YESTERDAY'S  BEST LINE OF THE DAY ...

....didn't come from a delegate, a politician or a pundit.  It came from my wife. Donna returned home to Atlanta yesterday afternoon.  As she got into the cab on the street between our hotel and Ground Zero I told her that there were ghosts across the street.  "Yes there are," she said.  "But they're not here to to hurt you.  They're here to remind you." 

Nobody could have said it better.

ISLAMIC TERRORISTS ... AGAIN

If you've been paying attention to the news this morning, you'll know that about 400 people, including 200 children, are being held hostage in Russia.  If you listen to most newscasts you'll hear that they're being held hostage by "rebels."  Some newscasters may even go so far as to identify them as "Chechnyan rebels" or "insurgents."  It's what you don't hear that's interesting.  The "rebels" are Muslims.  They're Islamic terrorists.  They've been on the attack in Russia for the past few weeks.  Bombs in Moscow.  Exploding airliners.  It is just another front on the Islamic radical's war against everything not Islamic. 

Why is the media so petrified of identifying these terrorists as Muslims?  Is there some new unwritten rule out there which says that you cannot identify terrorists as Islamic?  The media sure has no problem identifying various groups as "right wing" when the label is appropriate or fits.  "Left wing?"  See how often you see that term used.  The demonstrators in New York this week ... a motley assortment with a heavy sprinkling of communists, socialists and assorted liberals ... but do you hear any news about "left wing" demonstrators?  You've heard of the "religious right," haven't you?  The media loves to remind you.  But what about the "religious left?"  Let me know when you see the media refer to the National Council of Churches as the "religious left."

But back to the Islamic terrorists resurrecting the old Islamic terrorist staple of attacking schoolchildren, this time in Russia.  Could it possibly be that some in the mainstream media realize that identifying these "gunmen," as I just heard them called, as Islamic might actually serve to remind the American people that were fighting a war against these murderous bastards?  And just who might that help in the election? 

Remember the template.

INFILTRATOR!

As Donna got into the cab there was an anti-war demonstration brewing at Ground Zero.  As I was dressed in running shorts, a t-shirt and sneakers I thought it would be a good chance to wade into the middle of the mob to listen and observe. 

Bottom line ... my earlier perception about these demonstrators turned out to be pretty much correct.  They were overwhelmingly young, cocky and grungy.  I would stand next to some of them until they tried to engage me in conversation.  "Hey, dude.  Is this a great way to meet girls, or what?"  One unkempt and slightly smelly demonstrator told me that he was thinking about getting arrested, but was having second thoughts because he had to move tomorrow.  I walked off to stifle the urge to ask him if he had new wheels for his shopping cart. 

Another was holding a sign saying that General Electric was going to make $600,000,000 in Iraq.  I asked him if he knew the way to the Stock Exchange.  I told him that if GE was doing that well we ought to rush over there and buy some stock.  I swear I thought he actually spent about ten seconds thinking it over. 

And ohhhhhh .. the conspiracies!  You just wouldn't believe the wild conspiracies these people were spouting.  I listened to one character pontificate to the crowd at length about the attack on the World Trade Towers. I really didn't understand all that he was saying .... but I think it had something to do with asbestos.  Somehow I thought this character was telling the crowd that George Bush had the World Trade Towers attacked because they contained asbestos and it was easier to just bring them down like that then it would have been to actually clean up the asbestos and it was all some sort of a favor to the people who owned the buildings and all that.  The people who owned the buildings?  The people of New York owned the buildings!  A Republican president is doing favors for the people of New York?  Well ... as Mr. Asbestos was speaking he turned and looked at me.  "It's Neal Boortz!" he said.  Then he gathered his crowd of sycophants around me and tried to draw me into the conversation.  I told him to call the show ..... my listeners would love to hear his theories.  We'll see.  My cover was blown, though ... so it was time to move on.

I'll just leave it at this.  If the government of this country, let alone the management of any convenience store in this nation, were turned over to this crowd for thirty days we would face a catastrophe of immeasurable proportions.  I wouldn't hire this crowd to pull weeds.

Hell ... they are weeds.

