Wednesday, November 03, 2004
If Bush Had Lost
This morning, after dropping my kids off at school, I was listening to a popular conservative talk show host comfort a dejected Democrat caller. Joe, as I’ll call him said he was “heartbroken” by the election. The host asked him if it were because of the results or because he felt there was some sort of vote fraud keeping Kerry from winning.
“No,” lamented Joe, “I’m heartbroken about my party.”
He went on to criticize the DNC, and called for a “cleaning of the house” starting with Terry McAuliffe. “They don’t have any idea how to run a successful campaign,” he said
In hindsight that’s probably true—especially when one considers that Kerry made no attempt to win key Southern States—including John Edwards’ home state of North Carolina.
A tactical mistake? I think so.
I think Joe was probably also upset about his party's lack of vision and passion. On numerous occasions leading up to Election Day I found myself asking "Where is the vision--the passion in the Democratic Party?" I suppose one could argue that the most passionate Democratic candidate for president was Howard Dean--remember that primal scream? Yup, it's the same one Republicans are hearing throughout the nation. Would he have made a better candidate? He certainly had some fire in his belly.
But I digress, and my friend Joe wasn't finished...
He continued by giving President Bush credit for “sticking to his guns,” and concluded with a message for the rest of those heartbroken Democratic Party members to embrace the President making him their own for the next four years.
Wow, I thought. What a novel idea … especially in this contentious day and age when everyone who doesn’t win feels as if the man is keeping them down.
Then I got to thinking, had Bush lost, would I have responded as insightfully as Joe?
Could I have embraced John Kerry as my president for the good of the nation?
Fortunately, I have four years to work towards such a concept. But I do hope that those in the Democratic Party make a strong attempt to embrace this President over these next four years. Their hatred and cries of him stealing the election are over—especially considering his winning margin in the popular vote. Now as Joe said, it’s time to make this President their own.
Can you imagine how great our nation would be if this would actually happen?
Ron De Jong
Grassfire
“No,” lamented Joe, “I’m heartbroken about my party.”
He went on to criticize the DNC, and called for a “cleaning of the house” starting with Terry McAuliffe. “They don’t have any idea how to run a successful campaign,” he said
In hindsight that’s probably true—especially when one considers that Kerry made no attempt to win key Southern States—including John Edwards’ home state of North Carolina.
A tactical mistake? I think so.
I think Joe was probably also upset about his party's lack of vision and passion. On numerous occasions leading up to Election Day I found myself asking "Where is the vision--the passion in the Democratic Party?" I suppose one could argue that the most passionate Democratic candidate for president was Howard Dean--remember that primal scream? Yup, it's the same one Republicans are hearing throughout the nation. Would he have made a better candidate? He certainly had some fire in his belly.
But I digress, and my friend Joe wasn't finished...
He continued by giving President Bush credit for “sticking to his guns,” and concluded with a message for the rest of those heartbroken Democratic Party members to embrace the President making him their own for the next four years.
Wow, I thought. What a novel idea … especially in this contentious day and age when everyone who doesn’t win feels as if the man is keeping them down.
Then I got to thinking, had Bush lost, would I have responded as insightfully as Joe?
Could I have embraced John Kerry as my president for the good of the nation?
Fortunately, I have four years to work towards such a concept. But I do hope that those in the Democratic Party make a strong attempt to embrace this President over these next four years. Their hatred and cries of him stealing the election are over—especially considering his winning margin in the popular vote. Now as Joe said, it’s time to make this President their own.
Can you imagine how great our nation would be if this would actually happen?
Ron De Jong
Grassfire
12:29AM-- Grassfire Calls OHIO, Election
At 12:29 am — 12 minutes prior to FOX News Channel — Grassfire.org’s Decision Team called OHIO for President Bush, virtually guaranteeing the election for President Bush. Grassfire was among the first to project Florida, Ohio and the election correctly. Grassfire’s Electoral Tracking Chart now shows 286 Electors for Bush, which is what we expect to be the final number.
