The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 10/29/2006 - 11/05/2006

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Posted on John F@#*%ing Kerry's website:Kerry's Remark: Right either way

This just in from Confederate Yankee:

Kerry's "Apology" Was All-Too Insincere
John Kerry's arrogance knows no bounds.



John Kerry has a 35-year history of slandering American soldiers, and when he disparaged the intelligence of the American military earlier this week, he deserved no benefit of the doubt. He'd referred to them as murderers, rapists, and terrorists too many times before.

When he swore he would "apologize to no one" for the comments assaulting their intelligence, he obviously meant it.

Now several days later and a "I'm sorry you aren't smart enough to understand what I meant to say" non-apology, he still has enough arrogance and contempt for the American soldier to feature on his page the headline, "Kerry's Remark: Right either way."

As Bryan notes:

Because even though he has �apologized� several times and in disingenuous ways, at heart he [Kerry] meant what he said. When he finds someone who supports his smear, he links right to them to justify himself. Someone who truly meant to apologize for a remark he doesn�t believe wouldn�t do that.

John Kerry is not the least bit sorry for slandering America's heroes.

He wasn't sorry in 1972, and he's certainly not sorry now.

Iraq Was Within A Year of Having Nuke in 2002

Soooo...The New York Times reports that Saddam Hussein's Iraq did have an active nuclear weapons program after all !

A recent article in the NY Times contained this information:

Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they hoped to "leverage the Internet" to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.

Among the dozens of documents in English were Iraqi reports written in the 1990s and in 2002 for United Nations inspectors in charge of making sure Iraq had abandoned its unconventional arms programs after the Persian Gulf war.

Experts say that at the time, Mr. Hussein's scientists were on the verge of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away.


Read more here:U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Primer

Republicans predict victory despite polls

Statements by President Bush and Republican leaders predicting victory in the upcoming midterm elections have sparked speculation among pollsters and experts.

The president, Vice President Dick Cheney and GOP strategist Karl Rove have all predicted the Republican party will retain control of both houses of Congress in the Nov. 7 elections, despite opposing predictions from pollsters, the Christian Science Monitor reported Thursday.

"No matter what the polls say or the mood of the country, no president rolls over and plays dead in midterm elections and lays himself open to the charge of surrender to the opposition," says John Gizzi, political editor of the conservative weekly Human Events.

While most independent pollsters have predicted that Democrats will retake control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years, Rove has said private polls from the individual races point "strongly" at the Republicans retaining control.

"Rove is relying on the Rove mystique," says John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont-McKenna College in Claremont, Calif. "A lot of Democrats are paranoid about it. ... Conversely, Republicans also have the same belief, and that's what gives them hope and confidence and keeps them working. If they thought they were surely going to lose, they wouldn't work as hard."

Poll: Terror, economy top voter issues

Terrorism and the economy top the issues for voters ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections in the United States, a UPI-Zogby International poll showed.

The 8,090 likely U.S. voters participating in a Zogby interactive poll were asked to select two issues most important in selecting a candidate when they head to the polls next week.

Terrorism led with 36 percent of those asked picking that threat. The war in Iraq was third at 26.9 percent. The Bush administration has worked to link the war on the terror and the fighting in Iraq. Critics say that situation has made the United States less safe from terrorists.

Some 43.6 percent of Democrats in the poll listed Iraq as their top issue while 66.9 percent of Republicans mentioned terrorism.

The issue of the U.S. economy, seemingly strong, was second at 28.4 percent overall and second across the political spectrum.

The immigration issue was fourth at 22.5 percent followed by foreign policy (21.9 percent), healthcare (16.3), taxes (12.9) and civil rights (8.2).

The poll was taken Oct. 20-23 and has a margin of error of 1.1 percentage points.

US air strike kills Al Qaeda kingpin in Iraq

American forces killed an Al Qaeda chieftain in the lawless western Iraqi city of Ramadi by destroying his car with a laser guided bomb, the US military said on Thursday.

�Rafa Abdul Salam Hamud Al Ithawi, also known as Abu Taha, was the emir of Shamiyyah,� it said. �He frequently harboured foreign fighters who entered Iraq illegally in order to assault innocent Iraqis and coalition forces.�

Ithawi was killed on Wednesday along with his driver, �diminishing the Al Qaeda in Iraq network,� the statement said.

Ramadi has become the focus of the battle between US forces and Sunni Arab insurgents fighting under the Al Qaeda banner. Last week a US spokesman said marines were fighting to take back the city.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Republicans say base energized by Kerry flub

Senior Republicans say they believe Democratic Sen. John Kerry's "stuck in Iraq" blunder at the beginning of the week could help them come Election Day, even though Kerry has apologized for his "poorly worded joke" and disappeared from public view.

"(Kerry) apologized a little too late and it has given us momentum," said former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card. "But this election is not going to be just about John Kerry, it's about what the Democrats would do to the country ... It's about a strong economy and about protecting America and we have a great economy in this country and that economy will be jeopardized if the taxes go up."

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Terrorists to US: Vote Democrat

Withdrawal from Iraq would embolden jihadists to destroy Israel, America

Everybody has an opinion about next Tuesday's midterm congressional election in the U.S. � including senior terrorist leaders interviewed by WND who say they hope Americans sweep the Democrats into power because of the party's position on withdrawing from Iraq, a move, as they see it, that ensures victory for the worldwide Islamic resistance.

