Uncle Horn Head

Sinclair TV Stations to Air Anti-Kerry Film on Election Eve

Thus pre-empting local coverage including Mondaty Night Football with their ABC affiliates.

Details.

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The Day After

Blogging from State College. PSU v. Purdue. Here's hoping the Lions defense isn't on the field for 45 minutes today.

I stayed up for a while after the 2nd debate last night to gauge talking head reactions. I wasn't surprised to hear almost everyone's reaction was that the President did very well, perhaps even winning the debate. I suppose they're looking at the first debate as a benchmark for his performance. Since he didn't pout, roll his eyes or sneer he kicked ass. There was little chatter of the issues except to say that he did surprisingly well in talking about domestic policy. It was all about the "forceful" President. Funny, he sounded angry to me, cutting off Charles Gibson at least twice and gritting his teeth fighting to keep a stoic demeanor. I'm sure his coaches told him, "...anytime you feel like making a face or smirking draw those squiggilly lines you like so much on the paper." I bet those notes would fetch a pretty penny on eBay.

Bush was coherent on several issues, but the content was the same as what we've heard before except when it came to the question on the Environment. He rattled off his memorized talking points in a burst, almost regurgitating it, so quickly in case he forgot something. The questioner looked like he thought the "Clear Skies Initiative" was crap. 44 was strong in making his points, but I think he left a couple of questions on the table, where he could've done more to strengthen his position and discredit the President's. The longer the undecideds stay that way, the better chance they'll go with 44.

I've stopped paying close attention to the polls because the majority are underrepresnting the younger voter and ignoring the newly registered, which can't be measured because they have no voting history. Hopefully the strong Democratic get-out-the-vote effort will translate into 44's inauguration.

I'm off to see what the blogosphere & mainstream media thought about Bush's "win."

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Olbermann Scorecard

If you're looking for a debate overview go here. Includes a boxing type scorecard with each question being a round.

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Debate

Bush line of the night number one:

"This war is a long long war."

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Huge Debate Tonight

How is the President preparing?

...In the hours leading up to debate, Bush huddled with top aides at the home of a St. Louis Cardinals owner where he is staying and went fishing in the rain to relax...

I can see the answer now: "We picked up 96,000 jobs this month and I caught a huge bass today!"

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The Exterminator

Much has been said about this man in the past few weeks, so it's worth taking a look at one of his greatest hits:

On why the U.S. became involved in the second war against Iraq:

"Because the rabid environmentalists felt it was more important to jeopardize the lives of our brave American servicemen than risk the death of a single snail darter. The greenies have led us into the crisis in the Middle East. Not only are they responsible for the huge amount of American dependence on foreign oil, but if an open war develops in the sweltering heat of the Saudi Arabian desert, the tragic result will be on their heads."

Thankfully, there is only one Tom DeLay.

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More Fahrenheit 911

Michael Moore is close to a deal with pay-per-view company IN Demand to show Fahrenheit 911 on the night before the election.

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News Flash

Sean Hannity is a liar and hypocrite.

Tip of the Horn to Tom Schaller at Daily Kos for the heads up.

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Making the Case for Reelection of Bush

When the editor calls, Jonathan Chait gets busy:

An editor at the paper suggested that I use this week's column to try to make the most honest and persuasive case I could for President Bush's reelection. At first I was skeptical. To say that I consider Bush a "bad" president would be a severe understatement. I think he's bad in a way that redefines my understanding of the word "bad." I used to think U.S. history had many bad presidents. Now, my "bad" category consists entirely of George W. Bush, with every previous president redefined as "good." There's also the fact that, on a personal level, I despise him with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. What I'm saying is, advocating Bush is kind of tricky.

But then I thought, what the heck. Why not try it for the sake of intellectual experimentation? After all, lawyers often defend some pretty repugnant clients, right? In keeping with that, I won't attempt to deny that my client has done some awful things. What I'll argue instead is that his very awfulness is the reason he deserves reelection....

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More on the Earpiece

Salon has and article posted on it today. (Free daypass required) The most mainstream media outlet to date to cover the story. A little bit of new information including a quote from the Dissector regarding his attendance at the RNC. The plot gets thickerer.

I'd love to see it malfunction tonight*.

*Assuming the President would ever deceive the Country.

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Employment Report

Only 96,000 jobs added last month.

There are about 800,000 fewer jobs today than when Bush took office.

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The White House isn't Actually White

From the Gaggle:

John Roberts: Scott, can you please confirm reports for me that the White House is, in fact, white.

