At an awards dinner at Atlanta, Sandra Day O'Connor made statements that should be condemned by any American who claims to care about the Constitution. Here's what O'Connor said...

"The impressions we create in this world are important, and they can leave their mark," O'Connor said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Doing so, she added, "may not only enrich our own country's decisions, I think it may create that all important good impression."

The opinions of international and foreign courts should have no more to do with Sandra Day O'Connor's rulings than what she ate for breakfast or what the weather was like that day. The idea that the Supreme Court should be making decisions based on the "all important good impression" that it will leave on other nations runs absolutely counter to the intentions of the Founding Fathers. Moreover, the last thing a Supreme Court Justice should ever be thinking is, "Well, I think the people of Europe would prefer that we rule this way, so that's the way we're going to go".

I'm telling you folks, we DESPERATELY need to get some more Supreme Court justices in office who are serious about sticking to the Constitution, as opposed to judges like Sandra Day O'Connor & Stephen Breyer (who has made comments similar to the ones O'Connor did here), who are making things up as they go along and calling it "constitutional law".

While I'm not a big fan of "Reality TV" to begin with, I cannot even begin to fathom how something like this could ever be contemplated by network execs, even in Britain...

"Sky One has shelved a reality show which set up six male contestants with a gorgeous woman - only to reveal that "she" was a transsexual.

Only at the end of the show did they learn the truth - that Miriam was a pre-operative transsexual. The men were said to be "horrified" by the discovery."

It just boggles the mind that they created a real live "The Crying Game" and wanted to put it in front of their viewers. Not only was it dangerous for Miriam & the staff who were shooting the show (think back to the guy on the Jenny Jones show who shot a man for having a "gay crush" on him), it's an unbelievably twisted and vicious prank to play on the contestants.

Had that show gone on the air, those men would have been humiliated & mocked by their friends & co-workers. It's not even remotely comparable to something like Joe Schmo where the person involved comes across as likable & walks away with $100,000 and "guest appearances on various TV talk shows".

So if they'd put something this cruel and degenerate on the air, what's next? Tricking people into sleeping with their sisters? Burning down people's houses to see their reaction? Telling someone that they just slept with a person infected with herpes? That would get people to turn the show back on next week, huh? "Tune in next week to see if Joe Schmo has herpes or not".

People at Sky One should be getting fired over this show. It isn't because a lawsuit may keep the program from getting on the air, but because no one who thought this show was a good idea in the first place has any business working in television.

I'd like to thank all of RWN's advertisers for October. Their support was much appreciated. Take a look at a few of these pages...

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As we all know, there are people on the left who blame Bush for EVERYTHING! They think he rigged the 2000 & 2002 elections, killed Paul Wellstone, was behind 9/11, invaded Iraq AND Afghanistan for oil, secretly takes orders from Ariel Sharon, etc, etc, etc. You name it and they think Bush is somehow tied into it. Well, now someone from the "Tetrahedron Publishing Group" -- whatever the heck may be-- is even claiming that Bush is behind the wildfires in California. This editorial has to be seen to be believed...

"It is no secret the news media is heavily controlled by a cryptocracy of propagandists. During his testimony to Congress, Past CIA director James Woolsey referred to industrial espionage, if not socio-economic and political sabotage, as The Agency’s chief functions. Who’s making money from the LA fires?

During the weeks ahead, Southern Californians will be massively intoxicated. Nature and excess population—“urban sprawl”—will be blamed for the unprecedented devastation and serious toll on the public’s health. It is not unreasonable to predict an alleged “terrorist attack,” or full outbreak,” will take advantage of the ensuing chaos, and give the administration further fuel to run their deadly deceptions."

Got that? Bush had the wildfires started to boost his popularity and so that he could have the people of California sprayed with biological agents. That's a brilliant strategy isn't it? In fact, it's so brilliant that I'm surprised that no one thought of it in the last Symposium On The 2004 Election that RWN held. I can imagine it now....

John Hawkins: So, Bush's popularity could be a bit higher. What does he need to do to boost his stock with our Jewish overlords...ehr..I mean the American people?

Daniel Drezner: Hey, I've got a great idea! He should have a bunch of fires started in California and then he can spray everybody with biological weapons!

