on the worlds most popular political blog

KERRY: When the president had an opportunity to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, he took his focus off of them, outsourced the job to Afghan warlords, and Osama bin Laden escaped.

Six months after he said Osama bin Laden must be caught dead or alive, this president was asked, “Where is Osama bin Laden?”

He said, “I don’t know. I don’t really think about him very much. I’m not that concerned.”

We need a president who stays deadly focused on the real war on terror.

SCHIEFFER: Mr. President?

BUSH: Gosh, I just don’t think I ever said I’m not worried about Osama bin Laden.

It’s kind of one of those exaggerations.

PIERCE: Mr. President, this video suggests otherwise.

sifry + saidy + paul frankenstein

not only is he being sued in a $60 million sexual harrasment case where he

allegedly

invited a thirtysomething female producer of the Factor to purchase a vibrator, but used a battery-operated one shaped as a “cock” on himself as he talked to her

(as well as told her some interesting things that al franken can expect)

but now his arch enemy jim gilliam has dug up a video of o’reilly discussing sexual harrasment back in march of this year on the Factor where he says that men are “barbarians”:

O’REILLY: In the “Back of the Book” Segment tonight, you may remember a minor tiff was created by feminist Naomi Wolf a few weeks ago when she wrote an article saying one of her Yale professors rubbed her thigh while mentoring her at that college. That set off debate about sexual harassment, which is a problem the world over, no question.

With us now is Dr. Linda Mills, a professor of social work at NYU and author of the book “Insult to Injury: Rethinking Our Responses to Intimate Abuse.”

So you say that women — some of them are using this as a club, this sexual harassment deal sometimes, huh?

LINDA MILLS, PH.D., NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: Yes, I mean I think what happens is that women are denying, in a sense, their own sexual beings, and this is an opportunity and a time in our culture for women to think about themselves as sexual beings and to use that, their — that identity.

O’REILLY: Yes, but it’s impossible and I’ll tell you why. Men — and I know men real well, being a manly man — are barbarians. They’re just barbarians, OK. They see a good-looking woman. It’s — they’re not respecting their intellect. They’re — you know? And if they get a come- on at all by the woman whom they feel is attractive, then they’re in. So, if you say women have got to be cognizant of their sexuality, that’s going to open doors for all kinds of things women may not be prepared for.

MILLS: Well, that’s absolutely right, and we need to educate women about that very fact, but it doesn’t mean that we need to hold them completely harmless, that they’re always victims, and that if we don’t see the relationship between men and women and what women bring to that relationship, somehow they’re — they never get to…

O’REILLY: But isn’t there a difference between social — socializing and trying to find a mate and trying to get a relationship going and in a workplace or in a college — you know, what Wolf’s contention was with this guy — Bloom, I guess, his name is — took advantage of her when she was a student, and that happens all the time.

MILLS: Absolutely.

O’REILLY: It happens all the time where powerful men see a good- looking student, and they try to make a move. Now, you know, this thing happened 30 years ago, whatever. I think maybe Naomi might have let it go, all right, but how does a woman protect herself against that kind of thing?

MILLS: Well, but what’s different about the Naomi Wolf case and many sexual harassment cases is that they did have a relationship and that right now we don’t recognize the relationship…

— later the conversation got even better —

O’REILLY: I still think the guy abused his position, if it happened, and I kind of believe Wolf. But, look, I think that the sexual harassment thing is used as a club, as I said, by many women, all right. It’s something they have against men, a threat to keep men at bay in a very competitive marketplace.

MILLS: Well, I think — I actually interpret it a little differently, and that is that they use their sexuality in certain ways, and then when they get nervous, they run behind the sort of legal shield of sexual harassment, and that’s the part that’s a problem because I think that women are these sexual beings, and we need to recognize that. That’s a feminist position.

O’REILLY: Some women are. Do you think all women are?

MILLS: Absolutely not.

O’REILLY: I don’t.

MILLS: I completely agree with you.

O’REILLY: You know, there are women who manipulate themselves and use their sexuality to get ahead, all right.

MILLS: Absolutely.

O’REILLY: And then these women will turn around and file a sexual harassment…

MILLS: But shouldn’t we account for that, just that?

O’REILLY: But how do you prove it? It’s very difficult to prove it.

MILLS: Well, it’s hard to prove sexual harassment now as it is, but why not…

O’REILLY: Well, if you grab somebody’s thigh, I mean — if somebody sees it or you…

Let me ask you one more thing. This is really dangerous. It used to be in the workplace that you could make a sexual joke or something. Not anymore, right? You’re crazy if you do that, right?