ELIZABETH DOLE

Sorry.  Didn't like her speech.  It was better suited for a revival than for a national convention of a political party that wants to attract people of all faiths ... or no faith.  I couldn't believe it when Dole used that "The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion."  line.  Just what does that mean? Does that mean that you are not free to not be religious?  Does not being free from religion mean that the government can somehow force you to chose some religious faith if you want full participation in our society, or in the Republican Party?

Elizabeth Dole's speech could well be Exhibit "A" in my case for why I'm a Libertarian.  I just don't like the idea that our Constitution can be used as an instrument to prevent you from being free from something. 

Don't get me wrong here.  I have my religious faith, and I try to live my life accordingly.  I just can't understand why others aren't content to live their lives in accordance with their particular faith without forcing it on unwilling people.

Then, of course, there was the abortion thing.  Elizabeth Dole believes that government should be strong enough to put a gun to a woman's head and tell her that she has no choice but to proceed with a pregnancy she wishes to terminate and to have a baby she doesn't want to have.  Sorry, but if I thought that any significant number of undecided voters were actually watching Elizabeth Dole, she would have lost votes for George Bush last night.

THEY DON'T EVEN TRY TO HIDE IT ANY MORE

Just read today's edition of "The Vent" in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  Georgia voted for Bush, and will again, but for a daily treasure trove of anti-Bush rhetoric this is your place.

DAY TWO: ARNOLD AND THE FIRST LADY

Yesterday was the first night the broadcast networks carried prime-time coverage of the Republican National Convention, and the Republicans made the most of it.  California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger brought down the house with an incredible speech, highlighting a number of themes.  The media seemed to think there was some sort of rift between George Bush and Arnold...after all there wasn't  much love coming Bush's way from the Governator.  Well, last night all of the doubts were erased away as Schwarzenegger made it crystal-clear that he supported President Bush for re-election.

The supposedly "liberal" Republican kicked off his speech by saying that the Democrats should have called their convention "True Lies," named after one of his movies.   Then he went on to talk about what it was like to come to this country as an immigrant with empty pockets, achieve fame and success and then become an American citizen.  He talked about what it was like growing up in Austria, part of which was controlled by the Soviet Union, and what it was like living in fear.  It was a very good speech.  He also took a shot at The Tort King's "two Americas" theme, saying there was only one America.

He talked about coming to the United States in 1968 and seeing Richard Nixon debating Hubert Humphrey.  He said he decided he was a Republican, after deciding Hubert Humphrey sounded like a socialist, which is what he had just left to come here.   A Democrat sounding like a socialist.  Imagine that!  Arnold decided he agreed more with Nixon.  And thus 'Conan the Republican' was born.  He went on to say "I'm proud to belong to the party of Abraham Lincoln, the party of Teddy Roosevelt, the party of Ronald Reagan and the party of George W. Bush."  More support for the President.  You know, Arnold is extremely popular in California...could he deliver the state for Bush?  Carrying that one state would single-handedly bury The Poodle.

Arnold talked a lot about how much he loved America (much to the consternation of the blame-America-first crowd  protesting outside,) and said " If you believe your family knows how to spend your money better than the government does, then you are a Republican! If you believe our educational system should be held accountable for the progress of our children, then you are a Republican! If you believe this country, not the United Nations, is the best hope of democracy in the world, then you are a Republican!"  He also talked about the war on terror, saying "And, ladies and gentlemen, if you believe we must be fierce and relentless and terminate terrorism, then you are a Republican!"  Then one of the biggest lines of the speech..."There is another way you can tell you're a Republican. You have faith in free enterprise, faith in the resourcefulness of the American people ... and faith in the U.S. economy. To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: "Don't be economic girlie men!"  The girlie men are back! 

It was probably the best speech so far.  Here you have somebody that actually loves America, loves everything it stands for and is not ashamed to call himself a Republican.  Compare last night to night two of the Democratic Convention.  Who delivered the most stirring address in Boston?  The liar, the race whore, Al Sharpton.  Democrats sure have a lot to be proud of.

The more Bush can get Arnold to campaign with him, the better.  Then it was The First Lady's turn, Laura Bush.  Good move having her speak in prime-time....she's easy to like.  She comes across as just what she is...a down-to-earth, likable person.  The complete antithesis of the Hildabeast.  Anyway, back to her speech.

