Business World? Dwayne, you sound more like Mars or Pluto!

What world does Dwayne Hartnett live in? In his opinion column in the Sunday Globe-News, 10/31, Hartnett's comments on the election read as though he has three sources: the Globe-News, Fox cable network and Rush Limbaugh! To enumerate - first, he says Kerry has yet to explain how he will end the war on terror. Dwayne, Bush only says "more of the same." Is that a plan? Then he says the abolishment of the Bush tax cut for people making over $200,000 a year would "just about do in every small business in the country." Dwayne, you should read the WSJ or the Economist - the family income shouldn't have anything to do with operating the business! Third, what payroll has Georgie boy been involved in - other than his businesses that failed? Do you think he knew anything about the Rangers pay? Is that Mars or Pluto? Then he speaks once again to the tax break to the wealthy and admits that even though Kerry and Teresa are rich, they still support the elimination (Dwayne, did you see where Warren Buffet said he hopes he has to pay lots of taxes? Oh, I forgot your sources!) Fifth, Dwayne boy compares Kerry to Hubert Humphrey who said “the moral test of a government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and, those in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.” Does that fit into Bush's "Compassionate Conservatism?" Finally Hartnett said Kerry married into his wealth and Georgie boy "made his own money in oil and baseball." Amazing!! Maybe I was wrong Dwayne - maybe it's Neptune or Saturn you've been on!

Who Would Jesus Flip Off?

This little clip has almost nothing to do with the issues, but I think it speaks volumes none-the-less...

Why Howard Dean's For Kerry

I worked for Howard Dean during the primary season. I was, in fact, one of the orange-hats canvassing up in Iowa. Ever since Kerry won the nomination, Howard Dean has been a model team-player, keeping his eye on the most immediate goal of ousting George Bush. And this week he explains very clearly why that goal is so important.

A solid Kerry victory will be a start. A landslide-with-coattails would be a solid beginning. But whatever happens on November 2, the real work will begin on November 3: the day we refocus on building a forceful new progressivism, retaking the Democratic party, and sending these Republicans into History's dumpster along with the Whigs. Dean's organization was-- and is-- a preamble to that future.

SPACEDARK

Kerry in Cruces

Spacedark, Spacedark’s S.O., Spacedark, Jr., and assorted friends decided at the last minute to go see John Kerry in Las Cruces, New Mexico. One of our group managed to get us “red-zone” tickets which were supposed to be close enough to feel the sweat as it dripped off Kerry’s forehead. We arrived early to a line that already stretched around the parking lot. Apparently, ten thousand attendees had been planned for and 17,000 showed up, according to the local news. The Albuquerque Journal claimed the expected number but they apparently didn’t talk to those of us who didn’t make it through security because of the surprisingly large turnout.

That’s right, despite our "red zone" tickets we had to stand outside a second chain-link fence. We could see Kerry, albeit from a bit of a distance. We had binoculars. And of course we could hear the fantastic speech. An astronomer in our group cheered Kerry’s vow to restore scientific integrity. And people who know better than I seemed satisfied with Kerry’s español.

Apparently, there was no “red-zone.” Some of our group did get inside the fence, but, once there, it was just one big group. Some people were given better tickets for volunteering with the local party, and they were also disappointed. Better planning by the local party would have been nice. It also would have been nice if the media had more consistently told the truth about the size of the rally. But Spacedark, Jr. put it in perspective. He said it certainly wasn't a reason not to vote for John Kerry; it was a reason not to vote for Las Cruces.

SPACEDARK

Worst-Case Scenario

March 15, 2007 -- The Supreme Court ruled today that President George W. Bush can seek a third term. The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice Rove, holds that a third term beginning in January 2009 would not violate the twenty-second amendment of the Constitution since Bush was not actually elected for his first or second terms. In a concurring opinion, Justices Cheney, Limbaugh and Savage reiterated that presidential terms ascended to as a result of court decisions are effective "freebies" and do not count against the term limit. Justice Cheney refused to recuse himself even though he is simultaneously serving as Vice-President and would presumably run on the third term ticket.

