Expats Against Bush

Bin Laden Bombshell

I can't help thinking this Bin Laden tape is extremely bad news for John Kerry.

The way he invokes Kerry's name as if they're on the same side... That's not good. And remember the studies about the correlation between the terror alerts and Bush's approval rating (there is always a boost 3 to 4 days later)? Well this seems to me to be a similar animal. It refocuses people's mind on an imminent terrorist threat, after all.

And despite seeming to condemn Bush, Bin Laden knows that this tape is more likely to help his reelection efforts - which is a good thing, at least for Bin Laden. Four more years of arrogant crusading by Bush can only swell the ranks of al Qaeda's membership. Iraq is already a huge recruitment poster; what else can be done given another term? And this faux-victimisation, invoking Beirut and the Palestinian issues as justification for 9/11, is so disingenuous as to not merit further discussion.

I don't know; I am truly worried by this latest turn of events. Damn Bin Laden, damn him again. Would someone please shut him up for good?

Update

Then again, Josh Marshall suggests we should all slap each other back to our senses and keep the side up. Well, alllllright.

BC04: Fear Kerry

Well they've gone and done it. The Bush campaign have hit a new low.

John Kerry = Twin Towers in Flames.

Bush Invents Irony: Kerry's Revenge

Remember that classic Dubya quote from yesterday, about not wanting someone who jumped to conclusions in the White House? Well good on the Kerry folks, they wasted no time turning the quote around and using it to some effect:

Bush on Wednesday accused Kerry of opportunism, saying: "A political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as commander in chief ... that is part of a pattern of a candidate who will say anything to get elected."

Kerry threw the words back at the president 24 hours later, announcing he was going "to apply the Bush standard" and declaring: "Mr. President, I agree with you."

"George Bush jumped to conclusions about 9/11 and Saddam Hussein," he said. "George Bush jumped to conclusions about weapons of mass destruction and he rushed to war without a plan for the peace. George Bush jumped to conclusions about how the Iraqi people would receive our troops. He not only jumped to conclusions, he ignored the facts he was given."

Attaboy, John!

Your last chance to contribute

In the assumption that most of you get these emails from Kerry / Edwards anyway, I don't tend to repost them. But I think today's message from John Edwards bears repeating:

What kind of country do we want to wake up to on November 3?

That's the question each of us must ask ourselves as we enter the final 36 hours of the most important fundraising drive in Democratic Party history.

It is hard to imagine America making a choice that could matter more than this one -- not just because the contest is so close, but because the differences between the candidates are so stark. Make no mistake about it, four more years of George W. Bush in the White House would spell disaster on many of the issues that you and I care about the most.

That's why, whatever issues you care about, you must have one overriding priority right now -- helping win powerful, persuasive victories for John Kerry and other Democratic candidates five days from now.

Our final fundraising deadline of the campaign is tomorrow night:

https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html

If you're concerned about making America stronger and more respected in the world, we need you to step forward now. If you believe that turning a blind eye to the mistakes President Bush has made will only deepen our dilemma in Iraq, we need you to step forward now.

If you think that President Bush's obsession with tax cuts for the wealthy is risking our economic future, we need you to step forward now. If you know we can do better creating jobs and solving America's health care problems, we need you to step forward now.

If you want to protect the future of Social Security, we need you to step forward now. If you want to safeguard the balance and integrity of the Supreme Court, we need you to step forward now. If you realize that four more years of Bush's environmental assaults will devastate America's natural resources, we need you to step forward now.

Step forward now:

https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html

Here's the reality. Whatever issues you care about, whichever concerns are closest to your heart, the single most important step you can take right now is helping John Kerry and other Democratic candidates win on November 2. Let's not wake up on November 3 realizing that you could have made all the difference in the world.

Thank you,

John Edwards

Was your vote influenced by the foreign media?

The BBC Online Magazine has a piece today that asks:

American expats in Britain are choosing their president. Can they help but be influenced by widespread anti-Bush feeling in Europe?

That seems like an easy answer to me (of course we are influenced by it) but I suppose it may depend on the individual. More from the article:

Whatever their differences, the Republican and Democrat campaign teams are agreed on one thing - the British media.

