My job tonight is an easy one: to present to you one of this nation's authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders – and a good friend.

He was once a lieutenant governor – but he didn't stay in that office 16 years, like someone else I know. It just took two years before the people of Massachusetts moved him into the United States Senate in 1984.

In his 16 years in the Senate, John Kerry has fought against government waste and worked hard to bring some accountability to Washington.

Early in his Senate career in 1986, John signed on to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Bill, and he fought for balanced budgets before it was considered politically correct for Democrats to do so.

John has worked to strengthen our military, reform public education, boost the economy and protect the environment. Business Week magazine named him one of the top pro-technology legislators and made him a member of its "Digital Dozen."

John was re-elected in 1990 and again in 1996 – when he defeated popular Republican Governor William Weld in the most closely watched Senate race in the country.

John is a graduate of Yale University and was a gunboat officer in the Navy. He received a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three awards of the Purple Heart for combat duty in Vietnam. He later co-founded the Vietnam Veterans of America.

He is married to Teresa Heinz and they have two daughters.

As many of you know, I have great affection – some might say an obsession – for my two Labrador retrievers, Gus and Woodrow. It turns out John is a fellow dog lover, too, and he better be. His German Shepherd, Kim, is about to have puppies. And I just want him to know … Gus and Woodrow had nothing to do with that.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Senator John Kerry.

Bush Glosses Over Complex Facts in Speech

President Bush glossed over some complicating realities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the home front in arguing the case Americans are safer and his opponent cannot deliver.

On Iraq, Bush talked of a 30-member alliance standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States, masking the fact that U.S. troops are pulling by far most of the weight. On Afghanistan and its neighbors, he gave an accounting of captured or killed terrorists, but did not address the replenishment of their ranks — or the still-missing Osama bin Laden.

[edit]

And on education, Bush voiced an inherent contradiction, dating back to his 2000 campaign, in stating his stout support for local control of education, yet promising to toughen federal standards that override local decision-making.

Without really thinking, based on just emotion, spontaneous, I grabbed the arm of then-Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik (on Sept. 11) and I said to him, “Bernie, thank God, George Bush is our President.”

I say it again tonight ... I say it again tonight: thank God that George Bush is our President.

... this year's budget (document) contains 27 glossy photos of Mr. Bush. We see the president in front of a giant American flag, in front of the Washington Monument, comforting an elderly woman in a wheelchair ... and, of course, eating turkey with the troops in Iraq.

... Bill Clinton's budgets were illustrated with tables and charts, not with worshipful photos of the president being presidential.

... In this budget, as in almost everything it does, the Bush administration tries to blur the line between reverence for the office of president and reverence for the person who currently holds that office.

Operation Flight Suit was only slightly more over the top than other Bush photo-ops, like the carefully staged picture that placed Mr. Bush's head in line with the stone faces on Mount Rushmore. The goal is to suggest that it's unpatriotic to criticize the president, and to use his heroic image to block any substantive discussion of his policies.

... critics [have] no choice: they must point out that the man inside the flight suit bears little resemblance to the official image.

There are those who still say that there was no reason to liberate Iraq. They ask about weapons of mass destruction.

On September 11th in New York we learned that in the hands of a monster, a box cutter is a weapon of mass destruction. And Saddam Hussein was a monster -- a walking-talking weapon of mass destruction. It is good for the world that he is gone."

This Labor Day, Monday, September 6, the Sudan Campaign is inviting everyone to take a “day on” rather than a “day off” to protest the ongoing genocide in Sudan. Demonstrations have been held at the Sudan embassy everyday since June 29th, and they will continue. Over 50 persons have offered themselves for arrest by committing non-violent acts of civil disobedience to draw attention to the urgency and seriousness of the issue. Radio personality and activist, Joe Madison, has been a hunger strike for six weeks. In light of the UN findings that the Khartoum regime has not fully complied with the UN mandate issued over 30 days ago, it is time to move to a new level of pressure, economic.

The Sudan Campaign hopes to accomplish 3 goals at the Monday protest:

(1) To thank the Red Cross and other humanitarian aid organizations that have begun massive operations to feed the displaced and starving people of Darfur (celebrating the end to the fast of the Black Eagle, Joseph Madison)

(2) To decry the weakness of the response of the United Nations to the failure of the government of Sudan to comply fully with the mandate given them by the UN thirty days ago

(3) To announce and to launch a bold new strategy of our drive to bring peace to all of the people of the Sudan: Demand that U.S. citizens, their pension funds and their corporations divest themselves of all investments of money in their names in corporations doing business in the Sudan.

Please join us and/or distribute this flyer through your e-mail lists and encourage recipients to do the same.

Dutch FM urges Portugal to admit abortion ship

AMSTERDAM — In a bid to break a tense standoff in international waters, Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot asked Portugal on Thursday to allow a Dutch abortion ship to enter Portuguese territory.

