No flop

via Talking Points Memo

Talk about unorthodox.

A journalist -- Marc Sandalow, Washington Bureau Chief of the San Francisco Chronicle -- decided to discuss charges that John Kerry has waffled on Iraq policy by actually going back and reviewing his record as expressed in policy statements, speeches and votes.
Not surprisingly, he found Kerry has had pretty much the same position since the whole Iraq debate started ...

[A]n examination of Kerry's words in more than 200 speeches and statements, comments during candidate forums and answers to reporters' questions does not support the accusation [of flip-flopping]. As foreign policy emerged as a dominant issue in the Democratic primaries and later in the general election, Kerry clung to a nuanced, middle-of-the road -- yet largely consistent -- approach to Iraq ...

[T]aken as a whole, Kerry has offered the same message ever since talk of attacking Iraq became a national conversation more than two years ago.

Someone's got to talk to this Sandalow guy and straighten him out. Maybe someone from CNN?

-- Josh Marshall

Screw you too

Panel OKs Extension of Tax Cuts

At the last minute, the Republican leaders of the conference committee decided to extend, generally for one year, nearly two dozen business tax breaks. The largest one of these would extend a research and development tax credit for one year at a cost of $7.56 billion.
...
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., also was unsuccessful in efforts to expand the part of the child tax credit that is refundable to low-income wage earners with children.

``This would provide additional tax relief for working families,'' she said, arguing that her provision would have benefited more than 4 million families whose earnings are too low to take full advantage of the refundable child tax credit.

via NYTimes

U.S. Seeks Cuts in Housing Aid to Urban Poor

via NYTimes

The Bush administration has proposed reducing the value of subsidized-housing vouchers given to poor residents in New York City next year, with even bigger cuts planned for some urban areas in New England. The proposal is based on a disputed new formula that averages higher rents in big cities with those of suburban areas, which tend to have lower costs.

The proposals could have a "significantly detrimental impact" in some areas by forcing poor families to pay hundreds of extra dollars per month in rent, according to United States Representative Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican. That extra burden could be too much for thousands of tenants, "potentially leaving them homeless," Mr. Shays wrote in a recent letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

...

Among other major changes, the department also reduced the rent allocation for larger apartments with three or four bedrooms, disproportionately affecting larger families.

Ring-a-ding

I don't know why I got a cellphone. I thought it would be useful. It's a bad fit for someone who fears talking on the phone as much as I do. Now I have a small silver block that I have to recharge once a week.

Goat

I never gave goat products much thought, but I've been eating goat cheese lately and it's pretty good. It took a while to get used to it.

Crazy train

I swear everyone on the train this morning was cross-dressing.

Goodbye Krusty

I finally got a much-needed haircut.

Let Him Dangle

After gauging the harsh reaction from Democrats and Republicans alike to Sen. Zell Miller’s keynote address at the Republican National Convention, the Bush campaign — led by the first lady — backed away Thursday from Miller’s savage attack on Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, insisting that the estranged Democrat was speaking only for himself...
Laura Bush, asked about Miller’s speech, said in an interview with NBC News that “I don’t know that we share that point of view.” Aides to President Bush and his campaign said Miller was not speaking for all Republicans.

via TPM

You Go Alan

Thus far, the Republican hopeful's week has been defined by friction with his state party chairwoman and the Illinois delegation, who feel they are playing second fiddle to Keyes' media campaign. Some have also expressed concerns about Keyes' beliefs, calling them too far right for Illinois.

...

Campaigning in North Middleton Township, Pa., with President Bush, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke to reporters about Republican chances to hold the Senate and said, "I think it's clear we lose Illinois."

Informed about Keyes' comments from the radio program, McCain said, "I don't think that's appropriate, but it's not the first inappropriate remark Mr. Keyes has made. He made a remark the other day that people who perform abortions are the same as terrorists. That's a very unique take on that issue and one that's very seldom espoused."

No, really Alan, don't hold back

Swift.Boat.Nut.Sacks

COLUMBUS - Swift boat veteran Bob Anderson of Columbus is ticked.

It bothers him that Sen. John Kerry's swift boat history has become such a political hot potato. But he's even more irritated that his name was included - without his permission - on a letter used to discredit Kerry.

"I'm pretty nonpolitical," the 56-year-old Anderson said Tuesday. So, when he found out last week that his name was one of about 300 signed on a letter questioning Kerry's service, he was "flabbergasted."

"It's kind of like stealing my identity," said Anderson, who spent a year on a swift boat as an engine man and gunner.

You.Are.All.Lying.Scumbags.

via Salon:

Bush initially opposed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, then changed his mind when it was clear the votes were against him. He opposed the creation of the 9/11 Commission, then supported it. He opposed a congressional investigation into the intelligence failures that led to the war in Iraq, then supported it.

The president who was praised so often this week for his "unflinching" war on terror once said he wanted Osama bin Laden "dead or alive", then said that he didn't really care about finding him. The president who never wavers used to say that America will win the war on terror; over the weekend, he said "I don't think we can ever win it"; over the last week, he's been explaining that he didn't really mean what he said when he said it.

Here piggy

"Whatever you think of Soros, this is the sort of slur that only comes from a real pig. And to think that the author of it is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and out in the light of day."