Apparently we should have issued the alerts before we obtained the information, or perhaps after the actual attacks had occurred.

In the former case, Bush would be lying, as he wouldn't yet have any information to justify the warning. Which Howard Dean would like.

In the latter case, Bush's warning would come after Americans had been killed by the attack, thus resulting in both deaths and mayhem and political damage to George Bush due to his inaction.

Which Howard Dean would love.

I'm prepared to concede Democrats care about the security of this country and the well-being of its citizens the moment they begin demonstrating a bare minimum of such care.

Posted by: Ace at 04:53 PM | Comments (3)
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Well, well, well. Just after he asks for lots more money to pay for his "rising bandwidth costs," Andrew "The Shrill Shill" Sullivan announces he's going on vacation for a month.

Hmmmm... I guess that money is going straight into bandwidth upgrades. If "bandwidth" means "P-town" and "upgrades" means "Wet Banana-Hammock Contest Entry Fees."

In related news, Ace of Spades HQ needs a new Ethernet connection thingee, and the only place from which I can procure one is Kauai, Hawaii. If you send me enough money to travel there, I promise I will buy the necessary widget and be back blogging in just two or three weeks.

Thanks to AnneL. for pointing out the "suspicious timing" of the pledge-drive and vacation.

Update: EricA. points out that a "Sully" entered the following haiku on Friday:

Thanks for Your Donations

Blogging will be light
for the next three months or so
(Madonna concert).

Well, it's just one month, and we don't know, for certain, that any of this is due to a Madonna concert, but that's still the best psychic premonition I've seen in haiku format it at least the past several months.

Posted by: Ace at 04:44 PM | Comments (4)
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The June Blip won't save Kerry:

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing expanded further in July, fueling more hiring, but outlays for U.S. construction fell unexpectedly in June to hint at a slowing of the housing boom, reports released on Monday showed.

Nothing much to be feared in a "boom" slowing down.

The Institute for Supply Management's national factory index, at 62.0 in July versus 61.1 in June, suggested that a "soft patch" in the U.S. economy in June might have been the blip that Federal Reserve officials have suspected.

With campaigning for the November presidential election in full swing, the White House hailed the ISM report.

"Today's report is yet another positive economic indicator that shows that our economy is on the right track," U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans said in a statement.
...

"Today's (ISM) report provides further verification of the strong state of U.S. manufacturing," said Thomas Duesterberg, president of the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI in Washington.

Second-half growth would be fueled by strong business equipment investment, purchases of high technology durable goods and robust exports, he said.

"I'm not raising my expectations for the second half, but certainly July gets the second half off to a very strong start," said Norbert Ore, chairman of the ISM manufacturing business survey.

Any reading above 50 in the ISM index indicates growth. The index has been above 50 for 14 straight months and above 60 for the past nine months -- the longest stretch since 1973-74.

The employment component of the ISM index slipped to 57.3 from 59.7 in June but still suggested that Friday's monthly U.S. payrolls report might show factory hiring in July.

Ore said anecdotal evidence suggested the labor market was picking up steam. "There are a lot of signs out there for employment and rehires that haven't been there for quite a while," he said.

Large, sorry-I-didn't-post-all-day cowbell:

A little cowbell music.

Posted by: Ace at 03:30 PM | Comments (1)
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Will Give Conventional Hall and TV Time to Kerry Campaign, Gratis; Republican Strategist Matthew Dowd Says, "Prominent Kerry Speeches are our best possible advertisement"

GOP hoping to build upon DNC's "negabounce;" conservative-leaning 527's raising money at furious pace in order to buy Kerry twenty minutes of uninterrupted television time per week.

ABCNews/WashPost: "Tepid Bounce" plus insignificant lead with likely voters.

Update: More see Kerry as liberal after convo, too. Now up to 46% from 43%.

Posted by: Ace at 03:19 PM | Comments (15)
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