An excerpt from today’s Kerry Campaign e-mailing.

Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who deserves his own special place in hell. But that was not, in itself, a reason to go to war. The satisfaction we take in his downfall does not hide this fact: we have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure.

The president has said that he “miscalculated” in Iraq and that it was a “catastrophic success.” In fact, the president has made a series of catastrophic decisions from the beginning in Iraq. At every fork in the road, he has taken the wrong turn and led us in the wrong direction.

The first and most fundamental mistake was the president’s failure to tell the truth to the American people.

He failed to tell the truth about the rationale for going to war. And he failed to tell the truth about the burden this war would impose on our soldiers and our citizens.

By one count, the president offered 23 different rationales for this war. If his purpose was to confuse and mislead the American people, he succeeded.

His two main rationales — weapons of mass destruction and the Al Qaeda/September 11 connection — have been proved false by the president’s own weapons inspectors and by the 9/11 Commission. Just last week, Secretary of State Powell acknowledged the facts. Only Vice President Cheney still insists that the earth is flat.

[…]

The president now admits to “miscalculations” in Iraq.

That is one of the greatest understatements in recent American history. His were not the equivalent of accounting errors. They were colossal failures of judgment — and judgment is what we look for in a president.

This is all the more stunning because we’re not talking about 20/20 hindsight. Before the war, before he chose to go to war, bi-partisan Congressional hearings… major outside studies… and even some in the administration itself… predicted virtually every problem we now face in Iraq.

This president was in denial. He hitched his wagon to the ideologues who surround him, filtering out those who disagreed, including leaders of his own party and the uniformed military. The result is a long litany of misjudgments with terrible consequences.

[…]
The president’s policy in Iraq took our attention and resources away from other, more serious threats to America.

Threats like North Korea, which actually has weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear arsenal, and is building more under this president’s watch — the emerging nuclear danger from Iran — the tons and kilotons of unsecured chemical and nuclear weapons in Russia — and the increasing instability in Afghanistan.

Today, warlords again control much of that country, the Taliban is regrouping, opium production is at an all time high and the Al Qaeda leadership still plots and plans, not only there but in 60 other nations. Instead of using U.S. forces, we relied on the warlords to capture Osama bin Laden when he was cornered in the mountains. He slipped away. We then diverted our focus and forces from the hunt for those responsible for September 11 in order invade Iraq.

An excerpt from today’s Kerry Campaign e-mailing.

Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who deserves his own special place in hell. But that was not, in itself, a reason to go to war. The satisfaction we take in his downfall does not hide this fact: we have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure.

The president has said that he “miscalculated” in Iraq and that it was a “catastrophic success.” In fact, the president has made a series of catastrophic decisions from the beginning in Iraq. At every fork in the road, he has taken the wrong turn and led us in the wrong direction.

The first and most fundamental mistake was the president’s failure to tell the truth to the American people.

He failed to tell the truth about the rationale for going to war. And he failed to tell the truth about the burden this war would impose on our soldiers and our citizens.

By one count, the president offered 23 different rationales for this war. If his purpose was to confuse and mislead the American people, he succeeded.

His two main rationales — weapons of mass destruction and the Al Qaeda/September 11 connection — have been proved false by the president’s own weapons inspectors and by the 9/11 Commission. Just last week, Secretary of State Powell acknowledged the facts. Only Vice President Cheney still insists that the earth is flat.

[…]

The president now admits to “miscalculations” in Iraq.

That is one of the greatest understatements in recent American history. His were not the equivalent of accounting errors. They were colossal failures of judgment — and judgment is what we look for in a president.

This is all the more stunning because we’re not talking about 20/20 hindsight. Before the war, before he chose to go to war, bi-partisan Congressional hearings… major outside studies… and even some in the administration itself… predicted virtually every problem we now face in Iraq.

This president was in denial. He hitched his wagon to the ideologues who surround him, filtering out those who disagreed, including leaders of his own party and the uniformed military. The result is a long litany of misjudgments with terrible consequences.

[…]
The president’s policy in Iraq took our attention and resources away from other, more serious threats to America.

Threats like North Korea, which actually has weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear arsenal, and is building more under this president’s watch — the emerging nuclear danger from Iran — the tons and kilotons of unsecured chemical and nuclear weapons in Russia — and the increasing instability in Afghanistan.

Today, warlords again control much of that country, the Taliban is regrouping, opium production is at an all time high and the Al Qaeda leadership still plots and plans, not only there but in 60 other nations. Instead of using U.S. forces, we relied on the warlords to capture Osama bin Laden when he was cornered in the mountains. He slipped away. We then diverted our focus and forces from the hunt for those responsible for September 11 in order invade Iraq.

For any SF/Fantasy fans in the greater St. Louis area reading this…don’t forget there’s a fan-run convention just around the corner.

Archon’s in it’s 28th year, and it’s always the first weekend in October. (2 weekends away). It is now a 4-day convention Thursday-Sunday. Archon focuses on SF/Fantasy writers, but they do have a media guest every year as well. As I’ve mentioned, they’re bidding on the 2007 NASFiC.

This year’s guests include writers Alan Dean Foster and Ben Bova, actor George Takei (Sulu on Star Trek), artist Vincent Di Fate, and filker/Dr. Demento regular Luke Ski.