The terrorists told WorldNetDaily an electoral win for the Democrats would prove to them Americans are "tired."

They rejected statements from some prominent Democrats in the U.S. that a withdrawal from Iraq would end the insurgency, explaining an evacuation would prove resistance works and would compel jihadists to continue fighting until America is destroyed.

They said a withdrawal would also embolden their own terror groups to enhance "resistance" against Israel.

"Of course Americans should vote Democrat," Jihad Jaara, a senior member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group and the infamous leader of the 2002 siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, told WND.

This is why American Muslims will support the Democrats, because there is an atmosphere in America that encourages those who want to withdraw from Iraq. It is time that the American people support those who want to take them out of this Iraqi mud," said Jaara, speaking to WND from exile in Ireland, where he was sent as part of an internationally brokered deal that ended the church siege.

Jaara was the chief in Bethlehem of the Brigades, the declared "military wing" of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.

Together with the Islamic Jihad terror group, the Brigades has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing inside Israel the past two years, including an attack in Tel Aviv in April that killed American teenager Daniel Wultz and nine Israelis.

Muhammad Saadi, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, said the Democrats' talk of withdrawal from Iraq makes him feel "proud."

"As Arabs and Muslims we feel proud of this talk," he told WND. "Very proud from the great successes of the Iraqi resistance. This success that brought the big superpower of the world to discuss a possible withdrawal."

Abu Abdullah, a leader of Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip, said the policy of withdrawal "proves the strategy of the resistance is the right strategy against the occupation."

"We warned the Americans that this will be their end in Iraq," said Abu Abdullah, considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' declared "resistance" department. "They did not succeed in stealing Iraq's oil, at least not at a level that covers their huge expenses. They did not bring stability. Their agents in the [Iraqi] regime seem to have no chance to survive if the Americans withdraw."

Abu Ayman, an Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin, said he is "emboldened" by those in America who compare the war in Iraq to Vietnam.

"[The mujahedeen fighters] brought the Americans to speak for the first time seriously and sincerely that Iraq is becoming a new Vietnam and that they should fix a schedule for their withdrawal from Iraq," boasted Abu Ayman.

The terror leaders spoke as the debate regarding the future of America's war in Iraq has perhaps become the central theme of midterm elections, with most Democrats urging a timetable for withdrawal and Republicans mostly advocating staying the course in Iraq.

WND read Pelosi's remarks to the terror leaders, who unanimously rejected her contention an American withdrawal would end the insurgency.

Islamic Jihad's Saadi, laughing, stated, "There is no chance that the resistance will stop."

He said an American withdrawal from Iraq would "prove the resistance is the most important tool and that this tool works. The victory of the Iraqi revolution will mark an important step in the history of the region and in the attitude regarding the United States."

Jihad Jaara said an American withdrawal would "mark the beginning of the collapse of this tyrant empire (America)."

"Therefore, a victory in Iraq would be a greater defeat for America than in Vietnam."

Republicans Can Keep control of Congress

Can the Republicans win control of Congress? They can if they want to. It is up to the vaunted GOP base.

According to the Zogby poll, Republican fortunes, while improving in early October, have fallen since. On Sept. 22, Democrats led in the generic vote poll (Do you plan to vote for the Democratic or the Republican candidate in your district?) by nine points, 42-33. But by Oct. 11, their margin was only three � 37-34. But by Oct. 24 it was back up to 11 points � 44-33 � enough for the Democrats to take control of the House and probably the Senate.

But if you dig deep into the Zogby poll, you find an astonishing fact � independents are turning to the Republican Party while Republican base voters are leaving it.

Among independents, the percent that plan to vote Republican has risen from 15 percent on Sept. 22 to 23 percent on Oct. 11 to 26 percent on Oct. 24. While independents are still voting for more Democrats, it's only by 38-26 compared with 38-15 last month.

GOP problems with their base should be curable since Republicans largely agree with their party on all the major issues. Their disloyalty stems from the failure of the Republican Congress and President Bush to pass their agenda and concerns over financial and morality scandals in Washington.

If talk-radio show hosts, cable news stations, and the White House do what they do best � talk to their base � they should be able to turn the situation around. But so far their efforts have been unavailing.

But the Democrats have their problems too. Despite their huge national edge they are not leading in the key Senate races. For example, in New Jersey, Rasmussen's polls have the race between Republican challenger Tom Kean and Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez tied. But, in the same survey, New Jersey voters want Democratic Party control of the Senate by 54-36. So while the party is winning by 18 points, its candidate can manage no better than a tie.

And despite the national trend toward the Democrats, Missouri Republican Sen. Jim Talent still clings to a 50-48 lead over Democrat Claire McCaskill. Likewise in Tennessee, Rasmussen has Republican Bob Corker leading Democrat Harold Ford by 50-48.

To control the Senate, Democrats must win two of these three: New Jersey, Tennessee and Missouri and so far, they trail in two and are tied in the third.

Poll: Character counts in election

The "values, morals and character" of a candidate top the pre-election selection process of participants in a UPI-Zogby International poll.

The 8,086 likely U.S. voters who participated in a Zogby interactive poll were asked to select two areas of consideration as they prepare for Tuesday's election in the United States.

