Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

Kind of fun to watch that thing tick.

Let's see - whose watch are we on?

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

The way I see it, you can either elect John Kerry to battle a GOP Congress, or you can elect a Democratic Congress to battle President Bush. Since your strategy depends on the choices made by your fellow citizens, your odds of limiting spending seem much better to me with the former strategy.

Of course, if you are one of those conservatives who likes to bitch and moan about government taking your money but doesn't actually want to vote according to these principles, you could vote for Bush and hope that he miraculously finds his veto pen in his second term. Hope springs eternal.

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

From CBS News, via Kevin Drum (everything that follows is Kevin's work, not mine; internal links omitted):

NATIONAL GUARD SMOKING GUN?....As you know, 60 Minutes is running a segment tonight that features Ben Barnes explaining how he pulled strings to get George Bush into the National Guard in 1968. But the segment also features something else: new documents from the personal files of Col. Jerry Killian, Bush's squadron commander. According to CBS News, here's a summary of the four new documents they've uncovered:

• A direct order to Bush to take a physical examination in 1972. Physical exams are an annual requirement for pilots.
  
• A 1972 memo that refers to a phone call from Bush in which he and Killian "discussed options of how Bush can get out of coming to drill from now through November" because "he may not have time." This was presumably in preparation for Bush's departure for Alabama that year, but is nonetheless damning since there's no reason that working on a Senate campaign should have prevented him from showing up for drills one weekend per month.
  
• A 1972 order grounding Bush. This order refers not just to Bush's failure to take a physical, but also to "failure to perform to (USAF/TexANG) standards."
  
• A 1973 memo titled "CYA" in which Killian talks about being pressured to give Bush a favorable yearly evaluation. He refuses, saying, "I'm having trouble running interference and doing my job."

This story is a perfect demonstration of the difference between the Swift Boat controversy and the National Guard controversy. Both are tales from long ago and both are related to Vietnam, but the documentary evidence in the two cases is like night and day. In the Swift Boat case, practically every new piece of documentary evidence indicates that Kerry's accusers are lying. Conversely, in the National Guard case, practically every new piece of documentary evidence provides additional confirmation that the charges against Bush are true.

In fact, these four memos are pretty close to a smoking gun, since it's now clear that (a) Bush was directly ordered to take a physical in 1972 and refused, and (b) he plainly failed to perform up to National Guard standards, but that (c) he was nonetheless given favorable evaluations thanks to high-level pressure.

So why did Bush refuse to take a physical that year? And why did he blow off drills for at least the next five months and possibly for a lot longer than that?

And finally, why did he get an honorable discharge anyway?

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

Coke

eta: We have a choice this year between a former base head (who is since redeemed) and a former war criminal. Take your pick.

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

is IT! But that C2 stuff tastes like crap.

I'm not Dave Coulier, but I approved this message anyway. Damn I hate living in a battleground state.

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

Why would the coke keep him from taking a physical? I don't think they drug tested back then.

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

I'll hope for the pen and vote for the guy who won't let the French and the UN dictate our foreign agenda.

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

Until Kerry unseals his records (now that the "Brinkley has exclusive rights" defense won't hold water), you need to withhold judgment on this one.

Speaking of Kerry's records, why isn't the liberal media clamoring for his medical (he did have cancer) and financial records.

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

I don't know who's worse lately, you or Sullivan?

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

More from York in the Hill

Bush’s National Guard years
Before you fall for Dems’ spin, here are the facts

• What do you really know about George W. Bush’s time in the Air National Guard?
  That he didn’t show up for duty in Alabama? That he missed a physical? That his daddy got him in?
  
  News coverage of the president’s years in the Guard has tended to focus on one brief portion of that time — to the exclusion of virtually everything else. So just for the record, here, in full, is what Bush did:
  
  The future president joined the Guard in May 1968. Almost immediately, he began an extended period of training. Six weeks of basic training. Fifty-three weeks of flight training. Twenty-one weeks of fighter-interceptor training.
  
