NOTE: this blog is no longer active as of 12/07. New one: http://blog.kirchhof.com
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
Sun, 31 Oct 2004
Jot These Down
Election Protection Hotline:
1-866-MYVOTE1 to report problems
1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) for immediate legal assistance
Posted at 10:19 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Fri, 29 Oct 2004
Kerry And Iraq
If you are a supporter of the invasion of Iraq -- and, yes, there
are thoughtful people of this opinion -- then I strongly suggest that
you read Bradford
Plumer's article on why Kerry is the better choice at this place
and time. Kevin
Drum does a nice Cliff Notes summary of this excellent and
dispassionate article:
Plumer acknowledges up front that (a) Iraq is a mess and there
aren't very many good options left at this point, and (b) Kerry is
highly unlikely to have much success at "internationalizing" the
occupation. I agree on both points. Starting from that realistic
assessment, though, he argues that Kerry has several modest but
important advantages over Bush that could make all the difference
between success and failure in Iraq:
First and foremost, he's almost certain to be more
competent than Bush, who is unwilling to hold people to account or fire
them for incompetence. Kerry's advisors, people like Richard Holbrooke,
are fundamentally more grounded than Bush's in facts rather than
ideology.
Kerry has a better understanding than Bush of how to
deal with the Iraq's various ethnic and political factions. "You can't
impose [democracy] on people. You have to bring them to it. You have to
invite them to it. You have to nurture the process." It's a lower key
approach, but it's more likely to lead to genuine democracy than Bush's.
Although internationalizing the occupation itself is
probably a nonstarter, Kerry can make considerable progress by
internationalizing the reconstruction in ways that Bush is
unwilling to consider. And if there's any chance at all of getting
foreign troops into Iraq, it's going to take UN auspices to do it.
Kerry is far more likely to get this than Bush.
The Bush administration has been obsessed with
economic privatization to the exclusion of practical, short-term job
creation strategies. Military commanders, by contrast, understand the
necessity of simply creating jobs as quickly as possible. Kerry will
listen to them.
Both Iran and the Kurdish north are problems that
Bush has almost completely ignored. These are both painfully difficult
situations to deal with, but Kerry's willingness to try diplomacy holds
out at least a hope of making progress on these fronts.
I do disagree with both on one point. I think that Kerry will have
much more success than the current punditry zeitgeist seems to expect
in internationalizing the effort. For two reasons. One, there is a lot
of money to be made, and an enormous amount of trade in the future in
building infrastructure and restoring the Iraqi consumer society. The
world sees this clearly. And two, most of the world is eager to show
their solidarity with the American People once we depose King George
II and regain our sanity. I think that we'll be viewed as a good
friend who went through a serious crisis and lost their head, like
your buddy who went on a week-long bender after his Dad died.
Nations are, in the final run, a lot like people. Madness comes and
goes. If this nation has the horse sense to evict the current occupant
of the White House, I think that the wonkery mongers will be surprised
at the depth of the well of goodwill that still exists out there. We
are not alone in this world. But that goodwill is now flatly denied
our country -- and would continue to be -- with Little Caesar at the
helm.
I strongly urge my hawkish and/or conservative friends to set aside
their cement ideology, turn off Rush and Fox, and to think -- really
think -- about the good of their nation in the next four days. If you
examine the whole of the quilt, rather than pieces of the patchwork, I
believe that you may well join me in voting to change our national
leadership.
It's been a hell of a bender. Time to clean up.
Posted at 10:13 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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More On Voter Supression
Over at New Donkey, there's a good article. Here are some excerpts:
The latest political news from Ohio is important and instructive. A
federal judge in Columbus blocked Republican efforts to force county
election boards to review tens of thousands of new voter
registrations. Before the ink was dry on the judge's order, the Ohio
GOP's top lawyer said the action meant the GOP would challenge such
voters at the polls on November 2. "We wanted to have all these
questions resolved this week," said attorney Mark Weaver. "Now they
won't be resolved until Tuesday, when all of these people are trying
to vote. It can't help but create chaos, longer lines and
frustration."
In other words, the GOP is using the demise of one prong of its voter
supression strategy to pre-justify the other. And I wouldn't be
surprised if that's exactly the way they planned it. Now they can can
get their "volunteers" out to "create chaos, longer lines and
frustration" in minority polling places and sadly say that an
"activist judge" who didn't care about voter fraud left them no
choice. It's going to get worse, too: mark my words, when Democrats,
civil rights attorneys, and voters themselves get visibly angry about
this gambit, the GOPers will start whining about "potential violence"
at the polls, and even pretend their goons are being intimidated and
harassed. If nothing else, it will give them an excuse to go to court
to contest Ohio's outcome if the state goes for Kerry.
[...]
He goes on to analyze classic Rove techniques. Very informative, and worth a read. Also worth your attention: this, and a good piece over at Tapped.
Got your cameras ready, brethren and sistren?
Oh, yeah, earlier today yesterday I said below
that the GOP was deploying 3400 "poll watchers" in Ohio. That is
incorrect. They're deploying 8000 in Ohio, and paying them $100.00
each.
