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September 9, 2004 Documents Suggest Special Treatment for Bush in Guard By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE and RALPH BLUMENTHAL ASHINGTON, Sept. 8 - President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the National Guard came under renewed scrutiny on Wednesday as newfound documents emerged from his squadron commander's file that suggested favorable treatment. At the same time, a once powerful Texas Democrat came forward to say that he had "abused my position of power" by helping Mr. Bush and others join the Guard. Democrats also worked to stoke the issue with a new advertisement by a Texas group that featured a former lieutenant colonel,...

Have at him!

Excerpts.... The Kerry end is near? At this precise time every four years, the most media-savvy members of the Gang of 500 begin to think about their roles in the premiere post-election forum that revisits the actions and players of the presidential race. But if nothing changes in the race as it now stands — with President Bush winning a decent-sized victory — much of the talk will be about the greater technical proficiency of the Bush-Cheney effort.Democrats, who deny up and down that they had anything to do with the documents, tell ABC News that they plan to continue...

<p>September 10, 2004 -- THE populist revolu tion against the so- called mainstream media continues. Yesterday, the citizen journalists who produce blogs on the Internet — and their engaged readers — engaged in the wholesale exposure of what appears to be a presidential-year dirty trick against George W. Bush. What the bloggers and their audiences did was call into profound question the authenticity of four documents proudly trumpeted by CBS News in a much-heralded investigative report on Wednesday night's edition of "60 Minutes" about the president's National Guard service in the early 1970s.</p>

This is a serious crime, altering military records to not only slander a war-time President, but that also suggest criminal activity. These forged memos suggested serious charges against our President, and should not be taken lightly. Whenever the Democrats suggest the Republicans might have done something wrong, they demand a full-scale congressional investigations. These memos are linked to sources inside the DNC, and it is important to get to the bottom of this. Whomever did this commited a serious crime. Our limp-wristed Representives must grow a backbone and demand that this be thoroughly and quickly investigated. I can guarentee you,...

Better than a cuddle party, and cheaper too.

LONDON, Ky., Aug. 26 - It was not so long ago, historians say, that some voting places in eastern Kentucky were virtual vote-buying bazaars. Brokers bartered half pints of whiskey and $10 bills for votes just outside polling station doors. The cheap ones could be bought for beer. The smart voters always sold twice. Those brazen days are gone. But, prosecutors and political experts say, the mountain tradition of vote-selling is not. And in a wide-ranging conspiracy trial that opened here this week, federal prosecutors are contending that influential people still try to buy elections in eastern Kentucky, just in...

LOS ANGELES (Talon News) -- After being recently named the subject of several complaints of racism and discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Los Angeles-based chapter of the pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood now faces another formal complaint with the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Justice Department. The group is being charged with actively campaigning for and supporting Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry. Lively & Ackerman law firm filed their complaint with the Department of Justice on August 25, 2004 alleging several electioneering violations by Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles, California. Since the group is a tax-exempt...

Senator Also May Have Set Up Meetings Between Chinese Firms, U.S. Officials (WASHINGTON, D.C.) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released recently declassified documents showing that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry accepted laundered contributions for his 1996 re-election campaign from the Communist Chinese government and that, in exchange, he may have arranged meetings between Chinese aerospace executives and U.S. government officials. Obtained from the FBI through Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests, the documents are related to the FBI’s “Chinagate” investigation into the Clinton campaign’s acceptance of contributions from Communist...

Even as Sen. John Kerry and his cheerleaders in Big Media try to associate President Bush with the modestly funded Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, they remain silent about the links Kerry and the Democrat party have to multimillion-dollar Bush-hating groups. But they cannot keep concealing these ties, because NewsMax has uncovered multiple examples. Thanks in part to tips from readers nationwide who are outraged about the blatant bias of the media establishment, we have found the following: # From Democrats.org, a Web site of the Democratic National Committee, May 9, 2003: “The Democratic Party is partnering with MoveOn.org, People...

Dear MoveOn Members, Three words sum up why we need to take action today: The Supreme Court. I need you to join me in keeping the Supreme Court out of the hands of right wing ideologues. I am prepared to filibuster, if necessary, any Supreme Court nominee who would turn back the clock on a woman’s right to choose, on civil rights and individual liberties, and on the laws protecting workers and the environment. If you agree with me that there should be no equivocation, no double-speak, no avoidance of the issue, then sign my online petition today at: http://petition.johnkerry.com...