Scott McClellan: John, we've been over this. It's been proven in reports from the State Department and the Department of the Interior that the White House is actually a light shade of auburn. The Administration has said this all along. We categorically deny what these shadowy groups have been saying. In fact the President resents the implication that the color of the White House is any color other than a light shade of auburn we say it is. We've released all of the papers to back this up and, frankly, the liberal left is really out of line in making these salacious allegations. Go ahead, Helen...

More today from Krugman.

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Psychological View of Bush

The Red Wolf Redux has a fascinating post from John Sommers Flanagan, PhD on why the race is still so close from a psychological perspective. I encourage you to read the whole thing, but here is an excerpt:

...When our world is shaken, we seek safety. And who better to protect us than the big, strong, tough-talking leader who has been in charge all along. The competence or morality of our leader becomes less relevant. We are afraid. Change might make things worse. As Vice President Dick Cheney has so eloquently claimed, we'd better not vote for John Kerry or we may be hit again by terrorists, this time even worse. Never mind that Cheney's former company is a big benefactor from the hit that occurred on his watch...

Tip of the Horn to the Red Wolf for bringing this to our attention.

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Homebrew Riding Mower

Maybe I can get Lance Armstrong to do my lawn.



Via Gizmodo.

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Think You've Had a Bad Week?

Try living in the White House.

We've controlled more than a handful of news cycles and all they can do is spin their wheels.

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The Lies Just Keep on Coming

Bush, today in response to the Duelfer (lack of) WMD report:

..."(Saddam) retained the knowledge, the materials, the means, and the intent to produce weapons of mass destruction," Bush said, adding that Saddam was trying to undermine international sanctions "with the intent of restarting his weapons program once the world looked away."

"In a world after Sept. 11, he was a threat we had to confront," Bush added in his first public comment on the Duelfer report...

So that explains all of the 'mushroom cloud' talk. Glad that's cleared up.

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Bush's Actions: Polls More Important Than Homeland

I'm really tired of typing this word, but these morons keep digging deeper:

Unbelievable

I don't think there are enough modifying words in the English language to describe how bad off we really are.

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I Couldn't Let This Pass

Someone left an anonymous comment in response to a post about 44's annhilation of Bush during the first debate. High comedy:

Kerry seemed poised and well rested for the debate because all he has to do right now is campaign. Bush, while trying to campaign, still has a job to do as President. If you were to spend the countless hours he dopes (sic) every day pouring over intelligence and in conversations with foreign leaders and military generals, wouldn't you look a little worn and weary too?

It's hard work, really hard work. For him. Of course I would like to have seen him "pour" over more intelligence while he was vactioning in the summer of 2001, rather than playing dude rancher.

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Does Bush Wear an Earpiece?

I think it's a possibility, but you'd think if he was they would've corrected his mannerisms and poor posture at the debate.

Regardless, Is Bush Wired? breaks down the possibility.

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Molly Ivins Rocks the House

Link. My emphasis.

...Speaking of both radar and stupid government, for a truly pathological example of how ideological fixations and denying reality can cost us dearly, to the $200 billion for the disaster in Iraq add at least $150 billion to deploy the unproven and unworkable missile-defense system, nee Star Wars. Since Star Wars was a pet scheme of Ronald Reagan's, Republicans insist on trying to carry out this nutty idea, the equivalent of hitting a bullet with a bullet. Ye olde military-defense complex also has a rather large stake in keeping this dog of a program going.

We have spent $90 billion on it since 1983, with much more to come. The thing is supposed to be deployed this year, but it will have no demonstrated capability and would be ineffective against a real attack by long-range missiles. Between 1999 and December 2000, the thing has been five for eight against targets WITH the information of the time and place of the launch and the missile's trajectory fed to the interceptor. In other words, totally rigged tests...

Exquisitely and sadly descriptive.

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Debate Overview

The concluding paragragh from this excellent piece by William Saletan goes a little something like this:

...With the Republican Convention extending into September, never has a trailing ticket had so little time to fight its way back into the race. Democrats desperately needed to regain and maintain control of the election agenda. Kerry had to knock Bush back on his heels in the first debate so he could broaden the discussion to domestic policy. Edwards had to do the same to Cheney, ideally generating new story lines about the administration's difficulty with reality. It's like a ninth-inning rally. Kerry got the lead-off hit. Edwards singled him to third. How will it end? Pass the popcorn.

Could we see a bases clearing double on Friday night?

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Letters Home

Michael Moore has just published a book, Will They Ever Trust Us Again, containing letters from our troops in the Middle East.

Here is a sample:

From: Michael W
Sent: Tuesday July 13 2004 12.28pm
Subject: Dude, Iraq sucks

My name is Michael W and I am a 30-year-old National Guard infantryman serving in southeast Baghdad. I have been in Iraq since March of 04 and will continue to serve here until March of 05.