SPACEDARK

Far Too Little, Far Too Late

This post is untimely because I was in Las Cruces attending the Kerry rally, about which I will post soon. But upon my return at 5:00 this morning I glanced through the accumulated AGNs on my front porch. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but a front page article headlined "High-tech voting raises key concerns." There was also a very nice diagram describing the vulnerabilities of such tech.

Dude! Good article placement! But that was front-page news, oh, like three years ago.

Reward good behavior. Tell the Globe-News editors that they did the right thing by highlighting this all-important issue on the front page. Send your letter back through a time warp to 2001 when something maybe could have been done about it!

This is a microcosm of the entire media's ball-dropping on this issue, which has been all over the "internets" for literally years. Newsweek also waited until last week to put this mother-of-all-threats-to-democracy on its cover. But we're a panhandle blog, and it's our mission to point out that our beloved Globe-News joined the media herd in this latest and greatest screwing-over of us all.

SPACEDARK

Yeah, whatever...

Ralph Routon wrote:
"As hard as it might be for either side of the political fence to believe, the Globe-News staff isn't united at all."

No, Mr. Routon, it isn't hard to believe. There are more than just few liberals, progressives and Democrats here in town who have all kinds of jobs. The AGN would be no exception. It also isn't hard to believe why the AGN has shown such unfliching support for the Republican Party. The AGN is a corporate-controlled newspaper whose primary goal is to generate revenue for the shareholders of Morris Communications. The AGN operates in a community dominated by hard-right "Christians", defense contractors and old oil and gas money. Of course you almost always support Republicans. You'd be handed your walking papers if you didn't.

The paper's political leanings have never been an issue with me. What is an issue is playing fast and loose with the facts in the paper's anonymous editorials, especially the past few months.

"You're certain, beyond any shadow of doubt, that we're just another faction within the vast media conspiracy that is attempting ever-so-subtly to influence public opinion across America."

Yes, Mr. Routon, I am certain of it. The "Foxification" of American media continues, and from what I can tell it is working.

No Bias?!

Ralph Routon, in his column this morning (Sunday, October 24th), reported there is no political bias in the Amarillo Globe News. Hey Ralphie boy, of nine endorsements reiterated in your paper today, there are eight Republicans and one Democrat! Come on now! Who are you trying to kid?

Liberalator

Fit For Office

The morning show clowns at Fox and Friends sunk to a new low in superficiality this morning during an interview with David Zinczenko, an editor at Men's Health. The conversation revolved around the physical fitness of the two presidential candidates. Zinczenko claimed that (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Bush likes running and lifting weights, which makes him the conservative athlete, while Kerry is a liberal athlete because he is into sports that require more in the way of coordination and agility." Zinczenko then added (paraphrasing, again), "Bush would do well to practice more team sports because he doesn't play well with others and Kerry should pump more iron so he won't be such a lightweight." I kid you not, they really talked about this. The "lightweight" remark actually drew claps from the hosts. Its bad enough that extremists of the Fox News variety have deeply divided our country on so many issues, but going after sports is the lowest. Conservative and liberal athletics....puh-lease...

They will do/say anything Part 424

Ok, ok, but it's nice to dream isn't it? Anyhoo . . .

Think we are not headed for a fascist state? If you dare show up near glorious leader's speeches with anything other than fawning support, you get the treatment.

A high school student in Clive, IA was told he would be taken out by a sniper for wearing an anti-bush button. CLICK HERE

And, did you know that OUR paper in Amarillo will not take any more LTE's about the election until after 5pm tonight? Let 'em know how you feel about it CLICK HERE.

Meanwhile the AGN is printing nonsensical wingnut ramblings like JAMES ROBINSON'S boolsheet about a perceived entitlement mentality. DARN THOSE DISABLED VETS NOT PULLING THEIR WEIGHT! Grrrrrrrr . . . really . . . I can't stand that talentless hack.

