PResident Evil

Look what they're doing to signs in L.A.

And Milla Jovovich used to be so hot. Thanks to Brad for this one.

Robert Novak

Still a douchebag.

A little more about....

Poland. Seems like they might not be the strong ally Bush makes them out to be.

Ten Reasons Why Kerry Won

1. He looked like a president. If I knew he was the one making our foreign policy decisions, I would feel comfortable knowing he was the one making the choices.

2. He successfully avoided looking like a "flip-flopper" or a "wimp." He gave his most straightforward answer yet as to his position on Iraq. Better yet, he turned it against Bush.

KERRY: Well, you know, when I talked about the $87 billion, I made a mistake in how I talk about the war. But the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse?

Boo-ya.

3. Bush looked like a wimp. An indecisive, wishy-washy, deer-in-the-headlights, Help-Me-Karen-Hughes, whiny, wimp. The whole night. From start to finish. He did not look like a commander-in-chief.

4. Split screens. Bush didn't want them. Now we see why.

5. In fact, the Bush team set forth all kinds of rules that were geared to favor him, and Kerry STILL crushed him.

6. And Bush was supposed to have a decisive edge on foreign policy, and Kerry STILL crushed him.

7. Poland. My favorite moment of the debate.

Kerry: Secondly, when we went in, there were three countries: Great Britain, Australia and the United States. That's not a grand coalition. We can do better.

LEHRER: Thirty seconds, Mr. President.

BUSH: Well, actually, he forgot Poland.

POLAND? Not to pick on the Polish, but this is supposed to comfort us? That the fourth county is freakin' POLAND?

My initial thought was that Kerry left Poland out intentionally so Bush would mention Poland and the American people would collectively say "that's all you have?"

Since then, I've seen some suggestion that Poland actually wasn't part of the initial coalition and Bush made a mistake or lied. I'm looking for a definitive answer. I'll let you know when I find one.

8. This exchange...

KERRY: Let me just quickly say, at the current pace, the president will not secure the loose material in the Soviet Union -- former Soviet Union for 13 years. I'm going to do it in four years. And we're going to keep it out of the hands of terrorists.

LEHRER: Ninety-second response, Mr. President.

BUSH: I don't think we want to get to how he's going to pay for all these promises. It's like a huge tax gap. Anyway, that's for another debate.

Wow. Oh my. Bush just admitted that he sacrificed our national security and our efforts to eliminate nuclear materials in Russia because he wanted a tax break. I hope the press seizes on this one. I haven't heard it mentioned much yet.

9. Insta-polls

10. The Republicans admit it. Former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough.... "As far as the debate goes, I don't see how anybody could look at this debate and not score this a very clear win on points for John Kerry."

And Rudy Giuliani and John Stewart on the Daily Show.... All Rudy had was talking points about flip-flops, and Big Bad John schooled him. The Republican lackeys standing behind Rudy looked stunned by what they had seen go down the whole evening.

Holy crap!

Click here NOW! ABC News seems to have posted the AP post debate article a bit early. They might take it down before you have a chance to take a look, but try now! Credit goes once again to Eschaton for finding this.

I saw the Blimp!

Yes, this_one. Lets call it Ashcroft One. It's full of hot air. Just like him (ba-dum. *cymbal crash*)

I saw the "security blimp" hovering right above Crystal City as I went out to lunch today. I'm not saying everyone in DC should be paranoid now. But I'd be careful if I were a "K Street Hooker."

Hey is there a debate tonight?

Hmm. Seemed to have missed that. I wish someone with a blog would have said something about that.

Honestly, Bush is a good debater, and the rules are set up in his favor, but Kerry can definitely pull this thing out. And he's got Carville and Lockhart and Begala and Clinton and who-knows-who-else helping him out on this thing. I doubt I can give any advice that's worth listening too.

But if I had to make a guess as to what his experts are telling him to do, it's probably something like what Yglesias is suggesting. Throw out the rules, and if Bush complains or backs out of further debates, he looks like a wimp. Which would make him come apart at the seams.