"The press is definitely more pro-Kerry than pro-Bush," says Sharon Manitta of Democrats Abroad UK.

"We get to see more news stories that have a definite slant than the right wing, sadly, mainstream media in America."

Can't argue with that one. Check out the rest of the article for some vox pops with various UK-based expats of both political persuasions.

Make Your Vote Count

The fine folks (well, the DNC) that brought you OverseasVote2004 (remember the banner ad that was here until yesterday?) have not contented themselves with just getting people registered to vote. They've launched a new site, Make Your Vote Count (http://www.myvotecounts2004.com/) which asks you to fill in some details about how and when you sent in your ballot, so that they can:

compile a list by county and state of overseas voters. This list will be used by Voter Enforcement officials at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to cross-check lists of voters whose ballots have been received by local election officials.

Bearing in mind all the irregularity and outright dirty tricks being pulled in this election so far (and we haven't even gotten to Election Day yet!) I can get behind this effort 100%, and I urge you all to fill in your details to ensure that your vote is counted. Remember, in a race this tight, your vote definitely counts.

Florida: The Land Where Every Vote Counts™

So the whole world knows that Florida has had its fair share of problems with counting votes. And the whole world knows that, despite having had four years to sort out its mess, problems still abound, from glitchy paperless electronic voting machines to rampant voter suppression.

But this article from the BBC is just shocking, and it affects expats most directly. Broward County, north of Miami, was to deliver 60,000 absentee ballots for this election. How many have been delivered? 2000.

The missing ballots have fuelled an atmosphere of intense suspicion in Florida, with Democrats already backing nine separate law suits in the state, says the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington.

If the result is close and decides the result in the presidential race - and both of those eventualities are perfectly likely - it seems virtually certain that protracted legal battles would follow, our correspondent says.

[...]

In 2000, Broward gave Al Gore his biggest margin among Florida counties. He won 67% of the vote there, while losing the state to George W Bush.

"It looks like they're trying to steal the vote again," said Diane Glasser, vice-chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party.

Both the Democrats and Republicans have already begun filing lawsuits in states across America, challenging different aspects of the election process.

Whether or not this turns out to be a GOP-led effort, it is undeniable that right across our nation, Republicans are making a mockery of our democracy. History will show how underhanded and devious the GOP has been, that the very party that stands for traditional values and the American Way is undercutting the democratic process it purports to defend. Sure the Democrats are no angels, but there's getting the vote out and then there's interfering with democracy. There should be more outrage. Where is it?

Bush invents irony

Apparently Dubya just responsed to a question about Kerry's criticism of the whole al Qaqaa explosives thing (specifically, Bush & Co.'s "unthinkable incompetence" pertaining to the loss and the war in general).

Bush's response, finally, after 3 days of questions, was this witty rejoinder:

A political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not who you want as commander in chief.

What?

Boy, wake up and smell what you shovelin'.

[via Washington Monthly]

The Onion's guide to Election Day

In case you have any Stateside relatives that may be feeling a bit intimidated by going and voting on Election Day, The Onion comes to the rescue with some handy tips on how to make the process easier, including some of these valuable and relevant gems:

• If at all possible, vote before work. That way, you can make smug comments to non-voters all day long.
  
• The new electronic voting machines are complicated. But don't worry: Octogenarians will be on hand to troubleshoot any technological problems that might arise.
  
• If your election official hooks you up to a machine via a needle in your arm, you are actually donating blood.
  
• Tip for those on the go: Voting a straight ticket can save you up to 15 seconds.

Speaking of Election Day, you may have noticed that I removed the banner ad for Overseas Vote 2004 - the absentee ballot request form is a bit pointless now - and also the "Vote in 2004" section to the right. Unless you are sending in a lastminute Write In Ballot by fax or through FedEx, you really should have cast your vote by now.

No Bush site for you!

Not that I think there's anything nefarious to it (it is probably cost- and traffic-related as the author supposes) but the BBC has a story pointing out that none of us overseas folks (including 6 million of us expats) can get to GeorgeWBush.Com, the official campaign site, since Monday morning. Try it out for yourself.