In case you didn't know already, Karl Rove is a fucking scumbag:

When his term on the court ended, [Mark Kennedy, who won against a Rove-run opponent] chose not to run for re-election. I later learned another reason why. Kennedy had spent years on the bench as a juvenile and family-court judge, during which time he had developed a strong interest in aiding abused children. In the early 1980s he had helped to start the Children's Trust Fund of Alabama, and he later established the Corporate Foundation for Children, a private, nonprofit organization. At the time of the race he had just served a term as president of the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect. One of Rove's signature tactics is to attack an opponent on the very front that seems unassailable. Kennedy was no exception.

Some of Kennedy's campaign commercials touted his volunteer work, including one that showed him holding hands with children. "We were trying to counter the positives from that ad," a former Rove staffer told me, explaining that some within the See camp initiated a whisper campaign that Kennedy was a pedophile. ... "What Rove does," says Joe Perkins, "is try to make something so bad for a family that the candidate will not subject the family to the hardship. Mark is not your typical Alabama macho, beer-drinkin', tobacco-chewin', pickup-drivin' kind of guy. He is a small, well-groomed, well-educated family man, and what they tried to do was make him look like a homosexual pedophile. That was really, really hard to take."

And this is the man who had the fucking gall to shout at a reporter who wrote an article during the 2000 election about his past dirty tricks "You're trying to ruin me!"

Go cry to your mommy, why don't you?

Fucker.

Anna was bored one day and googled McMinnville, the town I'm in.  She turned up the following comment on a conservative weblog (http://www.jessicaswell.com/MT/archives/001568.html).  Here's the part that made it show up in the google serach.  It goes on (and on) as an anti-kerry rant, which amused me, but here's the immediately relevant part (emphasis all hers, I assure you).

"I live in McMinnville, OR. While this area is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS, I HAVE to TELL you it has been the BIGGEST CULTURE SHOCK of my LIFE and I am so HOMESICK for TEXAS it's just TERRIBLE!! But I guess God SENT me here for a REASON, so I could REPORT BACK to ya'll about all the ANARCHISTS and HIPPIES that live up here who DESPISE CHRISTIAN (like myself)! "

Hmm.

Life is good.

I have a “Blu-by-u” pizza (blue cheese, mushrooms, chives(?)) here with me in the office, a quarter of which I ate and the rest of which shall go in the fridge to be snacked on for as long as it holds up to my admittedly lax health standards.

By Tuesday at the latest, the office’s unreliable and slow dial-up line will be replaced with DSL (on the Democratic Party of Oregon’s dime), thus allowing me to slack off at 256kps.

Tomorrow, I’ll be one of the few Yamhill Democrats at the John Edwards rally in Portland, getting in with one of the top tiers of tickets (which probably means being within 100ft. of Edwards- hell, watch the news, and maybe you’ll see my face in the crowd behind him during one of the sound bites they play).  The event doesn’t start until 5, but you’re supposed to show up at 3 or you’ll get no seats.  Fortunately, for reading material I have to Oregon Voter’s Guide- 151 pages of information on the 8 ballot measures I’ll be voting on soon.  Published by the Secretary of State’s office, they summarize the measure, print the actual text and you can pay $500 to put a few paragraphs of argument for or against in.

Far from being a dry read, the whole thing is quite entertaining- ( see )

Meanwhile, I got word from my boss that the rumor is that the Bush campaign will be leaving the Northwest altogether and sending people and money to Nevada.  Bush has scaled back HIS pending visit from a two-day stay to a mostly face saving rally in some town that ain’t Portland.  The Republicans have already abandoned Washington.  More tellingly (if it’s true), a supposed Bush campaign to Kerry campaign leak revealed the details of their Get Out The Vote program- which is to say, they have none.  Oregon votes by mail, with the ballots being sent out this Friday, which turns GOTV from a 12-hour drive-people-to-the-polls thing to a 17-day nag-democrats-incessantly-until-they-vote thing.  And if the Republicans have no plan to turn out voters in a race where voter turnout is critical, they’re either stupid or they’re cutting their losses.  And the Republican’s aren’t stupid campaigners.

Very busy, but most pleased.

Here's the politcal word from Oregon: Klingons are now the swing vote.

From Willamette Week Online (http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=5539):

EXCLUSIVE: Straw-poll shocker! Fierce warrior race strongly backs Democrat.

Even as John Kerry struggles to establish national-security credentials nationally, an exclusive WW straw poll shows his campaign dominating one skeptical, warlike demographic: Klingons.

...

The incumbent has staked his campaign on the war on terror. But those who speak the language of the Trek warrior race--known to disdain dishonor, or quvHa'ghach--seem alienated by Iraq and other issues.

....

"A good war is based on honor, not deception," says K'tok, a 40-year-old Klingon from Lair Hill. "The first warrior, President Bush, deceived us all with this war."

"On the home world, if there had been a contested election between Gore and Bush, the honorable thing would be for Gore to kill Bush," explained Khraanik, a 38-year-old from Southeast Portland. "Or the other way around. And then ascend to the head of the High Council."

It's too early for Kerry to chill the ceremonial bloodwine, but Portland Klingons are clearly warming to the cerebral Massachusetts Democrat.

"Kerry has shown his prowess," says 33-year-old Neqha of Tigard. "He saved his fellow warrior under the gun, and has been commended and awarded medals."

Neither the Bush nor Kerry campaigns were immediately available for comment on the poll results.