In a telephone conversation with his Portuguese counterpart, Antonio Monteiro, the Christian Democrat CDA minister also said a Dutch parliamentary majority is urging Portugal to allow the ship to take on board Portuguese women.

The abortion ship is currently off the Portuguese coast in international waters, and Portugal has said it is willing to use force if necessary to prevent the ship from entering its territory.

Under the wing of the Dutch foundation Women on Waves, doctors on board the ship hope to provide the abortion pill to Portuguese women in international waters, where they can operate under Dutch legislation which allows such treatment. They also hope to distribute information.

Abortion is illegal in staunchly-Catholic Portugal except in situations where the mother's life is in danger. Termination is also allowed if there is a risk to the woman's physical or mental health, or in conditions such as sexual violence or possible congenital deformity.

Bot said in his conversation with Monteiro that Portugal was within its rights to refuse entry to the ship, but said he wanted to make an attempt to persuade the Portuguese government to change its mind.

I served with John Kerry.

Well, sorta.

I never rode on a swift boat with him. Heck, I never heard of a swift boat before this presidential campaign.

I wasn't in Vietnam with him. The closest I got to "in country" was an air base on Taiwan, where my unit provided logistical support for a facility that repaired fighter planes, some of which had flown the friendly skies of Nam.

We didn't wear the same uniform. Kerry was Navy; I was Air Force.

But I served with Kerry.

... My claim to having served with Kerry is misleading in the extreme. Similar claims by the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush are misleading in less extreme, but misleading still.

None of them served on Kerry's boat, although their ads suggest that they did. In varying degrees, these guys served with him in a broader sense, some in other swift boats, some up the chain of command.

... these (Swift Boat group) veterans are getting caught in the tangled web of their own deceit.

Larry Thurlow, another swift boat commander, has claimed Kerry didn't deserve his Bronze Star and third Purple Heart because he wasn't under enemy fire when he pulled an Army lieutenant out of the river and into his boat. But The Washington Post reported last week that Thurlow won his own Bronze Star for courage under fire in the very same incident.

Oops!

"I know John Kerry is lying about his first Purple Heart because I treated him for that injury," Louis Letson claims in the attack ad. But FactCheck.org a non-partisan, non-profit that "truth squads" political claims and ads across the spectrum, says medical records do not list Letson as the person who treated Kerry's injury.

Oops!

... While all these "Oopses" show clearly whose honesty and truthfulness really is in question (and it's not Kerry's), they do not speak to another central premise of the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush's attack ads: that Kerry betrayed veterans of Vietnam and his nation by becoming a vocal opponent of the war after leaving the Navy. ... Kerry did not betray me.

... When I made my commitment to the Air Force as a 20-year-old college student in 1967, I supported the war in Vietnam. When I went on active duty in 1969, I supported the war.

By the time I left the Air Force a few years later, I no longer supported the war. I supported the troops who were fighting it, as Kerry did, and I support them as veterans today, as Kerry does.

Halliburton Co., once run by Vice President Dick Cheney, said an internal probe found information suggesting that members of a consortium it helps lead considered bribing Nigerian officials to win business.

The world's No. 2 oilfield services company, which is also fighting accusations it overcharged on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, said late on Wednesday the probe concerns the multibillion dollar TSKJ Bonny Island liquefied natural gas plant project.

Talks of bribes took place at least 10 years ago, it said. Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive from 1995 to 2000. The Wall Street Journal, citing company officials, said there is no indication Cheney knew of improper activity.

Halliburton shares have nevertheless risen 15 percent in 2004. They closed Wednesday at $29.88, up from $26 at the start of the year.

"Might [John Kerry] have become the man finally to bind up the wounds of Vietnam? Yes, I believe he could have performed that healing ... He could have explained that although he remains deeply proud to have served his country in war, he is deeply sorry that in his proudly foolish youth he spoke such vile words about the other men who fought in that war, many of whom were still fighting when he dishonored them.

... Mr. Kerry could have begun the healing by saying something like this:

"Vietnam has been discussed and written about without an adequate statement of its full meaning. What is ignored is the way in which our experience during that period reflected in part a positive affirmation of American values and history, not simply the more obvious negatives of loss and confusion.

... What is missing and what cries out to be said is that neither one group nor the other from that difficult period of time has cornered the market on virtue or rectitude or love of country ...

We do not need to divide America over who served and how."

In fact, John Kerry did say something like that. The words quoted above are his words. He spoke them, in 1992, but he did not mean them.

The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) endorsement of Bush is on hold until after the ban expires.

