Month: December 2004

School in Oklahoma pulls out the song “Silent Night” and a nativity scene from a children’s holiday program for fear of offending someone.

This is a great idea – not necessarily for someone like me, who travels 4 or 5 times a year, but for the person who travels a lot, and reads a lot.

Here’s a literary twist for frequent fliers: Buy the latest Stephen King novel in your local airport, read it on the plane, then sell it back for half price at the end of the flight

You’ll soon be able to take advantage of deals like this at the 206 newsstands and 19 bookstores operated by the Paradies Shops, one of the nation’s largest airport booksellers.

I’m speaking of the top 25 most played Christmas songs, of course.

My thoughts exactly.

Noonan on Hillary.

So, how easy was it for Al Sharpton to stand next to John Kerry and smile during the campaign? As easy as $86,715 dollars.  (h/t LGF)

Jesse Jackson: “2004 Election ‘Ain’t Over”. Jesse threatens to enlist the service of Michael Moore if a formal congressional investigation is not launched. Kerry issues a statement.

Via CNSNews.com:

The 2004 presidential election was plagued by fraud and voter suppression, according to some Democratic members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, liberal special interest groups and big-name private citizens, who used the formal surroundings of a congressional office building Wednesday to present their evidence.

Many of those present declared the election of 2004 not yet over. “It ain’t over,” Rainbow PUSH Coalition founder Jesse Jackson declared. “This race is not over until it is certified — every vote is counted and honored.”

The event, called “Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio,” was chaired by U.S. Rep. John Conyers from Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. It was held at the Rayburn House Office Building, across the street from the U.S. Capitol, and focused on results in the Buckeye State. President Bush won Ohio by more than 135,000 votes over Democrat John Kerry.

Jackson threatened to recruit left wing filmmaker Michael Moore for the election fraud debate if a formal congressional investigation is not launched. “I urge Congress to act before Michael Moore comes and exposes the violation and the capitulation again,” Jackson said to applause. Moore directed “Fahrenheit 9/11,” the Bush-bashing film that electrified liberals and enraged conservative backers of the president during this year’s campaign.

For goodness sake, would someone just slip Jesse a few bucks so he’ll quiet down? That’s all it takes right?

Although Wednesday’s event was not an official Judiciary Committee hearing and included no contrasting viewpoints from committee members or witnesses, Conyers’ role allowed it to have the appearance of being official. Sponsors conceded that the event, billed as a “hearing,” was really a just “forum.”

John Kerry was not present at Wednesday’s forum, but did issue a statement Tuesday, stating that it was “critical” for an investigation to be conducted into the “voting irregularity.”

“I want every vote counted in this election, but I also want to make sure there are no questions or doubts in future elections,” Kerry said.

Complete incoherence. A loss of reality. Unhinged and shrill.

This is the Democratic Party.

Also see No Mas, Pt. 1

This time, for chairman of the DNC. Via Newsday:

Howard Dean, with an eye on leading the Democratic Party in the wake of widespread election losses, said Wednesday that Democrats must campaign on their convictions and not give into the temptation to behave like Republicans.

“We cannot win by being Republican light,” Dean said, repeating a line that helped make him a darling of the left in the early presidential race. “We’ve tried it, and it does not work.”

“If this election had been decided on moral values, the Democrats would have won,” Dean continued. “I think it’s time for us to start framing the debate. We have to learn to punch our ways off the ropes.”

“When some people say that we should change direction, in essence they are arguing that our basic or guiding principles can be altered or modified,” Dean said. “They cannot. On issue after issue, we are where majority of the American people are.”

Dean said the party must fight for victory in every state at every level of government and added, “we can’t be a party that wins the presidency by running an 18-state campaign.”

That’s right…because as we all know, Dr. Dean loves to shout out a roll-call of the states, and calling out 18 would be so anti-climactic.

YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!

Suffers a stroke. No further word as to his condition. (h/t OTB)

UPDATE: “No cause for alarm.”

John Lennon was shot and killed twenty-four years ago on this day in 1980. To re-live that moment, go here and view full size scanned images of stories in Newsweek, Time and other magazines. Additionally, the BEEB put this article out in 2000, which gives insight into the night Lennon died.

More: Feel free to visit Strawberry Fields, “virtually“. (h/t Xeni)