The convention is known for a major masquerade contest every year, drawing entrants from across the US and Canada. It’s also known for its after-hours room parties.

Archon 28 website

I will be around the con most of the weekend, though I will have to leave for a couple hours on Saturday to attend a birthday party for my niece.

Washington – A little-noticed but chilling scene at Opa-locka Airport outside Miami last month demonstrates that the Bush administration’s commitment to fighting international terrorism can be overtaken by presidential politics – even if that means admitting known terrorists onto U.S. soil.

That’s what happened when outgoing Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso inexplicably pardoned four Cuban exiles convicted of “endangering public safety” for their role in an assassination plot against Fidel Castro during a 2000 international summit in Panama.

After their release, three of the four immediately flew via private jet to Miami, where they were greeted with a cheering fiesta organized by the hard-line anti-Castro community. Federal officials briefly interviewed the pardoned men – all holders of U.S. passports – and then let them go their way.

…

“I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world,” Bush recently said in an interview.

But the decision to allow members of the Posada gang into this country, and the televised spectacle of Miamians applauding their return, sends a different and dangerous message: In a swing state, some terrorists are not only acceptable but welcome.

source

Why do Messianic Jews get more press than Noahides?

One is a group of former Jews who have been inspired by Christianity to adopt a few of their beliefs, and one is a group of non-Jews (often former Christians) who have been inspired by Judaism to adopt a few of their beliefs. Is it because the Messianic Jews insist they’re still Jewish, even though they’re now followers of Christ, raising the ire of other Jews — whereas the Noahides don’t insist they’re still Christian, or anything else except Noahides? Or is it the Messianic Jewish desire to missionize that appears stronger than the average Christian missionary.

Perhaps its because Noahidism is based on something biblical accpeted by both major religions. (The seven laws given to Noah by God). Without controversy, there is no press.

Noahides should change their name to Noahide Christians. Get a few priests and bishops upset with them for claiming they can remain Christians without accepting Jesus as the embodiment of the Lord. In the words of Bob Marley, Stir it up. They’d get more press, and more converts.

How will the Bush admin respond as other nations, like Russia prepare pre-emptive strikes against terrorism?

There are some great lists at McSweeneys including…

[Reasons why] This Bible You Sold Me Is Clearly Defective and I’d Like to Return It, Please. (The last reason is my favorite)

Armed Band of Thugs or minor Star Wars characters (Can you tell the difference?)

Guide to determining if you are constantly being mauled by bears

Dave Matthews Band Lyrics That Take On New Meaning in Light of the Recent Brouhaha Surrounding One of the Band’s Bus Drivers, Who Allegedly Dumped the Contents of the Excrement Tank Off of a Chicago River Bridge and Onto the Deck of a Tour Boat.

Very Wrong Ways to Eat a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

And these are all just from the month of September, 2004. Their list archives go back to September 1999.

Operation Ohio

Want to get a phone call from one of your favorite writers? Vote.

Tired of cuts to university funding? Worried about global peace and prosperity? Counting on that Social Security check to keep you playing bridge in your old age? Vote.

Tobias Wolff, Michael Chabon, ZZ Packer, Dave Eggers, Ann Cummins, Glen David Gold, Gabe Hudson, Aimee Bender, Julie Orringer, Vendela Vida, Jim Shepard, Andrew Sean Greer, Anthony Swofford, and many other contemporary writers have volunteered in an effort to get out the vote in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Florida. On November 2, these authors will be making personal calls to university students to remind them to get to the polls and make sure their voice is heard.

If you attend college in Ohio, Wisconsin, or Florida and would like a phone call from a live writer person reminding you to vote, just send an e-mail from your university account (e.g., joedokes@stateu.edu) to opohio@mcsweeneys.net. Make sure to include your name, school, and phone number in the e-mail. One week before the election, you’ll receive an e-mail telling you which author will be calling you.

There will also be a series of voter-registration readings, if you prefer to register to vote and sign up for the list in person.

—
So let’s see. I have to move to Ohio, Wisconsin, or Florida, register at a university, and then send an email. And I have less than 2 months to do it in. Of course, the only name I recognize on that list is Michael Chabon. And i haven’t read any of his work.

Wall Street Journal article looking at various polls.

With the Harris poll this week showing a dead heat, and the Gallop poll showing a Bush lead of double digits, and both being respected polls, one has to ask, What’s Up?

The article suggests the issue may partly be how the polls measure “Likely Voters” vs “Registered Voters”. Likely Voters tends to tilt Republican, and White. But the voter drivers in Latino and African American communities are said to be more energetic in this election than previously.

However, it has been stated elsewhere (e.g. at Zogby.com), that polls in general tend to tilt Democratic since Democrats are more likely to respond to polls.

I’d prefer it if no polls were taken at all except for the one on Election Day. Let the newspapers and TV focus on what the candidates are saying, and the issues, as opposed to treating this like a horse race.

“To occupy Iraq would instantly shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us and make a broken tyrant into a latter-day hero … assigning young soldiers to a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning them to fight in what would be an un-winnable urban guerilla war. It could only plunge that part of the world into even greater instability.”

— George H. W. Bush — A World Transformed — ©1998.