"In a speech Friday formally launching the new Department of Homeland Security, President Bush blamed Congress for the (anti-terror) funding crisis ..." (CNN, 3-3-03)

"... President Bush blamed higher gasoline prices on what he called Democrat's blocking of key energy legislation ..." (Voice of America, 5-21-04)

"Aides said that President Bush blamed Larry Lindsey ... director of the National Economic Council, for many of the administration's economic missteps in recent months." (Detroit News, 12-7-02)

"President Bush blamed the weakness of the economy on 'the drumbeat to war,' which he attributed in turn to the news media." (Harper's, "Weekly Review," 8-5-03)

"A few weeks ago, President Bush blamed the European Union for prolonging hunger in the developing nations by refusing to import genetically modified crops." (NPR "All Things Considered," 6-20-03)

"President Bush blamed the slumping economy for the shrinking budget surplus, rather than his tax cut ..." (Associated Press, 8-25-01)

"Although President Bush blamed the CIA for allowing the discredited (Niger-uranium) statement to remain in his speech, he has expressed confidence in [CIA Director George] Tenet." (Voice of America, 7-16-03)

"U.S. popularity has plunged across much of the world amid mounting perceptions that the United States is running roughshod over other nations and doing too little to help poor countries, a report released yesterday concludes. ... President Bush blamed the trend on 'propaganda machines" bent on casting the United States 'in a bad light.' " (Cox News Service, 12-5-02)

Kiffmeyer recently decided that in order to vote in November every would-be voter in the state must show an ID reflecting an "exact match" to the file of names, driver's license numbers and dates of birth circulated by her office.

Such rules would have the effect of robbing the vote from thousands of state residents, including those who encounter errors in the information about them on Kiffmeyer's official list.

Minnesotans are not alone in facing gaps in electoral integrity from schemes like those concocted in 2000 by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris. A nationwide review reveals a disturbing pattern in closely contested states of Republican office-holders with close ties to the Bush-Cheney campaign: Remove eligible voters from official rolls and erect barriers to new or young voters and minorities who vote overwhelmingly Democratic.

An administrative law judge nixed Kiffmeyer's required ID matching in a ruling on July 22 but did not dismantle a second barrier she erected. Many county officials say her cumbersome voter-registration form deters would-be applicants. In St. Paul's Ramsey County alone, more than a third of 6,500 completed forms submitted earlier this year contained errors and were rejected.

Instead of allowing a clearer, easier form after learning of such problems, Kiffmeyer, cribbing a line from the Bush reelection playbook, demanded continuity amid a crisis she helped create. "We are in midstream in an election cycle," she told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "We have an application out there … and we'll continue to use that."

Yusef Himsa pled guilty to multiple criminal charges and is currently cooperating in the Detroit cell case.

His testimony has been of value, substantial value in that respect. Such cooperation is a critical tool in our war against terrorism, and those who may be contemplating terrorist activity are aware of the fact that there are others who had been involved in the terrorist network who are cooperating and providing information.

[edit]

It is a credit to our new investigative tools, carefully targeted and utilized, as well as it being a credit to the law enforcement community and our intelligence agencies and a cooperative public, and I would underscore a cooperative public, that we have not suffered a major terrorist attack in this country since September the 11th.

“Today’s convictions sends a clear message: The Department of Justice will work diligently to detect, disrupt and dismantle the activities of terrorist cells in the United States and abroad. We will commit every resource to preventing terrorist attacks, and sending those who aid our enemies to jail. Today’s verdict reaffirms our commitment to pursuing aggressively the evidence wherever it may lead.

“I congratulate the prosecutors and agents who worked tirelessly on this case. Because of their efforts, Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi faces up to 20 years in prison, Karim Koubriti faces up to 10 years in prison, and Ahmed Hannan faces up to five years in prison. I also thank the jurors in Detroit for the service they provided their country in hearing this trial.

“Every victory in the courtroom brings us closer to our ultimate goal of victory in the war on terrorism. The Department of Justice will continue its aggressive battle in the courts to ensure the safety and security of all Americans.”

"In its best light, the record would show that the prosecution committed a pattern of mistakes and oversights that deprived the defendants of discoverable evidence (including impeachment material) and created a record filled with misleading inferences that such material did not exist"

In a dramatic reversal, the Justice Department acknowledges its original prosecution of a suspected terror cell in Detroit was filled with a "pattern of mistakes and oversights" that warrant the dismissal of the convictions.

[edit]

The internal investigation of prosecutorial misconduct found enough problems that there is "no reasonable prospect of winning," the government conceded.

"It burns inside and the sentiments or the feelings that I had of abandonment in Rwanda are exactly the same that I feel today in regards to the Sudan."

The full report, made up of 1,200 refugee interviews, is on the desk of Secretary of State Colin Powell. It's unclear when the State Department will announce its conclusion.

But many of the experts - who have backgrounds in law and human-rights and criminal investigations, and experience in zones of ethnic cleansing, including Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo - said it was clear that the atrocities in Darfur needed to be stopped, whether or not they were called genocide.

