(Guest blogged by jaime)

Last month, the Democratic National Convention in Boston proudly boasted minority delegates that exceded 40 percent of the total count. The Republicans boast "the most diverse delegation in their history to the Republican National Convention". The GOP points out with fancy facts, figures, and graphs how much more diverse they are than their counterparts.

Percentage Increase Of Ethnically Diverse Delegates between the 2000-2004 National Conventions

What many would miss in this graph is not how much less yellow there is than blue, but the fact that the Seventy actually represents the percentage increase in minorities. The actual numbers tell a vastly different story.

Now recent statistics show us minorities make up thirty percent of the American populace. The Republican party's leaps and bounds are old news to the rest of us. We learned from the 2000 Convention that they are willing to go through extraordinary lengthe to hid who they are and whose dog wags whose tail. The tactic of herding up every minority they could find and position them oh so slyly in front of network camera banks highlight their lack of shame.

In contrast the 2004 Democratic National Convention, whatever else you want to say about it, reflected not only what America is, but what it will be. It may have crafted a message of "unity" and "hope" that seemed disengenuous to some, but it was unafraid to hide its true character with such liberal progressive voices as Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, and Al Sharpton taking the platform in or near prime time.

Now the Republicans would have the electorate believe that THEY are the face of moderation trotting out such GOP all-stars as John McCain, Rudy Guiliani, and Ah-nuld himself.

The conservative christian base is now ticked off because the purse strings that put Bush in power are no longer welcome. The Republicans are taking great care to hide it's true nature. Uninvited Pat Robertson told reporters:

Ah-nuld and Guiliani are both decidedly liberal on social issues, yet their Prime Time speaking slots they posses are designed to fool the undecided as to who really pulls the GOP strings. When Representative Jim Kolbe spoke in their 2000 Convention many in the audience bowed their heads, turned their backs and walked out.

Whether Bush is certain his base will follow lockstep or the "mushy middle" will be shocked and awed by his convention smoke and mirrors, all of us on the left know that the face of the Republican Party is less Guiliani and more Robertson. The platform, which will include, Anti-gay amendments to the Constitution, Pro-Choice rollbacks, Blurring of Separation of Church and State, Pro gun laws, Anti-Environmental bills, and the quelching of requested Stem-Cell research funding are the antithesis of the positions of main stream America. But with a little help from his friends Bush may fool some of the people all of the time and...wait...all of them some of the people time...can't get fooled again.

(NOTE: This entry guest blogged by jaime)

(NOTE: This entry guest blogged by jaime)

General Tommy Franks (ret.), has managed a two-fer of sorts. he has both taken one for the team and ruffled feathers.

In promoting his new book AMERICAN SOLDIER Gen. Franks has upset the right by completing the trifecta of Republican no-no's by 1) Considering John Kerry 'Absolutely' qualified to be Commander in Chief 2) Refusing to condemn Michael Moore or Farenheit 9/11 and 3) being unable to pledge his allegiance to George W. Bush's re-election campaign. Days later, like the good soldier he is, Gen. Franks takes Dubya off the hook for the Mission Accomplished sign. From AP:

A staunch independent, Franks has rocked the boat which will undeniably lead to attacks by those unwilling to turn him into a tool. The good General becomes the newest battlefield in the world of election year politics. The right can not count on him to be their go to guy and he is already "spending more time with his family" we can only sit and wait to see how the Democrats and Republicans spin this one.

(Blogged by Brad on the road...)

While driving the scenic mountain byways at dusk up here near the California/Oregon border, we always must remind ourselves to be very careful of deer who enter the road and become transfixed by our headlights.

Hope you'll do the same this summer. Here's your reminder...

(Blogged by Brad on the road...)

Our trek through three battleground states (Nevada, Oregon and Washington), helping to influence the electorate to do the right thing, takes us back into Northern California for 24 hours or so and man is it glorious up here!

Not only are the folks smart enough to vote against George W. Bush without any efforts on our part, they get to look at stuff like that mountain you see on the right. It's Mount Shasta and it was outside our motel room window last night. Very lucky us.

All my years in Southern California, and I've never made it North of San Francisco until now! What was I waiting for?!

Hoping to find a beautiful campsite on the shores of one of the many lakes up here, and into Oregon (near Klamath) where we plan to end up shortly. Just thought I'd quickly check in to say hello, from this friendly wireless coffee shop. And happy to see that johnhp was already on the Hypocrital Keyes issue!