  That was 80 weeks to begin with, and there were other training periods thrown in as well. It was full-time work. By the time it was over, Bush had served nearly two years.
  
  Not two years of weekends. Two years.
  
  After training, Bush kept flying, racking up hundreds of hours in F-102 jets. As he did, he accumulated points toward his National Guard service requirements. At the time, guardsmen were required to accumulate a minimum of 50 points to meet their yearly obligation.
  
  According to records released earlier this year, Bush earned 253 points in his first year, May 1968 to May 1969 (since he joined in May 1968, his service thereafter was measured on a May-to-May basis).
  
  Bush earned 340 points in 1969-1970. He earned 137 points in 1970-1971. And he earned 112 points in 1971-1972. The numbers indicate that in his first four years, Bush not only showed up, he showed up a lot. Did you know that?
  
  That brings the story to May 1972 — the time that has been the focus of so many news reports — when Bush “deserted” (according to anti-Bush filmmaker Michael Moore) or went “AWOL” (according to Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee).
  
  Bush asked for permission to go to Alabama to work on a Senate campaign. His superior officers said OK. Requests like that weren’t unusual, says retired Col. William Campenni, who flew with Bush in 1970 and 1971.
  
  “In 1972, there was an enormous glut of pilots,” Campenni says. “The Vietnam War was winding down, and the Air Force was putting pilots in desk jobs. In ’72 or ’73, if you were a pilot, active or Guard, and you had an obligation and wanted to get out, no problem. In fact, you were helping them solve their problem.”
  
  So Bush stopped flying. From May 1972 to May 1973, he earned just 56 points — not much, but enough to meet his requirement.
  
  Then, in 1973, as Bush made plans to leave the Guard and go to Harvard Business School, he again started showing up frequently.
  
  In June and July of 1973, he accumulated 56 points, enough to meet the minimum requirement for the 1973-1974 year.
  
  Then, at his request, he was given permission to go. Bush received an honorable discharge after serving five years, four months and five days of his original six-year commitment. By that time, however, he had accumulated enough points in each year to cover six years of service.
  
  During his service, Bush received high marks as a pilot.
  
  A 1970 evaluation said Bush “clearly stands out as a top notch fighter interceptor pilot” and was “a natural leader whom his contemporaries look to for leadership.”
  
  A 1971 evaluation called Bush “an exceptionally fine young officer and pilot” who “continually flies intercept missions with the unit to increase his proficiency even further.” And a 1972 evaluation called Bush “an exceptional fighter interceptor pilot and officer.”
  
  Now, it is only natural that news reports questioning Bush’s service — in The Boston Globe and The New York Times, on CBS and in other outlets — would come out now. Democrats are spitting mad over attacks on John Kerry’s record by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
  
  And, as it is with Kerry, it’s reasonable to look at a candidate’s entire record, including his military service — or lack of it. Voters are perfectly able to decide whether it’s important or not in November.
  
  The Kerry camp blames Bush for the Swift boat veterans’ attack, but anyone who has spent much time talking to the Swifties gets the sense that they are doing it entirely for their own reasons.
  
  And it should be noted in passing that Kerry has personally questioned Bush’s service, while Bush has not personally questioned Kerry’s.
  
  In April — before the Swift boat veterans had said a word — Kerry said Bush “has yet to explain to America whether or not, and tell the truth, about whether he showed up for duty.” Earlier, Kerry said, “Just because you get an honorable discharge does not, in fact, answer that question.”
  
  Now, after the Swift boat episode, the spotlight has returned to Bush.
  
  That’s fine. We should know as much as we can.
  
  And perhaps someday Kerry will release more of his military records as well.

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

For some reason, I get preverse joy out of posting "Coke" - I need a vacation.

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

I used to get that same joy.

But - and this must be a regional thing - we never called it "posting".

