Protesting Banned in Central Park
Well, it seems that just on the heels of Mayor Bloomberg's announcement that NYC is welcoming "Peaceful Protesters" during the RNC, the city has decided not to allow protesting on Central Park's Great Lawn.

The city's decision to deny a permit to protesters for a rally on Central Park's Great Lawn on the weekend before the Republican National Convention is about preserving the lawn, not suppressing speech, lawyers for the city said in federal court Friday.
The lawn would be ruined if 75,000 people gathered there for a rally on Aug. 28 and then 250,000 people used the lawn for another rally the next day, said Gail Donoghue, representing the city.

Yes, we welcome peaceful protesters, but just not in plain view. What exactly are the peaceful protesters supposed to do if not protest, just walk the streets of the city in silence occasionally stopping to buy coffee or a postcard? If they don't want people to be protesting in a prominent location, at least give a better bullshit reason than lawn preservation. My solution? Picket this decision right on the Great Lawn.

Flip Flop Olympics!
George Bush's official site has posted a new flash game called "John Kerry's Flip Flop Olympics" in which the player learns all about Kerry's terrible flip-flopping record all while having a lot of fun with those crazy cartoons. Judges at the event include Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, and Howard Dean.

RNC Flashback
With the Republican Convention just around the corner, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the 2000 RNC. Below is a quote from President Bush, accepting the Republican nomination on August 3, 2000.

"A generation shaped by Vietnam must remember the lessons of Vietnam: When America uses force in the world, the cause must be just, the goal must be clear, and the victory must be overwhelming."

Keyes's Latest Position
Has Alan Keyes completely given up or is he serious about this new idea?

Speaking at a news conference at the Hotel InterContinental in Chicago, Republican Keyes added to his now familiar talking points his stance on slavery reparations.

Prompted by a reporter's question, Keyes gave a brief tutorial on Roman history and said that in regard to reparations for slavery, the U.S. should do what the Romans did: "When a city had been devastated , for a certain length of time--a generation or two--they exempted the damaged city from taxation."

Keyes proposed that for a generation or two, African-Americans of slave heritage should be exempted from federal taxes--federal because slavery "was an egregious failure on the part of the federal establishment." In calling for the tax relief, Keyes appeared to be reaching out to capture the black vote, something that may prove difficult to do, particularly after his unwelcome reception at the Bud Billiken Day Parade Saturday.

The former ambassador said his plan would give African-Americans "a competitive edge in the labor market," because those exempted would be cheaper to hire than federal tax-paying employees and would "compensate for all those years when your labor was being exploited."

So I guess it's obvious that Keyes, stuck in a race against another African-American, is trying to win the black vote between them, stealing a demographic which is usually a stronghold for Democrats. The more militant blacks might vote for Keyes because of issues like this, leaving the white vote to Obama. But he is forgetting to calculate that there are way more whites in Illinois than blacks. In case Keyes couldn't do the math, I checked out the 2000 Census, which reports the state as having 73.5% whites and only 15% blacks. So maybe the Republicans are so shortsighted they believe that all of the whites, who by default must hate all black people, will simply not vote at all for a Senator. And even if this happens, Obama still has the election wrapped up. So bring some more ridiculous platforms onto the agenda, Alan. I can't wait to blog about them...

Terrible Joke Below
The Washington Post just set me up for a zinger...

The press corps appears to have had about enough of those hokey "Ask President Bush" events.

Instead of taking questions from reporters, President Bush has become increasingly partial to playing talk-show host to an audience of sycophantic fans.

There were four "Ask President Bush" events last week and in each case, after a long speech and staged interviews with prepped guests, Bush opened the floor to some incredible softballs.

The format allows the president to come off as very smooth.

So it seems the press is revolting. But of course, we already knew that! Oh hot damn, I slay myself!

Overanalysis of Bush's Attempts At Humor
The Washington Post reports on Bush's new "shirtsleeves" image, saying he has the look of a man "who can get the job done."

While Bush's style sounds conversational, his speeches, made with only occasional glances at notes, are increasingly practiced, with the same stories and arguments appearing in the same places.

Still, there are occasional variations. In one telling of his riff about the majesty of the Oval Office, he notes that it leaves any visitor speechless -- except for "my mother, who walked in and continued to tell me what to do."

That line was in Las Vegas. In Florida, however, he made the same point but said that the Oval Office is so powerful "it's the kind of place where my mother walks in and feels so overwhelmed, she won't tell me what to do."

What? Did Bush mess up the joke once? I don't even know which one is funnier. Does this even explain when Bush Sr, Cheney, Powell, Rice, Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, Rove, or the local paperboy come into the Oval Office to tell him what to do? And more to the point, when is he going to realize that the President isn't supposed to seem like your hardworking neighbor. No one should look for "ability to sit down, drink a beer, and watch the game with" as a quality for good leadership. Not that having rolled up sleeves even embodies this characteristic anyway...

NJ solidly blue
As if we needed more evidence that Jersey was a sure bet for Dems this November, McGreevey received a point bounce after admitting a homosexual affair.

Keep talking, Alan
Keyes ability to run his mouth is making this a sure bet for Obama:

Alan Keyes said Friday he would like to end the system under which the people elect U.S. senators and return to pre-1913 practice in which senators were chosen by state legislatures.

Well done, sir.