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July 30, 2004
Noteworthy salutes by today's top newsmakers
Wow, you really did explain this just the other day
It may be the week of John Kerry's ascendacy to the Democratic nomination for the Presidenta period of time during the presidential campaign where the opposition candidate traditionally lays lowbut that doesn't mean the incumbent executive branch's Number 2 isn't hitting the road and campaigning for local candidates. For the past few days, Vice President Dick Cheney (whom we've poked fun at before for his inability to stray from the rote lines of his standard stump speech) has brought his unique form of existential musings out west. Here, the veep ponders the idea of an alternate universe, five discrete times in twenty-four hours: Remarks Followed by Q&A by the Vice President at a Reception for Congressional Candidates Goli Ameri and Jim Zupancic, Portland, Oregon, July 26, 2004: But I explained to a group the other day that if it hadn't been for that victory by Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, Lynne would have married somebody else. (Laughter.) And she said, right, and how he'd be Vice President of the United States. (Laughter and applause.) The Vice President Delivers Remarks at Luncheon for Congressional Candidate Roy Ashburn, Bakersfield, California, July 26, 2004: And I explained to a group the other day that if it hadn't been for Dwight Eisenhower's victory in 1952, Lynne would have married somebody else. She said, right, and now he'd be Vice President of the United States. (Laughter and applause.) Remarks Followed by Q&A by the Vice President at a Luncheon for Gubernatorial Candidate Dino Rossi, Kennewick, Washington, July 26, 2004: But I explained to a group the other night, if it hadn't been for that tremendous election victory by Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, Lynne would have married somebody else. And she said, right, and how he'd be Vice President of the United States. (Laughter and applause.) The Vice President Delivers Remarks at a Reception for Senatorial Candidate Bill Jones, Riverside, California, July 27, 2004: I explained to a group the other night if hadn't been for Eisenhower's great victory in 1952, Lynne would have married somebody else. (Laughter.) And she said, right, and now he'd be Vice President of the United States. (Laughter.) Remarks by the Vice President at a Luncheon for Congressional Candidate John Swallow, Salt Lake City, Utah, July 27, 2004: I explained to a group the other day that if hadn't been for Dwight Eisenhower's election victory, Lynne would have married somebody else. She said, right, and now he'd be Vice President of the United States. (Laughter and applause.) EARLIER: Dick Cheney (repeating a different aspect of his stump speech), George W. Bush, and John Kerry
July 29, 2004
Highlights and noteworthy policy points from John Edwards' acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention last night
July 27, 2004
We're Just Like Us
As part of our continuing coverage of this year's exciting race for the White House, we asked noted "celebrity body language expert" Patti Wood to provide her unique brand of insight on the "hidden" feelings of politicians as indicated by their physical gestures and maneuvers, but she declined, claiming to be too busy working on an in-depth body language piece for Us Weekly on the recent split between Spiderman 2's Kirsten Dunst and yesterday's it-boy Jake Gyllenhaal. Ms. Wood's less-successful sister, Cathy, agreed to step in and help us analyze and assess the inner workings of this year's political love lives and goings-on, explaining that she had learned a lot about this process from her older sister. (She did, however, express some dismay about not being able to studiously examine photos of "that total hottie, Jake. I want to touch him.") Continued after the jump. Continue reading...
July 26, 2004
Skeet, Skeet, Vote
When you're MTV, and you're inexplicably working with the GOP to galvanize the youth vote, and you're all, "Let's get some kids voting and shit," and they're all, "Bitches, let's get a program going, and we'll get busy on our website, the front page and shit," and you say, "Fuck yeah, we've got this shit right here, check out this fine-ass agendum," then you give 'em an essay contest for young people on "how President Bush's call to service resonates in their lives": Choose or Lose 2004: "Stand Up and Holla!" Not having taken part in this inspirational program, we can only take a gander at additional elements and events from the MTV/RNC "Choose or Lose" Program Guide: "GOP 2004: Get All Up in this Peace" "Gippa, Please" "Off the Hizzy, GOPizzy" "Rock the Hizzouse of Representatives" "Kerry's Bunk in the Crunk" "Bust a Cap(ital Punishment)" "Like Junk in the Trunk? Ni**as get Sunk" "Niger, Please: I Wanna Sex You Up" "Please, Hamid, Don't Hurt 'Em" "Bush 41 got Sonned" "The Roof, The Roof is on Fire! And the Fire Department's Underfunded!" "Don't Believe tha Hype... Actually, Believe It. Please." "Compassionizzle Conservatizzle" "If I Ruled The World, Actually, I do, so go Fuck Yourself" "We Skeet on Welfare Bitches, too" "No Homo" "Stand Up and Hola! (We welcome Latinos, though)" And, finally, They must have used all the letter W's for signs about some other fellow
Offered up at yesterday's Rock the Vote event in Boston: Jerry Springer, Biz Markie, Natalie Portman, Lauryn Hill, Al Sharpton, Howard Dean, and creative usages of an upside-down letter M. If he loses, there's always 2016
“Why, hello, there, Gracie! Your mommy was very thoughtful for allowing us to host this event here in your front yard, despite the current President's policies on home ownership and property taxes. In fact, if you add up the true costs of this President's economic policies, you get a Bush Tax of higher property taxes, higher fees, higher health care costs - at the same time middle class incomes are going down. In 32 states, state and local property taxes have gone up. This Bush Tax - Boochy-koochy-koo! - can take $3500 or more from the pockets of America's middle class. "Awwww, don't cry, little Gracie. Oh, no, no, no. Be a big girl. Think of your mommy: She can't afford four more years of Bush. You know what, though? If this President wants to make this election about taxes after he's cut billions for billionaires and squeezed middle class families, we're ready for that fight. Coochy-coochy-coochy-coo."
