What 2004 incident makes you the most angry?

[senseandsensibility]

I ask because we need ANGER to get us through the next few years. It's gonna be a long, hard, in the trenches, drag out fight. Do we have what it takes? Anger is a great motivator, provided it is righteous anger. So what are you angry about?

Please post what most pissed you off in 2004. Try to make it specific, and explain why it motivates you. We have so much material to work with!

Here's mine: I am SOOOOO angry that a bunch of protected rich white men, many of whom chose not to fight for their country when it was their turn, TRASHED a true war hero. When I picture their smug faces, I see red. The fact that the corporate media gave them a stage for their slander is worse. I will never forgive, never forget, and I will use this memory to motivate myself to oppose this administration with everything I have !!!

Don't be shy!! Share! It might motivate others!:mad: :argh:

[Celeborn Skywalker]

1. That picture of

that Repig lady at the RNC wearing a purple heart sticker on her chin. That just made my blood boil.:grr: :grr:

[senseandsensibility]

6. OOOH!

That's a good one! Can anyone post that? I can see that photo motivating a few people!

[Rican1]

13. Having the nerve to say

I earned political capital and I intend to spend it. After winning an election through lies, donations from the super rich, manipulating the fears of a country and election fraud!

[newyawker99]

49. Hi Rican1!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Rican1]

89. Thanks for the welcome!

[stevedeshazer]

36. I hear ya

[spanone]

50. Oink Oink

[marc_the_dem]

101. lying swift boat veterans

[noonwitch]

103. Or the media, for taking them at face value

Mostly FOX/Hannity

[marc_the_dem]

104. here, here!

thanks for pointing that out.

[Cuban_Liberal]

2. The 762 times they replayed the 'Dean Scream' on TV before NH.

I'd never before witnessed a media assasination, and it made me sick.

:puke:

[cags]

53. That is mine too

Its so sad the people could not see through it

[Rockerdem]

54. Dean scream, or the character assassination of Teresa????

Dean is a big boy, an experienced pol who could have deflected it with some instant humor, imho. He is tough as nails. But the way that they went against a family member is unconscionable. They went out of the way to portray her as a lush or pill popper. As if Rush Limbaugh didn't even exist. It still makes my blood boil. Family members should be off limits by the other party and the press whores.

[okieinpain]

61. and she's a repug on top of that. just proves that they eat their

own. can't wait for ms. whitman's book to come out. i wonder how crazy she will be.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

85. I couldn't understand what they had against the man either.

I guess it's wrong to be enthusiastic and actually care about something.

[inslee08]

3. Jerry Falwell

ANYTHING having to do with Jerry Falwell. Period.

[Liberty Belle]

4. The Ohio woman whose husband died while she stood in line 10 hours to vote

[thebigdonkey]

10. whoa

do you have a link to that story

[Liberty Belle]

44. No, sorry, but this was mentioned here in DU before.

Her husband died at home, alone, while she stood in line for hours waiting to vote. The GOP bastards who withheld voting machines have blood on their hands.

[Pirate Smile]

5. Same as you - the Swift Boat Liars and the media's complicity in the smear

:nuke:

[Debs]

70. Thats my vote

The Swift Boat Liars for Rent

[LeighAnn]

7. Voter Fraud

Plain & simple. Throw the bastards in jail where they belong.

[SueZhope]

23. also election fraud

and the media not reporting the facts.(claiming theres no proof)
Yet they they had no proof about the swift boat liars
and spent months talking about them:mad: (and still are talking about them)

[TheKingfish]

8. Abu Ghraib seems obvious choice to me

Pictures are worth a thousand words.

[phylny]

31. Same here.

I'm ashamed that my countrymen and women did this.

[alphafemale]

52. ...and the RW response. "Torture's OK when we do it."

Out of an awful year, that probably affected me the most.

[Debs]

71. OK

I have to change my vote and agree with this. The torture of fellow human beings, and then the crass appologies for it were the most repugnant thing I have witnessed since the Raygun days. It was a national shame and our response to it was almost as shameful

[two gun sid]

9. Abu Gharib

n/t

[FuriousMNDem]

11. DIE-FUCKING-BOLD.

There, I said it.

[bobthedrummer]

12. Rumsfeld remaining Sec. Def. after Abu Ghraib.

:nuke:

[OhioBlue]

22. And his pathetic justification

that we couldn't have anticipated the digital cameras. What a fu_king asshole...... It totally dazed me.... WTF, WTF, WTF...

[0007]

14. Abu Ghraib

[Forever Free]

15. JOHN O'NEILL AND THE REST OF THOSE SWIFT BOAT ASSHOLES

and the damn media that kept repeating their baseless lies and distortions.

[Sparkly]

86. I agree -- and the purple heart bandaids at the RNC convention.

:mad:

[thebigdonkey]

16. I am mad about how * used gay rights or the lack there of to get his base

out.