Here are the Postings made on Grassfire.org website (times EST):
1:50AM EST -- GRASSFIRE CALLS IOWA!
With 94% reporting and an 11,000-plus lead, Grassfire's Decision Team is calling Iowa for BUSH. Bush lost Iowa in 2000 by 4,000 votes; Grassfire Tracking Chart now shows Bush 281 Electors, Kerry 248; Grassfire now expects final Bush tally of 286.
1:03 AM -- Grassfire Projects NEW MEXICO
Grassfire Decision Team has concluded that with 80% reporting, 20,000 vote margin will provide Bush Comfortable margin. Electoral Tracking Chart: Bush-274, Kerry-228; Dem states still in play for Bush--Iowa and Wisconsin
12:29 AM 11/3 -- Grassfire Projects OHIO For Bush, Calls Election
Bush up 120,000 votes with 79%+ reporting. Bush lead holding steady. Crucial Ohio valley tracking Bush. Grassfire now tracks Bush at 269 electors, guaranteeing tie which would result in Bush victory in the House.
10:05PM -- TRACKING CHART UPDATE
Grassfire's Tracking Chart now shows Bush 249, Kerry 228. Developing.
10:00 PM--Grassfire Projects Florida
With 82% of the precincts reporting, Grassfire is projecting Florida for President Bush. Bush is leading by 250,000 votes. Developing...
You can view these postings on Grassfire.org
+ + + + + + +
Steve Elliott, President
Here are the Postings made on Grassfire.org website (times EST):
1:50AM EST -- GRASSFIRE CALLS IOWA!
With 94% reporting and an 11,000-plus lead, Grassfire's Decision Team is calling Iowa for BUSH. Bush lost Iowa in 2000 by 4,000 votes; Grassfire Tracking Chart now shows Bush 281 Electors, Kerry 248; Grassfire now expects final Bush tally of 286.
1:03 AM -- Grassfire Projects NEW MEXICO
Grassfire Decision Team has concluded that with 80% reporting, 20,000 vote margin will provide Bush Comfortable margin. Electoral Tracking Chart: Bush-274, Kerry-228; Dem states still in play for Bush--Iowa and Wisconsin
12:29 AM 11/3 -- Grassfire Projects OHIO For Bush, Calls Election
Bush up 120,000 votes with 79%+ reporting. Bush lead holding steady. Crucial Ohio valley tracking Bush. Grassfire now tracks Bush at 269 electors, guaranteeing tie which would result in Bush victory in the House.
10:05PM -- TRACKING CHART UPDATE
Grassfire's Tracking Chart now shows Bush 249, Kerry 228. Developing.
10:00 PM--Grassfire Projects Florida
With 82% of the precincts reporting, Grassfire is projecting Florida for President Bush. Bush is leading by 250,000 votes. Developing...
You can view these postings on Grassfire.org
+ + + + + + +
Steve Elliott, President
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Tricked by the Treat
I’m not a big “trick or treat” guy—now I’m even less of one.
Sunday night, my family and I were invited by our neighbors to attend their church’s annual “Trunk or Treat” event. For those who might not know, Trunk or Treat was created to give kids and parents a safe-haven to enjoy the fun of Halloween.
Not wanting to disappoint, I agreed, and my three kids, wife and dog trekked to their church for an evening of fun.
Even though it was dark by the time we arrived, I could make out what seemed like hundreds of costumed kids and weary parents navigating through a gauntlet of vans and pickups bursting with candy and treats. Many were expertly decorated with pumpkins, orange and black streamers and spooky music. To the right, a large bonfire crackled, and the smell of cider wafted from the food tent where I spied the pastor judging the chowder finals.
I must admit. For someone not overly interested in what Halloween had to offer, I was feeling somewhat festive.
“I’m sorry, kids,” exclaimed a gypsy-clad woman holding up an empty bowl. “I ran out of candy.”
