All potential empathy for Brian Williams is off ...

According to CBS Marketwatch, at a post-election wrap-up session, when a fellow panelist "mentioned that bloggers had had a big impact on the reporting on Election Day, Williams waved that point away by quipping that the self-styled journalists are 'on an equal footing with someone in a bathroom with a modem.'"

What a distasteful, arrogant comment. Will these people ever learn that there's no professional monopoly on information collection and presentation?

(Via Political Wire and IP)

UPDATE: Commenter Doug F coins it: bloggers are now the "latrine-hadeen!" Who has a modem in their bathroom, anyway?

UPDATE: Pennywit adds the slogan:

"The Latrine-hadeen - We are the sh**!"

I'm getting complaints from a variety of people that they can't comment. I have no idea why, comments are active on all posts. Investigating.

I've got nothing. Go read Instapundit or something.

UPDATE: Nope.

UPDATE: Nada.

UPDATE: Sagebrush floating around in my noggin.

Recently Tom Brokaw issued some counsel to his successor that some bloggers unsurprisingly labeled as bad advice:

"Put your head down and do the work, and don't read the many media critics who will be out there with commentary and criticism in the beginning. Your compact is not with them but with the audience."

Considering the fact that Dan Rather ignored and then rushed to smear the legitimate critics of his Bush National Guard story, it's perfectly understandable that bloggers would shake their heads at this counsel, chalking it up as another example of network newsie arrogance that augers the decline of the medium. Perhaps surprisingly, I respectfully disagree about the context and intent of Brokaw's words. Here's how my recent experience with blogging colors my opinion ...

When I started blogging, it was a fun, communal endeavor; I wrote, drew, took pictures and cultivated a small loyal readership and set of relationships with other bloggers that led to a satisfying exchange of jokes and commentary via e-mail, dueling blog posts and remarks in the public comments section of this and other blogs. These relationships grew in quantity and maintained quality as readership grew, up until about 3,000 readers a day, at which point the management of the comments section took on the drudgery of work. The first troll may be a sweet sign of success, but the fifth nasty commenter is an annoyance, and the 100th feels like a persistent cancer. And then came Rathergate.

The top day of Rathergate was over 50,000 visits. A subsequent Drudge-lanche led to a day that topped 70,000. In the three months prior to the election, average traffic ranged from 13 - 20,000 visits per day. My traffic has now lowered to 1/10 its peak day, but the previous surge of readership and attention brought in thousands of comments, blog posts and e-mails that broke down into the following categories, ranked in quantitative order:

1. Asking for something, typically a link. (Via e-mail or spamming the comments)
2. Criticism. (Typically e-mail, some comments)
3. Agreement (Usually blog posts, comments)
4. General commentary or questions about the site. (Typically public comments)
5. Tips.
6. Offers from Nigerian heiresses.
7. Compliments.
8. Other

At certain points, the overall noise became deafening and managing the comments section and reading e-mails became pretty time consuming endeavors. The e-mail criticism was particularly unpleasant and relentless, and I personally learned the lesson that raising your profile always marks you as a target to someone, somewhere. And the biggest problem with being a target usually isn't the fact that people criticize or disagree with you - it's the way they do it: hatefully; with withering condescension; with wildly dissonant interpretation of your efforts; every single day.

I'm not writing this post as a bleg for any sympathy or compliments; individuals ask to be judged when they publicize their work. Furthermore, I've certainly taken uncivil swipes at others and definitely will again, though, chastened by experience, I now tend to hoard my really explosive ammunition for defense instead of unheralded attack. I also write parody posts that are pretty condescending to a lot of people. But the point needs to be made that if raising one's profile to be read by only a few thousand people a day exposes an individual to daily criticism that needs to be largely ignored in order to function, then imagine the level of criticism received by a newscaster with 12 million viewers.

Truth be told, at my previous level of readership I had trouble distinguishing reasonable, constructive criticism and disagreement from the unfair batch of nastiness unearthed in my inbox or trackbacks. Even during this post-election lull, someone takes a swipe nearly every day. Sometimes profanity is a helpful indicator of what demands to be ignored, but the unfortunate nature of modern discourse renders easily 80% of criticism uncivil. And so, in order to continue to write the blog, I've literally had to tell myself, almost word-for-word ...

"Put your head down and do the work, and don't read the many media critics who will be out there with commentary and criticism ..."

And since I've learned my personal lesson about absorbing and ignoring negativity, I've often wondered if Dan Rather's instinct to stonewall and deny his recent critics stemmed from an institutionalized inability to distinguish legitimate criticism from the naturally massive wave of attacks that come with the profile of his position. I'm not suggesting that his behavior was in any way appropriate or excusable; he stepped so far past the line of competent journalism in such an exalted position of national responsibility that he begged the stings of a thousand bloggers and the eventual loss of his job. And the real solution to mainstream media bias lies in enhancing the ideological diversity of the editors and producers that shape the content of major dailies and news broadcasts. But ...

... I have to wonder if it's even possible for any human being to appropriately absorb, filter and prioritize the mass of criticism inherent to status as a public figure. Was Dan Rather still capable of honest self-analysis? And considering the fact that the answer seems to be "no," is this dissonance a product of his unique failings as a human being or the inevitable outcome of human adaptation to three decades of daily attack as a public figure? And would it be advisable for Brian Williams to closely parse the words of critics as he tries to establish himself in Brokaw's place? Not as a public utility, but as a human being.

President Bush doesn't obsess over the scathing "analysis" of the dailies lest he lose crucial will or focus under the most intense criticism in the world. Stepping back from that level of scrutiny, Tom Brokaw advised Brian Williams to assume basic competence and ignore the initial detractors that will inevitably anklebite his effort and sap his confidence as he attempts to establish himself in a new position. And I'm just a lowly blogger with a few thousand readers that has to pointedly ignore five jerks per day in order to maintain normal blood pressure and perspective.

In that context, "put your head down and do the work" seems like reasonable advice to me.

UPDATE: I just read that Williams is going to make around $8 million per year as Brokaw's replacement. I'd just like to say that I'd take a daily, nude whipping on national TV for a cool mill. Please send all relevant offers to the e-mail address on the right.

UPDATE: A perfect illustration of the unreasonable criticism and daily idiot noise that confronts bloggers of a certain size just linked to my site.

Read More »

An ungrateful convict took a swipe at the President's stomach while being pardoned in 2001. This year however, Bush kept a good grip on the bird's neck:

"You feel lucky ... punk?" (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

AP: Iran Wants to Change Conditions of Freeze

Iran is seeking a last-minute exception to its commitment to stop all uranium enrichment activities by demanding the right to operate around two dozen centrifuges, diplomats said Wednesday.

I believe we've already covered this.

A Marine exploitation team documents war crimes in Fallujah.

Via John Donovan, who previews the slideshow.

The New York Sun has a pretty good article that features a brief interview with me about Rather's resignation. I'd offer one significant edit to the piece:

Mr. Ardolino runs the INDC Journal blog, which, along with three other Web commentaries, pulled apart the authenticity of the documents, questioning such elements as whether their type font could have been available on a Vietnam-era typewriter available to a commanding officer of Mr. Bush's in the National Guard.

In truth, literally dozens of blogs tackled the documents, along with at least five that led the initial charge, so Mr. Dettmer probably overstates my credit.

As an aside, I've read a few comments, blog postings or e-mails that suggest that the bloggers demanding more accountability maintain some sort of destructive mindset of attack or single-minded giddiness at the prospect of continuing a campaign against CBS. Believe me, nothing could be farther from the truth. It's honestly depressing that CBS hasn't addressed this issue with responsibility, considering the gravity of the journalistic fraud attempted by the staff at 60 Minutes II, most notably, Mary Mapes. The subsequent attempt to stonewall and malign the critics of the piece was just the icing on the cake.

Recall the transgressions against competence and neutrality:

1. The use of obvious forgeries to support allegations against the President just prior to an election.
2. The employment of virulently partisan, bitterly motivated, highly impeachable sources.
3. The truncation or distorted context of the testimony from other sources.
4. The systematic elimination of extremely relevant sources that contradicted the anti-Bush narrative, including TxANG employees, family members and forensics experts that raised questions about the authenticity of the documents.
5. Improper communication with the Kerry campaign; likely collaboration, given the story timeline and subsequent ads by the DNC.

This entire scenario amounts to a malicious political hit based on false, selective and spun evidence. It's not a simple error in judgment; it's malice. And the implications for such a failed and exposed attempt to affect an election without real consequences range far beyond any personal animus I may have for Mary Mapes, Dan Rather or CBS News. So don't mistake my negativity about Rather's resignation or willingness to pursue a more tangible outcome for hatred of CBS or enjoyment of the hunt; the prospect strikes me as a very unpleasant chore. It's like facing a root canal. But real motivation hinges around a simple desire for a minimally accountable media. Can any of us honestly declare justice served and walk away if Mary Mapes keeps her job?

The next steps rely on the anticipated findings of the independent investigation and subsequent disciplinary action taken by CBS News.

UPDATE: Post slightly edited for clarity.

... victory?

Dan Rather, embattled anchor of the "CBS Evening News," announced Tuesday that he will step down in March, on the 24th anniversary of taking over the job from Walter Cronkite.

Unfortunately, it only smells like victory, because ...

1. Rather's still working for 60 Minutes.

2. The findings of the independent investigation are overdue.

3. No action has been taken against Producer Mary Mapes or CBS News President Andrew Heyward. In contrast, the CBS News producer that dared to interrupt the final minutes of "CSI" was canned within a few days. That says a great deal about their priorities.

The findings of the investigation and subsequent action will be crucial. Mapes must be dismissed; Heyward needs to go as well. If CBS doesn't take appropriate action, the "internet jihad" (as Brokaw described it) is back on the front burner. While some may argue that network news is drawing its final ragged breaths anyway, new media will still be charged with reminding the planet of CBS's shattered credibility until they take appropriately corrective action to regain the public trust.

Ready yourselves, pajamahideen. I feel my third wind coming on, how about you?

Holiday and whatnot.

And check out this out:

During the fall 2004 Presidential election campaign, BlogPulse mined and analyzed politics-specific data in a variety of ways. This page summarizes the findings, trends and insights from that analysis. It includes lists of the top blogs, media sources and web sites cited most frequently in blogs, and graphs that track blog buzz around key events, issues, personalities and tactics.

Charts, graphs, interesting stuff. Note that all measures of influence track the number of citations of blogs or media sources by bloggers only; the analysis measures links and not traffic. If they'd included a traffic comparison, Drudge would rank near the New York Times. Also, Drudge's influence among bloggers is vastly underrepresented by a tally of links because he doesn't have permanent links to his individual items; bloggers just link directly to the story that he features and usually don't assign credit. This is a major caveat to the study.

Otherwise, I'm pleased to have made the list of blogs and amused by the fact that I edged out the Kerry Campaign Blog in citations. Simple pleasures. Then again, Oliver Willis also made the list, so take it for what it's worth.

