Iraq veterans open up on mishandling of war
Boetcher presented the audience with statistics showing how veterans are losing service benefits at a rapid rate....

Jennifer Giese of the 826th Ordinance experiences...
"While the unit suffered no fatalities in Iraq, they were plagued the entire time by supply chain glitches. The unit never received body armor, and had to resort to stealing scrap metal for vehicle armor. Bottled water had to be rationed due to shortages, but Giese later filled a swimming pool for a general's use."

Casualties of Faith
"What does it tell you about a president that his grounds for war are so weak that the only way he can justify it is by believing God wants it? Or that his only Iraq policy now - as our troops fight a vicious insurgency and the dream of a stable democracy falls apart - is a belief in miracles?"

Bush Foresaw No War Casualties, Robertson Recalls
The president was the 'most self-assured man I ever met' during a 2003 encounter, televangelist says. The White House says he's got it wrong.

During the meeting, Bush "was the most self-assured man I ever met in my life," Robertson said. "You remember Mark Twain said, 'He looks like a contented Christian with four aces.' He was just sitting there, like, 'I'm on top of the world.' "

"Last week, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, a co-chair of President Bush's campaign in Wisconsin, refused Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's request for additional ballots. This left the state's most populous city, which is expecting a record voter turnout, with fewer ballots than in 2000 or 2002. After hundreds protested and media sources all over the nation blasted the decision, Walker relented and grudgingly handed over the ballots. But the intent was clear..."
Read more about The problem of vote blocking by UW Madison's Daily Cardinal reporter Nick Barbash

About 1.7 million veterans lack health insurance, study says
Many of the uninsured veterans were barred from Veterans Health Administration services by a 2003 Bush administration order halting enrollment of most middle-income veterans.

"Since President Bush took office, the number of uninsured vets has skyrocketed, and he's cut VA eligibility, barring hundreds of thousands of veterans from care," said David Himmelstein, study author and a Harvard Medical School associate professor.

What will be the "October Surprise"
"We've got a couple of surprises that we intend to spring." - Karl Rove (9/29/04 - On ABC Radio to Sean Hannity)

You can place a $3 bet... at Osama Bin Lotto. "This may seem like a goofy sweepstakes but there is a serious intent. The more that people are aware of the 'October Surprise' before it happens, the less impact it could have and the less likely it will be to happen at all," says Ben Cohen. "Actual winnings will be based on how many tickets are bought overall. The winner gets the pot, which our odds makers predict will be many thousands of dollars or up to half a million dollars."

Want some help to pick a winner?
OctoberSurprise.net has a poll, history lessons and blog where you can learn more about the "October Surprise." Remember the original "October Surprise" back in 1980? It was a plan executed by those who backed the Reagan campaign who set out to unseat Jimmy Carter by making a deal with the Iranians (through the CIA) to continue to hold American hostages beyond the 1980 November elections rather than release them before the vote which would have been a major plus for incumbent Jimmy Carter.

This Mark Green has my endorsement...
He headed Public Citizen's Congress Watch and was Public Advocate of New York City, currently president of the New Democracy Project, a lecturer at New York University and recently edited What We Stand For: A Program for Progressive Patriotism. Mark Green invites readers at his NameTheOctoberSurprise.com Web site to, submit entries to a "Name the October Surprise" contest. "This contest emerges out of history - political history and Bush history," says Mark. "The best modern example occurred in 1972 when then National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger announced at the end of the Nixon-McGovern campaign that 'peace is at hand' with Vietnam."

On Sunday, October 30, Mark Green will, "announce the 'winners' based on the submission(s) which predicted what actually happened. Winners appear live on Air America to bask in the gratitude of a skeptical nation...and will receive a signed copy of The Book on Bush and cool Air America gear."