Unfazed, my kids simply moved on to the next van with my wife and I in tow. “Oh,” said the gypsy woman, reaching behind her. “I do have some treats for the adults, though!”
She handed my wife and I some candy. I was actually surprised that she had thought of the parents. Afterall, we have sweet-teeth too!
By the time we reached the end of the candy line, my kids were overflowing with candy, and I craved some chowder.
Because of the crowd, we were forced to sit at the edge of the parking lot. I didn’t mind sitting on the grass. I was hungry, and quickly scarfed down my chowder, before reaching for dessert—my candy bar!
”Daddy, did you take that from my pumpkin?” cried my youngest.
”No,” I said. “The gypsy-lady gave mommy and me some candy too.”
I pulled the candy from my pocket and began pulling apart the foil when I noticed I was unwrapping a naked woman!
The lighting was dim. Am I seeing things? I squinted to focus on the wrapper that read Emilie’s House of Passion: Adult Toys, Parties, and Novelties.
Shocked, I asked my wife for her candy. Her candy was in the likeness of a male organ!
Immediately I rushed the candy to my neighbor who took it to his pastor. As if shot out of a cannon, the pastor, chowder stained apron and all, sprinted across the field toward the gypsy woman.
After confronting her, she simply shrugged and said she hadn’t given any candy to children, and was only trying to get the word out about her business.
The pastor ordered her from the property, but the woman protested saying he first amendment rights gave her authority do whatever she wanted. “This is private property, and you have no place here!” he said sharply.
I guess his no-nonsense tone motivated her to move on, and she left the parking lot in a huff.
How could this have happened, you ask?
It’s Halloween—a time when we embrace the darkness. Should I have expected anything else?
Just because we take Halloween and put it in a church setting, are we foolish enough to thing it couldn’t be infiltrated by someone peddling “candy porn”?
I’ve been told that tighter security will keep this kind of thing from happening again. But it really doesn’t matter.
As a parent, I don’t need Halloween with it’s ghouls and goblins, ghosts and monsters to remind me that evil is all around us each and everyday. As I found out, Halloween candy not only rots your teeth, but it can poison your soul.
Ron De Jong
Grassfire
Sunday night, my family and I were invited by our neighbors to attend their church’s annual “Trunk or Treat” event. For those who might not know, Trunk or Treat was created to give kids and parents a safe-haven to enjoy the fun of Halloween.
Not wanting to disappoint, I agreed, and my three kids, wife and dog trekked to their church for an evening of fun.
Even though it was dark by the time we arrived, I could make out what seemed like hundreds of costumed kids and weary parents navigating through a gauntlet of vans and pickups bursting with candy and treats. Many were expertly decorated with pumpkins, orange and black streamers and spooky music. To the right, a large bonfire crackled, and the smell of cider wafted from the food tent where I spied the pastor judging the chowder finals.
I must admit. For someone not overly interested in what Halloween had to offer, I was feeling somewhat festive.
“I’m sorry, kids,” exclaimed a gypsy-clad woman holding up an empty bowl. “I ran out of candy.”
Unfazed, my kids simply moved on to the next van with my wife and I in tow. “Oh,” said the gypsy woman, reaching behind her. “I do have some treats for the adults, though!”
She handed my wife and I some candy. I was actually surprised that she had thought of the parents. Afterall, we have sweet-teeth too!
By the time we reached the end of the candy line, my kids were overflowing with candy, and I craved some chowder.
Because of the crowd, we were forced to sit at the edge of the parking lot. I didn’t mind sitting on the grass. I was hungry, and quickly scarfed down my chowder, before reaching for dessert—my candy bar!
”Daddy, did you take that from my pumpkin?” cried my youngest.
”No,” I said. “The gypsy-lady gave mommy and me some candy too.”
I pulled the candy from my pocket and began pulling apart the foil when I noticed I was unwrapping a naked woman!
The lighting was dim. Am I seeing things? I squinted to focus on the wrapper that read Emilie’s House of Passion: Adult Toys, Parties, and Novelties.