(Via Kerry Spot)

Another first-hand report:

There is an image burned into my brain that I hope I never forget. We came up behind 3/5 one day as the lead squads were working down the Byzantine streets of the Jolan area. An assault team of two Marines ran out from behind cover and put a rocket into a wall of an enemy strongpoint. Before the smoke cleared the squad behind them was up and moving through the hole and clearing the house. Just down the block another squad was doing the same thing. The house was cleared quickly and the Marines were running down the street to the next contact. Even in the midst of that mayhem, it was an awesome site.
...
The first is a Marine from 3/5. His name is Corporal Yeager (Chuck Yeager's grandson). As the Marines cleared and apartment building, they got to the top floor and the point man kicked in the door. As he did so, an enemy grenade and a burst of gunfire came out. The explosion and enemy fire took off the point man's leg. He was then immediately shot in the arm as he lay in the doorway. Corporal Yeager tossed a grenade in the room and ran into the doorway and into the enemy fire in order to pull his buddy back to cover. As he was dragging the wounded Marine to cover, his own grenade came back through the doorway. Without pausing, he reached down and threw the grenade back through the door while he heaved his buddy to safety. The grenade went off inside the room and Cpl Yeager threw another in. He immediately entered the room following the second explosion. He gunned down three enemy all within three feet of where he stood and then let fly a third grenade as he backed out of the room to complete the evacuation of the wounded Marine. You have to understand that a grenade goes off within 5 seconds of having the pin pulled. Marines usually let them "cook off" for a second or two before tossing them in. Therefore, this entire episode took place in less than 30 seconds.
...
My whole life I have read about the greatest generation and sat in wonder at their accomplishments. For the first time, as I watch these Marines and Soldiers, I am eager for the future as this is just the beginning for them. Perhaps the most amazing characteristic of all is that the morale of the men is sky high. They hurt for the wounded and the dead but they are eager to continue to attack. Further, not one of them would be comfortable with being called a hero even though they clearly are.

There's so much more - read the whole thing.

(Via the Llamas)

Wizbang is now taking nominations for their annual weblog awards.

Flea joins a special club.

A must-read in Time:

"We’re not going to die!” yells U.S. Staff Sergeant David Bellavia as his rattled platoon of soldiers takes cover from machine-gun fire in the streets of Fallujah. The platoon has been ordered to hunt down and kill a group of insurgents hiding somewhere in a block of 12 darkened houses. It is 1:45 a.m., and the soldiers have been running from fire fight to fire fight for 48 hours straight with no sleep, fueled only by the modest pickings from their ration packs. As they searched through nine of the houses on the block, the soldiers turned up nothing. When they trudged into the 10th house, though, a trap was sprung: the insurgents had lured them in and then opened fire, forcing Bellavia’s men to scramble out of the house as shards of glass peppered them and bullets ricocheted off the gates of the courtyard. Bellavia yelled for a Bradley armored fighting vehicle to get “up here now!” The Bradley drew along the gate and poured 25-mm-cannon and M-240 machine-gun fire into the house, blasting a shower of concrete chips and luminescent sparks.

Bellavia, a wiry 29-year-old who resembles Sean Penn, is pacing the street, preparing to go back in. Bellavia’s bluster on the battlefield contrasts with his refinement off it. During lulls in the fighting, he could discuss the Renaissance and East European politics. “Get on me now,” he says, ordering his squad to close in. There is little movement. He asks who has more ammunition. Two soldiers stand up and join him in the street. “Here we go, Charlie’s Angels,” Bellavia says. “You don’t move from my goddam wing. You stay on my right shoulder. You stay on my left shoulder. Hooah?” The men nod. “I wanna go in there and go after ’em.”

Reaching the barred window near the front door, Bellavia tells two soldiers to perch by the house corner and watch for insurgents trying to leap out the side window. He looks at Staff Sergeant Scott Lawson and says, “You’re f______ coming. Give suppressive fire at 45 degrees.” Bellavia and Lawson step nervously into the house. From the living room, Bellavia rounds the corner into the hallway. The insurgents are still alive. Their AK-47s fire. Bellavia fires back, killing them both. “Two f_____s down,” he says.

Lawson stays downstairs while Bellavia scours the first floor for more insurgents. A string of rapid-fire single shots ring out. Then silence. Then a low, pained moaning. The two soldiers waiting in the courtyard call out to Bellavia, “Hey, Sergeant Bell,” but get no response. “Sergeant Bell is not answering,” a message is shouted back to the platoon members across the street. “We need more guys.” The platoon’s other staff sergeant, Colin Fitts, 26, steps up. “Let’s go,” he says.

Fitts takes a small team over the road. “Terminators coming in,” he bellows as he goes inside, using the unit’s name in a code to warn that friendly forces are entering. Inside they find Bellavia alive and on on the hunt. Upstairs he scans the bedrooms. An insurgent jumps out of the cupboard. Bellavia falls down and fires, spraying the man with bullets. At some point another insurgent drops out of the ceiling. Yet another runs to a window and makes for the garden. Bellavia hits him in the legs and lower back as he flees. When it’s over, four insurgents are dead; another has escaped badly wounded. To Bellavia, Fitts says, “That’s a good job, dude. You’re a better man than me.” Bellavia shakes his head. “No, no, no,” he mutters.

Unbelievable. It's a testament to amazing skill and bravery as well as technology and superior firepower that US casulaties ran less than 1% in such close quarters urban combat. Simply put, our soldiers and marines are pros. Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Also take a look at this fantastic photo-essay from USA Today.

A little over two weeks ago, I linked to Val Prieto's post about a court case against Fidel Castro that sought justice for the cold-blooded murder of an American pilot involved in the Bay of Pigs operation. The verdict is in and the details are atrocious:

Guilty.
...
In his summary, Judge Dresnick stated he was "repelled" by the mistreatment of Mr. Ray's body by Cuban ofiicials. Testimony and evidence showed that the American Pilot had been executed by the orders of Fidel Castro and then for 18 years his body subjected to inhumane treatment. Mr. Ray's body was beaten on, spit on, urinated upon and manipulated.

In court, the sobbing daughter of the American Pilot stated that this trial was her legacy. "I am my father's daughter," she said. "I fight for the little guy. For those that can't fight for themselves. Just like my father."

Yet people like Oliver Stone, Maxine Waters and various public sympathizers still crow loudly about the Castro regime's legacy of universal health care and high literacy rates, often equating the beauty of Cuba's people and culture with a misplaced sense of noble legitimacy for Cuba's oppressive government.

Read the whole thing.

*** John Hawkins details why an Ohio recount won't change the outcome. He's got numbers.

*** Blackfive has a round-up of links from a Military blogger who describes the nature of combat in Iraq. Essential reading.

*** Dean takes a shot at Sean Hannity:

Okay, anyway, like I said, I was starting to feel annoyed at the rough treatment of Rice, when I actually heard Sean Freaking Hannity turn to his guest and say, Ann Coulter, don't you find these Democratic attacks on Condoleezza Rice incredibly mean-spirited?

Some moments are so priceless they defy comment.

*** Frank J's latest burst of artistic genius is breathtaking.

*** The Llamas have nominated me for the cover of Time's Person of the Year. They have a picture!

*** And James Joyner is disappointed with Bush's possible overhaul of the tax system:

This is disappointing on a number of levels. Not only does it do very little to alleviate the problems that Bush citied in the campaign--the incredible amount of time and money that simply complying with the current system consumes--but it actually strikes me as harmful.

I'm withholding judgment.

To some degree, we all have to work with incomplete data when rendering ad hoc opinions on the news of the day, but Boyd hits the nail on the head with this intemperate post about back-and-forth bloviation over the shooting in Fallujah:

So to both sides I say the same thing: shut up. You don't know what you're talking about. You have limited information, and you can't vouch for the validity or quality of the information you do have. That's the job of Navy investigators and the Marine chain-of-command. They know their jobs, they know how to pursue this issue, they're on the scene, and they'll figure it out.

My take on the matter obviously gives the Marine the benefit of the doubt, but I'm very careful to render a somewhat qualified leaning that's subject to the results of an investigation. Boyd touches on a major weakness of blogging and opinion journalism in general, which is most applicable to aggressive judgment of situations that are reliant on secret intelligence or eyewitness context: we don't know what we don't know. And there's a lot that we don't know, so it's better to leave a little wiggle room and moderation in most analysis.

I've been a hypocrite about this before and I'm sure that I will be again, but it's definitely something that every writer should consider when building an effective argument. Plus, it's not a good idea to make Boyd angry!

UPDATE: This post calls for the famous Rumsfeld quote:

As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

UPDATE: Here's a very reasonable analysis co-written by an ex-Marine and an ex-Army officer:

When a unit seizes terrain, its enemy military occupants generally become prisoners, as long as they don't continue fighting. The Third Geneva Convention makes it a war crime to kill or injure a prisoner or to deny medical care to a prisoner for wounds suffered in combat, among other things. If prosecutors charge the Marine with murder, they will argue that the Marines took these Iraqi men as prisoners the moment they secured the building. Moving or not, the wounded Iraqi was a prisoner, and therefore it was a crime to shoot him, even in the crazy kill-or-be-killed environment of Fallujah.
...
The twin essences of war are chaos and killing, so the very idea of placing inflexible constraints on the act of killing is at odds with the fundamental nature of warfare. Managing this cognitive dissonance while trying to stay alive takes tremendous skill. Professional militaries, like the U.S. Marine Corps, do this well because of their discipline and training. But the very existential nature of combat tilts the moral plane under these young riflemen's boots. In a place where you are fighting for your very survival, like the streets of Fallujah, any action that keeps you alive is a good one. And any misstep could get you or your buddies killed.

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Rob points us to Rumsfeld's quote set to music.

Colin Powell makes some notable public accusations:

The United States has intelligence that Iran is working to adapt missiles to deliver a nuclear weapon, further evidence that the Islamic republic is determined to acquire a nuclear bomb, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said Wednesday.
...
"There is no doubt in my mind -- and it's fairly straightforward from what we've been saying for years -- that they have been interested in a nuclear weapon that has utility, meaning that it is something they would be able to deliver, not just something that sits there," Powell said.

To preempt trolls - yes, I realize that Powell's previous UN address about Iraq now undermines US intelligence credibility after the failure to discover stockpiles of WMD, but the criticism doesn't alter the relatively clear intentions of the Iranians. They're sitting on top of one-tenth of the world's proven oil reserves and have little need to develop nuclear power.

Barring some dramatic shift in Iran's behavior, I'd anticipate an Israeli airstrike that employs US purchased bunker busting munitions before any mullah bomb comes to fruition. The practical factors working against such drastic action in the near future are the threat of regional war and international pressure for reengagement in the peace process under a new Palestinian leadership, but something tells me that the Israelis will choose a non-nuclear Iran. Timing, secrecy and defense are the real questions: Are US and Israeli intelligence services aware of the location of all or most critical Iranian activity devoted to developing a nuclear weapon? Are they aware of the practical deadline for launching a strike before weapons are completed and hidden in decentralized locations? Can they adequately defend against an Iranian missile retaliation?