Speaking of hackery, that brings me to today's wingnut blather-o-rama from none other than serial liberal hater and (self-described) Christian Virgil Van Camp. Virgil goes from images of kids singing in church to examples of terrorist killings, to what Van Camp falsly claims is Kerry plan to keep us safe, then to glorious leader's plans.

Get it? If you elect Kerry our kids will get killed. In church. While they are singing.

Van Camp also says that Bush will be successful because he treats terrorism as a new phenomenon. What about the IRA bombings in England for decades? Basque sepratist terrorism in Spain for decades? Algerian independence fighters in France?

My fav Virgil bit? " Presidential candidate John Kerry has a plan to deal with terrorism. A plan with nuance. A plan that will reduce the problem to one of law enforcement. Terror will become a low-key, but manageable, constant problem much like drugs and prostitution. "

Can any of you ditto-monkey lurkers out there explain something to me?

What do you rethugs have against peace and prosperity?

Why are you only happy when you feel like martyrs (you think) against (real or perceived) enemies?

I PRAY for the day when the threat of terrorism is a nuisance. I don't like it when 3000 of my brother and sisters die because the administration WAS ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH!

We have got two priorities here. Get the Bushistas OUT, then work on making the republican party extinct like the whig party, then force the media to ensure that Van Camp's and Robinson's extremist hate goes back to being the unacceptable exception to discourse.

-Panhandle Truth Squad

2004

V.V.C. loves the little children of the world

In this morning's Amarillo Globe-News, Virgil Van Camp tries valiantly to convice his readers that he's not really the sort of old codger who chases kids away from his zinnias by angrily waving his cane and shouting incoherently:

Our church has a very active choir program for children, from kindergarten through high school age. There are regularly scheduled Sundays at which they furnish most of the music for our service.

. . .

We love these children. We would spare nothing to keep them out of harm's way.

As it turns out, Spacedark, Jr. is one of these very children! Yes, Virgil, sometimes liberals go to church, too! (This one attends the very same church as V.V.C.) And we even love our children, just as much as Republicans do!

But here's the thing: not all of us share V.V.C.'s radical views. After establishing pathos with his tableau of these adorable, mostly white children singing "Jesus Loves Me" V.V.C. dubiously claims that he's been thinking about Russian and Iraqi schoolchildren.

My thoughts turned to another group of kids in Beslan, Russia. They were the same age groups that performed for us. They went to school one day and, before the week was done, were removed in body bags.

. . .

Early in October, 35 children were murdered in Baghdad. They were not the main targets. U.S. troops, guarding a celebration for the opening of a sewage plant, were handing out candy to the children.

Spacedark's a schoolteacher. Spacedark's in the kid business. And Spacedark hates all the pictures of dead children with which we've been plagued nearly daily for all of this young millenium. But V.V.C.'s just tearjerking us around. He betrays his real crusade in a short paragraph:

What is the one common characteristic of all these murderers? They are all Muslim and practice their version of Islam.

Aha, V.V.C. So that's why you brought up your church. Your Christian church; now I get it. Your white Methodist kids singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children."

Except they're not your kids, Virgil. One of them is mine. My son and I, like you, practice our version of Christianity. But we also practice liberalism, and we don't share your prejudice against other faiths.

V.V.C. wails and gnashes his teeth that Kerry views terrorists as isolated individuals. He flat-out lies that, as President, Kerry will just "hope in time [terrorists] simply will wither away."

Policing individual bad seeds isn't the same thing as just hoping that they will go away. Policing individuals is the correct policy when the bad seeds are individuals. What's the alternative? Exterminate all practitioners of a particular religion? Genocide?

And, by the way, Virgil, your president and your war also have spilled the blood of children. Or have you forgotten Ali Ismail Abbas?

Finally, Virgil, the next time you get the idea to use children to advance your extremist views-- just don't use my kid, okay?

SPACEDARK

Limbaugh, Jr.