Posted at 09:02 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Whatever It Takes
From Salon,
we learn that the new Bush/Cheney ad is a collection of photoshop-esque
fakery. Here's a frame, with the telling areas highlighted:
The ad title?
"Whatever It Takes."
Posted at 01:29 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Thu, 28 Oct 2004
Humor
thanks Mary...
Posted at 16:51 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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The First Volley From Jeb
Sigh. From the BBC:
Florida ballot papers go missing
Tens of thousands of postal ballots have gone missing in the US state
of Florida, sparking fresh concern over irregularities in the poll
campaign.
Authorities are investigating the apparent loss of 58,000 absentee
forms in Broward County, north of Miami.
[...]
A police investigation into the missing ballots has not uncovered any indication of criminal wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the US postal service inspectorate said it was highly unlikely that 58,000 pieces of mail had just disappeared.
[...]
In 2000, Broward gave Al Gore his biggest margin among Florida counties. He won 67% of the vote there, while losing the state to George W Bush by 537 votes.
"It looks like they're trying to steal the vote again," said Diane Glasser, vice-chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party.
[...]
Posted at 16:35 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Today's Best Lede
From Slate:
A Democratic lawyer friend of mine now teases his Republican clients by asking whether they want "faith-based" advice or "reality-based" advice.
Posted at 13:27 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Voter Intimidation - Very Important
From the Times:
G.O.P. Bid to Contest Registrations in Ohio Is Blocked
By JAMES DAO
Published: October 28, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 27 - A federal judge on Wednesday blocked six boards of elections in Ohio from proceeding with hearings into Republican-initiated efforts to knock tens of thousands of registered voters off the voting rolls.
The temporary restraining order issued by Judge Susan J. Dlott of Federal District Court in Cincinnati made it likely that few, and perhaps none, of the challenge hearings would proceed before Election Day, state officials said.
"This is an important victory for all Ohio voters because it means this cynical and desperate effort by the Republican Party to prevent tens of thousands of legal registered voters from casting their votes has backfired," said David Sullivan, a lawyer for the Ohio Democratic Party.
[...]
Folks, this is as real as a heart attack. The National Republican
Party is deploying 3400 "poll watchers" in Ohio alone. As I am
sure readers here know, you are not required to show anyone except
sworn-in election officials any credentials when you
vote. Period. If someone outside the polling place tries to intimidate
you in any way, they are guilty of a Federal crime. Make sure that
everyone you know is aware of this. The elderly and minorities
in liberal districts will be targeted by these facists.
Democrats and the blogosphere are responding. The suggestion is to
wear some sort of non-specific political wear that identifies you as a
liberal and bring a video camera with you. (If you are wearing a
Kerry/Edwards or Bush/Cheney or whatever shirt, you'll be allowed to
vote, but after that, you'll have to stand at least 100 feet from the
polling place door. I think that a Burning Spear t-shirt will be my
attire of the day.) After you vote, go back outside, turn your camera
on, and observe. If you see these criminal activities going on, stand
right beside the "poll watchers" and tell voters that they do
not have to produce any credentials or speak to anyone
outside of the polling place. Get it on tape. Call the Feds. And
put a Republican Racketeer in prison for the good of your country and
your democracy.
I am a very fortunate man this election. I am informed, I have
access to a camera, I can take Tuesday off, and I happen to live
across the street from a polling place in a district that is full of
liberals, elderly, and minorities. I fully intend to do exactly what
I've described above on Tuesday. I'll probably take a comfortable
chair along. And I will not hesitate to file a Federal Voting Rights
Act complaint with the FBI on every goon that I see and videotape. If
I can get my hands on a cell phone for the day, I will call the FBI at
the moment of the act.
It is my humble suggestion that you consider doing the same. We
need at least one person (and preferably several) at every polling
place in this country on Tuesday. Because they'll likely have someone
there waiting for you.
[ Update: this is a surprisingly popular piece. Lots of hits
today. One thing to add -- a rethink. I'll wait until the end of the
day to vote. That way, if anyone tries to intimidate me, they
can go to federal prison for twenty years or so. ]
Posted at 16:38 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Wed, 27 Oct 2004
Paranoia Watch #3
A continuing... series...
The Beeb reports:
Surfers outside the US have been unable to visit the official re-election site of President George W Bush.
The blocking of browsers sited outside the US began in the early hours of Monday morning.
Since then people outside the US trying to browse the site get a message saying they are not authorised to view it.
The blocking does not appear to be due to an attack by vandals or malicious hackers, but as a result of a policy decision by the Bush camp.
Traffic control
The international exclusion zone around georgewbush.com was spotted by net monitoring firm Netcraft which keeps an eye on traffic patterns across many different sites.
Netcraft said that since the early hours of 25 October attempts to view the site through its monitoring stations in London, Amsterdam and Sydney failed.
[...]
thanks, Slashdot...
Posted at 16:52 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Let The Paperless Nightmare Begin
From Albuquerque:
Kim Griffith voted on Thursday -- over and over and over.
She's among the people in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties who say they have had trouble with early voting equipment. When they have tried to vote for a particular candidate, the touch-screen system has said they voted for somebody else.
It's a problem that can be fixed by the voters themselves people can alter the selections on their ballots, up to the point when they indicate they are finished and officially cast the ballot.
