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____________________________________ CHUCK MUTH�S NEWS & VIEWS March 17, 2004 To view the HTML version of today�s News & Views, just go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsandviews/nv.cfm To subscribe, just go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsletter/ To reach our 7-day News & Views archive, go to www.citizenoutreach.com _____________________________________ SURVEY SAYS! Are pharmaceutical companies spending too much money on advertising? Cast your vote by clicking the �Survey Says!� tab at www.citizenoutreach.com LAKE WACKO-BEGONE �Republicans might be heathens and out to destroy all that we hold dear, but that doesn�t mean we need to take them seriously. Or be bitter or vituperative just because they are swine. I think one can still have friends who are Republicans.� - Lake Wobegone author Garrison Keillor CROOKED LIAR DEFENDS sKERRY�S CROOKED LIAR REMARK �Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York Democrat, said Sunday that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry was right when he branded Republicans as �the most crooked, you know, lying group I have ever seen.� Calling Mr. Kerry's comment �quite descriptive of reality,� Mrs. Clinton told an audience at Boston's Kennedy Center that the senator from Massachusetts had been targeted by the same �vast right-wing conspiracy� that impeached her husband, Newsmax.com reports.� - Greg Pierce�s �Inside Politics,� 3/16/04 IRAQ: ONE YEAR LATER �The (Iraq) war demonstrated the formidable power of the U.S. military. The monstrous extent of Saddam's savagery was made public with the discovery of mass graves. We now know that he managed to corrupt the U.N. itself, along with some leading politicians in its member states. The world, in short, looks a lot different than it did a year ago. What we know now is that �multilateralism� -- the code word for going to the U.N. -- doesn't solve problems. It just buries them. . . . The obvious conclusion: America has no choice but to lead. The United Nations, for all its failures, is a sometimes useful adjunct. But it is no substitute. And neither is that favorite notion of the left, �multilateralism.� � - Wall Street Journal columnist George Melloan REGIME CHANGE ON THE CHEAP �This was a big defeat for us. Al Qaeda caused a regime change better than we did in Baghdad. No cost.� - Unnamed Pentagon official on the results of Spain�s upset election this weekend of a new Socialist government following last week�s terrorist train bombing, Washington Times, 3/16/04 AL QAEDA WINS �Al Qaeda or its affiliates have toppled a democratic government for the first time.� This may have dramatic implications for the Western democracies." � - Dutch economist Bernard Walschots SPAIN�S NEW PM SEZ: RETRATAMIENTO! �Spain�s incoming Socialist prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapetero, announced yesterday he will withdraw his country�s 1,300 troops from Iraq, saying the �disastrous� U.S.-led effort there had increased terrorism worldwide. . . . He also said he wanted �cordial� ties with Washington, but �magnificent� relations with France and Germany, the two countries that most vigorously opposed the war. . . . Referring to President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a separate radio interview, he said, �You cannot organize a war with lies.� � - Washington Times, 3/16/04 AXIS OF WEASELS GROWS BY ONE �The Spanish voters did the world a favor with their Sunday surprise: These are the Europeans that John Kerry wants to depend on when the going gets tough. America deserves better, even if John Kerry doesn't think so. The new government in Madrid can't wait to join France and Germany in the axis of weasels� This is the face of appeasement, poltroonery and cowardice unmasked, and you can smell the fear and funk from here. Senator Kerry, a bit of an aspiring weasel himself, hurried to make a clumsy attempt to exploit the tragedy in Madrid as a mark against George W. Bush.� - Wesley Pruden, �Pruden On Politics,� 3/16/04 SOCIALIST ENDORSES sKERRY �Well, surprise, surprise. Maybe this is the leader that John Kerry was talking about.� Left-wing socialist Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who won Spain's presidential election on Sunday, has endorsed John Kerry. . . . Speaking to a British newspaper four days before his election, Zapatero said �I think Kerry will win.� I want Kerry to win.� �He also made several other pro-Kerry statements including calling the Bush administration �the most reactionary American administration in recent times.� . . . More drivel from Zapatero: �We're aligning ourselves with Kerry. Our alliance will be for peace, against war, no more deaths for oil, and for a dialogue between the government of Spain and the new Kerry administration.�� Maybe the DNC could get this guy to campaign for Kerry.� - Talk-show host Neal Boortz, 3/16/04 WH TO sKERRY: COME CLEAN & �FESS UP �I think that if Senator Kerry is going to say he has support from foreign leaders, then he needs to be straightforward with the American people and say who it is that he has spoken with and who it is that supports him. Either he is straightforward and states who they are, or the only conclusion one can draw is that he is making it up to attack the president. . . . Sen. Kerry is the one making these claims. And he has refused to back them up.� - White House press secretary Scott McClellan, 3/15/04 sKERRY GOES MESHUGANA �No, wait, wait, wait, wait you asked me if I'd met with any leaders. Yes. I have had conversations with leaders, yes, recently. That's not your business, it's mine. I've met with foreign leaders for any [inaudible] purpose--I never said that. What I said was that I have heard from people who are leaders elsewhere in the world who don't appreciate the Bush administration approach and would love to see a change in the leadership of the United States. I'm talking our allies, I'm talking about people who were our friends nine months ago, I'm talking about people who ought to be at our side in Iraq and aren't because this administration has pushed them away in its arrogance, that's what I'm talking about. Are you a registered Republican? Are you a Republican? You answer the question. That's not an answer. Did you vote for George Bush? Did you vote for George Bush? Thank you.� - John Kerry unplugged and unglued, dressing down a questioner at a town hall meeting in Bethlehem, PA, this week sKERRY�S SECRET ENDORSEMENTS REVEALED Political pundit Steve Sebelius of the Las Vegas Review Journal has scooped the nation in revealing the real story behind all those secret endorsements of John Kerry by foreign leaders (or �more� leaders or whatever). Turns out they weren�t actually conveyed in person, but via e-mail...and Sebelius blows the cover off this brouhaha in his Tuesday column. Check it out at: http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Mar-16-Tue-2004/opinion/23443839.html TRIPLE FLIP-FLOP WITH A TWIST In an interview with WPLG-ABC 10 reporter Michael Putney in Miami recently, Democrat presidential candidate John sKerry sought to boost his bona fides with the region�s large anti-Castro Cuban community by saying, �I voted for the Helms-Burton legislation to be tough on companies that deal with him (Castro).