Riehl World View

My Gold Medal Win by John F. Kerry

or, How I Learned to Play Hockey and Stop Worrying About the Bomb

Dear Inside Hockey,

After almost 25 years, I have decided to break my silence and tell the tale of how I led the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team to the Gold Medal, clinching the final two games against the Russians, then the Fins while saving the world from nuclear catastrophe. Now, I know most people thought Jim Craig, a kid from my home state by the way, played Goalie. But that wasn't the case.

I had wanted to run for President that year. But Jimmy Carter was in office and, loyal Democrat that I am, I couldn't bring myself to run against him even though the country was going to hell in a hand basket and that hick couldn't get his idiot brother to stop drinkin' and peein' up a storm all over the streets of Plains on Friday nights. Hell, looking back, I think Ms. Lillian was half juiced on Billy Beer most days, too. My job in the Senate doesn't take up much of my time, so I thought, what the hell, I could use a new challenge.

I knew what was right for the country even way back then. And I also knew that that anti-Christ, Reagan was going to win the coming election. Since one of the final games was sure to be against the Russians, the last thing we needed was a US Senator embarrassing them at the Olympics what with that wingnut Reagan sure to piss them off. Heck, if I hadn't of made friends with certain unnamed Russian dignitaries at the games that year, I've no doubt Reagan would have gotten us all nuked. But I'll save that story for a little something I'm working on for the Bullentin of Atomic Scientists. Besides, as a sports nut, you really can't compare saving the world from Mutually Assured Destruction with winning a Gold Medal.

Even then I knew how to reach out and build international alliances. Yep! I just wore a mask, in fact, I wore two. I decided to keep my masks on the whole time and let that young kid from Massachusetts take all the credit. I looked at it as just another secret mission, like the ones I used to do for President Nixon all those years ago in Cambodia. In fact, I even wore a special hat under my two goalie's masks, but that's still another story for another day.

Anyhow, if you look at the tapes back then, you can see that I invented a very special move to win the Gold, one that I sometimes still use today. Whenever an opponent got close to the net, I'd flip up my top mask, I could see better without that one, and then I'd flop on the ice and block the entire net. Some people called it the "flip flop," but, of course that wasn't true. No matter what, I always stayed in one basic position - somewhere right around the front of the goal post. So, whenever anyone said I was flip flopping, I'd say, "Nope. No sir. I have always had only one position when I am playing goal.

I can't begin to tell you how important it was for me to have defeated the Russkies and won that Gold medal against the Fins, even if I couldn't let anyone know it. Now, since I am running for President, I thought I had better level with the American people. I am even including some pictures. I tell you, it is a memory that's seared ..., seared into my mind. And I won't have my background, my patriotism or my ability to be Commander in Chief questioned by ANYONE who hasn't won a Gold Medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics while saving the world from a nuclear disaster. I simply won't stand for it.

In closing, America needs a President who tells them the truth. Oh, and if you get a chance, would you mind hitting the tip jar at www.johnkerry.com. Theresa's running a little late with the allowance this month. Thanks.

Sincerely,

John F. Kerry

Edwards Resorts to Personal Insults in Post Debate Dust Up with Staff

Confidential sources within the campaign of Vice Presidential hopeful Senator John Edwards are reporting that the Senator was "outraged with staffers" immediately following last night's televised debate with Vice President Dick Cheney held at Case Western University. Edwards is reportedly upset with what he said was "shoddy prep work" by some of his closest aides, said the high level campaign official.

The candidate is said to have been upset with pre-debate preparation provided him on two fronts. Sources said, "He feels let down because they wanted him to aggressively go after Cheney in the debate but he didn't have the kind of meat he needed to do it." Also, it's alleged that based on judgements made from Cheney's relatively benign performance in a debate with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D) four years ago, staffers didn't prepare the candidate for the aggressive punching style of the VP, which millions of Americans witnessed Tuesday night.

In overheard remarks sure to rankle Bush supporters, Edward's is also alleged to have attacked Vice President Cheney's weight in his angry explosion at staffers. "I want some answers, people," yelled Edwards. "I just spent the better part of two hours getting smacked around the Case Western auditorium by a huge swingin' Dick, and someone is damn well gonna pay for it."

Calls to an official campaign spokesperson for on the record clarification have not been returned as of the filing of this report.