Mike Hendrix: Biological weapons? Come on...he should use nuclear weapons!

Bryan Preston: I don't know, nuking Hollywood might help Bush's ratings in the South, but does it help him in key swing states like Florida and Ohio?

John Hawkins: You guys are thinking way too small! First off, you nuke the liberal parts of California and then you declare war on the state. We should be able to win pretty quick, but we can claim things are too unsettled to let the Californians vote in the 2004 Presidential election. Without California's 55 electoral votes, the Democrats have no chance of winning!

Steve Martinovich: Like we're not going to rig the election and put all the liberals into camps by then anyway!

All: Bwahahhahahahahaahah!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I'm just trying to be funny, but the reality is that there are more than a few people on the left who believe conversations about like that actually go on in the Bush White House. I know it's funny to laugh at these crackpots, but it's a little bit scary too.

The Senate version of the Head Start reform bill would rename and 're-mission' the Great Society program. Instead of trying to prepare poor children for school in hopes of enhancing achievement, 'Slow Start' will enroll children from middle-class and wealthy families and attempt to "confuse and de-motivate them" so that they won't excel their peers from low-income families.

'Slow Start' is part of the Democrat party's new 'No Child Leaved Ahead' program, designed to prevent underachievers from suffering self-esteem drainage when they note the superior performance of their classmates.

"Our nation was founded on equality," said Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy. "But the poor kids will never catch up if we don't do something to trip up the rich kids."

Mr. Kennedy expects that enrollment in the 'Slow Start' program will exceed Head Start in its first year.

"Most well-off people have just lucked into their money," said the Senator. "They feel guilty about how their clever little prodigies always bust the grading curve. They would love to do something to level the playing field, and they're willing to stoop to conquer inequality."

If you enjoyed this humor by Scott Ott, you can read more of his work at Scrappleface

The nuclear genie is about to get all the way out of the bottle folks. We've just barely got him by the big toe and we're holding on for dear life. The IAEA gives us a few details about how bad it could get...

"Up to 40 countries are believed to be capable of manufacturing nuclear weapons, underlining the need to reinforce and update the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei told a French newspaper.

Should any one of them decide to break their commitment to the non-proliferation treaty, experts believe it "could produce a weapon in just a few months."

Most people tend to underestimate the threat of nuclear proliferation because we humans have a tendency to forestall action until a crisis actually happens or is at least imminent. But if we allow things to get to that point with nuclear weapons, it'll be too late.

Now why do I say that? Because we're getting to the point where more and more unstable and particularly dangerous nations are acquiring or are about to acquire nuclear weapons. So for example, while I'd prefer to have a nuke-free Israel and India, I get really worried about a nuclear North Korea, Pakistan, or Iran.

Unfortunately, we're probably just going to have to live with the idea of a nuclear Pakistan since the Pakistanis are never going to give up their nukes as long as China and India are armed. But Pakistan IS NOT a stable country and they do have extensive ties to groups that would like nothing better than to detonate a nuclear weapon in the heart of New York City or London. That's a danger we're probably going to have to just live with.

But the idea of a nuclear North Korea and a nuclear Iran is not something we should tolerate under any circumstances. I say that not only because Mr. Poofy hair and the mullahs run dangerous and unstable regimes that are hostile to America, but because allowing these nations to keep their nukes will cause nuclear weapons to spread like kudzu across the world. If North Korea keeps their nukes, South Korea, Japan, and maybe even Taiwan will probably go nuclear down the line. While I don't necessarily consider any of those nations to be threats to the United States, there is a lot of bad blood in that region, particularly when you toss China into the mix; that could result in nuclear brinksmanship a few years down the line.

But the region that should really scare the hell out of everyone is the Middle-East. If Iran gets nukes, it would set off a chain reaction that would likely lead to Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey all acquiring nuclear weapons just to make sure Iran doesn't get any funny ideas about uniting the muslim world the hard way. If that many autocratic, mercurial nations with ties to terrorism were to acquire nukes, it would almost guarantee at some point that we'd see a nuclear war in the Middle-East and terrorists detonating nuclear weapons in Western cities.