MILLS: Well, yes, but that’s on both sides. Men and women.

O’REILLY: Oh, I’ve never heard of a woman making a sexual joke and being charged with anything.

MILLS: Well, the irony is that the studies show that men don’t take it seriously, and so they’re less likely to make claims, right?

O’REILLY: Yes, right.

MILLS: But I think that’s true on both sides, and it’s — it has changed, in a sense, the dynamic at work.

O’REILLY: Well, it’s changed my life. I’ll tell you, when I was a thug coming up, I mean I would say almost anything around women, and now I don’t say anything, you know, that could be remotely taken — you know, because, obviously, I’m a big target, and any kind of a thing like that stigmatizes you, whether you’re guilty or not, doesn’t it?

MILLS: Absolutely.

O’REILLY: So it’s — women — that’s a big power source for them, and I think some women use it ruthlessly.

o’reilly appeared on Regis & Kelly this morning where he discussed the case, not once denying that he sexually harrassed his producer (who was a former Bush intern, and therefore probably not a Democrat trying to sling mud), instead said that the $60 million settlement offer was outrageous.

the host of the factor said, “not even the 9/11 victim families got that much.” he added that although he agreed with some of his cohorts who said that taking this on might be the end of his career he said, “enough is enough.”

and still he didnt deny the charges. the author of a new children’s book, o’reilly seemingly only had issues with the price of the settlement.

read the whole 3/23/04 interview here + other gilliam vs o’reilly moments + the best gilliam vs o’reilly video to date

the debate 52-39. msnbc’s online poll had kerry winning 71-29, cbs’s poll had kerry winning it 39-25 (36% had it as a draw).

but cbs cant be trusted, my gop friends say.

so we go to fox news since theyre fair n balanced

whose internet poll had kerry winning it 55-44.

so basically nobody thinks that bush won this debate

except

the instapundit

worlds greatest blogger

who says bush won it “hands down”.

and then finds three people who agree with him. and links to noone who disagrees with him.

im shocked.

shocked.

the president gave his best performance last night. i like how he was emphasizing words in that wonderfully unique way of his.

harkens back to the days when dana carvey would imitate his pappy.

“wouldnt be prudent, wouldnt be prudent.”

its almost like a shatner

punching

those key words on the down beat

and then letting it resonate out there with a confident pause for emphasis.

much like how a change machine has to load up again for a while, resetting, after its dispensed $5 in quarters.

tonight made me realize that i will miss my retarded president

who, the writing is on the wall, is doomed to continue his losing ways and have his ass handed to him in the election in three weeks,

because america isnt as lame as its current leader.

apparently.

watching the debates tonight showed clearly that yes anyone could be president, but not everyone should be, because when just anyone becomes president, they can fuck shit up a little worse than we ever expected.

you dont have to be in iraq to know that shits fucked

here on the local abc tv station they featured this “undecided” voter who was grading each question.

before the debates he said he wasnt crazy about bush and was definately not crazy about kerry either.

but the thing that made him decide to vote for kerry was when bush looked in the camera and told middle class workers that they had more money today and they were doing better because of him.

Bush: You know, he talks to the workers. Let me talk to the workers.

You’ve got more money in your pocket as a result of the tax relief we passed and he opposed.

If you have a child, you got a $1,000 child credit. That’s money in your pocket.

If you’re married, we reduced the marriage penalty. The code ought to encourage marriage, not discourage marriage.

We created a 10 percent bracket to help lower-income Americans. A family of four making $40,000 received about $1,700 in tax relief.

It’s your money. The way my opponent talks, he said, We’re going to spend the government’s money. No, we’re spending your money.

the instantly decided voter told the abc reporter, “im not doing better, and if bush thinks things are better for people right now then he’s seriously out of touch.”

which is ironic since it seemed that bushies new strategy was to drive home the fact that kerry is “out of the mainstream.”

as if being out of the mainstream has ever hurt either man in their political careers.

who knew canadian drugs and health care would be such an achillies heel to the president when everyone thought kerry would be able to waltz right into the white house due to the quagmire in iraq, no wmd, no obl, and the record-breaking deficit?

but somehow health care was the sleeper hold, the secret weapon, the the tiny gspot of the death star and lynchpin to its destruction. witness:

KERRY: The reason health care costs are getting higher, one of the principal reasons is that this administration has stood in the way of common-sense efforts that would have reduced the costs. Let me give you a prime example.