"I was shocked by the scope of the tragedy," said Jan Pfundheller, who interviewed rape victims for the study. "What happened in Kosovo was evil. This is more vast and equally as evil."

"Obviously, there is evidence to bring a lot of indictments for war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva Convention," Brent Pfundheller said.

What is certain is that the threat of violence remains so intense, and the government's promises to secure the region so mistrusted, that no one here feels safe enough to return home. Darfurians are still on the run.

So terrified do they remain that some are hiding in caves, or pitching tents of twig and cloth under the thickets that sprout from the sand. They subsist on what little the desert yields. They collect rainwater to drink. They disperse their children for safekeeping and scurry as far from view as possible, trying to make themselves invisible.

“Rove said he typically went to Mr. Bush in the morning with a list of as many as two dozen topics and political questions scrawled in longhand. Mr. Bush is very engaged at the beginning of the conversation, but begins to flag before long, Mr. Rove said.

"‘He'll say, 'You're running out of airspeed and altitude,’ ’ Mr. Rove said."

“… if the question is, ‘Is it different running this time now that you're the president?’ the answer is yes. I’ve got a job to do.”

In our Aug. 3 article, "Kerry's Dubious Economics," we said Kerry based his claim that "our great middle class is shrinking" on some pretty stale numbers. We said his statement "may well be untrue" because it was based on 2002 figures and didn't account for recent economic growth. Now fresh numbers are available -- and Kerry's statement is looking a lot better.

Kerry's other economic statements remain at least as dubious as we reported. Recent figures show inflation-adjusted hourly earnings actually went up in July just as Kerry was announcing that "wages are falling," for example.

However, Kerry's description of a declining middle class is supported by new Census Bureau figures showing median household income failed to grow in 2003. And a look at income-distribution tables shows the decline that took place in middle-income households in 2001 and 2002, which we previously reported, may well have continued in 2003.

No funds available to the Central Intelligence Agency, the department of Defense, or any other agency or entity of the United States involved in intelligence activities may be obligated or expended for the purpose or which would have the effect of supporting, directly or indirectly, military or paramilitary operations in Nicaragua by any nation, group, organization, movement or individual.

[National Security Advisor Robert] McFarlane acknowledged ... having sent untruthful letter that withheld information requested by Congress. The letters, drafted in part by North and dated September 5 and 12, 1985, had denied "with deep personal conviction" any violation of the Boland amendments by the staff of the National Security Council. The letter to chairman Hamilton of the House intelligence committee had added, "It is equally important to stress what we did not do. We did not solicit funds or other support for military or paramilitary activities either from Americans or third parties...."

[edit]

Those assurances not only had concealed the truth but had been false.

On the stand, McFarlane refused to acknowledge that his letters to [Congress] had been lies. "You do not lie to the Congress," said McFarlane.... "It was often the case that congressmen would not always tell us everything on their agenda, and similarly the executive branch didn't always tell everything on its agenda to the Congress. You don't lie. You put your own interpretation on what the truth is."

"... my husband didn't want to go to war, but he knew the safety and security of the world depended on it."

"He'll always tell you what he really thinks."

"... he is a loving man, with a big heart. I've seen tears as he has hugged families who've lost loved ones."

"I've seen him return the salute of soldiers wounded in battle."

During the floor debate on the amendment, DeLay took the opportunity to serve up the kind of red meat that would play well in certain constituencies, particularly in a time of war. After referring to the ICC as "Kofi Annan's kangaroo court," he warned his colleagues of what they might face in November if they voted against the amendment: "If you want to go home to your constituents and tell them that you think their tax dollars should go to foreign countries who allow American soldiers to be imprisoned and shipped off to Brussels without their constitutional rights, then by all means vote 'no' on the Nethercutt Amendment."

A Maryland resident: Last October, [then-LCR leader Patrick] Guerrero stated that the Log Cabin Republicans could not endorse any Republican candidate -- including George Bush -- who backs a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Six months ago, Bush announced his support for just such an amendment.
Yet as recently as this morning's Post, we read about the Log Cabin Republicans' demand "that President Bush square his actions with his rhetoric of inclusiveness or risk losing their endorsement." The Log Cabin Republicans boldly drew a line in the sand, and George Bush crossed it. Yet six months later the LCRs are still considering an endorsement. This diminishes the group's credibility in the eyes of both non-gay Republicans and non-Republican gays. How will you overcome this?

Barron: The organization has made it clear for months that we traditionally make decisions about endorsement on the Presidential level AFTER the [Republican National Convention]. We are doing just that, our Board will make a decision in the coming days.

The humanitarian situation in Darfur continues to worsen, with ongoing violations and the rainy season at its peak which is hampering and disrupting the flow of international aid very often," Simon Pluess, spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program (WFP), told a news briefing.

