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50 Percent
From the CBS report on the latest CBS-NYTimes poll on the presidential horse race:
That's right. In fact, to find an incumbent who won re-election without cracking the 50 percent mark, you have to go all the way back to...to...to... If this were a DVD, how many of you would simply fast-forward to Jan. 20? By Ed Moltzen · 31 October 2004
New Yorkology
If you haven't checked it out, take a walk over to New Yorkology - the new, New York City travel blog published by Amy Langfield. If you're not from New York, it will make you want to visit - and guide you from arrival to departure. If you are from New York, it's a cultural equivalent of "Zagat's" but with color, more topics and more fun. And it's as easy to navigate as mid-town early on a Saturday morning! By Ed Moltzen · 31 October 2004
Rich People In Costumes
New York Social Diary presents us with photos of rich and famous people dressing up for Halloween. It's hard to say whether this is more sad, or scary. By Ed Moltzen · 31 October 2004
Warmth, Candor and the Black Vote
All you need to know about John Kerry's commitment to civil rights is this: He has positioned himself like an index finger twined around its middle finger with Al Sharpton, the walking, breathing fraud who steals our air to spread hate, myths and hoaxes. It was Kerry, playing the part of the index finger, who expressed his utter joy when Sharpton - the middle finger - threw his endorsement to the senator from Massachusetts:
There were a couple of problems, though. There was no gang. There was no sexual assault. The whole story was made up. And when law enforcement in the Hudson Valley of New York wanted to get to the bottom of it all, it ran into a stone wall. Sharpton convinced Brawley and her family to snub their noses at a grand jury investigating that case back in 1988. Kerry, who reminds folks he used to be a prosecutor slightly less often than he reminds them he served in Vietnam, is apparently unbothered by this. To this minute, Sharpton has never apologized. Steven Pagones had to leave a promising career as a prosecutor in his own right after he was smeared with the false charges. "I thank Reverend Sharpton for his endorsement and look forward to working with him and all Democrats in the months ahead," Kerry said, accepting his help from America's best-known middle finger. Why is this important, now? Take it away, John Zobgy:(Via Reuters)
So when predominantly African-American precincts across the country fail to back Kerry in the numbers he needs, who will be the top spokesman for the campaign charging vote suppression and fraud? Rev. Hoax. Democratic leaders make their choices and the results follow. Says D.C. Thornton:
There may be no hands being thrown up in the air during this election. Maybe all it will take are a few middle fingers. By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2004
The Comeback
Are the '80s making a comeback? You might get that idea, looking at this list of top-selling CDs. So if you didn't get your fill of Rod Stewart over the past 30 years, you're not too late. By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2004
Metfella
Mob reporter extraordinaire Jerry Capeci broke this story earlier this week:
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Capeci also reports that Franco might turn out to be a witness in an upcoming mob trial. What with the BALCO investigation, Pete Rose, the Dale Berra-Keith Hernandez scandal, and a shady, on-again, off-again history of ballplayers consorting with various "undesirables," (Joe DiMaggio even once "crossed paths" with Albert Anastasia) Bud Selig may want to make a statement with Franco. By Ed Moltzen · 30 October 2004
An Open Message To Osama Bin Laden
Dear Freak: Just saw your videotape. So you want America to change its policy? Well, it's hard to say how much of a change this is, but here's the policy: (Get a pencil and take notes. We're busy with an election so there's no time to repeat it.) 1) We're looking for you. Signed, America (Red States and Blue States) By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2004
Ask A Stupid Question
Well, these questions from this morning were just answered. By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2004
Travel Tip: Carry On, Carry Close
Here's what can happen when you check your bags on your way out of JFK Airport:
Note to crooks: It's usually a bad idea to try to fence stolen goods on the web, or to cops. By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2004
Never Mind
Kerry Campaign To Focus On Natural Race Horses Going Forward By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2004
Caution: Falling Circulation
Now the Washington Post is losing readers:
Its profits, though, were up considerably. By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2004
The Video