She talked about her husband's initiatives, including the No Child Left Behind act.  She talked about the record increase in home ownership and the war on terror.  She also talked about the sacrifice military families are making with soldiers serving abroad in the War on terrorism.  Then she took a swipe at the Democrats and the media who love to say that George Bush somehow "rushed to war" in Iraq.  Said The First Lady: "I knew he was wrestling with these agonizing decisions that would have such profound consequence for so many lives and for the future of our world. And I was there when my husband had to decide."  All in all, a good speech and it made her husband look good (which is the point, of course.)

Tonight we get Lynne Cheney and Dick Cheney.  Then Zell Miller...that will be a barn burner.  I'll be on CNN around the time of Miller's speech.  See you then!

BUSH TWINS BLOW IT

For all that went right at the Republican National Convention last night, it's worth pointing out something that just didn't work.  The Bush twins came out to introduce their father via satellite, who was going to introduce their Mother.  Should have been easy enough, right?  All they had to do was come out, say nice things about their Dad, tell us some funny stories people probably don't know.  Nothing too difficult.  After all, this is prime-time...millions of people were watching...this had to be done right.

Well, amazingly the train went off the tracks a few minutes into their five-minute-but-it-felt-like-an-hour speech.  It started out innocently enough, with them joking about some of their appearances in the media: "We spent the last four years trying to stay out of the spotlight.  Sometimes we did a little better job than others."  Then, for some reason they decided to make fun of their Grandmother, good-naturedly of course, but it was awkward.  "Gammie, we love you dearly, but you're just not very hip. She thinks 'Sex and the City' is something married people do, but never talk about."  Oookay.

As Jeff Greenfield put it on CNN afterward, whoever wrote that material is going to be banished to Alaska.

PRESIDENT SAYS WAR ON TERROR WINNABLE

After the Democrats and The Poodle's campaign got some political mileage out of his interview with Matt Lauer in which he said he didn't think the War on Terror could be won, President Bush came out yesterday and corrected the record.  He called the Godfather to say "....I should have made my point more clear about what I meant. What I meant was that this is not a conventional war. It is a different kind of war....and in a conventional war there would be a peace treaty or there would be a moment where somebody would sit on the side and say we quit. That's not the kind of war we're in, and that's what I was saying."  Now, of course everybody with half a brain who is not running a losing campaign for The White House knows exactly what he meant, but now The Poodle has latched on, and he's not letting go.

They are going to talk about this over and over and over and over until they drive it in the ground and break it off.  They will do this with the knowledge that they are being dishonest.  They will lie and say the president says the war on terror cannot be won and then they will laughably assert that they are somehow going to win the war on terror for us.  Sure...appeasing the terrorists, turning over our security to the United Nations and bowing to the axis of weasels...that should do the job, right?

The fact is that the Democrats are lost.  What is their issue?  Terrorism?  Nope, that's Bush territory.  The economy? Getting better every day.  Taxes?  I think not.  Health care?  What is their issue?

We have two months left...and the liberals are getting desperate. Fasten your seat belts.

SWIFT VETS WRITE THE POODLE

The Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, those Republican troublemakers who dare question The Poodle's record in Vietnam, are out with a new ad and a letter that they have sent to John Kerry directly.  They'd like to make him an offer.  If Kerry would apologize for his remarks he made slandering veterans, apologize for throwing back his medals (or as sKerry calls them, "ribbons,") and come clean on how he got his medals in Vietnam, then they'll drop the attack ads.  Of course, there is less than zero chance of this happening, but you can't blame them for trying.

The letter starts out: "As you prepare for your address before the American Legion in Nashville, Tennessee, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth encourages you to use this opportunity to clarify your actions in Vietnam and your statements about your fellow Veterans and shipmates when you returned home.  Since you have made your four-month tour in Vietnam the centerpiece of your campaign, we respectfully insist that you be truthful.  The public is owed a full and honest accounting of your actions.  Veterans are owed an apology from you and an acknowledgment that there was no basis in fact for the accusations you made against them."  They will get no such apology, ever.  For Kerry to do so would be for him to admit that  he has been lying all this time, and that ain't gonna happen.

The Swiftees have really made a dent.  The Poodle has to regret ever bringing up  his service in Vietnam, because the whole thing is backfiring badly.  People are starting to realize, as Bob Dole said, that all of these vets can't simply be Republican liars.  What do they have to gain by telling their story?  Not a thing.

