06-22-2004 

QUOTABLES:

“Two senior bin Laden associates, the [9-11] commission says in its interim report, "adamantly denied any ties existed between al Qaeda and Iraq." This should wrap it up. Would two senior associates of the man responsible for killing 3,000 Americans tell a lie? Would senior associates of Osama bin Laden spin these crack investigators by telling them exactly what they wanted to hear?” -- writes Wesley Pruden.

No, I'm not buying Bill Clinton's book
And I won't even give it a look —
Had enough of that hound
The first time around
And have nothing to learn from a crook.
— F.R. Duplantier

"Instead of leading the world against the real threat of Iran's nuclear program, the president chose to lead America alone into the quicksand to counter the mirage of a threat in Iraq," said Ted Kennedy.

BUSH BEAT

Bush goes to Ohio

The Associated Press reports on President Bush campaigning in Ohio for his healthy family reform:

On his 18th presidential trip to Ohio, Bush promoted his $1.5 billion proposal to offer premarital counseling to parents on welfare.

"I think one of the smartest things we can do is to encourage families" by spending money on grants to states, faith-based organizations and community-based groups that "teach people what it means to be in a successful marriage," Bush told supporters at an alcohol and drug addiction services center.

Bush's Healthy Marriage Initiative is part of welfare reform legislation stalled in the Senate.

"It's stuck" and "there's too much politics in Washington on this," said Bush. "Congress needs to get the welfare bill to my desk. It's a bill that will encourage work. It will encourage compassionate programs."

Bush raised at an event that brought in $2.5 million for the Republican Party, while Laura Bush collected raised another $500,000 in Greenwich, Conn.

 Just POlitics

Kerry goes to Washington DC

Sen. John Kerry is canceling a trip to New Mexico to cast his fifteenth vote in the Senate on veterans' health care.

Of 132 votes in the Senate this year, Kerry has voted just 14 times. Massachusetts Republicans have called on Kerry to resign from the Senate because he's missed so many votes. Kerry said he's serving his constituents well by running for president.

The bill Kerry wants to support would make it mandatory that veterans be covered under a federal system. The bill would force even those who can afford other health care coverage under the federal mandatory system.

"I have met thousands of veterans as I travel across this country who fought with pride and honor, but still don't have the quality health care they need," Kerry said. "I will return to Washington to fight for them."

"The administration believes it is best for veterans to maintain flexibility," said Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt. "The mandatory approach is an inflexible one and the rigidity does not best serve veterans."

A Green Vice President?

While the world waits for Sen. John Kerry to make a decision on who his vice presidential running mate will be, Ralph Nader has chosen. Nader chose Green, as in Green Party member Peter Camejo. This should result in it being much easier to get on the ballot in several states for the Nader – Camejo ticket.

The Green Party has ballot access for a presidential candidate in Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.

Evangelicals marching

The Washington Times reports that the Evangelical wing of the American religious community is being called to march onward into American politics and social issues:

Still in draft form, the 12-page document, "For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility," says evangelical Christians have a duty to affect society "because Jesus is Lord over every area of life."

The Evangelicals are a key factor in President Bush’s strategy to win reelection. The John Templeton Foundation is encouraging the formation of a new independent expenditure group. Let Freedom Ring Inc. will seek contributions to help "counter the millions of dollars being spent to attack and discredit President Bush by leftist organizations such as those supported by billionaire George Soros, Hollywood liberals and others," said Colin A. Hanna, the new group's president.

Mr. Hanna said Let Freedom Ring will pay for TV commercials, videos, documentaries, web campaigns, voter-registration drives and activist mobilization.

"We want to reinforce traditional values and inspire a new generation of Americans to participate actively in our political process," he said.

Kerry would lift stem cell ban

Sen. John Kerry with the support of 48 Noble Prize scientists announced that he would lift the ban on stem cell research. Kerry and his scientific supporters echoed a 38-page report issued in February by the Union of Concerned Scientists, which accused the administration of "manipulation, suppression and misrepresentation of science" on issues like biotechnology, global warming and nuclear power.

Kerry helps the enemy

The Washington Times is reporting how the communist Vietnamese are citing Sen. John Kerry as one of their allies against the United States:

The official communist Vietnamese news agency is citing presidential candidate John Kerry's 1971 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as proof the United States committed war crimes in its conduct of the Vietnam War, WorldNetDaily.com reports.

The report in the Vietnam News begins: "The Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal calls forth questions over the American War in Vietnam: 'How were captured U.S. troops treated?' and 'How did the Americans treat the Vietnamese?' "

The report goes on to charge, "like in any of the dozens of countries they invaded, it was the Americans who perpetrated well-documented atrocities in Vietnam, both at the individual and mass levels."

While the report shows America POWs enjoying "a refreshing game of volleyball" while imprisoned during the war, it contrasts that photo with reference to the My Lai massacre, WorldNetDaily said.

"Candidate in this year's American presidential elections, John Kerry, who fought in the war, went further in his criticism," the report continues. "In a statement to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 1971, he said the war crimes committed by U.S. soldiers in Southeast Asia 'were not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command.' "

Kerry-Carter malaise

Vice President Dick Cheney sees Sen. John Kerry’s economic skills and plan taking us back to a Jimmy Carter malaise.

"By Senator Kerry's definition, things actually got better during the Carter years and then got worse during the Reagan-Bush years," said Cheney.

"That makes a total of two people who remember the late '70s as a golden age of the American economy," he added. "Jimmy Carter and John Kerry. By now, even Jimmy Carter is probably beginning to have his doubts," said Cheney.

"Every day, Senator Kerry does his best to talk down America's economy," Cheney said. "His economic plan comes down to one big goal: raising taxes on the American people."

Cheney also accused Kerry of ignoring the fact that for the past three years, the American economy has been growing at a faster pace than in any other major industrialized nation.

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