A companion to the official Kerry-Edwards 2004 campaign website.

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

A Message for Mr Blackwell

By the way if you want to leave a "tasteful" message on Morton Blackwell's voice mail and tell him how much you liked the funny "purple heart band aids" he passed out at the Convention (250 of them wow he must sure love his country!), his voice mail is 703-247-2000. Just listen to the directions and hit 5 to leave a message.

Once again that's Morton Blackwell, from the Leadership Institute, passing out Purple Heart Band Aids to make fun of the allegations against Kerry. He is also bringing shame on his party for so gleefully exploiting wounded veterans.

His voice mail is 703-247-2000


Delegate Wears 'Purple Heart' Bandages

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/9540230.htm?1c


About Morton Blackwell

http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/01ABOUTUS/02MCBlackwell.htm

RNC Delegates mock wounded soldiers

http://www.democrats.org/blog/comment/00010934.html

The Official Heinz Stance on Partisanship

Heinz Website - Company Info
http://heinz.com/jsp/nonpartisan.jsp

"Heinz Ketchup is a non-partisan condiment that simply stands for great taste. It's enjoyed by Republicans, Democrats and Independents," said Debbie Foster, vice president of corporate communications for H.J. Heinz Company. "Heinz has been the favorite of Americans across the political spectrum for 135 years, and we have no intention of engaging in a political food fight now."

Thank God they're sticking to the issues! Let's all have a debate on good taste.

Claiming Bush had any kind of immediate and intelligent reaction to September 11, when video evidence proves he was more interested in the ending to The Pet Goat than knowing details of "America... under attack", is in bad taste.

Purple Heart Band-Aids on RNC delegates, passed out by Morton Blackwell, are not in good taste.

Claiming the Iraqi people are freer, when denying them justice for the horrible abuses of Abu Ghraib by withholding evidence from the world is in awful taste.

John Edwards is right when he says, if you look at what we will do, that which they can not do, it is a difference.

Safe and Saferer

We're SAFER!!

[yaaaaay!]

But we're not yet SAFE!!

[yaaay! Wait, did he say]

That's RIGHT! We're so much SAFER!

[yay! safety's great!]

But we're not yet SAFE!

[but he just said, with the safer, doesn't that mean we aren't gonna, that the al qaeda won't...]

SAFE! SAFER!

SAFE! SAFER!

LET'S ALL HAVE SOME KOOL-AID

Are you better off?

These brightly-colored charts show net jobs created, stock market value, and unemployment under the last three Presidents.

http://www.buzzflash.com/AreYouBetterOff/default.htm
The Writing on the Wall says,

Clinton good, Bush bad.

The politics of fear and the audacity of hope

In their speeches tonight, Giuliani and McCain focused primarily on scaring the bejeebus out of the American people. If goal number one was to keep us scared, goal number two was to keep us confused. Confused on how Bush ran to war, confused on who attacked us on 9/11 and where they are now, confused on how the economy has buckled under Bush. Here are the two keynote speeches so you can read them and decide for yourself if there was any legitimacy in claiming Bush has responded appropriately to the terrorist attacks.

Senator McCain
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47237-2004Aug30.html

Former Mayor Giuliani
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47236-2004Aug30.html

Sickened? If you are, this may help settle you. It is John Edwards delivering a very comprehensible, very sensible, and very un-Bush outline of foreign policy.

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0830.html

John Edwards:

"In Iraq, we face a situation complicated by this administration’s failure to plan. The Secretary of Defense’s own commission to investigate the horrific abuses at Abu Ghraib prison could not have made it more clear: there was “a failure to plan for a major insurgency.”

"It also made clear that responsibility for the prison abuses rest at the top of the administration. The climate for these terrible abuses was set because this administration sent our troops into battle without a plan to win the peace. The President called it a “miscalculation.”

"You can call it anything you want. But the truth is, it was a failure of leadership. Because of this administration’s failures, Iraq is a mess today. And it probably will be the day we take office. It didn’t have to be this way. But it is. And we need new leadership to fix it. So let me tell you what John Kerry and I will do in Iraq.

"First, with a new president, we will earn the respect of our allies. We will ask more from them to ease the burdens on our troops so they can come home. For more than a year, John Kerry and I have called for NATO to be involved with Iraq. We will ask NATO to accelerate the training of Iraq’s security forces -- and bring in 4,000 NATO troops to ensure that Iraq’s elections run smoothly. We will also ask that they play a much greater role in the training of Iraqi security forces.

"Second, we also will work with Iraq’s neighbors so they know in clear and unmistakable terms, we are going to do everything we can to make this succeed. Iraq’s neighbors must respect its borders and not interfere in Iraq’s democratic transition. We must ensure that countries like Syria stop harboring former criminals from Saddam Hussein’s regime. And we must ensure that Iran does not support uprisings in places like Najaf. John and I will not let these or other countries stand in the way of a stable and democratic Iraq.