Boston, MA, Jul. 29 (UPI) -- Third-party anti-Bush groups -- Democrats' financial benefactors -- tiptoed a careful line during the Democratic National Convention in Boston, skirting any inkling of the coordination forbidden by campaign-finance regulations. Several 527 organizations, so-called because of their designation with the Internal Revenue Service, wined and dined donors alongside Democratic and Kerry campaign officials at top-dollar hotels in Boston. America Coming Together and the Media Fund, two of the largest 527 organizations, held a news briefing early in the week at the Four Seasons, the same hotel where top party donors were picking up their special...

Presidential candidate John Kerry can count on the support of at least one group of Vietnam Veterans – and they're still in Vietnam. Following Kerry's denunciation of the ad by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, criticizing him for exaggerating his war record, a group of former U.S. soldiers gathered in Hanoi to express their support for Kerry and to call President Bush a "draft dodger" for his service in the Texas Air National Guard during the war. And they were selling T-shirts to tourists to raise money for Kerry's campaign. The $5 shirts sport a picture of President Bush with...

The Kerry campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission that alleged the group behind the ad was illegally coordinating its efforts with the Bush-Cheney campaign. It cited "recent press reports" and the group's own statements. The Bush campaign denied the allegation. Campaigns often file complaints with the FEC, but the agency rarely intervenes quickly enough to alter the course of a race. Kerry campaign spokesperson Stephanie Cutter sought to turn the argument over presidential readiness back on the White House. "Mr. McClellan needs to understand that John Kerry is not the type of leader who will sit and...

Protesters have been targeting government and corporate websites for years. But when online activists strike at Republican domains during the G.O.P.'s convention later this month, the digital demonstrations might turn out to be more than symbolic, for once. In the past, activists have been able to shut down the website of, say, the World Economic Forum for a few hours. But the impact of such a takedown was nebulous at best: It's hard to argue the organization really suffered from a few-hour lag in posting its press releases online. In this year's presidential race, however, campaign websites have moved beyond...

WASHINGTON - Three campaign finance watchdog groups filed a complaint Tuesday accusing a group of Vietnam veterans of violating the campaign finance law by airing an ad that challenges Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (news - web sites)'s military record. Democracy 21, the Center for Responsive Politics and the Campaign Legal Center argue that the ad by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth violates a federal ban on the use of unlimited donations, often referred to as "soft money," to influence federal elections. In the ad, the group accuses Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, of lying about his war record and...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A team of international observers will monitor the presidential election in November, according to the U.S. State Department. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was invited to monitor the election by the State Department. The observers will come from the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. It will be the first time such a team has been present for a U.S. presidential election. "The U.S. is obliged to invite us, as all OSCE countries should," spokeswoman Urdur Gunnarsdottir said. "It's not legally binding, but it's a political commitment. They signed a document 10...

(CNSNews.com) - A government watchdog group says the finances of the "Vote for Change" rock-music tour deserve the same scrutiny as the finances for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ad campaign. The controversial Swift Boat ad features Vietnam Veterans who accuse Sen. John F. Kerry of lying about his war record. The Democratic Party says none of the veterans appearing in the ad served on a Swift Boat with Kerry. Democrats call the ad completely false -- a smear campaign. The Vote for Change tour - featuring Bruce Springsteen and other anti-Bush pop music celebrities - is billed...

Bruce Springsteen, REM, and more tour for political change. SEATTLE, WA.  Friday 8.6.2004  /netmusiccountdown.com/ -- Is political change in the air for the USA? Artists like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, REM, John Mellencamp, Babyface, John Fogerty, The Dave Matthews Band, Ben Harper, Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks hope so. These musicians, along with James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Jurassic 5, Keb' Mo', Bright Eyes, Death Cab for Cutie and My Morning Jacket, have formed a coalition of musicians who make up the Vote For Change Tour. Presented by MoveOn PAC, the tour launches October 1, one month before the...

With a fervor that hasn't been witnessed since musicians in the late '60s united to protest President Richard M. Nixon and America's involvement in the Vietnam War, some of the biggest names in popular music are coming together for an unprecedented series of fund-raising concerts with the goal of unseating President Bush on Nov. 2. Superstars from several diverse genres in rock and country -- among them Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, R.E.M., Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks -- are among the more than 20 bands taking part in the Vote for Change tour, announced Wednesday with a publicity blitz...

New York Times August 5, 2004 OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Chords for Change By BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN nation's artists and musicians have a particular place in its social and political life. Over the years I've tried to think long and hard about what it means to be American: about the distinctive identity and position we have in the world, and how that position is best carried. I've tried to write songs that speak to our pride and criticize our failures. These questions are at the heart of this election: who we are, what we stand for, why we fight. Personally, for the last...

