First, let's take a look at the Republican Party of Minnesota's attacks on the Star-Tribune's Minnesota Poll. Back in 1996, the Star-Tribune reported:

The heads of the Minnesota Republican Party have written a letter to party leaders criticizing the methodology and reporting of a Star Tribune/WCCO-TV Minnesota Poll that showed Democrat Paul Wellstone leading Republican Rudy Boschwitz by 9 percentage points in the U.S. Senate race.

In the letter, party chairman Chris Georgacas and deputy chairwoman Moonyeen Bongaards said that the paper incorrectly reported its poll Tuesday and that the poll shows that the race really is a dead heat.

Minnesota Poll Director Rob Daves dismissed the criticism, saying the Republicans' letter contained inaccuracies and selective descriptions of the poll results.

• Freedom Tower, NYC


• US Embassy, Iraq

Aides said about three-fourths of the $80 billion was expected to be for the Army, which is bearing the brunt of the fighting in Iraq. It also was expected to include money for building a U.S. embassy in Baghdad, which has been estimated to cost $1.5 billion.

On July 4, 2004, New York Governor Pataki, New Jersey Governor McGreevey, and New York City Mayor Bloomberg laid the cornerstone for Freedom Tower. The skyscraper, estimated to cost $1.5 billion, is expected to be ready for its first occupants by late 2008, while construction on the site in general is expected to last through 2015.

The hunt for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons in Iraq has come to an end nearly two years after President Bush ordered U.S. troops to disarm Saddam Hussein. The top CIA weapons hunter is home, and analysts are back at Langley.

In interviews, officials who served with the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) said the violence in Iraq, coupled with a lack of new information, led them to fold up the effort shortly before Christmas. (more...)

just saw it, seemed eerie, kinda fake?

Just saw it! Man, that is one gay terrorist. Not very effective.

I thought it looked fake, but what do I know?

Looked like a Saturday Night Live spoof to me.

Hmmm. Hollywood...Soros...could this be the work of Hollywood and soros?

Yep. It looked phony to me.

sounds very fake like someone who was bored made it.

Today the Bush-Cheney campaign released a political ad, "Wolves" in which the endangered species' image is used to portray fear. Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund President Rodger Schlickeisen offered the following statement: ...

"How ironic for George Bush, who has been the most anti-wildlife president ever, to turn to the very symbol of endangered wildlife in America -- the wolf -- for assistance in perpetuating his administration. ...

Wolves have suffered from unjust persecution for centuries, but the real 'wolf at their door' right now, is the Bush presidential campaign which threatens four more years of anti-wildlife policies.

Finally, it is worth pointing out that a wolf is a fierce defender of its homeland and it has learned that when it attacks, it needs to work with others to maximize its chance of success."

Today, Democrat Betty McCollum's campaign sent out a press release detailing the blatant lies in a mailing sent by her Republican opponent, Patrice Bataglia. Now, these aren't the typical campaign exaggerations. These are flat out lies, saying Betty voted against bills she voted for, and citing unrelated bills that were never even voted on. The facts, plus more on Patrice's recent bizarre activity, in extended entry.

His opponent is Patty Wetterling. In 1989, Patty's son, Jacob, was abducted. He has never been found. In response to her son's abduction, Patty and her husband Jerry founded the Jacob Wetterling Foundation to protect children from sexual exploitation and abduction. Patty is very well known and respected here in Minnesota. In late July, Kos reported on a poll that showed a three-point race, with Patty getting higher name recognition that the incumbant Kennedy. Patty's favorable/unfavorable ratings were also significantly better than Kennedy's. Over the past five weeks, Patty has raised over $100,000 more than Kennedy. The St Paul Pioneer Press recently endorsed her; she was the only challenger in a national race to win their endorsement. She is police endorsed.

All of this has Kennedy very, very worried, and has resulted in a move that I believe could seriously hurt him. More inside.

So what did Dem presidential contender John Kerry take out of his jacket as he approached the stage [with his back to the auditorium's audience]? What did Kerry place on the podium? Video replays of the Kerry maneuver played all weekend long on the internet. "John Kerry brought prohibited material into last Thursday's Presidential Debate," charged indcjournal.com.

What's the real story here? Over at FR (ugh) someone makes an interesting comment: "At the end of the debate does it show him placing anything back IN his breast pocket?"

A second ad, to be rolled out later, will focus on the political connections between Kerry and former Democratic presidential contender Al Sharpton.

Link to story. Link to MOFA site, videos. Transcripts in More. Sorry if this has been posted before. EDIT: More comments after transcripts. Something smells... -- Updated again!

Now Tweety says, which of those was (something like effective in the war on terror)? Zell explodes, waving his paper and saying he has many documents.

Tweety: Do Kerry/Kennedy want to defend the country? Miller WILL NOT say yes and reverts to yelling talking points.

Zell: "I'm not gonna take this!" "I wanna get in your face!" "I think we oughta cancel this interview!" "You're hopeless." "I wish we lived in the day... [Cut off by Tweety]" "Get outta my face!" "I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel!"

MORE (EDIT 1):
Zell: "Are you gonna shut up?!" "I don't know why I even came on this program!"

MORE (EDIT 2):
Tweety: "Well that was an unexpected turn of events."

April 2003: 65 US military fatalities
April 2004: 135

May 2003: 37
May 2004: 80

June 2003: 30
June 2004: 42

July 2003: 47
July 2004: 54

August 2003: 35 (25 dead through the 22nd)
August 2004: 51 (and still over one week left)

The ad mentions Iraq, health care, and outsourcing. Says Bush's campaign supports a 'front group' attacking Kerry. Says attacks have been called smears, lies; says McCain called them 'dishonest' with a graphic saying McCain called the attacks 'beyond the pale'. Says Bush smeared McCain four years ago, and now is doing it to Kerry. "George Bush:  Denounce the smear.  Get back to the issues.  America deserves better."

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