"And third, we will ask our allies to do more. We can ask them to do more to help Iraq’s economy. We can ask them to forgive Iraq’s enormous debt and participate in the reconstruction. I think it’s time that our allies and not just Halliburton rebuild Iraq.

"This is what we will do. This is what they can’t do and that is a difference. "

delivered in Wilmington, NC

Also today, William Saletan has a very snappy retort to the speeches by both McCain and Giuliani. An excellent read for knocking back the lies about Kerry and his record.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2105912/

Sunday, August 29, 2004

"A Catastrophic Success"

Was it the goal all along to create a catastrophe?

Does Bush even know what the word means?

From blog.johnkerry.com, August 29

John Edwards today released the following statement in response to President Bush’s statement that the challenges we face in Iraq are a result of a “catastrophic success – being so successful so fast that an enemy that should have surrendered or been done in escaped and lived to fight another day:” [Time magazine, 8/29/04]

“President Bush now says his Iraq policy is a catastrophic success. He’s half right. It was catastrophic to rush to war without a plan to win the peace. It was catastrophic to ignore the warnings of the military leadership about the risks of an unstable post-war Iraq. It was catastrophic to dismiss warnings of creating chaotic terrorists havens as today’s New York Times accurately describes. And it was catastrophic to tell the American public that rebuilding Iraq would not burden the American taxpayers with a bill of $200 billion and rising.

“The most disturbing part of the president’s statement is the suggestion that somehow our military is at fault for moving too fast before the enemy was ‘done in.’ Our troops fought magnificently in Iraq. Their efforts can only be described as an unqualified success. I didn’t think ‘shock and awe’ was designed to move slowly.

“A Commander-in-Chief should never take our nation to war without a plan to win the peace. Real leadership means taking responsibility for your decisions good and bad. Our troops and our nation deserve better.

“In one sense, President Bush is right with his new campaign slogan ‘catastrophic success.’ His successful misleading of the American public is truly catastrophic.”

Saturday, August 28, 2004

The Depths of Abu Ghraib

I believe there is evidence that the Abu Ghraib abuses involved rape, and videotapes exist that are far worse than we could imagine. From Seymour Hersh's statements to the ACLU in San Francisco, July 7 2004. His speech starts at 1:07:40

Streaming video of Hersh's speech (starts at 1:07:40)
http://stream.realimpact.net/?file=clients/aclu/conf2004/20040707_aclu_AmericaAtACrossroads_300_edit.rm

Transcript
http://www.pastpeak.com/archives/2004/07/post_1.htm
Excerpt

"Some of the worst things that happened that you don’t know about. OK? Videos. There are women there. Some of you may have read that they were passing letters out, communications out to their men. This is at [Abu Ghraib], which is about 30 miles from Baghdad — 30 kilometers, maybe, just 20 miles, I'm not sure whether it's — anyway. The women were passing messages out saying please come and kill me because of what’s happened. And basically what happened is that those women who were arrested with young boys, children, in cases that have been [video] recorded, the boys were sodomized, with the cameras rolling, and the worst above all of them is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking. That your government has, and they’re in total terror it’s going to come out. It’s impossible to say to yourself, how did we get there, who are we, who are these people that sent us there."

We must bring criminal proceeding against the top military brass for 1) approving of sadistic torture techniques and 2) not stopping other abuses when they occured, and 3) covering it up for as long as they have.

A Few Good Men

http://www.whysanity.net/monos/fewgood.html

Jessep: You want answers?

Kaffee: I think I'm entitled to them.

Jessep: You want answers?

Kaffee: I want the truth!

Jessep: You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives...You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.We use words like honor, code, loyalty...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!

Kaffee: Did you order the code red?

Jessep: (quietly) I did the job you sent me to do.

Kaffee: Did you order the code red?

Jessep: You're goddamn right I did!!

************

While it's true that we have men standing on the wall to protect our freedom, we must hold accountable those who use illegal means to achieve these noble ends.

Friday, August 27, 2004

Bush, Cheney, Rummfeld, Ashcroft v. The United States

http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html

Article 1 (powers granted to Congress)

Section 8

Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

That means if you sign a memo that redefines how you treat captures on land and water...

http://www.c-span.org/pdf/prisonerfinalreport.pdf

...it has to be a law that goes through Congress.

Of course, I don't think Congress would pass the "Nudity, Dogs, and Sleep Deprivation" bill of 2002 now would they?

Laws were broken people. Time to get serious. Kerry on.

