into the GOP Convention last week. We ran a video of the sorry scene in a short item last week detailing some of the "patriotic" behavior amongst the GOP delegates.

But here's a better video of the incident which includes an interview with the guy who wouldn't identify himself to reporters after they'd told him they had video of him kicking the female protester when she was down. That report "kicked off" an all-out manhunt for the guy in the following days.

Well, the manhunt seems to be over! The fine young Republican seems to have finally been identified, according to Jesus' General! His name: Deryk Schlessinger. And guess who's little bunchkin he turns out to be?!!

Apparently, he is his mom's kid after all!

HUGE creds to the Jesus' General Blog for getting the skinny on this one!

Now go take on the day!

Not to toot our own horn, but perhaps the Kerry Campaign is paying closer attention to BRAD BLOG videos than we may have thought!

Today, John Kerry began to focus on a clear new theme...

Well, here's a small version of a rudimentary video that I submitted at the last minute to the "Bush in 30 Seconds" video contest sponsored by MoveOn.org last year.

At the time, it wasn't quite as politically correct to question Iraq or this "President" publically. Things have changed in a few short months, however, and it looks like Kerry is starting to understand that. No doubt it was due to my video!

Hey, John: Here's another BRAD BLOG message that you may feel free to use!

In response today, Bush told a crowd of apparently-gullible believers that "We were right to make America safer by removing Saddam Hussein." The family of the 1000th U.S. Serviceman to die for Bush's "miscalculation" may, however, have a reason to feel differently about that.

11 U.S. Troops were killed in Iraq yesterday (Monday). Bringing the total dead so far to 999.

To paraphrase one of America's war heroes; How do you ask a man to be the 1000th man to die for a "miscalculation"?

Oh. My. God. Did he just say that?

Yes. Yes, he did.

AP is reporting that Dubya's National Guard record is "mysteriously" missing many important documents...

Read the whole story for more details on the documents that should be there, but aren't.

None of the 600 to 700 troops in Bush's unit in Alabama ever actually saw Bush report for duty there during the time he went missing (other than a dentist who gave him a check-up), and despite a $10,000 reward offered for the last year to anyone who can come forward to prove that Bush served, we don't have an "Alabama National Guard Vets for Truth" group out there to set the record straight.

We do, however, have some very clear hints, and even a Lt. Col. in the Guard as eye-witness as to what happened to those now-missing records. (See this mostly-ignored CNN story for details.) But without the a bunch of veterans willing to make television spots to the effect, the American media apparently doesn't feel it's worth reporting on. During a "time of war" when National Guardsmen are being called upon to serve unprecedented duty in Iraq, for a questionable war --- or "miscalculation" as Bush himself called it --- I strongly disagree.

...is right here! Now also available in RealPlayer and MPG formats! Please keep spreading the word!

7 US Troops killed yesterday by car bomb in Fallujah. 2 US Troops were killed yesterday and 16 injured in a mortar barrage in Baghdad.

The current total of US Troops now dead in Bush's "miscalculation": 990, as best as I am able to keep track.

Never mind the children that the U.S. has managed to kill and/or injure in the last 24 hours. I'll spare you the photos here. For now.

And in other "miscalculation" news, where at least we've "liberated" a country working towards Democracy (please Email me if you believe that, by the way, as I've got some nice land in Tikrit to sell you, if so!), it turns out the "Democracy" taking shape over there may not be so "Democratic" after all!

The interim "miscalculation" government in Iraq has now banned al-Jazeera permanently. Shoring up, I guess, their "Liberated" Freedom of the Press.

And as to their upcoming elections in January? Well, we may have to start putting quotes around the word "election" as well, as it is now becoming possible that these "elections" will be held at the exclusion of some major cities where the outcome of voting may not be quite as favorable as the U.S. and their "friends" in Iraq may like.

According to today's LA Times:

All of this information should be common knowledge to Americans during "war time" if we had a responsible media who were interested in giving us NEWS rather than SPIN and political horse races...Particularly since last month --- August --- was the bloodiest month so far in Iraq! Who knew?

So the "miscalculation" by the guy that wants you to re-"elect" him --- based on his sound judgement and resolute convictions --- continues. But unless you pay attention to folks like me, with blogs like this one, you'd have no idea. And, of course, that's just how George W. Bush would like it to continue.

So do something.