] Nevada election officials have launched an investigation
] into allegations that a Republican-led voter registration
] drive improperly disposed of forms it collected from
] potential Democratic voters.

As far as I'm concerned, this is right there with Watergate. The next step up is shooting people who try to vote.

CNN.com - Nevada investigates voter registration - Oct 14, 2004

] If this year stays true to past form, the campaign will
] get nastier in the closing weeks, and without anyone's
] quite registering it, Rove will be right back in his
] element. He seems to understand -- indeed, to count
] on -- the media's unwillingness or inability, whether
] from squeamishness, laziness, or professional caution,
] ever to give a full estimate of him or his work. It is
] ultimately not just Rove's skill but his character that
] allows him to perform on an entirely different plane.
] Along with remarkable strategic skills, he has both an
] understanding of the media's unstated self-limitations
] and a willingness to fight in territory where conscience
] forbids most others.
]
]
] Rove isn't bracing for a close race. He's depending on
] it.

[ A must read on the unconcionable Karl Rove... -k]

The Atlantic Online | November 2004 | Karl Rove in a Corner | Joshua Green

] Rackspace Managed Hosting, the San Antonio-based company
] that manages two Indymedia servers seized by the US
] government last Thursday, said yesterday that the servers
] have been returned and are now available to go back
] online. Immediate access to the servers, which host
] Indymedia's Internet radio station and more than 20
] Indymedia websites, will be delayed so that the
] Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) can ensure that the
] servers are secure and take steps to preserve evidence
] for future legal action.

[ Sketchy. -k]

And just like that, the servers were back...

Acidus turns 24 on Friday. Party time!

Happy Birthday Acidus!

] Female Fox coworker details lewd behavior of cable TV
] star
]
]
] OCTOBER 13--Hours after Bill O'Reilly accused her of a
] multimillion dollar shakedown attempt, a female Fox News
] producer fired back at the TV star today, filing a
] lawsuit claiming that he subjected her to repeated
] instances of sexual harassment and spoke often, and
] explicitly, to her about phone sex, vibrators,
] threesomes, masturbation, the loss of his virginity, and
] sexual fantasies.

Breaking News! Bill O'Reilly is a misogynist.

O'Reilly Hit With Sex Harass Suit - October 13, 2004

] "The FBI can't pull the plug on more than 20 news
] websites -- our modern printing presses -- based on a
] secret proceeding at the request of a foreign government.
] This is a flagrant violation of the First Amendment,"
] said Kevin Bankston, EFF attorney and Equal Justice
] Works/Bruce J. Ennis Fellow. "As far as the Constitution
] is concerned, Indymedia has the same rights as any other
] news publisher. The government can't shut down the New
] York Times, and it can't shut down Indymedia."

[ A story to keep your eyes on... -k]

EFF: EFF Challenges Secret Government Order to Shut Down Media Websites

] Found the following links which all seem to point to the
] same company that is suspected of tearing up Democratic
] voter registration forms in Las Vegas. It has set up
] registration drives in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan,
] Ohio, West Virginia, Florida and Nevada and is accused of
] the same things in most if not all of these states.
] Sproul & Associates is a Republican consulting firm run
] by Nathan Sproul, former head of the Arizona Republican
] party and Arizona Christian Coalition.

[ The DKOS headline is inflamatory, but that doesn't negate the increasing amount of circumstantial evidence pointing to unethical behavior on the part of this particular outfit, and possibly the RNC, who funds them.

At the very least, even the rumor of a company tearing up voter registrations, for any reason, demands investigation. If these guys are doing even half of what they appear to be doing, serious jail time is in order. -k]

Daily Kos :: RNC funds voter supression efforts

] Voting for president used to be so easy, at least for a
] conservative. There was the Republican candidate. You
] knew he generally stood for lower taxes, less government
] spending, giving fewer powers to the government, lower
] deficits and a zealous regard for individual privacy.
]
] Then, there was the Democrat. You knew he generally stood
] for higher taxes, more government and deficit spending,
] and a zealous regard for civil liberties.
]
] ...
]
] Now we have the election of 2004. For the first time in
] my voting life, the choice in the race for president
] isn't so clear And, among true conservatives, I'm not
] alone.

[ Bob Barr takes the president to task. In all the categories that represent the best side of conservatism - fiscal restraint, unintrusive government, privacy, environment and security - W fails the test. Barr points out some of these, paying particular attention to fiscal policies. From large increases in nondefense spending to Homeland Security funds misdirected into Iraq, any true conservative is without a candidate, just as any true progressive is.

Kerry certainly doesn't offer much for conservatives, and I wouldn't suggest that he does. I can only hope that Bush's mistreatment of what should be his base ends up lending some support to a multiparty system beyond the Red vs. Blue we're stuck with now. -k]

Creative Loafing Atlanta | NEWS & VIEWS | AN AGONIZING CHOICE

] Repeating a tactic he used against his Republican primary
] opponent this year, Floyd bought three Internet domain
] names with Van Hollen's name and turned them into Web
] sites carrying unflattering comments about the freshman
] congressman's record.

[ Floyd grabbed vanhollen.com/net/org and filled them classic policy positions, noting how vanhollen wants "the U.S. to be more like France".

Says the Honorable Mr. Floyd : "I feel if the congressman doesn't have the foresight to buy up certain domain names with his name, does he deserve to be in Congress?" asked Floyd, a retired military officer and State Department employee. "It was up for grabs, so I bought it."

Thoughts? -k]

Van Hollen Is Caught Off Guard; Name Is Used by Foe's Web Sites (washingtonpost.com)

] Why is Reeve an asshole?
]
] Simple: because he's selfish. Reeve didn't give a shit
] about paralysis before his accident, but now that he's
] paralyzed, suddenly he opens up a paralysis foundation
] and cares about the plight of cripples? Where was his
] foundation in '95 when he played the role of a man with
] spinal cord injury? Sure, some of you might argue that
] he's doing a good thing by bringing attention to
] paralysis, but the underlying message being sent here is
] that nobody gives a shit about cripples until a celebrity
] becomes one.

I'm sorry he's dead, but somebody had to say it.

[ That's fucking stupid. No one had to say it and no one should have. Don't get me wrong, it's not a new attitude, but it's disingenuous. As if it's somehow wrong for someone to change their outlook on life after circumstances change. Is it unfortunate that more people don't take up causes and work for them without prompting? Of course, but that doesn't make it any less appropriate to do good after a forced reckoning, so to speak.

The underlying fact that *most people* are selfish and don't pay attention until they either come face to face with calamity, or are made aware through some celebrity endorsement is, truly, a sad realization. The fact that this person saw that message means he's paying attention, but Christopher Reeves didn't send that message. The whole fucking human race does. At least Reeves took the event and made it as postive as he could, instead of holing up, spending his money on drugs and porno until the end of his days, or bitching about how unfair life is.

Yeah, what a selfish prick for taking personal tragedy and turning it into something beneficial for others. I wish he wasn't such a hypocrite, being all self involved for all those years and then just suddenly flip-flopping into some kind of philanthropist. -k]

Maddox: Christopher Reeve is an asshole.