<HTML><BODY STYLE="font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica>Dear Visionaries:</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica>By my informal count, Bush said that Iraq was "hard work" eleven times, used the phrases "mixed messages" and/or "mixed signals" twelve times, accused Kerry of flip-flopping eight times, and complained about Kerry's assertion that Iraq was the "wrong war at the wrong time" seven times. Scripted? Yes. Effective? Only if you miss the golden days of the Close-and-Play stereo listening to your Alvin and the Chipmunks recording with the skip in it. (Christmas, Christmas time is here, time for toys and time for cheer, for cheer, for cheer . . . ) </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica>Most interesting to me, however, was Bush's pronunciation of the word "mullahs," which he seems to think is pronounced "moo-lahs." He spoke of it being "hard work" dealing with the "moo-lahs" of Iraq and Iran. Presumably, he has no trouble those moo-lahs in Saudi Arabia who have financed so much of his career.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica>But moving on, I'm hoping to catch a repeat of Jon Stewart's <EM>Daily Show </EM>coverage of the debate, as I missed the first twenty minutes. I understand it was hilarious, and speaking of which, I'm forwarding Betty Bowers', America's Best Christian, take on the debate. She points out something I think most of the pundits have missed in all the talk of John Kerry's mysterious "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" tan: Mr. Bush seems to have dyed his hair. Sometime in the last week or so, his gray locks have turned fetchingly blonde. The anti-gay marriage amendment ban failed in the House, so perhaps Kyan Douglas relented and helped Mr. Bush with his do? No quid pro quo, just tit-for-tat.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica>Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica>Now, from <A href="http://www.bettybowers.com">www.bettybowers.com</A>:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=550 bgColor=white border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD bgColor=#301d51></TD></TR> <TR> <TD bgColor=#301d51> <DIV align=center> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=540 border=1> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=white colSpan=2> <DIV align=center><A href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0452285194/bettybowersisabe"><IMG height=158 src="http://www.bettybowers.com/graphics/nldebates.gif" width=580 border=0></A></DIV></TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=white colSpan=2> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD> <DIV align=center><B><I><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular>October of 2004 Newsletter from America's Best Christian</FONT></I></B></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=white> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 bgColor=white border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD width=359> <DIV align=center><IMG height=126 src="http://www.bettybowers.com/graphics/nl_best.jpg" width=350 border=0></DIV></TD></TR> <TR> <TD width=359><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular color=#000077 size=2><B></B></FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2>Dear Members of the Republican (GOP) Guard:<BR><BR></FONT> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2>I am just back from Miami and I am pleased to say that our handsome President thought that the debates went wonderfully and according to plan. Just like Iraq. In your giddiness from the relief of your disloyal vision, once again, being corrected by the balm of our President's thoughtful speechwriters, don't forget to take time out of your day to stop someone on the street and implore him or her to "Remember Poland!" No, it doesn't have quite the ring to it that "Remember the Maine" did in a previous wholly discretionary war abetted by powerful journalists (well, <I>owners of former-journalists </I>-- then, Mr. Hearst – now, Mr. Murdoch). But it is important to note that should those "nucular" troublemakers in Pyongyang get feisty tomorrow, Poland's cavalry could be within a day's ride of the Korean Peninsula by Christmas. Which is heartening, as we have no troops left of our own to send, as they are all otherwise engaged protecting the oilfields of Saddam bin Laden . . or was it Osama Hussein?<BR><BR></FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2>In all candor, I must admit that there are days when I go whole hours without thinking of dear, sweet Poland. Nevertheless, perhaps it is our handsome President who should have joined me in this geographic slight last night. After all, President of the Republic of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski was discourteous enough to note: "[The Bush administration] deceived us about the weapons of mass destruction, that's true. We were taken for a ride." Honestly, those Poles remind me of surly Jenna Bush sometimes. Invited to the party – and then gets all tetchy because there's a cash bar. <BR><BR></FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2>And speaking of poles, I don't think Jenna's pole-dancing for John McCain and the press once her mother had nodded off after her "bonus" Halcyon kicked in helped with our President's concentration during the debate. Which may have provoked his comment about "keeping my girls on a leash." Call me clairvoyant, but I took that as a harbinger of an early parole for Private Lynndie England!