Now some people foolishly believe the threat of MAD (mutually assured destruction) would protect the world from a nuclear war even if nukes were to spread across the globe. But you cannot always count on the other side being rational, especially when you're talking about religious fanatics, deranged dictators, or terrorist supporting nations who may believe -- perhaps even correctly -- that a terrorist group might be able to sneak a nuclear weapon into the United States that couldn't be traced back to them.

So when I say that we should be willing to go to any lengths, even war to disarm North Korea and prevent Iran from attaining nukes, this is the scenario I'm thinking about down the line. If we don't deal with the two remaining members of the Axis of Evil, I fear that the ramifications of our actions down the road will be more than we can bear.

I heard about how a bunch of liberals have this movie about Reagan's presidency coming out where they make stuff up, so, I was thinking, why don't I write the script for a fair and balanced movie about Bill Clinton's presidency where I just do a little extrapolation about things I don't know about for sure. Here are some excerpts of what I have so far:

BILL CLINTON: Master Satan! I need your help to become president and thus allow Hillary and I to fulfill our naked ambition for power.

SATAN: Yes, your presidency could spread great evil. Maybe I can convince an insane billionaire to enter the race and ensure your victory. I will just take your soul in exchange.

BILL: Okey-dokey.

BILL (v.o.): I hope he doesn't remember I already sold my soul to him two years ago for a Big Mac and fries.

. . .

HILLARY CLINTON: Now that the presidency is mine, we must begin our spread of evil!

AL GORE: I am Al Gore.

BILL: I just can't find an Attorney General. The first two have dropped out and I'm out of any good women to fill that position with. Hmm. Hey, Earl Reno, do you want to be Attorney General?

EARL: Sure.

BILL: Then put on this blue dress and change your first name to Janet.

. . .

VINCE FOSTER: Why don't you go f**k yourself, Hillary.

BILL: Hillary, you really gonna let him get away with that? You gonna let this f**kin' punk get away with that? What's the matter with you? What's the world coming to?

Hillary proceeds to pull out a gun and shoot Vince.

Hillary: That's what the f**k the world's coming to. How you like that?

BILL: What is the matter with you, huh? What is the f**king matter with you? What are you, a f**king sick maniac or something? Hillary, I'm kidding with you.

HILLARY: Kidding? How am I meant to know you're kidding? You're breaking my f**king balls.

BILL: I'm f**king kidding with you, you f**king shoot the guy?

AL GORE: He's dead.

BILL: You dumb b@stard, I can't f**king believe you. You're gonna dig the hole.

HILLARY: Fine, I'll dig the f**king hole. I don't give a f**k. What is it, the first hole I dug? First time I dug a hole, I'll dig a f**kin' hole. Now, where are the shovels?

. . .

HILLARY: If I can get my health care plan passed, it will destroy our hospitals and millions will die. Muh ha ha ha!

BILL: It's too bad those do-gooder Republicans are trying to stop us and protect the interests of America.

HILLARY: No one can stop us! Now go have fun with your interns while I work on my lesbian conspiracies.

. . .

BILL: I can't believe the Republicans have taken control of the Congress and Senate! Now we'll never be able to destroy the economy now that those do-gooders have power.

HILLARY: If we work at it, we can eventually cause an economic downturn... just in time for a Republican to be president. Muh ha ha ha!

. . .

BILL: How long do you think this middle east peace will last?

JAMES CARVILLE: Just long enough for you to get a photo-op of Arafat and Rabin shaking hands before you run the hell out of there.

BILL: Good enough.

. . .

OSAMA BIN LADEN: I will kill all you imperialist Americans!

BILL: How about you hold off on any major attacks until after my presidency and I give you this big box of porn.

Osama thinks it over.

OSAMA: Deal!

BILL CLINTON (v.o.): Will the American people realize what a sacrifice that was for me? Maybe it wasn't my biggest box of porn, but it was one of my favorites.

I only have gotten his first four years done so far. I just hope I've accurately portrayed the subtle nuances of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

If you liked this satire by Frank J, you can read more of his work at IMAO.

You know, I like Donald Luskin's work a lot and I'm certainly no fan of Atrios at Eschaton. But IMO, I think Donald Luskin was in the wrong to have his lawyer send a letter to Atrios which reads in part...

