OFFICIAL prime time speaker schedule for 2004 Democrat convention

I was absolutely all a-twitter about watching the DNC this week...and then I remembered it was "toilet cleaning week", along with those dandelions that have to be dug in the front yard.

The sad truth: of the major speakers lined up on each night (the Clintons, Gore, Kennedy, etc.), Bill Clinton is probably the least liberal.

There's a Vietnam swift boat captain on the agenda - Was Kerry in 'Nam ????

I was absolutely all a-twitter about watching the DNC this week

algor screaming, Hillary schrieking, Bubba schoomzing for a legacy, yea it will be awful.

Was Kerry in 'Nam ????

didn't you hear, he singlehandedly saved the 204 crew members of his swift boat.

3 Purple Hearts in four months. But he doesn't want to say what they were for. Reliving the past must be a difficult thing for him.

LOL, I know what you mean. However I am going to watch as much of it as I can stand because I want to hear these liberals lie and bleat. Hearing them makes me mad, and when I'm mad I get motivated, and when I get motivated I work to defeat these people in November.

The fact that Obama is the prime speaker to introduce Kerry confirms my suspicions that Kerry knows Blacks are not excited about him and won't be energized to go to the polls for him and that he will lose because of this.

I see they have Mike Honda, the hack from the Cal 15th District lined up for Tuesday night. I can't imagine what that idiot will have to say. His only claim to anything is that he is one of the asswipes who wants the UN to monitor the election.

I hope he gives a spiel about that....

I agree that I haven't heard any black people yet who were really bullish on Kerry, even though almost all of them plan to vote for him. Those who have done their homework know that Kerry has spent even less time concerned about "black issues" as he spent in Vietnam. Kerry only relates to blacks as potential votes, then they will be forgotten, and this is pretty obvious. Kerry is no more one of the "brothers" than he is a "sportsman" or a Catholic. Face it, Kerry's life has been one of international travel, elite boarding schools, million dollar mansions and Ivy League kitsch; not exactly a parallel experience of most blacks.

So they plan to vote not really for Kerry, but for the Democrats. Even this paradigm is beginning to be in question since blacks are coming to the conclusion that the Democrats take their votes for granted and really don't deliver much of value except for handouts and bribes.

If they're not really voting for Kerry and they're not so sure anymore about the Democrats, will they still vote Democratic this November? You bet, overwhelmingly. It's all about ABB baby, anybody but Bush. Eventually they may wake up to the fact that George W is a lot more like them than a Massachusetts millionaire...but probably not this go-round.

Kerry is worried about low turnout, and he should.

I didn't see Kofi Annan on the list of speakers.

Did you miss him?

"I didn't see Kofi Annan on the list of speakers.
Did you miss him?"

Why, I DO believe you're correct!

BWAHA! Yeah..I remembered I needed to have my prostate examined..and I also need to sweep the lawn..LOL! :)

THE REINVENTION CONVENTION

As Sean Hannity has been calling it, the "Reinvention Convention" began in Boston. Reinvention refers to the Democrats trying to hide Senator John Kerry's record and rewriting American history. America was treated to a fine slate of speakers. Presidents Carter and Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton delighted the liberal audience. In the next several paragraphs, I will try to highlight some of the themes and remarks from the distinguished orators.

Al Gore began his speech by rehashing old memories rather than reinventing them with, "Friends, fellow Democrats, fellow Americans, I'll be candid with you. I had hoped to be back here this week under different circumstances, running for re-election." He then said, "I didn't come here tonight to talk about the past," because he would "prefer to focus on the future." Unfortunately, his past is all that he is good at talking about. After Gore said he didn't want to "talk about the past," he made one of his favorite utterances, "let's make sure that this time every vote is counted. Let's make sure....that the Supreme Court does not pick the next president." Gore's vision of the future must be clouded by his memories of the past.

JOBS

Another one of Gore's talking points, which was echoed by Bill and Hill, was about the loss of jobs during President Bush's first term. President Clinton made six "jobs" references during his speech but they were not as direct as his wife saying, "John Kerry will create good jobs, not lose them." Gore was more to the point when he asked, "Did you expect, for example,...the loss of more than a million jobs?"

I hate to add facts to such carefully chosen words but, in reality, many jobs have been created during President Bush's time in office. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total civilian labor force in June, 2004 (information released on July 2, 2004) was 147,279,000. Back in January, 2001, when President Bush was inaugurated, the total civilian labor force was 142 million. By my math, that is an increase of almost 5.3 million jobs since Bush took office. To examine the employment numbers for yourself, go to http://www.bls.gov .

DIVIDED AMERICA

Former President Clinton said, "My friends, we are constantly being told that America is deeply divided. But all Americans value freedom and faith and family." Maybe President Clinton was referring to John Kerry's vote to allow teenage girls the "freedom" to get an abortion without parental consent; however, that does not seem like much of a "family value."