SPARTANBURG, SC (Talon News) -- Liberal political action group MoveOn.org encouraged its members on Monday to "echo Kerry's message" to overcome the "misleading attack ads" from the Bush campaign in the coming weeks. In an e-mail to supporters, MoveOn.org founder Eli Pariser said liberal Democrats should be excited by Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA) after last week's Democratic National Convention in Boston. "Last week, John Kerry laid out a powerful vision for our country in his speech at the Democratic Convention," Pariser remarked. However, Pariser said MoveOn.org supporters need to prepare for a wave of political attacks...

Artists back effort to unseat Bush Several leading Norwegian artists are donating works to a local campaign aimed at driving US President George W Bush out of office. The campaign, called "Tellhim.no," is raising money to place an ad in the Washington Post just before the US election in November. The artists include painter Frans Widerberg and photographer Morten Krogvold. One of Widerberg's paintings, for example, will be auctioned in August over the campaign's web site, with proceeds from a sale going towards efforts to unseat Bush. "We are frustrated and shaken over what's been going on," Widerberg told Norwegian...

As I understand it, broadcasts advocating the election or defeat of a candidate for federal office cannot be aired X days before a general election. If that is the case then isn't it the case that: 1. Michael Moore is prohibited from running commercials for the DVD/Video release of F911 within that period of time before the general election; and 2. Cable companies are prohibited from broadcasting F911 (either programmed broadcasting or "on demand" pay-per-view) within that period before the general election? Has there been anything written on this? Is there any litigation or FEC complaints pending?

July 13, 2004, 1:41AM Kerry forms legal team to fight abuse at polls By STEWART M. POWELL and MARK HELM Hearst News Service BOSTON --Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Monday announced creation of a nationwide legal SWAT team of election lawyers to combat the kind of voting irregularities that occurred in Florida four years ago, contributing to the disputed election of President Bush by five electoral votes. Kerry said his team would take "tough action" to prevent the kind of voter "intimidation and harassment" that kept an estimated 1 million African-American voters from the polls in 2000 and prevented...

3. I Will Adopt 5 Nonvoters I Know and Take Them to the Polls. You know who they are. Your slacker friends who have given up on the whole rotten group of politicians who run this country. Or they're the people you know who have had their lives made full of hardships thanks to the policies set by those very politicians. They too, have given up. And who can blame them? Why should they waste two minutes on voting? Of course, that is just what those in power want them thinking. The more of us who give up, the more...

Fake voter sign-ups increasing By ERIN NEFF and BRIAN HAYNES REVIEW-JOURNAL Nevada's position as a battleground state in the presidential election has sparked a surge in fake voter registrations, Clark County's top election official said. "We've never seen anything close to this," said Larry Lomax, registrar of voters. So far, the office has flagged several hundred suspicious registration forms, but Lomax believes many more escaped detection among the 5,000 forms coming through his office every week. "There are stupid criminals out there, and there are smart ones," Lomax said. "We can spot the stupid ones because they submit them in...

According to some Democratic lawmakers, you aren't capable of voting this year without a United Nations monitor making sure you get it right. Nine prominent Democrats, elected members of the House of Representatives, have sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, begging him to send UN monitors to oversee the 2004 election. Florida representative Eddie Bernice Johnson led the latest effort to subvert the sovereignty of the United States and place us under the control of the increasingly-corrupt United Nations. Let me get this straight. A group of Democrats want to bring some people from countries like North Korea,...

By WDBO's: Mike Synan 07/02/2004 WDBO is getting it's first look at what evidence Ken Mulvaney and Lawanna Gelzer have in their lawsuit alledging ballot fraud in the Orlando Mayor's race. We told you two weeks ago about some of the affadavits filed by the city saying nothing was done wrong. AM 580 WDBO's Mike Synan continues our team coverage. At the center of this issue is the head of Orange County's League of Voters Ezzie Thomas. He was paid 10 thousand dollars by Mayor Buddy Dyer's reelection campaign. Several voters signed affadavits saying they gave Thomas a signed, but...

One Man, Two Registrations Michael Moore simultaneously on voter rolls in New York, Michigan JUNE 28--Prior to last week's Washington, D.C. premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore denied that the new film represents his de facto endorsement of John Kerry. "I am an Independent," the filmmaker told reporters. "I'm not a member of the Democratic party." Which is not exactly correct. New York City Board of Elections records show that Moore, 50, registered to vote in Gotham in 1992, checking off "Democratic" as his party affiliation (below you'll find a copy of his original registration form). He listed his address...

