Vote Early-Vote Often

It is an old joke dating back the the Mayor Daley #1 days in Chicago. It is no longer funny as it has come to pass as a staple of the Democratic Party and it's approved MO. The daily news stories of voter fraud by the DNC, ACORN and ACT belie the fact that these are isolated incidents and "anomolies". The new DNC has taken the "win at any cost" maxim to the extreme at the risk of destroying the very fabric of the democratic process. The cost of that philosophy may indeed be the undoing of democracy and the ideal that it is founded on. Many men and women down through the years have sacrificed for the very concept of democracy and the right of a people to a free and "fair" election process, not only for this country but for others around the world. Some of the changes in the voter laws have made it a cakewalk for those intent on stuffing the boxes and has done nothing to make the election fairer. The Republicans are accused of "disenfranchising" voters because of their idea that it should also be legal. Because of questions such as:

1. Are you a citizen of the USA?
   
2. Are you a resident of this state?
   
3. Have you voted before in this election?
   
4. Is this your proper precinct?
   
5. Is this your name and address?
   
6. Do you have any identification?
   

According to these as proof of disenfranchisement and intimidation, I have been a victim for years in every election I have ever voted. Does anybody have a number for the ACLU? This is a serious problem at a serious time and should have been addressed 4 years ago but it seems the cure has been worse than the original ailment.

Oil for Food update Annan in Crosshairs

Our good friend, Kofi Annan seems to be getting the attention he so rightly deserves according to the Sunday Times.

THE ROLE of Kofi Annan in the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal is to be
investigated
after it emerged that the United Nations secretary-general was
in charge of some
of the most controversial aspects of the discredited
humanitarian programme.
Annan, 66, the Ghanaian-born head of the UN and
Nobel peace prize winner who
is due to retire in 2006, is “co-operating”
with the independent commission set
up to look into the scandal. He has
agreed to waive his diplomatic immunity and
face legal action if any
wrongdoing is uncovered.

Read it all.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I have not posted in a few days, mainly because I have been overwhelmed with news. If you can call what is available news. I am struck by the hatred and vitriol that has become the political landscape as well as the obvious attempts of voter fraud and the number of lawyers hired by both sides. I stopped counting the number of cases in my e-mail Google alert of news accounts about the DNC, Acorn and Act frauds mentioned in the news. To top that off, here comes some "international observers" to make sure everything is on the up and up. Kerry just keeps piling up foreign leaders who endorse him and will be known for his friends. As for the hate shown, I cannot remember even Nixon receiving the kind of vitriol aimed at Bush by supposed leaders of the opposition party and its surrogates.

The fear mongering and race baiting have reached a new high (or low) considering the draft scare, the Social Security scare and the disenfranchised black voter fraud. As near as I can tell from what is considered by some to be intimidation are such things as asking potential voters "Are you a U.S. citizen?". "Do you have proof that you are who you say you are?" "Do you live at this address?" "Is this the correct precinct?" "Have you voted already in this election?" "Where is your registration card?" Hell, that means I have been intimidated in every election I have voted in. Where's my lawyer?

Another thing that is on my mind is the lack of media coverage of the good news coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan. If you haven't done it yet, go to the Arthur Chrenkoff blog and peruse the series he has done for the Wall Street Journal. Hammorabi also has a bunch of links to Iraqi Bloggers and stop by the Mudville Gazette for those stories and links to soldiers in the theater.

Another hat tip to Chrenkoff for this update about Kerry's voodoo politics and his take on this whole mess.

Gore's mistake, of course, was that he did not win the election. It had
absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he didn't claim victory and thus
created some sense of inevitability in public mind about the Bush presidency. It
had everything to do with the fact that the Supreme Court decided recount was in
order, and Gore lost that recount. To argue in effect that both the Supreme
Court decision and the recount result would have somehow been different if Gore
just kept banging his fist on the table insisting that he is the real president
is not just dishonest, it's delusional. It's voodoo politics. It shows that the
Democrats still live in a universe where the Republicans can't possibly win the
elections so they have to steal them, and where the will of the people is not
really expressed through the ballot on the day, but through maintaining the rage
before and after the poll. In Kerryverse, he who screams the loudest, wins

My Goodness, Harsh Tactics used at Gitmo.

The New York Times > Washington > Broad Use of Harsh Tactics Is Described at Cuba Base. This is making me cry. Ok, they are crocodile tears, but still tears. The people that have been detained at Gitmo are terrorists or fighters or conspirators who have done everything in their power to kill Americans and her allies. One paragraph stated...

David Sheffer, a senior State Department human rights official in the
Clinton administration who teaches law at George Washington University, said the
procedure of shackling prisoners to the floor in a state of undress while
playing loud music - the Guantánamo sources said it included the bands Limp
Bizkit and Rage Against the Machine, and the rapper Eminem - and lights clearly
constituted torture. "I don't think there's any question that treatment of that
character satisfies the severe pain and suffering requirement, be it physical or
mental, that is provided for in the Convention Against Torture,'' Mr. Sheffer
said.