Vice Presidential Debate

Cheney: You've been a very bad boy, Johnny.

Edwards: Halliburton.

Cheney: You and your windsurfing pal haven't got a clue.

Edwards: Halliburton.

Cheney: Do I have to stay up here all night and pretend to listen to this lightweight's crap?

Edwards: Liar, liar pants on fire.

Cheney: Yeah, but at least I'm not still wearing shorts, smurf.

Edwards: Halliburton. And my Dad worked at a mill. You mean, liar, old guy, you.

Cheney: I'm just glad to see you finally showed up for work.

Edwards: Is Moore still giving away new underwear?

Cheney: Jesus, kid. I was wondering what that smell was.

Edwards: Gwen, can I have permission to use Sen. Kerry's name now?

Gwen: Okay, Johnny, you can use Kerry's name.

Edwards: OK. John Kerry and...

Gwen: Unt uh, I didn't say simon sez.

Edwards: Awww, schucks, (chuckle) you got me there, Gwen. But can I say it now, please?

Gwen: Okay. Go ahead.

Edwards: OK. John and I really really really looooove you, America. Hey! We could all put on a show!

In closing:

Edwards: Please vote for us. Pretty please. With sugar on top?

Cheney: You're kidding me, right, punk? Christ, my gay daughter could have kicked your ass tonight.

UPDATE: Allah is hosting a recap with links to other blogs with debate posts.

State GOP says Michael Moore illegally offered underwear in exchange for voting

State GOP says Michael Moore illegally offered underwear in exchange for voting

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- The Michigan Republican Party is asking four county prosecutors to file charges against filmmaker Michael Moore, charging that he illegally offered underwear, noodles and snacks to college students in exchange for their promise to vote.

Early returns suggest voters taking advantage of the "underwear" offer are experiencing a significant problem with hanging chads.

The Year in Media Bias - so far

USNews.com: John Leo: Self-inflicted wounds (10/11/04)

Not much to add to this great summary. It pretty much speaks for itself. I've pasted some highlights but suggest reading the entire article.

July, a Senate intelligence committee and an official British investigation both concluded that President Bush had been on firm ground when he spoke the famous 16 words in his 2003 State of the Union message (that the British had learned Saddam Hussein had sought to acquire uranium in Africa). When the 16 words appeared to be untrue, the press endlessly trumpeted them, often on the front page, but when Bush drew heavy support from the two investigations, you could hardly find the news with a magnifying glass. In the New York Times, the British report was carried way inside the paper and read like a muddled translation from classical Urdu. This seems to happen a lot when the Times is forced to report news it doesn't like. On July 25, the Washington Post press critic, Howard Kurtz, reported that his newspaper had carried 96 references to the issue when Bush appeared to be wrong and only two after the revelation that he looked to be right. The totals for the three major networks and three elite newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, were 302 before and nine after. According to Kurtz, CBS never did get around to mentioning that the investigations had supported the president.

Media handling of the charges by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was even more peculiar. Most major news media stayed silent for nine or 10 days as the story of the charges spread over radio and the Internet. A few bloggers argued that this was an attempt by big-time media outlets to rule the Swifties' charges out of bounds. It seemed that way to me, too. When big media finally did rouse themselves and address the issue, they tended to focus tightly on Democratic talking points ...

But the life-altering experience of Christmas in Cambodia apparently never happened. It was a Kerry fantasy. The press yawned and looked the other way. (Compare this with the energetic media demands for Bush's National Guard records.) Apparently only one media outlet, the Washington Post, made an effort to open up Kerry's records and received only six of 100 pages. On the whole, big-time media reporting on the Swifties was dismal. No wonder the credibility of the news media is headed south.

US School Emergency Planning Doc in Iraq

SignOnSanDiego.com > In Iraq -- S.D. school crisis plan is found on disk in Iraq

ht to Kevin at The Talk Arena for this story.

A man arrested by U.S. authorities in Iraq had a computer disk in his possession containing a public report downloaded from a U.S. Department of Education Web site on crisis planning in school districts, including San Diego Unified. The man was described as an Iraqi national with connections to terrorism and the insurgency that is fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. Officials in San Diego said the man's intentions were unknown.