If Israel has enough information, I believe they'll strike. The world would howl with anger and the UN would pass denunciatory resolutions against the aggression, but we'd all sleep much better at night for another decade after their action ... assuming Iranian retaliation doesn't escalate into regional war.

UPDATE: I'm trying to envision scenarios of Iranian retaliation against Israel in the case of an airstrike. Their practical options would be:

1. Increase in support and activity for terrorist proxy attacks using conventional weapons.

2. An attack on Israel with missiles tipped with conventional warheads.

3. An attack on Israel with chemical or biological weapons via missile or terrorist proxy.

The first option is already taking place, whereas the third option would beg an Israeli nuclear response. The most likely retaliation would be the second option, consisting of 10 - 20 missiles targeted at military installations and/or urban population centers. This could be an isolated response followed by another round of Israeli airstrikes, or essentially provoke a war that Israel would win, yet plunge the whole region into chaos and endanger the fragile operation in Iraq.

It's important to note that Bush would probably need to authorize the sale of GBU-28 bunker busting bombs to Israel, a larger version of the 500 2,000 lb. bunker busters that the US already delivered and are assumed by the press to be specifically intended to enable a possible strike against Iran.

A thorough analysis of the situation can be found in this article, though I still believe that Israel would risk war and instability rather than allow Iran to get the bomb. The Christian Science Monitor also has a good read.

Everything that you ever wanted to know about the sordid historical alignment of one of our staunchest European allies, but were afraid to ask:

The most historic shift in Poland's international orientation in a half a millennium has been taking place in recent times. A staunch Atlanticist, a faithful ally both in the war on terror and in Iraq, and one of the few countries in the world that names streets and public squares after right-wing American presidents, it's hard to imagine that until quite recently - in historic terms - of all the Western states, Poland was most closely associated and allied with France.

Glad to see that they've come around.

The Marines have discovered 40 vials of Sarin that were hidden in Fallujah.

UPDATE: The vials were previously debunked as test kits, as reported and corrected by NPR (thanks to commenter JWebb). But ...

... the original link to Captain's Quarters has a series of updates, the last of which suggests that they were, in fact chemical agents, though not of Iraqi origin. Check it out.

Monday night on CNN I heard the dreaded comparison of the recent Marine shooting of a wounded man to the Abu Ghraib scandal, and my immediate thought was ... "no."

No. We are not going to let the MSM do this. We are not going to let them blow up an incident that took place in the heat of asymmetrical urban combat amid booby-trapped bodies and enemy atrocities into a full-scale worldwide spectacle of American self-flagellation. When Abu Ghraib took place, I was disgusted by the repellent actions of the soldiers that casually abused their prisoners; I wanted them punished for the damage that they did to US credibility as well as the shocking impropriety of their actions. But within two weeks, after dozens of front-page stories and top features crowded major dailies and cable news broadcasts, my sentiments shifted to anger at the US media for once again sensationalizing and taking an issue out of context, and incessantly editorializing condemnation of the Bush Administration and the much larger effort in Iraq.

How many front-page items has the NY Times run about the construction of schools and the supply of hospitals? How many front-page pieces have featured the stories of American soldiers' courage and charity to local Iraqis? How many reporters have delved into the torture and oppression of the previous regime and the post-war reactions of its former victims? These angles that might provide beneficial context to the larger conduct and aftermath of the war have represented an infinitessimal sliver of the news coverage coming from Iraq. In comparison, the MSM marinated in weeks of features about the misconduct at Abu Ghraib, effectively practicing a form of moral equivalence that is ultimately destructive to the war effort and harmful to our society.

Most MSM outlets can't muster up the outrage to energetically condemn the extremist forces that decapitate innocents on camera and wave the severed heads in the air, or shoot blinfolded women in the head, but are all too ready to swarm over primarily non-fatal psychological abuse conducted by a cadre of undisciplined soldiers and their incompetent management, or the possibly criminal execution of a wounded Iraqi in the heat of urban combat, because the negative incidents selectively lend credence to their predetermined narrative: the war is a misguided, ignoble effort that dehumanizes all participants. And it's always more comfortable for liberal elitists to practice self-critical moral equivalence within their own societal sphere than to label extremist elements of a foreign culture as psycopathic murderers that demand extermination.

To be clear - I am not suggesting that Abu Ghraib and the shooting in Fallujah are incidents that should have been buried by a patriotic press corps. As a society that gains strength from openness and self-criticism, it's usually in our ultimate best interest to obtain as much information as possible - good or bad. But the revelation of these stories need to be editorialized and reported in the proper context, along with a small fraction of the thousands of unreported tales of positive conduct by Americans, shockingly improper conduct by our enemies and systematic US Military justice that typically sets our actions apart from those of the terrorists.

We will not let them get away with demonizing this Marine and in turn extrapolating the incident to a demonization of America and the greater war effort. If Brokaw, Rather, Jennings, Zahn, Woodruff and the editors of the NYT want to subject America to incessant prejudgment and critcism of the actions of one Marine that was under an incredible amount of stress and had been wounded in the face the previous day, go for it. Because now that the election's over, I've realized that they're surely losing their monopoly on narrative and audience share. The MSM threw everthing and the kitchen sink at the Bush Administration and the efforts often backfired, and we now know that this country still maintains a healthy majority that rejects moral equivalence and underconfidence in America. As a result, if the MSM decides to overzealously pursue this story, they will also continue to diminish themselves in the eyes of their audience, and alternative media sources will once again be on hand to grimly enable their departure from relevance.

Jeff Goldstein has more. As does Jane.

UPDATE: Froggy Ruminations has an insider's perspective on asymmetrical urban combat.

UPDATE: Heard Here:

A young Marine, wounded the day before in the face, returns to duty. Early in the day five of his unit are seriously wounded by a booby-trapped enemy body. The day before, one died of this type of incident. His brothers have been shot by white flag waving "insurgents". He and his squad have had to re-take a mosque that was taken the day before and had been re-occupied by the enemy and was producing small-arms fire on his squad.

Context is important. The results of an investigation will provide more information.

UPDATE: The Marine had been previously wounded in the face by shrapnel, not shot in the face. Post corrected.

There is no beauty there - only atrocity. An experience with the piece is like that of a young child who belatedly discovers that joyously hoarded Halloween candy tastes like vomit and soft scrub cleanser.

A canvass full of lies.

Also, pretentious.

Fin

See also here and here.

A startling report:

In the summer of last year, Iranian intelligence agents in Tehran began planning something quite spectacular for September 11, the two-year anniversary of al Qaeda's attack on the United States, according to a classified American intelligence report. Iranian agents disbursed $20,000 to a team of assassins, the report said, to kill Paul Bremer, then the top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq. The information was specific: The team, said a well-placed source quoted in the intelligence document, would use a Toyota Corona taxi and a second car, driven by suicide bombers, to take out Bremer and destroy two hotels in downtown Baghdad. The source even named one of the planners, Himin Bani Shari, a high-ranking member of the Ansar al-Islam terrorist group and a known associate of Iranian intelligence agents.

The alleged plan was never carried out. But American officials regarded Iran's reported role, and its ability to make trouble in Iraq, as deadly serious. Iran, said a separate report, issued in November 2003 by American military analysts, "will use and support proxy groups" such as Ansar al-Islam "to conduct attacks in Iraq in an attempt to further destablize the country."

Make no mistake, people: we are at (proxy) war with Iran, a conflict that's skirting an analogy to our direct engagement of Chinese infantry and Russian pilots during the Korean War. Considering this portion of Iran's recent "agreement" to halt nuclear development ...

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I'm surprisingly detached about the appointment. Rice has stellar credentials and a strategic grasp of the the multi-generational asymmetric challenge of Islamofascism and WMD, but her reviews as NSA were generally mixed from a spectrum of sources, and I'm unclear of what her agenda will be at the head of State's massive beauracracy. Is she there to clean house of entrenched and rebellious liberal foreign service officers, or represent the President's top-line diplomatic agenda with more clarity? Both? Based on descriptions of her muted refereeing of National Security debates during Bush's first term, my gut wonders if her natural level of aggression is suited for the merciless work of reforming a government beauracracy. I'm certainly willing to give her the benefit of the doubt - we'll see. Dr. Rice's executive experience at the head of Stanford University should come in very handy.

Another interesting question is how Islamic countries will deal with a woman SecState at this pivotal time in the region's history that demands American engagement and brokerage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While it's certainly fun to crow about the in-your-face example of Western pluralism set by the gender of the United States' top diplomatic official, I wonder if Rice's public profile will present any minor practical impediments in the diplomatic process. Not that a scintilla of our decision-making should bow to Islamic sexism, but it's certainly a wrinkle worthy of curious consideration. Her appointment might also serve as subtle model for reform and inspiration among women in the Middle East; Al Jazeera has to cover a US SecState's visit to the region, and something tells me they won't be slapping a burhka on the good doctor.

Should be interesting. I wish her congratulations and good luck.

Instapundit is an orgy of minimalism bereft of minimal titillation, unending spareness without satisfaction or ultimate redemption. Reynolds' spartan renderings shroud shocking banality in a smooth silken cloak of enigmatic genius that teases us with bright glimpses of the true enlightenment found in a child's scream or a clown's tear - a real tear, lying nearly unseen above the painted tear.

Give us the answers, Professor. Give us the key! But no. It is all a teasing game to you ... a puzzle ... for beyond the sticky yet offish web of "heh's" and "indeeds" lies the secret of humanity itself. I can smell it beyond your wall. It smells like cookie dough.

I will not read the whole thing and you cannot make me.

Fin

See also here.

Sean Delonas, NY Post

Fair is fair - as a companion to leftie Carville's iffy gay joke about McGreevey, check out this cartoon that was published in the right-wing NY Post. Besides the fact that the depiction of McGreevey floating on air with pixie dust is sort of a crass and clumsy device (last I checked, McGreevey wasn't even particularly effeminate), the use of Bush's name as a naughty double-entendre that represents the female anatomy is a trick that's been overused to the point of painful annoyance. At the very least the cartoon is lame. And probably offensive to somebody. The only thing that almost redeems the effort is the fact that it points out the one factor that really unifies and animates today's Democratic Party (no, not gayness, hatred of George Bush).

I dislike political correctness run amok, but it's kind of interesting to note which stereotypes can't slip by the monitors of outrage and which are deemed "fair game."

(Via the Raving Atheist)

The Fall of Protein Wisdom

Jeff Goldstein has become a pretender, a scornful dadaist, a false idol worshipped by a cadre of sycophantic poseurs that elevate chaffy to an altar of Godhood. My tears fill chamber pots for what was and what never was ... but could have been.

He laughs and spits on you all with his "dog whistle post." And you lap up the discharge like fawning curs desperate for sustenance.

