Joe Conason: Triumph of the W.

From Salon.com:

Trying to counter the success of Michael Moore, Karl Rove's men in Hollywood are rushing to release a pro-Bush epic, "The Big Picture." But are they violating federal campaign law?

Good grief. Joe Conasan reports that the Bushies are going to attempt a Michael Moore-like film. I can't help but smile, knowing that their reverse-midas touch will surely result in yet another fuckup, one that will yet again be rationalized, somehow, by their established base, while managing to turn off still more undecideds (and even some previously Bush-leaning decideds).

Seriously, on my run today, here in Mount Pleasant Michigan, all I saw were Kerry stickers on cars. I spotted almost ten of them (it was a really, really long run). The polls are looking good too. If we can manage to have a fair election, I think this thing might be over. Hopefully that won't be TOO big an "if."

Or, with any luck, Kerry will win by such a handy margin that Florida-style hijinks won't be a deciding factor. Hey, one can hope. But it's looking less and less like a dream scenario every day. Though I DO hope that the polls don't show TOO wide a margin as election day approaches. I have really been looking forward to record voter turnout this year, and if Kerry is leading by a wide margin, some voters will stay home. And that can be bad. Just ask former Michigan Governor Jim Blanchard, who, along with the rest of the state, was surprised to find out he lost his reelection bid to corpulent Republican John Engler. This was in 1990. Blanchard was leading in the polls so much that many voters stayed home. And we spent the nineties with that gasbag Engler in Lansing. Well, not me, I left in the fall of 1993, returning just in time to vote for the foxy Dem Jennifer Granholm for Governor.

...Blah blah blah. Anything to keep from going to bed tonight, apparently. :)

Sidney Blumenthal: "Isn’t this a democracy?"

The question was asked by a 55-year-old social studies teacher attempting to attend an appearance by President Bush in Traverse City, Michigan, but was denied entrace because she was wearing a Kerry stickeron her blouse. "Isn’t this a democracy?" Not if you want to see the President, apparently. It's easy to make fun of, but it also shows how little substance there is to the man when he can only handle scripted questions and comments from an audience made solely of supporters. Reason number 5482304 to vote this chump out of office. And why he is finally trailing Kerry in the polls (people are figuring this out).

Read this brief op-ed piece on our soverign President.

Ted Rall: NYC to GOP: DROP DEAD

Wow. Read this scathing op-ed piece by political cartoonist Ted Rall. (thanks to Sandy for the link)

A poll cited by the local ABC affiliate shows 83 percent of New Yorkers don't want their city to host the Republican National Convention. And many of them are planning to do something about it.

I had no idea that New Yorkers were so hostile to the idea of the Republicans invading their city for the convention. But I guess it doesn't surprise me. New York City really is everything that the Republicans hate, chock full of gays, minorities, immigrants, liberals, and poor people. It's no wonder they've not held a convention there for 150 years. It is very nearly like them holding it in San Francisco. But the Bush administration has used 9/11 for political gain pretty much since 9/12/01, so get ready for a full week of necrophilia. The bastards. Good luck, I say, to the New Yorkers in their urban war against the GOP.

Reuters: 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Set for Oct. 5 Release on DVD

I was just saying to someone the other day that there are still many, many people who have not seen Fahrenheit 9/11 because they never go out to see films, for one reason or another, but will jump on it when it hits the shelves at their local video store. And it's no surprise that Michael Moore is hustling to get the DVD onto said shelves before election day.

Well, a release date has been announced.

And Amazon.com is already taking preorders.

Arianna Huffington: When the personal is political

I've been meaning to write about this whole (New Jersey Governor) Jim McGreevey thing, in the context of my strong belief in gay marriage and in bringing an end to GLBT stigmas/homophobia/discrimination, when that cool babe Arianna Huffington finally did it for me. Read it here.

She's right. If we could just bring equality to the GLBT community, we could save a whole lot of people a whole lot of pain. Like, for example, McGreevey's wife and daughters, in addition to McGreevey himself.

Salon.com: The whole world is watching

According to Salon.com, there are concerns that if anti-Bush militants violently disrupt the GOP convention, undecided voters could become convinced that their vote should go to Bush. And the precedent is that this is exactly what happened in 1968.

Yikes.

Read about it here.

Jim Rassman: Shame on the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush

Jim Rassman: "John Kerry saved my life. Now his heroism is being questioned."

Jim Rassman, a Republican and a veteran who served under Kerry, recently wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. He told the story of how John Kerry saved his life. And he concluded with these words on the "Swift Boat" veterans: "[W]hen the noise and fog of their distortions and lies have cleared, a man who volunteered to serve his country, a man who showed up for duty when his country called, a man to whom the United States Navy awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, will stand tall and proud. Ultimately, the American people will judge these Swift Boat Veterans for Bush and their accusations. Americans are tired of smear campaigns against those who volunteered to wear the uniform. Swift Boat Veterans for Bush should hang their heads in shame."

Damn straight.

Washington Post: Younger Voters Rapidly Deserting Bush

Hey, aren't the kids always ahead of the curve on new trends? Yeah, I think so too.

NO MORE YEARS! NO MORE YEARS! NO MORE YEARS!

Rolling Stone: Mad Dog

There is a profile of the insidious and loathesome Bill O'Reilly in the latest Rolling Stone:

"Shut up!" and other deep thoughts from the angry mind of Bill O'Reilly. The truth about Fox News' number-one bigmouth.

Here's a taste:

"(The O'Reilly Factor is) In short, amazing TV -- the modern media equivalent of witnessing a Christian torn apart by lions, with a touch of opera buffo thrown in. (Boycott Canada?) It mattered not that most of what O'Reilly said bears no relation to the truth. The Paris Business Review doesn't exist, and the "billions" of dollars France supposedly lost reflect figures dating to the 2001 recession, predating by two years O'Reilly's call for a ban on buying French goods (since then, French exports to America have actually gone up)."

Personally, I think it's profoundly irresponsible the way O'Reilly, like Limbaugh, Hannity, and Coulter, make up facts and citations. Though I guess it's no more irresponsible than the same actions so regularly undertaken by the Bush administration.

And isn't such activity a violation of the 9th commandment? Well, perhaps that's a debatable point, but there is surely a place in Hell reserved for each and every one of them. Fucking liars.