If it's really such an important message, how come Osama bin Laden didn't give it? How come it went to ABC News, and not al Jazeera? By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2004
Voting Rites
Howard Dean just sent out an email to supporters:
Well, that is, unless the person is fighting for our country, overseas, and didn't get an absentee ballot because a Democratic governor didn't send them out in time. By Ed Moltzen · 29 October 2004
9th Circuit Sense of Humor
Timex and a film production company, Polar Bear Productions, are snared in a legal dispute over a T.V. commercial they made in the '90s that featured kayakers wearing Timex watches. Timex used the commercial long after their license with the producers expired. Lawsuits ensued. In a ruling sending part of the case back to a lower court, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals noted the history of the case:
Who says judges on the 9th Circuit are uptight? (The judges even footnoted the fact that "keeps on ticking" is a registered trademark of Timex.) By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2004
Iraq Update
This news moved earlier today out of Central Command:
Looks like more and more Iraqis are of the opinion that, "enough is enough." But why bother focusing on what's happening today, when it's easier to focus on something that may or may not have happened a year and a half ago? By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2004
Static
Howard Stern accused Secretary of State Colin Powell of getting his son hired as FCC chairman. Powell's response: "...(T)his is all just so much nonsense." The secretary refused to say anything personal about the person who made the accusation, when he gave an interview to Ron Insana of CNBC. Elsewhere, the reviews of the Howard Stern-Michael Powell radio debate (where the nepotism allegations were front and center) are decidedly mixed. This from Alan Sniffen, who runs the New York Radio Message Board:
It might not have been that one-sided (Powell didn't "thoroughly counter" as much as he simply "denied" nepotism charges). It was interesting radio but, like political debate these days, don't count on it having changed any minds. By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2004
Tick Tick Tick Tick
Is time running out? By Ed Moltzen · 28 October 2004
Where They Stand On Arafat
This is from a Q&A Sen. John Kerry did last year: (Emphasis added)
By contrast, this is what President Bush said during the second debate with Kerry:
If Arafat survives his latest near-death experience, there would certainly be a difference between how President Bush will approach him (he won't) versus Kerry (he would.) By Ed Moltzen · 27 October 2004
Husband Sentences Wife To Death; Immigration Says, "Oh Well."
Woman flees Pakistan with kids to escape abusive husband. She lands in the U.S. and seeks asylum. Meanwhile, husband issues a death edict against his wife. U.S. immigration officials say: That's not our problem, lady. Go back home. Meanwhile, she's been arrested and is in the lockup as she fights the expulsion order. You can read the whole thing here. By Ed Moltzen · 27 October 2004
Lileks v. Sullivan
James Lileks fisks Andrew Sullivan's endorsement of John Kerry: Sullivan: "Kerry has said again and again that he will not hesitate to defend this country and go on the offensive against Al Qaeda. I see no reason whatsoever why he shouldn't." Lileks: "This would be a reasonable statement if Sen. Kerry had just popped fully-formed from Zeus’ brow, howling for justice, but there’s the inconvenient matter of three decades of public pronouncements that makes one wonder how he defines “defend(ing) this country,” and what he consider to be an offensive. No? Or am I being unfair? Perhaps." And there is so much more. By Ed Moltzen · 27 October 2004
She Flew All Night
Bare Naked Ladies' Steve Page isn't impressed with some recent work by Celine Dion - a video with apparent product placement that he saw on a recent flight - and he writes about it:
He then mentions a book of photos that includes Celine Dion and her kids, and suggests the kids were treated as - please, his words here - "bags of meat." One has to give Page credit, though. It's probably the most passionate review of her work since she started at Caeser's Palace. It might be too much to ask for her to respond. But a Canadian version of the U.S. "East Coast-West Coast" rap wars would be fun to watch. MORE: Michele sends this comment (a glitch below apparently blocked it): "The book is one of those horrid Ann Geddes books, in which kids are treated like, well, bags of meat." Here's the book. But they do look like happy little bags of meat! By Ed Moltzen · 27 October 2004
444 Days