Expect to keep seeing their ads too, because they're getting a lot of contributions from people who feel the same way.

FRANKEN FREAK-OUT

Drudge has the pictures of Air America host Al Franken shouting down the producer of another show.  You know Al, it just doesn't look good when you lose your temper in public.  Did you really have to point?

Millions of people are seeing those pictures Al, and they just might get the wrong idea about you.

ALAN KEYES HAS LOST HIS MIND

Whatever remote chance Alan Keyes had of defeating Barack Obama in the race for Senate in Illinois has now evaporated.  I'm not sure where he's getting his political advice, or if he's even listening to anyone, but he's said something really stupid again.

Awhile back, he said that Obama's views on abortion were "the slaveholder's position."  Nice...just what people are looking for in a candidate for Senate.  But now he's completely gone off his rocker.  The latest?  He has called Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary Cheney a "selfish hedonist" because she is a lesbian.  That's nice.  Mr.  Keyes apparently is aiming for 15-20% of the vote in this race.

Contributing to the Alan Keyes for Senate campaign just might be the biggest waste of money since the pet rock --- or Bill Clinton's legal defense fund.

BLOWING AWAY THE COMPETITION

The numbers are in, and Fox News continues to blow away the competition in convention coverage.  Here's a sample from Monday night's coverage.  Now, keep in mind that except for PBS, the broadcast networks weren't covering the convention speeches at all.  You could only get them on cable.

So here are the numbers: Fox News pulled 3,868,000 viewers between 8-11:30 PM Monday night.  CNN was second with 1,262,000 viewers, and then coming in third place was MSNBC with 854,000.  So Fox News got three times the number of viewers that CNN did, and four times that of MSNBC. Sounds like the cable news wars are over.

The left and the media love to talk about that right-wing Fox News channel.  If it's so far to the right, and supposedly so far out of the mainstream, then why do so many people watch?

READING ASSIGNMENTS

In case you missed the convention last night, here is the full text of First Lady Laura Bush's speech.  Also, here's California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's speech to the delegates.  And here's what the Bush Twins had to say.

Here's the full letter that the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth have sent to The Poodle.

A U.S. military intelligence report links Al-Sadr to mass killings...so why aren't we killing him?  Why on earth do we continue to appease this Islamic terrorist? 

So what about all the talk of a rift between the Bush White House and Arnold Schwarzenegger?  It's just that: talk.  Matthew Continetti explains.

Zell Miller will speak tonight, but as Duncan Currie tells us, he's not the only pro-Bush Democrat at the convention.

Democrats and the media mocked the Republicans' decision to hold their convention in New York, but Dick Morris says it was a masterstroke that is going to pay huge political dividends.

Could it be possible that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger could deliver California for Bush?  It's an intriguing concept, explains Robert Novak, who says if Bush wins California, it would guarantee his reelection.

Is it possible The Poodle could win?  Tod Lindberg says Kerry still hasn't made a case for being elected president of the United States.

No matter who wins the White House in November, the big loser is the mainstream media.  Glenn Reynolds explains.

The media didn't complain when the Democrats attacked George Bush at their convention, but now their upset about the Republicans bringing up John Kerry's record at theirs.  Media bias at its finest...and The Media Research Center has a full report.

The Democrats love to talk about the rich....and how they supposedly control the government.  Walter Williams argues otherwise, and talks about the small numbers of the truly rich.

So are the protesters in New York really that big of a deal?  Not at all, explains Kathleen Parker, who says their doing just what President Bush wants them to.

While all the Washington politicians are off campaigning, more important vacancies are going unnoticed....the judges that President Bush has nominated to the Federal bench, but the Senate filibuster won't allow them to have a confirmation hearing.  Rebecca Hagelin explains.

The normally pro-Kerry, biased mainstream media may be turning on The Poodle.  The reason?  Jonah Goldberg explains that the press has a herd mentality.

Some New Yorkers are excited about the Republican National Convention being held in their city.  But, as Brent Bozell tells us, the New York Times is unhappy about the whole thing.

Linda Chavez is at the Republican National Convention, and she says there is a stark contrast between what the media is reporting, and what is actually going on inside.

If you're curious, we've added a picture of Belinda's brand new baby, little "Orville", to the site.

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