In the Senate we passed the right of Americans to import drugs from Canada. But the president and his friends took it out in the House, and now you don’t have that right. The president blocked you from the right to have less expensive drugs from Canada.

We also wanted Medicare to be able to negotiate bulk purchasing. The VA does that. The VA provides lower-cost drugs to our veterans. We could have done that in Medicare.

Medicare is paid for by the American taxpayer. Medicare belongs to you. Medicare is for seniors, who many of them are on fixed income, to lift them out of poverty.

But rather than help you, the taxpayer, have lower cost, rather than help seniors have less expensive drugs, the president made it illegal – illegal – for Medicare to actually go out and bargain for lower prices.

Result: $139 billion windfall profit to the drug companies coming out of your pockets. That’s a large part of your 17 percent increase in Medicare premiums.

When I’m president, I’m sending that back to Congress and we’re going to get a real prescription drug benefit.

yes i liked the tony soprano analogy. if you missed it, the president was asked, “what do you say to someone in this country who has lost his job to someone overseas who’s being paid a fraction of what that job paid here in the United States?”

to which dubya said he would tell him to go back to junior college.

Bush: “… education is how to help the person who’s lost a job. Education is how to make sure we’ve got a workforce that’s productive and competitive.

Got four more years, I’ve got more to do to continue to raise standards, to continue to reward teachers and school districts that are working, to emphasize math and science in the classrooms, to continue to expand Pell Grants to make sure that people have an opportunity to start their career with a college diploma.

And so the person you talked to, I say, here’s some help, here’s some trade adjustment assistance money for you to go a community college in your neighborhood, a community college which is providing the skills necessary to fill the jobs of the 21st century. And that’s what I would say to that person.”

to which sen. kerry said

KERRY:I want you to notice how the president switched away from jobs and started talking about education principally.

Let me come back in one moment to that, but I want to speak for a second, if I can, to what the president said about fiscal responsibility.

Being lectured by the president on fiscal responsibility is a little bit like Tony Soprano talking to me about law and order in this country.

(LAUGHTER)

This president has taken a $5.6 trillion surplus and turned it into deficits as far as the eye can see. Health-care costs for the average American have gone up 64 percent; tuitions have gone up 35 percent; gasoline prices up 30 percent; Medicare premiums went up 17 percent a few days ago; prescription drugs are up 12 percent a year.

But guess what, America? The wages of Americans have gone down. The jobs that are being created in Arizona right now are paying about $13,700 less than the jobs that we’re losing.

so much more to say, so please feel free to leave your opinions in the comments.

full transcript + o’reilly’s o’fucked + tiffany

who are lawyers,

i have found myself in a sticky situation that i could use your help with.

when i rented my apartment it came with a parking spot in the back of the building.

but the parking spot was not noted on my lease.

a year after i signed my lease the building was sold to a new owner. hes not the greatest owner.

i do not have a car.

sometimes i rent cars, sometimes people loan me their cars, sometimes people come over and use my spot.

about six months ago a new tenant began parking in my spot.

because im a nice person and i usually dont have a car, i have been allowing them to use the spot.

some times when i have parked there they have seen me park there and they have said nothing, just like i said nothing when i saw them park there.

miss montreal is going away for 4-5 days, loaned me her car, and i would like to park in my spot, but the new tenants are there.

i had a feeling that they were under the impression, somehow, that the spot was theirs or “up for grabs” so i wrote a letter to my landlord asking him to notify them that the spot was mine and enclosed it with my rent check earlier this month.

i called him tonight and asked him if he got my letter. he mumbled. when i told him of the situation he said that because they have lived here for six months that they could lay a claim to the spot because i hadnt said anything about it.

even though i have lived here for three years and its been my spot the whole time.

even though ken layne lived here right before me and the spot was his.

even though our friend shira lived here right before him and the spot was hers.

as i have said, the spot was never specified on my lease.

my landlord is now saying that he doesnt recall that spot being anyone’s in particular.

i said, when you bought the place you never took inventory of who had what spots? he said no.

interestingly though, a few months after he bought the place he allowed the new tenant to park behind my spot in a place that wouldnt really be considered a spot. i call this interesting because if he truly thought that no one had that spot, why wouldnt he had included that spot in her new lease?

i asked him this and he said that he specified in her lease “there is no parking available in the back”. because, he said, all the spots were full.

ah ha! so he admits that my spot was being used! yes?

so heres my questions:

1. did i fuck up and gave away my spot because i waited “too long” to tell my landlord?

2. if the spot is not in my lease, but the woman who offered me the spot, the manager of the building at the time, will vouch for me that we had orally discussed the spot being mine – is that verification enough?