By a week from Thursday, we should all be in Day 2 of the Democratic lawsuits challenging Election Day results, so there is a very good chance some noteworthy news will be underplayed. Nov. 4 will mark the 25th anniversary of the start of the Iran Hostage Crisis. It was a Sunday, and the network interrupted the NFL game of the week for a special report. The news showed grainy film of U.S. diplomats and embassy personnel blindfolded and being walked in front of a screaming, fist-waving throng of Iranian superextremists. For the next 444 days, as Ted Koppel told us, we were America Held Hostage. It was the first, ugly shot at innocent Americans by crazed Islamic radicals � the first shot of many in the next two and a half decades. At the time, President Jimmy Carter unwisely took little interest as they overthrew the Shah of Iran and then, even more unwisely, allowed the Shah to enter the U.S. nine months later for cancer treatments. The Shah had been a good � not great, good � ally for the U.S. He allowed us access to Iranian territory to conduct surveillance on the Soviets. He was an ally of Israel. He also bled the U.S. dry by forcing OPEC to jack up oil prices and he beat down dissent in his own country through his cruel secret police, SAVAK. The Soviets played on his unpopularity, sending radio programming into Iran practically begging Islamic radicals to rise up. And rise up they did. For more than a year, the radicals held more than 50 U.S. diplomats, military personnel and civilians against their will. Despite swelling American outrage, Carter waited and waited, hoping for some kind of diplomatic opening to occur. Then he sent Special Forces into Iran on the ill-fated Desert One mission, and eight of them died in a fiery crash during a sandstorm. After Carter lost the 1980 election, he continued working to free the hostages� release. Finally, on the eve of Ronald Reagan�s inauguration, he agreed to release $9 billion in frozen Iranian assets as part of the deal to bring them home. As Kevin Hermening, who, as a 20-year old Marine at the time was the youngest hostage, thinks that was a bad idea. �Iran walked away with no cost in blood or treasure,� he told The Command Post. �In essence, the terrorist organizations, those who put a face on terrorism � al Qaeda, Hamas and others � they get their support from governments. By not extracting a penalty, or anything punitive, I think it simply encouraged more acts against Americans.� The Iran Crisis also taught us something else � something that seems to be forgotten. Blue-collar Americans began demonstrating, spontaneously, outside Iran embassies in Washington and New York. (The only other memorable demonstrations in the U.S. during the late �70s involved the words, �Disco Sucks.�)
Why the history lesson on something that happened 25 years ago? Consider �Tehran Mary,� one of the Iranian �students� who seized the embassy, grabbed the hostages, and acted at the behest of the Ayatollah. Her real name is Massoumeh Ebtekar and today she�s a vice president in Iran. (Hermening, by the way, recalls hostages had much worse nicknames for her at the time than �Tehran Mary.�) Consider the same folks who violated international law, sent a modern Persian Gulf state back in time to the 15th Century. Consider the same folks sponsored the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers (according to Richard Clarke and others). Consider the same folks agreed to give help to al Qaeda (according to the 9-11 Commission report.) Consider these same folks are building nuclear capabilities. Consider these same folks chose to have earthquake victims die in Bam rather than receive U.S. help. It started on a football Sunday 25 years ago. The hostages did come home, 444 days later. They landed in the U.S. at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y. and it looked like five million people came out to greet them, wave flags, show yellow ribbons, give the thumbs up and flip the bird to unflattering drawings of the Ayatollah. The crisis was over. But in many other ways, it has never ended. ***Suggested Reading*** Taken Hostage : The Iran Hostage Crisis and America's First Encounter with Radical Islam (Politics and Society in Twentieth Century America). By David Farber. In the Shadow of the Ayatollah: A CIA Hostage in Iran. By William J. Daugherty. The Destined Hour. By Barry Rosen and Barbara Rosen. By Ed Moltzen · 26 October 2004
"Look Again"
The latest Zogby poll shows President Bush maintaining a three-point lead over John Kerry in the horse race for the White House. Key quote from John Zogby: "If Kerry, as suggested, is looking to undecideds, look again -- there may not be enough left." Of course, this could all be bizarro polling. Rasmussen Reports, which had Bush leading Kerry for about six weeks solid, all of a sudden showed Kerry in the lead yesterday. Zogby, on the other hand, has had Kerry leading for most of the year and even once remarked the race was Kerry's to lose. It looks like the two polls just passed in the night. By Ed Moltzen · 26 October 2004
They'll Need A New Name For These Places
Can they really be called safe houses any more?