Amanpour: The position of your government, is that you responded to a rebellion in the west, in retrospect, given that tens of thousands of people have been killed, that a million of have been displaced from their homes, that 2 million people now are dependent on outside aid, do you believe that the governments response, that the military campaign was too heavy, went too far?

Bashir: Really, its not a question of "is it too heavy or too far." The reaction was equal to their action. There were rebels who carried weapons against the state, they started the attack against positions of the state, they attacked 89 police stations, they attacked the Armed Forces, they entered Fasher -- the state capital, so the state had no option but to use force and I guarantee you that the force used was limited because this is an internal security and the principle is to use as little force as possible.

Amanpour: So you don't believe that you used excessive force?

Bashir: We did not use forces beyond what was necessary as evidence in that when the main operations were over, and before the suppression of the rebellion in its entirety which we could have done, we stopped operations when we quelled the rebellion and completely prevented their operations.

Amanpour: Do you think 30,000 to 50,000 deaths and a million people displaced, do you think it was worth it to win this war?

Bashir: The first thing is that we don't agree with these numbers, neither the number of deaths or the number of those displaced. We estimate that the number of deaths on all sides from the rebels and the government to not exceed 5,000 deaths, the displaced, of course all those numbers are exaggerated, the actual numbers are a lot less than those given.

* In the Republican primary for Florida's U.S. Senate race, Mel Martinez is so desperate to cut into Bill McCollum's social conservative base that Martinez has distributed a flier calling McCollum "the new darling of homosexual extremists." Why? He supported a hate-crimes bill. (Martinez neglected to explain why someone who voted pro-gay rights only 18% of the time in the '99 Congressional session would be a "darling" of gay people.)

* Two of Mel Martinez' leading campaign operatives are gay -- finance director Kirk Fordham and John Dowless, a political consultant retained by the Martinez campaign. But it gets even better than that. I'm told (not yet confirmed) that Fordham once worked for another homophobe, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma. And Dowless -- this is confirmed -- not only is the former director of the Christian Coalition of Florida, but the Washington Blade reports that "one reason he resigned from the Christian Coalition was because of his frustration at the group’s inability to push its agenda through the Florida Legislature as much as he would have liked."

... the St. Petersburg Times, one of the state's most influential newspapers, took the rare step of withdrawing its endorsement of Republican Mel R. Martinez ... The paper's stinging editorial chided Martinez for taking "his campaign into the gutter with hateful and dishonest attacks" against [McCollum].

President Bush rushed Tuesday morning to reverse his assertion that the war on terror cannot be won, trying to deflect a planned barrage of Democratic attacks by telling the nation's largest veterans group that "we are winning, and we will win."

Bush, asked about "this war on terror" in an interview aired Monday on NBC's "Today" show, had said: "I don't think you can win it."

But with Democrats castigating him as a defeatist, he told the annual convention of the American Legion that "in this different kind of way, we may never sit down at a peace table ... make no mistake about it: We are winning and we will win," he said, to applause.

BUSH'S "GAFFE" [Ramesh Ponnuru]
Looked terrible, until I actually read the exchange. He is clearly saying that the war cannot be won in four years; he is probably right; and the Democratic spin Jonah mentioned should not be taken seriously.

America has been in too many wars for any of our wishes, but not a one of them was won by being sensitive. President Lincoln and General Grant did not wage sensitive warfare -- nor did President Roosevelt, nor Generals Eisenhower and MacArthur. A "sensitive war" will not destroy the evil men who killed 3,000 Americans and who seek the chemical, nuclear and biological weapons to kill hundreds of thousands more. The men who beheaded Daniel Pearl and Paul Johnson will not be impressed by our sensitivity.

A “more sensitive” war on terror? What does that mean, handwritten thank-you notes to informants?

I just kind of shook my head when I heard that. With all due respect to the President, it just sounded so foolish. I can't imagine that al Qaeda is going to be impressed by sensitivity. (Laughter.)....This is kind of right-wing foolishness that certainly isn't appropriate for someone who would seek to be Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)

"Sensitive" isn't one of the adjectives most people want describing America's war on terrorism. It's like promising weapons systems "softer than a baby's bottom."

AND

George Bush has now promised to wage a more “sensitive” war on terror. There’s a campaign theme! And what else? Jackson Browne for Secretary of Defense? If the Kerry/Edwards operation cannot ensure that the whole country has heard this one by Election Day, then they just don’t know their business.

Rep. Edward L. Schrock (R-Va.) abruptly dropped out of his race for a third term yesterday, citing unspecified "allegations" that he said called into question his ability to represent his Virginia Beach district.

In a statement, Schrock, 63, did not address the nature of the allegations, but he said they "will not allow my campaign to focus on the real issues facing our nation and region." His chief of staff, Tom Gordy, refused any further comment last night.