James Robinson, frequent contributer to the AGN and right wing-nut, has once again soiled the opinion page of our local newspaper with his lame corporatist ranting. The sheer simple-mindedness of his world view would be laughable if his team wasn't running the show right now. This piece from 10/21 is chock-full of dittohead blather. Let's break down some of his b.s. a line at a time:

"Live off less than you make, purchase health insurance and get a retirement plan." Living within your means is sound policy, but what Robinson (who is either a trust fund kid or lives in a hole) fails to realize is that many people do live within their means only to have everything turned on end by a layoff, an extended illness or even car repairs. And this notion of simply going out and getting health insurance and a retirement plan, as if they were grocery items, is ridiculous. Middle class people who get by just fine now would find it difficult, if not impossible, to pay for their own health insurance AND save money for retirement.

"If your health insurance is too expensive, consider not smoking and get off the couch and start exercising. It won't kill you; in fact, it probably will lengthen your life." The sheer ignorance of this statement is amazing. He obviously doesn't have kids. We probably take our kids to the doctor a dozen times a year because of sore throats and ear infections and all the other crud kids are prone to catch. Nor does he appear to have a family member with a ongoing medical condition like diabetes or cancer. Hey all you people with cancer and no insurance, get some exercise!

"If you don't have enough money, work harder and/or get a new skill that makes you more valuable." Here Robinson is once again shifting total blame for people's financial woes onto the individuals under the assumption that they are lazy, stupid and irresponsible. First off, going to school while working is expensive and difficult. Factor in a family to feed and it can be damn near impossible. Second, getting a degree or job training doesn't guarantee anything. Spending that time and money at school will prove useless if there isn't anything waiting for you at the end of it all.

"Realize that it's really difficult to raise five kids on $16,000 a year." Robinson frequently makes racist statements in his writings and apparently this comment is directed at the Reaganite "welfare queens" of our country, in other words single minority mothers with numerous children who conservatives think are draining our country dry.

Robinson's article drones on with much of the same nonsense. If he wants to turn over 100% of his well being to profit-minded corporate pirates he is more than welcome to do so. I imagine he'll wind up regretting it in end.

Just a-Swangin'

Panhandle Truth Squad's resident troll accuses me of dreaming when I ask where the swingers are in New Mexico. In fact, s/he states, there are plenty of swingers-- wingers, even-- in southern and rural New Mexico. I too expected as much, figuring that western New Mexico would be more like Texas. But returning through Las Vegas, I still saw only Kerry signs.

But, of course, I was just asking a question. Lawn signs and bumper stickers are no way to predict an election's outcome. Of course, neither is polling, this year. The truth is no one knows.

I am told through sources more reliable than anonymous trolls that Farmington, Artesia, and dreadful little Hobbs are solidly behind Bush-Cheney. Hm. Could that have anything to do with this?

SPACEDARK

Spit Take, Part Deux: Cheney warns Kerry voters of nuclear annihilation

Once again, Cheney should listen to his putative boss.

The putative president, you'll remember, had this to say yesterday:

"He's trying to scare our seniors. It is wrong to try to scare people going into the polls."

Was this the kind of thing he was referring to?

Not Much Swingin'

I spent the weekend in Santa Fe, where I saw dozens upon dozens of Kerry-Edwards bumper stickers, signs, tattoos, skywriting, blimps, etc., but only one lonely Bush-Cheney bumper sticker. I know New Mexico's a swing state, but where are the swingers?

SPACEDARK

Too Close To Call

According to electoral-vote.com, Kerry is currently leading Bush by 257 to 247 electoral votes. Ominously, Florida is too close to call. And so is Iowa.

Hey, Iowans, you gave us John Kerry, 'member? You Hawkeyes said he was electable, remember? So what's the freaking problem?

SPACEDARK

Spit Take

The Liberalator notes below that the Amarillo Globe-News is accusing Kerry of what Bush is doing. Of course they are, but they are only following the example of their Dear Beloved Leader. Dude says it's wrong to use scare tactics to influence voters.

"He's trying to scare our seniors. It is wrong to try to scare people going into the polls."

What exactly has Tom Ridge been doing all these years?