The terrorists, essentially, have two and a half months before elections in Iraq. They're dropping like flies. And the clock is ticking. By Ed Moltzen · 26 October 2004
A Crude Awakening
So gas is now $2.19 a gallon for regular. A week's commute in a mid-sized sedan will run about $50. The NYMEX web site, which updates the running price on a barrell of crude, is becoming more popular than Drudge. Most news accounts, like this one, point the blame finger at the Russians. They didn't want U.S. oil companies to buy Yukos, because Yukos was one of their biggest oil companies. So they did what Russians do: They arrested Yukos' chairman and threw the company into a shambles. Now Russian oil can't get to China, the Chinese are getting it from OPEC and OPEC doesn't have what the U.S. needs. So, on Long Island, it's $2.19 a gallon for regular. This isn't the 1970s, when an Arab oil embargo caused a 300 percent jump in prices in the span of a year. There aren't any gas lines. Fist fights aren't breaking out at the pumps. Nobody has hung any "No Gas" signs. But, suddenly, John Kerry's "I'll Get Tough With the Arabs" rhetoric has stopped because the Arabs don't lock up their oil executives and dismantle their pipeline operations. And saving a few thousand shaggy musk oxen in Alaska, at some point, won't be a good enough reason to keep the pumps and oil extraction equipment out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Eventually, someone will come in and take Yukos' place and get the oil to China. Oil will drop back down under $40 a barrell. Commuting will be a little cheaper again. But if you're a wild musk ox, get ready to pack your bags, Pappi. We need that real estate. NYMEX is nowhere near as interesting as Drudge. By Ed Moltzen · 25 October 2004
Down
GeorgeWBush.com seems to have been down for the past several hours today, as of 9 p.m. Eastern. However, no information about this seems to have crossed the wires... By Ed Moltzen · 24 October 2004
NY Times Correction Du Jour
Can you imagine? The shame of coming off as...as... "discount:"
Harumph. By Ed Moltzen · 24 October 2004
Iran And The Bomb
When Ronald Reagan was running for president in 1980, and Iran was holding 52 U.S. diplomats and civilians hostage, there was a joke making the circuit that went like this:
Well, Reagan became president and within minutes - literally minutes - those hostages were put on a plane for their trip back to the U.S. But the joke was apparently not lost on the Islamic militants who had taken over Iran in 1979. Today, they are seeking all the ingredients for a nuclear arsenal and make what seems only half-hearted assertions it will be for "peaceful," rather than aggressive, purposes. Here's what Iran President Khatami said last week:
Translation: Get Israel to give up its nukes, and then we'll talk. Maybe. In the meantime, we'll keep AQ Khan's birthday on our calendar and always remember to send him a card. Right now, President Bush says we should keep up sanctions, and give the EU and U.N. the chance to pressure Iran into its senses. John Kerry says, yeah, but let's give them nuclear fuel, too. Maybe there's a third way to handle this. It seems there's an information deficit in the Iranian countryside. Blogger Hossein Derakhshan, a native Iranian, says people in the country would likely oppose what Khatami's government is doing:
Maybe it's time to start letting the Iranian people know what's going on. Maybe it's time to feed them radio programming - or, more radio programming - from inside Iraq and clue them in on what's happening. Instead of nuclear fuel, send them radio waves. Instead of platitudes in French, give them realities in Farsi. The Soviets fomented the 1979 Islamic revolution by bombarding the Iranians with anti-American, anti-Shah propoganda over the radio. This time, it couldn't hurt for the U.S. to try the same thing. And if that doesn't work, well...Reagan is now gone, but Khatami need only look over the border and take a look at some of Abu al Zarqawi's safe houses these days. That's no joke. By Ed Moltzen · 24 October 2004
Who Ya Gonna Believe?