[snip]Our concern is with another aspect of Moore's movie: It's basically a two-hour attack ad on President Bush. "I hope this country will be back in our hands in a very short period of time," Moore says. That is, he hopes that his movie will make John Kerry president. Moore certainly has the right to pursue such a goal as he pleases. America prizes freedom of speech, Exhibit A being all the tendentiously conspiratorial — and just plain stupid — movies that Michael Moore has churned out over the years. But should this unapologetically partisan piece of "art" count as...

Free spirits frolic at Fremont festivities By Diane Brooks Seattle Times staff reporter It was a great day to be naked. But we only can hope those bicyclists mixed some sunscreen with all that psychedelic body paint and glitter that so vividly depicted the flamboyant heart of Fremont. Seattle welcomed summer yesterday with its 16th annual Solstice Parade, a joyous, 75-minute celebration of all things wild and pagan. "I love it, because it's not 64 big sparkly floats with beauty queens on top waving, and people politely applauding when they go by," said volunteer traffic controller Chelsea Teller, who coordinated...

Why am I running for governor of Texas in 2006? Why the hell not? I already have several good campaign slogans, starting with "How hard could it be?" Compared with the daunting financial crunch that Arnold Schwarzenegger inherited when he became governor of California, being governor of Texas is a notoriously easy gig. It's rather like being the judge of a giant chili cook-off. Consider that in the past a series of wealthy Texas oilmen have ascended to the office, some of them rarely bothering to leave their ranches to go to Austin unless there was a football game. And...

''Fahrenheit 9/11'' finds domestic distributor GARY GENTILE, AP Business Writer Tuesday, June 1, 2004 (06-01) 17:30 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Moore's award-winning documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" has picked up a U.S. distributor and will hit theaters June 25. The film will be released by a partnership of Lions Gate Films, IFC Films and the Fellowship Adventure Group, which was formed by Harvey and Bob Weinstein specifically to market Moore's film. The Weinsteins, who run Miramax Films, bought the rights to the movie from The Walt Disney Co., which owns Miramax and refused to distribute Moore's film. The Weinstein brothers...

In April, Zack Exley was named director of Internet organizing for presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, making him the Democrat's point man on the cyber front in the battle for voters. His background: the operator of a satirical website called GWBush.com and the subject of a federal complaint filed by lawyers for George Bush, according to a report in the LA Times. Exley’s GWBush.com site in 1999 featured doctored photos of then-Governor Bush with cocaine residue under his nose. Exley also posted fake campaign statements under such headlines as "George II: Restoring the Throne to its Rightful...

DISNEY FORBIDS DISTRIBUTION OF MICHAEL MOORE FILM THAT CRITICIZES BUSH Headline only on board now; story just breaking -- Details to follow.

By JIM RUTENBERG and LAURA M. HOLSON Published: May 6, 2004 ASHINGTON, May 5 — Michael Moore took to television on Wednesday to denounce the Walt Disney Company's refusal to allow its Miramax division to distribute his new documentary criticizing President Bush, stoking a controversy that Hollywood executives expect to lure new distribution partners to the project and, eventually, audiences. As Mr. Moore sat for interviews with ABC News, CNN, "Entertainment Tonight" and elsewhere to discuss his film, "Fahrenheit 911," some Democrats in Washington said Disney was quashing dissent. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey called for hearings into...

PHILADELPHIA -- Last week, Sen. John Kerry was interviewed on MTV's Choose or Lose, during which he was asked predictably useless questions, such as, "Are you cool?" and "What musical and cultural movements interest you?" It was, nevertheless, interesting that his answer to the former was as muddled as the Massachusetts senator's view on a host of other things. And it was comically surreal to hear a Beacon Hill Yalie deem hip hop respectable poetry -- Kerry sailed with the Kennedys, who quoted Aeschylus, and he admires 50 Cent? There is, however, no comedy in the way young people are...

SPARTANBURG, SC (Talon News) -- Liberal anti-Bush online political activist group MoveOn.org sent a warning message to its members this week regarding the upcoming ruling by the Federal Election Commission about the legality of so-called 527 groups accepting soft campaign contributions to run political ads."The Republican National Committee is pressing the Federal Election Commission to issue new rules that would cripple groups that dare to communicate with the public in any way critical of President Bush or members of Congress," MoveOn.org charged in an e-mail to supporters.In the e-mail, MoveOn.org attempts to scare "conservative, progressive, labor, religious, secular, social...

By now I'm sure you've heard of www.democraticunderground.com ... a website where your Democrat neighbors can go to trade ideas and thoughts about this year's election. One of our alert listeners lifted a few postings on this website that I thought you might enjoy. Here, my friends, are your loving, compassionate Democratic neighbors at work. Why don't we all sit back and let them chose our next president ... waddaya say? Here's the first post: As we've heard again and again recently, if we are going to beat this bunch of rule breaking GOP misanthropes, we're going to have to...