Hell, if I had to listen to that, I'd crack in a heartbeat. Talk about torture and cruel and unusual punishment. Not only that, they are apparently trying to make them fat by feeding them Big Mac's, degrade their "morals" with R rated movies And worse, letting them use tobacco.

The sources portrayed a system of punishment and reward, with prisoners
who were favored for their cooperation with interrogators given the privilege of
spending time in a large room nicknamed "the love shack'' by the guards. In that
room, they were free to relax and had access to magazines, books, a television
and a video player and some R-rated movies, along with the use of a water pipe
to smoke aromatic tobaccos. They were also occasionally given milkshakes and
hamburgers from the McDonald's on the base.
The Pentagon said the information
gathered from the detainees "has undoubtedly saved the lives of our soldiers in
the field,'' adding: "And that information also saves the lives of innocent
civilians at home and abroad. At Guantánamo we are holding and interrogating
people that are a clear danger to the U.S. and our allies and they are providing
valuable information in the war on terrorism.''

I see some serious work ahead for John Edwards. If he loses the election he will make a fortune with a class action suit representing these poor people.

African-Americans Disenfranchised

This is one than needed a post of its own. The black civil rights wing of the Democratic Party is feeling disenfranchised by the Democratic Party. They seem to be a little late to this epiphany. Whine on. After years as part of the Dems base, they are finally figuring out that the DNC and its leaders have done nothing but use them, lie to them and expect with good reason that they will follow no matter what. The Jesse Jackson's and Al Sharpton's of the new civil rights movement have pissed on MLK jr's grave and use it for nothing but extortion and political power. Meanwhile the masses that they purport to represent, swallow every word and follow in lock-step drinking whatever kool-aid is handed them.

Update on Oil for Food

The press is finally beginning to pay more attention to the scandal, at least on the edges. The Fort Wayne News Sentinel has an opinion piece that sheds some perspective on the scam.

.(KRT) - John Kerry has been so busy on the campaign trail spouting "wrong war,
wrong place, wrong time" and trying to woo voters with how he's going to "build
alliances" to make Iraq all better that he probably hasn't had time to review
the tape of fascinating and frustrating testimony that took place in Washington
three days before the second presidential debate

And from the Moscow Times comes a very scathing take on Russias past and future roll in the UN and the world as a result of its part in the fiasco.

By helping undermine the UN sanctions against Iraq, Russia has weakened the
credibility of the UN itself. Why should anyone listen to Moscow the next time
it says, "Let's take this to the UN"?
Perhaps no one should be surprised at
accusations that Russian officials were profiting from shady schemes. But the
apparent hypocrisy is impressive. According to the report, the Foreign Ministry
itself was receiving oil vouchers from Hussein.

Britains Telegraph chimes in with more...

The real scandal contained in the long-awaited report of the Iraq Survey Group
(ISG) that was published last week concerns the fecklessness of the United
Nations, not to mention the treacherous conduct of some of its security council
members, in its dealings with Saddam's regime between the end of the 1991 Gulf
war and last year's Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In the diplomatic build-up to
last year's war to remove Saddam Hussein from power, the two most vociferous
opponents of military action were Russia and France. Even though Presidents
Putin and Chirac reluctantly signed up to UN Security Council resolution 1441 in
November 2002 - which threatened Saddam with "serious consequences" if he did
not fully comply - they were at the forefront of the international campaign to
block military action.
At the time it was felt that their main motivation was
to protect their lucrative trade ties with Baghdad. In late 2002, Saddam still
owed the Russians some $10 billion, mainly for illegal arms deals. France came
next in the trade rankings.

And so, it seems, the word is getting out more and may lead to a significant call for reform in this less than esteemed world body. It does show the folly of Kerry and his "allies" in dealing with the worlds problems. More in this previous post.

Media outs itself

What has always been obvious about the liberal bias of the main media outlets for years but was denied and at least couched in nuance and slant has become flagrant and "in your face". It seems that the CBS fiasco has given the broadcast media a feeling of carte' blanc when it comes to openly coming out of the closet and actively campaigning for Kerry and Company. No longer are the front pages slanted with editorial comments and innuendo or the broadcast media "news" programs just tilted enough to maintain deniability, it is blatant and shrill. On CNN Paula Zahn site touting her town halls meeting schedule is a poll on what you think the bulge in Bushes jacket was during debate #1. Tonights show, which I watched with chagrin, Cheney's daughter (no not that one) was one of the guests. It was shameful and obvious how this was a setup although Ms. Cheney did very well. This is only one example but if I linked all of them this post would be solid links. This President is indeed playing against a stacked deck with the DNC, 527's ala Soros, and the MSM. I still have a good feeling that the American people see the same things that I do, the voting fraud, the draft scare, the race baiting and the other thing going on by the DNC and friends. The thing is, when talking about Kerry/Edwards is that no matter how expensive or famous the tailor/designer, a suit is just that, an empty suit.