Bush wants to make Kerry look like a flip-flopper. "What Kerry needs to do" is make the debate about something else. Even if it's his own defiance of the rules. You can't be a "wimp" and defy the rules, right? And if Bush can't stand the heat, he can't be a "strong leader," can he?

There is a risk here, that Bush will know this is Kerry's plan and have his own plan in place to counteract it. But either way, it changes the dynamic of the debates, and the more dynamic they are, the worse for Bush.

You like how I said "What Kerry needs to do?" I think I'm the first person to ever use that phrase, right?

I officially endorse the name "Senators"

I got many good suggestions yesterday as to what to name Washington's new baseball team. I kind of liked the "K Street Hookers" (between 14th and 18th at about 2 am for those of you who are looking. Sickos.) Imagine the mascot.
But in all serious, they've gotta go with the Senators. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to baseball, and I think the name would generate alot of goodwill among the older residents of the city.
The other reason I endorse "Senators" is, of course, the irony of the name. As you are well aware, DC doesn't actually have Senators, or Representatives, for that matter. And the city, rightfully so, likes to raise a big stink about this.
Mayor Anthony Williams opposes the name "Senators" because the city doesn't have any real ones. I have to respectfully say he has it all wrong. That's exactly WHY you name it the Senators. You use the team name as a tool to GET representation. Come on. The city is bold enough to put "Taxation without Representation" on license plates. This move wouldn't even be that bold, it's a move based on tradition, after all.
Williams favors the team name "Grays," in honor of the Homestead Grays, the Negro League team that used to be in the city. I'm all for honoring the Negro League, but I'm not big on the name. What's more boring than "Gray?" Isn't it pretty much by definition the most boring color in the spectrum?
I suppose if that's what they go with, I'll get used to it in time. Hey, I'm just happy to have baseball in DC, and I'll support it regardless of name. But for my two cents, the Senators is the only real choice.

Speaking of Justice Scalia and orgies....

Look what Eschaton found.

More from Jimmy Carter

This time, he's talking about Iraq.

Another Republican son for Kerry

Rising_Hegemon has the scoop.

Washington Times hypocrisy

Today, the Washington Times ran a syndicated U.S._News_column from John Leo entitled "Making CBS play fair." It's clear the WashTimes still hasn't had enough of "Rathergate." Of course their own columnist, John McCaslin, commited a much more serious breach_of_journalistic_integrity last week.

You see, John McCaslin made a claim, repeated by Fox News and others, that Kerry said in a Crossfire interview that "We know that Iraq is a danger to the United States, and we reserve the right to take pre-emptive action whenever we feel it's in our national interest." His source was Republican Congressman Peter King, who claimed to have a tape of this episode of Crossfire, from 1997, as he was a guest as well. Now you would assume that McCaslin would watch this tape, copy the quote verbatim, and report. Either that or get a transcript, but unfortunately, McCaslin claims, no transcripts were available for shows in 1997.

However, as Media_Matters points out, this is simply untrue. With a simple Nexis search, they were able to show that McCaslin flat-out misquoted Kerry. Kerry never advocated a doctrine of pre-emption. Either McCaslin is grossly incompetent, or he deliberately smeared Kerry, possibly acting in cahoots with a Republican congressman.

Back to Leo's column that appeared in the Washington Times today. Let's see how his statements about CBS might apply to the McCaslin fiasco....

"Why was CBS so determined to broadcast its alleged scoop about George Bush's National Guard service before the story was properly checked out?.... Why didn't CBS just wait a week and do some elementary checking?" Why was the Washington Times in a rush to publish McCaslin's column without getting a Crossfire transcript?

"What CBS produced was the worst press scandal of our era, revealing a depth of ineptitude and arrogance that even the network's worst critics hardly suspected. " Worst press scandal? By coverage, maybe, but don't you think what the WashTimes did was a wee bit more mischievous?

Come on, Washington Times, do the right thing. If you are calling for Dan Rather's head, you better make some changes under your own roof.

Team name for new DC baseball team....

Please leave any ideas for team names in my comments section. Serious suggestions and suggestions of teams that represent what is going on in Washington these days both accepted. Here's a few to start off....