Schrock is no moderate Republican. He's a a "family values" guy who is an outspoken co-sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment, has a 92% rating from the Christian Coalition and he's Pat Robertson's own congressman. Schrock doesn't even think that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" goes far enough--

[Schrock] supported asking enlistees whether they have had homosexual experiences in an effort to try to keep gays from serving.

"You're in the showers with them, you're in the bunk room with them, you're in staterooms with them," Schrock told the Virginian-Pilot. "You just hope no harm would come by folks who are of that persuasion. It's a discipline thing."

In other words-- if he is indeed gay or bisexual-- he's been living in a HUGE self-hating closet, has furthered his career with his anti-gay beliefs and represents a very conservative, very unforgiving district.

Dropping out the race and refusing to address (or deny) the allegations are not the actions of a straight man.

"Most people in this city spend a lot of time riding subways, buses and other mass transit. So we have a lot more time to read than most Americans -- time to read newspapers, news magazines and the other things that explain what the president is doing to this country. And that is probably why we dislike the president so much."

... Ohio felons who have done their time have filed suit in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati to straighten out the issue of whether they have the right to vote. The roots of the problem shouldn’t surprise anyone ...

... (According to Ohioblog) Ohio public officials too often -- 50 percent of employees -- make it difficult or impossible for citizens to get public information in a timely fashion. Election officials, according to David Singleton, executive director of the Prison Reform Advocacy Center in Cincinnati, have given incorrect information that has deprived as many as 21,000 Ohio felons from voting.

The lawsuit contends that election officials have told felons they couldn’t vote until they have completed their parole periods or that they’re required to fill out unnecessary paperwork.

Ohioblog says let ’em vote, which happens to be the law.

Representatives of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have said that the Ugandan rebel group is "keen to talk" with Uganda's government, according to a team that met a rebel delegation in the northern district of Gulu on Monday evening.

"We managed to meet three LRA rebel commanders, who said they all wanted peace talks," said Joseph Ocwet, who led a mission sent by the UK-based charity, Africa Relief Trust, to Gulu to meet the rebels. "The talks were successful."

"They told us that we could start talks in a week's time depending on the response from the government and after their consultations with senior rebel commanders," added Ocwet, who is also Uganda's ambassador to the African Union. "They told us that LRA leader Joseph Kony was willing to take part in the talks, but at a later date because he will not be available next week."

Young Han tried to register to vote in the New York town where he attends college but got a letter telling him to cast an absentee ballot where his parents live, more than 2,000 miles away. In Virginia, Luther Lowe and Serene Alami were told much the same -- their campus addresses at the College of William and Mary were deemed "temporary."

With so much emphasis on getting young people to the polls this election, the issue of where college students can register to vote is getting more attention. And some students -- who believe they should have the right to vote where they live most of the year -- are getting organized.

"We plan to push this issue," says Han, a 21-year old junior at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, who's originally from a Seattle suburb. "Students are being disenfranchised."

... Students in some states will find they have no problem, say researchers at the Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at Salisbury University in Maryland. ... "Local politicians are very unsure about students," says Michael O'Loughlin, a political science professor at Salisbury. "They enjoy having students pay (sales) taxes and contribute to the economy. But they are wary of how students could influence politics at a local level."

... [Several students have] filed a federal lawsuit demanding the right to vote in their college town and to run for city council. They say students deserve to have a voice in local issues that directly affect them -- housing ordinances, for instance.

"It makes no sense for me to vote in a city election where my parents live," says Lowe, a 22-year-old (William & Mary) senior who is represented in the lawsuit. "I live in Williamsburg nine months out of the year."

At least one protester was taken into custody as a march of several thousand people organized by the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign approached Madison Square Garden, Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said. Demonstrators knocked a police officer off a motor scooter and "kicked and pummeled'' him, Browne said. The officer, not immediately identified, was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital with unspecified injuries.

[edit]

Three arrests occurred en route on the otherwise peaceful march -- two for disorderly conduct and one for punching an officer in the face, Browne said. The scooter incident created a brief flurry of pushing and shoving as officers waded into the crowd to clear them from the intersection of 29th Street and Eighth Avenue.

Chris Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union said police have been too aggressive with the vehicles, saying, "Scooters as a crowd control tactic is a dangerous thing,'' he said.

"If the government in Khartoum is unwilling to shoulder its responsibilities, then we call for an immediate intervention by the international community," the bishops said in a statement released last week. "As bishops we cannot overlook the annihilation of any ethnic group, whatever their creed, nature, or clan."

On a shallow slope between two hills of orange rock and sand, a man's body lies curled in a foetal position. His hands are thrown up as if to protect his face from the bullet that punched a hole in his temple. A few feet away on the bare slope, another man's body lies between two youths. His arms are stretched out to the two younger ones, as if he was embracing them at the moment of death.