More: The hit piece on the Swift Boat Vets on Nightline is a case in point. In it's "Nightline Goes to Vietnam" The send a film crew to Nam. They do not interview any of the Swifties but goes halfway around the world to find VC that might remember a particular day and a particular Lt. JG Kerry. They don't even take the time to read Brinkley's Tour of Duty or the Boston Globes account, both in Kerry's own words and from his recollections. Powerline has a good take on this story with more links.
Couple this with Halperins memo and the the plot becomes clear. Their "investigation" puts the lie to not only the vets story but Kerrys as well. I guess Kerry was just collateral damage.

U.N. Nuclear Inspectors Ready to Return to Iraq

Yahoo! News - U.N. Nuclear Inspectors Ready to Return to Iraq: "U.N. Nuclear Inspectors Ready to Return to Iraq" This is one of the most ridiculous things I have seen today and I have seen plenty.

"We are ready, subject to Security Council guidance and the prevailing security
situation, to resume our Security Council mandated verification activities in
Iraq," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said.

You just have to wonder where these people are coming from. It's not earth. Along with the Oil for Palace/weapons program how stupid do these people think we are?

Voter Fraud and more on Oil-for-Food

It just keeps on keeping on. The folks at ChronWatch have a good insight and overview of what is happening on the fraud watch.

Democrats, for the most part, feel that every vote should be counted, as
anything less would be a theft of someone's civil rights. The ''law''
has
become an afterthought--if not always in application, then certainly in
spirit.

Republicans, by
and
large, want every vote counted as well, but within the law, as voting is
considered a privilege as well as a legal right.
According to this dispatch, one of the main culprits is ACORN :

Groups like the Association Communication Organization for Reform Now
(ACORN), and the Citizens for Consumer Justice are both well connected to
the
Democratic Party and its agenda. ACORN claim’s to have registered
over
70,000 new voters in Pennsylvania this year.

Ohio is also
investigating possible voter fraud in Hamilton County and Columbus.
Again,
the party to alleged fraud is ACORN. While the numbers to
date of possible
voter fraud are so far small, 19 registrations, the
possibilities for many more
are enormous. ACORN has registered over 1
million new voters nationwide,
including some 158,000 in Ohio
alone.

Many more have been documented and a simple search on Google will bring up more than you can digest. There I go again, talking about digestion.

The same search for Oil for Food will also show many stories and much knashing of teeth. You will even find a lame Cheney/Haliburton connection. That one is humorous for it's lameness.

Indigestion

Have been taking a little time off from blogging because of indigestion caused by trying to absorb so much this week. The article in the New York Times Magazine by Matt Bai has taken the blogosphere by storm and is finally a look at the real Mr. Kerry. After reading a plethora of blogs on this including but not limited to The Belmont Club, the musings of Hewitt, Simon and Johnson plus many more I just suffered overload.

Power Line has a transcript of Rudy Giuliani and his take on the article that is worth reading. Add to this what the American Spectator in it's article "the American Chamberain" had to say about this and it becomes clear that the would-be Emperor has no clothes. Off to take bicarb, back later.

On another front, the continued violence against GOP headquarters continues and is a sad commentary of what some people will do to intimidate instead of convince people. Sadly reminiscent of Brown Shirts of a different era.

ISG and the UN = Kerry Folly

This may be one of those long rants, diatribes or hissy fits. After having read parts of the 1000 page Duelfer report aka the ISG and reading some of the spin of the Democrats and the main stream media (MSM)I find myself throwing things and talking to inanimate objects. For a different perspective and a more articulate way to say what needs to be said,I have gone to the ones who can fill that void until I can get my composure back. Ok, I'm calmer now. I also looked up the spelling of discombobulated and the definition. I was and still am. The report does more for the "Bush Doctrine" and actions than it does for the "Kerry Doctrine" In fact, it shoots the Kerry plan out of the water. For those who read past the headlines and get into the guts of this report it will become clear, but I doubt that the electorate will get past the spin and the headlines. It will be our loss and a serious loss if this is left to the MSM to do the "reporting".

One such voice is not needing my excerpt to give anyone a flavor of this debate. Another insightful look at the spin being given is at the LGF site and should be read by all. Another site and opinion with sources and excellent insight, with more links and views is the always powerful PowerLine. Glen Reynolds at Slate has another view worth reading.

This ISG report coupled with what is coming out about the Oil for Food scandal in the UN puts the lie to the Kerry "multilateralism" approach.

I'm sure this will not be a one post item with me. I have been anti-UN for quite some time and will continue to follow the folly.