For Griffith, it took a lot of altering.
She went to Valle Del Norte Community Center in Albuquerque, planning to vote for John Kerry. "I pushed his name, but a green check mark appeared before President Bush's name," she said.
Griffith erased the vote by touching the check mark at Bush's name. That's how a voter can alter a touch-screen ballot.
She again tried to vote for Kerry, but the screen again said she had voted for Bush. The third time, the screen agreed that her vote should go to Kerry.
She faced the same problem repeatedly as she filled out the rest of the ballot. On one item, "I had to vote five or six times," she said.
Michael Cadigan, president of the Albuquerque City Council, had a similar experience when he voted at City Hall.
Read the full article here...
Side note: this came from Frank. My German
friend. In Germany.
Posted at 15:17 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Good Show, Folks
Well
over half a million early voters in Travis County as of the
25th...
Posted at 09:43 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Tue, 26 Oct 2004
Wow...
I am not, as a rule, a fan of rap, nor am I a fan of Eminem. But
here is a stream of his new video release: "Mosh."
It is one of the most powerful pieces of political protest that I've
ever seen. Breathtaking.
UPDATE: Realplayer and Quicktime too.
Posted at 11:28 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Let Us Not Forget
One week from the election. Let's remember how this President
gained office. Remember what stopped the ballot recounts
in Florida shortly after it seemed that legitimate President Gore had
a lead. The "citizens" started what was later called "the preppy
riot". Screaming, yelling, pounding on the walls, these "outraged
citizens" intimidated the polling officials to halt the court mandated
recount. A closer look reveals who they really were. They were bussed
and flown in at Republican lawmakers expense. Some even flew in on Tom
Delay's private plane.
From the Project for the Old American Century's "What is
Facism?" page.
Posted at 09:45 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Epiphany Of A Conservative
THE LAST STRAW
Carl F. Worden
That's it, I've had it.
I've been a registered Republican since I pulled my first lever in a
voting booth, and I've voted as a loyal Republican for Republican
candidates consistently every year. I am 55 years of age. I am
considered a right-wing Christian conservative and strict
constitutionist who knows the Framers of the Constitution expected
strict adherence to that original document unless and until it is
amended.
You don't get much more conservative and constitutionally-minded than
I am, and that is why I just cast my Oregon vote-by-mail ballot for
Democrat John Kerry as the next president of the United States. So did
my wife -- and she's a very independent thinker. I know there are
thousands of lifelong Republican/Independent conservatives who are
going to do the same thing on November 2nd, because they've written
and told me so.
The absolute last straw for me took place at the Bush rally, held in
Central Point, Oregon on October 14th. President Bush stayed in
Jacksonville, Oregon overnight after the rally, and protesters and
police clashed on the streets. I sent out a photo of a Jackson County
Sheriff's Deputy, all Nazi'd up in black leather riot control gear and
grinning evilly as he shoved a woman holding her 5 year-old
daughter. It wasn't the finest hour for local law enforcement, but
even that wasn't the last straw for me. No, the last straw for me
happened just before the Bush rally itself.
Three local teachers got tickets to the Bush rally, passed all the
security checkpoints and scrutiny and got in. They never created or
caused a disturbance, and they were perfectly peaceful members of the
audience waiting to hear Bush speak. But before they got to hear Bush,
they were expelled from the rally by Bush rally staff who objected to
the words printed on the T-shirts they were wearing.
No, the words on the T-shirts the ladies were wearing did not
disparage Bush, nor did they suggest support for Kerry or any other
candidate. The words did not condemn or support the war in Iraq, nor
did they slam any Administration policy. No, the T-shirts the three
women wore showed an American flag, and under it the words, "Protect
Our Civil Liberties". That was all -- I kid you not.
That was it. That was the last straw for me. That was the defining
moment I'll never forget. That was my epiphany.
Bryan Platt, Chairman of the Jackson County Republican Central
Committee, said he stood 100 percent behind the person who made the
decision to exclude the women, removing any doubt that one or two
individuals exceeded their authority and blew it. No, it was solid,
Republican neo-conservative fascist policy on open display, and the
Brown Shirts weren't about to apologize for it. No way.
I am now a man without a political party. I will never again register
as a Republican unless the party returns to what it was before the
fascists took it over. I'm certainly not a Democrat or a liberal, but
I might just register as a Democrat to help them avoid mistakes in the
next primary, like running another John Kerry for president. Any
moderate, pro-gun southern Democrat would have easily swept Bush aside
this election. As it is, the race is so close it could go either way
at this point.
My decision to vote for Kerry was a vote to get Bush and his administration out. I could have voted for a third party candidate who couldn't possibly win, but that would have translated into a vote for Bush, and I just couldn't do that. Too many kids in uniform have already been killed and maimed for nothing, and I see it as my primary duty to save as many of them as I can. If my vote for a third party candidate means Bush wins and more kids come home dead and mutilated, then I have abrogated my duty as an American, as a Christian and as a decent human being. I didn't know better during the Vietnam War, when I voted for Nixon twice, but I would be without excuse if I did it again now.
This election is different: In this election, we all have to answer
the call to vote wisely. Lives depend on it, and God is watching how
we vote as well. When an individual sins, God deals with him
individually. When a whole nation sins, God deals with the nation
nationally. It's right there in the Bible.
