People Who Love Freedom Hate Facts

The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz today brings us this tidbit: Stunned by the efforts of fact-check teams and "truth squads" in the press who are belatedly holding the claims and counterclaims of the candidates up to scrutiny, the Bush campaign has struck back. In an extraordinary response to these recent stories, Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt spoke thusly: "The Bush campaign should be able to make an argument without having it reflexively dismissed as distorted or inaccurate by the biggest newspapers in the country." Got that? The Bush campaign evidently grew so accustomed to a campaign press that seldom fact-checked much of anything between March and September that it is downright indignant anyone would have the temerity to muse, "Gee, I wonder if that's right?" and then have the industry to actually ascertain the veracity of the claims and assertions contained in stump speeches and debate transcripts.

John Dean has a scary article up on what might happen if the election is as close as they say it might be. I am so glad we are such a free country that everything has to be solved by lawyers. Such a great example to the world.

Swiz

You can download the first Swiz demo from the Jade Tree site here. I've had a tape copy of this for years but it is nice to hear a good version of it now.

Alicia Guarracino and Phillip Reed will be reading at Stockton on-

Thursday, 4 November
8:00PM
Stockton's Townsend Residential Life Center.

Fiction writer, Philip J. Reed is also reading a selection from his second published book, God Ran Out Of Faces, for which Pulitzer Prize Winner Stephen Dunn wrote the foreword. And musician Melissa Murphy will set the night to music with her flute.

Everyone is welcome.Refreshments will be served.This is an Ultra Credit event.