So it turns out that Keyes doesn't have the moral integrity he seemed to have enjoyed acting like he had in the past, and that it turns out it's power he craves after all, as he is willing to represent the people of Illinois as a Maryland resident (see John's previous post for more details).

It's good to be out of the catfighting for a few days, though with news cycles happening every two hours these days, I'm always eager to check in. Hopefully our Fake Conservative friends, Paul and Ed will come back in to let us know how the Libs here are all wet! It's always fun! And in all seriousness, I'm very impressed, for the most part, at the level of honest discussion and debate that has occurred here over the last few weeks. With things as hot as they are now, most similar discussions quickly degrade into hostility and name-calling. For the most part, I'm glad to see BRAD BLOGGERS have avoided that quicksand. For now, anyway

See you all at the next available Internet Outpost! And thanks again to Johnhp, Jaime and Bryan for keeping the fire lit under the lying liars!

Alan Keyes has decided to take up the conservative cause against Barak Obama in Illinois. The Republicans offered him the spot even though the Republican primaries had several contestants. In their matrix, the Republican rank and file seems to count for nothing other than donations.

You all may remember Keyes from his entry into the Republican Presidential primaries. Mr. Keyes was there to promote the boot strapping darwininsm and the strict personal responsibility issue that distinguish serious neandercons from compassionate neandercons. Of course, this doesn't apply to Mr. Keyes. Let's look at his responsibility record.

Mr. Keyes ran for Senate in 1992. During this race his campaign garnered a debt of 45,000. He refused to pay this debt until even though he raised more than 34,000 during this time. This is not entirely accurate. He did pay off a little more than 41,000 during 1997-1998 BUT still managed to add more than 15,000 in debt to the 1992 Senate camapaign. Explaining to a reporter about the debt, Keyes said, "I personally do not owe the debt that was owed by the campaign."

But the really telling information comes from his presidential bid:

Inadequate name and occupation disclosures totaling 73,666.

During 1996, three authorized committees did not file disclosure reports as required. In addition, a fourth committee never registered with the Commission and never filed any disclosure reports for 1995.

Reviews of contributions from individuals received by the Primary and Exploratory Committees identified unresolved, excessive contributions totaling 69,271

Disbursements totaling 94,469 were identified which lacked adequate supporting documentation, or for which no canceled check or other payment device was maintained.

Federal Elections Commissions

As important as his fiscal irresponsibility, are Keyes previous statements on carpetbagging:

In 2000, conservatives courted Keyes to drop his presidential bid and run against Hillary Rodham Clinton for U.S. Senate in New York, but Keyes condemned the idea and ripped Clinton.

"I deeply resent the destruction of federalism represented by Hillary Clinton's willingness to go into a state she doesn't even live in and pretend to represent people there. So I certainly wouldn't imitate it," he said on Fox News on March 17, 2000.

Speaking of his probable entry into the race, Keys said:

"I do not take it for granted that it's a good idea to parachute into a state and go into a Senate race," he said before entering meeting the Republican leaders. "As a matter of principle, I don't think it's a good idea."

Keyester Flip

So, if Keyes thinks such action destroys federalism and that he doesn't think its a good idea, why is he running? More importantly, will he stand for his principles and vote against himself?

(NOTE: This entry guest blogged by jaime)

TO WHERE?

(NOTE: This entry guest blogged by jaime)

Well, we've had quite a hullaballoo over this "non-partisan" swiftboat veterans for truth. Besides the obvious problems I have with that site and the book they are hawking, I am truly suspicious of certain authors Jerome Corsi and John E. O'neill.

Now most people know Mr. O'neill as underling to Nixon lackey Charles Colson. But who is Jerome Corsi? Really? Thanks to a free virtual press I have uncovered a Media Matters article that details the ties between the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and **cue scary music** Freerepublic.com.

I mention this site only rarely. This time it is to highlight jrlc or Jerome Corsi in the virtual world. This amazing defender of truth is also one grade A slimeball. The one tasked with doing the RNC's dirty work is a true dirtbag himself as evidenced by his thought provoking posts on the site.

Media Matters details his many enlightening posts and points directly where they can be found. Congratulations Republicans, you have learned two valuable lessons. The first is...Be careful what you put out into the ether; you never know what will be uncovered. Number two be careful who you get to carry your flag. They may wind up leaving you twist in the wind.