The way I see it, the threat Bush presents is just too great. I know
what Bush did with his first four years on good behavior, and so do
you. What scares the bejeebers out of me is what Bush would do with
four more years with nothing to lose -- and an assumed mandate from
the people for what he did the first four. At least a Kerry
Administration would be strapped down by a Republican Congress, so I'm
not too worried about major gun control bills being passed, and as far
as abortion is concerned, it really doesn't matter what a president
believes, because that issue is decided only by the Judiciary Branch
now.
Regardless of the proclaimed Bush position on abortion, he never
issued an executive order banning any form of abortion because he knew
such an order would be overturned by the courts. Oh, and that phony
Late-Term Abortion Ban Bush signed? It's as good as dead -- and I have
a niggling feeling it was intended to be killed even as they wrote
it. The lower Federal Courts are already finding it unconstitutional,
and why?, because the people who authored it left no possibility for a
woman to use late term abortion to save her life, let alone to
preserve her health. In lieu of that provision, any first year law
student knew the federal courts would overturn it, so why did seasoned
lawyers/legislators write it that way? Don't even try to convince me
they overlooked something as obvious as that.
I still believe this election is going to Kerry, no matter what the
polls predict. Last time, it was so close the Supreme Court had to
decide the outcome. This time, a huge number of former Bush
Republicans like me have bolted to Kerry. Unless a large number of
former Gore supporters are going to vote for Bush this time, I don't
see how Bush can get re-elected. Add to that the massive numbers of
young voters who are registered to vote for the first time under
threat of a draft, and I see Bush being shown the door by more than a
close vote. But we'll see...
What I do know is that any party that would find the words, "Protect
Our Civil Liberties" offensive or even threatening, is a party I won't
belong to anymore.
That was the last straw.
Carl F. Worden
Original is here.
Posted at 09:22 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Mon, 25 Oct 2004
HST
Hunter S. Thompson is still on his game...
Presidential politics is a vicious business, even for rich white men, and anybody who gets into it should be prepared to grapple with the meanest of the mean. The White House has never been seized by timid warriors. There are no rules, and the roadside is littered with wreckage. That is why they call it the passing lane. Just ask any candidate who ever ran against George Bush -- Al Gore, Ann Richards, John McCain -- all of them ambushed and vanquished by lies and dirty tricks. And all of them still whining about it.
That is why George W. Bush is President of the United States,
and Al Gore is not. Bush simply wanted it more, and he was willing to
demolish anything that got in his way, including the U.S. Supreme
Court. It is not by accident that the Bush White House (read: Dick
Cheney & Halliburton Inc.) controls all three branches of our federal
government today. They are powerful thugs who would far rather die
than lose the election in November.
The Republican establishment is haunted by painful memories of
what happened to Old Man Bush in 1992. He peaked too early, and he had
no response to "It's the economy, stupid."
Which has always been the case. Every GOP administration since
1952 has let the Military-Industrial Complex loot the Treasury and
plunge the nation into debt on the excuse of a wartime economic
emergency. Richard Nixon comes quickly to mind, along with Ronald
Reagan and his ridiculous "trickle-down" theory of U.S. economic
policy. If the Rich get Richer, the theory goes, before long their
pots will overflow and somehow "trickle down" to the poor, who would
rather eat scraps off the Bush family plates than eat nothing at
all. Republicans have never approved of democracy, and they never
will. It goes back to preindustrial America, when only white male
property owners could vote.
Things haven't changed all that much where George W. Bush
comes from. Houston is a cruel and crazy town on a filthy river in
East Texas with no zoning laws and a culture of sex, money and
violence. It's a shabby sprawling metropolis ruled by brazen women,
crooked cops and super-rich pansexual cowboys who live by the code of
the West -- which can mean just about anything you need it to mean, in
a pinch.
[...]
Richard Nixon looks like a flaming liberal today, compared to a golem like George Bush. Indeed. Where is Richard Nixon now that we finally need him?
If Nixon were running for president today, he would be seen as a "liberal" candidate, and he would probably win. He was a crook and a bungler, but what the hell? Nixon was a barrel of laughs compared to this gang of thugs from the Halliburton petroleum organization who are running the White House today -- and who will be running it this time next year, if we (the once-proud, once-loved and widely respected "American people") don't rise up like wounded warriors and whack those lying petroleum pimps out of the White House on November 2nd.
Nixon hated running for president during football season, but he did it anyway. Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him.
Posted at 12:03 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Pocketbooks Of The Rich And Famous
Who contributed to whom?
Posted at 11:36 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Beyond Incompetent. Criminal.
Washington, DC Kerry-Edwards Senior Advisor Joe Lockhart issued
the following statement on reports of missing explosives in Iraq:
Today, the Bush administration must answer for what may be the
most grave and catastrophic mistake in a tragic series of blunders in
Iraq. How did they fail to secure nearly 380 tons of known, deadly
explosives despite clear warnings from the International Atomic Energy
Agency to do so? And why was this information unearthed by reporters
-- and was it covered up by our national security officials?