Shocked, I asked my wife for her candy. Her candy was in the likeness of a male organ!
Immediately I rushed the candy to my neighbor who took it to his pastor. As if shot out of a cannon, the pastor, chowder stained apron and all, sprinted across the field toward the gypsy woman.
After confronting her, she simply shrugged and said she hadn’t given any candy to children, and was only trying to get the word out about her business.
The pastor ordered her from the property, but the woman protested saying he first amendment rights gave her authority do whatever she wanted. “This is private property, and you have no place here!” he said sharply.
I guess his no-nonsense tone motivated her to move on, and she left the parking lot in a huff.
How could this have happened, you ask?
It’s Halloween—a time when we embrace the darkness. Should I have expected anything else?
Just because we take Halloween and put it in a church setting, are we foolish enough to thing it couldn’t be infiltrated by someone peddling “candy porn”?
I’ve been told that tighter security will keep this kind of thing from happening again. But it really doesn’t matter.
As a parent, I don’t need Halloween with it’s ghouls and goblins, ghosts and monsters to remind me that evil is all around us each and everyday. As I found out, Halloween candy not only rots your teeth, but it can poison your soul.
Ron De Jong
Grassfire
Monday, November 01, 2004
Moore-Osama parallels reveal Kerry link
The virtually untold story of Osama bin Laden’s statement released October 29 is the uncanny connection between bin Laden’s words and Michael Moore’s allegations in Fahrenheit 9/11 — allegations which have been supported by Senator John Kerry.
William Safire did mention this briefly in his op-ed of 11/1, but this is really big news that the media is glossing over. It’s big for two reasons.
First, it is so obvious that OBL was reading from Moore’s playbook that it makes it clear that the efforts of Moore and the radical left actually have aided and supported the number-one enemy of the United States. Even if this aid has been indirect, Moore’s efforts to frame this election year in the context of “Bush the incompetent misleader” have given OBL talking points on the eve of our presidential election!
Second, since John Kerry has supported the allegations of Michael Moore, we now have a philosophical link between bin Laden and Senator Kerry. Kerry is on record supporting many of the statements made by bin Laden last Friday. Examples of the Moore-Osama link, and Kerry supports when applicable:
On the “Pet Goat” book:
OBL highlights the outrageous charge that President Bush was flittering away time reading the “Goat” book, giving him even more time to attack America (a ludicrous statement). Where did OBL get such an idea? Maybe Michael Moore? And you could have heard these sentiments from Kerry as well.
Osama: “And we never knew that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would leave 50,000 of his people in the two towers to face those events by themselves when they were in the most urgent need of their leader. He was more interested in listening to the child's story about the goat rather than worry about what was happening to the towers. So, we had three times the time necessary to accomplish the events.”
Moore: “Not knowing what to do, with no one telling him what to do, and no Secret Service rushing in to take him to safety, Mr. Bush just sat there and continued to read “My Pet Goat” with the children.”
Kerry: “Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whispered in my ear, 'America is under attack,' I would have told those kids very politely and nicely that the President of the United States had something that he needed to attend to -- and I would have attended to it.”
By the way, it was John Kerry, not George Bush, who said of his own actions immediately after 9/11, “nobody could think,” and then proceeded to sit in a Senate office building for a half hour, unable to even comprehend what to do next. Read our report:
http://www.grassfire.org/7026/kerry.htm
Saudi Connection:
Here, OBL tried to paint a picture connecting President Bush and the regimes of the Middle East. Sound familiar? Again, it’s Michael Moore’s playbook. And John Kerry’s reading along as well.
Osama: We found no difficulties in dealing with the Bush administration, because of the similarities of that administration and the regimes in our countries, half of which are run by the military and half of which are run by monarchs. And our experience is vast with them…. Then, what happened was that he was impressed by the monarchies and the military regimes, and he was jealous of them staying in power for tens of years, embezzling the public money without any accountability. And he moved the tyranny and suppression of freedom to his own country,
Moore: A main focus of his Fahrenheit movie is to paint the picture of the ties of the Bush family to the Saudis and others. Moore shows a series of snapshots showing Bush Sr. visiting the Saudis and President George W. Bush apparently tied to the Middle East regimes as well.