</FONT></P></TD></TR> <TR> <TD width=359> <DIV align=center><IMG height=200 src="http://www.bettybowers.com/graphics/firstladies.gif" width=350 border=0></DIV></TD></TR> <TR> <TD width=359> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2>I will say this: President Bush may have come across in his reaction shots as a tad surly and scared, but he is <I>quite</I> the sassy little coquette in his new beige blond hairdo! How fabulous that Mr. Bush chose not to stay the course with yesterday afternoon's white 'do that, all for the wont of intentionally cheap pearls, risked making him look like his mother after an elusive diet. Just an hour before the debate began, Georgie asked me, "2B or not 2B?" I quickly steered him towards the sink and lobbied persuasively that he opt for a flip with Clairol 7B (Tawny Summer), rather than an inevitable flop with Clairol 2B (Anemic Crone). <BR><BR></FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2>After retrieving my Aveda Sun Source tanning crème from Mr. Bush (and admonishing him that one five ounce tube is generally not thought to be "one application" by those who've never dated Ben Affleck), I tried to quell his concerns about his new saucy blond locks by saying: "Even as a Christian, I know that it's better to be whorey than hoary, dear!" (Which left him looking rather perplexed – an expression he was unable to shake for several hours.) </FONT></P></TD></TR> <TR> <TD width=359> <DIV align=center><IMG height=200 src="http://www.bettybowers.com/graphics/packoffolks.gif" width=350 border=0></DIV></TD></TR> <TR> <TD width=359> <BLOCKQUOTE><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular color=#000077 size=2><B><I>"Saddam Hussein, if he's alive, is spending a whale of a lot of time trying to not get caught. And we've not seen him on a video since 2001." </I></B></FONT> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular color=#000077 size=2><B><I>-- Donald Rumsfeld, September 11, 2004.</I></B><B><I><BR></I></B><B><I><BR></I></B></FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular color=#000077 size=2><B><I>"Of course we're after Saddam Hussein" </I></B></FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular color=#000077 size=2><B><I>-- George W. Bush, September 30, 2004.</I></B><B><I><BR></I></B></FONT><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2><BR></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2>Angry lib commentators danced in American solider blood when Mr. Bush appeared to make a slip by referring to Saddam Hussein as the man living in a cave in Tora Bora. This was no slip. Mr. Bush and Mr. Rumsfeld were simply adhering to the recent decision by the administration to make public what was previously a secret policy: confusing Saddam Hussein with Osama bin Laden. It keeps terrorists (and the composers of terrifyingly awful songs about being followed by moon shadows) on their toes if they think America is so diligent in the War on Terra that we are still hunting people we've already caught. Although if I were Barack Obama, I would think twice before checking into a hotel in Bora Bora. Soon, the money we devote to protecting ourselves (approximately 15 cents out of every dollar we spend protecting the Iraqis) will result in a super-complete terrorist homonym database. Just as soon as Tom Ridge finds someone to fill the FBI's Microsoft DOS 2.0 programming position. (Speaking of intelligence needs, where are the Spanish translators to decipher all those "Mexed messages" the President is so rightly concerned about?)<BR><BR></FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2>Between us, I do worry about the next debate between Mr. Cheney and Mr. Edwards. I fear that Cheney will look like a Rottweiler trying to attack a beautiful Springer Spaniel puppy – and America will recoil. When I told Laura this while sneering at Jenna's unladylike slacks, Laura replied: "Dick's only heart problem appears to be that he doesn't actually have one." I'll give her this: Pickles can usually be relied on for a zinger if you catch up to her before the White House pharmacist. </FONT></P> <P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2>On a positive note, I'm glad that the President was able to clearly pronounce the non-flip-floppity Bush Doctrine of Foreign Policy: We can invade Iraq without consulting anyone, but can't even talk to North Korean without China holding our hand. </FONT></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML><br clear=all><hr>Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : <a href='http://explorer.msn.com'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>