These explosives can be used to blow up airplanes, level buildings,
attack our troops and detonate nuclear weapons. The Bush
administration knew where this stockpile was, but took no action to
secure the site. They were urgently and specifically informed that
terrorists could be helping themselves to the most dangerous
explosives bonanza in history, but nothing was done to prevent it from
happening.
This material was monitored and controlled by UN inspectors before the
invasion of Iraq. Thanks to the stunning incompetence of the Bush
administration, we now have no idea where it is.
We need to know what the administration knew about this and when. We
need to know why they failed to safeguard these explosives and keep
them out of the hands of our enemies. The National Security Advisor
should be at her desk in Washington tomorrow to work this problem and
answer these questions, instead of giving speeches in battleground
states.
(From Atrios)
Kos sums it up nicely: 380
tons. Less than one pound was used to bring down Pan Am Flight
103. The terrorists hit the mother lode, all thanks to Bush.
Posted at 11:07 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Sun, 24 Oct 2004
This Is Journalism?
The Austin American-Statesman today endorses
George W. Bush. I had to read it three times, it is such a mess of equivocations, redundancies, and excuses.
Apparently, the editorial subtext is "Yes, he's an incompetent and
dishonest madman who is bankrupting the country and turning it into a
police state, but it takes a madman to deal with madmen, and he really
ought to do a huge number of things differently, and he should appoint
moderates to the supreme court, and we bet he'll change if we re-elect
him. And, yes, we know what we're doing here."
Just a breathtakingly stupid, irresponsible piece of work; this
would be tossed out of a junior high school journalism
class. The rock-dumb lack of credibility is astounding.
Posted at 15:39 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Fri, 22 Oct 2004
More Friday Humor
Banana Republican
Posted at 08:29 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Today's Humor
Q. What's the difference between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War?
A. George W. Bush had a plan to get out of the Vietnam War.
Posted at 08:14 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Thu, 21 Oct 2004
"Because Blood Is Thinner Than Oil"
Bush Relatives For Kerry.
Thanks, Lissa!
Posted at 17:47 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Too, Too Good
From the American-Statesman today:
State District Judge Paul Davis Jr. on Wednesday temporarily froze the corporate accounts of the Associated Republicans of Texas, just two weeks before the Nov. 2 election.
The judge ordered the political action committee, which has existed for three decades, to stop raising and spending corporate money to pay its overhead until after a Nov. 3 hearing on whether ART, as the committee is known, should have raised and spent corporate money in the first place. The committee is not accused of giving corporate dollars to candidates, and the lawsuit does not accuse any candidates of wrongdoing.
Posted at 12:27 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Lefty Rag (well, Forbes, anyway) States The Obvious
From back in July, Forbes Magazine tells us:
Over the years, several studies have shown that the stock market has
fared markedly better under Democrats than Republicans. (see: "The
Presidential Portfolio") The difference, according to Pedro
Santa-Clara and Rossen Valkanov, both professors at the University of
California Los Angeles Anderson School of Business, is much too large
to be random and cannot be explained by fluctuations in the business
cycle. Nor can it be explained by higher interest rates in Republican
administrations.
Can you hear me now?
Thanks, Andrew...
Posted at 09:15 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Best Headline Of The Week
Andrew Tobias: "The Fat Lady Has Grasped the Armrests of Her Chair."
Posted at 09:06 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Wed, 20 Oct 2004
Iran Endorses Bush
TEHRAN,
Iran - The head of Iran's security council said Tuesday that the
re-election of President Bush was in Tehran's best
interests, despite the administration's axis of evil label,
accusations that Iran harbors al-Qaida terrorists and threats of
sanctions over the country's nuclear ambitions.
Historically, Democrats have harmed Iran more than Republicans, said
Hasan Rowhani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's
top security decision-making body.
[...]
Posted at 08:43 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Bush's America
CENTRAL POINT, Ore. -- Three Medford school teachers were threatened
with arrest and thrown out of the President Bush rally at the Jackson
County Fairgrounds Thursday night, after they showed up wearing
T-shirts with the slogan "Protect our civil liberties."
[...]
The women got past the first and second checkpoints and were allowed
into the Jackson County fairgrounds, but were asked to leave and then
escorted out of the event by campaign officials who allegedly told
them their T-shirts were "obscene."
[...]
Posted at 08:45 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Local Early Voting
Burnt Orange Report
makes an observation today on Travis
County Polls:
It's really quite amazing. I can't wait to see the rest of the state's
numbers to see if it's just us or not. From the County Clerk's
Office...
Travis County Early Vote
Monday: 15,983
Tuesday: 15,857
Mail Ballots received
Monday: 715
Tuesday: 976
Total Daily Vote
Monday: 16,698
Tuesday: 16,833
Total Travis Vote to Date: 33,531
A full 6.06% of this county's voters have already cast their
ballots. That didn't happen until Day 5 of early vote in 2000. In
fact, the very fact that Day 2's vote total is almost exactly the same
as Day 1 is shocking!
Go Homies!
Posted at 08:26 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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State Of The Electorate
There's an article
over at Political
Strategy worthy of attention. Here's the lede:
This election is not just any old presidential election. To
Progressives, it's a matter of life and death.