SPACEDARK

Sound Approach?

Once more the AGN editors accuse Senator Kerry of exactly what Bush did in the Wednesday debate. They went on and on about how the senator did not explain his plans for the programs he offered and ignored the fact that the prez offered no ideas as to how to pay for his offerings except by cutting more taxes. It's nice that the eds say Bush will keep his spending and taxing targets in sight - he missed the targets by miles the first four years. Why do they think he will do any better the next four?

The Liberalator

Uh . . . ? ? ?

I'm completely baffled by this paragraph in this morning's unsigned Bush-worship from the Amarillo Globe-News editorial page:

Yes, the deficit is too great. Yes, the president and Congress need to do more to bring it under control. Who, then, is best suited to do that, given the profligate spending that has taken place in Congress during the past many decades? President Bush, with his pledge to reduce Americans' tax burden, is equipped better than his challenger. Bush drove home the point time and again Wednesday that he will fight to allow Americans to keep more of their money. One can hope he meets with better success in a second term than he met in the first. At least with Bush, voters have assurances that the president will keep the spending and taxing target in his sights.

I realize it's a tall order to continue to support this president. I realize that it's dang near impossible to weave Bush's nonsensical pronouncements into a coherant defense. But this senile random babbling? What can it mean?

Perhaps all those monkeys at all those typewriters weren't writing Hamlet, after all. Perhaps they were typing AGN editorials.

SPACEDARK

A cry for help?

Rumors abound that George W. Bush is back on drugs. Some cite his increasingly erratic behaviour and weird combination of lethargy and random rage during the first two debates as evidence. Does the president need a little pick-me-up to get through the debates? We at the Panhandle Truth Squad will not traffic in such gossip, even if a list of the side effects of long-term cocaine addiction do sound remarkably like the personality profile for presgeobush on match.com. However, given the Amarillo Globe-News' sterling reputation as a newspaper of impeccable credentials and unparalleled access to the president, today's headline must mean something: President tests lines for debate.

SPACEDARK

Does It Take an Indictment?

Our esteemed opinion editors seem to think four admonishments by the House ethics committee (three in the past weeks and another about a year ago - they don't even have the count right!) to Tom "the hammer" DeLay are not important - we should wait until there is an indictment to decide whether DeLay has done anything that reflects badly on congress or himself. They pass off the admonishments (the editors used the word "alleged" - I don't think the committee would have made their decision on an allegation!) as "dings" and the public should wait to see if "he is guilty of anything more substantial!" Come on boys, how far right can you get!

YES!

Three GREAT letters in the Amarillo Globe News today! (Scroll down to read 'em) CLICK HERE

My fav. regarding the Amarillo Globe News' bias after the first debate:
"Nice job. Maybe next you can start explaining how the evidence shows that the Tulia drug busts were an example of capable law enforcement." Robert Ricketts

Go Robert! LOL !

KEEP IT UP ! WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE !!

-Panhandle Truth Squad

From the Mouths of . . .

. . . undecided voters, as quoted in an AP analysis by Ron Fournier:

Several said they were disappointed by both men.

"They're very argumentative. I'm actually disgusted," said Jennifer Schmitz, 38, a mother of three in Klamath Falls, Ore. "It's the same old back and forth meanness."

Okay, what the hell does Jennifer Schmitz, 38, mother of three, think a debate is? If you're undecided at this point, it's just too late. Here's an idea: have the election today, without warning. Get it over with. These undecided folks, well, as Kos might say, screw 'em.

SPACEDARK

Debate #2 Yes, Virginia . . . Kerry Won

Folks,
GREAT WORK LAST DEBATE! We have seen some great letters to the editor, let's keep up the pressure!

One quick thing: Bush was fed answers through an earpiece in his last debate AND HE STILL DIDN'T WIN! Lol! CLICK HERE

If you saw Friday's (yesterday's) debate, Bush was angry and belligerent, unstable, and at one point shouted down the moderator Charlie Gibson.

Very Presidential.