This was the scene of an execution in north-western Darfur. The killings took place in April, but scenes like this are being repeated in Sudan now.

He described the April meeting as one between "four countries that got together and had a little bitty summit" and then referred to them collectively as "the chocolate makers."

"After Bill O'Reilly (boss and talkshowhost of fox News, and the ugly man on the front of this book) had summoned already francs [Franken] for the judge, because he it had ventured the slogan of fox as a subtitle for Leugens [Lies] News - honest and balanced - to present, shot sale of this book only omhoog [higher]. O'Reilly lost the lawsuit. Van Leugens has been sold in America than one million copies already more.").

The Bush-Cheney campaign released a television ad August 23 accusing Kerry of casting "98 votes for tax increases." The number is an improvement on Bush's earlier claim that Kerry cast 350 votes for "higher taxes," which we described as inflated. But even the new, reduced total is padded.

Of the 98 votes for "tax increases," 43 were cast on budget measures that only set targets and don't actually legislate tax increases. Often, several votes are counted regarding a single tax bill.

The ad also strives to blame Kerry for raising taxes on the "middle class" and says "There's what Kerry says and then there's what Kerry does." But a close look shows the votes cited in this ad are in fact fairly consistent with Kerry's promise only to raise taxes on those making over $200,000 a year.

"The mission of U.S. forces is to kill or capture Moqtada al-Sadr. That is our mission."

"We're going to drive this guy Sadr into the dirt. Either he tells his militia to put down their arms, form a political party and fight with ideas not guns, or he's going to find a lot of them killed."

Iraq is attracting Islamic militants from across the world determined to join the 'holy war' against the US-led occupation, the son of Osama bin Laden's mentor Abdullah Azzam said in an interview.

"Hundreds of Muslims from all over Arab and non-Arab countries go to Iraq to help the resistance end the occupation, spurred by the conviction that jihad is a duty against the occupier," said Hudayfa Azzam, 34.

LAUER: Let me ask you about deficits. This year $445 billion. That's--ballpark, do you think that's pretty good?

Pres. BUSH: Yeah, I do. I do.

LAUER: All right.

Pres. BUSH: By the way, less than projected.

LAUER: So you think if you look out the window here. You know, I don't know if we can see because of the rain...

Pres. BUSH: I think I'm going to win Ohio.

LAUER: You think--or you...

Pres. BUSH: I do.

LAUER: You do? They're struggling in a lot of places here.

Pres. BUSH: Well, some places they are, and some places the economy's growing. You're right.

LAUER: So you think they--they will answer that famous question, `Are you better off--are you better off today than you were four years ago?' in the affirmative?

Pres. BUSH: I think over 50 percent will. Yes, sir. I do. I do.

LAUER: You--you said to me a second ago one of the things you'll lay out in your vision for the next four years is how to go about winning the war on terror. That phrase strikes me a little bit. Do you really think we can win this war of terror--on terror, for example, in the next four years?

Pres. BUSH: I have never said we can win it in four years.

LAUER: No, I'm just saying, can we win it? Do you see that?

Pres. BUSH: I don't--I don't think you can win it, but I think you can create conditions so that the--those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world, let's put it that way. I have a two-prong strategy. On the one hand it's to find them before they hurt us. And that's necessary. I'm telling you it's necessary. The country must never yield, must never show weakness, must continue to lead to find the al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda affiliates who are hiding around the world and who want to harm us and bring them to justice. And we're doing a good job of it. I mean, we are dismantling al-Qaeda as we--as we knew it.

The long-term strategy is to spread freedom and liberty, and that's really kind of an interesting debate. It's--you know, there are some who say, `Well, you know, certain people can't self-govern and--and accept, you know, a form of democracy.' I--I just strongly disagree with that. I believe that democracy can take hold in parts of the world that are now non-democratic, and I think it's necessary in order to defeat the ideologies of hate. History has shown that it can work, that spreading liberty does work. After all, Japan is our close ally, and my dad--and I don't know about your relatives--but fought against the Japanese. And here Koizumi--Prime Minister Koizumi is one of the closest collaborators I have in working to make the world a more peaceful place.

Pres. BUSH: You know, I think if--I know if we're steadfast, strong and resolute--and I--I say those words very seriously--it's less likely that your kids are going to live under the threat of al-Qaeda for a long period of time. I can't tell you--I don't have a, you know, a definite end, but I'll tell you this: When we succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's the beginning of the end for these extremists because freedom is going to have a powerful influence to make sure your kids can grow up in a peaceful world. And, you know, it's a--if we believe, for example, that you can't win, then the alternative is to retreat. And I think that would be a disaster for your children. We cannot show weakness in this world today because the enemy will exploit that weakness. They will--it will embolden them and--and make the world a more dangerous place.