It will be the difference between global respect for America and
multilateral cooperation or increased anti-Americanism and
never-ending, preemptive unilateral war...the difference between
American values of civil liberty and freedom or curbs on inalienable
rights and invasions of privacy...the difference between a future of
hope, health, safety, peace and prosperity or one of isolation,
violence, debt, and fear.
And this brings me to the reason that we will win in November...
...because we have to.
This 'do or die' perception is what is going to drive progressives and
moderates to the polls in record numbers to end the madness. This is
why the traditionally apathetic 18-24 year old demographic (Also known
as 'Future Casualties of Bush Wars') is going to put down their cell
phones long enough to pull the lever for Kerry.
He then goes on to list the "Top 35 Trends that say Kerry will Take
the White House in November." These include polling issues, seniors,
independents, Soros, 527's, and many other factors.
Just don't let it create any complacency. Vote. And make sure your
friends do, too.
Posted at 07:57 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Tue, 19 Oct 2004
Good. Keep going...
Article:
In March 2003, days before the start of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq,
American war planners and intelligence officials met at Shaw Air Force
Base in South Carolina to review the Bush administration's plans to
oust Saddam Hussein and implant democracy in Iraq.
Near the end of his presentation, an Army lieutenant colonel who was
giving a briefing showed a slide describing the Pentagon's plans for
rebuilding Iraq after the war, known in the planners' parlance as
Phase 4-C. He was uncomfortable with his material - and for good
reason.
The slide said: "To Be Provided."
Posted at 00:31 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Sun, 17 Oct 2004
How Very Refreshing
Jon Stewart of the Daily
Show went on Crossfire the other night, and instead of doing
"comedy," he eviscerated them with an in-their-face critique. Watch
the streaming
video or read the
transcript, although you really should watch it. It is the best television of the year.
Favorite moment: Stewart, to Tucker Carlson:"This is
theatre. How old are you?" Carlson: "Thirty five."
Stewart: "And you wear a bow tie."
Jon Stewart, my new hero. I wonder if you can get an Emmy for a
talk show guest appearance?
Posted at 16:43 by Randy Kirchhof [Permalink]
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Thu, 14 Oct 2004
An Open Letter
From Andrew Tobias'
website. This is signed by scores of business school professors -- 56
from Harvard Business School alone.
October 4, 2004
Dear Mr. President:
As professors of economics
and business, we are concerned that U.S. economic policy has taken a dangerous
turn under your stewardship. Nearly
every major economic indicator has deteriorated since you took office in
January 2001. Real GDP growth during your term is the lowest of any
presidential term in recent memory. Total non-farm employment has contracted
and the unemployment rate has increased. Bankruptcies are up sharply, as is our
dependence on foreign capital to finance an exploding current account deficit.
All three major stock indexes are lower now than at the time of your
inauguration. The percentage of Americans in poverty has increased, real median
income has declined, and income inequality has grown.
The data
make clear that your policy of slashing taxes primarily for those at
the upper reaches of the income distribution has not
worked. The fiscal
reversal that has taken place under your leadership is so extreme that
it would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. The federal
budget surplus of over $200 billion that we enjoyed in the year 2000
has disappeared, and we are now facing a massive annual deficit of
over $400 billion. In fact, if transfers from the Social Security
trust fund are excluded, the federal deficit is even worse -- well in
excess of a half a trillion dollars this year alone. Although some
members of your administration have suggested that the mountain of new
debt accumulated on your watch is mainly the consequence of 9-11 and
the war on terror, budget experts know that this is simply false. Your economic policies have played a
significant role in driving this fiscal collapse.
And the economic proposals you have suggested for a potential second
term from diverting Social Security contributions into private
accounts to making the recent tax cuts permanent only promise to
exacerbate the crisis by further narrowing the federal revenue
base.
These sorts of
deficits crowd out private investment and are politically addictive.
They also place a heavy burden on monetary policy and create
additional pressure for higher interest rates by stoking inflationary
expectations. If your economic advisers are telling you that these
deficits can be defeated through further reductions in tax rates, then
you need new advisers. More robust economic growth could certainly
help, but nearly every one of your administrations economic forecasts
both before and after 9-11 has proved overly optimistic. Expenditure
cuts could be part of the answer, but your record so far has been one
of increasing expenditures, not reducing
them.
What is
called for, we believe, is a dramatic reorientation of fiscal policy,
including substantial reversals of your tax policy. Running a budget deficit in response to a
short bout of recession is one thing. But running large structural
deficits over a long period is something else entirely. We therefore
urge you to consider the fiscal realities we now face and the
substantial burden they are placing on our
economy.
We also urge you
to consider the distributional consequences of your policies. Under
your administration, the income gap between the most affluent
Americans and everyone else has widened. Although the latest data
reveal that real household incomes have dropped across the board since
you took office, low and middle income households have experienced
steeper declines than upper income households. To be sure, the general
phenomenon of mounting inequality preceded your administration, but it
has continued (and, by some accounts, intensified) over the past three
and a half years.