On March 22, 2002, during the debate over McCain-Feingold, John Kerry said, “The American people have become almost numb to these kinds of staggering figures, and they have come to expect fund-raising records to be broken with each election cycle.” He continued, “What is far worse for our democracy is that the public also believes that this money buys access and influence that average citizens don't have.... We can't go on leaving our citizens with the impression that the only kind of influence left in American politics is the kind you wield with a checkbook.” source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4487131/ What a difference...

<p>BERKELEY, Calif. -- The biggest powerhouse in progressive politics had decidedly inauspicious beginnings: an overheard conversation at a local Chinese restaurant, a high-tech chain letter, and $89.</p> <p>Five years ago, tech entrepreneurs Joan Blades and her husband, Wes Boyd -- whose company gave the world the flying-toaster screen saver -- were eating lunch and listening to a group at a nearby table lamenting the time and energy wasted on the President Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal. Blades and Boyd decided to start a petition urging Congress to forgo impeachment, censure Clinton instead, and move on. They e-mailed it to their friends, asked them to pass it on, and paid $89 to set up a website where people could register their support.</p>

<p>Liberal singer Madonna is considering lending her support to right-wing British political party the Conservatives, by attending its annual winter ball in London on Tuesday. The Material Girl and husband Guy Ritchie are expected to go to the Grosvenor House Hotel as guests of Guy's dad John and stepmother Shireen, who is the chairperson of the exclusive Kensington and Chelsea Conservative Association.</p>

<p>NEW YORK (AP) — They haven't got a name or a launch date yet, but the entrepreneurs who dream of launching a liberal radio network have just landed themselves a lead man: Comedian and best-selling author Al Franken. Progress Media and Franken told The Associated Press Tuesday they have reached an agreement for Franken to host a live, three-hour daily broadcast that would form the anchor of the programming schedule.</p>

I have come across, (in the Japanese language), the directing of Japanese in Japan (foreign nationals/small contributions) to stateside contribution websites for the HOWARD DEAN FOR PRESIDENT campaign.The Japanese site is located located at:http://web.sfc.keio.ac.jp/~lune1978/mt/archives/000218.htmlThe post is from mid-August, but is still up. You will need a font/browser and Japanese language comprehension capabilities to understand the solicitation. This report follows research provided to FREE REPUBLIC in August 2003 [ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/953876/posts ] also exposing the DENNIS KUCINICH campaign (which is still openly soliciting in Japanese FOREIGN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS), on the internet in Japan. This also follows Matt Drudge's recent expose on...

(You will need a browser with Japanese font capability, and ability to comprehend written Japanese) As a FReeper Researcher, I have just come across a JAPANESE organization, based on an overseas JAPANESE website, in JAPANESE, that is encouraging foreigners to contribute money to and assist the "Campaign for American President Dennis Kucinich".The URL of the activity was located at:http://www.peace2001.org/ The organization is called "Global Peace Campaign" located in Japan. It is part of an umbrella of socialist and communist organizations opposing US efforts in Iraq, it supports North Korea, and is aligned with the usual communist movements.The website has...

CAMPAIGN CASH RACE TURNS INTERNATIONAL; MOVEON.ORG CENTER OF INTRIGUE; CLARK SEEKS CANADIAN SUPPORT, WEBSITE SHOWS Frustrated with the lack of domestic support, left-leaning website moveon.org has apparently been reaching beyond American borders to generate cash revenue over the Internet! The provocative international fundraising strategy threatens to embroil the presidential candidacy of General Wesley Clark and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean. Both men are named on international fundraising websites suggesting donations to moveon.org... Moveon.org, which has been running ads critical of the Bush Administration, has named an "International Campaigns Director." It is not clear how much money has been raised from...

Sad day for freedomMona Charen (archive) December 12, 2003 | Print | Send On Dec. 10, 2003, freedom took two body blows. The first was the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to permit the limitation of political speech. This is not exotic dancing or flag burning. This is "Vote for Sam Smith" -- the beating heart of our democracy. The Supreme Court has just tied a gag around our mouths, and most of the intellectual class is delighted. Apologists obscure the crude reality of this repression by calling it "campaign finance reform." Well, you can call...

<p>Who could have imagined that the same Court which, within the past four years, has sternly disapproved of restrictions upon such inconsequential forms of expression as virtual child pornography, tobacco advertising, dissemination of illegally intercepted communications, and sexually explicit cable programming, would smile with favor upon a law that cut to the heart of what the First Amendment is meant to protect: the right to criticize the government.</p>