CBS News collaborator Josh Marshall is working feverishly to pump new life into John Kerry's Bush-gave-bin-Laden-a-pass-at-Tora-Bora story:
His proof point? Old Washington Post stories - stories which had some blatant errors in them (such as reporting that Gen. Tommy Franks ran the war from Tampa. Franks was actually running the war from the "area of responsibility," as his book points out.) As Franks' second-in-command, retired Gen. Michael DeLong, said to The Command Post few weeks ago, Kerry simply doesn't know what he's talking about:
Who ya gonna believe? One of the men who called the shots, or a senator stuck at 46 percent in the polls? What Marshall doesn't explain is why nobody has seen bin Laden since Tora Bora, or why there have been no major, catastrophic terror attacks on U.S. soil since then. By Ed Moltzen · 23 October 2004
What Would Mencken Do?
If legendary journalist H.L. Mencken was alive today and just starting out, what would he do? Would he try working his way up the ladder in the newspaper business? Or would he, instead, work for himself and start blogging? Maybe this is one of those pointless mental exercises, but it provides the chance to look at the real difference today between newspapers and blogs. It provides the chance to figure out who are the real keepers of the legacy of men like Benjamin Franklin and Mencken. It was Mencken who said the job of a newspaper is to �comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.� But who�s really doing that now? Bloggers or newspapers? First let�s take a look at the gold standard of American journalism: The Pulitzer Prize. Last year, the New York Times and PBS� Frontline collaborated on a piece that ran in print and on TV. (You can read it here.) It�s hard to argue against this piece winning the Pulitzer. The examination of how a large, profitable corporation � McWane Inc. - paid such little regard to its workers� well-being has all the elements of what in-depth journalism should be. The paper gave it time, resources and space. The writing is compelling and flows. It absolutely comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable:
Only the people involved in crafting this story know how long it took to put those four sentences together. A good bet: a very long time. It�s journalism like this that inspires kids in high school and college to get into the business. But is it the exception or the rule? It�s probably not quite either. Here are some more examples of great journalism. Each one of these stories and series must have taken a grueling effort. When you work for an organization with deep pockets, libel lawsuits are always an issue � more so when you�re exposing wrongdoing, corruption or human suffering. You want to make sure you don�t get sued. But these reporters also want to get it right. It�s easy to rip �MSM� for being biased, self-serving and loathsome. Often, it is. But, come on. There�s more to the story as those stories show. The problem is that these stories aren�t every day events. That�s why they win awards. They stand out. Now let�s take a look at the best of the blogs. What would Mencken think of them? Do they afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted? You can�t argue with Strengthen The Good, a collaborative effort of a number of bloggers to put the spotlight on people who need help. Blogs like this even go a step further: They deliver that help. Who can forget Chief Wiggles efforts to bring toys to kids in Iraq war zones? The effort was even noticed by President Bush. How about afflicting the comfortable? You can find examples of this faster than you can say, �Rathergate.� Or �Trent Lott.� Or "Ted Rall." Or the name of anyone ever mentioned on Gawker. So which wins, newspapers or blogs? Right now it looks like a tie. Newspapers still can hold true to the Mencken rule. But they don�t nearly often enough. There still seems to be too much newsroom bureaucracy and lawyering going on when it comes to important stories. Blogs don�t really match the depth and texture of good newspapering � yet. But, man, every day bloggers are pounding it. So where would Mencken turn, as a kid out of school, trying to break into journalism and writing? He would probably still opt for newspapers. He loved the prestige. He loved the access. He would probably be miserable inside today�s politically correct newsrooms. Editors would not even want him today if he couldn�t keep his bigotries under control. But Mencken loved newspapers. One can only imagine, though, how he would have liveblogged the Scopes Monkey Trial. By Ed Moltzen · 23 October 2004