Some degree of
inequality is inherent in any free market economy, creating positive
incentives for economic and technological advancement. But when inequality becomes extreme, it can be
socially corrosive and economically dysfunctional. Problems
of this sort are visible throughout much of the developing world. At
the moment, the most commonly accepted measure of inequality the
so-called Gini coefficient is far higher
in the United States than in any other developed country and is
continuing to move upward. We dont know
where the breakpoint is for the U.S., but we would rather not find
out. With all due respect, we believe your tax policy has
exacerbated the problem of inequality in the United States, which has
worrisome implications for the economy as a whole. We very much hope
you will take this threat to our nation into account as you consider
new fiscal approaches to address the nations most pressing economic
problems.
Sensible
and farsighted economic management requires true discipline, compassion, and
courage not just slogans. Given the tenuous state of the American economy, we
believe that the time for an honest assessment of the problem and for genuine
corrective action is now. Ignoring the fiscal crisis that has taken hold during
your presidency may seem politically appealing in the short run, but we fear it
could ultimately prove disastrous. From a policy standpoint, the clear message
is that more of the same wont work. The warning signs are already visible, and it is incumbent
upon all of us to pay attention.
Respectfully
submitted,
Francis Aguilar
Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Ramon J. Aldag
Glen A. Skillrud Family Chair in Business
School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Teresa M. Amabile
Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business
Administration
Harvard Business School
Kenneth R. Andrews
David K. Donald Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
James E. Austin
Eliot I. Snider and Family Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Joseph L. Badaracco
John Shad Professor of Business Ethics
Harvard Business School
Lotte Bailyn
T. Wilson (1953) Professor of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
George P. Baker
Herman C. Krannert Professor of Business
Administration
Harvard Business School
Louis B. Barnes
John D. Black Professor, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
James N. Baron
Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human
Resources
Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Jean M. Bartunek
Robert A. and Evelyn J. Ferris Chair, Professor of Organization Studies
Carroll School of Management, Boston College
Yehuda Bassock
Professor
Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
Thomas A. Bausch
Professor
College of Business Administration, Marquette University
Max H. Bazerman
Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business
Administration
Harvard Business School
Cynthia Beath
Professor Emeritus
McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
Michael Beer
Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration,
Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Jack N. Behrman
Luther Hodges Distinguished Professor, Emeritus
Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North
Carolina
Norman A. Berg
MBA Class of 1958 Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Barbara Bird
Associate Professor of Management
Kogod School of Business, American University
John E. Bishop
Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Robert B. Bostrom
L. Edmund Rast Professor of Business
Terry College of Business, University of Georgia
Joseph L. Bower
Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Stephen P. Bradley
William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Arthur P. Brief
Lawrence Martin Professor of Business
Freeman School of Business, Tulane University
Philip Bromiley
Curtis L. Carlson Chair in Strategic Management
Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota
Alfred D. Chandler
Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Chao C. Chen
Professor
Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University
Charles J. Corbett
Associate Professor of Operations Management and Environmental Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management
Thomas G. Cummings
Professor
Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
Michael Cusumano
Sloan Management Review Distinguished Professor
MIT Sloan School of Management
Fariborz Damanpour
Professor
Rutgers Business School
Jose de la Torre
Dean, Chapman Graduate School of Business
Florida International University
John A. Deighton
Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business
Administration
Harvard Business School
Rohit Deshpande
Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing
Harvard Business School
Nancy DiTomaso
Professor
Rutgers Business School--Newark and New Brunswick
Jane E. Dutton
Professor
University of Michigan Business School
Amy C. Edmondson
Professor
Harvard Business School
Benjamin C. Esty
Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Ronald F. Faria
Associate Professor
Daniels College of Business, University of Denver
Ann E. Feyerherm
Associate Professor of Organization and Management
Graziadio School of Business and Management, Pepperdine University
James A. Fitzsimmons
William H. Seay Centennial Professor of Business
McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
James W. Fredrickson
Tom E. Nelson, Jr. Regents Professor of Business
McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
Sherwood C. Frey, Jr.
Ethyl Corporation Professor of Business Administration
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia
Cynthia V. Fukami
Professor
Daniels College of Business, University of Denver
Pankaj Ghemawat
Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business
Administration
Harvard Business School
Stephen M. Gilbert
Associate Professor
McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
James R. Glenn, Jr.