"Dear “Atrios”:

This firm represents Donald L. Luskin, a Contributing Editor to National Review Online and author and host of Poorandstupid.com, among other activities. You recently linked to Mr. Luskin’s October 7, 2003, posting on his website entitled “Face To Face With Evil,” in which he chronicles his attendance at a lecture and book signing presented by Paul Krugman. You chose the unfortunate caption “Diary of a Stalker” for your link. More importantly, your readers, in responding to your invitation to comment, have posted numerous libelous statements regarding Mr. Luskin. Picking up on the theme you introduced, several have made false assertions that Mr. Luskin has committed the crime of stalking. Such a statement constitutes libel per se, an actionable tort subjecting both the author and the publisher to liability for both actual and punitive damages. As a result of your control over and participation in the comment section of your site, as well as the fact that Mr. Luskin has personally brought these libelous comments to your attention already, you face personal liability for their distribution. Determining your identity for the purpose of making service of process can be easily accomplished through a subpoena to Blogspot.com."

First off, while Donald Luskin certainly is not by any stretch of the imagination a stalker, calling someone a "stalker" while directly linking to what you perceive -- albeit incorrectly -- to be their stalking seems to be a pretty mild offense given the state of political discourse in our country. Keep in mind that terms like "Commie", "traitor", "Nazi", "Fascist" are tossed around pretty regularly and even prominent politicians on the left often try to tar members of GOP as cruel racist, homophobic, bigots who want to starve old people and young children so they'll have more hundred dollar bills to use as kindling for their fireplaces.

Then there are the comments in the "Diary of a Stalker” thread which Luskin complained about. As per usual on Eschaton, the comments were classless, acidic and ignorant. Examples include...

"That dude is just completely f*cking insane. Krugman could use this weirdo's website to get a restraining order. And he ought to, 'cause Luskin seems like the kind of guy who's gonna come after him with a knife one of these days..." -- Scooter

"i heard luskin is actually sully's gay lover." -- nova silverpill

"It's obvious that being in the sheer animal presence of the Krenis has driven Luskin into a freezing of self-loathing and repressed desire. No wonder he feels "unclean". -- Louise

"This "man" is not funny. This is not a harmless joke. Luskin, who I took before to be simply a weak willed moronic nerd, has shown himself, as Krugman must have realized when he looked up at him, to be truly dangerous.

It is a matter of time only before this poor, sad, mad, loser decides to make a name for himself by purging the world of the infectious evil surrounding him poised for attack." -- Allan J.

Now I know this stuff is stupid and offensive, but is worth suing someone over? Especially given that this is giving Atrios free positive publicity from the left and right while Luskin's reputation take a much worse beating over this than anything those obnoxious commentors wrote. Even if Luskin were to sue Atrios, got his identity out in the open, and forced him to take the comments down (and my guess is that Atrios, not Luskin would be in the right here legally -- maybe the Professor or Volokh could clear that up), Luskin, not Atrios would be the big loser. Atrios would be showered with attention & support because people would view him as the "little guy" who's getting pushed around. On the other hand, Luskin would come across as a "pompous, thin-skinned, lawsuit happy bully" who's looking to try to throw his weight around in a courtroom.

So is it worth to make this big of a deal over something like this? No, it's not. Were I Luskin, I would swallow my pride, call my law dog off, and just let people know that I got upset at the gross and offensive comments on Eschaton and just overreacted. That's the way to go at this point. It's not only the smart thing to do, it's the right thing to do.

Ok, first off, I want you to take a look at this billboard...

Now, what do YOU see when you look at that billboard? Personally, when I look at that billboard, I don't see any particular party or political message being pushed. All I see is cute little girl at a patriotic rally somewhere and a billboard urging all Americans to stick together. You know, "United we stand, divided we fall".

But of course, not everyone sees the same thing when they look at this billboard. Here's what some of the people at the Democratic Underground perceive when they look at this picture...

nu_duer: "The message I get is "don't question, just wave your flag and follow."

And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in resenting having the flag shoved down my throat at every turn. Its my country's flag, not a "can you hear me now" catchphrase."

frank frankly: "no no no no no

ugh. the police state tightening under the rush of hatriotism..."

ixion: "flags didn't bother me... but now they do...

The nationalistic zomby thing really makes me sick. Nationalism before all else and above all things. It's pathetic."

maveric: "A blonde haired blue eyed little girl. Promoting the Aryan agenda

once more.

