Schiavoni Files

I heard some ridiculous gossip floating around that I thought I'd look into myself. We all know the big Bush lies by now: WMDs, the deficit, Iraq spending, no child left behind, i could go on... But it seems that this administration is so comfortable with just straight up lying, that they now lie about almost everything no matter how insignificant. It's become their new sport: how blatantly can we lie and not get called on it?!

When Bush fell on his face last week while biking at his ranch (where he has spent 2 out of 5 days of his presidency), Trent Duffy, a whitehouse spokesperson had this to say: "It's been raining a lot, and the topsoil is loose." Really? No, not so much, not even a hint of truth there. It was reported (and confirmed by me) that it was 90 degrees and sunny that entire week in Crawford, Texas. See weather.com the day before (May 21st) as an example.

And, ironically the banner advertisement for weather.com when you check Crawford, Texas around that period, is of course, a Bush-Cheney election ad! Way to rub it in!! (although i do give them credit for their use of innovative advertising - one of my interests). For more on all sorts of Bush lies check out this decent website: bushwatch.com
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I'm starting to understand this learning disability otherwise known as Inside The Beltway Syndrome better then I ever dreamed I would. I've been in DC for only a year and a half, and yet I'll find myself wondering how this Washington Post editorial is going to shake up the entire country, or even worse, I'll get really worked up about some piece in the Hotline or the Hill. And then I consciously have to step back and realize that probably not even more than 1% of the population reads the Washington Post let alone the fucking Hotline.
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Good to hear W's approval ratings in Iraq are at an all-time low. In a recent conversation with my middle-America-uninformed-but-not-entirely-apathetic-swing-voter cousin who shall remain nameless, I got a taste of who it is that has kept the polls from dropping quicker and lower than anyone with half an informed conscious can comprehend. My cousin is a wonderful, sweet man who would not harm a fly. Yet when I asked him whether he would vote for W in November he replied: "I don't like Bush at all but I think I want to stick by him through all this shit."

That's when I had my epiphany. If the only television you watch is American Idol and the Swan and the only text you read is US Weekly you could almost mistake that monkey face for innocent. People that don't follow the news don't understand that the rest of the world wants to drop kick this guy!!

It's time for dems to stop bitching about simple polemics and embrace folks like the Michael Moores and Al Franken who at least attempt to reach this dense cross-section of America. It's time to take the talk down to the level of "listen joe blow swing voter, the rest of the world thinks of us like the big fat bully on the block, who they might admire if he was just a little nicer, but instead they all dream of the day when they all band together and beat his ass into the pavement."

And that is exactly how I explained things to my cousin, who responded: "Wow, I had no idea. Maybe I won't vote for Bush afterall."

See fellow dems, it's just that simple!!!! This "message" thing aint so hard after all now is it?
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Ah my favorite topic again, dems not thinking outside the box.

There is a Great article in the Washington Post today about the importance of targeting this newly named segment of society aptly named "the influentials" in the upcoming election. You know, the people who actually read blogs, email their friends articles, engage if not participate... yes that means YOU my friend. Of course, it also puts Repubs far ahead of us in understanding how to think outside the box and actually market/target this important constituency

Excerpt:

But Kerry's campaign, by visible evidence, does not have as well-developed a strategy for exploiting the new political marketplace, in which people get news and argument from many more sources than they did even four years ago

"The Republicans have always been more organized and more visionary in taking advantage of new media," Harrison said. What is striking about this year's politics is the way in which e-mail and Web sites have entered the mainstream at both ends of the ideological spectrum, and help promote the buzz that any new product, whether car or candidate, needs to be successful. "Every housewife has an e-mail," he said. "We're not talking about geeks and technoheads."

My boss Kirstin has been talking about this shit since I first met the woman over a year ago. But, like anything in this red, white and blue taped town, it's been a tough road to hoe in terms of convincing others to see the vision. March on my sista!!!
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Is the man by the way. Who knew? We had him speak today on one of our National calls and take questions and the dude was just a straight stud. Blasted both parties for their lack of understanding the of the new context of the times we are in. Said we need to re-embrace the word "re-distribution" as it relates to education and wealth nationally and internationally. Gary Hart for President! Again! Or something.
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BBC Has great reader reaction quotes on most of the major stories. The opinions come from people all over the world and are generally very thoughtful. Thank God that for the most part only intelligent Americans actually read the BBC and therefore the quotes from our country aren't too atrocious but this is a great way to feel out what the mainstream international community is really thinking about issues. Check out reactions on Rumsfeld and the Bush 'apology.'
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From great family friend Sheila. I didn't ask her if I could use this so I'll leave off her last name (not like anyone besides my family reads this anyways but I can pretend):

"I think Bush has shot his major wad, even if re-elected. Yes, there are the courts and many other issues, but I doubt if he will be trying another pre-emptive strike anytime in the near future, and I can't imagine more massive tax cuts as our budget is entirely broken now, and it would appear opposition to repressive measures in the name of security is on the rise. And, perhaps, if re-elected, there will be a major scandal that will bring down the gops for years to come. Who knows? Was Watergate worth the re-election of Nixon? Probably not, but it did give us months of delightful entertainment. Just inserting a little ray of sunshine into the otherwise bleak political scenario."

Right on Sheila.

At least it's not only dumb blind Americans who keep supporting horrible, corrupt leaders. Bush clone/crony Silvio Berlusconi tied the record yesterday for longest serving prime minister since WWII. Dude owns 90% of Italian television and had an immunity law passed by the government to protect him from standing trial in a corruption case.

Oh, and Bush "apologized" today for the atrocities. Notice the " " around the word sorry in the BBC headline. Positive early indications of the effectiveness of his apology...

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Back from my dream trip to the Greek Isles. I'll leave you all with this fun piece today and write more tomorrow when i'm not sifting through 347 emails backed up from the last week.
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