[OhioBlue]

25. and the churches in my area

with the "protect marriage" signs. I should've taken pics.

[thebigdonkey]

27. I think an issue like that should have had more consideration not some

rush to the poll lynching.

[OhioBlue]

40. yes - the issue should have had much more discussion

our republican senators and republican governor actually came out against the proposal as it was written - it won by a large margin anyway. There are hidden consequences in the bill that will take time to come out. I haven't studied it very well, just read the local newspaper. The Churches with political signs just angered me in general. Aren't they supposed to lose tax exempt status?

[thebigdonkey]

41. for some reason with the repugs running things I think they will be able t

o keep that

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. The election was stolen

grrrrrrrrr!!!

[liberal N proud]

18. The idiots who are all scammed by the likes of FAUX and CNN

It makes me sick everytime I hear the voice of Bill Orealy or any of the other facist on the News Networks.

[Vincardog]

19. The fact that the Idiot Bush who wants to use up he world and trick God

into the second coming. Was allowed to steal the presidency again. Is any one else worried that aWoL actually wants to end the world? This is the individual with the launch codes ya'll. He wants to appoint 'Strict Constructionist' judges and allow Biblical punishment. I refuse to worship at the Church of Shrub.

[TayTay]

20. The Bushies having the Gold Star Mom arrested

Sue Nedeirer(sp?) whose son died in Iraq and when she showed up to protest at a Laura Bush speech the unpatriotic bastards had her clamped in handcuffs and thrown in jail. For protesting! This is how the Rethugicans repay Americans for service in their unnecessary war! On the other hand, I'm sure they meant to send her a bandaid with a purple heart on it, but it probably got lost in the mail along with their sense of honor, duty and compassion.

[senseandsensibility]

21. God, this is a great list so far!

:) I am getting so angry just reading it!! I hope y'all are too!

[DemGa]

24. Probably not the top of my list but really pissed me off

That unexplained media appearance election night by *.

[stevedeshazer]

37. Signal

It was a signal....

[senseandsensibility]

42. Exactly.

How can the media be so gullible, or bought and paid for?

[NurseLefty]

26. That Bush was re-elected; that Americans could be so F***ING stupid!

No matter how you slice or dice it, as to how Bush won, the simple fact is that more Americans voted for him than Kerry. Bush didn't deserve 2 percent of the electorate, let alone 51%!
Even if the election was corrected for fraud, it is likely that Bush still would have received a sizeable chunk of the votes.
HOW COULD SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE THEIR HEADS UP THEIR ASSES?!
I will *never* forgive those who voted for him. They are complicit in every disaster he creates for our country and the world.

[shance]

47. Good news NL. The American people are not as stupid and

homophobic as mainstream media would like to inflate, promote and continuously pound in our head and our childrens' heads,

and I believe after studying and learning about the electronic voting issue and following the last three elections closely, John Kerry won. Of course I don't know that for sure.

I certainly don't believe George Bush won. There are a multitude of substantially backed reasons I know this, as others do as well. Exit polls, the veritable canary in the coal mine, is one primary example, but there are many others too.

I believe the *stupidity* lies more in an ingrained fear and denial by those leaders and citizens as well who seem to ignore or remain unaware of the elephant of massive voter fraud in the living room.

We deny the reality of massive voter fraud through technology and electronic voter machines at our own peril.

That peril will be our Democracy and our life as we know it.

We will never have another fair or accurate election unless we remove the privatization of our votes by these companies and we eliminate the usage of these machines and/or mandate that the data from the electronic machines is secondary to a voter verified paper ballot, which is hand counted at the precincts.

[NurseLefty]

75. But even if you set the fraud issue aside, there is still a big chunk

of our population who thinks this chimp walks on water! That so many people don't pick up a newspaper, study the issues, learn about what's going on infuriates me! I think it will be the cause of our downfall.

edit for typo

[shance]

76. You may be right. What I found interesting that I observed

during the November 2nd election, versus the 2000 were the amount of people who switched from voting Bush to voting Kerry.

I know of four individuals personally, all white males, only two of whom know each other personally, one lives in Dallas, the other in New York City (the other two live here in Los Angeles), and three of which had never voted Democrat yet they were casting their vote for Kerry.

I also read here at DU of family members that were changing over and friends as well from the Republican ticket to the Democratic. When you look at it from one perspective, it means little, although through hearsay and third party there was a significant amount of switching and voting for Kerry. I think you could see it in the amount of stickers and signs. The momentum was even larger than 2000, and it was later established that Gore won Florida so if Gore won, then I have to believe Kerry won, possibly on a larger margin that Gore did.

