Benjamin Franklin

That's a novel argument. The falsification of a Bush National Guard memo should be compared to leading the country based on faulty intelligence (and then not holding anyone accountable for some SERIOUS gaffes in the intel). OK. I guess I'm crazy to care more about the intelligence failure and lack of accountability of my government than Dan Rather using a memo about whether Bush served in the ANG thirty years ago.

Funny. The Republicans and Democrats do everything they can to make sure there are ONLY two parties. Now that one of them takes advantage of the system they both sowed, it's the Dems that are the bad guys. Also funny that Republicans are trying to get Nader ON the ballot in many states. That's stand-up politics.

I was crushed when Losman got hurt. Not because I thought he would (or even should) start, but because I figured I had a win-win season coming. If the Bills are good, which seems possible, I win. If the Bills were only OK (more likely), I get to see Losman start a few games at the end of the season, and win because I get excited about the future. To that end, I hope he heals fast, and is around the team 24/7 at least learning what he needs to learn while he heals. Anyone got any more info on his recovery? Last I heard there was a chance he'd be back by week 8.

Their message to the world RE those attacks is pretty clear. "This is our business. Don't you dare try to interfere."

Looks like this is a developing story. Powell says that the US may meet with Moscow officials in the next few days to discuss concerns. I'm sure Moscow will give a rat's ass what the US says. They have a cultural identity that bristles at the suggestion of US interference. Iraq is a pimple compared to this rumbling volcano. tidbit on Powell RE Putin

Don't you have work to do Rumsfeld?

OK. What's Bush doing about Russia?

This reply might get wiped by the admins, but I hope that their general level of disdain for your posts, which probably exceeds mine, overcomes their urge to delete. Do you ever have anything insightful to say? Are you sticking to "Dean" as a "lock" to win the nomination? Still ducking and running for cover when confronted with the facts? It's too bad we lost the archives of old posts, because my post pointing out at least 5 instances of your totally incorrect statements, and how you ran into a hole when confronted with the facts (a post you hid from of course), was a nice reminder of the tripe you post on here. Now- I know Rush doesn't have Russia talking points, because you know, it's not really that important what's going on in Russia, so I know you have nothing to add to this. But imagine you were an intelligent Conservative commentator like Buchanon, and address the issue, if possible.

Russia is still a major world power, and let's review what he's done/wants to do: 1) He's re-taken over the TV media oultets in Russia and turned them into pro-government propaganda machines. (His admin has also arrested reporters critical of his gov't- others have diappeared.) -- His response to outside criticsms: "There are grounds to their concerns," he said. "And we will do our best to settle the matter. This is not an attempt to stifle democracy. If there are legal problems, we will look for a way to solve this." 2) Major political rivals have all been withdrawing from offices, and the big money behind his rivals is under a wide-sweeping investigation that has frozen his assets. 3) He wants to abolish NATO because it is no longer needed. (I have my own criticsms of NATO, but just putting this into context). 4) In the wake of the recent terror attacks, he wants to remove the regional governors and make them non-elected officials appointed by the Kremlin. I know he is/was an outspoken reformer. He does, however, have a great distrust of democracy (he's said the Democracy that is chaotic is to no one's benefit, and that the gov't must intervene to make sure things stay stable). Further, even if HIS motives are good, and they might be, centrtalizing all that power makes it a lot easier for a successor to use the centralized government for ill. Any international observers, and there are a few on the board certainly more qualified than me, have anything to say/add?

Here's a little more context from the New Yorker. I agree with Gore. In this light, it scares the living spit out of me that Bush's finger is on the button and Ashcroft's hands are around our necks.

This needs updating. We left 87 billion in the dust a long time ago, and we're still spending like mad. This weekend on Meet the Press I heard the current cost of the Iraq war was at 200+ billion (last I recall, Congress had approved around 160 billion but I'm sure that has been increased) and obviously, still growing, with no end in sight. I really wish Moveon, an obviously biased organization, would air that debt-related ad with the kids working more frequently. No matter what party you belong to, the sentiment of that ad- our kids will be paying off the debt we incur- is right on target. Republicans are the party of fiscal responsibility. If you say it enough times, I guess you start to believe it.

There are so many words emphasized in your post that I have no idea what you're saying. I ditto AD. It is nice to see that the marketplace can dictate our environmental concerns: this is the thing that everyone on the Left said would never happen, i.e., that consumers would never be willing to spend more to get enviro-friendly products. But lo and behold, people are rushing to get all the hybrids. I disagree with a previous suggestion that this is a fad. People want these cars, which cost (in the case of the Civic), about 20% more than their gas-fueled counterparts. That's a good chunk of change for a small boring car. I think people are motivated by high gas prices, some of the dependence on foreign oil arguments, and a concern for the environment. I'd like to think that people were motivated by the fact that only about 10% of the US can justify having a truck/4WD, but I know that's not the case. I'd also like to think that people were motivated by the fact that most cars in the US are single-driver commuter cars that rarely carry more than one passenger, but again, I know this is not the case.