July 22, 2004
We rewrite, you decide, Vol. 5
From the Remarks by the President at the 2004 President's Dinner at the Washington Convention Center, July 21, 2004: It's now been three and a half years since the Vice President and I took office. We've faced significant challenges. We have met them head-on. I believe it's the President's job to confront problems, not to pass them on to future Presidents and future generations. (Applause.) From the President's State of the Union Address, January 20, 2004: In two weeks, I will send you a budget that funds the war, protects the homeland, and meets important domestic needs, while limiting the growth in discretionary spending to less than 4 percent. (Applause.) This will require that Congress focus on priorities, cut wasteful spending, and be wise with the people's money. By doing so, we can cut the deficit in half over the next five years. (Applause.) According to the Congressional Budget Office, by way of Calpundit, this still means a deficit of anywhere from $240 to $500 billion in 2009. 2009? That means that this deficit is a "problem" that President Bush (regardless of the outcome of this year's election) will certainly not be around to confront. Applause, please.
July 21, 2004
She's got her mother's face, and her daddy's respect for the media
This image was taken from the focal point of the Washington Post's most important news story EVER (eclipsing coverage of Samuel Berger's resignation from the Kerry campaign, tomorrow's report by the 9/11 commission, and the Palestinian leadership's current disarray):
July 20, 2004
How does he pull the strings while thumbing his nose like that?
(This remarkable confluence via Dan Froomkin's White House Briefing, the Washington Post, July 20, 2004)
July 19, 2004
The perfect right-wing explanation: Perhaps all these Iraqi police casualties have something to do with their choice of armored vehicles
From the Iraq Ministry of Interior's office, "Security Forces Information Packet": IPS officers drive blue and white vehicles, of various makes and models. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Convoy is on alert on dangerous road": To the left are the Iraqi police in their white Hyundais with blue painted doors. Then again, maybe it's not just their choice of vehicles...
From the U.S. Army's Weapons Fact File, "HMMWV": The HMMWV (High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) is a light, highly mobile, diesel-powered, four-wheel-drive vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission. Based on the M998 chassis, using common components and kits, the HMMWV can be configured to become a troop carrier, armament carrier, S250 shelter carrier, ambulance, TOW missile carrier, and a Scout vehicle. From MSNBC's "Frantically, the Army tries to armor Humvees: Soft-skinned workhorses turning into death traps": The cost of an armored Humvee, built from scratch, is $150,000. That's $1.8 billion to replace every Humvee in Iraq with one that offers armored protection. Or, looked at through the windshield of a Humvee on the Baghdad-Tikrit highway, that's less than 2 percent of the $99 billion the Air Force is spending on the F-22 fighter it insists it needs. RELATED: Iraq Coalition Casualties
July 16, 2004
July 15, 2004
Karl Rove for the Day, Vol. 6
Hey, he's totally grounding the rhetoric! (Ba-dum.) Four (more years) on the floor! This guy is totally trampling over American values! Talk about carpet bombing! Dan Bartlett must have missed this "photo oppertoonity"
The wire services and Wisconsin-area local news outlets eagerly covered President Bush's "unscheduled" campaign stop at Mitch's Candy Store in West Bend, Wisconsin, yesterday, but amidst all the hullabaloo over his caloric consumption as he purchased some of the shop's "delicious bearclaws" was one "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" detail. Wisconsin, a state Bush lost by a mere 6,000 votes in the 2000 election, ranks a respectable eleventh in the nation in education spending, though, somehow, the Bush-supportive candy store that his aides chose for this impromptu photo-op was staffed by people who can't spell the very item that the Secret Service had to have taste-tested beforehand: Not to harp on spelling-related issues too much, but it's bearclaw, B-E-A-R-C-L-A-W, bearclaw. He'll probably work on it in earnest for a few months and then drop it like a hot potato and run when it gets too hard
From The New York Post's Book Beat, July 15, 2004: "Paul Bremer, who stepped down as Ambassador to Iraq two weeks ago, has begun meeting with New York publishers about writing a memoir of his life and his experiences in the Middle East. As are the people who think anyone will buy this bilge, b-i-l-g-e.