Damn you, Goldstein. Damn you. May you be damned like you have so casually damned us. You beautiful bastardly genius.

Fin

Citizen SMASH has details and photos:

Their rally, to protest the "assault on Fallujah" (which was all but over by the time they got started), was scheduled to begin at 1:00, but they were running late. Theirs was the usual confusing mass of mixed messages: religious pacifists mingled with anarchists; communists selling newspapers for a dollar each; anti-capitalist vegans holding up a banner advertising a “yeast-free” bread shop; a woman -- made up to appear like a victim of multiple gunshot wounds -- lay prone on the sidewalk, draped in an American flag.

And then there were the Marines.

Colin Powell and Spencer Abraham resign:

9:53: Scott McClellan told the press gaggle, according to Fox News, that 4 cabinet announcements will be officially made today. No official word on whether it was all resignations or if some were picks for offices previously vacated.

Powell's resignation was expected, but I wasn't aware that Abraham was planning to step down.

I nominate Zell Miller for SecState; he'd make Donald Rumsfeld look like Jimmy Carter:

"I don't much care what France thinks... they're just a buncha wine drinkin', crossandwich eatin' buncha pansies that make love with their mouth and ain't never seen no bath water ... the only beret worth wearin' is a green beret and they'd all be doin' the Sieg Heil shuffle if it weren't for our brave boys over there in Dubya Dubya Two. And Jock Chir-rack? I'd like to git that greased-up toe-licking mama's boy out behind a woodshed and slap him stem-whinin'. Problem is, he'd run like his feet was on fire and his ass was catchin', jes like all them damn frogs."

"Press conference over; my cow died last night so I don't need your bull, and I'm busier than a cat covering crap on a marble floor. Now git!"

Your predictions/recommendations for SecState?

UPDATE: Paige and Veneman are gone as well.

Carville cracks an egg on his head. - Reuters

Tim Russert: "Does George Bush have a mandate?"

James Carville: "The only politician in America I know who has a mandate is Jim McGreevey, Tim ... hee-hyaw! hyaw! hyaw! hyaw!"

Mary Matalin then bowed her head in shame.

UPDATE: No, I'm not making that up - approximate quote, I'll post the transcript when it's up. Carville also cracked an egg on his head.

UPDATE: Robert Cox has more.

UPDATE: Captain Ed has more, including the link to the exact transcript, which doesn't bother to mention the "hee-hyaw! hyaw! hyaw! hyaw!" or even make a more sober reference to "(jackal-like laughter)." It's very possible that I imagined it.

John Hawkins has the goods:

So why do we have a deficit? Because as we bring in more revenue, we keep spending at a faster rate.

Read the whole thing. I firmly believe that the practical lever that can return our country to sane solvency and security is an executive power of line-item veto.

Are you a blogger that's looking to raise your profile in the blogosphere? If you feel that you've got some real talent and a penchant for judging the talent of others, the Watcher's Council has an opening.

My time on the Council was fun; it's an excellent vehicle to showcase your best work and a great opportunity to pass on plaudits to other great blogs.

Fighting in Fallujah from California ...

Launched from a site near Baghdad, the Predator UAV carried a Hellfire missile. Its crew and its video feeds were back in California. A few weeks earlier, the Watchdogs had employed Predator to hit a moving pickup with a mounted machine gun—one robot leading another robot to the target. NFL games on television allow the viewer to see the same play from different angles. But the digital pipes for battlefield imagery weren't large enough to permit the Watchdogs and the Predator crew in California to see each other's video. Instead, the Predator and Pioneer crews used e-mail chat and GPS coordinates to align their platforms.

... finally gives way to a local airstrike:

A truck had pulled up and five men had walked inside, carrying something in their arms. Three dogs had trotted up.

"Supper time. They're changing shifts," Sgt. Roneil Sampson, an imagery analyst, said. "Domino's delivery."

"Cleared hot," Neumann said. Impact was less than a minute away.

Word had spread to the off-duty crew and over two dozen Marines had squeezed into the small op center, murmuring back and forth.

"I like dogs. Get out of there dogs."

"Stay in there, muj. You're almost in paradise. Don't leave now. Don't leave."

The courtyard door opened, and a man walked to the truck and slowly drove away.

"Boot muj sent out to get the Coke. Luckiest bastard on the planet."

Both video screens suddenly flashed bright white, as if a fuse had blown. There was a collective Damn! from the watching Marines. The center of the roof was now a huge black hole.

"That's a shack," Neumann said. "Now that's what I call a shack!"

"I feel sorry for the dogs," someone shouted.

"Great job, Watchdogs," Neumann said. "Great job."

That article was written by Bing West, a former Marine infantry officer in Vietnam and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan Administration. With co-author Maj. Gen. Ray Smith (Ret.), he wrote a largely first-hand, blow-by-blow account of the Marines' invasion of Iraq and charge to Baghdad called "The March Up." I highly recommend it.

UPDATE:West seems to be writing a series for Slate; other installments can be found here and here:

Marines are keenly aware of war's human toll. The sergeant had no idea what that young Iraqi was thinking. He didn't like killing someone's son. But Marines don't wear their emotions on their sleeves, and they have zero sympathy for the jihadists trying to kill them. If America needs a hard job done, the Marines will do it, and they won't lose their humanity in the process or any sleep over pulling the trigger. Yes, they are "the world's most lethal killing machine." That's what America needs in battle.

A new sponsor for the week is E. Webscapes Blogskins, a full-service blog design and set-up shop. I e-mailed the proprieter after they requested their ad and she gave me concrete assurances that they treat all clients with great courtesy and respect. Trust me, that's important.

They seem to have relatively inexpensive rates for a complete software set-up and design of a blog, as well as a la carte services - check 'em out.

From the Washington Post:

As the new refugees recounted the events of recent days and weeks, a picture of the battle from the insurgents' side began to emerge. Witnesses described an insurgency fractured by distrust and rivalries between locals and foreigners, and visibly shaken by the thunderous U.S. assault.

The foreigners found slain Thursday in southern Fallujah were described as foot soldiers with Monotheism and Jihad, a guerrilla group headed by Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi that now calls itself al Qaeda in Iraq. In the plans developed by insurgent leaders for a coordinated defense of the city, Zarqawi's fighters were to man bunkers in two neighborhoods, according to witnesses. Others were to be defended by various Iraqi insurgent groups, including the First Army of Mohammad and Ansar al-Sunna Army.

But residents said strains between the local insurgents and the foreigners quickly turned into a deep schism under the intense pressure of the U.S.-led offensive. When a senior Zarqawi commander was found dead of a bullet to the head during the battle, debate ensued over whether he was killed from a distance by a U.S. sniper or at close range by an Iraqi insurgent, residents said.

Residents said everyone in the city, including the insurgents, was stunned by the firepower the Americans brought to the battle. Guerrillas counted 40 armored vehicles approaching their positions as night fell Monday.

The Western press describes our side's hardship with frequency and detail because they have excellent access, but can you imagine the typically undocumented terror of being on the other side of a coordinated ground-air offensive by the US Military?

Alternately, if an insurgent wets his pants in the desert and no one is around to snap a picture, does it make a puddle?

But then I stop and think ... how much hatemail does a man with 20 times my traffic get?!

And he's a well-armed, quiet, neighborly type. Recipe for disaster, that.

I strongly object to the Commissar's new parody map of the blogsphere.

Who thought it was a good idea to give the Llamas full statehood? Madness.

This is pretty interesting:

Don't equivocate. Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ. Honor the Lord, and He will honor you.

They're coming for you blue blue-staters! Gather your guns* and prepare to defend your families from the looming existential threat from religious zealots!**

* Oh wait, you don't have any guns. Damn.

** Domestic religious zealots. The foreign religious zealots make simply fabulous couscous! And the keffiyah? So "sheik."

UPDATE: Uh, guys? I was just kidding ...

Today Best of the Web linked to a discussion thread on Bill Maher's site where Democrats debate the ethical question: Is it proper to shoot Republicans?

Ace has more:

This is how violence starts. Most people are not quite so crazy as to do such a thing without provocation. But you add lots of encouragement from their political buddies, the chance to become a "star" among those you seek respect from, and now you're cooking a political-hit stew.

Hugh Hewitt posts an astounding memorial letter to 1st Lt. Joshua Palmer:

He was so proud to go to Iraq. The same as when he had vowed to help the Mexican children, and the Chinese children, he felt that he could now help the Iraqi children. The week before Josh was killed, he had requested special permission to stay another year in Iraq. He didn’t want to leave until the work was done. He loved the kids there. He wrote home, asking for candy and toys, because he loved giving it to the kids and watching them smile. Every night, he ate dinner with Iraqi families. He loved them, and they loved him. He believed in what we are doing there. He told my cousin Laura that he wanted these children to have the chance to grow up with democracy, the way he did, so that they would have an honest chance of making their lives better. “Josh was exceptionally passionate about service to his country” was the way that one of his best friends, Ryan Hansen described him. Josh had a deep seated belief that the military had a benevolent purpose in the development of countries. One of his favorite books, Starship Troopers, talks about the military’s role in society. Dominic, when asked to describe why Josh had joined the Marine Corps., said, “He was a great student of history and he thought that it was warriors that make countries strong and prosperous.”

What an amazing fellow; you need to read the entire letter. To commemorate Veteran's Day and this story I'd like to reprint something that I wrote back in April, when I first unknowingly featured the picture of Lt. Palmer's men praying above his body:

The news from Iraq has been so relentless yet muddled that I can't even distinguish a clear narrative from the situation. But at least once a day, usually when I hear about the highly professional cordon-and-destroy operations in Fallujah, or any of the casualty reports, I get hit with a wave of emotion that cuts straight through the clutter.

First comes sadness about the loss of guys that come from this country; men that made the choice to die in the dirt in some backwater locale like Iraq. My mind tells me that these losses are acceptable and part of the bargain that we strike to build a better society, but my heart feels pain and guilt about the brutality that they face in my stead. I'm not sure that the average American even partially grasps what it must be like to defy modern weapons: high explosives, automatic gunfire, grenades, little pieces of metal shrapnel flying through the air, all of it possessing the ability to effortlessly pass through fragile human flesh to horrible effect. I can't fathom how anyone can carry themselves in such an environment. And it fills me with grief to think that these guys who were raised in the same bubble that I was, with largely the same opportunities, are getting killed and maimed by the dozens.

Which is the point at which the next emotion comes in: pride. Tremendous, jingoistic, unadulterated pride. People of my generation haven't exactly embraced unironic heroes, the type of folks worshipped for larger than life deeds - but now we should seize the opportunity. All politics aside - everyone should be amazed by Americans that choose to fight and die, and comport themselves with more compassion and efficiency than any other armed force on earth. It's so historically odd how modern America has been brainwashed out of equating patriotism with any jingoism; how we have transitioned from a society that celebrates warriors into one that doesn't quite know what to make of them. It may be different in fly-over country, but I could easily walk into any bar or office in DC and find a significant number of people that look at the actions of our war-fighters with disinterest, distaste or outright scorn. There's a Kos around every corner.