The Aryan Jesus is the one that gets me!"

DBoon: "Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer!"

MrsGrumpy: "We have it on I-94 here in Detroit.

Unity....heehee, and if not call the FBI on your neighbor."


Resistance Is Futile: "It's not the flag

Look again

This is nothing more than pro-GOP propaganda combined with the stench of Naziism."

Earlier this month, Howard Dean touched on a theme many people on the left have been bringing up when he said, 'the American flag "does not belong to John Ashcroft, Rush Limbaugh, and Dick Cheney. It belongs to the people of the United States of America, and that is us.'"

You know, Dean was absolutely right. The flag does not belong to Ashcroft, Limbaugh, Cheney, Bush, me, you or any other conservative or group of conservatives. But we're not claiming that the flag "belongs" to us to begin with. I don't care whether you're liberal or conservative, I see no reason why you can't proudly wave our flag as a show of respect to the greatest nation that has ever existed in the history of the world.

So if the left gets a rap for being unpatriotic, it's not because we mean, old conservatives treated the left unfairly. It's because there are so many people, like these lefties from the DU, who look at a little girl waving an American flag and a message calling for unity and see Nazis, "hatriotism", police states, and pro-GOP propaganda. That's an albatross that the left hangs around its own neck, not one the right has put there.

***Update #1***: In the comment section, Ninja Cow writes,

"It's obvious the little girl is signaling Hitler, or heiling him with both arms. The Flag is not what it appears to be. In reality, it is a secret radioactive nuclear flabbermegasted death ray designed by the GOP to brainwash other nations. It also contains American "time travel" devices that allows the USA to steal tech from the future. Where do you think they got the idea for shoe laces??

Little girls are evil. Flags are evil. Santa Clause is evil. Unity is evil!!!"

Presidential candidate Howard Dean today renounced his previous confession of metrosexuality, and officially declared himself a 'metropopulist' -- a hot new buzzphrase for politicians who are "in touch with their average American side".

"I'm a wealthy former medical internist who also served as governor," said Mr. Dean, "So, I'm the ultimate power-elite insider. But that don't mean I can't relate to 'Joe and Jennifer Sixpack' -- you know, the average working stiffs."

While a metrosexual is a "dandyish narcissist" in love with himself and his lifestyle, a metropopulist becomes enamored with his own campaign-generated media image as a kind of noble savage.

"Sometimes I look in the mirror," said Mr. Dean, "and I roll up my sleeves and flex my neck muscles until the veins stand out, and I say to myself, 'Howie, you are one righteous prole! You're just like the little people who send you money through the Internet.' O yeah! I know what you want from government.'"

If you enjoyed this satire by Scott Ott, you can read more of his work at Scrappleface.

I know some of you are going to suspect that this is satire, but I assure you that it's not...

"Roughly 40,000 poor people have been dropped from the Oregon Health Plan this year because of their failure to make monthly premium payments, some as low as $6 a month.

"It's an enormous barrier," said Ellen Pinney, director of the Oregon Health Action Committee. "Let alone the $6, there is the whole issue of writing a check or getting a money order, putting it in an envelope with a stamp and putting it in the mail to this place in Portland that must receive it by the due date."

Oh good grief. You mean we can't even ask people to mail in a whole $6 to get health care? Next thing you know we'll be hiring government workers to treat these people like 6 year olds...

Government Worker: "Now you know that you need health care, so instead of spending that $6 on beer, I want you to mail it in.

Lazy person with no health care: " I don't feel like it. Maybe I'll mail it off tomorrow."

Government Worker: "Tomorrow will be too late. You'll need to mail it off today."

Lazy person with no health care: "But I want to buy beer instead and I don't feel like licking a envelope. It's icky."

Is that how far we have to go to get these people to take the smallest, tiniest, most basic bit of responsibility for their own lives? I know what some of you probably think it's "mean" for me to say that, but you know what? If you're such a mess that mailing $6 off to get health care every month is too tough to pull off, the last thing you need is someone making pathetic excuses for you.

There are a lot of conservatives in the blogosphere who get all jazzed up about the idea of dumping Dick Cheney and adding Condi Rice to the ticket in his place. There now is even a Bush/Rice 04 website promoting the idea.

It is of course easy to see why this idea has gained traction. Condi comes across as brilliant and hawkish on foreign policy, she's a black woman which many people believe would help the GOP with blacks & women, and it doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes.

Now I hate to be a party pooper, but I don't think we know enough about Condi to start talking her up for the VP slot. While I fully approve of Condi's foreign policy stands, that doesn't mean she's another Margaret Thatcher. As a matter of fact, given that we know practically nothing about Condi's domestic views other than the fact that she's pro-abortion and pro-Affirmative Action. So it's entirely possible that Condi has more in common with Orrin Hatch or Arnold Schwarzenegger than Ronald Reagan or Tom Delay.

Then there's the fact that Condi has never been elected to office. Some people may think that's unimportant, but I disagree. To be a successful politician you have to be one part weasel, one part social butterfly, and one part piranha. Can Condi do that? Can she appeal to moderates the same way she does to the right? Can she deal with a scandal? Would she lose her cool if for example the media started trying to paint her as a lesbian or weird, old spinster because she's not married yet? To be honest, we have no idea whether Condi could hold up under the constant barrage someone at the VP level has to endure because Condi hasn't truly been tested yet.

To sum it all up, Condi has a lot of potential. But before we slide her into Dick Cheney's slot and pencil her in to take on Hillary in 2008, Condi needs to show her conservative credentials and prove she can win an election. Until she can do that, I couldn't support her for the VP position.

I got together with the always provocative Andrew Sullivan for an email interview. Sullivan is a former writer and columnist for the New York Times, a former editor of The New Republic, and of course his blog, The Daily Dish, is perhaps the largest of most influential of all the weblogs on the net. Read and enjoy! (Cont)

How many times do keep trying to feed a dog that nips at your hand every time you hand him a steak?

"A World Health Organization program to eradicate polio in Nigeria is in jeopardy after Muslim leaders ordered it halted amid rumors that it was part of a U.S. conspiracy to kill off African Muslims.

..."Indigenous polio is present in only seven countries around the world. Six of them are Islamic countries," Heymann said."

You know, we hear a lot about how the rest of the world is sick of America. But you know what? As I've said before, I can't even begin to tell you how sick I & most Americans are of the much of the rest of the world.

Yes, I know going back to our post-WW1 isolationist policies would lead to disaster for the planet, but it's SOOOOOOOOO tempting. Just imagine....

-- Nigerian leaders don't want to take the Polio vaccine we're sending them. Fantastic -- we stop sending them any vaccine and let them enjoy their Polio.

-- African leaders start complaining that the billions we're sending them aren't enough, so we stop sending them ANY money and spend it here -- at home -- on Americans.

-- The Palestinians have another big "I hate America" dance party in the street after terrorists kill American citizens in Israel. We respond by saying we no longer intend to send the Palestinians or Palestinian refugee camps in the area any funds. Furthermore, our days of negotiating between the Israelis and Palestinians are over -- we'll let the UN give it a shot.

-- Every time a European nation votes refuses to cooperate with us on an important part of the war on terrorism, we yank all of our troops out of that country until we have almost no troops in Western Europe.

-- Egypt's press runs another anti-American nutcake article claiming America the enemy. Our aid and weapons sales to Egypt end.

Want to trade with us? Fantastic. Want our help while you poke us in the eye? No thanks, not anymore.

Of course, the last time we did something like that WW2 happened and my guess is that things would turn out even worse this time if we let things run their course for twenty years or so. If you're wondering what could be worse than WW2, imagine nuclear wars in the Middle-East and between India and Pakistan. On top of that, who knows how many nations China could overrun in two decades without us bottling them up? And trust me, you don't even want to think about what would happen as more and more crazed terrorist groups got their hands on WMD and used them.

So unfortunately, isolationism for the US remains but a sweet, sweet, dream for the foreseeable future...

Just for entertainment's sake, here is the current playlist I'm listening to right now. Be forewarned, every so often I like to listen to tunes that are a lot older, slower and more melancoly than the music I normally listen to just as a change of pace. This is one of those nights...