During the Gore campaign the camps were much more isolated and I didnt hear of anyone switching to Gore from the Republican ticket. So if he won without any vote transfers from Republican to Democrat, I can see little of no feasible way that Kerry lost from what seemed to be a significant shift of crossover votes from Republican to Democrat. It makes me wonder if this was another hijack of the election system due to the electronic machines which have the ability to commit fraud without leaving proof or being detected.

[Cobalt Violet]

28. Blackwell,

Kenneth Blackwell and what he did to America in Ohio. And he appears to be getting away with it.

[Solly Mack]

29. It's been a year of offending actions by Bush Inc

May I pick everything?

[katinmn]

30. I agree with the other posts, but the continuing quagmire in Iraq

throughout 2004 is the absolute worst crime this administration has perpetrated against America -- not to mention the Iraqis and the fact that the entire world grows less safe each day these assholes are in power.

1300 soldiers killed in Iraq
100,000 Iraqis killed

So Far.

[senseandsensibility]

34. Yes I agree totally

And I also get angy when I remember the "injured" Americans and Iraquis who are so seriously wounded that their lives will never be the same. They are missing limbs or eyes and will suffer for the rest of their lives. And, as you say, the world is not safer. And chimp thinks it's funny! As someone posted above, he makes jokes about looking for WMD!!! And the media lets him slide!!! Grrrr... I many need therapy after this thread.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

32. The Democrats who voted for the war (IWR)

The cowards have blood on their hands. And, it kept BushCorp in office.

[Minstrel Boy]

33. Fallujah

Here comes the helicopter -- second time today
Everybody scatters and hopes it goes away
How many kids they've murdered only God can say
If I had a rocket launcher...I'd make somebody pay

[Debs]

72. Go

Bruce Coburn, brilliant song

[Lizzie Borden]

35. The THEFT OF THE ELECTION!

the theft of the election***the theft of the election***:grr: :grr:

[UrbScotty]

38. THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE IS UNDER ATTACK!!!!!

How sad it was to see that waste of time on the Senate floor in July. While the FMA was being debated, Al Qaida was undoubtedly planning the next attack.

Why did so many people vote against themselves just to prevent one man from loving another?

[senseandsensibility]

39. sarcasm

A great way of expressing anger!:)

[Todd B]

100. Just one?!

Let's be honest here: The FMA is nothing more then the * administration attempting to play god with American citizens private lives.

It's not really a surprise that it tops my list of the most outrageous incident of 2004.

I'd also like to add the shameless media sensationalism of the coverage of the Tsunami disaster.

The whole purple heart thing - Hell, the entire GOP HATE FEST CONVENTION . It's kind of ironic to see a room full of people wearing little purple heart band aids when probably none of them have ever even had to be in a war!

The Swift Boat Liars and how the supposed liberal media allowed this lie to be given constant 24/7 media attention.

*'s handling of Abu Ghraib and the hundreds of other human rights abuses that have occurred under his watch. He no longer has any right to complain when torture occurs to US troops and citizens because he brought it upon himself by allowing it.

And, just for kicks, the fact that propagandists like Hannity and Rush are still on the air.

[Locut0s]

43. The online response in message boards, not this one, to the tsunami

I've read everything from "Looks like a lot of Muslims died, guess God is sending them a message", to "60,000 dead, yeah so.. like you can name on of them". Also all the bickering over is or is not the US giving enough money, seems there's nothing humans won't politicize.

[tiredofthisstuff]

45. The coverage of the Presidential Debates.

I have never in my whole life seen such one sided coverage of a political event.

You would have thought Kerry was the one fumbling his words, looking nervous, and being full of shit.

"You spin me right round baby, right round..."

:hurts:

[senseandsensibility]

46. Not that I don't agree with you,

but didn't you find the media's coverage of the swiftboat liars and the whole election fraud issue just as bad? Not to mention the run up to the Iraq war which did happen in 2004. God, how do we chose?
Welcome to DU!!! Just curious... I watched very little of the post debate coverage on TV. Which talking head or cable network was the worst, and what did they say?

[Pam-Moby]

48. I have been pissed about all

but mostly Jerry Falwell. He is a nut-cake. Voter cheating was sickening.

I feel Kerry done very well at the debates by the way!!!
*ush looked like a fool....mummbled sounds like a mad man...If anyone voted for him they must have had rocks in their heads. That is how I know *ush lost...No person in their proper frame of mind would vote for him.

[newyawker99]

51. AbuGhraib tortures and the White House's initial

pathetic response to the tsunami. This
country always lead the way in humanitarian
response to tragedies. $100,000 was
a joke. :grr:

[BulletproofLandshark]

55. In Addition To Everything Mentioned So Far...

I would have to say *'s exploitation of the Iraqi national soccer team's
run to the Olympic quarterfinals was pretty damn bad too. There is no aspect of life, even sports, that's immune to this POS' taint.