Tracking Poll Rehab
One poll story today, and then it's tracking poll cold turkey until next week. Seriously. We can quit at any time. Reuters Poll: Bush Holds Two-Point Lead Over Kerry The latest tracking detail from John Zogby finds a couple of interesting things. President Bush is polling measurably stronger in the "red states" than he did at this time in 2000. At the same time, John Kerry is polling measurably weaker in the "blue states" than Al Gore at this time four years ago. Bush is polling better with women than he did four years ago. He's polling better with independents (according to Zogby.) The Kerry strategy at this point seems to be two-fold: Win Ohio, and hire better lawyers in Florida. After all this campaigning, debating, negative advertising and around-the-clock ad hominem attacks: it's come to this. Elmer Fudd and the stellar Florida electoral system. By Ed Moltzen · 23 October 2004
Mister Softee Is Ticked
Mister Softee is no softey. (If you don't know what the "Mr. Softee Jingle" is, you can hear it by clicking on the company's web site. Editor's Warning: We are not responsible for the music being stuck in your brain on an endless loop for the next 24 hours.) A U.S. District Court judge today told the defendants (How do you defend yourself against Mister Softee?) that they can't have the lawsuit thrown out. The case has to move forward, with all the cold allegations sprinkled in. By Ed Moltzen · 22 October 2004
Words Are Cheap
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver writes this in an op-ed in today's New York Times:
Does this matter? Well, during the past three days President Bush has pulled ahead of John Kerry - a Catholic who insists who won't impose his beliefs on anyone else when it comes to abortion - in the Zogby tracking poll. In Reuters' coverage of the tracker, it reports that Bush and Kerry are now tied when it comes to the Catholic vote. Earlier in the campaign, Kerry had a slight lead among Catholics. And now one of the country's Catholic archbishops is establishing a framework he thinks should guide their vote - a framework that puts Kerry clearly on the outs. Watch this topic over the next few days. By Ed Moltzen · 22 October 2004
Persian Gulf Update
Even Andrew Sullivan is sounding upbeat now about new developments in Iraq toward January elections. Who is sounding downbeat? The Iranian leadership, which can't be happy about freedom and democracy about to take root next door. There is still a lot of turmoil over there - a top official just quit the Iranian cabinet - because of continued outrage at the suppression of a slate of pro-reform, pro-democracy candidates in the country's last elections. By Ed Moltzen · 22 October 2004
She's Not A Mom, But She Plays One To Bash Bush
Roy Asfar digs out some interesting details on Edie Falco, and her work on behalf of Mothers Opposing Bush. Two years ago, during an interview on NPR, Bob Edwards asked her about playing such an intense mom on The Sopranos. Her reply:
Here's how she comes across today in an anti-Bush ad as spokeswoman for Mothers Opposing Bush. (Get it? "MOB".) Aside from Roy, this doesn't seem to have gotten any attention. It's worth wondering if this would be the same if she did commercials for MOK - Moms Opposing Kerry. By Ed Moltzen · 21 October 2004
Quote of the Day
Sissy Willis: "How do you ask a goose to be the last goose to die* in a John Kerry hunting photo op -- How do you ask a goose to be the last goose to die for a mistake?" By Ed Moltzen · 21 October 2004
Poll Dancing