Professor of Management
College of Business, San Francisco State University
Leslie E. Grayson
Isidore Horween Research
Professor, Emeritus
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia
Jerry R. Green
Daniel A. Wells Professor of Political Economy,
John Leverett Professor in the University
Harvard Business School
Leonard Greenhalgh
Professor of Management
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
Douglas T. Hall
Professor of Organizational Behavior
Boston University School of Management
Donald C. Hambrick
Smeal Chaired Professor of Management
Smeal College of Business Administration, The Pennsylvania State University
Rebecca M. Henderson
Eastman Kodak LFM Professor
MIT Sloan School of Management
Linda A. Hill
Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business
Administration
Harvard Business School
Raymond Hogler
Professor of Management
College of Business, Colorado State University
Yasheng Huang
Associate Professor of International Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
Mariann Jelinek
The Richard C. Kraemer Professor of Business Strategy
School of Business, College of William & Mary
David B. Jemison
Foster Parker Centennial Professor of Management and Finance
McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
John M. Jermier
Exide Professor of Sustainable Enterprise Research
College of Business, University of South Florida
Shulamit Kahn
Associate Professor
Boston University School of Management
Kate M. Kaiser
Associate Professor
College of Business, Marquette University
Rosabeth M. Kanter
Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Steven O. Kimbrough
Professor
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Stephen J. Kobrin
Wurster Professor of Multinational Management
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Thomas A. Kochan
George Maverick Bunker Professor of Work and Employment Relations
MIT Sloan School of Management
Nancy F. Koehn
James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Howard Kunreuther
Cecilia Yen Koo Professor of Decision Sciences and
Public Policy
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Rajiv Lal
Stanley Roth, Sr. Professor of Retailing
Harvard Business School
Theresa Lant
Associate Professor of Management
Stern School of Business, New York University
Paul R. Lawrence
Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Organizational
Behavior, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Carrie R. Leana
Professor of Business Administration and of Public and International Affairs
Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh
Dorothy A. Leonard
William J. Abernathy Professor of Business Administration, Emerita
Harvard Business School
Herman B. Leonard
Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Donald R. Lessard
Epoch Foundation Professor of International Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
Daniel A. Levinthal
Julian Aresty Professor of Management and Economics
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
David Levy
Professor of Management
Department of Management, University of Massachusetts, Boston
E. Allan Lind
Thomas A. Finch Professor of Business Administration
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
Richard M. Locke
Alvin J. Siteman Professor of Entrepreneurship and
Political Science
MIT Sloan School of Management
George C. Lodge
Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business
Administration, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Jay W. Lorsch
Louis E. Kirstein Professor of Human Relations
Harvard Business School
Michael Magazine
Professor
College of Business, University of Cincinnati
Michael R. Manning
Professor of Management
College of Business Administration & Economics, New Mexico State University
Theodore R. Marmor
Professor of Public Policy and Management
Yale School of Management and Political Science Department
Joanne Martin
Merrill Professor of Organizational Behavior
Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Thomas K. McCraw
Isidor Straus Professor of Business History
Harvard Business School
Anita M. McGahan
Professor and Everett W. Lord Distinguished Faculty Scholar
Boston University School of Management
Kathleen L. McGinn
Cahners-Rabb Professor of Social and Organizational
Psychology
Harvard Business School
Robert P. McGowan
Professor
Daniels College of Business, University of Denver
Robert C. Merton
John and Natty McArthur University Professor
Harvard Business School
David M. Messick
Kaplan Professor of Ethics and Decision in Management
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Alan D. Meyer
Charles H. Lundquist Professor of Entrepreneurial Management
Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon
Marshall W. Meyer
Richard A. Sapp Professor, Professor of Management and Sociology
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Richard F. Meyer
Thomas D. Casserly, Jr. Professor of Business
Administration, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Ian Mitroff
Harold Quinton Distinguished Professor of Business Policy
Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
Cynthia A. Montgomery
Timken Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
David A. Moss
John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
J. Keith Murnighan
Harold H. Hines, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Risk Management
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Steven Nahmias
Professor
Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University
Barry Nalebuff
Milton Steinbach Professor of Management
Yale School of Management
Das Narayandas
Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Paul Newman
Clark W. Thompson, Jr. Chair in Accounting
McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
William Ocasio
John L. and Helen Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Management and
Organizations
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Paul Osterman
NTU Professor of Human Resources and Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
Lynn S. Paine
John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Johannes M. Pennings
Marie and Joseph Melone Professor
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Margaret Peteraf
Associate Professor of Business Administration
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
Joel Podolny
Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management
Harvard Business School
John W. Pratt
William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Drazen Prelec
Professor of Management Science
MIT Sloan School of Management
Keith G. Provan
Eller Professor of Public Administration & Policy
Eller College of Management, University of Arizona
Ronald E. Purser
Professor of Management
College of Business, San Francisco State University
Roy Radner
L. N. Stern School Professor of Business
Stern School of Business, New York University
Daniel Raff
Associate Professor of Management
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Howard Raiffa
Frank Plumpton Ramsey Professor of Managerial
Economics, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
V. Kasturi
Rangan
Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing
Harvard Business School
Stefan H. Robock
R. D. Calkins Professor of International Business, Emeritus
Graduate School of Business, Columbia University
David Rogers
Professor Emeritus of Management and Sociology
Stern School of Business, New York University
John W. Rosenblum
Dean Emeritus
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia
Lori Rosenkopf
Associate Professor of Management
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Walter J. Salmon
Stanley Roth, Sr. Professor of Retailing, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Carol Saunders
Professor of MIS
College of Business Administration, University of Central Florida
Melissa A. Schilling
Associate Professor
Stern School of Business, New York University
Arthur Schleifer,
Jr.
James J. Hill Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Claudia B. Schoonhoven
Professor of Organization and Strategy
Graduate School of Management, University of California, Irvine
Bruce R. Scott
Paul W. Cherington Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Michael S. Scott-Morton
Jay W. Forester Professor of Management, Emeritus
MIT Sloan School of Management
James K. Sebenius
Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
Benson P. Shapiro
Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing, Emeritus
Harvard Business School
Roy D. Shapiro
Philip Caldwell Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
William F. Sharpe
STANCO 25 Professor of Finance, Emeritus
Stanford Business School
William W. Sihler
Ronald E. Trzcinski Professor of Business
Administration
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia
