Charlie Jarvis, chairmen of USA NEXT appeared on Inside Politics and tried to spin his way out of that disgusting ad.

Woodruff: ...is USA NEXT going to run this ad some more, and why'd you only have it up for one day?

Jarvis: We were testing to see if the left liberal groups would over react and they did. The hypothesis was that they'd focus on one single, tiny image on one website ..

Woodruff: It worked.

Jarvis: It worked. By the end of yesterday, to show you how crazy the left liberal groups are and that they have a death wish on Social Security. They were literally having people call (pause)television stations all over the country to pull the ad that didn't exist. Remarkable.

His rational that a scathing reaction to a sickening ad is a "death wish" is ludicrous. That death wish will ultimately rest on the head of Jarvis, and USA NEXT.

Michael Tanner, from the Cato Institute was appalled.

TANNER : Well, we're very disappointed in this ad. full transcript ....We don't think that we should be going down the road to in essence a bigoted approach to gay rights or things of that nature in order to sell the very positive approach that we have for individual accounts.

Video

When you put an ad on a website, it's real.. This kind of sleazy, disgusting display reflects the moral values that your company holds true and ultimately USA NEXT will be thought of not as an alternative to AARP, but as a bigoted, conniving company that will say anything to make a buck. Let's say we believed your bullshit excuse Charlie, that it was a tiny, little ad to trick the left wing groups. (our influence is appreciated) What do you think the reaction of the right wing sites would be to an ad the AARP ran that said this Charlie?

"A starving, elderly couple with graying hair, homeless and in tattered clothes are scavenging through a dumpster looking for food. The Word "Hopeless" is stencilled across the center in red / Flip side: A well dressed Wall Street executive is laughing, smoking a big cigar, drinking some champagne at a casino with a hot chic on his arm while throwing a pair of dice. The word "Jackpot" stenciled across the center in blue. The copy:

George Bush’s Social Security plan will deprive the elderly and the youth of our country the security they might need to live and eat in dignity. While the fat cats at Wall Street will be gambling away the safety net that Social Security provides for their own personal gain. Thanks President Bush. We know who you really care about."

How do you think that one, tiny ad would play out?

Republican’s are freaking out about the voter turnout in Florida. They are trying to close the vote down at 7:00PM. Sharp. No matter if you are on line or not. The unofficial word on the street is that out of the approximate 18% who have voted already, the edge is going to Kerry 2-1. We are manning the phones reassuring democrats that they will be able to vote if they get on line before 7:00PM, no matter how long it takes to actually vote. We will also be bringing food and drinks to all voters waiting on line throughout the day and night.

Date: Thursday Night December 2, 2004
Place: Wadsworth Theatre, Brentwood, CA.
Event: Michael Moore and John Dean

"IF YOU PASS OUT FLIERS YOU WILL BE ARRESTED. THIS IS FEDERAL PROPERTY. WE HAVE MANY PLAIN CLOTHES AGENTS ON THE PROPERTY TONIGHT. IF YOU ARE PROTESTING YOU WILL BE ARRESTED," barked a muscular African-American through an electronic bullhorn.
The crowd, which looked like it was on line for an opera, glanced nervously at one another and muttered.
"NO TALKING RIGHT NOW FOLKS. I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT. PLEASE, IF YOU CONTINUE TO TALK YOU WILL BE ARRESTED. THIS IS FEDERAL PROPERTY," bellowed the Man.
Jerry Rubin, the local West L.A. activist had heard enough. he jumped out of the sedintary line and demanded to know why he couldn't pass out his flyer for his "Fuck Bush New Year's Eve Comedy Showcase & Dance Party."
"SIR, YOU WILL BE ARRESTED IF YOU CONTINUE. THIS IS FEDERAL PROPERTY. ANYONE WITH RECORDING EQUIPMENT OR DEVICES WILL BE TURNED AWAY....YOU WILL BE SEARCHED...."
Anyway, the harangue continued as the quiet crowd shrugged and simply flowed in to fill the theatre to capacity. Apparently folks are getting used to a Post 9/11 Patriot Act world.

The event, featuring Watergate wunderkind, John Dean and filmmaker Michael Moore was structured as an interview/therapy session of sorts with Dean, the lawyer/author/teacher posing the quizicals to Moore the "rebellious student/prodigal son".

"Why did you focus on George W. Bush as a subject for your latest movie?" asked Dean.

Moore explained how he was out here in Santa Monica on 9/11and his daughter was back East in New York. Calling a friend at the World Trade Center, he heard the first tower collapse over the phone while he held it to his ear. In addition, he revealed that his line producer had been on the fateful flight that had come out of Boston and crashed into the WTC. He and his wife rented a car and drove 3,000 miles back to NYC. Along the way, he thought, "What did the President know and when did he know it?" Dean and Moore chuckled as did the audience.

Moore then went on to spin a hilarious long winding story of how he ended up with Miramax as a producer of his latest blockbuster, "Fahrenheit 9/11". The story involved Mel Gibson, 3 Passover sedars and five jews.

Regarding "Bowling For Columbine," Moore's Oscar-winning documentary, he told the crowd not to have any preconceived notions when making a documentary. He explained that when he went to Canada to learn about their gun control policies, he was shocked to learn that Canadian citizens possessed more guns per capita than their American cousins. Moore was confused he said, but soon realized that "Guns don't kill people. Americans kill people!"

He also indicated that an early plot line of "BFC" was for him to run for President of the NRA and beat Charlton Heston. Once elected Moore intended to disband the group permanently.

Dean: "I'm gonna say a word or a phrase and you tell me the first thing that pops into your head."
Mooore: "Oh I thought you were gonna aske me who Deep Throat was?
Dean: "I'm gonna let the audience grade your answers."

