I really recommend FactCheck.org to anyone interested in the mud-slinging in the current campaign. And I do mean anyone. Because during a recent browse there myself, I was surprised, not once but twice, in ways that I'm a little embarrassed about. It goes a little like this:

Embarrassing Surprise #1

FactCheck.org is not MoveOn.org. By this, I mean that it isn't focused on just one side or the other of the issues. I had presumed that, since my introduction to the site was in the context of the Swift Boat Veterans for Revenge, the sight was pro-Kerry, or at least pro-Democrat. That was Embarrassing Mistake Number 1: assuming that any voice in the conversation must be absolutely on one side or the other. In fact, this site covers more than just the vets story, and covers misleading ads and statements from both sides of the campaign. Which leads me to...

Embarrassing Surprise #2

The Bush campaign does not have a monopoly on distortion of facts. This is by and far the more embarrassing of the two surprises. I'm not actually naïve-enough to think that the Kerry campaign wouldn't lie or at least exaggerate– really, I'm not. Or at least, I'm not usually. But I was in fact surprised to see bullet points on the site that addressed either cases where the GOP statements had been true, or where pro-Kerry ads were just as misleading as anything the pro-Bush camp had produced. And believe me when I say that I am at least as bothered by this as I am when the Bush camp does it. And not because I have some silly notion of the GOP being less-honest than the Dems.

Simply-put, I don't like it when either side does it, but when I've chosen a side, I like to think that they're a little more above-board than the other guy. And I realize that such is more than a little hopeful, to say the least. But it's like my complaint with so-called historical dramas like Titanic or Pearl Harbor (which is a whole separate journal entry for another day) that are themselves misleading: there is more than enough truth for them to avail themselves of, it seems incongruous to me that they would instead play fast and loose. But then, I know people who continue to support the swift-boat guys, even though the counter-arguments to their ads are all over the net.

So, if you've thus far dismissed the FactCheck guys out of a presumption that they're just a tool of the evil blame-America-first commie lib'rals, give them a look. You may be just as surprised as I was.

There is a group of Vietnam veterans, calling themselves Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, that has been lambasting John Kerry over his claims regarding his own Vietnam service. Problem is, it isn't going over too well.

For one thing, Lieutenant Commander George Elliott has called his signing of the affidavit a "terrible mistake". Even the leading urban legends web site has chimed in (here, as well). Probably the most significant and revealing detail, though, is this bit noted at FactCheck.org:

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In Arizona, horses are still very common-place. Because of this, you might think that this is a sign directing you to a place where you can get your horse a nice meal. You might think that, but you would be wrong. This is a place where you go to eat like a horse. This is a chain in the Phoenix/Mesa metro area. I've seen at least three locations so far this week.

As to whether you actually strap a bag onto your face, I cannot say. I haven't had the courage to actually venture into any of them.

Fry's Electronics now has two stores in the Phoenix metro area– one in Tempe and one in Phoenix itself. I went there today, because I left my cell-phone charger at home when I packed for this trip.

It would seem that the general surlyness and un-helpfulness of the average Fry's salesdroid must be part of the training manual. Were it not for the excessive heat ("but it's a dry heat") and the license plates on the cars, I could just as easily have been in Cupertino.

I have hooked my Mom and her husband on Firefly. Who have you converted, today?

Made it to Phoenix just fine, and am now with my Mom and her husband at their house in Mesa. It's hot, but you all knew that. They have six, yes six Yorkshire Terriers, including two pups that are just over eight weeks old. Even though I'm not a dog-person, those puppies are pretty damn cute. And playful. Really playful and energetic.