His intentions were "unknown???" What, are we to consider that maybe he was only thinking about sending his kids to the US for schooling and wanted to insure their safety? It's too bad Kerry doesn't already have his way, I'm sure Saddam's police force would have caught this character and promptly turned him and his documents over to US authorities. Oh wait, terrorists had nothing to do with Iraq, obviously this is all Bush's fault.

I'm assuming this isn't getting wider press coverage for fear of spreading alarm. I'm not one to want to cause panic, but Russia did just go through a horrific terrorist incident involving a school.

Lansdowne said the situation shows that the federal government is sharing information with local agencies in an efficient manner.

Please don't tell Sen. Kerry or the broader public. It's been well established that President Bush simply isn't protecting us from terrorism. We wouldn't want to ruin a good story line.

San Diego law enforcement officials said there was no indication of any terrorist plot against schools in San Diego or elsewhere in the country.... FBI officials visited the office of district Superintendent Alan Bersin Friday to inform him, Turnbull said. Because there was no indication that terrorists were targeting any schools, in San Diego or elsewhere, the district informed the school police department, but decided not to notify schools and parents.

Note to terrorists: In the future, when apprehended, please provide a complete summary of detailed plans so we can be assured of your dastardly intentions. Faxes from a Kinkos in Tx will not be accepted unless vetted by CBS.

"We don't know the intention of the person that had this material," Dzwilewski said. "But the disk contained absolutely no threat information. It's only out of an abundance of caution – because it was discovered in Iraq – that we shared this with another public agency." ... "The context here is, a public source document put out by the U.S. Department of Education was found on a computer. Period. My concern would be if a particular school district, or a particular school, or a particular institution was targeted, which it has not been."

Utterly ridiculous. We might not know which, if any school is being targeted until they walk in the door with this type of reporting from the media.

VP Debate Critical This Year

Conventional wisdom casts Veep candidates and their debates as almost an after thought in the race for President. While mostly true, dynamics this year paint quite a different picture. The coming Vice Presidential debates scheduled for Tuesday present a set of unique dynamics and they have the potential to make a significant difference in this year's election.

Cheney has proven himself a stellar Vice President, but public perceptions and media pounding have unfairly cast him as a drag on the ticket. After all, it is his relationship to Halliburton, not the President's, that Democrat opponents consistently attack. Cheney is a pro with more knowledge and experience of international affairs at the executive level than Kerry and Edwards combined. His resume dates back to the Nixon Whitehouse. Contrast that with Edwards, a first term Senator with no other distinguishing political experience or credentials. And this debate will be about a "Kerry Administration," particularly as regards foreign affairs and homeland security.

Edwards has already displayed a willingness to be less than supportive of the top of the ticket if it means preserving his own prospects for 08 should Kerry lose Nov. 2. While there is not yet enough post Thursday night polling available to support media talk of a Kerry surge, the last thing Kerry needs right now is a perceived set back. And that is precisely what the dynamics of Tuesday night could deliver.

President Bush is a decent man, a genuine Christian, and someone determined to not undermine the prestige of the presidency by using street fighting tactics in a debate. That is at least part of the explanation for what some would characterize as a poor performance in his recent debate. Bush views the Presidency as an Office, one that shouldn't vicously attack an opponent in a formal public forum. That has been under reported, if even mentioned in post debate coverage. But VP Cheney is not similarly encumbered. And he is an excellent attack dog.

Look for Cheney to aggressively go, not just at Edwards, but at the heart of a potential Kerry administration. Kerry's recent public statements and positions have certainly left enough real meat on the table to whet the appetite of an old pitbull like Cheney. And if done with the style and tact Cheney at his best posseses, he may well also rehabilitate some of the unfair image of him painted by opponents among undecideds. A big Cheney win will counter any real or perceived surge Kerry is enjoying in the press and set the stage for a wonderful October for the Bush ticket.

For more, Powerlne has a quick review of some recent VP debates.

Truth in Numbers

ht to Betsy for linking to Rassmussen's latest which shows little post debate bounce for Kerry. Newsweek's poling has been anything but consistent, often showing large swings from poll to poll. That may sell subscriptions, but it hardly reflects the reality of a reasonably firmed up electorate. Remember how the press was telling us after the dem convention how "stuck" the polls were with no room for bounce? Now they would have us believe the electorate is swinging wildly back and forth - nonsense.