Dean: "Laura Bush."
Moore: "Killer."
Dean: "That's two words."
Moore: "No! I said killer, not Kill Her!"
Dean: "Explain"
Moore: "She killed a man when she was 17. Her ex-boyfriend who had broken up with her. It was November of 1963 in Midland, Texas. She ran a stop sign. Michael Douglass was his name. Star quarterback of the football team. It was 10 days before the Kennedy assassination. I just say that for the assassination buffs! Imagine if Hillary Clinton had killed her boyfriend? We'd never hear the end of it."
The raucous crowd roared with laughter and hoots.
Dean: "Karl Rove"
Moore: "Congradulations"
(Audience HISSES)

Dean: "Donald Rumsfeld"
Moore: "War criminal"
(Audience CHEERS)
Moore then went on to spin a hilarious long winding story of how he ended up with Miramax as a producer of his latest blockbuster, "Fahrenheit 9/11". The story involved Mel Gibson, 3 Passover sedars and five jews.

Regarding "Bowling For Columbine," Moore's Oscar-winning documentary, he told the crowd not to have any preconceived notions when making a documentary. He explained that when he went to Canada to learn about their gun control policies, he was shocked to learn that Canadian citizens possessed more guns per capita than their American cousins. Moore was confused he said, but soon realized that "Guns don't kill people. Americans kill people!"

He also indicated that an early plot line of "BFC" was for him to run for President of the NRA and beat Charlton Heston. Once elected Moore intended to disband the group permanently.... part II tomorrow

Judy Miller the Diva

Judy was on Larry King Thursday night, and gave a virtuoso performance in denial. With a sophomoric grin and a delusional account of what happened to her at the NY Times, Judy was a talking point of the battered soul. The victim in all of this.

Download | play -WMP Download | play -QT

She was stunned and saddened over her perceived attacks by Maureen Dowd and Arianna Huffington against her great character. After all, it was only a few stories that were slightly off in her mind after twenty-eight years of reporting. The WMD reports were a mere blip on the screen based on slightly faulty intelligence. It could happen to anyone right-Judy? Miller was particularly annoyed at that pesky word " entanglement," Bill Keller used.

Let's clear that up, after all what's more important- a war that you helped promote, helping your pal Scooter Libby who's involved in outing a CIA agent or a single expression? She refused to answer any questions about Scooter's upcoming case even though she is legally allowed to. So how are the Aspens this time of year?

C-list talk show host Mark Williams was on ShowBiz Tonight 9/8 and let all his racist, extremely incompetent republican talking points blather out of his mouth as a stunned Morris Reid watched on.

Williams: ..they didn't have the necessary brains and common sense to get out of the way of a Cat 5 Hurricane and then when it hit them- stood on the side of the convention Center expiring while reporters were coming and going..

Morris:...that's just sickening---that is atrocious what you are saying...

He calls Kanye West a racist while he spews racism.

Williams: The only role race plays in this is that the American black population has been the prototype for an entire race of people being, being turned into a group of dependents of the government--trapped there, I'm using that word very loosely are screaming we want help, we want help..

Mark, the people were locked in the Convention center and armed personnel wouldn't let them off of the bridge you fool.

Download | play -WMP
Download | play -QT
VideBittorent-WMP-higher quality
VideBittorent-Mov

(Correction) misquoted.

Morris: I'm afraid you shouldn't be an American."

He also called Kanye West a Klansman in Black face. I'm trying to figure out who West lynched.

This man is "Puke." That's the term I coined for him from his appearance on Hardball. By the way, he sent out emails claiming that my website was threatening to kill his dog the last time. Imbecile.

A classified State Department memorandum central to a federal leak investigation contained information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked "(S)" for secret, a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it should have been aware the information was classified, according to current and former government officials..read on.

Let's try to play the Ken Mehlman spin game. How can we change the word "secret" into something else. How about....

Mehlman: (S) could have meant anything Tim, I mean it could have meant don't get (S)weat on the report, or it's a pretty (S)weet report, or it's a (S)pecial report Tim, but the bottom line here is that this new information by Mr. Pincus absolutely, unequivocally and irrevocably clears Karl Rove of any wrong doing.

Russert: It says (S) for secret Ken.

Mehlman: If that's what you think it says Tim, but not to me and not to the American people.

"It records that the INR analyst at the meeting opposed Wilson's trip to Niger because the State Department, through other inquiries, already had disproved the allegation that Iraq was seeking uranium from Niger"

You can speculate on what Mehlman will say about that.

Kos says: No rest for Rove: Well, Roberts bought Rove all of what, 24 hours?

What is a Billion? essays & effluvia

The next time you hear a politician use the word "billion," casually, think about whether you want the politician spending your tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into perspective in one of its releases.
a.. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
b.. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
c.. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the StoneAge.
d.. A billion days ago no-one walked on two feet on earth.
e.. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government spends it.

Bipartisan Budget Woes Rear Window Ethics

The conservative Heritage Foundation and the more liberal Brookings Institute sat down jointly yesterday to explain that in less than 40 years, if taxes are not raised and spending is not cut, the United States economy will near collapse as the country will be only capable of paying interest on the growing federal debt.

Meanwhile the White House has been touting the fact that the deficit will shrink in the next year. What both groups that spoke yesterday agree on is the fact that after the few years of possible deficit shrinkage (for lack of a better word), it will skyrocket after that.

What ever happened to worrying about future generations? Didn't leadership in both parties talk about that a lot in the not too distant past? Just a few years later all they seem to be able to do is worry about Terri Schiavo and a handful of judges, while they happen to pass a pork-filled highway bill without anyone noticing. Washington Post: Almost Unnoticed, Bipartisan Budget Anxiety

Simple Simon

via Roger AIles

There's a word for this post. Genius. Read it.