A copy of my letter to reporter Peter Wong of the Salem Statesman-Journal.

I write you as the proud granddaughter of the Rev. [his name], who earned a Purple Heart serving as the chaplain of the U.S.S. [his ship] in the Second World War.

Yesterday, over breakfast, I learned from the Oregonian that Brooks resident Marylin Shannon, who gained infamy during the Republican National Convention when a disgraceful photograph of her wearing an adhesive bandage with a purple heart on it ...

This morning's Oregonian had a short article devoted to Donna Cain and Marilyn Shannon, two Oregon delegates who have been defending their "Purple Heart" band-aids to TV and print media.  It's not on the website, but is mostly culled from the AP report.

Amusingly, the Oregonian's front page reads "Oregon delegates cheer air of unity as lesson for state party to copy" while inside, it's claimed (unclear by whom) that Republican floor staff have been "begging" Shannon to stop it with the band-aids.

Two letters to the editor, deploring these bandages as an insult to all vets and those now serving also appear in the same issue (also not on Web).  This rapid response is made possible in large part by you, Kossacks.  By the time most of Oregon is finding out about this issue this morning, we've already begun to shape it.  So thank you.

Here's a Reuters story that backs up my post yesterday in Open Thread re: uselessness to citizens of new terror alert, in which I said:  

What's to stop a terrorist group (or Pakistani intelligence, even) from planting a bunch of disinformation on this guy who just got captured, diverting all our attention to the Prudential building, and then attacking a nuclear plant in the Midwest?

The reason the British government doesn't warn citizens in advance of attacks is that they don't want people to live in the happy illusion that an attack is only likely when you get a warning.  If they did warn people, there would be a threat serious enough to evacuate.  Let's remember that the Brits also made it through the Blitz with the royal family staying in London, so they must know a little about the psychology of these things.

(Reposted from way inside another thread)

If any of you actually have some sort of access to these Republican "talking points," I'd love a better explanation of what they are, how they are distributed and why anyone would use them.  For a long time I doubted their existence and considered that the idea could be a paranoia.  But hearing the exact same catchphrase repeated across different shows or editorials is so strange to listen to, and has happened so many times, that it CAN'T be a coincidence or misperception, it MUST be literally a few choice phrases that someone somewhere comes up with and distributes.  

But what is the advantage of using them and sounding like an unoriginal tool?  I've written for publication, and I wouldn't think to copy and paste, because it would make me look ridiculous.  Plus, sometimes it's gotten so bad lately that it causes cognitive dissonance (at least in me) instead of being persuasive.

Also, why does no one except Jon Stewart ever make fun of these people for using them?  And why don't they stop, or at least get more subtle, after he does it?

I was really choked up by Kerry's use of Bruce Springsteen's "No Surrender" for his entrance, and I bet I wasn't alone.  But as a middle-aged classic-rock-listening bona fide old fart, I'm not sure that it had the same resonance for people under 40 or outside the U.S.  Here's my amateur history of this song and all the significance that was called up for some of us from its very first notes.

Lyrics are at the bottom.

that are already troll-rated by several others and whose aggregate rating is less than 1?

If adding yet another zero to the stack will help get rid of trolls, I'm happy to pitch in.  But until now, I haven't bothered to further troll-rate posts that were already hidden.

Same friend as a few days ago.  Again, I'm not posting his side of the conversation.  I find myself rambling, so am posting a non-final version in case anyone wants to comment. **

Thanks for your note and the Stratfor article.  When I was in London I had a good friend  who swore by these guys and I haven't seen them since, so it was nice to be reunited with them, as it were.

The root problem with the CIA appears to me to be that after the end of the Cold War (remind me to sometime open up the Pandora's Box of how much credit does Ronald Reagan deserve for that - I would say a lot but not all) the CIA lost its purpose in life, and was never given another one.  Obsessive, Dilbert-like focus on process and procedure is symptomatic of an organization whose mission is lost or deliberately obscured.  You may have seen that this is sometimes the case for small family-owned businesses and non-profits - the real mission is "give Grandpa a toy to play with and keep him out of our hair" but the stated mission is "increase the commitment in our community to sustainable living by making the best salmon burgers in town."

I am a daily viewer (my husband and I tape Crossfire to watch together and discuss).  I've said as much to Nielsen.