The option "their values, morals and character" topped the results with 42.6 percent of those asked giving that response. That choice was first among Republican respondents -- 63.2 percent choose it -- and self-described independents, 39.2 percent of whom listed character. However, it was fifth on the list of Democrats, 24 percent of whom mentioned "values, morals and character."

The top consideration for Democrats was opposition to the war in Iraq; 42.3 percent of Democrats said that was important. But that issue came in fourth overall at 22.1 percent of all participants mentioning it.

Second overall, at 34.9 percent, was a candidate's leadership and experience while "concern for people like you" was third at 22.3 percent.

"Support for the war in Iraq" was fifth (18.8 percent) followed by opposition to U.S. President George Bush (18.1 percent) and support for the president (12.4).

Party allegiance -- mentioned by 4.2 percent -- was 10th.

The poll, conducted Oct. 20-23, has a 1.1-percentage-point margin of error.

Dems Slam Republican State Rep Serving in Iraq

If you�re still wondering why people think Democrats are weak on defense and lack respect for members of the military, here�s a story sure to make your blood boil.

Arizona Republican State Representative Jonathan Paton was deployed with his Army Reserve Intelligence Unit to Iraq a few weeks ago. And the local Democrat Party is using that AGAINST him, fretting that Paton might miss part of the 2007 legislative session because of his service to the nation.

�Paton has been absent for most of the campaign due to his recent voluntary Army Reserve service in Iraq and he has missed all candidate debates/forums for the General Election,� complained Pima County Democrat Party Chairwoman Donna Branch-Gilby in a press release on Friday.

�Southern Arizona needs a State Representative who can guarantee that he will show up for the job and represent his constituents,� chirped in some guy named Chalie Salaz in the release. �The voters of Arizona should not pay the price for an �absentee� legislator.�

Another guy named John Soltero added that it was �irresponsible� for Paton to volunteer to serve his country while running for office. �You didn�t see President Bush leaving to volunteer for active duty in Iraq when he was running to do the job of President.�

And we�re going to trust the nation�s defense to THESE people?

Kerry used soldier's funeral to solicit campaign help

Authors say representative asked parents to speak out against President Bush

Sen. John Kerry solicited the families of slain soldiers at their sons' funerals as part of his campaign to undermine the president's policy in Iraq, charges Melanie Morgan and Catherine Moy in their new book "American Mourning".

The authors raised the issue today amid the fallout over a comment Kerry made Monday night that is being widely interpreted as an insult to U.S. troops.

Moy said the book documents an April 2004 incident in which a Kerry campaign representative visited parents of a fallen U.S. soldier at his funeral to ask them to speak out against President Bush.

"A woman, who had also lost her son in the war and who represented the local Kerry campaign, approached the Johnsons at their son � Justin's � wake. Justin was laid out in his Army uniform as the woman began her speech about hating Bush and helping Kerry. She asked the Johnsons to speak out against President Bush," the authors said in a statement today.

The Johnsons are the family of Justin Johnson, one of two war heroes who died in Iraq and have been honored in the book.

Justin Johnson and the other soldier, Casey Sheehan, and their lives are profiled in the story of how their families' responses are poles apart, just as Americans are split over the war.

The book describes how the Johnson family drew together after Justin's death, with his father even volunteering for duty in Iraq to continue his son's role in the war on terror. Cindy Sheehan, Casey's mother, meanwhile, exploded into anti-U.S. activism, describing her own nation as "thugs" and honoring the terrorists who killed her son as "freedom fighters."

The authors issued a statement responding to Kerry's comment to college students in California Monday, which seemed to suggest that if they don't study hard, they'll end up in the military.

"This is yet another disgusting attempt to politicize soldiers from a man with a long history of disrespecting our troops. It is especially difficult for those who genuinely support our troops such as Morgan, who spent yesterday helping to put together 2 TONS of coffee, Gatorade, beef jerky and cookies in individual packages to send to soldiers serving in Iraq as a thank you for their sacrifices," the statement said.

In an interview with WND, Moy said anyone who has watched Kerry's career shouldn't have been particularly surprised by his comment.

"John Kerry has always been about himself. He showed his true colors back in Vietnam when he turned on his own brothers in arms. It's all about John Kerry," Moy said.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Study Refutes Kerry

John Kerry�s suggestion that U.S. troops in Iraq are uneducated and not "smart� is directly refuted by a new study from the respected Heritage Foundation.

The report "Who Are the Recruits?� by Tim Kane, Ph.D., issued on October 26, states: "A pillar of conventional wisdom about the U.S. military is that the quality of volunteers has been degraded after the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq . . .

"Some insist that minorities and the underprivileged are overrepresented in the military. Others accuse the U.S. Army of accepting unqualified enlistees in a futile attempt to meet its recruiting goals in the midst of an unpopular war.�

The conclusion of the in-depth study by Dr. Kane, Director of the Center for International Trade and Economics at the Heritage Foundation: "The current findings show that the demographic characteristics of volunteers have continued to show signs of higher, not lower, quality.�

The findings include:
The high school graduation rate of 2005 military recruits, 96.72, is higher than the rate for the general population, 79.8 percent.


The mean reading level of 2004 recruits is a full grade level higher than that of the comparable youth population.

The percent of recruits who scored in the top percentile of the Armed Forces Qualifying Test, the standardized test administered to determine eligibility for service, rose from 5.63 percent in 2003 to 6.43 percent in 2005.