Of course The Amarillo Paper wimped out again, and wrote this confusing bit of nonsense Saturday;
"But we never should elect our presidents based largely, if not solely, on their on-camera demeanor. We should elect them on their public policy pronouncements and their public service records. That is why we continue to prefer George W. Bush over John Kerry."

What public policy pronouncements has Bush made?

Kerry has outlined a clear plan. Bush gives us temper tantrums.

CLICK HERE for Kerry's plan to fix our country.

Write away, ask others to join in, and let's give the media some hell . . .

Amarillo Globe News
john.kanelis@amarillo.com

Or go to:
http://www.democrats.org/media/index.html
to email a bunch of our worthless media at once.

Thanks all,
-Panhandle Truth Squad

Re: Another Discussion With a Frickin' Idiot

Whenever some mo-ron around these redneck parts wants to explain why every single goldang thing currently done by government should be privatized, he always brings up the frickin' $600 toilet seats.

Okay, now I have no idea if there ever even were $600 toilet seats. For all I know it's just another Republican urban myth. But assuming they existed, just for the sake of argument, what corrupt and greedy organization stole money from the taxpayers by selling the government that overpriced plumbing?

Wasn't another government . . .

SPACEDARK

Veepstakes Takedown

So what really happened? To hear the overpaid pundits, it was a tie. Cheney began spewing lies the very first minute, when he made the now disproven Iraq-9-11 connection.

These 3 lies stood out for us at PTS:
1. OK, everyone (sigh) SADDAM DID NOT ATTACK US ON 9-11 Vice President dumba** !!CLICK HERE AND THEN CLICK ON '"BROADBAND"

2. Cheney picked on Edwards about showing up to vote, said he himself was there "Most Tuesdays." NOPE. He has been the Presiding officer of the senate only twice! CLICK HERE

3. Cheney claimed that he and Edwards have never met. WRONG AGAIN VICE-PRES. CRASHCART. CLICK HERE

There was so many falsehoods being thrown out by Cheney, but media matters is on it. CLICK HERE TO CHECK 'EM OUT

-Panhandle Truth Squad

OUTfoxed

Josh Marshall has the best reporting on the OUTfoxed scandal so far. For those of you who have stepped away from your computers for a few minutes, foxnews.com briefly ran a story on their website with quotes allegedly by John Kerry that were clearly made up. The quotes included:

"Women should like me! I do manicures"
And: "I'm metrosexual — he's a cowboy."

The story was up briefly and then was apparently taken down without comment. Here's a screenshot (slow loading). So far, no one from Fox News has explained what happened. Josh Marshall is a professional and will wait to judge until all the facts are in.

We're not, and won't.

Fox News has fewer journalistic standards than the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. They are scared animals, backed into a corner after last night's fiasco of a debate. Their eyes are wild, and they're snarling and drooling.

Don't go near Brit Hume if you haven't had your rabies shots.

SPACEDARK

Amarillo Globe News Funnies

This morning the Amarillo Globe News (unsuprisingly) called the debate for Bush against all rational reason.
They must have been watching another debate, because Bush was incoherent and stammering, with about 30 minutes of material for a 90 minute debate.

IT'S THE IQ, STUPID!

But the Amarillo Paper said, "Once again, though, Kerry failed to spell out chapter and verse just what substantively he would do differently than Bush.

The president, meanwhile, showed once more just why he is a formidable candidate . . "

Yes, they really stated this . . . all together now . . .
President Kerry will:

• Launch And Lead A New Era Of Alliances.
• Modernize The World's Most Powerful Military To Meet New Threats.
• Will deploy all the forces in America's arsenal, diplomacy, intelligence, economic power, and our values and ideas .
• Free America From Its Dangerous Dependence On Mideast Oil.
  

PHEW! Wasn't that easy?

If you have not done so yet, please email the Amarillo Globe News CLICK HERE And let them have it regarding their blantant conservative a**-covering for Bush's poor performance.

(If you need even MORE ammo, CLICK HERE)

-Prodigal Son