It took 3 years to get to this point?

I feel your pain brother. Only don't give the Republicans too much credit. They want to control more than social issues. They want to tax at unprecedented rates and regulate commerce and business with an iron fist- please don't buy into their lines spending less- IT IS NOT TRUE! Bush has spent more- even discounting inflation- than any administration in history. And that is true even if you discount the increase in anti-terror spending. The link for that info about the spending escapes me, but it was discussed for a few weeks here several months ago. If someone thinks I'm full of it, I'll redig it up. I think it came from the CATO institute.

You're right. It's probably true that "most" Republicans favor governmental control of the people. Maybe I should have said "many" or a "large number" do not. Former Republican KRC and maybe VaBills are the people to whom I refer when I say that there are many Republicans who wish the Party would actually be *for* limited, not growing, government.

No. He's a socialist too.

What's sadder is that people like this Libertarian talk from the speakers, and it will draw people to vote for socialist Bush. Grr. I can't believe he's going to win again, but he is.

Not really a sleeper, but Steven Jackson. As a very late pick, go for the best SF WR: Lloyd. Try Fitzgerald late as a WR from the Cards. Hasselback can't be a sleeper- he's one of the best QBs in football, but Leftwich might be a good pickup.

I follow the convention the day after on The Daily Show.

My language confused you, but it was accurate. The speakers "represent the views of many Republicans" who believe that the federal government shouldn't legislate on issues like gay marriage, gay benefits, abortion litmus tests for judges, and stem cell research. (to name a few- Guiliani in particular is also for licensing all guns). Thus, the convention speakers are "not representititve of the platform," which has planks to amend the constitution to ban gay marriage, deny civil union benefits, litmus test judges on abortion, and ban stem cell research. My post is about the RNC. Without digressing too far into the DNC, they had VERY liberal speakers like Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, and Sharpton.

The speakers represent the views of many Republicans more than the candidate. It's sad that the prime time speakers, who actually believe in limited government and have a record that shows it, are so disconnected from Bush's governance. I agree with the "bait and switch" criticisms of this convention. The Republicans are putting on a face at the convention that is not representative of their platform or candidate. I understand that the Republicans want to say they are a "big tent" party, and that's why McCain, Guiliani, Arnold, and Pataki are the prime time speakers-- but how big is the tent when the people speaking are basically outside the tent when it comes to power and decision making. Let's just hope that those speakers are the future of the Republican party, and the 2008 candidate is one of them, not another Bush.

First, Hillary's and Kerry's opinions on the value of what happened 30 years ago differ. Second, he has not based his entire campaign on 4 + months of service 30 years ago. What he has done is contrast himself with Bush in that regard.

First, get off the Mars thing. That was just another in a long line of really dumb things Bush has said. That moronic idea has pretty much been shot down at this point, both because NASA gets peanuts for funding, and because we're a long way from getting to Mars (let alone getting back). I'm not sure what the future of NASA is, but if it's manned space activity, than the moon is a more realistic goal than Mars. We need to work on a moon-based facility before we can even think of Mars and back. In reality, with shrinking budgets, the future of space exploration is probably robotic anyway. (e.g. the mars landers and Cassini). Darin already pointed out the great return on investment we get from NASA. Is it the paragon of efficiency? No. But dollar for dollar, I'm not sure there's another federal program that returns on investment better than NASA. And looking at the overall federal budget, NASA is peanuts. Your very own source points out that we spend 20 times as much PAYING OFF INTEREST ON THE DEBT as we spend on NASA. That's insane. I'd rather that the feral government theives who steal my money do something useful with at least a tiny portion of it: NASA is one of the few things I am happy to contribute to. In fact, if I got to choose how to spend my taxes, I'd probably go something like 40% NASA, 40% military, 10% to pay off the fuggin' debt, and 10% Justice.

What I truly love is how great at ball all the international players are. I noticed it on a trip to Spain ten years ago. I played ball with some kids at a playground and they could pass and shoot like nobody's business. Those kids got inspired by the NBA, and now they dominate both in the NBA and the on the world stage. They have made the NBA fun to watch again. I think in 3-4 years that you might have a USA vs. the world NBA All-star game. The world guys could field an incredible team right now, but it wouldn't be that deep. Nowitski, Nash, Ming, Chinobli, and Stoyachovich could outscore any staring 5 the US would put out. Add in the bench of Ilgauskus and Parker and I'm not sure the US guys would win.

He should give it back. What a classless piece of cr!p to hide behind the technicality that S.Korea didn't protest in time. That's absurd, and completely the opposite of good sportsmanship. He's a great athelete, and a selfish poor sport. If this happened at the child level, I would insist that my kid give back the medal in fairness. Not run off with something he didn't earn. In the events, Hamm won a silver medal, not a gold- he won the gold because of someone's adding mistake. Gee, that's something to be proud of. Meanwhile, the person who won the gold in the events goes home with bronze. Again, nice sportsmanship Hamm. The USOC should be ashamed to set such a poor example.