3. if her word isnt good enough, what about the word of some of my neighbors who know that spot to be mine?

4. are there any other ways that you know of where i can (re)claim my parking spot

if you would rather not answer this through the comments, feel free to write me at busblog at gmail dot com.

thank you so much,

tony

hello brooklyn + isabella + steph

are getting their undies in a bunch over the plans of Sinclair Broadcasting trying to force 62 of its stations to air an anti-kerry film called “Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal” two weeks before the presidential elections

as if it’s going to have even a teensy effect on the outcome of the voting.

the dems need to chill.

firstly, nobody is going to do more damage this year with a film than what michael moore did to the president with fahrenheit 9/11. nobody.

michael moore is a genius. i know because the dems have told me this repeatedly. and they will give him a second oscar to prove it.

but seriously, michael moore has been practicing his whole life to make f 9/11 and he was ready at the right place at the right time to do it. anything like it in its wake will seem like a cheap ripoff.

especially if what is in its wake are cheap ripoffs

minus the seven minutes of bush reading my pet goat.

minus the u.s. secret service asking questions to the film maker as to why he’s filming the saudi embassy.

minus gw asking us to watch him hit the golf ball.

if sinclair wants to roll their film every night from tonight till the election let them.

these are swift boaters saying “this triple purple heart hero with a silver and a bronze star doesn’t deserve his medals”. do you know how lame that sounds? how bitter. how pathetic?

let them show their true colors.

give em enough rope to sing their sickly carrion song as they sink into the creepy wicked witch puddle of melted mud.

by protesting this film, you are being hypocritical and bitchy. glenn’s right, this is a first amendment thing. dont be a wuss.

sure it’s also an abuse of the “public” airwaves. what isn’t? the fact that we still pretend that they are public airwaves is a joke in itself, so if you want to actually fix something, fix that bullshit.

but bros, Bush has done himself in more than any film could do kerry in. he’s given enough reasons alone to anyone, dem or republican, to vote against him

if the dems can be derailed by a dumbass swiftboat talkie

despite bush’s reasons for sending us into war

despite bush’s failure to actually win the war

despite bush’s failure to find obl

despite bush’s failures with the economy

despite bush’s inability to unify this country

despite bush’s inability to admit any mistakes

despite bush’s position on stem cell research

despite bush’s military record cover up

despite five gop senators recently coming out against him

despite bush’s ties to the saudi royal family

despite bush’s lack of a popular vote last time

despite kerry’s fine debating skillz and lack of bushie’s

then the dems don’t deserve to win

ever.

this should be the easiest race the dems could ever dream of.

let them have their sinclair broadcasting tee vee swift boat infomercial.

you’re winning, stupids.

goobita + raymi + nsfw zulieka

theyre gonna fall off any minute. the hands are cold and tingly. the wrists.

i have the libido of a 17 yr old and the hands and arms of a 111 yr old. blame the xbi.

i wont quit there because it inspires the busblog, but what good is it if the guy has to write it with his nose. which i will do. if necessary. cuz the tales need to be told.

only pussies dont play hurt.

little mans phone wouldnt stop ringing. he said what do you do when your phone wont stop ringing. he tried to just let it ring but then it filled up his answering machine. he doesnt want a phone but he has the best number ever.

and thats why i love working with little man.

today the busblog gave me two things.

the first is the first text ad ive ever accepted. best thing about it is it’s completely unsolicited.

thats what was good about that sbc thing too.

thats how life oughtta be. everyone knows your email address and your paypal address and they can just offer you nice things.

you dont have to say yes if you dont wanna.

i cant believe the sox left timlin in.

speaking of project du. for those of you who arent interested in getting me a birthday gift as i turn 111 in a week and a half. to which i totally understand.

but if you want to something nice for me that doesnt cost anything heres what you can do:

do me a favor and please go to the site, download the blog reader, use it for a little while and then tell me what you think.

i have always been honest with you and you should know what the products are that are being pimped on the busblog.

one of the blogs that are prepacked in the free reader is sterogum who has recently had some great britney coverage

well, today scott links to the new gwen stefani video.

q. hows the song?

a. god shes pretty.

q. no really hows the song?

a. she just might be flawless.

q. yeah but how do you like the 80s thing shes doing?

a. i cant wait to hear the track dre produced.

scenestars + twelve black code monkeys + video game ombudsman

yesterday you celebrated thanksgiving.

my question to you: why isnt it held on a thursday like america?

