Too bad the press is so against Bush. The last couple of days they have been attacking him with half-truths and outright lies.

Claim: Paul Bremmer says that more troops are needed to subdue Iraq.
The real story: Bremmer says that more troops were needed to stop the looting that happened immediately after Saddam fled Bagdad. The generals in charge feared that more troops might make the Iraqis hostile. He admits that they might have been right.

Claim: The report by the chief weapons inspector showed that there were no WMDs. Bush must have known that before the war and therefor lied.
The real story: Saddam wanted Iran to think that he still had WMDs. He even told his generals that he had them. When someone says, "I have WMDs and I'm not afraid to use them!" do you assume that he is telling the truth or that he is lying?

Claim: Saddam was a "dimished power" and posed no threat to the world.
The real story: Saddam had his WMD programs in mothballs but he retained enough knowledge to restart them quickly as soon as sanctions were ended. He made no secret of his intention of re-arming. The head of his nuclear program and author of "The Bomb in my Garden" says that they could have reconstructed the nuclear program in two years. Saddam was also attempting to buy long-range missles from Korea.

Claim: The sanction were working.
The real story: Saddam was skimming money off of the top of the sanctions and using it to build palaces and, more importantly, to bribe UN Security Council members. This included France, Russia, and China, countries that have veto power. Also, the sanctions were estimated to be killing somewhere between 10,000-50,000 Iraqis per year through lack of food and medical treatments (the higher numbers come from leftist organizations pushing to end the sanctions).

Claim: We should have listened to our (wiser) allies.
The real story: See the part above about bribery.

Bottom line - if we hadn't invaded when we did Saddam would still be in power and half-way to rearming.

All of this is covered in detail here.

Between attacks on Bush election headquarters, vandalism being done to Bush sign (and sometimes to the houses or yards that they are on) and the keying of cars with Bush bumper stickers, we might need those independant election monitors after all - to keep an eye on Kerry's people.

Here's a request being sent to the Attorney General by nearly fifty members of Congress:

October 7, 2004
Attorney General John Ashcroft

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue

NWWashington DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Ashcroft:

This week, in Orlando, Florida, approximately 100 protestors stormed and ransacked the local Bush-Cheney headquarters injuring one campaign staffer who suffered a broken wrist and causing considerable damage.

According to news accounts, similar "protests" occurred yesterday across the country in Miami, FL; Tampa, FL; Kansas City, MO; Dearborn, MI; St. Paul, MN; Independence, MO; and West Allis, WI. All of the "protests" appear to be a coordinated effort by members of a major labor union to intimidate staff and volunteers of the Bush-Cheney campaign. The AFL-CIO took credit on their own website for these protests that included thousands of workers in 17 cities across the country.

In what is apparently one of those coordinated "protests", the Bush-Cheney headquarters in West Allis, Wisconsin was invaded by more than 50 protestors who disrupted campaign activities and intimidated campaign workers and volunteers. According to the Associated Press, over 100 union protestors physically stormed their way into Bush-Cheney headquarters in Miami, Florida and intimidated volunteers inside. In what could be a related incident, although the perpetrator has not yet been identified, the Knoxville, TN Bush-Cheney office was hit by gun-fire on Tuesday morning, shattering the plate-glass front doors before volunteers showed up for work.

These attacks are not conduct protected by the First Amendment. The activities were carried out on the same day throughout the country, apparently organized by the same national organization. The lack of any notice and the pattern suggest a plan to intimidate volunteers who were supporting their candidate in the upcoming
Presidential campaign.

Because these coordinated invasions violate the laws protecting the civil rights of American citizens, we request you direct the appropriate investigative unit within the Department of Justice to promptly initiate an investigation. We strongly urge that the investigation include whether federal laws have been broken, including those addressing civil rights, conspiracy, racketeering, and others protecting the rights to campaign and vote.

Most importantly, we strongly urge you to depose the participants in these attacks, and to gather any evidence regarding a possible ongoing conspiracy to launch more attacks. Those depositions are urgent, as any delay may lead to destruction of evidence that could lead to identification of those who planned and coordinated the attacks, and who should be brought to justice.

Please respond to this letter no later than October 12 with regard to what action will be taken, where it will be taken, and by which element within the Department of Justice.

In addition, we ask that you work with state law enforcement agencies in investigating a series of voting irregularities including forgeries in voter registration forms, casting simultaneous ballots in different states (double voting), and absentee voter fraud. Such activities disenfranchise those who properly register to vote and cast valid ballots.

The right to vote is essential to our democracy. The threat of intimidation and violence to those exercising this right is the antithesis of how a law-abiding and civilized nation conducts itself. Please immediately ensure that those who wish to be involved in the political process can exercise their constitutional rights without fear. All Americans, no matter whom they chose to vote for, deserve to be able to fully participate in this process without fear of intimidation or retaliation.

Sincerely,