It's beneath the office of the President. We were all together in this country after 9/11, and we all wish it had stayed that way. But now President Bush is attacking John Kerry on terrorism. And once again, his facts are wrong.

John Kerry fought to establish the Department of Homeland Security. George Bush opposed it for almost a year after 9/11.

And John Kerry was fighting for legislation to cut off terrorist money laundering even before 9/11. His proposal became a key part of the Patriot Act.

Now, John Kerry has a plan to fight terrorism the smart way -- double the number of Special Forces, focus on nuclear terrorism, and rebuild our international alliances so we can fight terrorism together.

John Kerry, a president to make us stronger.

(Disclaimer by DNC)

* "The ad says Kerry 'was fighting for legislation to cut off terrorist money laundering before 9/11.' And in fact, a section of a Kerry bill on money-laundering was virtually copied into the PATRIOT Act and praised by Bush administration officials."

* "The ad claims 'Kerry fought to establish the Department of Homeland Security.' (emphasis added) That's a bit of puffery: Kerry did support the legislation but wasn't a cosponsor of the reorganization bill ..."

* "The ad gets it right when it says Bush opposed creation of the department (of Homeland Security) at first. ... Bush didn't change course until several months later ... Simple math shows that less than nine months passed between Sept. 11, 2001 and June 6, 2002. Calling that 'almost a year' is an exaggeration (of the DNC ad)."

In just two days, I will speak again in New York, but this time the party is the Republicans, and this time the candidate is George W. Bush. While much has changed in the last 12 years, my Party has not. I'm still a Democrat, and I support the President.

[edit]

I have been asked many times why I, and so many other Democrats, support President Bush. The answer is simple - he is the right man to lead our nation at this time.

I have also been asked why I don't support John Kerry. That answer is also simple - you can't make a chicken swim and you can't make John Kerry anything but an out-of-touch ultra liberal from Massachusetts.

Let me say as clearly as I can, what Lieutenant John Kerry did in Vietnam, is to be praised, and we should thank him for it every day, but not his shameful record on national defense as a U.S. Senator. And not for voting to send our troops to war, but against the $87 billion to give them the equipment to fight that war.

I rise to propose this amendment to the emergency supplemental spending bill to ensure that Congress and the administration keep sight of what I believe must remain our number one priority for the conduct of the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the protection of our American troops.

According to the U.S. Army, the President's supplemental bill falls short of over $200 million for critical gear for our soldiers slated to rotate in Iraq and Afghanistan in the months ahead. This amendment was designed specifically to see to it that those U.S. troops coming into Iraq, into a theater of war, would receive important equipment they need to perform their missions effectively. This equipment includes important high-tech body armor, bullet-proof helmets, special water packs to keep soldiers hydrated, and other survival gear.

[edit]

Out of $324.5 million needed to fund this program in Iraq and Afghanistan, only $122.5 million was to be available in this supplemental budget bill. That means if our soldiers, many of whom are less than 21 years of age, making under $20,000 a year, want the right gear for their mission, they are going to have to dig into their own pockets to buy their own hydration equipment, radios, weapon sights, combat helmets, and individual body armor.

[edit]

For those reasons, I have asked my colleagues to support this amendment to allocate an additional $322 million for the critical equipment of our troops and adequate resources for battlefield clearance to fully meet the Army's current requirements.

[edit]

I do not believe any of my colleagues, if they were sitting down going over this in detail, would make a case that in $20 billion of construction money for Iraq, that a $100 million witness protection program, $400 million to double or triple the prison cells at $50,000 a bed in their prisons, and that $3,000 for computers--and $40 million, by the way, is to provide computer training--I would like to see someone get a $40 million appropriation to provide computer training for anyone else in this country, let alone to do it over in Iraq.

So these are the areas that we would take money from to provide for the $322 million to provide for the men and women in uniform who need these resources.

"If one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died."

"How you approach the world after September 11th is a factor in this election."

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir on Saturday, praising Sudan's efforts to end the crisis in the Darfur region.

During their talks, Annan said UN special envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk has presented him several reports, giving a positive comment on the situation in Darfur.

This small village of mud and straw huts lay ruined and abandoned Sunday, the ground charred, after residents said Sudanese soldiers attacked with a warplane and helicopters, driving farmers from their homes days before a U.N. deadline to end the violence in the ravaged Darfur region.

African Union cease-fire monitors were investigating the claims of the government attack on Um Hashab, which rebel officials said came after Sudanese troops ambushed rebels nearby. The rebels say assaults by the government and Arab militiamen have continued in the past week, the latest on Sunday.

The onset of the rainy season will worsen an already critical situation for refugees in Sudan's Darfur region, raising the risk of cholera and malaria outbreaks, international aid group Oxfam said on Monday.

"The scale of this disaster is immense," Oxfam's regional director, Caroline Nursey, said in a statement after returning from Darfur, which the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.