Oy! What A Mess!
A sector of the vote often taken for granted by the Democrats is apparently losing ground to the Republicans.

If this November’s election ends up being as close as many pundits and politicians think it is now, then slivers of the electorate — for instance, church-going African-Americans in Milwaukee, or Miami Jews who support Israel — will play a decisive role.

A few thousand or even a few hundred votes cast for John Kerry or George Bush in key states such as Wisconsin and Florida — or votes not cast at all in a stay-at-home protest — could determine the winner Nov. 2.

That is why the anxiety voiced here in Boston this week at the Democratic National Convention by Jewish Democrats is worth paying attention to.

The source of that unease: the sense that Bush, due to his removal of Saddam Hussein, his resolve in fighting Islamic terrorists, and his robust support for Israel’s government led by Ariel Sharon, is gaining ground among those Jewish voters who place their highest priority on Israel’s survival.

The article also cites a statistic that at least 80% of Jews have voted for the Democratic candidate in each of the last three elections. Apparently, Kerry lost favor with Jews by citing Carter as a "Middle East envoy."

As a Jew myself, I think that choosing Carter for such a position would be an excellent choice. Carter was a great facilitator in the Camp David Accords during his presidency. The very idea that Kerry would be employing such a position speaks well for the future of Israel. And also, while I applaud President Bush's recent pro-Israeli statements, it doesn't take much of a Middle East scholar to recognize the difference between genuine attempts at peacemaking, as Carter demonstrated in 1978, and an attempt to win over both sides of an issue (supporting Israel while promising a Palestinian state within a year?!?). In reference to the problem above though, this seems to be a situation revolving primarily around Florida, a state which, between the felons list, computer voting machines with a lack of paper trail, and Jebby in office, doesn't exactly look too favorable for Kerry anyway.

Who Let the Dogs Out?
Nader proves he's strong on all the issues. Like, uh, not being Kerry... and, er, being screwed by Kerry...

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader said on Friday that Democrats were using ``dirty tricks'' to keep him off the ballot in key states and demanded that the party's freshly anointed nominee John Kerry ``call off your dogs.''

Nader, unpopular with many Democrats since he ran as a third-party candidate in 2000 and was seen as costing Al Gore the election, also dismissed accusations that he was heavily supported by Republicans.

Nader, speaking at a campaign stop in Los Angeles one day after Kerry accepted the Democratic party nomination, said the senator's ``underlings'' were ``harassing, obstructing and impeding'' his efforts to get on the ballot in all 50 states.

``I say to Sen. John Kerry, call off your dogs,'' Nader said. ``Stop encouraging these dirty tricks or you will be held responsible.''

Is it just me or is Nader's only issue this election that Kerry is playing dirty tricks? I liked Nader better in 2000 when he actually stood for something other than "not-Kerry." Ironically, by posing as a liberal alternative to the other choice, Nader is actually replicating Kerry's stance.

Deathbed Wish
An old Floridian woman has a dying wish:

A South Florida woman who died this week had an unusual last request. Instead of flower or contributions in her name to a charity, she asked those who loved her to try to make sure President George W. Bush is not re-elected.

Loved ones said that Joan Abbey was committed to her political passions, even in death.

Her sister, Tillie Shapiro, said, "She was just a caring person … She cared about people, and people who were disadvantaged."

Abbey was buried the day after the Democratic convention ended. Her unusual death notice in the Miami Herald said: "You can honor Joan's values by voting against George Bush and contributing to a liberal or Democratic cause."

Look for the President to speak in Florida later this week and commemorate her death by promising to fulfill the dying wishes of all citizens if he is re-elected in November.

Berger is cleared
Link:

President Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger -- who'd been accused of stealing classified material from the National Archives -- has been cleared of all wrongdoing.

The National Archives and the Justice Department have concluded nothing is missing and nothing in the Clinton administration's record was withheld from the 9-11 Commission.

The Wall Street Journal reports archives staff have accounted for all classified documents Berger looked at.

Late last year they asked investigators to see if the former national security adviser removed materials during his visits.

Berger's lawyers said his client had inadvertently removed several photocopies of reports, but later returned them.

According to Newsmax, though, it didn't happen:

A senior spokeswoman for the National Archives denied a report Friday morning that Archives officials have cleared former Kerry-Edwards campaign adviser Sandy Berger on charges that he withheld documents from the 9/11 Commission.