The Cars -- Who's Gonna Drive You Home?
Berlin -- Take My Breath Away
Mariah Carey -- Against All Odds
Johnny Cash -- Hurt
Chicago -- Stay The Night
The Church -- Under The Milky Way
Phil Collins -- In The Air Tonight
The Cure -- Just Like Heaven
Def Leppard -- Love Bites
Modern English -- Melt With You
Motley Crue -- Home Sweet Home
Nena -- 99 Red Balloons
Queen -- Who Wants To Live Forever?
Scorpions -- Winds Of Change
Smashing Pumpkins -- Landslide
The Smiths -- I Won't Share You
Tesla -- Love Song
U2 -- Who Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?
UB40 -- Red Red Wine
Van Halen -- Why Can't This Be Love?

On the downside, the Democratic Underground has a up a poll asking, "Did Bush Family Interests kill JFK?" Currently, 59 out of the 79 (75%) of people who have voted in this admittedly slanted poll have selected option 1, which is, "yes. Absolutely".

On the upside, none of them have suggested that the "Bush Family Evil Empire" used a time machine, Illuminati connections, Hitler clones, or space based mind control rays to take out JFK. So I suppose that it could be worse...

Right Wing News emailed more than 150 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to send us a list of the books they considered to have had "The Biggest Impact On Their Thinking". Representatives from 53 blogs responded.

They came up with an incredibly diffuse list that has more than a few surprises on it. (Cont)

There was another anti-war rally this week-end up in DC and as per usual the ideological heirs of Joseph Stalin at International A.N.S.W.E.R. had a hand in organizing it. They were calling for our troops to be brought home now which of course would only embolden the terrorists and lead to chaos, murder, and slaughter for the people of Iraq. But let's not kid ourselves, this is more about hating America and Bush than actually helping Iraqis or preventing terrorism anyway.

They say pictures are worth a thousand words, so I want you to take a look at a few images from the DC rally. First off, here's a young man who would undoubtedly be terribly upset if you were to question his patriotism...

Nothing like burning the American flag to get a rally like this started off right huh? Especially when you're using your First Amendment rights to stand in the capital of the United of America and call for an end to our country...

But I don't want to give you the wrong idea. There were protestors rooting not just for the destruction of America, but for the destruction of Israel as well...

Wow, people calling for the deaths of millions of Americans and Israelis at a rally run by Communists -- who'd of thunk it? But not everyone is thinking so big. These guys are just hoping to see some officers fragged in a big Iraqi mutiny...

Boy, the support for our troops and for our country shown in that banner is just heartwarming isn't it?

And do you want to know what really puts the cherry on top of the whole thing? Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton, the man who Newsweek puts in 4th place ahead of John Kerry and Dick Gephardt right now, actually spoke at this dog and pony show. When you have contenders for the Presidency showing up at an event like this, what does that say about today's Democratic party?

"You are about to speak with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il," Karl Rove told president Bush, "and you need to take a hard stance with him."

"Hey, I know how to do deeplomosee, Rover," Bush answered, "I will be resolved in these talks."

Via the satellite connection, Kim Jong Il appeared on screen.

"Ha ha! He's got poofy hair!" Bush exclaimed.

"You will not laugh at my poofy hair!" Jong yelled angrily, "You will fear me for I am very intimidating! I have nukes!"

"I'm supposed to believe you have the technology to make nucular weapons but not a comb?" Bush scoffed.

"You will treat me with respect! I very scary!"

"The only thing that makes me a little worried is your ability to control hoofed mammals I keep hearing about it," Bush answered.

"The term ‘Dear Leader’ is meant to be affectionate," Rove whispered in Bush's ear, "It's not meant to imply that he can command deer."

"You will negotiate with me!" Jong demanded, "You will sign a non-aggression treaty!"

"But I like aggression!" Bush responded, "You're an evil, murderous dictator, and you better watch it or you're going to end up like Saddam and Osama - successfully hiding from us while occasionally sending out videotapes."

Jong smiled. "I like to be on T.V.!"

"You better like it," Bush answered threateningly and then cut the communications. He then turned to Rove. "I think I told him."

Rove sighed and then faded into the shadows.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan came walking by. "What makes someone a crazy loon like Kim Jong Il," Bush asked him.

"Well, when someone is a dictator, they often become mad with power."

"That a great idea!" Bush exclaimed, "I should become mad with power!"

"That wasn’t' what I..."