In 2004, 92.1 percent of those who became active-duty officers held a baccalaureate degree or higher.

From 2000 to 2005, between 35 percent and 45 percent of active-duty officers held advanced degrees.

As for income levels of recruits, the percentage from the poorest U.S. neighborhoods, with one-fifth of the population, declined from 18 percent in 1999 to 13.7 in 2005.

The median household income of recruits in 2005 was higher than in 1999 and higher than the national median, indicating that more recent recruits "come from even wealthier areas than their peers� who enlisted in 1999, according to the study.

The percentage of 2005 recruits with household incomes between $52,071 and $200,000, 22.85 percent, is higher than for the U.S. population ages 18 to 24, 20.02 percent.

African-Americans comprised a smaller percentage of Army recruits in 2005 than their percentage of the overall U.S. population. The same was true for Hispanics.
Dr. Kane concludes: "With regard to income, education, race, and regional background, the all-volunteer force is representative of our nation and meets standards set by Congress and the Department of Defense.

"In contrast to the patronizing slanders of antiwar critics, recruit quality is increasing as the war in Iraq continues.�

Troops To Kerry: We Can Spell

Our troops in Iraq are sending John Kerry a message. Please enjoy this photo taken today by our brave soldiers in Iraq! Feel free to email this your friends and family.



John Kerry�s recent slap at the intelligence of the U.S. military has apparently been felt overseas.

U.S. servicemen in Iraq � obviously "smart" enough to relish sarcasm � displayed this banner as a message to the junior senator from Massachusetts:

The photo has spread like wildfire among bloggers and via viral e-mail.

This should hammer home the message to Kerry and, possibly, to U.S. voters as well. "Support for the troops� is not just a throwaway election year phrase.


"YOU HAVE GOT TO ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT !"....J.R.

Coward Kerry cancels Minnesota appearance

The dueling rallies scheduled for Mankato today on behalf of Republican congressman Gil Gutknecht and Democratic challenger Tim Walz lost some of their pizzaz Tuesday night when Sen. John Kerry pulled out of the Democratic rally.

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee pulled out of the DFL event, which will still be held, as the result of a controversy over comments he made Monday inCalifornia.

Walz communication director Meredith Salsbery said Kerry canceled his visit to keep the focus on the issues and away from Kerry�s comments and McCain�s response.

She wouldn�t comment on whether Walz asked Kerry not to campaign for him, but said the decision was ultimately the senator�s choice.

"Death of a President" flops at U.S. box office

The provocative film "Death of a President," which imagines the assassination of George W. Bush, bombed at the North American box office with a meager $282,000 grossed from 143 theaters in its first weekend.
The pseudo-documentary played at 91 U.S. theaters and 52 Canadian cinemas during its first three days of release, averaging an estimated $1,970 per screen, according to distributor Newmarket Films, which reportedly paid $1 million for U.S. rights to the picture.

"That's a very poor opening," said Brandon Gray, an analyst at industry watcher Web site boxofficemojo. com.

The per-screen average is considered the best initial barometer of box-office success for a limited-release film, as it offers an apples-to-apples comparison with movies of widely divergent distribution patterns.

Newmarket distribution chief Richard Abramowitz called the opening tally for "Death of a President" "a little disappointing" in light of the "enormous awareness" generated by the film since its premiere last month at the Toronto Film Festival.

At least two national theater chains boycotted the film and some television networks refused to accept paid ads for the movie. Politicians across the spectrum, from the Republican Party of Texas, Bush's home state, to New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton criticized the film for portraying the murder of a sitting president.

Abramowitz, whose company also released Mel Gibson's highly controversial blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ," acknowledged that the subject matter of "Death of a President" might have proved to be a turnoff for American audiences.

"The very thing that drew all the attention to the film became at a certain point difficult to overcome," he told Reuters. "The controversy ... made the film very visible but not necessarily for reasons that would compel potential moviegoers to go to the theater."


British director Gabriel Range's $2 million picture centers on the hypothetical ramifications of Bush's assassination and its impact on U.S. civil liberties. The film mixes real footage of Bush with digital effects to depict the president being gunned down by a sniper as he leaves a hotel in Chicago.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Sen. John Kerry: 'I Apologize to No One'

Sen. John Kerry has refused to apologize for his remarks suggesting that U.S. troops in Iraq are uneducated and not "smart,� instead charging that the White House has deliberately misconstrued his comments.


At a Tuesday afternoon press conference in Seattle, Kerry said "I apologize to no one� for what he categorized as criticism of the Bush administration�s Iraq war policy.

Kerry touched off a storm of protest when he told a college audience on Monday that "if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don�t, you get stuck in Iraq.�

The comments drew demands for an apology from Sen. John McCain, the National Commander of The American Legion, and others. White House press secretary Tony Snow called Kerry�s statement "an absolute insult.�

But at his press conference, Kerry tried to give his remarks a tortuous spin, saying in effect that what he meant was if you�re like President Bush and you don�t do your homework � listen to advice from others � before committing American troops, "you end up in Iraq.�

He also claimed that the White House understood what he was trying to say yet sought to "distort� his comments.


As NewsMax reported earlier, 99.9 percent of the enlisted forces have at least a high school education, and 73.3 percent have been to college.

Among commanders:

Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, has an MBA from George Washington University and has taken courses at Harvard.

Gen. John Abizaid, Commander of U.S. Central Command, has a master�s degree from Harvard.

Gen. George Casey, Vice Chief of Staff in the U.S. Army, has a master�s degree from the University of Denver.

Brigadier Gen. Mark T. Kimmitt, U.S. Central Command�s deputy director for strategy and plans, has earned degrees from the United States Military Academy, Harvard, the National Defense University, and the United States Army Command and General Staff College.

It bears noting that our commander in chief, President George W. Bush, who has earned degrees from Yale University and Harvard University, is the only U.S. president to have earned an MBA. He's also proved himself "smart enough" to defeat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election.

American Legion to Kerry: Apologize Now

The National Commander of The American Legion called on Sen. John Kerry to apologize for suggesting that American troops in Iraq are uneducated.

"As a constituent of Senator Kerry's I am disappointed. As leader of The American Legion, I am outraged," said National Commander Paul A. Morin.

The commander said the callous comments by Kerry ripped open wounds caused by previous comments made during the Vietnam War, when Kerry returned to the United States and accused U.S. military of unspeakable atrocities against civilians in southeast Asia.

"A generation ago, Sen. Kerry slandered his comrades in Vietnam by saying that they were rapists and murderers. It wasn't true then and his warped view of today's heroes isn't true now."

"While The American Legion shares the senator's appreciation for education, the troops in Iraq represent the most sophisticated, technologically superior military that the world has ever seen," Morin said. "I think there is a thing or two that they could teach most college professors and campus elitists about the way the world works."

"And while we are on the topic of education, why doesn't the senator and his comrades in Congress improve the GI Bill so all of today's military members - reserves and guard included - can achieve the educational aspirations that the senator so highly values?" Morin said.

"The senator's false and outrageous attack was over-the-top and he should apologize now."

John F@#*%ing Kerry Belittles Our Troops in Iraq !

Watch The Video here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLuMWiQ6r2o

Michelle Malkin has more:

San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Pasadena Star News reports on the Angelides campaign event at Pasadena City College where Kerry trashed the troops

..."Kerry then told the students that if they were able to navigate the education system, they could get comfortable jobs - "If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq,"
he said to a mixture of laughter and gasps."

Drudge: McCain calls on Kerry to apologize. Well now that their favorite maaaverick has spoken, I guess the MSM will cover it now...12:09pm Rush Limbaugh playing the Kerry clip top of his show..."It tells us what John Kerry and the Democrat Party think about the troops and our US military"

The military press is covering the story: NavyTimes, Army Times...Boehner calls for apology (quoting from e-mail just received):

"Senator Kerry�s comments were disrespectful and insulting to the men and women serving in our military. These Americans who are risking their lives in the fight against terrorism in Iraq deserve better than to have their service demeaned by a United States Senator. Our soldiers need John Kerry�s support, yet John Kerry offers nothing more than disparaging commentary. �John Kerry should apologize, and Democrat candidates across the country should publicly denounce them and demand that Senator Kerry apologize to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces serving in Iraq."


Here is Kerry's Pathetic Defense and Non-Apology

Wages, benefits up at 2-year best pace

Wages and benefits paid to American workers rose in the July-September period at the fastest pace in more than two years.

The Labor Department reported that its Employment Cost Index was up 1 percent in the third quarter, compared to a 0.9 percent rise in the April-June period. It was the biggest quarterly increase since a similar 1 percent rise in the second quarter of 2004.

The increase, which was above the 0.9 percent rise that economists had been expecting, was led by a big jump in the cost of employee benefits such as health insurance and pensions.

For the third quarter, benefit costs rose by 1.1 percent, up from a 0.8 percent gain in the second quarter. Wages and salaries were up 0.9 percent, matching the increase in the second quarter.

Officials at the Federal Reserve are watching closely to see whether wage pressures are beginning to accelerate, a development that would give workers' more money in their paychecks but could fuel unwanted inflation.

The Fed is hoping that its two-year campaign to slow the economy by raising interest rates will do the trick to send underlying inflation rates lower without slowing growth so much that the economy topples into a recession.

The government reported last week that the overall economy grew at a lackluster annual rate of just 1.6 percent in the July-September period, the slowest pace in three years, reflecting a sharp fall in the once-booming housing industry.

Analysts believe the recent sharp decline in the cost of gasoline and other energy products will give consumers more money to spend on other items and provide a boost to the economy in the final three months of this year.

The Fed, after raising interest rates for 17 consecutive times, has left rates unchanged since August with financial markets hoping that inflation pressures will slow enough to keep the central bank on the sidelines for an extended period.

There are indications that the Fed's battle against inflation is having an impact. The government reported Monday that the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, which excludes energy and food, rose by 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending in September, down slightly from a 2.5 percent rise for the 12 months ending in August.

Even with the slight decline, inflation is still above the Fed's comfort zone of 1 percent to 2 percent, which is why analysts believe the Fed will not respond to the slowing economy with rate cuts until inflation declines to a more acceptable level.

For the 12 months ending in September, overall compensation costs were up 3.3 percent, compared to a 3 percent rise for the 12 months ending in September 2005.

Wages and salaries are up 3.2 percent over the past year, a significant rise from the 2.3 percent gain for the 12 months ending in September 2005. Benefit costs, however, were up 3.3 percent for the year, down from a 5 percent rise for the year ending in September 2005.

North Korea agrees to nuclear talks

North Korea agreed Tuesday to rejoin six-nation nuclear disarmament talks in a surprise diplomatic breakthrough three weeks after the communist regime conducted its first known atomic test. A U.S. envoy said the talks could resume as early as November.

Chinese, U.S. and North Korean envoys to the negotiations held a day of unpublicized talks in Beijing during which North Korea agreed to return to the larger six-nation talks on its nuclear programs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

"The three parties agreed to resume the six-party talks at the earliest convenient time," the Chinese statement said.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said the talks could resume in November or December but all six countries � the U.S., the two Koreas, Japan and Russia � needed to agree to the date.

"We believe it will be in November or possibly in December," he said at a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The six-nation arms talks were last held in November 2005.

The agreement is one of the first signs of easing tensions since North Korea conducted the underground detonation on Oct. 9, defying warnings from both the United States and Japan, and its staunchest ally, China.

If the six-party talks resume, it would mark a diplomatic victory for Beijing, which in the wake of the test had argued against punishing North Korea too harshly, in order to leave open a path for diplomacy.

"We hope it's true," White House press secretary Tony Snow told NBC's "Today" show. "It would be very good news."

Mitt & Jeb GOP Ticket in 2008?

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has hired several of Jeb Bush�s top aides, leading to speculation that Romney may be courting the outgoing Florida governor for a possible Romney-Bush 2008 ticket for the White House.

After Bush�s former chief of staff and top political adviser, Sally Bradshaw, joined Romney�s Commonwealth political action committee earlier this month, Romney flew to Florida to join Bush for campaign events and fund-raisers - and to gauge Bush�s interest in being a running mate, sources told the Boston Herald.

Soon after, Bush�s chief finance director, Ann Woods Herberger, also joined Romney�s political action committee.

Bush has ruled out running for president himself. But agreeing to accept the vice presidential post would allow him to "run on the national ticket without having to run for the ticket,� since vice presidential candidates are chosen, not elected, political analyst David Mark, a former political reporter who covered Gov. Bush, told the Herald.

For religious conservatives who have concerns about Romney�s Mormon faith, Bush offers "the best of both worlds,� said Mark. "He�s a strong executive who�s also conservative.�

I See Dead People....Voting

A new statewide database of registered voters contains as many as 77,000 dead people on its rolls, and as many as 2,600 of them have cast votes from the grave, according to a Poughkeepsie Journal computer-assisted analysis.

The Journal's analysis of New York's 3-month-old database is the first to determine the potential for errors and fraud in voting. It matched names, dates of birth and ZIP codes in the state's database of 11.7 million voter registration records against the same information in the Social Security Administration's "Death Master File." That database has 77 million records of deaths dating back to 1937.

The state database was current as of Oct. 4, the master death index through June.

The same process has been used to identify deceased registrants in other states,

Among the Journal's findings:
- There were dead people on the voter rolls in all of New York's 62 counties and people in as many as 45 counties who had votes recorded after they had died.

- One Bronx address was listed as the home for as many as 191 registered voters who had died. The address is 5901 Palisade Ave., in Riverdale, site of the Hebrew Home for the Aged.

- Democrats who cast votes after they died outnumbered Republicans by more than 4 to 1. The reason: Most of them came from Democrat-dominated New York City, where the higher population produced more matches.

Tales of votes being cast from the grave are part of election lore. Last year, at least two dead voters were counted in a Tennessee state Senate race that was decided by fewer than 20 votes. As a result of that and other irregularities, seven poll workers were fired, an entire precinct was dissolved and the election results were voided by the state Senate, forcing the removal of the presumed winner. Three elections workers were indicted for faking the votes.

In 1997, a judge declared a Miami mayoral election invalid because of widespread fraud, including dead voters.

And in one of the more notorious examples, inspectors estimated that as many as 1 in 10 ballots cast in Chicago during the 1982 Illinois gubernatorial election were fraudulent for various reasons, including votes by the dead.

In one reported case, a dead man's signature was clearly spelled out on voting records even though while alive he could only mark an "X" because he had no fingers.

In most cases, instances of dead voters can be attributed to database mismatches and clerical errors. For instance, the Social Security Administration admits there are people in its master death index who are not dead.

State and federal laws require dead voters to be purged from the rolls, but it requires a tricky balance of commitment and restraint. Failing to do so enhances the opportunity for fraud, the case of one person pretending to be another.

"The only reason it's a potential problem is that elections are very contentious," said David Gamache, Dutchess County's Republican elections commissioner. "And there is a reason why the election law takes up almost 500 pages. If there is a way to cheat people, people are going to look at it and see if it is viable and whether or not they should do it."

Removing dead voters also can save boards of elections the cost of sending unnecessary mail-checks and absentee ballots. But overzealous matching can result in legitimate voters being removed.

Ford:Dems love God more than Republicans

In a key race that could determine control of the Senate, Democrat Harold Ford Jr. appealed to Tennessee's traditional-values voters in a campaign speech, declaring his party has the upper hand when it comes to faith in God.

"Republicans fear the Lord, Democrats fear and love the Lord," the congressman told an audience in Paris, Tenn., Saturday.