UPDATE: The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is broken down in greater detail here.

(Blogged by Brad on the road...)

We'll be moving Northward very shortly on our great trek and thus leaving the mysterious wireless access that reached us in our 10th floor hotel room at the Sands in Reno. I don't know when I'll get net access again. Could be tomorrow, could be two weeks. So until I'm able to revisit, here's a couple of (possible) parting thoughts for a while...

From my hotel room, I've been able to watch the line reach around the corner each day starting at around 11am for the Soup Kitchen next door to our hotel. I know that Bush and Rush and BRAD BLOG Commenter Paul have told us that this is "the best economy" in twenty years. So all I can assume is that those men (and they are all men) who are lined up around the block do so because they are lazy and they enjoy waiting in line in the blistering 95+ degree desert heat for 45 minutes each day. Either that, or the food at the soup kitchen is really good.

As the latest Zogby poll shows that Kerry is now leading in 13 out of the 16 "battleground states", I can conclude only that he must have gotten Nevada wrong by leaning it towards Bush. Since I have been in Nevada, I have seen two political bumper stickers. Both for Kerry. Therefore, using Fox News' "some people say..." logic, or Paul's "I have a co-worker who believes..." logic, it's clear that Nevada will instead be going to Kerry as well, since "every bumper sticker I've seen in Nevada is now supporting Kerry".

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for the Rush and Fox News reports that tear Sen. Richard Shelby a new one for leaking classified information while the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, as Johnhp mentioned here previously. And I imagine I'll be waiting a while. Shelby is, unlike Sandy Berger --- who's been accused of nothing --- a Republican after all. So different rules of "outrage" apply.

I'm also waiting for the Bush Administration, as John McCain demanded of them, to condem the scurrillous allegations by Veteran Bush Supporters that Kerry fabricated the stories of his bravery in service in Vietnam and caused self-inflicted wounds to receive Purple Hearts. I'll likely be waiting a while for that too, I guess, since the White House has refused to condemn that group and their ads to that effect which are now airing in swing states.

Thanks to Johnhp, Jaime and Bryan for their great Guest Blog contributions! And to everyone else for supporting the BRAD BLOG! Go buy a ticket to see Springsteen and Fogerty and the Dixie Chicks and REM and Pearl Jam this October as they fight for all that's good in America! And use that Email it to Someone! button on each item to bring in more folks (on the Right or the Left!) over here so --- as the Jesus Loving Abortion Clinic Bombers on the Right might say - the Good News keep spreading!

(NOTE: This entry guest blogged by jaime)

In a stunning piece of journalism, The Boston Globe has uncovered a long history of ties between former Liberian dictator and U.S. ally, Charles Taylor.

American intelligence and United Nations investigators had detailed many meetings with Al Qaeda operatives and Taylor's government even after September 11, 2001. Some in the U.S. even considered taking action.

-Boston Globe, Aug 4, 2004

Liberia's big business, diamonds, were a top earner for Al Qaeda and their various acts of terrorism.

-Boston Globe, Aug 4, 2004

These revelation are stunning enough, but what is even more appalling is not just fact that Mr. Taylor was on the C.I.A. payroll, or that it took a great public outcry to get him removed from his post as President of Liberia, or that Christian Pharisee/ Mullah Pat Robertson derided the outcry against his blood money partner because President Bush was "undermining a Christian, Baptist president to bring in Muslim rebels", no...

The Terror Warriors in the Bush adminstration pledged to dismantle the terrorists and the nations that harbor them in September, yet ignored the CIA asset that funded the terrorists and the nation that harbored them. So, Mr. President? What happens when a Dictator is both with us AND against us?

(NOTE: This entry guest blogged by jaime)

In a stunning piece of journalism, The Boston Globe has uncovered a long history of ties between former Liberian dictator and U.S. ally, Charles Taylor.

American intelligence and United Nations investigators had detailed many meetings with Al Qaeda operatives and Taylor's government even after September 11, 2001. Some in the U.S. even considered taking action.

Liberia's big business, diamonds, were a top earner for Al Qaeda and their various acts of terrorism.

