Bye-bye Bush bounce. Newsweek's post-debate poll shows a drop for Bush:

In the first national telephone poll using a fresh sample, NEWSWEEK found the race now statistically tied among all registered voters, 47 percent of whom say they would vote for Kerry and 45 percent for George W. Bush in a three-way race.

Take out Nader, and Kerry's ahead:

Removing Independent candidate Ralph Nader, who draws 2 percent of the vote, widens the Kerry-Edwards lead to three points with 49 percent of the vote versus the incumbent's 46 percent.

It's a bigger drop for Bush than you might think:

Four weeks ago the Republican ticket, coming out of a successful convention in New York, enjoyed an 11-point lead over Kerry-Edwards with Bush pulling 52 percent of the vote and the challenger just 41 percent.

I think Edwards will shine against Cheney Tuesday night. Especially if Cheney comes off arrogant or know-it-all-ish. There doesn't seem to be warm bone in his body...in contrast to John Edwards who makes you want to invite him in for dinner.

Ok, so it may be too early to write Bush/Cheney off, but that's the direction they are headed. Maybe they should have pulled their October surprise in September.

Memeorandum has a wrap-up of other bloggers' comments on the Newsweek poll. David Neiwert of Orcinus tracks the dirt the Repbugs have resorted to so far in the campaign and says we can expect it to get much worse.

Evidence 101:

"Objection, Your Honor, the question assumes a fact not in evidence."
Ruling: "Sustained."
Reason: The examiner should not ask questions in a manner that assumes disputed facts to be true.

Example of above: Newseek's new online poll asks,

Over his 19-year career in the U.S. Senate, John Kerry has changed his position on a number of issues. From what you know about Kerry, why do you think this is?

Inexcusable, really. Don't they have editors over there? Or just Republican campaign strategists?

Fox News aired Rita Cosby's recently taped interview with Donald Rumsfeld tonight. She asked him about rumors that there were plans to reinstate the draft. "Oh my goodness, no," he said.

She asked if it is possible that we may have to increase the number of troops in Iraq. "Sure, sure" he said, meaning it's a possibility.

Rumsfeld said the draft bills pending in Congress were introduced by Democrats and as far as he knew there was no Republican support for these bills.

He said he is dead set against a draft, there is no need for a draft in the United States of American and we have no trouble getting the help we need.

He sounded less sure about whether there would be a reduction in the number of months that army ground forces spend in Iraq. He said it is one of the things that has been discussed, but it almost seemed like his memory had to be jogged on this issue, so it's probably not a change that is going to come soon.

Why does no one want to acknowledge the Republican-sponsored "Universal Military Training and Service Act of 2001", H.R. 3598, introduced in the House by Republicans Nick Smith (MI) and Curt Weldon (PA) and co-sponsored by Roscoe Bartlett. It was introduced in late December, 2001 (after 9/11). Rangel's bill (H.R. 183)and its Senate counterpart (S. 89) were introduced on January 7, 2003. All three bills were referred to the Committee on Armed Services. No action has been taken on them since.

TalkLeft wrote about the Republican bill here. University Wire contains several articles on it. The Humanist, March 1, 2002, (available on Lexis.com)reported on the bill:

TalkLeft was dysfunctional for some hours today when good samaritan Mike Ditto converted the archives to Movable Type's dynamic pages ....it's way too technical for me, all I know is it didn't work--probably because TalkLeft gets too much traffic for the cpu, memory capacity and MySQL capacity of the server we're on. So, we're back to static pages. A big thanks to Mike who successfully converted the site to php, only to have to change it back when it was too much for the server.

Mike asks,

Oh, to be in New York Monday night when some big name, talented stars perform at an ACLU fundraiser to protest over the U.S. terrorism watch list.

Robin Williams and Paul Simon will join other stars on Monday for a show in New York in aid of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU is protesting against a US Government demand that charities screen employees against being on a suspected terrorist "watch list". Non-compliance would result in a charity losing support in raising funds from government employees.

Who else will be there? Richard Gere and Patti Smith. Whose idea?

Composer Philip Glass, who is producing the ACLU event, said: "I need to live in an environment where there is a free exchange of ideas, not where the government is looking over my shoulder."

There will also be a film tribute to Lenny Bruce. My favorite Bruce quote:

"The only justice in the halls of justice is in the halls."

Latest big name snare by the Watch List: Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam. [corrected.]

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have condemned the weak admonition of the House Ethics Committee against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay over his attempted bribery of Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI). DeLay had strong-armed Smith to vote for the Administration-backed medicare reform bill.

Outrageously, Rep. DeLay has 'thanked' the Committee for its 'guidance' and stated that he would never have knowingly broken any House rules. This statement is laughable given that Rep. DeLay has been reprimanded by the Ethics Committee before and, if anything, has only become more blatant in violating the rules.