July 14, 2004
What are you wearing, honey? A gown by Karl Rove and shoes by Karen Hughes
Bovs all over your tees! Sigh. Cokie Roberts has indeed been proven to be correct in her weekend prediction that the heretofore invisible Bush daughters would be increasingly whored out as visual props by the incumbent President's campaign masterminds. Witness the immaculately staged and perfectly-lit photograph taken by primo fashion shutterbug Patrick Demarchelier, sampled above, and slated to appear in the August issue of Vogue, alongside an additional photo of the twins in more casual attire (see below). Perhaps more significantly, the glossy images are accompanied by what can only be considered a kiss-blowing puff piece/article in the grand tradition of the magazine's fawning coverage of politically peripheral luminaries such as Kirsten Dunst and Salma Hayek (both of whom, we hear, are wicked supporters of animal rights and the Reform-Party movement). As the Washington Post states, the profile was written by one Julia Reed, who "describes herself as an 'acquaintance of the family' and has spent significant time writing about it." Presumably, these writing projects on the First Family have nothing to do with Ms. Reed's hard-hitting pieces on food ("Kebabing Along", "Giving a Fig", "Classic From a Can") for the New York Times' Magazine Desk. In fact, she's probably referring to her article in London's Sunday Telegraph, dated November 5, 2000, which opens with the lead, The only time I ever met George W. Bush during his drinking days, I was drunk and stoned myself. I was all of 15 and a guest at the wedding of Donald Ensenat, Bush's Yale classmate and current adviser. Oh, wait, wait, wait...maybe it was this piece in the August 2, 2000 edition of Newsweek, entitled "Suddenly, Republicans are Crazy About Everybody: Likability is the convention's most potent political attribute", in which Ms. Reed writes, "'Likability' has apparently become a more potent political attribute than, say, having a firm grasp of issues or possessing formidable speaking skills...Republicans apparently find it more appealing to appear brain dead than engaged in the issues that often divide the party." Wow, Julia, honey, it's amazing the First Lady even let you interview her daughters at all! Unless, maybe, you swore off any such opining or commentary...? According to the Washington Post, again, Reed's current piece in Vogue presents such vital nuggets as: ...the daughters' post-graduation plans include Jenna's desire to work for a charter school and Barbara's interest in working with AIDS-afflicted children in Eastern Europe and Africa. Both girls have surrounded themselves with a group of good friends who say such nice things about them that readers might be led to believe these young women have never burped publicly, let alone had a grumpy day. But, of course, such low-key anecdotes aren't the news, here. The news is these stunning photos! Thankfully, the Post's Robin Givhan goes into greater detail on the real substantive issues:
Jenna's ruby red dress is by Oscar de la Renta, a designer favored by her mother. Barbara is wearing a similar ivory gown by Calvin Klein. They'll wear American and Italian, but no French? And come on, gals, Tommy Hilfiger? Just so you know, ladies, as a bit of closing advice, French Connection U.K. is a British clothier, despite their misleading name, and you can and should feel comfortable supporting our most important ally in the War on Terror. Maybe next time, you darlings can sport one of those endearing "FCUK BUSH" T-shirts?
July 13, 2004
Cokie, you left out the part about how today's kids loooove bellbottoms
From the back-and-forth banter between Cokie Roberts and Chris Matthews, The Chris Matthews Show, July 11, 2004: Ms. ROBERTS: Well I was going to talk about Michael Moore, but I'll switch and say I think the Bush twins will be out on the campaign trail with midriffs showing and that they will... The glaringly obvious joke would be, "Would you like freedom fries with that?"
