The Minority Report presented a unique idea, the concept of a future where crime could be prevented by punishing the guilty party before it occurred.

Over the last few days the McCain camp has started to get desperate with all the good news for Obama. So what does a campaign run by the architect of negative campaigning do?

Do some good 'ole negative campaigning of course. Here's a recap.

Right-wing swift-boater David Bossie and his organization Citizen's United  have geared up for the release of a "documentary" attack film on Barack Obama.

It was great seeing so many of you in Austin last week!

At least one major right-wing smear attack on Obama may be gearing up.  I'll call it the "Who Sent You" campaign.  As weird as it sounds -- and it is weird stuff -- the gist of it is that Obama's birth was part of a secret plan by communists, Jews and one-worlders to take over the world.   As you read this it is going to sound so fanatically wingnut/John Birch Society/black helicopter/precious bodily fluids weird that you are likely to dismiss it as the rantings of crazy people.  But I have learned over the years that this stuff resonates with a certain crowd, and they are remarkably effective at tapping the fears of Americans.  

Keep in mind how weird and unbelievable the Swift Boat accusations seemed -- and remember the powerful effect they had on the public and election results.  In The Swiftboaters Are Back in the Water I wrote about the effectiveness of the dishonest accusations,

..."but by golly, I'm gonna insinuate that he is!  Scary!  Red scare!  Boogah boogah boogah!"

Okay, so McCain didn't say that last bit -- out loud.  But the implication was loud and clear.

Yep, folks, the latest smear from the Straitjacket Express is that old-fashioned GOP favorite:  The Democrat's a socialist who's bent on destroying America!

Jesus, not this bullshit again:

A billboard on display in Orange County, Florida shows the World Trade Center towers burning while telling passers-by: "Please Don’t Vote for a Democrat." The local ABC News affiliate reports that the person responsible is a local musician "trying to help Republicans" but that "officials with both political parties are calling the billboard inappropriate."

This is already making the rounds across the Internets, but I thought it prudent to put up an action alert here, as the sponsor of this billboard is quite happy to advertise both his Web site and contact information for you to spend five bucks on his shitty CD (and EVEN have him perform at your next social event!). The excitement never ends.

More at the jump.

I, like most regular readers of the New Yorker, love the depth and analysis that is the New Yorker.  At my previous job, my cubicle was adorned by the cartoons that are signature New Yorker with their dry and ironic outlook on life. So I was truly shocked and puzzled when a magazine of such stature should so carelessly bin it's reputation with a cover that is so remarkably outrageous.  Why and what for were my immediate questions?  And here are some of the answers, below the fold.

BAD COVER

You've seen the Kos diary about the New Yorker cover that satirically depicts Obama and Michelle as all the right-wing smears would have them.

Many Kossacks are mightily ticked off.  Many are saying: hey calm down, it's not going to play out badly.

How about a poll to gauge the heat and light, ok?

...

Kinda like a cross-post:

ACTION ALERT: Attacking Me for Schuring's Gas Tax

Dear Friends,

You may have heard of "Freedom’s Watch" – they’re a group of former Bush administration officials who plan to spend billions of dollars in 2008 to send more George W. Bush-style Republicans to Washington.

They’re also confused. They’ve just started sending phone messages to local voters attacking me for the Ohio state gas tax that my opponent, Kirk Schuring, voted to increase in 2003. I voted against it.

Schuring voted for Governor Taft’s transportation bill, which imposed $580 million in new taxes on Ohio families. Because of him, families in our state will pay more than a quarter of a billion dollars in extra gas taxes this year alone.

Why is Freedom’s Watch telling people to call me about a gas tax I opposed? Shouldn’t they be asking voters to call Kirk Schuring instead? And why are big-money Washington groups dumping cookie-cutter attacks on our district while Schuring himself hasn't said a word about his energy plans?

We had high drama in OH-16 yesterday...

I received this e-mail from a reformed Republican that I have been helping educate.  He states that he received it from his father, and that it posed a very good question.  This is the first time that I did not have the right information available to me in a quick search, so I figured I'd ask you guys.

E-mail below the fold.

TO:  ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN
RE:  HOW TO HELP US ELECT JOHN MCCAIN

Here's what to do about the smearing of Obama by the MSM and GOP: FORK OVER SOME FREAKIN' MONEY!!

Simple, aint it? It is the only way to combat the Media smears like the recent flip-flop-flap. Think of it this way: What if Obama had enough money to answer every single smear each with its own 30 second spot. And what if those spots were aired over the next few months during shows like the Olympics (on Track & Field and Gymnastic nights) and/or Redskins at Giants NFL Opener Sept. 4.

On January 10, 2008, Daniel Johnson wrote a piece of fiction, masquerading as journalism, called The Kenya Connection for the New York Sun.  Four days before that Melanie Phillips at The Spectator, in the UK, also wrote about it.  Evidence indicates that both Johnson  and Phillips knew, or damned well should have known, that their stories originated from a fake document.  Both Johnson and Phillips name the site Atlas Shrugs as a source for their articles.  Atlas Shrugs, an Uber-wingnut haven, links to a document at Wikileaks as the source for their ridiculous claims.  The document, when it was posted at Wikileaks on November 14, 2007, was described as, "A likely fraud, denied by its purported authors."  The parade of deception involved with this story goes far beyond a hyperlink to a fake document, however.

Details after the flip.

CNN is reporting that the McCain camp is calling on Obama to "condemn the comments." Everyone, please, if you agree, e-mail the Obama camp and ask them to stand by Clark. There is nothing to condemn, except how the McCain camp is twisting the words of Wesley Clark.

Ladies and gentlemen, the latest smear on Obama is that he's from the middle East and is masking this by claiming to be black. This apparently was something Obama cooked up in Kindergarten, you know...like his plan to be President.

Running through the morning news pages, seeing if there was anything that happened in the 9 hours I slept (I'm addicted, I know) I saw a little piece on HuffPo that points out this:

The man Allen found who takes credit for the first posting of an article falsely asserting Obama is a Muslim is a man named Andy Martin.

More details below the fold...