Ever since Tucker Carlson appeared on Jeopardy!, I've thought he was someone with whom I might not always see eye to eye, but with whom I shared a commitment to children.  Tucker donated his Jeopardy! winnings to his daughter's summer camp, and I warmed to him, since the summer camp where I went as a girl is my favorite charity too.  I figured, if I ever met Tucker, we might not agree on the legacy of Ronald Reagan, but we could find common ground at least on the idea that kids need nature walks and campfires and caring adults in their lives.

Advance warning:  this was over drinks in the afternoon.  She's one of my oldest friends.

DESTINY:  There's his car.  The one with the Kerry sticker and Support Our National Parks.

FRIEND:  Well, I'm not getting in a car with a Kerry sticker.

DESTINY:  What's your beef with Kerry?

FRIEND:  I just don't trust him.

DESTINY:  Do you trust Bush more?

FRIEND:  NOOOOOOOOOOOO!  Are you kidding?

DESTINY:  Soon you will have to make a choice.

Dear Senator Smith:

I'm disappointed that at a moment when I would hope all Americans would unite to demand that no terrorist or anyone else be allowed to postpone our presidential elections, as Tom Ridge has shamefully hinted might happen, your colleagues are making a silly distraction by arguing about a "Federal Marriage Amendment" -- one that we all know won't even pass.

I won't be posting the other side of this conversation.

**********

Sorry it took me so long to respond.  I'm shooting at a moving target, because new developments are happening so fast.  

Also, I'm just skipping Ronald Reagan.  He has risen in my estimation because he means so much to you, and I admire his ability to play to his own considerable strengths and weaknesses.  It seems to me that the current holder of that office suffers by comparison, but that's a topic for another day.

I try not to read many editorials.  It's all I can do to keep more or less on top of the actual news.  You're right that I do read Krugman, but not every day, more like once a week, and I see him as more of a barometer than an oracle.  Most of my news comes from Google News.  I try to read articles from both the American and international press.  Reuters seems pretty reliable (no reason they should have a liberal slant).  Bloomberg also.  Both cater to traders, and my experience of traders has been that they live in the closest thing there is to a free market of news.  

This diary has mostly been an ongoing journal of my search for a "Bush/Cheney '04" sticker on display in Portland, Oregon, where I could tape a "Nixon/Cheney '04" sticker over it.  I never did find one, and had to settle for an apparently four-year-old "Bush/Cheney" sticker both times.  

I have now ordered three "Bush/Cheney '04" stickers and plan to offer them to motorists displaying faded stickers such as "Proud To Be American" and "United We Stand," to get a sense for why none of these people are displaying "Bush/Cheney '04" stickers yet.  Do they not want them or is it just that no one has offered them a free one?

I am always interested in meta, so if anyone who hasn't already commented on meta has anything to offer, let's hear it.  Those who have already commented, please be assured that I've read what you said and saying it AGAIN isn't going to get anyone anywhere.

Journal of an ongoing search for a "Bush/Cheney '04" sticker displayed in Portland, Oregon, over which I plan to tape a "Nixon/Cheney '04" sticker that I carry with me at all times.

Repeating from last diary entry (on other forums I have frequented, I would describe the last diary entry as "hijacked" and I would also have tools to manage this, such as blocking all posts from the "hijacker" or complaining to the moderators.  I don't know whether there may be software tools to do that here?  As far as I can determine, there's no cavalry to call):

Stickerwatch 2.0 will start after I have found a "Bush/Cheney '04" sticker over which to tape my "Nixon/Cheney '04" sticker (this time, I'm not settling for another four-year-old "Bush/Cheney," it's got to be the real deal).  I propose to obtain 2 or 3 "Bush/Cheney '04" stickers and attempt to give them away to people with old, faded "United We Stand" and "Proud To Be An American" type stickers.  Feedback welcome.

Also Stickerwatch Day 11, but that is badly skewed because today I went to hear Arianna Huffington speak at a fundraiser for a ballot initiative that (to hear it) would give Oregon the most comprehensive campaign finance reporting in the nation and restrict contributions to humans (i.e., no corporations).