For the politically unsavvy
 

This is kinda lame, but is there a website that lays out the basic positions and problems with Bush and Kerry that I can print out for non-political-non-internet-savvy people so they can at least make an informed decision in Nov.? * Thanks.

-TL

*And by this I mean my mom and dad who haven't touched a computer in their entire lives and would like to keep it that way, thank you very much.

For the politically unsavvy
 

Closest I've seen is a site that lays out the positions of politicians individually - no comparisons, so you have to click on both Bush's and Kerry's page.

http://www.issues2000.org/default.htm

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

Shorter York on Charles Manson: There were many days Charles Manson and his followers did not kill people.

By Bilmore's Kerry standards (aides addressing a sensitive topic such as this are deemed to have cleared their answers to questions with the Cheese), Bush lied when Bartlett earlier said that he had checked in with a National Guard unit when he moved to Boston to go to Harvard. Today we learned that wasn't true.

And your attack on the timing is pretty spurious. Bush earlier said he would release all the records. He didn't. It took an AP lawsuit to get some of these records released, and CBS found more. If he had come clean earlier, you wouldn't be hearing this story now.

Kerry records still MIA
 

Ty, this is fucking BS and you know it. He ordered all records released. That they thereafter found microfilm, etc. that NO ONE thought existed is only further proof of the thoroughness of the search.

Now where the fuck are Kerry's records?*

*This is from the VRWC "Talking Points Memo" for next week, once Kerry stalls on their release and the rehash of this story drops him in the polls 3 more points.

Kerry records still MIA
 

Even if this is true, then Bush is the victim of somebody in the executive branch who botched the FOIA search, not the media. But I don't think it's true. I don't recall the details, but I recall descriptions of the records that some thought should be there and hadn't been released. There's a reason that the AP filed their suit, and I don't think it was to take a flier on the off-chance that someone botched the FOIA request.

What Kerry records are you getting excited about?

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

POTD*

*for everyone but Hello. Hello won't find it funny.

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

Where the hell did you come up with four years? What are you basing the claim that four years ought to be enough on?

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

Kind of like how I feel about my implants and hoo-ha.

More on Bush Deriliction of Duty
 

Yes, and I deal daily with fucktards who've been lawyers for longer than you've been alive.

Where is the Slave who would have torn a new asshole into logic as flawed as this?

Imagine
 

There's this thing called "TV" that showed a five day puppy montage live from New York. Five out of five people who love puppies agree: It was AWESOME!

Meanwhile, your ability to think critically is approaching the nearest asymptote at alarming speed.

Imagine
 

yawn.

Imagine
 

A. My understanding of that concept is that it includes the upper limits as well as the lower limits, so I will be charitable to you and simply say thanks.

B. A proposal to make health care affordable by simply passing on to the taxpayer the top $250k of risk for each account, without a plan to pay for it except "from taxes", is simplistic, incredibly expensive, incomplete, has absolutely no chance of passage, and won't even deliver as he vaguely promises. ("Up to" $1k?) And, the little part mandating that employers provide insurance, or steps will be taken? If this is what I need to consider as a serious position, then Kerry has indeed lowered the bar. He should stick to puppies. At least they don't eat each other.

(ETA) - Good lord. His proposal now also includes a brand new governmental agency - a "Department of Wellness". This is good, because we all know that government is well suited to running our personal lives, and at low cost, too.

I wanna be Minister of Carbs. I bet red wine gets a whole division by itself.

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

Well, if you're stuck there, you've a bag of marbles between your ears. Have you been in a cave on Mars for the past month? Kerry's listing at 70 degrees.

I don't follow all the polls because, well, for every one I find stating that 70% of unmarried women who drive vans like Kerry, I can find anothere where three guys from Vermont called 67 people in Akron and discovered that Bush is leading by 20%. Statistics are crap ina race this close. But nevermind me, counselor... please, refer to your "expert" reports. I have yet to see an "expert" proven wrong on the stand. That. Never. Happens. People who put together stats, well, heck, that's evidence, and evidence trumps independent thinking every time.