Some folks, including Mickey Kaus, have been pointing to the Mystery Pollster's analysis of all the disparate polls in Ohio, suggesting they're pretty consistent and really not such great news for President Bush. The reason: Almost all the polls show Bush topping out at 47 percent in Ohio. Well, let's take a look at Kerry's percentages among various pollsters in the national horserace as of Thursday morning: 47, 46, 46, 42, 47, 48, 44.5, 45, 44, 47, 44. He tops 47 percent once but falls beneath it seven times. Now for Bush: 50, 46, 47, 49, 47, 48, 49.5, 47, 52, 52, 48, 50. Bush falls below 47 percent once, topping it eight times. Mystery pollster calls the wild card the "incumbent factor" - meaning a showing of 47 percent for an incumbent telegraphs a loss. But how about the "I'm really not too hot on my candidate but I'm just saying I'm going to vote for him anyway" factor? Even in the most favorable of the polls for Kerry, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll, half of all who will vote for Kerry say they're voting against Bush, not for Kerry. Half. But three-quarters of all Bush supporters say their vote is about backing the president. Are happy voters likely voters? We'll find out. In the mean time, the polls are still a mess. But maybe not the kind of mess some people are hoping for. By Ed Moltzen · 21 October 2004
Mark Down This Date In History
Liberal blogger Oliver Willis is now touting the credibility of ultra conservative evangelist Pat Robertson. Perhaps Alan Keyes is next? By Ed Moltzen · 20 October 2004
Real Work
Sean Hackbarth isn't impressed with Teresa Heinz Kerry's questioning of Laura Bush's work record, and presents some of the First Lady's resume in explaining why. If you liked pink press conferences and leveraged trades on pork bellies when Hillary Clinton was first lady, you'll no doubt love four years with THK. By Ed Moltzen · 20 October 2004
Urban Renewel, Fallujah Style
This moved out of Centcom this morning:
Abu Musab al Zarqawi is not a native Iraqi. He's been a terrorist in Afghanistan, assassinated a U.S. diplomat in Jordan and has been coordinating terror attacks in and out of Baghdad. Now, it appears, he's fighting for his life. If nothing else, it's hard to imagine he's getting a good night's sleep. MORE: Now the Coalition has taken out a Zarqawi command and control post. By Ed Moltzen · 20 October 2004
Rupert Murdoch's Business Partner
The next time you have a complaint about slanted coverage on Fox News Channel, you might be better off going straight to one of its part-owners, John Kerry (Via OpenSecrets.org) (Editor's Note: Ok, Ok. The income reported on Kerry's financial disclosure is listed as "capital gains," meaning it's possible that was because Kerry dumped any shares of News Corp. before he ran for president. Still, it doesn't seem like the Kerry family had any qualms about putting its money behind Rupert Murdoch.) By Ed Moltzen · 19 October 2004
A Democrat For Bush
(Via RealClearPolitics.com) Sarah Baxter is a lifelong member of Britain's Labour party, but maintains citizenship here and recently registered to vote in the U.S. as a Democrat. On Nov. 2, she'll be voting here for the first time and will pull the lever for President Bush:
She's not alone. In the most recent Washington Post/ABC News tracking poll, 15 percent of all Democrats say they are voting Bush-Cheney. Some other surveys have shown as many as one in five Democrats will vote for the president rather than John Kerry. These Democrats appear to be on board with Zell Miller's remarks at the Republican National Convention when it comes to the war on terror: "...(M)y family is more important than my party." Kerry may be able to swing over undecided independents. But that will mean not much if he loses Democrats like Miller and Baxter in the process. By Ed Moltzen · 19 October 2004
Iraq Attack
Terrorists have killed or wounded about 100 Iraqis in a mortar attack on an Iraq National Guard headquarters, news services are reporting. This is happening at the same time as a major offensive against remaining terrorist hornets nests in places like Fallujah and Ramadi. Most of the people doing the attacking - and dying - would appear to be foreign terrorists inside Iraq, although the mortar attack this morning is a bad blow to pro-democracy forces. Still, reports are hazy as to how many are dead, and how many wounded, in the attack this morning. By Ed Moltzen · 19 October 2004
The Polls
The Bush Campaign's Matthew Dowd sent out an email to supporters last night noting that almost all the national polls put President Bush in at least a slight lead over John Kerry, and he writes:
