No argument is more central to the Republican attack on Sen. John Kerry than the assertion that the Democrat has flip-flopped on Iraq.

Yet an examination of Kerry's words in more than 200 speeches and statements, comments during candidate forums and answers to reporters' questions does not support the accusation.

The crux of the flip-flopping charge is based on pitting Kerry's pointed criticism of the war against his October 2002 vote to authorize the use of force, a vote the Democratic senator defends to this day.

Kerry, who was one of 29 Democratic senators to support the resolution, said the vote was appropriate to strengthen the president's hand in negotiations, and he draws a distinction between his vote and an endorsement of the March 2003 attack.

"Congressional action on this resolution is not the end of our national debate on how best to disarm Iraq,'' Kerry said on the eve of the vote. "Nor does it mean we have exhausted all of our peaceful options to achieve this goal."

Republicans ridicule such distinctions and use Kerry's vote as the basis for their assertion that Kerry once favored the war.

Yet in the fall of 2002, several months before the air strikes on Baghdad began, Bush himself insisted the vote was not the same as a declaration of war but instead gave him the hand he needed to negotiate the peace.

"If you want to keep the peace, you've got to have the authorization to use force,'' Bush said in September 2002. "It's a chance for Congress to say, 'we support the administration's ability to keep the peace.' That's what this is all about."

NEWS ANALYSIS / Flip-flopping charge unsupported by facts / Kerry always pushed global cooperation, war as last resort

] The Republican Party acknowledged yesterday sending mass
] mailings to residents of two states warning that
] "liberals" seek to ban the Bible. It said the mailings
] were part of its effort to mobilize religious voters for
] President Bush.
]
] The mailings include images of the Bible labeled "banned"
] and of a gay marriage proposal labeled "allowed." A
] mailing to Arkansas residents warns: "This will be
] Arkansas if you don't vote." A similar mailing was sent
] to West Virginians.
]
] In an e-mail message, Christine Iverson, a spokeswoman
] for the Republican National Committee, confirmed that the
] party had sent the mailings.

That's the national party that sent these out. Not some crazy locals. Not a 527 group.

Republicans Admit Mailing Campaign Literature Saying Liberals Will Ban the Bible

This is no longer an interesting coincidence. It is an unmistakable message from God. I hope everyone is listening.

message-from-God.gif (GIF Image, 744x900 pixels)

] Most senior US military officers now believe the war
] on Iraq has turned into a disaster on an unprecedented
] scale.
]
]
] 'Bring them on!" President Bush challenged the early
] Iraqi insurgency in July of last year. Since then, 812
] American soldiers have been killed and 6,290 wounded,
] according to the Pentagon. Almost every day, in campaign
] speeches, Bush speaks with bravado about how he is
] "winning" in Iraq. "Our strategy is succeeding," he
] boasted to the National Guard convention on Tuesday.
]
]
] But, according to the US military's leading strategists
] and prominent retired generals, Bush's war is already
] lost. Retired general William Odom, former head of the
] National Security Agency, told me: "Bush hasn't found the
] WMD. Al-Qaida, it's worse, he's lost on that front. That
] he's going to achieve a democracy there? That goal is
] lost, too. It's lost." He adds: "Right now, the course
] we're on, we're achieving Bin Laden's ends."

Great... Now I'm scared. I'm the last person to get scared. Thanks Prez. Please leave office now. You're making US less safe.

Dick.

t r u t h o u t - Military Leaders: 'Bush's War is Already Lost'

] LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- If Doreen Seelig pocketed
] all the money she has spent on classroom supplies over 35
] years as a teacher -- the printer cartridges, the paper,
] the pencils and the paperback books lent to her Venice
] High School students -- she figures she would have a new
] car by now.
]
] Now, as the new school year gets under way, the burden on
] Seelig and other teachers around the country is even
] heavier.
]
] Because of a budget crunch, California has suspended a
] tax credit that reimbursed teachers up to $1,500 for
] classroom supplies. Meanwhile, a $250 federal tax
] deduction for teachers that helped defray out-of-pocket
] spending expired this year.

I. Hate. [expletive]. [expletive]. [expletive]. President Bush.

What good is No Child Left Behind since children can't possibly get "ahead" without any books or pencils?

CNN.com - Teachers lose tax breaks for class expenses - Sep 16, 2004

Saddam *ALWAYS* cheats.

Rock, Paper, Saddam!

] "You'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not know that
] any event that is sponsored by the Washington Times . . .
] could involve the influence, or the potential presence,
] of the Reverend Moon," he said.

Stupid Moonies.

The Rev. Moon Honored at Hill Reception (washingtonpost.com)

] Administration wages war on pornography
] Obscenity: For the first time in 10 years, the U.S.
] government is spending millions to file charges across
] the country.

Hey Nerds! The dubya and Co. are totally against pr0n! Vote For Kerry.

baltimoresun.com - Administration wages war on pornography

President Bush held the third press conference of his administration on Tuesday, April 13, 2004. It lasted approximately one hour.

If you did not catch this conference live, C-SPAN offers it on demand via streaming RealVideo. If this direct link does not work for you, paste the following into your RealOne player:

rtsp://cspanrm.fplive.net/cspan/archive/iraq/iraq041304_bush.rm

President Bush Press Conference - 13 April 2004

] There was Bush looking under furniture in a fruitless,
] frustrating search. "Those weapons of mass destruction
] have got to be somewhere," he said.

ah ha! AH HA HA! Thats right - since there apparently never WERE any, just move the goal posts and make the whole WMD thing out to be one big joke! Guess those 600 (and rising) BODY BAGS of US soldiers that have been coming home in a steady stream for the last 12 months are a joke too?

B.A.S.T.A.R.D. -LB

Bush pokes fun at himself at dinner