1,001 Reasons Not To Vote For Bush (Vol. 88)
871. John at Americablog has a chilling post listing the potential ramifications of the theft of more than 300 tons of explosives from the Al Qaqaa facility in Iraq. It's suitably frightening, as you might gather from the title: Explosives lost in Iraq could kill 205 million people.
872. An article in the Oct. 25, 2004, New York Times drops the H-bomb: "The top civilian contracting official for the Army Corps of Engineers, charging that the Army granted the Halliburton Company large contracts for work in Iraq and the Balkans without following rules designed to ensure competition and fair prices to the government, has called for a high-level investigation of what she described as threats to the 'integrity of the federal contracting program.' "
873. From that Oct. 25, 2004, Times article: "The Pentagon has asserted that, as the invasion of Iraq began, Halliburton was the only company able to provide services with the required speed and secrecy. But Pentagon auditors later questioned the company's billing practices and found examples of reckless spending or unjustified charges."
874. Ah, forget Poland. And the rest of 'em. On Oct. 24, 2004, the Washington Post, following up on a report in BradBlog, reported: "The list of names of countries supporting the U.S.-led military action in Iraq has been removed from the White House Web site."
875. Coincidentally, other things have vanished faster than 380 tons of lethal weapons, according to that Oct. 24, 2004, Post report: "Gone are links to the audio and video of President Bush's statement that 'I'm not that concerned' about Osama bin Laden, a Q&A when Bush said 'misunderestimate' and Bush's acknowledgment that his decision making on stem cell policy was 'unusually deliberative for my administration.' "
876. Newspapers are shunning Bush as if they were the administration and Bush were France. Editor and Publisher reported Oct. 23, 2004: "The Detroit News, which has never endorsed a Democrat, and which backed Bush in 2000, announced that it would sit out the 2004 election, not happy with either candidate. The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, another Bush backer in 2000, said the same thing today in an editorial titled 'No One to Champion.' A third Bush supporter in 2000, The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., also declared neutrality today."
877. Speaking of mixed emotions: In an interview scheduled to be telecast Oct. 25, 2004, on "Hannity and Colmes," Bush said of the nation's safety from terrorists: "Whether or not we can be ever fully safe is up — you know, up in the air."
878. Which is a truly horrible choice of words. Even for him.
879. In an article in the Nov. 1, 2004, Newsweek on the fading "coalition" in Iraq comes this charming anecdote: "The Coalition's Potemkin-village quality is perhaps best illustrated by Japan's contribution: 600 Self-Defense Force troops. By law, they cannot instigate combat, and have not fired a single shot in anger. In fact, troops from the Netherlands' 500-strong contingent are deployed around the SDF compound in southern Iraq to provide an extra layer of security for the Japanese."
880. In addition to Axis of Evil member Iran, lip-syncher Ashlee Simpson and all-around cretin Ted Nugent, two more Bush supporters have come to light: a pair of alleged Mafia soldiers.



- posted by Boots @ 10/25/2004 06:23:00 PM