As that old "uniter-not-divider" canard strikes anew, a handful of conservatives with their eye on the upcoming presidential election have (very, very, very predictably) earmarked the corporation at the source of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's wife's fortune as the target of their ire. Yes, Theresa Heinz Kerry, or rather, Heinz, the ketchup giant she inherited from her deceased Republican husband, is slated for a round of negligible victimization with the release of W Ketchup. From their site: "W Ketchup™ is made in America, from ingredients grown in the USA. The leading competitor not only has 57 varieties, but has 57 foreign factories as well. W Ketchup comes in one flavor: American. Choose Heinz and you're supporting Teresa and her husband's Gulfstream Jet, and liberal causes such as Kerry for President." All good points...and I know I prefer American-flavored ketchup to its various alternatives. And while a 24-ounce bottle of traitorous Heinz-brand ketchup runs a measly $1.69 at FreshDirect, compared with W Ketchup's steeper $3 price tag, bear in mind that "a portion of every W Ketchup sale will be donated to to the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships for the children of active duty service members killed in the line of duty." In other words, the more ketchup your kids buy to cover themselves in lieu of blood while pretending to be shot or maimed in childish war games, the more children of actually-killed soldiers benefit! (It's a win-win scenario, save for those troops who were merely maimed, in which case, the kids get nothing.) Well, there's nothing wrong with freedom, liberty, or American-grown tomatoes. And there's nothing inherently wrong with selfishly looking after your own interests, either. So, please, please, be generous and open your wallets to purchase some of the progressively-minded alternative products below, which we'll be making available shortly. Lefty™ brand rifles and shotguns Oh, and lots and lots of Dijon mustard. (Thanks to Jeff.)
July 9, 2004
America, we are all little girls now
The three stages of Kerry-Edwards support amongst the Democrat-leaning American populace, as indicated by little Amy Campbell-Oates, age 3, in the red shirt:
July 8, 2004
Wanted, Dead or Alive...and preferably on the 26th, 27th, or 28th of July
Time to whip out your summertime advent calendar and take a look at the delicious candy we have in store for us this month (I hope it's butterscotch!). The New Republic's latest issue features a piece about the Bush Administration's interaction with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency in their collaborative search for so-called High-Value Targets, i.e. villains in the War on Terror™, excerpted below. From "July Surprise", in The New Republic's July 19th, 2004 issue: This spring, the administration significantly increased its pressure on Pakistan to kill or capture Osama bin Laden, his deputy, Ayman Al Zawahiri, or the Taliban's Mullah Mohammed Omar, all of whom are believed to be hiding in the lawless tribal areas of Pakistan. A succession of high-level American officials--from outgoing CIA Director George Tenet to Secretary of State Colin Powell to Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca to State Department counterterrorism chief Cofer Black to a top CIA South Asia official--have visited Pakistan in recent months to urge General Pervez Musharraf's government to do more in the war on terrorism. Despicable. Conspiratorial. Unbelievable. The byline says John Judis, Spencer Ackerman and Massoud Ansari, but, seriously...will the influence of Stephen Glass ever wane amongst the purveyors of mistruth at The New Republic? Late July? They clearly meant late October.
July 7, 2004
Honey, I'm taking the kids out for I-C-E C-R-E-A-M
The wonderfully droll Bill O'Reilly, as featured in last night's "O'Reilly Factor", FOX News, as it aired July 6, 2004: "The left wingers on the radio were saying Edwards was born in Bethlehem and is very near the baby Jesus. Now I ask you, how much of this bilge, B-I-L-G-E, bilge, can we take?" Bear in mind, as you see above, this rant was accompanied by an on-screen graphic with the word "bilge" prominently featured. Leno-caliber Fun with Screenshots
Click here for the full-sized enlargement, and here to actually read the article, the latter of which seems mind-numbingly boring after such juvenile screenshot antics, but hey. He's right! Bermuda and India are doing quite well
From Remarks by the President on the Economy, the White House, July 2, 2004: "We've got an economy which is changing. The nature of the job base is changing. And all that means it's been a difficult period of time. Yet we're strong, we're getting stronger. We're witnessing steady growth, steady growth. And that's important. From Return of consulting lifts Accenture: First growth in consulting operations in 2-1/2 years boosts firm's profit above Wall Street's views, CNN/Money, July 7, 2004: Accenture Ltd., one of the world's largest consulting firms, said Wednesday its quarterly profit rose sharply thanks to strong demand for outsourcing and the first real increase in consulting revenue in 2-1/2 years.
July 6, 2004
July 2, 2004
Saddam Hussein's point-by-point guide to pointing
July 1, 2004
At least he's still got his sense of humor, that lovable old bear!
Really, these examples of his sardonic wit blow away even the notoriously jocular Slobodan Milosevic and those on trial for war crimes in Sierra Leone. Asked if he could afford a lawyer, he became jocose. The Iraqi Todd Barry, as we like to call the deposed leader, will hopefully be making his next appearance in the coming days. And in unrelated comedy news, which has nothing whatsoever to do with brilliant timing and/or joke execution, the current government of Iraq has reinstated the death penalty. |
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