Now I will get back on subject. Clinton revealed that "America is deeply divided," which was a common theme throughout the evening. Al Gore asked, "Is our country more united today? Or more divided?" Former President Carter also chimed in with "we cannot do our duty as citizens and patriots if we persue an agenda that polarizes and divides our country." I would hate to leave out one of the more polarizing politicians in the country today Hillary Cilnton. Senator Clinton noted that we have to "transcend our differences and divisions." According to President Clinton, "they (Republicans) need a divided America. But we (Democrats) don't."

All this talk about division amazes me! The party that has been dividing Americans for decades is the Democratic party. The Democrats have been dividing Americans by age, gender, race, economic status, and sexual orientation for every election cycle I can remember. They try to scare voters with claims like: "Grandma will have to eat dog food because the evil Republicans want to take away her benefits." or "George Bush was responsible for the heinous dragging death of James Byrd, a black man." More recently, during the Democrats' primary season, Senator John Edwards, Kerry's running mate, used a main theme of "two Americas." That slogan certainly seems "divisive" to me.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Former President Clinton's speech included this gem: "Tonight I come to you as a citizen, returning to the role that I have played for most of my life, as a foot soldier in our fight for the future." That is the perfect quote to kick off the Democrats' views about national defense and terrorism. Clinton further stated, "We all honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the world." Normally those would be thoughtful words but coming from someone who "loathes the military" they are hard to take seriously.

Something else that is hard to take seriously is President Carter's opinion on history and the military. "Let us not forget that the Soviets lost the Cold War because the American people combined the exercise of power with adherence to basic principles, based on sustained bipartisan support." This statement is just plain silly. Our European allies, our media, and Democrats were absolutely opposed to President Reagan's position concerning "the evil empire." Democrats in general were sure that the world was coming to an end. John Kerry specifically provided no help to end the communist threat. He would not vote in support of strengthening our military or weapons systems. The "sustained bipartisan support" cited by Carter is a reinvention for the convention.

Carter also informed the viewers that, "Elsewhere, North Korea's nuclear menace, a threat more real and immediate than any posed by Saddam Hussein, has been allowed to advance unheeded." This line was a beauty considering the efforts made by then President Clinton and former President Carter. Just over ten years ago, on June 15, 1994, Carter arrived in North Korea on a private mission to attempt to reduce tensions with the Communist nation. On June 16, he reported that North Korean leaders were eager to resume talks with the U.S. to improve relations and resolve disputes about Pyongyang's nuclear program. Then, six days later, President Clinton announced North Korea had confirmed its willingness to freeze its nuclear program. "North Korea's nuclear menace" was "allowed to advance unheeded" because of two enablers who like talk more than action - Democratic presidents, Carter and Clinton! It is funny how well Al Gore remembers the past and how poorly Carter remembers.

One other statement from last night has me puzzled. Senator Clinton asserted that "we need to....provide veterans, the National Guard, and Reserve with the benefits they're entitled to." I thought the Democrats believed that you shouldn't even give a former member of the National Guard the time of day. Bill Clinton gave the more common view, that John Kerry served in Vietnam, but Bush "avoided going." So, are we supposed to respect those who served in the Guard or ridicule them?

SOCIALISM

Even though the word "socialism" was not used by the speakers, it was still a common thread weaving through the messages of Monday's speakers. Here are a few lines from the Clintons: "We Democrats want to build a world and an America of shared responsibilities and shared benefits." "Our nominee, John Kerry, favors shared responsibility, shared opportunity and more global cooperation." "We need to rededicate ourselves to the task of providing coverage for 44 million Americans who are uninsured and the millions of others who face rising costs." These words sound fine and make you feel good inside but when a government mandates, then forcibly takes money from one individual and redistributes it to another, that government is practicing socialism. "Shared responsibilities and shared benefits" sounds very much like Marx's "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." You decide.

There are many more points from the speeches that could be brought up and examined in detail. Instead, I will just give a quick glimpse of some of the other topics: John Kerry's leadership and conviction ("I actually did vote for the 87 billion before I voted against it."); violations of civil liberties (which stemmed from the PATRIOT Act which Kerry voted for); global-warming (There was a lot of hot air in and around the Fleet Center.); education, energy dependence (but not drilling for oil in Alaska or building wind farms off the Massachusetts coast); interdependence, and why the rest of the world hates America as much as the Democrats do.

I will briefly mention one additional similarity among Monday's orations. All but one of the speakers mentioned God. "Thank you and God bless America!" was said by Carter. "Thank you God bless you and your families and may God bless the United States of America." was Al Gore's ending. President Clinton finished with, "God bless you" and earlier in his speech used, "Remember the scripture: 'Be not afraid.'" Is there going to be outrage from the ACLU or Americans United for the Separation of Church and State?