Real Clear Politics has a terrific graph that shows what the race has been doing, some up and down, but all within the margin of error.

Bush supporters were on an express train until the Thursday debate. Yes, Kerry won on points and style. But get over it. It was like you could hear a pin drop in the conservative blogosphere immediately after the debate. By Saturday it was starting to pick up again. I predict that by Wednesday we'll be full steam ahead.

The dems and their media cronies want nothing more than to paint a picture of a Bush slide and a shift in momentum in the race. That will only happen if people allow it by buying the nonsense the Dems are putting out there. Get over it people. We're going to win this, and maybe as big as we thought a week or so ago. The truth is in the numbers - the REAL numbers.

Um, Senator Kerry

This is just one more example of Kerry's lack of connection to things military the MSM is ignoring. Kerry was wrong on the cold war, wrong on Vietnam, wrong on Iraq and now he's been wrong on the Korean war, too. His running mate and website would have us believe this is a man ready to be Commander in Chief.

Thursday night's debate was a decisive victory for John Kerry because America saw him as our next president. He showed strength, conviction, and a steady command of the facts.

"His message to the troops is we are with you," Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina told a town meeting in this Dayton suburb ... What America saw last night is that John Kerry is a man of truth, conviction, vision - a man who is ready to be the next commander in chief," Edwards told a crowd of 800.

Now let's look at the "fact" the media isn't talking about.

KERRY: I want bilateral talks which put all of the issues, from the armistice of 1952, the economic issues, the human rights issues, the artillery disposal issues, the DMZ issues and the nuclear issues on the table.

WRONG! It appears this would be war time Commander in Chief and friend of the troops with a "command of the facts" doesn't even know when the Korean war ended.

TEXT OF THE KOREAN WAR ARMISTICE AGREEMENT

July 27, 1953

Agreement between the Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command, on the one hand, and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and the Commander of the Chinese People's volunteers, on the other hand, concerning a military armistice in Korea.

Some will recall what the press did to Gerald Ford for misspeaking about a "free" Poland in his debate with Carter.

During a critical debate with Jimmy Carter a month before the presidential election, President Gerald R. Ford declared in response to a question from the New York Times' Max Frankel, "There is no Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. The press pounced on this passage of the debate and wrote of little else for days afterward, so much so that a public initially convinced that Ford had won the debate soon turned overwhelmingly against him.

Apparently today they'd be perfectly content to help elect a president who doesn't realize that a dangerous global war involving terrorism has begun, or when a war this significant actually ended.

1.8 million served during period of hostilities

36,940 died in theater during the war

4,793 died while missing in action
92,100 service members were wounded in theater, some several times

8,176 are still listed as missing in action

7,140 were POWs of whom 4,418 returned

131 Korean War participants received the Medal of Honor

And So It Begins: Newsweek Poll Biased

Political Vice Squad: Liberal Media Cognitive Dissonance: The NewsWeak "Poll"

As could be expected the MSM is launching the last month of it's campaign to get Kerry elected. First the stories and then the polls. The NYSlimes does it's part by recyclying old news in How the White House Embraced Disputed Arms Intelligence Other stories were floated all day - Dixie Clits want Regime Change Springsteen and Stipe take to the road to unseat Bush. Why doesn't anyone ever point out that these R&R prophets spent much of their youth as drugged out and drunk rebels "exploring" their art and navels and have about as much credibility when commenting on politics as I would have producing an album - zilch.

Thanks to the Political Vice Squad we have these Newsweek Internals:

NewsWeak belched out a set of data that was based on the following partisan breakdown:

R = 39 percent
D = 30 percent
I = 27 percent
Not stated = 4 percent

Here's the partisan breakdown for today's "poll" by NewsWeak:
R = 34 percent
D = 36 percent
I = 27 percent
Not stated = 3 percent

Do you think they might have stopped to think there's a connection when you drop 5% Republicans and add 6% Dems to your sample - and lo and behold you get about an 11 point swing for Kerry? And of course the headline screams Bush Lead Evaporated. Nice touch capping the article with a picture of a frustrated smirking Bush. Could these people be any MORE obvious. I believe real clear politics has more and if you read down into the internals you see that nothing has really changed as to how people really feel about either candidate.