In the few short months my unit has been in Iraq, we have already lost one man and have had many injured (including me) in combat operations. And for what? At the very least, the government could have made sure that each of our vehicles had the proper armament to protect us soldiers.

In the early morning hours of May 10, one month to the day from my 30th birthday, I and 12 other men were attacked in a well-executed roadside ambush in south-east Baghdad. We were attacked with small-arms fire, a rocket-propelled grenade, and two well-placed roadside bombs. These roadside bombs nearly destroyed one of our Hummers and riddled my friends with shrapnel, almost killing them. They would not have had a scratch if they had the "Up Armour" kits on them. So where was [George] W [Bush] on that one?

It's just so ridiculous, which leads me to my next point. A Blackwater contractor makes $15,000 [£8,400] a month for doing the same job as my pals and me. I make about $4,000 [£2,240] a month over here. What's up with that?

Beyond that, the government is calling up more and more troops from the reserves. For what? Man, there is a huge fucking scam going on here! There are civilian contractors crawling all over this country. Blackwater, Kellogg Brown & Root, Halliburton, on and on. These contractors are doing everything you can think of from security to catering lunch!

We are spending money out the ass for this shit, and very few of the projects are going to the Iraqi people. Someone's back is getting scratched here, and it ain't the Iraqis'!

My life is left to chance at this point. I just hope I come home alive.

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Wonder Why We're Hated?

This could shed some light on the subject:

The Pentagon said yesterday it was investigating cockpit video footage that shows American pilots attacking and killing a group of apparently unarmed Iraqi civilians.

The 30-second clip shows the pilot targeting the group of people in a street in the city of Fallujah and asking his mission controllers whether he should "take them out". He is told to do so and, shortly afterwards, the footage shows a huge explosion where the people were. A second voice can be heard on the clip saying: "Oh, dude."

The existence of the video, taken last April inside the cockpit of a US F-16 fighter has been known for some time, though last night's broadcast by Channel 4 News is believed to be the first time a mainstream broadcaster has shown the footage.

At no point during the exchange between the pilot and controllers does anyone ask whether the Iraqis are armed or posing a threat. Critics say it proves war crimes are being committed.

Chances we'll see this on ABCNNBCBS? Nil.

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Howard Stern

This morning Stern announced he will be moving to Sirius radio in January 2006. A big surprise for everyone involved, even his affiliate stations had no idea.

FYI: The stock symbol for Sirius is: SIRI

It began trading today at $3.35/share.

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It's Not a Lie if You Believe it

Vice President Costanza said last night was the first time he met Senator John Edwards.

Um.

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Debate



Thanks to bgod for the masterful Photoshop work.

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VP Debate

The one sure thing is that Gwen Ifill will never mediate another debate. She's clueless.

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Dark Window Tries to Get Out of the Hole

After getting smoked in our wager on the contest associated with Bush's speech at the RNC, our friend Pete at the The Dark Window has decided he wants to go to go double-or-nothing on the six-pack we wagered.

The new wager's genesis began innocuously enough; he asked me if I like football...

Knowing that Pete lived in San Francisco I guessed (via email) that he was a 49er fan. After threatening me with physical violence he informed me that he was a member of Raider Nation. So, we agreed that the bet would be Raiders vs. Eagles. The best record at the end of the season will be declared the winner. However, if the Raiders catch lightnting in a bottle, we'll need a tie breaker.

Any and all ideas considered.

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Florida Voter Suppression Story CXXXIII

Outrageous.

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Rummy: No Saddam-al Qaeda Link

I have serious doubts that Dick Cheney will be echoing this at the debate tonight:

...Asked to describe the connection between the Iraqi leader and the al-Qaida terror network at an appearance Monday at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Pentagon chief first refused to answer, then said: ''To my knowledge, I have not seen any strong, hard evidence that links the two.''...

No holiday bonus for Rumsfeld!

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Dave, What Are You Doing?



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Bring 'em On II: Nitwit Rides Again

Our President talks about our yet to be rolled out missile defenses:

...Bush has promoted the system while campaigning for re-election.
 
"We want to continue to perfect this system, so we say to those tyrants who believe they can blackmail America and the free world: You fire; we're going to shoot it down," he said during a stop at Ridley Park, Pa., on Aug. 17.
 
Military officials are less sanguine, stressing that the initial system will be modest and limited in capability but will improve over time.
 
Critics of the system, such as Philip Coyle, the Pentagon's former chief of testing, say Bush is wrong.
 
"Of course we don't have any capability to do that," he said. "For the president to sort of dare them (to fire missiles) is really misleading and even reckless."...

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Twitchy Little Man

I finally got a look at Bush Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman tonight on Paula Zahn. I feel like I know him through the Campaign emails that bear his name. From his writing style I could have sworn that he was under-caffeinated.