Kerry: The Senator has made charges for months about a Bush-Saudi connection. First, the unholy alliance was going to result in low gas prices around election day to help Bush get re-elected. Here’s Kerry on 4/19/04: If ... it is true that gas supplies and prices in America are tied to the American election, tied to a secret White House deal, that is outrageous and unacceptable to the American people.” Now that gas prices are near record highs, the Kerry clan attacks Bush for not using his secret backroom connections to lower gas prices in time for the election. Kerry on 10/11/04: “"Four years ago, when he was running for president, George Bush said 'what I think the president ought to do is ... get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say, we expect you to open your spigots. Today, four years later, with gas prices at a record level, we're still waiting for George Bush to make that phone call."
Fraudulent U.S. Election
OBL hints that Bush is an illegitimate president, “installed” by his father. Again, he might as well have been quoting from Moore’s “Fahrenheit”. And Kerry won’t go on record disagreeing either.
Osama: And Bush, the father, found it good to install his children as governors and leaders.
Moore: That Bush stole the 2000 election is the central premise of the Fahrenheit movie
Anti-Semitism
Kerry: The Senator has done nothing to douse the liberal belief that Bush stole the election. In fact, he has only encouraged such thinking. For example, the LA Times reported that Kerry was asked “how it felt to run for the most powerful office in the land”. Kerry’s cynical response: "I don't know, because I'm not running for secretary of state of Florida."
Role of Israel:
It was no surprise when OBL revealed that the 9/11 attacks were somehow linked back to Israel. He probably didn’t get this one from Michael Moore, but Moore has been very openly critical of Israel. Moore should be embarrassed to be even in the same league as OBL.
Osama: But after the injustice was so much and we saw transgressions and the coalition between Americans and the Israelis against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it occurred to my mind that we deal with the towers. And these special events that directly and personally affected me go back to 1982 and what happened when America gave permission for Israel to invade Lebanon. And assistance was given by the American sixth fleet.
Moore: “I’m talking about a perceived notion that we Americans are supporting Israel in its oppression of the Palestinian people. Now where did those Arabs come up with an idea like that? Maybe it was when the Palestinian child looked up in the air and saw and American Apache helicopter firing a missile into his baby sister’s bedroom just before she was blown into a hundred bits.” (From “Dude Where’s My Country”
“In [the Israeli’s] hearts, they know they are wrong, and they know they would be doing just what the Palestinians are doing if the sandal were on the other foot.” (from “dude”)
William Safire did mention this briefly in his op-ed of 11/1, but this is really big news that the media is glossing over. It’s big for two reasons.
First, it is so obvious that OBL was reading from Moore’s playbook that it makes it clear that the efforts of Moore and the radical left actually have aided and supported the number-one enemy of the United States. Even if this aid has been indirect, Moore’s efforts to frame this election year in the context of “Bush the incompetent misleader” have given OBL talking points on the eve of our presidential election!
Second, since John Kerry has supported the allegations of Michael Moore, we now have a philosophical link between bin Laden and Senator Kerry. Kerry is on record supporting many of the statements made by bin Laden last Friday. Examples of the Moore-Osama link, and Kerry supports when applicable:
On the “Pet Goat” book:
OBL highlights the outrageous charge that President Bush was flittering away time reading the “Goat” book, giving him even more time to attack America (a ludicrous statement). Where did OBL get such an idea? Maybe Michael Moore? And you could have heard these sentiments from Kerry as well.
Osama: “And we never knew that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would leave 50,000 of his people in the two towers to face those events by themselves when they were in the most urgent need of their leader. He was more interested in listening to the child's story about the goat rather than worry about what was happening to the towers. So, we had three times the time necessary to accomplish the events.”