Washington Monuments
Washington Freedom (that was our women's soccer team name, but the league went under)
Washington Nationals
Washington Shrubs
Washington Chimps
Washington Wolfowitzes
Washington Neocons
Washington Warmongers
Washington Doublespeak
Washington Puppets
Washington Roving Roves
Washington Gentrification
Washington Sprawl
Washington Appropriations
Washington Filibuster
Washington Bloggers
Washington Inflated Housing Costs

You get the idea. Your turn.

Baseball in DC!

I am so psyched to be getting a team here in DC. Here's to hoping DC is making an even trade, Bush for Baseball!

And now... The Shrub and The Scum of The Earth. Iran?

From O'Reilly's interview of Bush....

O'REILLY: Iran said yesterday: Hey, we're going to develop this nuclear stuff, we don't care what you think. You ready to use military force against Iran if they continue to defy the world on nuclear?
BUSH: My hope is that we can solve this diplomatically.
O'REILLY: But if you can't?
BUSH: Well, let me try to solve it diplomatically, first. All options are on the table, of course, in any situation. But diplomacy is the first option.

Oh, shit. Is this sort of like when all the options were on the table with Iraq?

The boss vs. The Scum of The Earth

Looks like O'Reilly saw the Springsteen story I linked to earlier, and, as Media Matter points out, he used the situation to make himself look like an ass.

Novakian (adj.) part 2

I saw this gem today at First_Draft.

"The officials outlined the reports after the columnist Robert Novak, in a column published Monday in The Washington Post, wrote that a senior intelligence official had said at a West Coast gathering last week that the White House had disregarded warnings from intelligence agencies that a war in Iraq would intensify anti-American hostility in the Muslim world. Mr. Novak identified the official as Paul R. Pillar, the national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia, and criticized him for making remarks that Mr. Novak said were critical of the administration. "

"A C.I.A. spokesman said Monday that Mr. Pillar was not available for comment and that his comments at the West Coast session had been made on the condition that he not be identified. "

So maybe it's time to reveal the Bush Administration official who outed Valerie Plame...

For those who didn't read my first post on Mr. Novak, read it now. What I'm trying to do is come up with a definition of the word "Novakian." The Daily Show hit it on the head with "douchebag," but I feel the need for a precise definition. Please post yours below.

The Boss vs. The Shrub

Why Springsteen just might be the most important musician around.

Thank you, First Draft...

Thanks to First_Draft for providing me with my first big break in the blogging world. It feels good to be getting a link from a very fine blog like this. I someday hope to have a blog as good as these guys.

Who are you? Who-who, who-who....

I've had this blog for a week, and I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of hits I'm getting. Especially today, the numbers seem to be taking off. I've strategically placed some links on other sites about the Jimmy Carter story and the Kerry ad, and I'm guessing that's what's bringing alot of you to my site.

I'd like to know what's bringing you to my blog so I can know how best to serve you. Please post some comments below, so I know who you are!

And back to Ohio....

So I posted earlier today that there has been major success in resgistering Dems in Florida and Ohio this summer. Then comes the Jimmy Carter story about disenfranchisement in Florida. Now, it looks like Republicans in Ohio might have some hijinks of their own.

Jimmy Carter says....

We could be in for more election trouble in Florida. Still waiting to hear what Rumsfeld says on the matter. I invite Secretary Rumsfeld and all y'all to leave your comments on this story below.

Don't Believe the Hype

Kerry's got the momentum. Dems are killing the Repubs in voter registration drives in Florida_and_Ohio.

Kerry's going to win this thing.

And now... Colin Powell....

Ouch. Liberal_Oasis has an interesting breakdown of Powell's Sunday talk show appearances. The most interesting quote comes for a Reuters article...

"We are fighting an intense insurgency," Powell said. "Yes it's getting worse and the reason it's getting worse is that they are determined to disrupt the election."

And Bush calls Kerry a pessimist.

Interesting thoughts....

about the possibility of an upcoming draft.

That's Slick Georgy for ya.