There have been two challengers who have been in that position: Walter Mondale in '84 and Bob Dole in '96. Both had problems that Kerry doesn't have. Both also had strengths that Kerry doesn't have. (Both, in fact, had the experience of a national campaign under their belts as vice presidential nominees before they took top billing.) The polls this year are a mess. There are too many of them and they are too volatile. Mickey Kaus has been especially brutal on The Times' Adam Nagourney this year for consistently burying any and all polling data that shows President Bush with any kind of strength. But almost all of the polls show President Bush ahead in the popular vote among both registered voters and "likely voters." All of the internals on the key issues - leadership, Iraq, terrorism, likeability - all favor the president. And, remember, Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 and still won the election. So where does all this lead? Andrew Sullivan - a walking, breathing anti-Bush machine for the past few months - writes, "...if the public thinks things are this bad and still aren't breaking decisively for Kerry, what does that say about the challenger?" Hey: If John Kerry is powerful enough to make the paralyzed walk, turning around the polls and taking an election should be a piece of cake, right? By Ed Moltzen · 19 October 2004
The Heart Of The Matter
Some days, this seems like a better idea than others: First Patients Get Wireless Reading of Pressure Inside Their Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Essentially, doctors have figured out a way to insert microchip-based, blood-pressure reading equipment into someone's aortic aneurysm, and send the readings to the patient or doctor. Cool. By Ed Moltzen · 19 October 2004
They Can Run...
The Marines gave such a pounding to terrorists in Fallujah over the weekend, they were forced to run and hide. Their hiding place shouldn't come as a surprise:
This approach didn't work for the Sadr terrorists. Maybe they missed those headlines. By Ed Moltzen · 18 October 2004
The Last, Swift Shots
Here is the last ad put together by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Of all the commercials this (and this) are the most damning yet. There are about 90 veterans gathered in the two 30-second spots. Good luck to the opposition research folks tracking them all down for connections to the Bush Campaign. From one of the spots:
And, as Bob Dole notes, not all of them can be "Republican liars." All of the men pictured look like the guys you see in your local hardware store, on line at the bank, working as ushers in church or taking their grandchildren to the park. In Ohio. And they all endorse the notion that John Kerry is unfit to be president. And they look like their minds are made up. Can they change any votes in fifteen days? Given what they accomplished in the fifteen days after the Democratic convention, it's hard to see how they can't. MORE: Nouveau Patriot:
And Russell Wardlow:
By Ed Moltzen · 18 October 2004
The Times' Endorsement of Kerry
The New York Times endorsed John Kerry for president today and, in doing, misleads its readers about some pretty important issues. In particular:
Well, that doesn't exactly square with the 9-11 Commission Report:
The 9-11 Commission said it found no evidence of a "collaborative" relationship between al Qaeda and Iraq. But the Times' seizure on that is misleading. Iraq offered safe haven to bin Laden. And they did this knowing bin Laden was plotting mass murder terror attacks against Americans. Under the Bush Doctrine, that's game, set and match. So, on this point, the Times' main issue is that it disagrees with the Bush Doctrine. However, it is wholly unable to describe a Kerry Doctrine. Writes Michele Catalano:
What's done is done: The Times has endorsed John Kerry for president. The only question remaining, though, is whether this will help or hurt the Democratic nominee. By Ed Moltzen · 17 October 2004
Quote of the Day
"The final score was 19-8. Might as well have been 19-18." - Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe columnist, after the Yankees beat the Red Sox last night to take a 3-games-to-0 lead in the ALCS. (The Red Sox last won the World Series in 1918.) By Ed Moltzen · 17 October 2004
Rigged Presidential Gambling?
Donald Luskin writes an interesting item on possible trading irregularities at the Tradesports presidential futures market. He notes at least one bulk futures purchase that drove the price of a Bush re-election option down by 80 percent (for at least a brief period of time). It's never been |