Moore: “Not knowing what to do, with no one telling him what to do, and no Secret Service rushing in to take him to safety, Mr. Bush just sat there and continued to read “My Pet Goat” with the children.”
Kerry: “Had I been reading to children and had my top aide whispered in my ear, 'America is under attack,' I would have told those kids very politely and nicely that the President of the United States had something that he needed to attend to -- and I would have attended to it.”
By the way, it was John Kerry, not George Bush, who said of his own actions immediately after 9/11, “nobody could think,” and then proceeded to sit in a Senate office building for a half hour, unable to even comprehend what to do next. Read our report:
http://www.grassfire.org/7026/kerry.htm
Saudi Connection:
Here, OBL tried to paint a picture connecting President Bush and the regimes of the Middle East. Sound familiar? Again, it’s Michael Moore’s playbook. And John Kerry’s reading along as well.
Osama: We found no difficulties in dealing with the Bush administration, because of the similarities of that administration and the regimes in our countries, half of which are run by the military and half of which are run by monarchs. And our experience is vast with them…. Then, what happened was that he was impressed by the monarchies and the military regimes, and he was jealous of them staying in power for tens of years, embezzling the public money without any accountability. And he moved the tyranny and suppression of freedom to his own country,
Moore: A main focus of his Fahrenheit movie is to paint the picture of the ties of the Bush family to the Saudis and others. Moore shows a series of snapshots showing Bush Sr. visiting the Saudis and President George W. Bush apparently tied to the Middle East regimes as well.
Kerry: The Senator has made charges for months about a Bush-Saudi connection. First, the unholy alliance was going to result in low gas prices around election day to help Bush get re-elected. Here’s Kerry on 4/19/04: If ... it is true that gas supplies and prices in America are tied to the American election, tied to a secret White House deal, that is outrageous and unacceptable to the American people.” Now that gas prices are near record highs, the Kerry clan attacks Bush for not using his secret backroom connections to lower gas prices in time for the election. Kerry on 10/11/04: “"Four years ago, when he was running for president, George Bush said 'what I think the president ought to do is ... get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say, we expect you to open your spigots. Today, four years later, with gas prices at a record level, we're still waiting for George Bush to make that phone call."
Fraudulent U.S. Election
OBL hints that Bush is an illegitimate president, “installed” by his father. Again, he might as well have been quoting from Moore’s “Fahrenheit”. And Kerry won’t go on record disagreeing either.
Osama: And Bush, the father, found it good to install his children as governors and leaders.
Moore: That Bush stole the 2000 election is the central premise of the Fahrenheit movie
Anti-Semitism
Kerry: The Senator has done nothing to douse the liberal belief that Bush stole the election. In fact, he has only encouraged such thinking. For example, the LA Times reported that Kerry was asked “how it felt to run for the most powerful office in the land”. Kerry’s cynical response: "I don't know, because I'm not running for secretary of state of Florida."
Role of Israel:
It was no surprise when OBL revealed that the 9/11 attacks were somehow linked back to Israel. He probably didn’t get this one from Michael Moore, but Moore has been very openly critical of Israel. Moore should be embarrassed to be even in the same league as OBL.
Osama: But after the injustice was so much and we saw transgressions and the coalition between Americans and the Israelis against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it occurred to my mind that we deal with the towers. And these special events that directly and personally affected me go back to 1982 and what happened when America gave permission for Israel to invade Lebanon. And assistance was given by the American sixth fleet.
Moore: “I’m talking about a perceived notion that we Americans are supporting Israel in its oppression of the Palestinian people. Now where did those Arabs come up with an idea like that? Maybe it was when the Palestinian child looked up in the air and saw and American Apache helicopter firing a missile into his baby sister’s bedroom just before she was blown into a hundred bits.” (From “Dude Where’s My Country”
“In [the Israeli’s] hearts, they know they are wrong, and they know they would be doing just what the Palestinians are doing if the sandal were on the other foot.” (from “dude”)
