Look at this document (pdf) put out by the Missile Defense Agency explaining why the Europeans need to put our missile defense systems in their countries (h/t Steve Aftergood).  Be warned, it is very glossy and pretty.  Under the subhead "The Threat is Real and Growing" they write:

The number of states that currently possess medium-, intermediate-, and/or intercontinental-range ballistic missiles (missiles that can reach our friends and allies, and in some cases the United States itself) has increased from five to nine. Clearly, the international security environment is more complex and less predictable since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. (Bold in original)

This diary is a response to the number of diaries and comments regarding Kos' appearance on Meet the Press this past Sunday and the ongoing back and forth this sight has with the right wing punditocracy.  The short of it is, we win and we will continue to win.  Why this is so is after the flip.

This is the phone number of the White House.  Today we must call and flood their lines to remind them that this is a country based on the rule of law and not King George's private playpen.  This government is not afraid of the people and that must change.

Remember Conservapedia, the "conservative" alternative to Wikipedia?  We had some fun with it when its founder, Andrew Schlafley, was making the rounds pimping his site on the major news networks.  A taste: here,here, here,  I visit it periodically to see how it is progressing, and I'm sorry to say, it is not going very well.  While generally the site is simply a place for young earth creationists to be really ernest about their beliefs, their founder Andrew Schlafley will often push things over the edge.

I am fed up.  I watched the entirety of Tony Snow's press conference yesterday and was appalled by the entire display.  And after reading Vermontgriz's diary about Snow's perception of the roll of Congress it is time to let the White House know what the American people really think.  Kos at one point made the point that the results of the last election were not that the public was tired of partisanship, but that they were tired of the arrogance and corruption of the Republican party.  Elections have consequences and we must demand that they be held accountable.

Today Major League Baseball announced that it will host a "Civil Rights" exhibition game in Memphis between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians at the start of the season.  There are few things I like more than civil rights and baseball, but . . .

I am reading an interesting book called "Folklore Fights the Nazis: Humor in Occupied Norway, 1940-1945" by Kathleen Stokker.  The whole book is about the jokes that Norwegians told during the occupation.  What Stokker finds is that this time of humor is very folkloric with different societies using similar jokes with only the names and times changed.  I am of the opinion that the reason Bush's poll numbers have come crashing down is not because of critical media coverage, but because people like you and me sit around the water cooler and say what is on our minds.  One of the easiest ways to do this (because it is generally the least threatening) is couching it in humor.

For your reading enjoyment I've adapted some of the Norwegian humor used during the occupation for our own times.  Enjoy and feel free to add some of your own.

It's nice to see two cursed teams in the World Series.  It means that regardless the outcome one more baseball curse has been broken.  I can't predict who will win because it is hard to judge which team suffers under the greater curse.  Does throwing a World Series out-curse introducing Astroturf to baseball?  I'm not sure.  Technically, I suppose, the curse for the Astros should lift, considering they no longer play on the stuff and only three stadiums now use it.  And honestly, I think the baseball gods may never lift the curse of the White Sox--I mean, they did in fact throw the World Series and one should hope you have to wait longer than 86 years to lift something like that.  But, then again . . . Astroturf.  Ugh.  Obviously these are not the only two cursed teams and below I run down all the curses in baseball.

Just as Jimi Hendrix was wrapping up Hey Joe, Hurricane Camille--a Category 5 Hurricane--was slamming into the Gulf Coast.  Which event does the world remember?

As someone who has spent a good part of his life at protests I wanted to generate another list for Saturday's rally.  The list is based on one premise:

Protest rallies do not directly change policy, but are community building events.  Strong communities are based on diversity and respect.  OK, dave the pro's ramblings below the fold . . .

Joseph Rotblat passed away in his sleep last night.  I know this may seem insignificant in light of the tragedy on the Gulf Coast, but for those who knew him this is sad news indeed.

I'm sorry for the short diary, but we have another controversial hearing today.  

In preperation for Negroponte's confirmation hearings, the National Security Archives has posted hundreds of his cable's sent during his tenure as Ambassador to Honduras.  I, personally don't have time to do much analysis today, but I thought y'all might have fun with it. Here is the link:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB151/index.htm

(From the diaries, Cheney presided over the Senate a grand total of two times the past four years -- just as many times as Edwards, who also did so twice. Slightly edited -- kos) The extended entry has the presiding officers over the last four years for every Tuesday session.

Flipping through various talking heads shows it seemed that the consensus for why Kerry was considered the winner was because of Bush's behavior on the split screen.  In essence, they argued his ideas were fine, but that he basically did himself in.  There is another reason, however, that the punditocracy has all but ignored.  The reason John Kerry won the debate is that on foreign policy issues most Americans agree with John Kerry's perspective and not with George Bush.  Steven Kull at the Program in International Policy Attitudes has been extensively polling American on foreign policy issues for years.  He has put together a hypothetical dialogue at:

http://www.pipa.org/articles/RBF_all.htm

in which John or Jane Q. Public is answering questions about various global issues.  I have transcribed some of this interview below the fold to show why it is that Americans are naturally attracted to Kerry's vision of America's role in the world.

One of the arguments that Bush has made about missing his physical and finishing flying was that the plane he was trained to fly on was becoming obsolete and that when he went to business school he had worked something out.  Well, an additional piece of information: not only are there, of course, Air National Guard units in New England, the Vermont Air National Guard flew the F-102 up until 1975 according to this website.

http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/f102_2.html

When Slim Fast dropped Whoopi Goldberg as their spokesperson after making jokes about George W. Bush at a Democrat rally I wrote this letter:

[Promoted from the Diaries - MB]

My name, exactly as it is spelled with my exact middle initial is on the Florida Felon list for Lake County, which you can find here.

While that is not me and I have never lived in Lake County, or Florida for that matter, it goes to show the problem with such lists.  I have just completed a national job search, and one of the locations I had applied to was in Orlando, which is adjacent to Lake County.  Had I moved there I may not have been able to vote in this important swing state.

Well, not really.  But he did endorse him last night in San Jose.  His speech is at the Kerry Website here:

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0624a.html

Iacocca was a strong supporter of Bush during the 2000 election but is now saying that that was a huge mistake.  Some of the key grafs: