Water is STILL Wet: Political Edition

Who the hell needs "expert" political analysis to conclude that Bush marriage proposal plays well among conservatives? These are Ohio analysts too, so go figure how they could have come up with that far reaching conclusion all on their own.

Propaganda Works #44561

Tom Vuksta of Fairfield really gets a lot from BushCo commercials. I've seen locally the ads that start with a positive Bush trying his best to be Reagan by sounding "positive" and then it switches and attacks Kerry for talking about the "Great Depression." Tom was suckered into this via this letter to the editor (last):

I have been reading newspaper reports and television reports in which Sen. John Kerry keeps comparing today's financial problems to that of the Great Depression of the 1930s.
If Kerry thinks we are now in the equivalent of the great depression, I can only say that I knew the great depression because I lived through it. Kerry does not know what the Great Depression was really like - he did not live through it. There is absolutely no comparison between today and the 1930s.
Thomas Vuksta, Jr.
Fairfield

Now, this is either an astro-turf letter or it is from an older guy who only reads the spin, and not the full speech of Kerry. When Kerry was in town he did not talk about the Great Depression, Rob Portman did>

"I know it is in John Kerry's political interests to badmouth the economy and compare it to the Great Depression, but the truth is we are experiencing the fastest economic growth in 20 years," said Rep. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park, the communications chairman of Bush's Ohio campaign.

BushCo is pissed because Kerry regularly says that not since the Great Depression have we lost more jobs. Just like this from a Dayton Speech:

Under his watch, we've lost more jobs than at any time since the Great Depression.

That is not comparing it to the Great Depression, it is using the Great Depression job loss record as a bench mark. This how spinning is done. BushCo says something that Kerry does not say, and then get idiots to believe it because they don't know the details if original remarks. Now, I shall surely here from the BushCo folks saying that Kerry is lying or what ever else they want, but the fact is this is spinning. This is propaganda. Kerry's facts are "correct." If not, then BushCo would be calling him a liar, which on this they are not.

This is what I hate in politics. This is not debate, this is just playing "see who can hit the cookie first, last one has to eat it."

Clinton Haters

They will never die! They are the human version of cockroaches. CBS broke with precedent and aired anti-Clinton commercials during last night’s “60 Minutes” from a conservative group who seem bent on destroying Clinton's Book. Isn't that a actionable suit for Clinton's publisher? The commercials reportedly aired in here in Cincinnati. I was out and missed “60 Minutes” last night. Tom Hanks was very good in "The Terminal" by the way.

Did anyone see the commercials?

"Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks, shall win my love"

It is Saturday so I am in the mood to kick back and post on something without any news value at all. There are certain movies with certain female characters that I have been very enamored with. In no particular order, here is a list of those who most tickled my fancy.

1. Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Samantha Lord in The Philadelphia Story


2. Maureen O'Hara as Mary Kate Danaher in The Quiet Man


3. Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund Laszlo in Casablanca


4. Tara Fitzgerald as Betty in The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain


5. Kristin Scott Thomas as Fiona in Four Weddings and a Funeral


6. Emma Thompson as Beatrice Much Ado About Nothing


7. Meg Ryan as Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle


8. Alyson Hannigan as Michelle Flaherty in American Pie 2


9. Winona Ryder as Josephine "Jo" March in Little Women


10. Natalie Portman as Queen Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Now, please keep the ribbing to a minimum.

Anti-Red Cross Sentiment?

Where do idiotic attacks on the Red Cross come from? The Enquirer has a letter that puts forth condemnation of the Red Cross with an almost anti-UN style:

Will Red Cross act over Johnson death?

First, the beheading (on tape and all over the Internet) of Nick Berg in Iraq in May, and now, the beheading (again, on tape and all over the Internet) of Paul Johnson Jr. in Saudi Arabia.

Does the International Red Cross have any plans to determine whether these two incidents were 'acceptable forms of treatment of prisoners,' to the same extent as it has been doing with the incidents at Abu Gharaib Prison and elsewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan by the coalition forces?

Dan Nebert,
Wyoming

Most who know anything about the Geneva Conventions knows that the Red Cross has been charged with determining the treatment of prisoners of war and other detainees held during arm conflicts. It is not the Red Cross's job to inspect criminal organizations who have kidnapped individuals.

The letter implies that the Red Cross should not be worrying about the treatment of Prisoners in American jails. His other contention could only be to try and equate al Qaeda to the US Military, which I am fairly sure he would rebuke. Bottom line issue Mr. Nebert should think about: America is supposed to be better than torture. We are the beacon to the world on human rights, and when we fail, even if one thinks we did so only moderately (a real stretch), we must hold ourselves as highly accountable as any other country. Mr. Nebert likely would prefer to just let the military wipe out anyone who dares not follow American(BushCo) geo-political policy. I guess I am next on the list. Well maybe not next, but on the list.

Know in the News

Nice article today on the Know Theatre Tribe with reports of a fall production, Jason Bruffy news, and Know-to-Go specifics.

By the way ANOTHER AMERICAN: Asking and Telling still has performances on June 18th, 19th, 24th, and 26th.

New College in Warren County

The Ohio Board of Regents annouced approval of a plan to start a community college in Warren county, likely in the Lebanon area. The school has no permanent facility and will be cooperating with three different state schools until they are on their feet.