But I digress... A horse race this close is decided by organization of message. If you stay on topic and drive one, maybe two, solid points home, you'll beat the guy who using a shotgun approach everytime. Bush is nailing Kerry to the cross on terrorism defense and Kerry's lack of a unifying message. He's telling the jury "This guy stands for nothing more than getting elected" and Kerry is throwing whiffle balls at Bush in response. Kerry's all over the place, changing his message from week to week. One week, he's refusing to attack Bush. The next week he's calling Bush all but a deserter. One week he's a Vietnam hero - the next week Vietnam is "in the past" and its Bush's fault that the topic was ever raised. Kerry needs to adopt Reagan's old theme - "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"* And he needs to beat that theme into the heads of everyone. Otherwise, he's Gore 2004.

Personally, I think the man's inability to take a stand is terminal. His senate survival skills have made him so afraid of risk that he can't do anything without hedging his bets. Hedgers may be smart, but they're not the sort of folks who endear themselves to voters.

I view Bush winning this thing by a thin margin, and its really criminal of the Dems to let that happen. They offered up a corpse this time thinking they never had a chance, and they did. That's what you get when you make decisions exclusively on polls and stats - you're always smarter by half.

* This advice is borrowed from a column by someone I can't recall. If anyone can recall it, its worth posting. It was really enlightening.

Imagine
 

Nice try, but I said "nearest asymptote." Words have meaning, Bilmore. Regards!

Imagine
 

I tried to find an illustration to show that a circle has an upper portion, too, but all I could find was this Kerry bumper sticker:

http://www.onewaydrivingschool.com/direction%20sign.jpg

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

Atticus assures me this is not true.

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

Like Willard said to Kurtz, "I... see... no... [message]... at all."

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

I didn't say you had to like his positions. It's just refreshing to see you posting something about Kerry other than obssessing about his war record.

More on Cheney's speech
 

Lindsay Lohan says you have to be nice to retards, or they'll yell at you instead of saying nice things about your boobs.

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

Oh, well. It's not like there are plenty of people lining up to either support/refute either side of that debate. I stand corrected.

1 Month and Counting
 

I find this amusing - the Washing Times has been harping on this for about a week now.

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

What are you talking about?

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

It gets pretty confusing when he ketches up backwards. Pretty soon he'll be posting about Bush stealing the 2000 election.

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

And the dividend tax cut is why I don't trust Republicans.

But at least we're back to focusing on things that actually affect us as voters.

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

True dat. I'm actually tiring a litlle of the mud. But I do have 1 prediction. The NG story will not affect Bush. It is old news, having been raised in several of his election bids. However, I predict we haven't heard the last of the DUI type charges. Look for something fairly big to break the first or second week of October.

Now, back to the issues: I assume you are referring to your view that the dividend tax doesn't help middle america because most of their equity is held in tax deferred accounts?

Bush "CYA" memo found
 

Hey Marie Anoinette, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Either Kerry was in Cambodia and the Swiftees are lying sacks of vindictive shit or Kerry wasn't a war criminal. You only get to pick one.

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

Just a little? Good lord -- it's sick, and they'd both rather focus on the mud because neither of them has any cogent ideas about actual solutions to actual problems.

(sebby rant over)

Free speech for me, but not for thee.
 

Yep. And that's ignoring the fact that the dividend tax cut doesn't help the vast number of Americans who have no stock investments at all. We can also talk about the fact that the elimination of the top tax bracket helped wealthier people far more than the expansion of the 10% bracket got poor people off the tax roles.

Or the fixation on the estate tax, which hits so few people it's almost voluntary, but it produces revenue which has to be made up elsewhere in the tax system if repealed.

There are all kinds of things I don't like about the Bush tax cuts. But they pale in comparison to the basic fact that he keeps talking about simplifying the Code, but keeps making proposals or backing Congressional proposals that make it more complex and fucked up than before.