thanks,

your neighbor to the south

st. clinton + paige + terra

starring bruce springsteen & the e street band, r.e.m., john fogerty, jackson browne, james taylor, the dixie chicks, john cougar melloncamp, keb mo, bonnie rait, babyface, pearl jam, jurrasic five, and dave matthews

live from washington dc’s mci center, 10/11

sundance channel

ive followed bruce springsteen’s career for the last twenty five years. ive seen him perform benefit concerts for amnesty international, he was part of we are the world, and his most famous protest concert caught on film was No Nukes

but never have i seen him do a mini tour to help dethrone one political leader like he and the above mentioned are doing against george w. bush.

and last night they did it wonderfully.

scheduled as a 5 hour affair, i set my tivo to record the rebroadcast of the event “just in case” it ran late, as its difficult to wrangle so many performers on one stage to keep it short when all of the acts are used to being headliners.

indeed this turned out to be wise as the rock ran into a sixth hour complete with all-star jams and pairings of superstars never before combined.

the show started innocently enough with little johnny melloncamp and his country flavored band. he sat on a chair for half of the set. is there something wrong with him that i wasnt aware of? either way it was a good 30 minute set ending with pink houses and it’s timely chorus of “aint that america, for you and me…”

babyface, the r&b pretty boy and producer who co-wrote and produced many acts including eric clapton performed the grammy winning “if i could change the world” that clapton made famous.

james taylor, jackson browne, and bonnie raitt were nice

but r.e.m was spectacular.

who knew that michael stipe had such a great live voice?

and i know yesterday was national coming out day, but has stipey always been soooo fey? as in soooo.

regardless it was cute to see him fawn all over springsteen. its nice when musicians who have been in the biz for 20+ years go out of their way to present the first pressing of their new cd to those who they admire, as stipe did backstage to the boss.

and its twice as nice when rock stars return the favor as bruuuuce did.

stipe: i was just given this special edition of our new cd. its the first one and i would like to give it to you.

bruce: thank you. i would like you to know that i’ve been brushing up on my r.e.m. hint hint.

near the end of the r.e.m. set, bruce was called onstage where he performed “man on the moon” wonderfully. stipe was beaming and bouncing around the stage as the upbeat chorus kicked in.

gay on many levels. the boss rushed off stage immediately as the tune ended. coincidence?

maybe it was just me. homophobe that i can be. for i clearly remember bruce and clarence kissing on tour on stage.

the concert also made me remember that during the clinton administration there was never any political rallies like this where intellectual musicians, millionaires at that, who go out of their way to appear for humanitarian causes, rallying against the democrats.

why is that?

next pearl jam played. i never liked pearl jam. i like vedders voice. occasionally. its still hard to watch. they looked like frat boys during the grunge era. they look like senators sons today. central casting gave vedder a flannel to remind people that he was once relevant in teenie boppers eyes. i love their politics and a few of their songs but even when tim robbins got on stage to sing X’s “new world” the actor seemed far less full of shit than the alleged rocker. cobain is dead, vedder keeps putting out more records, life isnt fair.

next was john fogerty who looks and sounds exactly the same. ridiculously full head of hair and strong voice. his tunes sound more political now then in the late 60s when they came out. wonderful. real. springsteen calls him the hank williams of his generation because he can make simple songs that are so easy to sing, and yet the lyrics are so deep. so true.

dave matthews comes and goes on my tivo. thank you tivo.

and then out came the man. bruce springsteen and the e street band.

time has done wonders for several members of e street.

the mighty max wineberg appears nightly on the conan o’brien show, the best late night talk show on tv, when he’s not traveling the world with the boss.

third string guitarist miami steve “little steven” van zant appears each sunday on hbo’s “the sopranos”, the best drama on tv – even when its on reruns.

clarence clemons is still the big man and its always nice to hear his rich tone.

and then theres bruce himself who only gets more handsome somehow as time goes by, and tougher, and stronger, and more powerful. sadly his new records only get sappier and more somber and less important.

last night was the exception. he had found his place in the sun. he was the leader of a band of brothers who identified the enemy and were poised to help the cause to blot it out.

they didnt have to spread any lies, or pass out propaganda. infact they did just the opposite, they reminded their audience in the final all star jam that the power was with the people. that the people could decide their own destiny.

as bruce said on stage, if you are happy with the war, vote for bush, if you think the president led a nation to war for false reasons, fire him.

but james taylor had the best advice for the undecided, which miraculously there are still several thousands – if not tens of thousands.

he said, look at both candidates

and pick the smart one.

offline adventures + fast fiction + flagrant is still on the road and la notices