"Rep. DeLay's offer to support Mr. Smith's son's candidacy in return for Mr. Smith's vote on the Medicare bill is nothing less bribery -- a federal crime. It is impossible to believe that Rep. DeLay is not aware that bribery is against the law. Neither Rep. DeLay -- nor any other federal official -- should need 'guidance' on this point. In any event, ignorance of the law is not a defense to a bribery charge. A mere admonition is not sufficient. It is time for the Department of Justice to step in and prosecute Rep. DeLay for this crime.

There's more. The group accuses the Ethics Committee of purposely timing the release of the repriminand with yesterday's debate hoping it would get lost in debate coverage.

The newest anti-Kerry ad by the RNC is available for viewing.

The Republican National Committee released today a video of statements made by Sen. John Kerry in last night's debate alongside the earlier statements they contradict.

Question: Does it violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the Memorandum of Understanding on Debates, (pdf) as agreed to by both campaigns. From Section 5e:

"Neither film footage nor video footage nor any audio excerpts from the debates may be used publicly by either candidate’s campaign through any means, including but not limited to, radio, television, internet, or videotapes, whether broadcast or distributed in any other manner."

In discussing the Democrat's release of the Faces of Frustration video, Taegan Goddard says:

I suppose the loophole here is that it's not technically Kerry's campaign releasing the ad, it's the DNC. But does the Bush campaign dare complain and bring more attention to the ad?

The Vote for Change Tour opened tonight with six simultaneous rock concerts in Philadelphia ..all fundraisers for Kerry. Bruce Springsteen opened one, saying:

"We're here tonight to fight for a government that is open, rational, forward-looking and humane, and we plan to rock the joint while doing so."

Hopefully, Atrios is in attendance and will provide an update.

The concerts are being performed in battleground states over the next ten days. Particpating groups include Springsteen, Dave Matthews, the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt and John Mellencamp.

10 days, 11 states, 33 cities. The final show is October 11 in D.C. and will be broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Also appearing will be John Fogerty, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Keb Mo', Kenneth Edmonds and the hip-hop group Jurassic 5.

Here's the remaining lineup: All shows on the tour go to Ohio on Saturday, Michigan on Sunday and Florida on Friday; shows on Tuesday and Wednesday are in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Missouri.

27 year-old Jonathan Magbie became a quadriplegic while still a kid after being hit by a drunk driver. He got by with constant help from his relatives and an electric wheelchair, which he controlled with his chin. Drug Policy Alliance reports (after reviewing a Washington Post article on the case.)

Magbie was arrested more than a year ago for possession of marijuana. He was in a car at the time of his arrest. Police found cocaine and a gun in the car. Though the Post does not explicitly mention that Magbie was not driving, nor that the gun was not Magbie's, the man could move nothing but his head -- making it safe to assume he was a passenger in a car in which someone else was transporting a gun. Magbie was finally tried on the marijuana charge 11 days ago. As a first-time offender in DC, according to the Post, he could expect to receive probation. What he received, though, amounted to a death sentence.

The American Bar Association issued this statement today in opposition to H.R. 11 the Extraordinary Rendition bill we have critized here:

The American Bar Association objects strongly to the inclusion of provisions authorizing "extraordinary rendition" in the House leadership's bill that purports to implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations. These provisions would permit secretly transferring terrorist suspects to foreign countries known to use torture in interrogating prisoners. Extraordinary rendition not only violates all basic humanitarian and human rights standards, but violates U.S. treaty obligations which make clear that the U.S. government cannot avoid its obligations under international law by having other nations conduct unlawful interrogations in its stead. This practice not only violates our own cherished principles as a nation but also works to undermine our moral leadership in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Rejecting extraordinary rendition will demonstrate our respect for the rule of law and help protect American troops who may be detained by adversaries who may be disinclined to honor international obligations in light of the U.S. government's failure to honor its own.

[link via Memeorandum] More from Fafblog and Obsidian Wings.

Update: The White House endorses the bill.

"Going Up River" opened today. Check it out this weekend if you get the chance:

Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry is a feature length documentary about character and moral leadership during a time of national crisis. Loosely based on the best-selling book Tour of Duty by Douglas Brinkley, Going Upriver examines the story of John Kerry and the key events that made him a national figure and the man he is today. The film places particular emphasis on his bravery during the Vietnam War and his courageous opposition to the war upon his return.

Here's a list of theaters where it's being shown.

When Roger Buffett's wife died of cancer this week, here's what he put in her obituary--Don't send flowers, Send John Kerry to the White House:

In a paid obituary published in Madison's two daily newspapers, Roger Buffett celebrated his wife's years as a mother, homemaker, grandmother and English teacher. But, he said, she was "outraged" by President Bush's decision to invade Iraq and then expecting "her grandchildren to pay the bills." Other Bush administration policies angered her as well. "She saw John Kerry as the candidate who would most conserve everything she valued," the obituary said. "Jane fought to live long enough to be able to vote this November. To honor her memory, please do everything you can to elect John Kerry."