But I can't fathom any of that. I'm simply blown away by the men and women that are fighting over there. They animate cliched sentiments that hibernate in times of peace and irony; they so often give us the gift of something noble to venerate. Support them. Support their sacrifice. Support their mission by talking about them, by talking with friends about the war, by trying to reason with those that don't understand how vital their mission is and think that their sacrifices are a waste. The true test of a successful society lies in the strength of its defenders and how its citizenry rises to the challenges to its existence. The military has the first element covered; the second part of the bargain is our role in the fight. Blog, write, discuss, argue; struggle to nurture this pride in our warriors and maintain the popular support needed to finish this job. Because if we leave Iraq before the mission is done, we devalue the dead and shame ourselves.

They make us proud; let's return the favor.

*** Gordon previews a potential post-election Newsweek cover. Judges? "Bwahahaha!"

*** Beautiful Atrocities snaps a picture of an un-photoshopped theater marquee in Oakland, California. "Nya-nya, tee-hee."

*** The Llama Butchers comment on the merits of cheeky English debauchery. (Safe for Work) "Sniggering titter."

*** John Hawkins features John Kerry's silver lining. "Muted chortle."

*** Today is Veteran's Day; celebrate. "Respectful silence."

Some commenters were unable to validate the double-meaning of the phonetic Hebrew spelling of "Kerry" on the campaign button that was featured in my previous post, so I asked INDC's resident Hebrew Scholar for clarification:

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... in one statement:

France's Chirac hails Arafat as man of courage

French President Jacques Chirac, confirming Yasser Arafat's death, has hailed the Palestinian leader as a man of courage and conviction who embodied the Palestinian struggle for a state.

"It is with emotion that I have just learnt of the death of President Yasser Arafat, the first elected president of the Palestinian Authority," Chirac said in a written statement on Thursday. "I offer my very sincere condolences to his family and to people close to him."

Courage does not entail stealing billions of dollars from your own people and ordering the specifically-targeted deaths of your enemy's children. France's official values are once again clearly defined, and they are not ours.

UPDATE: More from World Wide Rant and Hennessy's View.

Be sure and check out INDC's new sponsor, "Bet on Iraq:"

After years of trade sanctions, and rampant counterfeiting, the Iraqi Dinar has plummeted from its pre-Gulf War value of over USD$3, to mere fractions of one US cent. What was once the equivalent of more than $82,500, can now be purchased for around $50. Can Iraq's economy achieve, in a free market, what it once achieved under a brutal dictatorship? We don't know yet. But we know she is not alone in her effort to do so.

If you're interested in purchasing Iraqi Dinars as a curiosity or investment, check out their site and shoot them an inquiry. I can't personally vouch for their services, but I asked for more information on their organization and they provided me a seemingly legit IRS "Registration of Money Services" form, along with relevant names, phone numbers and a physical address. Consult their web site for more information if you're interested in betting on Iraq's success.

UPDATE: I've had several individuals e-mail or comment that this is a "scam" because they did research and found out that the dinars are marked up by 35-50% (depending on the contributor). I do not agree; it is a mark-up on a specialty product that most people would not even think of, for service that never requires you to leave your house and delivers physical dinars.

I have absolutely no problem with commenters offering detail or criticism about opportunities in the public comments section, but you must back up highly negative assertions about a business. Potential customers are encouraged to do their homework and make informed decisions that are best for them.

Were the months of inaction preceding this week's climactic street battle in Fallujah a conscious part of a larger strategy designed to quell the country's insurgency? A Blackhawk operator serving in Iraq thinks so:

What if the Coalition planners decided to let them set up a "safe" operations center that would, over time, develop such an appeal to all enemies of the coalition, that local insurgents and foreign extremists alike would come running from all parts of Iraq to "consolidate and organize?" Sort of like grabbing a megaphone and shouting "Attention all ye Ba'athists and Islamofascists!!! Safe area in Fallujah!!! Bring your friends!!! Anyone interested in killing children and/or driving car bombs welcome!!!!"

Now, instead of having them spread throughout the country, we have the bulk of them holed up in one "popular" spot. Like a roach motel. Insurgents check in, but they don't check out.

I just hope that all of the big roaches didn't escape before coalition forces sealed up the city.

I had made an agreement with Ms. Tabb to take down my post contingent upon the removal of her original post and a public apology and retraction of her accusation, but she's simply removed the post without fulfilling her obligation (and furthered the public enmity with an additional post). Since Ms. Tabb had essentially apologized to me via e-mail, I will accept her earlier apology for jumping to a false conclusion and move on.

The text of her reneged e-mail apology is below the fold:

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Val Prieto writes about a very courageous man that you've probably never heard of:

This coming Monday, the 15th of November 2004, there will be a special case put before the Circuit Court Judge at the Miami-Dade County Courthouse. It is a case whose story began over 40 years ago and has traversed the bureaucratic myriads of three countries. A story that started out as a young woman's trek to learn her father's true fate only to later become a mission to seek the acknowledment and honor befitting an American Hero. Now, that same woman is seeking justice.

Read the whole thing.

During the course of reporting Attorney General John Ashcroft's resignation, Reuters repeats a pesky old myth:

Ashcroft, a devout Christian who once ordered two partially nude statues covered up at the Justice Department so he would no longer be photographed in front of them, began what is expected to be a gradual Cabinet reshuffle ahead of Bush's second term on Jan. 20.

The National Review's Jay Nordlinger attempted to debunk this meme over two years ago:

The war aside, this AG has been swimming in bad raps. Maybe the baddest of them all has been Breastgate. Surely you are familiar with the statues that live in the Great Hall of the Justice Department: the Spirit of Justice (a lady) and the Majesty of Law (a gent). (Spirit has a nickname, by the way: Minnie Lou.) Because these statues are partially nude, they are noticed only during conservative Republican administrations. Minnie Lou and her one exposed breast became famous when photographers gleefully took their picture with Ed Meese, as he announced President Reagan's report on pornography back in the mid 1980s.
...
When President Bush visited the Justice Department to rededicate the building to Robert Kennedy, his advance men insisted on a nice blue backdrop: "TV blue," infinitely preferable to the usual dingy background of the Great Hall. Everyone thought the backdrop worked nicely — made for "good visuals," as they say. This was Deaverism, pure and simple. Ashcroft's people intended to keep using it.

An advance woman on his team had the bright idea of buying the backdrop: It would be cheaper than renting it repeatedly. So she did — without Ashcroft's knowledge, without his permission, without his caring, everyone in the department insists.

But ABC put out the story that Ashcroft, the old prude, had wanted the Breast covered up, so much did it offend his churchly sensibilities. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, ever clever, wrote that Ashcroft had forced a "blue burka" on Minnie Lou. Comedians had a field day (and are still having it). The Washington Post has devoted great space to the story, letting Cher, for example, tee off on it — as she went on to do on David Letterman's show.

And yet the story is complete and total bunk. First, Ashcroft had nothing to do with the purchase of the backdrop. Second, the backdrop had nothing to do with Breast aversion. But the story was just "too good to check," as we say, and it will probably live forever. Generations from now, if we're reading about John Ashcroft, we will read that he was the boob who draped the Boob. The story is ineffaceable.

Nordlinger's prediction about the tale's marathon mileage was correct; more than two years later, a news wire service presented the popular canard as undisputed fact in a story marking the AG's retirement. It's pretty ironic that sneering secularists had to create and parrot their own man-made mythology in order to lampoon their target's strong brand of faith.

I doubt that Ashcroft and I would agree about much regarding social policy, and history will have to appropriately contextualize and judge his aggressive efforts to defend the country, but the man did his best during an incredibly difficult period of crisis while suffering the withering scorn of an unfair press. I hope that retirement or reemployment treats him well.

UPDATE: More from Ubique Patrium Reminisci and Michelle Malkin.

UPDATE: TruthOrFiction.com features a couple of takes on the issue:

Attorney General John Ashcroft has not issued any official statement that we know of about the statue issue. The story was broken by Beverly Lumpkin of ABC News who said Ashcroft had made the request for the draperies. The Justice department has said that the draperies were an aesthetic decision that allowed the room to be changed for various functions and that the blue draperies looked good on camera.
...
Supporters say Ashcroft has no problem with the art or the exposed breast but has gotten tired of photographers strategically positioning themselves to snap pictures of Ashcroft or other officials framed with the breast. They say it is the photographers who have caused the breast to be an issue, not Ashcroft.

Via Cold Fury's round-up on the matter.

A reader e-mails:

Have a good friend in NYC who's a hebrew scholar. He sent me the following about his dad wearing the button below. Kerry's campaign apparently "misfired" again. I'll let the story speak for itself:

"Did my father tell you about his Hebrew Kerry button? The democrats, trying to drum up more Jewish vote, printed campaign buttons with "Kerry" spelled phonetically in Hebrew. Unforturnately, no one told them that that spelling happens to be a Hebrew word. It means: "Seminal discharge"! Maybe we can save them for Clinton rallies..."

Apparently, there was a 'dishonorable discharge' after all ...

Related?

... from this gallery of blue blue-staters and their foreign commiserators.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a plane to catch ...

(Via LGF)

Jonah Goldberg:

Take the two leading liberal columnists at the New York Times, Maureen Dowd and Paul Krugman. As we all know, one's a whining self-parody of a hysterical liberal who lets feminine emotion and fear defeat reason and fact in almost every column. The other used to date Michael Douglas.

The rest of the column is brilliant. Read the whole thing.

*** Blackfive introduces us to Specialist Garriga and Corporal Martinez, "Soldiers That You Should Know:"

Now he uses his scars to help other soldiers. "To catch people's attention," he said. "I am so confident that if you will sit down and talk to me, that you will not notice the scars anymore. You will see that I am still a human being, that I have a sense of humor and like to go and have a good time."

Two inspiring men; the next time that you feel the urge to complain, think about their courage in the face of such adversity.

*** Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum of human nobility, Right Wing News plumbs the hate sewer of the Democratic Underground:

"I don't support them (the troops). We've exported our illiterate little kids with their tiny brains filled with images of Rambo. We've armed them and told them the enemy is a demon who doesn't deserve to live. Most of them are more than willing to believe that. They are stupid and dangerous and have no intellectual capacity to grasp basic concepts of democracy. They're a symptom of a disease that infects my country."

Also inspiring individuals; the next time that you need to get angry, think about these spoiled parasites sitting on their couch and ironically deriding men that are dying to bring "the basic concepts of democracy" to Iraq and Afghanistan.

*** Did you forget last week's anniversary? I did:

Today is the 25th anniversary of the day the jihadis declared war on America. On Nov. 4, 1979 Islamist students in Tehran overan the U.S. embassy and took 66 Americans hostage. The hostages were held for 444 days. They were released on Jan. 20, 1981--the day Ronald Reagan was sworn into office.