These revelation are stunning enough, but what is even more appalling is the not just fact that Mr. Taylor was on the C.I.A. payroll, or that it took a great public outcry to get him removed from his post as President of Liberia, or that Christian Pharisee/ Mullah Pat Robertson derided the outcry against his blood money partner because President Bush was 'undermining a Christian, Baptist president to bring in Muslim rebels', no...

The Terror Warriors in the Bush adminstration pledged to dismantle the terrorists and the nations that harbor them in September, yet ignored the CIA asset that funded the terrorists and the nation that harbored them. So, Mr. President? What happens when a Dictator is both with us AND against us?

(Blogged by Brad from the road...)

"They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
- Your Commander-in-Chief, today, speaking about terrorists.

Smoking Gun has the video for posterity.

(Blogged by Brad from the road...)

In 1942 the U.S. Government forced some 150,000 Americans of Japanese descent, two-thirds of them actually born in America, to leave their communities, sell their houses (if they were able to in the two weeks time they were given) and relocate to one of 10 "relocation" or "internment" camps here in the United States of America.

A few days ago, while on the road, we had the occasion to stop by and spend a few hours at what is left of the Manzanar Relocation Camp between Lone Pine and (ironically, enough) Independence, California. The remains of the camp are found on a quiet dusty stretch of lonely Highway 395 as it runs along the Eastern Sierras near Mt Whitney (at 14,000+ feet it's the tallest peak in the contiguous 48).

On the desert floor at the foot of the mountain range, lies the remains of Manzanar, shamelessly razed after 1945 as if to wipe out all memory of it's existence.

Some 10,000 Japanese-Americans, citizens, business owners, doctors, professionals, Army veterans and their families and thousands of children, were relocated into makeshift barracks in blockhouse rows here during WWII after the attack at Pearl Harbor. None of the interned were ever officially accused or convicted of "sabotage" against the United States.

This was our second time at Manzanar following the guided auto-tour along the ruins, imagining the life there for those four years. It was again a moving and troubling experience. In 1997 the area was taken over and protected by the National Park Service and finally, in April of 2004 --- over half a century after the camp was finally shut down --- a terrifically designed and very educational Interpretive Center has been opened in what had been the High School auditorium building, the only building still standing on the 800 acre site. The Center is chock full of information and artifacts which bring the place back to life after it has so shamelessly been relegated to the dustbin of Americas Forgotten History.

If you find yourself near Manzanar, set aside a few hours to learn and/or remember one of the shameful chapters in our country when we last panicked in the face of fear and gave in to our worst instincts in the name of "self protection". Last time it was under a Democratic President, this time it's under a Republican "President". Apparently, we haven't learned all that much from the last time we were attacked by an enemy we didn't understand and found ourselves willing to sacrifice much of what this country stands for in the name of giving in to our most base and unfounded fears.

The US Constitution, like our Tax Laws and our Welfare System has many flaws and loopholes to be exploited by those who care to for political or personal gain. It's our job, as Americans, to see to it that the spirit of that Constitution is upheld, no matter who the charlatans are who may wish to use our fears against what that document stands for.

(NOTE: This entry guest blogged by Johnhp)

You can see the quote in this story from faux news.

Although the story has Bush saying intelligence the video makes it clear he said intelligent. i know that is a picky point but i think the press has been covering the man's idiocy too often. That, however, is a minor point. The larger point is that this is one occasion that Bush was being truthful; i.e., that he had good intelligence on WMD in Iraq. The evidence, however, points to the opposite conclusion than the one drawn by the Administration. This is especially interesting because of the neandercons recent defense of Bush by claiming that the UN thought the same thing.

Let's look at what was known:

In fact, Bush was so much in denial about the UN that he actually denied that iraq had let UN inspectors return to Iraq:

The source is this extremely right wing website. Now i think they can't be trusted to tell the truth but the Neandercons do.

In sum, they knew the intelligence was, to quote LBJ, "thin as piss on a rock" but never passed along that tidbit. Hell they even allowed the military to stumble upon and look through crates of uranium we actually knew about.

Yes the right wing's right wing went absolutely nuts over this tidbit. It turned out, however, that the site was known to inspectors and the uranium was under UN seal. More importantly our government knew about it before the invasion.

Again, faux news.

They KNEW the intel was partial. The fault is not with the intel; it is with the politicians who chose to ignore the partial nature of the claims and pass them on as if the were certain and, to quote one official, "exact." The fact is, as with the al Tuwaitha facility, they couldn't care less.