Ben Barnes Helps Bush Dodge Vietnam

Ben Barnes
Former Lt. Governor of Texas

"I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard when I was Lt. Governor of Texas and I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I did it. I got a lot of other people into the National Guard because I thought that's what people should do when you're in office, you helped a lot of rich people. And I walked through the Vietnam Memorial the other day and I looked at the names of the people who died in Vietnam, and I became more ashamed of myself than I'd ever been. Because it was the worst thing I did was help a lot of wealthy supporters, and a lot of people who had family names of importance get into the National Guard and I'm very sorry for that and I'm very ashamed and I apologize to you, the voters of Texas."

Barnes says he regrets getting Bush into Texas Air National Guard in 1968
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/2764455

View the video
http://69.59.167.160/

Reading makes a country great.

The Internet makes us SPECTACULAR!

Kerry on.

To Uncover (An Election Year Checklist)

-Who leaked Valerie Plame's identity to douchebag for freedom Bob Novak?

-Who is in Dick Cheney's secret energy task force?

-Who revealed that Khan, the Pakistani computer hacker who was actually working on our side, was the source for the recent terror alert raise to orange in NY, NJ, DC? Wasn't that a mistake?

-What other blatant violations of law and public trust occured in regards to the Abu Ghraib abuse?

-Why did Bush sit still for 7 minutes when he was told "America is under attack"? Who did he think was running the country when he was hearing all about that great goat story?

-Why didn't the EPA warn New Yorkers that the air was unsafe to breathe after 9/11? Did it have to do with the NYSE opening the following Monday? Return to normalcy indeed.

-Why does the President go on a bass fishing show to promote his folksy image when grocery stores in my state (CA) have to place warnings on eating fish because of high levels of mercury?

-Why was the intelligence we used to go to war so bad, and why didn't anyone think to correct the presumptions?

Butting Heads

They say the country is deeply polarized, just about 50-50. Well I of course will be supporting John Kerry so sometimes it seems strange to me that half of the country still supports Bush. I understand that there are issues like abortion and gay marriage where there can be no compromise, they are absolutely against these things and will not support a candidate that allows for either. But the Republicans I know keep making the same arguements about how they are so good at keeping us safe from terrorism, and how we are fighting the War on Terror in the best way possible.

This is outrageous. We are not fighting the War on Terror responsibly, we are using torture as a means of interrogation and deliberately confusing a real war with a metaphorical war. To fight "the war on terror" involves checking Visas, controlling immigration, airport security. To fight a war in Iraq requires tanks, missiles, jet fighters, air craft carriers, etc. These are obviously two different wars we're talking about now.

So I recently had a conversation with my friend Bret, who is a hard core Republican. And I asked him if he though Rummsfeld should resign because of Abu Ghraib. He said no. Turns out Bret doesn't follow current events very closely.

I printed up for him page 112 of the Schlesinger report which is a chart entitled "Evolution of Interrogation Techniques- GTMO". I explained that this chart is the irrefutable proof that Rummsfeld did in fact order techniques that would legally be defined as torture by the US Code and the Geneva Conventions. After I had shown it to him, Bret stood by his viewpoint, declaring that he does not care if non-Americans are tortured if it is to protect Americans. I pointed out that Americans probably were tortured at Gitmo, because it's not just foreigners being detained there. I also pointed out that the Bill of Rights in Ammendment 9 does not allow for the Constitution to be used to deny people their rights.

My friend's logic is absolutely screwy, and what is worse, he refuses to use evidence to back up his extremely emotional reaction to voting for Bush. For him, it is all emotional- he feels terrorized and is afraid that Al Qaeda is deperately trying to kill him, and me, and everyone we know. He believes that all steps taken by the current government are necessary and will not be easily swayed by even the most irrefutable proof of malfeasance or abuse of power.

I hope those that find this blog are more open minded than my friend.

The goal of this website is to provide irrefutable evidence that Bush is wrong for this country. You can be for Bush, you can be for Kerry, but you are no longer allowed to be ignorant. If the facts support Kerry, and I believe they do, then the American people have the right to hear the facts.

Kerry's speech on Iraq War Resolution

http://www.independentsforkerry.org/uploads/media/kerry-iraq.html

"If we do wind up going to war with Iraq, it is imperative that we do so with others in the international community, unless there is a showing of a grave, imminent--and I emphasize "imminent"--threat to this country which requires the President to respond in a way that protects our immediate national security needs. " -John Kerry

I think careful study of the bill that Kerry voted for show that he was not voting for war, he was voting for a series of measures including weapons inspectors, UN support, and evidence of WMDs in order to put pressure on Saddam that was backed by US military forces. After 6 months of failing to comply with the terms of the IWR, Bush invaded Iraq anyways. Somehow I can't see the wisdom in violating the UN to enforce Iraq's former violations against the UN.

Democractic National Convention speeches

Streaming video of the best speeches from the DNC. Some are excerpts. Enjoy!