"In spite of what the Wall Street Journal said, the National Archives really isn't commenting on this case because it's under investigation," Susan Cooper, chief spokeswoman for the Archives, told NewsMax.com.

While that may be hard to call a "denial," the fact that only Newsmax is carrying this is a bit fishy. However, I suspect the major media will start picking up the story soon, and I'm sure we'll then get a fair and balanced view of what happened. Just kidding.

Falwell practices brought into question
How typical of an RNC speaker:

RICHMOND, Va. - A watchdog group claims the Rev. Jerry Falwell violated campaign finance laws by endorsing President Bush and soliciting funds for a conservative political action committee on his ministries' Web site.

In a complaint filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission, the Campaign Legal Center said Jerry Falwell Ministries and a lobbying organization affiliated with Falwell were politicking for the president by endorsing him earlier this month, which they are barred from doing as nonprofit corporations.

The complaint follows a separate letter sent by a religious watchdog group to the Internal Revenue Service accusing Falwell of violating his ministries' tax-exempt status by endorsing a political candidate.

In an e-mail newsletter sent to followers July 1, Falwell urged conservatives to vote for Bush and "flood Campaign for Working Families with financial help." The Campaign for Working Families is run by Gary Bauer, a conservative activist who opposes abortion and gay marriage.

Of course, if he gets into much trouble I'm sure the GOP will prevent him from speaking, if they have any shame whatsoever. On second thought, Falwell is a lock for opening speaker.

USA Today Cans Coulter
Although it was an interesting premise to hire Ann Coulter to cover the DNC (or as she refers to it, "the Spawn of Satan convention") and Michael Moore to cover the RNC, it took only one column for the newspaper to replace Coulter with another writer. Apparently, they had never read Coulter's columns before because comments like the following should be expected from her:

My pretty-girl allies stick out like a sore thumb amongst the corn-fed, no make-up, natural fiber, no-bra needing, sandal-wearing, hirsute, somewhat fragrant hippie chick pie wagons they call "women" at the Democratic National Convention.

I just looked up 'radical' in the dictionary and it says "making Michael Moore seem non-partisan in comparison."

Might As Well Start My Stories Off With A Bang
Capitol Hill Blue reports that Bush has joined ranks with Rush Limbaugh in his prescription drug addiction:

President George W. Bush is taking powerful anti-depressant drugs to control his erratic behavior, depression and paranoia, Capitol Hill Blue has learned.

So Bush is depressed and paranoid? Hmm, I can't imagine why...

The prescription drugs, administered by Col. Richard J. Tubb, the White House physician, can impair the President’s mental faculties and decrease both his physical capabilities and his ability to respond to a crisis, administration aides admit privately.

Decreased ability to respond to a crisis? I guess this explains the seven minute reading of "My Pet Goat." It's not that he wasn't sure what he should do. He was just physically incapable of getting up.

Tubb prescribed the anti-depressants after a clearly-upset Bush stormed off stage on July 8, refusing to answer reporters' questions about his relationship with indicted Enron executive Kenneth J. Lay.
“Keep those motherfuckers away from me,” he screamed at an aide backstage. “If you can’t, I’ll find someone who can.”

Yet Teresa Heinz-Kerry is the one catching flack for saying "Shove it?" Man, that media is so 'motherfucking' liberal...

New Blogger
Hi. I'm Jon Katz, a friend of Pete's, who is equally interested in politics. Due to the high demands of Pete's new job and settling into college which all happens to coincide with the DNC, he has asked me to help him in contributing to this site. As a bit of background, I am a Television-Radio major, Politics minor, at Ithaca College in central New York.
I look forward to adding commentary to news events and, in accordance with the standard of political blogging, witty quips...

KtL news
Since I've been unable to post frequently, I have enlisted the help of my friend Jon, who will be doing some posting (although I won't stop my sparse posting) to compensate for my absence. But don't worry - I'll be back in full force soon enough. If Jon does a good enough job, however, I may be forced to keep him for good.

Fence Bush in!
Donate to build a fence around Bush's ranch so he can't escape!

Nancy Reagan won't show at GOP convention
The irony of more Reagan's appearing at the DNC is quite appealing.

And we thought we had a gun problem
A woman in Brazil turns in 1300 guns for the Cash for Arms program.

On a side note, apologies for the very sparse posting, I've been incredibly busy. Once my residence moves down to D.C. in one month, posting will pick up dramatically. Until then I'll do my best to post as much as possible, which will end up being a good deal more than the past two weeks.