Sunday morning musings

Two days left, and the spin is furious. I try to keep up with things on Daily Kos or Talking Points Memo, and things look positive for a Kerry surge. Then I see a link to an AP piece headlined "Bush moving into lead" based on one lone poll. It's maddening.

So much going on, and so much of it bad news for Bush. Yet another report of a sealed munitions dump raided by looters, left alone because the administration didn't push for security (well, they did, for the Oil ministry). GOP voter suppression tricks by the hundreds. Bush saying Kerry is making wild charges which only get proven beyond a doubt. And of course our old friend Osama Bin Laden making a new appearance, tanned and rested and still on the loose (why?). Pundits are saying the new tape should help Bush because it links people's minds with 9/11 and how well he handled things in the aftermath. Are people really that stupid? Why aren't they holding this president accountable for his bait and switch tactics on the American people?

Maureen Dowd--who so often drives me crazy by making up stuff and trying to be funny--actually hit the nail on the head in today's NYT column.

The New York Times: Maureen Dowd: Will Osama Help W.?

Two days at the end of a campaign can be an eternity. Of course I fear the following days and weeks might seem an eternity as well. I'm hoping the margin is so decisive that it won't be.

KSTP Video--is this the proof?

EXCLUSIVE:
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS video may be linked to missing explosives in Iraq

Take a look and decide for yourself.

The evidence is mounting hour by hour.

Thursday Thoughts

As important as this election is, the campaign is really wearing me out. I keep hearing promising trends, but who knows what can happen. The whole disappearing explosives story seems to have stronger legs than when it broke, despite Bush's constant taunts that a president should know the facts before he acts, saying Kerry is using unproven news reports to attack him. For one thing, the reports are seemingly being proven from left and right--with video (see the KSTP video) and eye-witness accounts (Iraqis who helped loot the site after the fall of Baghdad, and soldiers and officers on the scene at the time). For another thing, GW should follow his own advice. After all he chose to invade a country without the facts. And we're paying for it in so many lives... and so many more billions of dollars that could be used elsewhere. Now we learn the FBI is investigating a stinky Halliburton deal in Iraq. The incompetence and corruption of this administration are breathtaking.

A man I respect immensely said he feels that Kerry will win in a "small landslide." I hope so. I feel it too. But I don't put anything past this administration between now and then.

8 Days to Go

Been in beautiful Chicago the past few days with friends... what a lovely time of year there.

Now I'm back in Atlanta. Good to see Bill Clinton back on the campaign trail. The polls are starting to show a Kerry trend, I think. This stuff is scarier than Halloween.

DubyaSpeak.com: A compendium of the best

DubyaSpeak.com : : We record the damage.

It's amazing to read (and hear) so many twisted quotes. Wouldn't it be refreshing to have a president who spoke English?

Blah Day

I'm sitting here trying to work on revising my next book, and it's frustrating. I have a tough editor. She's good, but she's killing me. Her notes in my manuscript stir up all my old failure-to-please issues.

I had a bad bout with diarrhea this afternoon. I think a multiplicity of stress just got to me. I had a doctor's appointment at the end of the day, follow up for the mild case of shingles I have had the past couple of weeks, and ended up with a prescription for some cortizone cream to help with the residual itching.

But I had a very productive and enjoyable lunch with my boss and a local minister, whose company I enjoy immensely.

Work is stressful--we're about to launch our newly revamped website, trying to put together information for two big meetings next week and a big recording day, and lots of other odds and ends. But I'm taking off Thursday to fly to Chicago for a few days to visit friends... I can't wait.

Meanwhile, the whole election campaign is getting to me. I keep hoping for a Kerry surge, and the polls seem to indicate a possible victory (maybe just the electoral college, not the popular vote--wouldn't that be sweet irony). But anything can happen. I see a Bush-supporting 527 is putting $14 million behind a kitchy TV spot using the tragedy of 9-11 to manipulate emotions and encourage votes for Bush. It is shocking in its lack of restraint.

I jump from blog to blog to read about Bush's supposed health problems (heart? brain? stroke? untreated alcoholism? or just stupid?), his still unexplained back hump (talking points transmitter? heart monitor? alien lifeform?), and those wacky polls.

It rained hard most of the day today in Atlanta. A small plane crashed in an auto repair shop in downtown, not far from Martin Luther King's birth home.

My life is harder than it's ever been. So many personal issues to deal with, so many responsibilities. Yes, there are glimmers of joy, of hope, of love. But they are paradise islands in an ocean of fear and stress.

Oh, I'm sure things will work out okay. I'll get on, even if Bush is elected. Probably, life will settle down. And there'll be something else to blog about.

I hope so.

This is just a snapshot of my life today. How are you doing?

The New York Times: John Kerry for President

The New York Times: John Kerry for President

A well argued endorsement for Kerry. No big surprise, but enthusiastic.

The New York Times Magazine: Without a Doubt

Ron Suskind's Expose of the President's Unrealistic Certitude

You'll need to register to read this at the New York Times website if you haven't already, but if you haven't you should. A fascinating and frankly terrifying portrait of the Bush White House.

ABC News: What Happened in Kerry's Vietnam Battles?

ABC News: What Happened in Kerry's Vietnam Battles?

We already knew the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" were for anything but truth. Now ABC News reveals what really happened that day John Kerry earned one of his medals... from the other side. Amazing.

Thoughts after Debate 3

Just off the phone with a friend of mine who's a Bush supporter. But he couldn't stand to watch any of the debates. And he probably wouldn't be for Bush if he didn't dislike John Kerry so much.

I watched all the debates and can't understand why he doesn't like Kerry so much. From what I can tell, and this is bolstered by most of the objective documentaries and reports on the man, he is driven by altruism and deeply held beliefs. Comparing the two men in debate settings shows me the difference between a public servant and a hustler.

This is going to be an interesting next few weeks, and I sincerely hope we don't get bogged down in a lot of post-election voting disputes. I hope the winner wins clearly (and cleanly). But I don't envy whoever wins. I don't recall a more evenly divided, and deeply divided, electorate. It's going to be tougher than usual for the next president, whoever it turns out to be.

Charleston Gazette Op-Ed Piece

Bishop William Boyd Grove on the Blasphemous Republicans

My home state is West Virginia, and I grew up in the United Methodist Church there. The former Bishop has written an eloquent piece on how the Republicans are misusing religion in the campaign--and suprisingly applies the same standard Kerry is getting from his church to President Bush.

Going Upriver--View It Online

Going Upriver Movie

Be patient, it's a long download. But this is an important film: George Butler's documentary on John Kerry, "Going Upriver."

Keeping America Scared to Death

GOP Highlight Reel

Here's a fascinating compilation from the GOP convention. Hilarious, and very scary.

frontline: the choice 2004 | PBS

frontline: the choice 2004 | PBS

This was a fascinating documentary, and you can watch it online (after October 15). Compare the stories and character of the two presidential candidates. Astonishing.

Welcome to Cephasworld

Glad you're here. Let's talk. I work in the media business, producing a national weekly radio and television program. I'm also an author, with several books in print, including one just out--a religious devotional book. I'm a progressive Democrat. I am in a major personal transition in my life. And I'd like to talk about all that with you.