The video can be seen here at HotAir.com

Ford, in a tight race with Republican Bob Corker, said he was quoting his friend and campaign chairman Lincoln Davis, who said there's "one big difference between us and misfortunate Republicans when it comes to our faith."

A recent survey of likely voters by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research showed 45 percent support Corker while 43 percent back Ford.

Corker responded to Ford's remarks in a Fox News interview, saying:

"Obviously this is not the kind of thing you'd expect somebody who is running for the United States Senate to say," Corker said. "It's very offensive, I think, to people of all walks of life, whether you're Republican, independent, or Democrat, to be claiming that one group of people love God more than another."

Monday, October 30, 2006

Study: G.O.P. Is Party Of Border Security

Congressional Scorecard�s Survey of 5,800 Immigration Votes
Reveals Republicans As Clear Party Of Border Security


A comprehensive study of voting records from the 109th Congress reveals that Republicans are the clear party of border security by more than a three-to-one margin over Democrats. The study -- Grassfire.org�s �2006 Congressional Immigration Scorecard� -- charted more than 5,800 votes in the House and Senate and gave Republicans an overall border security score of 78% as compared to a 23% rating for Democrats.

�It is very noteworthy that for every one Democrat vote supporting border security, there were more than three Republican votes to secure our borders and stop amnesty,� says Grassfire.org President Steve Elliott. �As voters prepare to go to the polls, there is no doubt that Republicans are the party of border security and stopping illegal immigration.�

According to Grassfire�s Scorecard, House Republicans received the highest ranking (84%) while Senate Democrats came in lowest (22%). The Congressional Scorecard rated every member of Congress on the key border security/immigration votes in the House and Senate. Grassfire also ranked each state based on a composite score and found that Oklahoma received the highest rating.

For a media preview of the Scorecard, click here, or go here:http://grassfire.org/15042/ScorecardPreview.asp.

Al Qaeda: Plans for an October Surprise?

Is Osama bin Laden going to weigh in on the midterm elections? A senior counterterrorism official, anonymous, like other officials NEWSWEEK spoke to, because the subject is sensitive, says that based on previous patterns�such as the release of a rare bin Laden tape just before the 2004 presidential vote�a message before Election Day wouldn't be surprising. Private expert Evan Kohlmann, who consults for the Feds on terror probes, says Al Qaeda has lately released tapes at a rate of two or three per month.

This month, he says, they are "short by one or two," so he thinks a pre-election message is a "very good likelihood." Another U.S. official says intel experts believe Al Qaeda wants to be "relevant" to the U.S. political process. But a third counterterror official says "we don't have any indication" Osama & Co. are about to surface.

Spokesmen for the FBI and Homeland Security Department said they were unaware of specific intel foreshadowing an attack on U.S. soil before the elections. Overseas, the threat is more ominous: reports of a possible attack on Saudi oil installations (which could raise U.S. gas prices). The perpetrators would probably be Saudi Qaeda affiliates; methods could include truck or boat bombs. U.S. agencies are not certain of the threat's credibility, an official said.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Web-Radio Host: Assassinate half of Congress

An anti-Semitic white supremacist who conducts an Internet radio show says if Americans return incumbents to Washington in the Nov. 7 election, he may just have to assassinate them.

Hal Turner describes himself as "outspoken, opinionated and brutally blunt." The biography on his website says he was a registered Republican until this month, when he changed his registration to unaffiliated.

"As the November 7 Election approaches, I decided to write a few lines to my fellow Americans about the state of our nation and the ugliness that may have to occur if the people who caused these problems are re-elected: They may have to be assassinated," he writes in his Oct. 27 screed.

Just so there can be no mistaking his intentions, Turner repeats his premise several times and even offers fairly detailed plans involving five-men strike forces to carry out their wet work in wiping out half the U.S. Congress and at least three members of the Supreme Court.

In his "Last Chance America" plea, he also says: "If you re-elect the same people who have gotten us into the mess we're in, folks like me may have to assassinate them!"

"All these things took place right under your nose, but YOU have done NOTHING about it," says Turner. "Well, you may be willing to give up YOUR rights, but folks like me will not allow you to give away OUR rights. � So again I say, if you re-elect the people who have committed these wrongs against us and our Constitution, then we may have to simply kill them!"

Turner evidently believes the time is right for a violent overthrow of the federal government because the U.S. military is so overextended around the world it would not be in a position to defend officials.

"In watching the military campaigns of the past 25 years, I have come to admire 'surgical strikes,'" he writes. "When force is applied in a specific, limited way, the results can be magnificent. Such is my HYPOTHETICAL thinking for our present circumstance."

He poses the hypothetical scenario that half the members of Congress represent "problems" � a total of 267. He also sees at least three "problems" on the Supreme Court.

"Imagine if you will, teams of 5 committed citizens each, who were fed up with these 'problems,'" he writes of the assassination squads he envisions. He says it can be done with just 1,350 "committed citizens."

"Do you think that in America, a nation of 300,000,000 people, there are 1,350 committed citizens willing to put it all on the line to 'correct' these 'problems' and thus save the nation?" he asks. "I do," he answers.

Turner even has a name for his kind of political mass murder: "It could be called 'patriotic assassination,'" he writes.

He says these teams of super-patriot hitmen would gather information on the assigned targets � learning "daily schedules, public appearances, travel routes to and from work, etc. ... Once the data was collected and analyzed a time and date could be set for 'solving' these 'problems.'"

