My response to Brett Mock's Column this week in the Ball State Daily News

RIGHT BACK AT YA!: State, not federal government hurting Indiana's citizens
Brett Mock / October 04, 2004

I cannot count the number of times I have heard students complaining that regardless of their beliefs on the presidential election, Indiana will inevitably have its electoral votes register for Bush. Republicans and Democrats alike feel that the need to go out and vote is diminished because we are not a "battleground" state in the presidential election. However, many of these folks fail to acknowledge that we have an important gubernatorial election in Indiana, which promises to be one of closest races for governor in years. What better reason is there for Hoosiers to go out and vote in November than to decide who will lead Indiana for the next four years?

(read more)

Needless to say, the problems we have had in Indiana are not solely on the shoulders of President Bush. Our leadership in Indiana has failed to do what is necessary to recover. On November 2nd, Hoosiers have a chance to change state leadership and give Indiana a new chance to grow and prosper. Regardless of political party, one thing is clear - our state is not headed in the right direction. It's time for change in Indiana.

Brett Mock should get the Republican Spin Award of Excellence. Somehow he always manages to think of a way to get his point that 'them damn liberals' are to blame for everything.

First of all, Indiana is one of the most - if not THE most - relied on state in the U.S. for labor jobs (steal, cars, etc.).

According the the article you cited from the Indy Star, "In the past two years, big companies filing layoff notices have shed nearly 44,500 Indiana employees. Of those workers, 60 percent left plants that shut down permanently."

44,500 employees laid off. Do you know why they were laid off?

Their jobs went overseas. Now, you can't blame the companies, in all fairness.

Thanks to the $37 billion in tax breaks for companies to ship jobs overseas, part of Senate legislation S. 1637, American workers suffered greatly - especially Indiana, where factory jobs are high in number. The companies benefit not only by getting cheaper labor, they also don't have to pay benefits or meet American working regulations... not to mention the hefty chunk of tax break.

We're #16 in the nation for tax burden (according to your own related sites graphic). Not bad, since we're the 14th largest state in terms of population. Oh, wait, that means we're right around where we should be. Interesting! (And yes, I realize it's more complicated than that.)

http://geography.about.com/cs/censuspopulation1/a/2003estimates.htm

I wish you'd stop trusting everything O'Reilly says. You sound like him an awful lot. Then again, you're just like O'Reilly... shutting up anyone that disagrees with you on your website (BSYou.net) by deleting entire posts and threads. There's a word for that... oh, right, fascism.

"A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship..."

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fascism

-Jack Shepler
http://blog.jackola.net/

Just when you thought you saw it all...

GOP mailing claims Democratic candidate, an Iraq vet, 'weakening' terror war

NORFOLK, Va. -- A state Republican Party mailing accuses Democratic congressional candidate David Ashe--a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq--of "weakening the war on terror" by supporting John Kerry.

A flier sent on behalf of his Republican opponent, Thelma Drake, says Ashe and the Democratic presidential candidate are "two peas in a pod" on "issues like higher taxes, abortion on demand and the war on terror."

[The Daily Press - 10-4-2004]

Am I the only one that thinks this looks a *little* too desperate?

Orkut / gMail spam

So, I've been getting these messages from a "J.E Fatuch" to my gMail account.

From: GMAIL ADVERTISEMENTS <do_not_reply_@gmail.com>
Date: Thu Sep 16 23:43:57 PDT 2004
Subject: GMAIL WEBSITES

In Accordance with the TERMS OF USE of your GMAIL account, we sent you this special offer:

------------------------------------------------ # ---------------------------------- # --------------------------------------------

Advertiser: J.E Fatuch - Webdesigner Winner Of "The Golden Web Awards" 2002 - 2003 - 2004

------------------------------------------------ # ---------------------------------- # ---------------------------------------------
Hello jackola,

I'd like to offer you my services of Webdesigner and Webmaster to build, redesign or update your website with the following options:

- Chat or Live Help - PRICE $1000

Okay, whatever. I marked it as spam. Then I get this message:

From: Fatuch <fatuch@gmail.com>
Date: Sun Oct 03 12:08:59 PDT 2004
Subject: Orkut

Hello,
Please can you invite me to join your friends network at Orkut.com?
My Name: J.E Fatuch
My Email: fatuch@gmail.com
Thank you,
J.E

I was tempted to email him to ask who he was, not realizing it was the same guy from before. I didn't. Instead I just kept the email in my inbox, where most things I don't want to deal with sit. But then I found that I wasn't the only one getting these messages, as he said in the message I just received:

From: J.E Fatuch <fatuch@gmail.com>
To: myfriends@orkut.com
Date: Tue Oct 05 01:10:32 PDT 2004
Subject: Thank You!

Hello, this is an global message:
1) To: my new friends:
Thank you for invite me to your friend's list at http://orkut.com. I'll be your friend forever. A star shine already illuminates you.
Sorry, I'm unable to reply your messages at this time. Reason: I have 5,560 emails in my GMAIL inbox.The same as my Orkut account .
I will contact you personally as soon as possible.

2) To: people that has asked me if i know you:
Not, i`m just a human looking for friends. Are you human? Why are you so prevented? Please add me to your friends list.

Best ,
J.E Fatuch

"It's love, not life, the opposite of death.'