What to send ... a belated card? Flowers? Bunker-busting nuclear-tipped cruise missiles aimed at budding nuclear reactors?

*** Wizbang reviews an MSM dinosaur's latest limp-wristed slap at bloggers over the inaccurate exit polling:

For starters, the MSM did NOT know they were wrong because, let's review, they've s[p]ent a week now telling us how shocked they were when the votes were counted. The MSM all believed the numbers. To now say "Oh we knew better it was the stupid bloggers who fell for bad data," is just an obvious attempt to take a swipe at the bloggers who took CBS down a notch. (or 3)
...
The whole right side of the blogosphere knew the numbers were bogus long before CBS and the MSM knew.

Yup. The author (a former CBS newsman) conveniently ignores the fact that the portion of the blogosphere that hyped the false exit polls had nothing to do with the bloggers that gave CBS a headache.

*** And finally, Protein Wisdom recreates Janeane Gaerofolo's post-election move to Canada and then eavesdrops on the conversation of two very nervous Fallujan terrorists.

Fake but accurate. More later.

Perceived post-election fallout from Rathergate:

Players involved in the notorious 60 Minutes II story, reported by Dan Rather, which employed dubious documents regarding President Bush’s National Guard service, may have been rooting for a John Kerry victory.
...
Pre-election, the feeling in some quarters at CBS was that if Kerry triumphed, fallout from the investigation would be relatively minimal. The controversial piece’s producer, Mary Mapes, would likely be suspended or fired, but a long list of others up the chain of command—from 60 Minutes II executive producer Josh Howard, to Rather and all the way up to news division President Andrew Heyward—would escape more or less unscathed.

But now, faced with four more years of President Bush, executives at CBS parent Viacom could take a harder line on the executives involved.

I wonder about how much of a real impact the blowback from Rathergate may have had on the election. Regardless of the outcome, CBS needs to clean house or face the slow, practical extinction of its news division.

"Booshi ... Booshi ... Booshi."

The recent software upgrade has caused some oddities in the site's style template. Renovation is underway and will hopefully be completed by tomorrow. Thanks for your patience.

In the meantime, check out Ace's parody of "The Apprentice:"

TRUMP: All right. I gave you all a task to perform. It was a difficult task, but you lost. You had to organize a political campaign, bring your message to the public, energize your base, win over independent voters, and then prevail in the most hotly-contested presidential campaign in fifty years. You lost. What went wrong?

JOHN KERRY: Well, as a Vietnam veteran, who served in Vietnam fighting with the Vietnamese against the North Vietnamese--

You get the picture; read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Oh yeah, and I second what she said:

Suddenly, formerly sane blogger Layne and tons of other lefty bloggers are having a grand old time insulting, denigrating and slurring Christians.

And what he said:

On reflection, it seems to me a very bad idea to try and topple Senator Specter from what in the ordinary course of events would be his Chairmanship.

The Left's getting frothy(er) and the Right's getting a wee greedy, so it looks like it's time to encourage a little moderation in the political climate. Respect for sober centrism may not be sexy, but at least it's a sane and effective way to conduct business. More later.

UPDATE: Actually, let the leftie bloggers wallow in conspiratorial madness for awhile - it's not quite healthy, but it's sure fun to watch.

UPDATE: And more ...

... it remains necessary to keep reminding people that there are not enough conservatives in this country to gain a governing majority. It is easy to lose sight of that undeniable fact just after a sweeping win. But if the center-right does forget, it will be back in the minority in two short years.

A letter from a Marine:

"For eight months, we have been on our chain. The enemy has fooled itself misinterpreting our humanity and restraint for lack of will and courage. For eight months, we have watched Marines, Soldiers and Sailors maimed and killed by invisible cowards hiding behind some wall or in a canal as he detonates another IED. For eight months, we have been witness to suicidal sociopaths driving vehicles laden with explosives into crowds of Iraqis and into our own convoys.

Now, their own ignorance and arrogance will be their undoing. They believe that they can hold Fallujah. In fact, they have come from all over to be part of its glorious defense. I cannot describe the atmosphere that exists in the Regiment right now. Of course the men are nervous but I think they are more nervous that we will not be allowed to clean the rats nest out and instead will be forced to continue operating as is.

Its as if a window of opportunity has opened and everyone just wants to get on with it before it closes. The Marines know the enemy has massed and has temporarily decided to stay and fight. For the first time, the men feel as though we may be allowed to do what needs to be done. If the enemy wants to sit in his citadel and try to defend it against the Marine Corps and some very hard Soldiers... then the men want to execute before the enemy sobers up and flees.

Read the whole thing.

(Via the LB)

I'm currently working on installing comment registration after another barrage of spam attacks. You now need to sign up for a Typekey registration ID and password in order to comment at INDC. I'm still performing tweaks on the style template, so the comments section may be temporarily odd in appearance.

I hope this doesn't put off regulars, but I had little choice. Thanks for your patience.

(585,000) net loss of total jobs as of October 1 (factcheck.org)

plus

337,000 jobs acquired in October

plus

156,000 additional jobs from revised August and September figures

equals

(92,000) total jobs lost under the first four years of the Bush Administration ...

... with two months to go until the end of the term:

Most economists now expect jobs to grow at a pace of 200,000 a month for the remainder of the year, although the unemployment rate isn't expected to fall much.
...
But economists say the latest economic data leave little doubt the labor market is on the upswing. Over the last 13 months, employers have restored more than 80% of the 2.7 million jobs cut over the previous 2 1/2 years. If economists' expectations of job growth over the next few months prove correct, all of the lost jobs could be restored by the time President Bush is inaugurated to a second term in January.

Goodnight Herbert.

UPDATE: Writing Company has a good summary of media reactions.

The Democratic Party might learn an allegorical post-election political lesson or two from this song.

Hint: abstract ideology for ideology's sake does not equal political reality. Something tells me that people like Terry McAuliffe and Kos still won't get it. "Howard Dean for DNC Chair[?]" Heh.

(Via Dean Esmay, who provides detail on the album)

UPDATE: More.

It's been a wild two months (years?) from the galloping charge of Rathergate to the muddy trenches of the campaign to Tuesday night's explosive finale, and I'm beat. Tapped. Spent. There are all sorts of topics that I'd theoretically love to discuss after Bush's victory - the state of the Democratic Party, the direction of Bush's administration, the media's failures and successes, recriminations, jokes, etc., but I can barely make out the computer screen through the haze of acrid smoke billowing from my ears. I sorely need a few days off, and I hope you'll indulge me with your patience.

November 2nd was a victory for many larger things, but I have to admit the selfish derivation of great satisfaction from the fact that blogs played an effective counterweight to powerful portions of a mainstream media run amok with dissonant ideology and willful distortion: CBS News, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Newsweek magazine, and many others. George Bush's victory is a repudiation of an egregiously unfair old media paradigm and a win for the new guard, and I feel proud to have played a small role in the phenomenon. Congratulations and much respect to my fellow bloggers that exhausted so much altruistic energy this year, and many thanks to my wonderful new readers and commenters that keep coming back to INDC; I truly appreciate your support.

I'll be posting lightly and recharging the batteries over the next few days, but do make sure to check back often, because I've got some great material on deck and you won't want to miss it. A pleasant corollary to the Bush victory is a frantic uptick in moonbat migratory patterns and reactionary far-leftist behavior, and I plan to document the excitement with a series of posts next week. After the stress and gravitas of the last two months, it should serve as hella wicked cathartic fun for all.

Thanks for your patience and thanks for reading!

UPDATE: When I say "break," I just mean 3-4 days of light posting. Blogging is such an addiction that I'm sure I'll feel the need to post about something ...

Now it's time to savor.

"[E]ach side is selling like some carnival hawkers their version of what the reality is, but every citizen has to view that with some skepticism ... ... ... So, what are you telling me?"

Denial.

UPDATE: Video back up.

UPDATE: Another Rather video - enjoy Dan's moment of blogger paranoia! By the way, when Dan says "Kerry Campaign," it's a slip of the tongue.

Good for you, Senator:

Sen. John Kerry has called President Bush to concede the 2004 race for the White House, FOX News has confirmed.

Be sure to enjoy Howard Kurtz's great summary of the post-election analysis of the media. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll ... laugh.

My favorite? The Philadelphia Inquirer:

"Candidate George W. Bush pledged four years ago to govern as 'a uniter, not a divider,' but it was clear Tuesday, as voters cast ballots, that the nation he has governed since 2001 still remains divided.

"Nevertheless, President Bush appeared to have a slim advantage over John Kerry early Wednesday morning. Bush, if ultimately victorious, will not have garnered overwhelming popular support, but his survival, in the midst of so much acrimony, would be widely viewed as a testament to his competitive drive and political skills. . . .

"The strategy, which was designed to break the 50-50 deadlock and bring him a solid majority of the electorate, required: a quick and relatively bloodless war in Iraq (thereby burnishing his commander-in-chief credentials), a booming economy with major job growth (sparked by his big tax cuts), a major victory on health care (thereby stealing a Democratic issue), and an internally divided Democratic party.

"Yet he was close to a narrow victory Tuesday night with virtually no help on any of those fronts. He was the first president since Herbert Hoover to preside over a net loss of private-sector jobs, and he had to defend a war that was based on rationales that were subsequently undercut by U.S. weapons inspectors and the Sept. 11 commission. . . . In short, the 2004 electorate was, once again, a portrait of polarization."

Don't you see? An incredibly risky war in Iraq was supposedly a political calculation; the electoral victory was a "testament" to Bush's "political skills," not an informed choice by the people; Bush stole "a Democratic issue" (whose final form was rather unpopular, but nevermind) to get elected.

Sprinkle in some DNC talking points, mix to taste and one smells gobs of delusional disbelief. The Washington Post however, actually gets it:

Four years later, it is still a divided country -- perhaps more sullenly than ever - but as a long election night bled into morning the evidence was clear that it is becoming a more Republican one.
...
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Iraq war, Bush strategists have also calculated that there is not so much difference between base voters and centrist "swing" voters -- both, they maintained, are concerned above all with national security and lower taxes. The strategy defied the wisdom of many Democrats since Bill Clinton, which held that swing voters were a distinct political entity and would not respond to a president as partisan as Bush.

Until the Democrats get serious about this country's defense and purge the Michael Moore wing of their party, they will lose elections. Period.

Our favorite newsman:

DAN RATHER: One would expect that the blogging machine which the White House and the Bush-Cheney campaign has used for any number of purposes over their four years will start now, if it hasn't started already, to say, listen, Kerry-Edwards, for the good of the country, need to concede.

ED BRADLEY: I'm sure it's started already. If we could tune into the Internet we'd see that people are already saying that now. That's certainly the drum the White House is beating.

Listen Dan, for the good of the country and CBS News, "the blogging machine" implores you to to concede your job. You're hurting America.