"With all this presidential power, think of the havoc I can cause," Bush said, reveling the thought, "Quick, Scott, what's something you've always wanted."

Scott thought for a moment. "A job where I'm respected by my boss."

"That's the gayest thing I ever heard, Tubby," Bush laughed, "I guess I'll have to think of my own thing to do with my unlimited power!"

Bush looked out the window. "Have those protestors outside the front gates killed!"

"Those are well-wishers," Scott answered.

"Then have them thanked," Bush said as he stared at them evilly, "Muh ha ha ha!"

"Uh... that's not really evil laugh worthy," Scott told him.

"I know," Bush responded, a bit disappointed. He then noticed something on his desk. "The red button!" He ran over and pushed it repeatedly. He then noticed a little "Out of Order" sign on the side. "D@mmit!"

"You alright?" Scott asked.

"I'm mad I can't use my power," Bush answered. "I know!" He walked out of his office while Scott followed. Bush then spotted someone. "You! You're fired!"

"I'm just a tourist," the man answered.

"What's your name and where do you work?" Bush demanded.

"Uh, Carl Johnson and I work at a Wal-Mart in Memphis."

Bush picked up a phone and quickly dialed a number. "I am the President of the United States and I demand that Carl Johnson be fired... I don't care if the number I dialed is invalid! I'm the President and I'm mad... mad with power!"

Laura Bush came walking by. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Bush quickly hung up the phone. "Nothing, dear."

"You're not going mad with power, are you?" Laura asked suspiciously.

"No! Not at all!"

Laura stared at Bush sternly.

"Maybe a little."

She continued to stare at him.

"It was all Scott's idea!" Bush exclaimed, breaking down, "He's a bad influence one me!"

"I wasn't for any madness at all!" Scott responded.

"You two better use your power sanely or I'll give you both a talking to you won't forget," Laura told them, "Now there is a cabinet in the kitchen that needs fixing, so why don't you two get 'mad with power tools' and take care of it."

"Yes, dear."

"Yes, Mrs. Bush."

Laura walked off.

"Wait a second," Scott said to Bush, "Shouldn't you be handling important things like the economy and Iraq?"

"You're right, Scott," Bush answered, "You fix the cabinet while I handle all our problems foreign and domestic."

"Okay, Mr. President," Scott said, running off to the kitchen.

"Dumb@ss," Bush chuckled to himself, "Time to watch The Matrix Reloaded on DVD again."

If you enjoyed this satire by Frank J., you can read more of his work at IMAO.

I ran across an excellent Oct 10 speech by Donald Rumsfeld that explains why we have to go on the offensive against terrorists. Simply put, defense alone will never work because the terrorists will always change their tactics and hit you at your weak point. Just look at our experience in Lebanon....

"When President Reagan asked me to be a Middle East envoy, right after the 241 Marines were killed in Beirut, Lebanon, I went over there, and George Shultz was the secretary of State, and he sent me over there. The truck went into that Marine barracks and killed 241 Americans. The next week, month, and year these barricades were put all around buildings -- these little concrete things. You've seen them; there are some out here. So then they started lobbing rocket- propelled grenades over them. So the next thing, you go down to the Corniche in Beirut, and here was the building, the British Embassy, with a metal mesh all the way around it so it drove off these rocket- propelled grenades; when they'd hit the mesh, it would bounce off. So what did the terrorists do? They go to school on you. They started hitting people going to and from work.

So, you can't -- I do not believe -- I'm convinced President Bush is right. I am convinced that the way to deal with this terrorist problem is to go after them where they are and not think that we can simply hunker down here and defend against every one of those attacks. (Applause.)"

Beefing up our Homeland Security is certainly something we should do. But if we don't aggressively go after the terrorists in their homes, in the camps where they train, in the nations that shelter them, we will be doomed to be hit over and over again with future 9/11s...or worse. In the war on terrorism, the best defense is a good offense...

I got together last night in a chat room with Mike Hendrix from Cold Fury, Daniel Drezner, who is a monthly contributor to The New Republic Online & who was an unpaid foreign policy advisor for the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign, Steve Martinovich, the editor and chief of Enter Stage Right, Bryan Preston from JunkYardBlog to discuss the 2004 election. What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation. Read and enjoy! (Cont)