Okay, so I need to figure out who this guy is... a quick google search and I find that I'm not the only one talking about this:

- He posted here asking for orkut
- Elliot Lee's Blog » Spamming all Gmail accounts?
- Portugese blogger posts about it
- #blog: Gmail spam

I found a link to his orkut profile in one of the above.

So, everyone's trying to figure out if he's spamming all gmail accounts or how the heck he got our email addresses.


.. Either way, he sucks at web design. And I stopped being excited about web design awards back in 1999.

DemocracyMeansYou.com

This site sells a lot of interesting things, like...


$.59 each


$1.29


$.99 (and less for quantities)


$1.49-$2.49 (all buttons)


$3.99!!!


$4.99

... There's also a Bush voodoo doll for $5, keychaines, postcards, posters, books, music, stickers...

---

ALSO: If anybody plans to be having any 1" buttons made in the near future, please contact me... I'm wanting to start making and selling 1" high quality buttons.

Today's Sack / Star Tribune Comic

Videos to check out

Debate Desperation Done [wmp]
This short film from the DCCC shows a few of the lies that Bush told during the first Presidential Debate. It very well shows how desperate and flustered Bush was.

How do you run a convention on a record of failure? [mov]
This is a short, edited version of the entire Republican National Convention. I highly suggest you check it out... it's actually pretty funny.... if not deathly serious. [suggested to me by roy]

The Daily Show: September 11 at the Republican National Convention [mov]
Jon Stuart of the Daily Show gives us a few highlights from former New York Mayor Juliani and John McCane (who pointed out Michael Moore), namely the number of times they mentioned September 11.

Outsource Outrage: "Outsource This!" [mov/wmp]
"Where are all those jobs the Bush Administration says are out there? Watch as Jason Alexander goes looking 'Outsource This!'" It's not very funny, even though Jason Alexander tries to be, but I definitely support the cause. The rest of the site has good statistics and information.

All The Presidents Pets
Mo Rocca, formerly a rcorrespondant on the Daily Show, gives us the low down on pets in the White House in history. It's amusing, especially if you're bored.

So anyway, check this out.

While the press gave extensive coverage Tuesday to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s statement that he hasn't seen "any strong, hard evidence" to link Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaeda terrorists who staged the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, it became ever more apparent that the media still have their work cut out for them on this issue.

...

In response to another question, 32% said they thought Saddam had personally planned them.

The same poll in June showed that 56% of all Republicans said they thought Saddam was involved with the 9/11 attacks.

[Media Matters? Poll Shows More than 4 in 10 Still Link Saddam to 9/11 - Editor & Publisher - 10//5/2004

I swear, either people don't pay attention or the wording that Rumsfeld used was confusing.

Seriously, if there's one word that sums up the Republican party this election, it's desperate.

LANSING, Mich. - Republicans say filmmaker Michael Moore should be prosecuted for offering underwear, potato chips and Ramen noodles to college students in exchange for their promise to vote for John Kerry.

The Michigan Republican Party has asked four county prosecutors to file charges against Moore, charging that his get-out-the-vote stunt amounts to bribery.

[Moore Accused of Offering Gifts for Votes - Yahoo/AP - 10/05/2004]

Bill O'Reilly flip-flops for us... when faced with the truth that's not in his favor, he decides to "SHUT UP"

One week before the first presidential debate, FOX News Channel host Bill O'Reilly promised his radio show listeners: "[W]e're going to give you a numerical system -- who won the debate and then how they won." Following the September 30 debate, however, as a consensus emerged that Senator John Kerry had "won" the debate, O'Reilly changed his mind. "I'm not going to tell you who won the debate because I really don't have any right to tell you that," he said.

[O'Reilly flip-flopped on picking debate winner - Media Matters - 10/5/2004]

I'm glad I made the choice a few years ago to make up my own mind about politics and stop just supporting whatever my parents did. It's sad to say that I might have voted for George W. Bush in the last election if I weren't 17 at the time.

Was Bush Wired?

Click to view the full image, then notice the line running over his shoulder, leading to a square shape on his back.

Now, that's not enough to assume he had an earpiece, but does anyone remember when he said "now let me finish" - randomly, with plenty of time left, and nobody appearing to rush him. When I heard that, I was very confused. It's not as if the moderator would stop him in the middle of his sentence. He wasn't looking towards Kerry (who, unlike Bush, never interrupted during the debate). And none of the timed lights were going off.

Check out the audio snippet on IndyMedia [REAL] ... or just watch the debate on any of the major tv network websites.

Now, wether or not you think it's ethical for him to have an earpeace while speaking publicly to the nation, it is against the Presidential Debate Agreement.

More:
[Bush Blows it! Exposes Earpiece in Debate - IndyMedia - 10/01/2004]
[www.IsBushWired.com]

This isn't the first time he's been caught saying what the voices tell him to...

... Like the D-Day ceremonies when Bush met with French president Javques Chirac... which was quickly ignored by the media due to Reagan's death the next day
[The Bush Earpiece - 06/10/2004]
[DNC message board]

... or his late, stumbled response to a question about his knowledge of September 11 before it happened, December 15, 2003.
[An Absurd "Asinuation": President Bush's Earpiece - 12/22/2003]