"Then, one night, perhaps in the wee hours of the morning, these HYPOTHETICAL heavily armed teams of five committed citizens each, would move," he continues. "I envision a surgically precise, lightning strike: Front doors kicked-in, entry, locating the target, solving the problem and out within 90 seconds. Within minutes, all 270 'problems' would be 'solved.'"

He explains that since most of the "problems" live in and around Washington, "the local police would be overwhelmed immediately and unable to respond to all the calls for help. This means only a limited police response and limited ability to 'apprehend' anyone. Even if there was a local security detail, taking them out at the start of such an operation wouldn�t be a problem; they would be 'collateral damage.' By the time police from neighboring towns, the county or even the state police were told what was happening, it would be too late. The feds at FBI, ATF, the military, et al would be useless because they too would all arrive long after it was over."

As if to cover his tracks, Turner also says he renounces and repudiates the use of force and violence to affect political change � "for now."

"I don't want to see such an attack against our government," he concludes. "I have no plans (at this time) to kill anybody. But I can � and I am willing to � if it comes down to it."

UPDATE:Assassination threats just hot air, says host

Does Hugo Chavez own U.S. voting machines ?

Feds probe money trail behind company for ties to Venezuelan president

Just 10 days before Americans vote in midterm congressional elections that could result in a historic shift of power, the federal government is investigating whether anti-American Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may control the company that operates electronic voting machines in 17 states.

Many questions have been raised about the reliability of the new machines, which leave no paper trails for the purposes of recounts. But now federal officials are investigating whether Smartmatic, owner of Sequoia Voting Systems, is secretly controlled by the Castroite revolutionary leader of Venezuela who denounced President Bush as Satan in his most recent United Nations address, the Miami Herald reports.

An informal investigation of Smartmatic's ownership begun last summer has, the paper reveals, become a formal probe.

One of the other major concerns raised about the electronic voting systems is that they could, under the right circumstances, be tampered with to deliver fraudulent results.

The investigation stems from a May 4 inquiry to the Treasury Department by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., raising concerns about Smartmatic's purchase of Sequoia last year. Maloney said she was disturbed by a 2004 article in the Miami Herald revealing that the Venezuelan government owned 28 percent of Bizta � a company operated by two of the same people who own Smartmatic.

Despite the probe, Smartmatic categorically denies any link to the Ch�vez regime.

"Smartmatic is a privately held corporation, and no foreign government or entity � including Venezuela � has ever held an ownership stake in the company," Mitch Stoller, a company spokesman, said in an e-mail to the Miami Herald.

"The government of Venezuela doesn�t have anything to do with the company aside from contracting it for our electoral process," the Venezuelan ambassador in Washington, Bernardo Alvarez, told the New York Times tonight.

But the Venezuelan connections have haunted the company whose machines have been plagued with problems in U.S. elections.

The Smartmatic investigation is being conducted by the Treasury-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, CFIUS � which determines whether deals involving foreign investors compromise national security.

Determining whether there really is a hidden connection to Ch�vez or anyone in his government is difficult because of Smartmatic's complex, though legal, corporate structure, reports the Miami Herald.

"The government should know who owns our voting machines � that is a national-security concern," said Maloney, who started the investigation with her letter last May. "There seems to have been an obvious effort to obscure the ownership of the company."

9/11 incident, make-believe, says Iranian official



An Iranian official mocked the 9/11 story presented to the world public opinion by the US, IRNA reported.

"What we watched on the TVs regarding slamming of two planes into the New York Twin Towers, was in fact a make-believe scene," said Iran's Deputy Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister and head of Iran's Culture, Art and Communications Research Center Mohammad-Hadi Homayoun in an address to the Iran-Russia Dialogue among Civilizations Conference in Moscow.


Homayoun stipulated that the sky-scrappers were destroyed through bomb explosions, adding that after massive media propaganda of the US the crusades began.

Americans snub invitation to pay $500,000 for Clinton birthday party

When America's liberal elite were offered the chance to pay up to $500,000 each (about �260,000) to attend Bill Clinton's 60th birthday extravaganza tonight - with the added promise of a private Rolling Stones concert - a packed house was expected.

Wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea sent out about 10,000 invitations to Hollywood tycoons, movie stars, captains of industry and Wall Street - with all proceeds to go to the former President's charitable foundation.

Those who pledged the top price were promised the 'Birthday Chair Package', with the best seating for the concert as well as a chance to have photographs taken with Mr Clinton during a round of golf and a three-day series of cocktail, brunch and dinner parties.

The minimum price, with inferior concert seats and no brunch, was set at $60,000 (�31,000). But with many rich Democrats sending their regrets, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that last Wednesday the Clintons drastically slashed prices to $12,500 (�6,500) for one reception and the concert, or $5,000 (�2,600) for just the Stones.

With the looming possibility of Bill and his long-suffering wife and daughter finding themselves amid a sea of empty chairs at the 2,900-seat Manhattan venue, tickets then went on sale to the public for as little as $1,710 (�900).

A friend of the Clintons said last night: "It is all highly embarrassing for Bill and Hillary. When they created the idea, they thought it would go like wildfire. What's not going to please some who did come up with $500,000 is finding regular Stones fans there who got last-minute tickets on the internet."

Mr Clinton's Press spokesman declined to comment.