Huffington and Joe Trippi are launching a campaign to press Kerry to target the 50% of American adults who don't vote, rather than concentrating on "swing voters."  They want him to do this by creating a large-scale, hopeful vision, telling Americans he'll do more for them but also ask more from them, while letting BushCo sink into its own murk.

I'd like feedback on this idea before I decide whether to support it.  Everyone who wants to discuss Arianna Huffington, the messenger, instead of her message, please go here:
http://tinyurl.com/2s87x

This diary is a journal of my unexpectedly long daily quest for a "Bush/Cheney '04" bumper sticker displayed in Portland, Oregon where I can tape a "Nixon/Cheney '04" sticker over it.

Few stickers of note today:

1.  Salmon Nation
1.  Bring Big League Baseball to Portland [NB:  sure sign of another Cubs fan]
1.  Kucinich [NB:  Kucinich may be trailing in the electoral college but he is more than holding his own on the bumper sticker front]
1.  Mary Kay Cosmetics -- World's Biggest Selling Brand [NB: This isn't even anything resembling true.  Microsoft most recently reported annual sales of $32.2 billion, Coke $21.0 billion.  Mary Kay is privately held, but a good source suggests annual sales of $1.6 billion.  It's not even the biggest selling cosmetics brand.  It's number two, behind Avon.  I can't fathom why anyone would drive around displaying such a blatantly false, intuitively silly-looking, and easily disproven statement.  For a moment, I was tempted to tape "Nixon/Cheney '04" over this just to get it out of the public discourse.]

This diary is a journal of my unexpectedly long daily quest for a "Bush/Cheney '04" bumper sticker displayed in Portland, Oregon where I can stick a "Nixon/Cheney '04" sticker over it.  More background, including discussion of the ethics of this project, at http://destiny6.dailykos.com/story/2004/5/3/1114/27000

Today I finally found a "Bush/Cheney" sticker on an old pickup parked in front of the liquor store nearest my house.  It did not say "'04" and, in fact, looked as though it could well have been there since the 2000 campaign.  Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to update it with my "Nixon/Cheney '04" sticker.  No one came out of the liquor store to kick my ass, or anything.  

I have one more "Nixon/Cheney '04" sticker, so I will keep this going for a while longer.  Other stickers seen today around my neighborhood and in close-in SE Portland (light commercial):

This diary is a journal of my unexpectedly long daily quest for a "Bush/Cheney '04" bumper sticker displayed in Portland, Oregon where I can stick a "Nixon/Cheney '04" sticker over it.  More background, including discussion of the ethics of this project, tip on existence of Bush/Cheney '04 stickers in Hazel Dell, Washington, and fruitless bickering with JamesB3, at http://destiny6.dailykos.com/story/2004/5/3/1114/27000

Downtown Portland at midday:

2. Dennis J. Kucinich (one on beat up Toyota, one on new Toyota)
1. Don't Blame Me, I Voted Libertarian
1. W.W.S.D? (What Would Scalia Do?) [on same car as above]
1. Vassar
1. Pacific Lutheran University
1. U of Oregon
1. Save the Manatee [NB: no manatees here]
1. Keep Gibraltar British [NB: this isn't a local issue either]
1. Ireland
1. Bring Major League Education To Oregon [NB: these stickers are a parody of another sticker that had a brief vogue, "Bring Major League Baseball To Oregon."  The education stickers were a lot more popular, believe it or not.  BTW people who want MLB in Oregon usually turn out to be Red Sox or Cubs fans who look forward to the one game a year that their team will play here if we get a team.  I think it would be cheaper and easier to just get the Red Sox to play the Cubs once a year in Portland.]
1. Easy Does It [I think this has something to do with 12-step programs?]
1. fish [I am giving Jesus one point for this one]
1. Stop Global Whining
1. Re-Defeat Bush In 2004

Still no Bush/Cheney '04 bumper stickers as the destiny6 Great Bumper Sticker Watch enters its seventh suspense-filled day.  I had no idea it would take this long; I saw at least three in the couple of weeks preceding this one.  Actually, six, but three of them were on the same car.

I should clarify that I am paying more attention to stickers on parked cars.  It's possible that I've missed a few on the road.

The goal is to find an unattended Bush/Cheney '04 sticker and plaster my "Nixon/Cheney '04" parody sticker from www.bettybowers.com over it.