Cal Thomas

Washington and certain other cities are beginning to resemble occupied territories. … This raises the questions of whether we can hope to make ourselves “safe” – if by that we mean no more terror attacks – and if it is worth the price of transforming ourselves into an armed fortress. Changing America is a primary objective of the terrorists. If we change ourselves, have they won? …

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said: “We are fighting to preserve both security and freedom. We’re not going to accept the closing of the city.” The new restrictions were imposed by Congress without consulting D.C. leaders, according to Norton. Mayor Anthony Williams said at a news conference, “When in doubt, preserve freedom.” That may be increasingly difficult to do, depending on one’s definitions of “security” and “freedom.” …

As we ratchet up our defenses, we, however, must maintain a balance between our safety and our freedoms. We would do well to recall Benjamin Franklin’s warning: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Note that Calcified Cal Thomas, radical evangelical Christian and paleo-con deep-thinker, is saying what many others, including this atheist leftist have been saying: we are not reacting well to 9/11. I would go so far as to say that nearly every single step we have taken since 9/11 has been a misstep — we may have done nothing right. Certainly, the things we are doing wrong are colossal and the repercussions will resound for many years. mjh

FactCheck.org Republican-funded Group Attacks Kerry’s War Record

Ad features vets who claim Kerry “lied” to get Vietnam medals. But one accuser quickly recants, and other witnesses disagree.

Summary

A group funded by the biggest Republican campaign donor in Texas began running an attack ad Aug. 5 in which former Swift Boat veterans claim Kerry lied to get one of his two decorations for bravery and two of his three purple hearts. However, one of the veterans who appears in the ad has already recanted his principal accusation against Kerry, in an interview with the Boston Globe .

Some other veterans who accuse Kerry are contradicted by Kerry’s former crewmen. One of the accusers says he was on another boat “a few yards” away during the incident which won Kerry the Bronze Star, but the former Army lieutenant whom Kerry plucked from the water that day backs Kerry’s account. [mjh: follow the link further analysis]

Scotsman.com News – International – Kerry attacked on Vietnam record

The Republican senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, has stepped into the war of words, calling the advert “dishonest and dishonourable” and urging the White House to condemn it as well. The White House has declined.

“It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me,” Mr McCain said, comparing the anti-Kerry advert to tactics in his bitter Republican primary fight with President Bush.

The Right Wing Attack Machine, which so successfully destroyed McCain’s campaign in 2000, gears up just in time for a new attack book by one of the people involved with this commercial. These punks are scared. mjh

MSNBC – A Baby Bounce?

July 31 – Coming out of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Sen. John Kerry now holds a seven-point lead over President George W. Bush (49 percent to 42 percent) in a three-way race with independent Ralph Nader (3 percent), according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll The poll was taken over two nights, both before and after Kerry’s acceptance speech. Respondents who were queried after Kerry’s Thursday night speech gave the Democrat a ten-point lead over Bush. Three weeks ago, Kerry’s lead was three points.

Capitol Hill Blue: Sullen, Depressed President Retreats Into Private, Paranoid World By TERESA HAMPTON & WILLIAM D. McTAVISH, Capitol Hill Blue Staff
Jul 29, 2004, 09:08

A sullen President George W. Bush is withdrawing more and more from aides and senior staff, retreating into a private, paranoid world where only the ardent loyalists are welcome. …

Bush’s erratic behavior and sharp mood swings led White House physician Col. Richard J. Tubb to put the President on powerful anti-depressant drugs after he stormed off stage rather than answer reporters’ questions about his relationship with indicted Enron executive Kenneth J. Lay, but White House insiders say the strong, prescription medications seem to increase Bush’s sullen behavior towards those around him. …

Among cabinet members, only Attorney General John Ashcroft, a fundamentalist who shares many of Bush’s strict religious convictions, remains part of the inner circle. White House aides call Bush and Ashcroft the “Blue Brothers” because, like the mythical movie characters, “both believe they are on a mission from God.” …

“Too many make the mistake of thinking Dick Cheney is the real power in the Bush administration,” says one senior Homeland Security aide. “They’re wrong. It’s Ashcroft and that is reason enough for all of us to be very, very afraid.”

[Thanks to Bruce H. mjh]

Bush Yoga – Yoga Poses by George Bush – Virabhadrasana I

Funny and enlightening. Namaste. By was of Jas. and wonkette.com.mjh

Bush camp solicits race of Star staffer By C.J. Karamargin, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

President Bush’s re-election campaign insisted on knowing the race of an Arizona Daily Star journalist assigned to photograph Vice President Dick Cheney.

The Star refused to provide the information. …

Danny Diaz, a spokesman for the president’s re-election campaign, said the information was needed for security purposes.

“All the information requested of staff, volunteers and participants for the event has been done so to ensure the safety of all those involved, including the vice president of the United States,” he said.

Diaz repeated that answer when asked if it is the practice of the White House to ask for racial information or if the photographer, Mamta Popat, was singled out because of her name. He referred those questions to the U.S. Secret Service, which did not respond to a call from the Star Friday afternoon.

[Thanks to newmexiken.com]