John Edwards
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072804-19v.htm

Barack Obama
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072704-14v.htm

Howard Dean
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072704-13v.htm

Wes Clark
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072904-17v.htm

Dennis Kucinich
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072804-13v.htm

Al Gore
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072604-18v.htm

Al Sharpton
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072804-26v.htm

Teddy Kennedy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072704-12v.htm

Hilary Clinton
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072604-21v.htm

Bill Clinton
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072604-20v.htm

Jimmy Carter
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072604-19v.htm

Ron Reagan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072704-15v.htm

Vanessa Kerry
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072904-21v.htm

Alexandra Kerry
(hear the amazing hamster CPR story!)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072904-22v.htm

Theresa Heinz Kerry
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072704-16v.htm

John Kerry
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/politics/072904-24v.htm

Vietnam-era Military Records

John Kerry's Full Naval Records
http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/military_records.html

John Kerry's DD 214
http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/jkmilservice/DD214.pdf

line 13 reads, character of service was "honorable".

George Bush's DD214 is still MIA. Could this be because he was not discharged honorably?

http://www.awolbush.com/kerry-vs-bush.asp

The Left Coaster bangs,
"release the DD214! release the DD214!"

Remember the Bill of Rights?

The Bill of Rights
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/index.html

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

---------------------------

Bush has broken Ammendments 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

violations:
1- too many to count
(2 and 3 are ok for now... ammendment 2 is strong in Iraq)
4- search and seizure, see Ashcroft and PATRIOT act
5- applies to all except terrorists
6- ...except terrorists
7- ...except terrorists
8- ...except terrorists and Iraqi carjackers
9- except post 9/11
10- except for gay marriage

I would anticipate the main platform of the GOP convention will be: A New U.S. Constitution For The New Age of Terror. The old one has been mangled so badly we may never get back to those old ideals of freedom, privacy, and justice.

Fay and Schlesinger reports

Fay
http://www.c-span.org/pdf/armyabughraib.pdf

Schlesinger
http://www.c-span.org/pdf/prisonerfinalreport.pdf

It is apparent that something went horribly wrong with this country's intelligence gathering operations. A great deal is still being withheld from the American people. As we learn more, though, we can continue to put pressure on those who are chiefly responsible for this mess- Donald Rummsfeld, John Ashcroft, Dick Cheney, and George Bush.

Review of Four Trials, by John Edwards

First of all, this book is extremely emotionally wrenching. John is a compelling storyteller, and manages to work in so much detail about the people in his family, and the people he worked with professionally, that you are truly affected by the way things turn out for these people. Whether it is a lawsuit that could determine whether a child will be taken care of financially, or the path John takes from mill family to law school to fatherhood, John Edwards is truly well defined by his life story and the lives of those he encounters.

The trials themselves are quite riveting. Almost all of them have shown up in right-wing hate speech from time to time, like Ann Coultier. To pre-empt your emotional responses to these real-life cases, read Four Trials! Trial One is about a negligent doctor overdosing a man on Antabuse. Trial Two is about a negligent doctor and liable hospital that incorrectly delivered a woman's baby. Trial Three is about suing a trucking company on behalf of Josh, the 4 year old whose parents were killed in a crash. Trial Four is about a 5 year old girl who was very badly mangled in a ghastly way by a swimming pool cover incorrectly installed.

All of these cases have their specific details as to why they were cases that deserved to be argued, and Edwards obviously includes them because he feels their outcomes were just. It is about accountability, and putting people above the bottom line. If you can save a few bucks by telling your truck drivers they get paid by the mile but can only work 12 hours a day, you should be held accountable for the deaths of people killed in accidents by your speeding truck drivers. Edwards also argues in two of the trials that a hospital is not a hotel, and that doctors do make mistakes, but there should be adequate safeguards to prevent medical accidents and if there aren't, the hospital should have to pay for damages.

Ok so final review: A+. Definitely one of the must-read books for this election season. Finish it before Nov 2 so you can tell everyone you know about it.

My last commentary is, please think for yourselves in regards to the malpractice-trial lawyer hysteria being kicked up by Rethugs. Four Trials presents real families, affected by very real tragedy, and it certainly shows Edwards as a champion for those hurt by negligent corporations! Now if only he will bring the case against Halliburton and Titan and CACI and Carlyle for war profiteering and price gouging while our troops were incurring loss of life and limb for their interests!!

KERRY ON!

Music to read along to

As you read the writing on the wall you may wish to stimulate other dimensions of your thinking. Jazz proves to be exceptionally effective in this regard. From anywhere in the world you can stream 24 hour jazz straight from New Orleans.

http://www.wwoz.org/live_broadcast_stream_wm.html

WWOZ is the official musical soundtrack to the Writing on the Wall. Enjoy!

Launch

Welcome to the Writing on the Wall. Here you will find that which we can prove to be true and all that there is to know.