Via Ace, who says:

Now, Dan: When you malign thousands of amateur analysts and writers, each of whom acts independently and without pay, as being in the service of the White House and under its control ("used... for any number of purposes," you say), and without any evidence whatsoever to prove that:

Would that be fact or opinion, Dan?

UPDATE: The Llamas:

get on up
like a Blogging Machine.
Get on up
get up
Shake your arm
then use your form.
Stay on the scene like a Blog Machine.
You gotta have the feeling
sure as you're born.
Get it together
right on
right on

George W. Bush wins.

Thank you, America.

Congratulations, President Bush.

Please keep your promise ...

Read More »

Fox News calls the state of Ohio for Bush.

UPDATE:

2:28 AM

Silky Pony: "We've waited so long for this victory ... we can wait another night."

Are they going to fight it?

Time to suspend faith in humanity again:

Marion Barry Wins District Council Race

Former Mayor Marion Barry (D) tonight capped yet another revival of a long and often turbulent political career as he easily won election to the District Council as the representative from the city's poorest neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River.

Sigh. Let the good times roll.

"Goddamn setup . . . I'll be goddamn . . . bitch set me up."

UPDATE: Protein Wisdom runs with a Jeopardy theme.

... but I have nothing to add; I'm a taciturn spectator at this point.

I'm actively monitoring the following blogs:

Ace

Captain's Quarters

The Corner

Instapundit

Kerry Spot

Llamas

Outside the Beltway

UPDATE: My gut tells me that my home state of Florida goes to Bush, by the way.

And so much for Rock the Vote's draft scare tactics.

UPDATE: More calming ferrets:

Ah yes ... that's the stuff.

UPDATE: Random observation - Michael Barone is one Hell of a straight shooter.

UPDATE: FOX: Kerry Campaign officials getting "concerned."

That's it.

After you vote. Otherwise, you might get dizzy and accidentally punch the ballot for Nader/Camejo. And if Nader/Camejo wins, they'll bankrupt the whiskey companies by raising the minimum wage to $15/hour and instituting their "consumer, environmental, worker and family farm standards of justice and sustainability" on crops of barley, maize and millet.

UPDATE: How are you self-medicating/blowing off steam?

UPDATE: Speaking of inebriation, Ratherbiased is tracking Ratherisms:

On polling: "This is more complicated than the wiring diagram for some hydroelectric dam dynamo, trying to figure out the absentee ballots, the people who voted in advance and taking in the exit poll data from today."

"This is getting so complicated we may need Billy Crystal to help us analyze this."

Have another drink, Dan; this is your last hurrah.

UPDATE: Tennessee (the home of JD) was called for Bush, btw.

UPDATE: "10-year-old Isle of Jura single malt Scotch whisky."

UPDATE: The internals of the latest FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Exit Poll reveal that Kerry supporters planned to drink the following on election night:

25% Chablis
20% Nep Moi (Vietnamese rice vodka)
15% Cabana Boy Rum Sunset
13% Aquapolitan
10% Raspberry cooler
8% Kiwifruit Daiquiri
5% Mother's milk
2% Evian
2% Other

Fascinating.

UPDATE: They all have Kool-Aid chasers, people. Duh.

If you're wondering why you can't access Instapundit, LGF, Powerline and several other conservative blogs, it looks like some malicious leftie parties may have (I stress "may") launched a "Denial of Service Attack" on their hosting company.

We'll find out the details eventually.

UPDATE: Apparently, the intermittance is striking leftie blogs as well, and the linked blogger above was just speculating about the cause. A common thread may be traffic stress on a large hosting company that services a large number of well-known blogs.

UPDATE: It is/was a denial of service attack? Michele says no. Shrug.

When you switch sides, does that mean you're forced to act like a condescending jerk? Is it in the manual?

Sullivan's esteem and credibility are losing orbit so fast his ass is on fire.

UPDATE:

Re: The bleak exit polling.

The sample was 59% women. This is obviously a terrible sampling that heavily favors Kerry. Shrug. Yawn. Meaningless. Vote. (This exit poll has now been debunked as Kerry Campaign literature -Ed)

UPDATE: A note on election nerves and exit polling - I think that both are nearly worthless. Just do all that you can do - vote, encourage others to vote, etc. The rest is beyond your control, so just sit tight and have patience; calm patience. Have a drink. Take a nap. Under your bed with a bottle of whiskey, if necessary.

We'll celebrate or whine for real when the deal is done.

UPDATE: A note on exit polls from the Horserace Blog:

The raw numbers trickling out are just that...raw. Exit polling is heavily "scrubbed" at the end of the day to account for turnout in each precinct, to account for pre-existing demographic sensibilities (i.e. samples are re-jiggered for sex, race, income, etc). These raw numbers obviously cannot be scrubbed in this matter. This means that the MOE is so high for Bush and Kerry that they are basically useless. What's more...you don't know what kind of data out there is reliable or not -- it is all rumour and innuendo.

I know you are all desperate for information, but this is not what you are looking for. Please no posting of exit polling data on this site.

Zen baby, Zen:

"Vote *$%*&#!"

Ferret pictures do the trick for me, just like valium.

Reader Ned May e-mails an update on the fate of this sign:

You remember the "Jaques Chirac" sign in Powhatan County, VA, right? Well, as of this morning it had finally been vandalized -- someone had tried to obscure it with white spray paint. HOWEVER -- the owner has put up a new, larger version, even closer to the road.

FWIW, there are a lot of "Powhatan is Bush Country" signs down there.

To the dastardly vandals I say:

Quel con! Occupe-toi de tes oignons! Essaye cette manoeuvre: Prendre 50-60 pas en arrière. Prendre plusieurs souffles profonds. Sprinter en avant à toute vitesse. Faire un triple saut périlleux en l'air et disparaître dans ton propre cul.

Jeff Goldstein scored a last minute pre-election interview with John Kerry:

Senator John Kerry: “My reaction has been clear and consistent: as Americans we are absolutely united, all of us. There are no Democrats and no Republicans, as Americans we are united in our determination to destroy, capture, kill Osama bin Laden Vietnam and all of the terrorists. Having said that, let me just note that Republicans obviously don’t want to catch or kill Osama bin Laden as badly as I do. Otherwise they wouldn’t have outsourced the responsibility to warlords in the mountains of Tora Bora. I would have done things differently.”

protein wisdom: “Well, I thought you were in favor of bringing in allies, but be that as it may --”

Senator John Kerry: “-- Snipers disguised as rocks. Exploding goats. Maybe some poisoned dates. That sort of thing...”
...
protein wisdom: “The president says that liberty is not a gift of the American people, but that liberty is a gift of God almighty to every man and woman. Do you agree with his statement?”

Senator John Kerry: “I think everything is a gift from God almighty. Liberty, our life itself. All of the blessings of this country are a gift from God. But that doesn’t mean that you can automatically make other people accept what you want them to accept. You have to bring them to the table in a thoughtful way. That’s been all of history’s truth. As President, I’ll have a giant, humongous table. And I’ll sit at that table and talk. Before I hunt down and kill the terrorists with all the fury of a war hero wronged. Vietnam.”

It's hilarious because it's so very close to the truth. Read the whole thing.

I'm about to go wait in a long line to cast a lonely red vote in the middle of the bluest electoral cache in the land. I hope that the rest of you will make the effort as well, especially if you live in a state that's got less than a 60 point margin.

But Kerry voters - I just noticed there's a West Wing marathon on TBS! All day long! Starting any minute now!

Don't miss a treasured moment of the passion, principle and drama as President Josiah Bartlett tackles the pressing liberal issues of the day and fights terrorists with both resolve and compassion! Will Leo and Josiah's poignant friendship survive under the strain of the Presidency? Will a nervous C.J. successfully parry the questions of a scandal-obsessed press? Will Josh and Donna's dedication guide the President to victory against his Republican challenger? Can Toby secure the crucial votes of the UN Security Council in their multilateral quest for peace in the Middle East?

Don't you dare miss a single second of the all-day West Wing marathon!

The rest of you - vote.

UPDATE: Sources inform me that a special episode will feature Chow Yun-Fat as the hardtack Chinese Ambassador Wei, who engages in tough negotiations with President Bartlett over a UN resolution on Iran's nuclear arms program. After initial argument and stonewall stemming from China's ongoing WMD sales and $70 billion energy contract with Iran, the two parties achieve an emotional breakthrough after Bartlett opens his heart to the beauty of Wei's traditional Chinese poetry, and Wei in turn learns the quaint American custom of horseshoes on the South Lawn of the White House. Both men realize - we're all the same - and together resolve to share their newfound love of horseshoes and poetry with the Mullahs of Iran.

Don't miss it!

UPDATE: The Llamas are live-blogging the election:

What can I say, am I going to let Jon Bon Jovi tell me how to vote? Screw him and the John Cougar Mellencamp he rode in on!

And check out South Park's mockery of P-Diddy's "Vote or Die" campaign.

Funny story after I voted: a bunch of high school kids were doing exit polling outside the West End Public Library and gave me genuine looks of shock when I told them that I voted for Dubya and the Sith Lord Cheney. I asked, "So, I'm the only person you've seen today that voted for Bush, huh?"

"No, you're the second."

Then the kid treated me to exasperated head shakes, clucks and sighs when I highlighted the issues that influenced my vote. A small joy of living in DC.

UPDATE: Dean's posted the military results:

The poll of Active Duty (AD) and Reserve/National Guard (RN) troops has been released, and their support for President Bush is overwhelming. Here are the results:

Bush: AD- 72%, RN-73%

Kerry: AD- 17%, RN-18%

Nader: AD- 1%, RN-1%

Other: AD- 1%, RN-1%

Declined to answer: AD- 2%, RN-1%

UPDATE: Geraghty has an essential post for poll-watchers that insist on torturing themselves with up-to-the-nanosecond detail tonight:

HOW TO WATCH ELECTION NIGHT

Me? I'm going to huddle under my bed with a bottle of Jack Daniels by 9 PM. Wake me up when it's over.

UPDATE: Unrelated possible good news break:

The folks who brought you Abu Ghraib and Memogate may soon be out of a job. Broadcasting and Cable magazine reports that CBS is seriously considering pulling the plug on "60 Minutes Wednesday."

Don Hewitt must be smiling.

Boyd asks a great question:

How will you comport yourself over the next four years?

Give it some thought.

That's going to leave a mark until well after the election.

From Michael Moore's election eve address to his fans:

There’s a reason Bush calls Kerry the Number One Liberal in the Senate – THAT’S BECAUSE HE IS THE NUMBER ONE LIBERAL IN THE SENATE! What more do you want? My friends, this is about as good as it gets when voting for the Democrat. We don’t have the #29 Liberal running or the #14 Liberal or even the #2 Liberal – we got #1! When has that ever happened? Those of us who may be to the left of the #1 liberal Democrat should remember that this year conservative Democrats have had to make a far greater shift in their position to back Kerry than we have. We’re the ones always being asked to make the huge compromises and to always vote holding our noses. No nose holding this time. This #1 liberal is not the tweedledee to Bush’s tweedledum.

