The Rant

________________ by David Brooks New York Times Saddam Hussein saw his life as an unfolding epic narrative, with retreats and advances, but always the same ending. He would go down in history as the glorious Arab leader, as the Saladin of his day. One thousand years from now, schoolchildren would look back and marvel at the life of The Struggler, the great leader whose life was one of incessant strife, but who restored the greatness of the Arab nation. They would look back and see the man who lived by his saying: "We will never lower our heads as long as we live, even if we have to destroy everybody." Charles Duelfer opened his report on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction with those words. For a humiliated people, Saddam would restore pride by any means. Saddam knew the tools he would need to reshape history and establish his glory: weapons of mass destruction. These weapons had what Duelfer and his team called a "totemic" importance to him. With these ...

_____________________ by Michael Barone U.S. News and World Report U.S. 'Almost All Wrong' on Weapons" read the headline on the October 7 Washington Post. "Report on Iraq Contradicts Bush Administration Claims" read the subhead. But these headlines conceal the real news in the report of Iraq Survey Group head Charles Duelfer. For the report makes it plain that George W. Bush had good reason to go to war in Iraq and end the regime of Saddam Hussein. First of all, Saddam retained the capability to manufacture weapons of mass destruction. On chemical weapons, "Saddam sought to sustain the requisite knowledge base to restart the program eventually and, to the extent it did not threaten the Iraqi efforts to get out from under sanctions, to sustain the inherent capability to produce such weapons as circumstances permitted in the future." On nuclear weapons, "Saddam did not abandon his nuclear ambitions. . . . Those around Saddam seemed quite con...

I am not holding one party harmless from this criticism, but we all want honesty right? A contribution from brother Richard: More evidence of the false claims by Bush & Cheney on medical malpractice. From: Congress Watchdog Subject: [CWATCHDOGCIVJUS] Cheney's Medical Malpractice Distortions>Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 17:05:49 -0400 NEWS RELEASE>For Immediate Release: Oct. 6, 2004>>>Cheney's Claims in V.P. Debate and New Bush-Cheney Medical Malpractice>Ad Continue Campaign of Deception and Distortion Government Data and Studies Show Bush-Cheney Claims About Insurance>Rates and Access to Doctors Have No Foundation>>WASHINGTON, D.C. - Statements made by Vice President Dick Cheney in his debate with Sen. John Edwards last night as well as the new Bush-Cheney TV ad alleging that there's a "crisis in women's access to healthcare"caused by Democrats blocking "legal reform[s] to stop the frivolous lawsuits" is an exer...

by Bob Clasen _________________________ It is amazing to watch the polls swing back and forth over the past few weeks. The famous “swing voters” are apparently changing their minds. First they were for Kerry, then they switched to Bush, now they are trickling back to Kerry. Who are these famous “Undecided” voters? These are the people who answer “I don’t know” in answer to political surveys. They are not sure if they are Democrats or Republicans. They are “independent.” They do not have a political philosophy. They are not too clear about what is happening in the world, either. These are the sorts who are not sure if Washington State is on the Atlantic or Pacific ocean. They don’t know who the vice-President is. The can’t say if Iraq is a Moslem country or not, let alone Pakistan or Sudan. They do not know what a “graduated income tax” is. Kerry is the ideal candidate for such voters. He, too, is not sure what he believes in. It varies from week to week and year...

by George Will ____________________________ If Sept. 11 had never happened -- if debate about domestic policy had not been drowned out by the roar of war -- the potential domestic ramifications of this election would give it unusual nation-shaping power. To understand why is to understand some of the Democratic rage about the specter of a second term for George W. Bush. He has a multifaceted agenda for weakening crucial components of the Democratic Party, factions that depend on cosseting by the federal government. Consider trial lawyers and organized labor. John Kerry's selection of John Edwards as running mate was a blunder, and not just because Kerry probably will lose Edwards's North Carolina. The Edwards selection ratifies a provocative fact: trial lawyers have become the Democrats' most important faction. This has energized small-business owners, the self-employed, doctors and others who worry that they live one lawsuit away from ruin. Such people, now arous...

By Bob Clasen After watching W’s performance at the debate and thinking about the fact that he seemed unmotivated to attack Kerry or defend his own positions on the issues, it occurs to me: Bush wants to lose. Who can blame him? Is there a more thankless job in the United States? Bush doesn’t need the money, and he could make more money in the private sector anyway. Anyone who wants to be President in this day and age must be a little bit nuts. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, half the country is going to hate you, criticize you, make fun of you, do everything to thwart your will. Bush has been called a Nazi, stupid idiot, a shill of corporate interests, a right wing nut job, to take the more printable epithets. I am not saying Bush consciously is trying to lose the election. But perhaps there is a shadow side of Bush, the famous unconscious, which has decided it has had enough of being ridiculed by Hollywood and the Dominant media. Bush has decided that ...

This article gives more evidence why a Fundamentalist religion based upon the Koran is so ruthless and oblivious of modern concepts of human rights: it cannot progress beyond barbaric tribal practices from the seventh century A.D. codified into an infallible Religious Law. BY AMIR TAHERI Sunday, October 3, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT _________________________________________ Exhibition Killing The Muslim "debate" on hostage-taking and beheading. Who are Moslems allowed to seize as hostage? Who are Moslems allowed to kill? ________________________________________ For the past few weeks these questions have prompted much debate throughout the Muslim world. The emerging answer to both questions is: Anyone you like! _______________________________________ Triggered by the atrocity at a school in Beslan, in southern Russia, last month, the debate has been further fueled by kidnappings and "exhibition killings" in Iraq. Non-Muslims may find it strange t...

Since J.D. is feeling optimistic, I'll play devil's advocate and post something that is pessimistic: by Zen Chavet (New York Daily News 10-20-04) _____________________________________ W's wrong: Freedom can't grow in Iraqi soil _____________________________________ During Thursday's presidential debate, President Bush told the American people his goal in Iraq is to spread liberty and freedom. The President believes the majority of Iraqis yearn for democracy and will express this by taking part in free elections and defending a representative government. This idea is Bush's main justification for the invasion of Iraq. It is the heart of his broader Middle Eastern policy. And regrettably, it is entirely wrong. There are 22 member states in the Arab League, and not one of them is remotely democratic. Some, like Egypt, Syria and Libya, are military dictatorships. Others, such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia, are ruled by hereditary monarchs who...

Bob: While at first blush this might seem a move in the right direction?? Militant Cleric Considers Entry Into Iraqi Politics By DEXTER FILKINSPublished: October 3, 2004 AGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 2 - The Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has begun laying the groundwork to enter Iraq's nascent democratic process, telling Iraqi leaders that he is planning to disband his militia and possibly field candidates for office. After weeks of watching his militia wither before American military attacks, Mr. Sadr has sent emissaries to some of Iraq's major political parties and religious groups to discuss the possibility of involving himself in the campaign for nationwide elections, according to a senior aide to Mr. Sadr and several Iraqi leaders who have met with him. According to those Iraqis, Mr. Sadr says he intends to disband his militia, the Mahdi Army, and endorse the holding of elections. While Mr. Sadr has made promises to end his armed resistance before, some Iraqi officials...