� But as the Miami Herald noted, �There is only one problem: Kerry voted against it.� Oops. There he goes again. Then there�s the little matter of the terrified little Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez who was forcefully returned to Castro�s Cuba at gunpoint by Janet Reno�s Justice Department and Bill Clinton�s White House. According to Greg Pierce of �Inside the Beltway,� Kerry �took both sides of the issue� when asked about it. He was opposed to sending little Elian back...but he was in favor of it also. Boggles the mind. YEP, THAT ABOUT SUMS IT UP �Firefighters earn the thanks of all who've needed their services, but their union is a typical government employee's union -- it's always on the side of higher taxes, bigger spending, and usually screaming at the top of its lungs in cruder fashion than any other interest group in the room.� - John Fund, Political Diary, 3/16/-4 TAXPAYERS SCREWED...AGAIN Former Rep. Bill Janklow, South Dakota Republican, was convicted and will do time for killing a motorcyclist in a collision last summer. But it�s taxpayers who will be picking up the tab...in more ways than one. Yes, taxpayers will foot the cost of room and board at Hotel Fed during Janklow�s incarceration, but thanks to a ruling this week by U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger which declares Janklow was on duty at the time of the crash, federal taxpayers will also cough up the dough to pay for any civil damages in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the former congressman. Heffelfinger�s decision replaces Janklow with the federal government as the defendant in that lawsuit. Excuse me? How did federal taxpayers suddenly become responsible for a car crash by an individual at a rural intersection in the South Dakota? If Janklow killed the guy, why isn�t Janklow financially responsible for any civil damages? What�s wrong with this picture? MEATHEAD VS. THE TERMINATOR �In an interview for Elle magazine, ostensibly to discuss new Hollywood power princess Laurie David, Rob Reiner accidentally let the political cat out of the biodegradable bag. He told the interviewer that he was thinking about running for governor of California against Arnold Schwarzenegger. Reiner has hired political consultants, engaged in statewide referendum campaigns and nurtured relationships with party bigwigs - just as Arnold did.� - �Left Coast Report,� 3/16/04 LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: WAAHHHHHH!!! �The media have ignored the [black] voice more often than not. (Black) Members of Congress are not covered as much as white politicians.� - Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., Illinois Democrat, One Hundred Magazine SLOT MACHINE QUOTAS The Maryland legislature is considering a proposal by Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) to legalize slot machines in the state in order to fund increased education spending. Personally, I have no problem with legalizing slots...but would rather see the revenue used to reduce other taxes rather than fund more government. Nevertheless, the proposal faces some tough hurdles in a Democrat-majority legislature which has no interest in seeing a Republican governor enjoy any success on any issue. Unless, of course, you�re a BLACK Democrat. In that case, you object to the slot proposal UNLESS there are some set-asides for black-owned operations. �At the very least,� says Delegate Obie Patterson, chairman of the black caucus, �we need to be given a competitive edge.� Affirmative action for gambling halls? So much for principle, or even partisanship. The black vote in the Maryland legislature is up for sale. Let�s start the bidding. Do I hear five? Five. How about 10? Ten over there. Twenty? We have twenty. Going once. Going twice. SOLD...down the river. Fortunately for Marylanders, the state�s black lieutenant governor doesn�t play that game, and thereby salvages what little dignity blacks have left on the state�s political stage over this issue. Lt. Gov. Michael Steele opposes the set-aside extortion demand and says blacks need to �get away from this notion we need to do something special for our community because it creates dissension and people feel we are handicapped.� Bully for Mr. Steele. Oh, did I mention he�s a...Republican? ________________________________________ HOT OFF THE PRESS New special report for candidates and party leaders: �One-on-One Fundraising: How to Raise Major Money from Major Donors.� You'll learn:� The six key rules to successful major donor fundraising, the two key groups novice candidates mistakenly turn to first which almost always lead to disappointment, the eleven traits of the typical conservative donor, the best and worst places to look for potential major donors, a dangerous legal trap your campaign better take steps to avoid, the two pieces of paper you must have before asking for your first major dollar, the Top Ten questions you better be prepared to answer from major donor prospects, the twelve most-common budget items for a typical campaign, an old salesman's rule that you should learn and perfect, how to overcome the biggest problem getting your foot in the door of Mr. Big, the single best use for a finance committee (Hint: it's NOT to raise money for you), the eight best types of people you want to have represented on your finance committee, the one thing you should always ask for AFTER you've gotten the donation and the single most important thing for you to NEVER forget. All for just $4.95. Go to: http://chuckmuth.com/specialreports.htm _________________________________________ Chuck Muth�s News & Views is published by Citizen Outreach, a non-partisan, 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. The opinions and views expressed in Chuck Muth's News & Views reflect those of the writers, editors and columnists therein and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Citizen Outreach, its officers, directors or employees. Published by: Citizen Outreach Chuck Muth Editor/Publisher 611 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, #439 Washington, DC 20003-4303 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To be REMOVED, go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/remove/default.cfm Or send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To make a secure PayPal contribution to Citizen Outreach, go to the �Donate� page at www.citizenoutreach.com.