To clear up any distortion, the "number one liberal" ranking was for 2003; a broader measure of several years drops John Kerry to #11.

Moore then has a meaty chuckle over Osama bin Laden's recent use of talking points from Fahrenheit 9-11:

To George W.:

I know it’s gotta be rough for you right now. Hey, we’ve all been there. “You’re fired” are two horrible words when put together in that order. Bin Laden surfacing this weekend to remind the American people of your total and complete failure to capture him was a cruel trick or treat. But there he was. 3,000 people were killed and he’s laughing in your face. Why did you stop our Special Forces from going after him? Why did you forget about bin Laden on the DAY AFTER 9/11 and tell your terrorism czar to concentrate on Iraq instead?

There he was, OBL, all tan and rested and on videotape (hey, did you get the feeling that he had a bootleg of my movie? Are there DVD players in those caves in Afghanistan?)

Rewind:

Democratic Presidential Primary candidate Wesley Clark accepts Michael Moore's endorsement in January.

"I think the two greatest lies that have been told in the last three years are: You couldn’t have prevented 9/11 and there’s another one that’s bound to happen.” -- Gen. Wesley Clark

"George W. Bush is a president for Big Oil, of Big Oil, and 'buy' Big Oil. He is more concerned about the success of Halliburton than having a success strategy in Iraq." -- Chris Lehane, Communications Strategist for the Clark Campaign

"Do you suppose," she asked, "that the Bush administration has Osama bin Laden hidden away somewhere and will bring him out before the election?" -- Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright

Michael Moore sits next to President Jimmy Carter at the Democratic National Convention.

“That was a war based on lies and misinterpretations from London and from Washington, claiming falsely that Saddam Hussein was responsible for (the) 9/11 attacks, claiming falsely that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction." -- President Jimmy Carter

"This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud." -- Sen. Edward Kennedy

"As a result, President Bush is now intentionally misleading the American people," Gore said. "Indeed, Bush's consistent and careful artifice is itself evidence that he knew full well that he was telling an artful and important lie -- visibly circumnavigating the truth over and over again as if he had practiced how to avoid encountering the truth." -- Fomer Vice President Al Gore

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tery McAuliffe congratulates Michael Moore at the Washington, DC premiere of Fahrenheit 9-11. Members of the Democratic Senate and House leadership enthusiastically attended the event.

"This movie raises a lot of the issues that Americans are talking about, that George Bush has been asleep at the switch since he's been president."
...
“George Bush continually lies. “ -- Terry McAuliffe, DNCC.

"The most interesting theory I have heard so far, which is nothing more than a theory, I can’t think – it can’t be proved, is that [President Bush] was warned [about 9/11] ahead of time by the Saudis. Now, who knows what the situation is?" -- Gov. Howard Dean

"Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whispered in my ear, ‘America is under attack,’ I would have told those kids very politely and nicely that the president of the United States had something that he needed to attend to - and I would have attended to it." -- Sen. John Kerry

"He misled every one of us," Kerry said. "That's one reason why I'm running to be president of the United States." -- Sen. John Kerry

Contrast that accusation with a video of John Kerry's previous positions on Iraq and the text of Kerry's pre-war summary of the intelligence that was used to justify the war.

Also review highlights from the extended transcript of Osama's speech:

*** "It never occurred to us that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would abandon 50 000 of his citizens in the twin towers to face those great horrors alone, the time when they most needed him.

But because it seemed to him that occupying himself by talking to the little girl about the goat and its butting was more important than occupying himself with the planes and their butting of the skyscrapers. We were given three times the period required to execute the operations – All Praise is Due to Allah."

*** "But the darkness of the black gold blurred his vision and insight, and he gave priority to private interests over the public interests of America.

So the war went ahead, the death toll rose, the American economy bled, and Bush became embroiled in the swamps of Iraq that threaten his future."

*** It is true that this shows that al-Qaida has gained, but on the other hand, it shows that the Bush administration has also gained, something of which anyone who looks at the size of the contracts acquired by the shady Bush administration-linked mega-corporations, like Haliburton and its kind, will be convinced. And it all shows that the real loser is...you.

*** Even though we are in the fourth year after the events of September 11th, Bush is still engaged in distortion, deception and hiding from you the real causes.

What does it say about the state of our political climate that the words of a racist, anti-American propagandist that celebrates the terrorists killing our troops in Iraq as "the Minutemen" have been actively repeated by the mainstream of the Democratic Party and America's enemy? One-half of the two-party system that gravitates towards the mainstream has not been functioning properly for the past few years, and they need to be held to account. These associations and irresponsible rhetoric during a time of war mean something to me - and they should mean something to all of us.

Take it from a RINO that voted for Gore in 2000: if for no other reason, you should vote against the Democratic Party in order to save it. And beyond that sentiment ...

Read this.

Read this.

Read this.

Read this.

And especially read this.

And then vote.

UPDATE: Make sure you take this quiz.

(Via Vodka)

UPDATE: Hewitt (not a moderate) echoes my sentiment:

The election is all about the war, and John Kerry is not a credible Commander-in-Chief and the Dems are not a credible war-fighting party anymore, and will not become one again until the Michael Moore's are run back out of the president's box at the Democratic National Convention.

Are you prepared to let Iran go nuclear?

"We have only one lesson: the lesson of Jihad and martyrdom. So, Dick Cheney, we will uproot the Anglo-Saxon race. This is retaliation. I will say this only once: we have 2 million Iranians there (in the US). You can be sure that I will recruit from among them guerillas against you. If 11 people succeeded in causing September 11, is it not clear that we are capable of acting? We don't need nuclear weapons. You have 6,000 warheads on your soil. Those 6,000 warheads are the target of our plans.
...
We've prepared plans concerning America's achille's heel and their weakness. We have identified all of their weaknesses on land, in the air, by sea.
...
We have organized a department that will take care of England. England's demise is on our agenda."

Do you comprehend the stakes?

UPDATE: A reminder:

John Kerry's proposal would call their bluff by organizing a group of states to offer Iran the nuclear fuel they need for peaceful purposes and take back the spent fuel so they cannot divert it to build a weapon ... If this process fails, we must lead the effort to ensure that the IAEA takes this issue to the Security Council for action.

Iran's already rejected Kerry's plan to give them fuel. Now consider today's news:

China signs $70 billion oil deal with Iran

Yes, this Iran: "We've prepared plans concerning America's achille's heel and their weakness. We have identified all of their weaknesses on land, in the air, by sea."

Reality check: the effectiveness of the UN Security Council is compromised by self-interest.

VOTE accordingly.

It's all at NRO's Kerry Spot. Question: if Kerry loses, does that put Geraghty out of a job?

See also: the jumble of numbers at Real Clear Politics. Head spinning. Confused. Must sit down.

Also, Iowahawk decides to formally endorse a candidate ...

Before announcing our official endorsement, Iowahawk believes it is critical for voters to consider the top issues of the day, and contrast the respective positions of the incumbent, George W. Bush, and his main challenger Worldwide Islamofascism. Let's review how the candidates stack up.

... an effort that includes particularly detailed analysis:

Healthcare

The Administration has frequently pointed to the Prescription Drug for Seniors law as key accomplishment of President Bush, but this new federal entitlement has prompted many troubling questions. For example, what about those of us who are not seniors? And what's the big hangup about prescription drugs? The price of blunts continues to rise without seeming limit, leaving millions of ordinary non-senior Americans to face a stark choice between getting a decent buzz or keeping our Cinemax subscription.

President Bush has shown little interest in this growing national problem, and has forwarded no specific proposals to ease the cost of either Chronic or Cinemax. To its credit, Worldwide Islamofascism has released a specific 19-point plan for revamping Americans' health, based on Canadian and European principles. Unfortunately, it is entitled "Let the Sewers Choke With The Blood of The Americans and Their Filthy Zionist Masters."

UPDATE: Check out the lowlights of the Kerry Campaign in this "Kerry Campaign Timeline."

INDC readers can post their election predictions in the thread below. Include percentage of the popular vote and electoral vote totals for each candidate, along with any other "pithy comments."

"Nameandtown, nameandtown, nameandtown," ... not necessary.

For reference, here's a helpful electoral college map from the WaPo. You can change the map to display the number of electoral votes in each state by clicking the toggle switch that's located just SE of Texas.

A non-partisan "research and educational organization" at George Mason University has just completed a study (pdf document) of network media bias during Presidential campaigns, and ...

Study: Kerry Gets Best Press Ever

WASHINGTON, DC - John Kerry is getting the most favorable network news coverage of any presidential candidate in the past quarter century, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) at George Mason University, in a study of television news since 1980. CMPA also reports that George Bush's coverage is highly negative this year, but doesn't approach the record for bad press held by Ronald Reagan.

MAJOR FINDINGS:

Crazy For Kerry: John Kerry's total of 58 percent positive evaluations (and 42% negative) since Labor Day is the best press any general election candidate has received since 1980. George W. Bush has had only 36% positive evaluations (and 64% negative) in the same period. In the 2000 general election evaluations of both Bush and Gore were about 2 to 1 negative.
...
Dems Get the Breaks: In the past seven elections since 1980, the Democratic candidate has gotten significantly better press in four - Kerry, Clinton in 1992 and 1996, and Mondale in 1984; the Republican has fared better in one - George H.W. Bush over Dukakis in 1988; and two have been about even -- Bush vs. Gore in 2000 and Carter vs. Reagan in 1980.

Shocking. Somewhere at this very moment, an underoo-clad Eric Alterman sticks his fingers in his ears, jumps face first onto his bed and shouts "Nonononononononononononononononononono," while kicking spastic swipes at the empty air.

In retrospect, I suppose that there were signs ...

7/13/04

Evan Thomas, the Assistant Managing Editor of Newsweek:

“There’s one other base here: the media. Let’s talk a little media bias here. The media, I think, wants Kerry to win. And I think they’re going to portray Kerry and Edwards -- I’m talking about the establishment media, not Fox, but -- they’re going to portray Kerry and Edwards as being young and dynamic and optimistic and all, there’s going to be this glow about them that some, is going to be worth, collectively, the two of them, that’s going to be worth maybe 15 points.”

10/8/04

ABC News Political Director Mark Halperin:

An internal memo written by ABCNEWS Political Director Mark Halperin admonishes ABC staff: During coverage of Democrat Kerry and Republican Bush not to "reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable." ... "This is now John Kerry's contest to lose."

I also seem to recall something about trying to pass off forged documents in a National Guard story, a misleading scare piece about a draft and a contextually bogus explosives story planned for the eve of the election - all from CBS.

Vote.

UPDATE: More from Protein Wisdom and Ace, who links the Washington Times' analysis of the study.

UPDATE: More from the Key Monk.

UPDATE: Toss this on the pyre:

Brokaw interview edited to cover up Kerry's records slip!