Undecided Voters. Who are these People?

I am having a hard time figuring out who this voting bloc is. Less than one month from a Presidential election, with all of the campaigning and data available on both candidates, true and false, who are these people? Are they ignorant, uninformed, likely voters or just newly registered voters? If they are ignorant or uninformed, there is a cure for that. It's called education on what is going on and who stands for what. If they are likely voters, (I'm not sure what that means from one poll to another)I would say get a grip and make a decision for crying out loud. If they are newly registered in one of the fraudulent voter drives by the DNC, I don't worry too much. Unless those are promised cigarettes or a buck for showing up and voting, most will stay home and the only ones who will benefit are those who were paid to register them.

I actually liked this perspective from an admitted Liberal Democrat Gersh Kuntzman of Newsweek.

But who is this undecided voter? If you ask me, he's a moron, but if you ask a senior Kerry advisor, you'll get a more diplomatic answer. The undecided voter, the unnamed source told The New York Times last week, is "a relatively low-information, relatively disengaged political person." I'll stick with my definition for the time being--but regardless of what you want to call them, this group of people, who can't choose a side in the clearest ideological choice since the Reagan-Mondale landslide in 1984, will decide who the next president is.

He goes on to say:

And no one really knows who they are. Depending on which pollster you listen to, the undecided voter is either a 28-year-old, hyper-informed, media-savvy, female academic who cares about the environment, isn't particularly religious and favors gun control or a 36-year-old, doltish, unemployed male gym teacher who drives a pickup truck, goes to church every day and has the Second Amendment tattooed on his chest. (Perhaps the Election of 2004 is just a reality TV show to bring these two star-crossed lovers together.)

The so-called experts don't even know how many undecideds there are.

I loved this one though from the undecided Micah Holquist who is for Bush . So am I but that does not make me undecided...???

I think I may be discumbobulated, does that make me undecided as well as someone who cannot spell discumbobulated?

Kerry and Trade

Alan Oxley, A former GATT representative has something to say about Mr. Kerry and his trade policy (Thanks Instapundit)

John Kerry has made a big deal about the Bush Administration playing solo in international affairs and offending other countries. He is of course referring to Iraq, where the only countries really offended are France and Germany. Yet John Kerry has a trade policy that sets a solo strategy for the US. It won't be France and Germany who will be offended, just most of the rest of the world. In the process he will damage American national economic interests and the interests of poor countries..... more here.

Unilateral disarmament revisited

John Kerry commented about the bunker buster research being done by the US and stated that

Right now the president is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to research bunker-busting nuclear weapons. The United States is pursuing a new set of nuclear weapons. It doesn't make sense.

You talk about mixed messages. We're telling other people, "You can't have nuclear weapons," but we're pursuing a new nuclear weapon that we might even contemplate using.

Not this president. I'm going to shut that program down, and we're going to make it clear to the world we're serious about containing nuclear proliferation.

This is reminiscent of the "peace at any cost" movements of by-gone years. If we will play nice, the other kids will too. That attitude kept the USSR in power for years and it wasn't till Reagan used the phrase "evil empire" and told the world he was going ahead with the SDI that the USSR paid attention. Without ongoing research and improvements of our military abilty we may end up with parity with N. Korea. Now that would be nice to the likes of the old tie-dyed crowd but could be disastrous to the world in general and the US in particular. Sen. Kerry has been against many military tools for the US since he has been in the Senate. I hope this is a position noted by those who plan to vote in this election.

An Analogy

I began thinking about the Texas war for Independence from Mexico. I many ways it was similar to the American war of Independence. During the Texas war, the Texans were handed their heads time after time. Goliad, The Alamo, and many smaller less known battles. Santa Anna chased Houston and his troops across Texas with not one Texan victory. Then at a little place called San Jacinto, Houston took a stand and in a period of twenty minutes changed history forever. Washington suffered much the same setbacks until Trenton, when the tide turned.
Where am I going here? If the American or Texan forces had leaders like Kerry and his ilk instead of men like Washington, Houston, Travis, Fannin etal. neither effort would have been successful. After the first setback, we would have cut and ran or offered a surrender.

Kerry v Bush

I watched the debate and have to give Kerry the lead on style. Substance was basically a draw. Bush stayed on message even though he was the one getting the harball questions. No mention or questions to Kerry on his Senate voting record but he did mention his service in Viet Nam several times. Kerry will make points with the ones who have not been following his record and his waffling rhetoric during the campaign so he will be likely to get a bump. Still more nuance than substance however. Kinda Clintonesque in style over substance area. Bottom line, Kerry by a nose in the debate. If the future debates go this way and Cheney doesn't hit a home run with Edwards this race could be deja vu all over again.

Bush missed several chances to insert knife and twist, don't know why. The "global test" statement by Kerry was a perfect,opportunity.