Writing styles can be deceiving.

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Incredible Statistic

Must be read to be believed.

I'm glad our tax dollars are being put to good use. **ahem** Aren't you?

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It Probably Means Nothing

The seventh game of the World Series is schedule to be on Halloween, or two days before the election.

Hoping for no rain-outs or increased terror threat levels.

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Michael J. Fox on Stem Cell Research

Link

Today, Michael J. Fox stood up and courageously spoke up that "George Bush's decision has dramatically reduced the chances for finding a cure for Alzheimers, for Parkinsons, for various kinds of cancersfor so many terrible diseases." Yet the Bush Administration continues to deny that there is any issue with their policy. As Fox said: "he so restricted the stem cell lines available to us that it was kind of like he gave us a car and no gas and he congratulated himself on giving us the car and we sat there and we sit there still"

The fact is that George W. Bush has put his ideological agenda ahead of the interests of the American people by placing a ban on embryonic stem cell research. His ban has prevented the use of 99.999 percent of potential stem cells from being used, standing in the way of possible cures and therapies. This research is supported by a broad coalition, including Orrin Hatch, John McCain and Nancy and Ron Reagan. It is time to put politics aside and allow our researchers to do their crucial work..."

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Powerful Debate Video

Here.

From the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

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Poland to be Gone by End of 2005

The coalition of the coerced is shrinking:

Poland will withdraw its troops from Iraq by the end of 2005, Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said on Monday.

"In my opinion, the deadline (for Poland's mission) should be the expiry date of resolution 1546 of the UN Security Council," Szmajdzinski told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

Resolution 1546, passed in June, provided for the handover of power to the Iraqi authorities and includes democratic transition steps that will run through 2005.

Poland, a staunch US ally in Europe, now commands an 8,000-strong multinational force, including about 2,400 Polish soldiers,in south-central Iraq.

Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewsk, who is on a visit to France, confirmed the announcement in Paris on Monday...

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Bush and Reality

Herbert:

...The president likes to tell us that "freedom is winning" in Iraq, that democracy is on the march. But Americans are coming to realize that Iraq is, in fact, a country in agony, beset by bombings, firefights, kidnappings, beheadings and myriad other forms of mayhem. The president may think that freedom is winning, but television viewers in the U.S. could see images over the weekend of distraught Iraqis pulling the bodies of small children from smoking rubble - a tragic but perfect metaphor for a policy in ruins.

Mr. Bush got his big bounce in the public opinion polls from the Swift boat nonsense and the mocking, nonstop criticism of Senator Kerry at the Republican National Convention. Those were distractions from the real world. But reality cannot be kept at bay indefinitely. Readers of The Washington Post got a disturbing dose of it yesterday from a front-page article about the strain being put on the overloaded systems of veterans' disability benefits and health care by the thousands of American troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with physical injuries and mental health problems.

The article noted that "President Bush's budget for 2005 calls for cutting the Department of Veterans Affairs staff that handles benefits claims."

A staff sergeant who was paralyzed in a mortar attack near Baghdad was quoted as saying: "I love the military; that was my life. But I don't believe they're taking care of me now."

The real world is President Bush's Achilles' heel. He can't keep his distance from it forever.

Reality is one of the President's problems. I also think he has a deep desire to be liked. That's why his staff only puts him in front of adoring crowds and why he refused to question Kerry's character in the debate (even joking about his daughters, with the "leash" comment.) He thinks that admitting a mistake will make him less well liked. What we have is a little boy at the helm of our ship.

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George Soros

Has joined the blogosphere.

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Country Music in Politics

Not all Country music stars are in lock step with the Bush junta.

Attest.

Tip of the Horn to my music sensei for the heads up.

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Debate Cheating

Much has been made lately about the possibility of 44 cheating at the debate, as Kerry appeared to pull something from his pocket before the first question. Pandagon has the contents of the note 44 pulled from his pocket.

(I'm amazed that the RW blogosphere can't accept that their man was taken behind the woodshed. No contest.)

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Blogroll

I've added The Culture Ghost to my blogroll on the left. As a frequent commenter in this sophomoric forum, the CG has proven to have a quick wit and a healthy skepticism of our Dear Leader and his minions.

I've also given the Red Wolf her own section in the blogroll. Why, you ask? First, the Wolf is a good friend of the Uncle Horns community and second the Wolf has four blogs. Something their for everyone, except Santorum. Sorry Rick, you'll have to get your fix at the bath houses in Hoboken.

Go visit and tell 'em Uncle Horns sent you unless you're a troll at which point Spyware will be entering your OS presently.

Update: Fixed spelling error. There is no 'Q' in skepticism

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