Some of the news that is fit to print

Less safe, part II

More on why we are less safe today then pre-Iraq.

U.S. Military Is Stretched Too Thin, Defense Board Warns [LAT, 9.30.2004]
By Mark Mazzetti
WASHINGTON - An advisory panel report by the Defense Science Board calls Army efforts to create more combat brigades 'important, but partial.'

The so-called 'debate'

So the so-called "debates" start on Thursday. These events could be critical to the election, which is now only about a month away. Unfortunately both campaigns had big-time attorneys hammer out pages and pages of rules. I had heard everybody talking about them but could not find them online anywhere.
But Poynter's Al Tompkins found them.

I was just reading the rules of the presidential debates. I thought you might find a few of the small print details interesting. [PDF]

* The candidates are not allowed to ask each other questions, but may raise rhetorical questions.
* The candidates get to choose how they will be addressed (such as "President" Bush or "Senator" Kerry.)
* The moderator is supposed to manage the debate so that each candidate answers 16 questions.
* On the October 8 debate, citizens will be allowed to ask questions. The moderator will review the questions, but nobody else is allowed to see the questions. If the questioner tries to pull a bait and switch, and ask a question that is different from the one the person submitted, the moderator is supposed to cut them off. And shut off the microphone. The audience members for the "Town Meeting" will be made up of equal numbers of so-called "soft Bush" supporters and "soft Kerry" supporters. The Gallup organization will find the people who will ask questions.
* The campaigns are forbidden from contacting the citizens who will be asking questions for the October 8 forum.
* The campaigns are forbidden from using video or audio clips from the debate in campaign ads, but I don't see anything that will keep the "527" groups from using the clips.
* The candidates will be standing behind 50-inch "podiums" for the debates, except for the Town Meeting, when they will sit on stools. The agreement says they will stand behind a "podium." Podiums are elevated platforms or low walls. It seems me as I read the definitions in Webster and The American Heritage dictionaries, that a better word to use for the thing they will stand behind is "lectern." The Debate Commission really should consult with me more often I think.
* Candidates are expressly forbidden from using risers that will make them look taller.
* The TV camera shots will be locked down.
* There will be no "cutaway" shots of the other candidate while one candidate is talking. So you won't see "reaction" shots of the other guy rolling his eyes or whatever.
* Each candidate will have his own make-up person.
* Each candidate may have Secret Service folks and one staff member in the stage wings.
* The President and Veep both get to have a physician and military advisor in the wings.
* Each campaign gets 30 press passes to the Media Center during the debate, which allows for appropriate amounts of "spin control." There is no limit on the number of "Spinsters" the campaigns may send to the media center after the debate.

Iraq mess...

Analysis: President's Heady Goals for Iraq Fall by Wayside [LAT, 9.27.2004]
By Tyler Marshall
WASHINGTON-The Bush administration has lowered its hopes for the type of democracy that can be achieved in Iraq, changed course on its plans to privatize Iraq's economy, and reordered its priorities by devoting more money to improving security as fast as possible.

Feeling safer?

Al Qaeda Seen as Wider Threat [LAT, 9.27.2004]
By Douglas Frantz, Josh Meyer, Sebastian Rotella and Megan K. Stack
RABAT, Morocco-The terror network has evolved into an ideological movement of Islamic extremists. They may no longer report to Osama bin Laden, who now might serve more as an inspirational figure. And the war in Iraq is helping focus militants' anger, experts also conclude.

The many faces of Bush

Check out the many faces of Bush

More troops

Also from Poynter's Al Tompkins...

More Troops Needed?
Here is one of those developments that I have a feeling, months from now, we will look back on and recognize as more significant than we realized at first. Late last week, a Pentagon-appointed panel said the United States needs more soldiers if we are going to do all we are trying to do around the globe.
The New York Times said:
Portions of the study, which has not been officially released, were read into the public record on Thursday by Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a leader of Democrats who want to expand the size of the military.
During testimony by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his top commanders, Reed said he found the study "provocative and startling."
Rumsfeld said the report was an "excellent piece of work," and that he had ordered briefings on its findings for senior military and civilian officials.
But he cautioned after the hearing that the section read by Reed was not a comprehensive synopsis, and that the authors of the study may not be fully aware of steps under way by the Pentagon to lessen stress on the force, and actions taken specifically by the Army to increase the number of available combat forces without further expanding the military.
Reed said the Defense Science Board study found "inadequate total numbers of U.S. troops" and "a lack of long-term endurance."

This is a critical issue right now – and one of the most important ramifications resulting from the unnecessary war in Iraq – our military is now so taxed, that we are terribly limited about what we can do elsewhere in the world. Our defenses are stretched too thin that should something serious happen elsewhere in the world, we have few options.
These things make us less safe today.
And all for an unnecessary, misguided war.

OB-SEEN

From Poynter's Al Tompkins:
License Plate Complaints [Poynter]
The Smoking Gun is back with another collection of complaints from people who spot potentially offensive auto license tags. This collection is from Washington state and is the third state collection TSG has created. They also have complaint files from Florida and New York. What are you waiting for? What fun.

Flip-flops

One of the most frustrating parts of this campaign is that the Republicans have been able to brand Kerry, unfairly, I believe, as a flip-flopper. In fact, Bush has changed his position on many issues, as the WP pointed out this week. The Kerry team, however, decided that it wasn't worth contesting the issue.

Despite Bush Flip-Flops, Kerry Gets Label [WP, 9.22.2004]
By John F. Harris
One of this year's candidates for president, to hear his opposition tell it, has a long history of policy reversals and rhetorical about-faces -- a zigzag trail that proves his willingness to massage positions and even switch sides when politically convenient.

Iraq mess... body count 7290

Also from Slate.com's Today's Papers....

The Washington Post leads with a grim review of the escalating violence in Iraq. According to statistics prepared for the U.S. government, insurgent attacks on private contractors and against U.S. and Iraqi forces have increased dramatically since the country regained sovereignty in June...
The Post's lead indicates that Iraq is collapsing into chaos, despite Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's assurances while visiting Washington this week. The violence is especially unsettling in light of the argument in the LAT's off-lead that Iraq has become a focal point for radical militants from around the world. According to another Post article, U.S. and Iraqi officials are preparing a response to the insurgency that they hope will allow elections to proceed as planned in January. Whether such a plan can succeed in just four months remains uncertain. Meanwhile, the LAT reveals the monetary cost of the strife: As much as three-quarters of U.S. reconstruction aid is going to security, contractors, and related expenses, rather than supporting the Iraqi economy.

The body count so far... 7,290

DHS kinda town

As quoted by Slate.com's Today's Papers

The NYT has a great story about a small town rescued by the war on terrorism. Playas, N.M.—an all-but-abandoned company town built by a mining concern in the 1970s—is being saved from collapse by the Department of Homeland security. The Department awarded a $5 million grant to New Mexico Tech so that the school can acquire the entire town and use it as an antiterror training facility.