[Nobody]

56. Do I have to pick just one?

Abu Ghraib and the people who approve. Being more despicable than the enemy is how you win wars, they say. Never mind if you lose yourself in the cesspool of filth and lies.

Rummy telling the soldier who asked about why they have to scrounge for armor that you go to war with the army you have blah blah blah. BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO GO TO WAR AT ALL!

Iraq. Al Qaeda. Iraq. Al Qaeda. Iraq. Al Qaeda. I KNOW it was Osama Bin Laden who's responsible for September 11th, I KNOW THAT. You forgot Poland.

The pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception and birth control pills.

Exit poll discrepancies are just dandy here but in the Ukraine it's evidence of tampering with the vote.

Diebold's blatant conflict of interest that goes virtually unremarked.

The press and how they give the Bush Regime a pass on everything. If it had been Clinton....

Churches handing out voters guides. Go ahead. Do that. But you'd better pay taxes next year, including back taxes for every year you've dabbled in politics.

My friend's son was in Iraq, came home, and now he's back in Iraq. And his kid isn't old enough to have had a birthday party yet.

Our Leader Billboards public service message from Clear Channel.

The list goes on. Let's just say that my dartboard has a picture of Bush mounted on it and that it's full of holes already.

[nascarblue]

57. The hypocrisy of..US vs. Ukraine vote and the way the media...

..misreported it and did not report Ohio. People still believe the "orange revolution" was legit. The republican organizations spent 65 MILLION over there.

I'd have to say I'm about just as pissed at the lying media as I am the Bush administration's hegemony.

The Western Media
and the Ukraine Poison Story
Most westerners are ignorant about Ukrainian society and history, making it difficult for them to evaluate the bitter political struggle in that country.
http://www.emperors-clothes.com/ukr/poisonous-a.htm#part1

[BillZBubb]

58. The Pathetic Kerry Campaign

Instead of taking the attack to Dumbya, he sat back and let himself get painted as a flip-flopping, wound faking, ultra-liberal wimp.

Kerry re-ran the Dukakis campaign and got the same results. He ran like a wimp and lost like a wimp.

And, no, I don't buy the excuse that the election was stolen. Kerry didn't contest the election, why should I? It should never have been close enough to be stolen.

[BillZBubb]

59. The Pathetic Kerry Campaign

Instead of taking the attack to Dumbya, he sat back and let himself get painted as a flip-flopping, wound faking, ultra-liberal wimp.

Kerry re-ran the Dukakis campaign and got the same results. He ran like a wimp and lost like a wimp.

And, no, I don't buy the excuse that the election was stolen. Kerry didn't contest the election, why should I? It should never have been close enough to be stolen.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

87. I agree.

He should have viciously attacked Bush. I think this is why many people thought that Bush would be tougher on on terrorism. Kerry acted wimpy in his campaign by not fighting back. People probably assumed he would act the same way as president.

[B Calm]

60. The Election FRAUD!

[Mz Pip]

62. Scum Boat Liars for Bush

John O'Neill and other like-minded Repukes seem to have forgotten their 10 Commandemnts - particularly the one that states "Thou shalt not bear false witness..."

These clowns would still have us in Vietnam and if they have their way will have us in Iraq forever. Never miund the carnage, never mind the cost.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[otohara]

69. Mainstream Media Whores

rerun of 2000 - they Gored Gore, then gored Kerry, especially with their 24/7 coverage they gave to Swift Boat Liars for Bush. Their manufactured garbage about "moral values" being the reason for Bush win turned out to be lies.

[neebob]

63. The "mandate."

I'd really like see some people learn what's a mandate and what's not.

The greedy bullshit war that costs $7.375 million an hour makes me angry, too - even more than the imaginary mandate.

[sadiesworld]

64. The dems' failure to address BBV voting prior to the election.

Inexcusable.

[sistersofmercy]

65. The election

and all issues surrounding it, swift boat liars, the gay marriage NONissue that riled up an estimated 4 million evangilical fundies to vote and every fucking one issue voter, tax cut, "support the troops" by supporting Bush (such bullshit!)etc. Still pissed about the election and refuse to remove my JK bumper sticker.

[pdxmom]

66. The attacks on the First Amendment

The media's complacency and complicity, the FCC, the attempted takeover by the religious goon squads, the stifling of protests and the list goes on.

The First Amendment is being destroyed inch by inch, and people don't seem to see it, or care, or realize what they will lose if this continues.

[Swamp Rat]

67. What makes me MOST angry? American apathy to all of the above.

[Greylyn58]

68. Unfortunately there were many things

to choose from. But I think the way Kerry was treated by the media whores, the swift liars and repukes and the prison scandal at Abu Ghraib stick out the most

Kerry fought and was wounded not once, but 3 times in Vietnam and that "Cockroach" who sits in the OUR White House never once saw a minutes worth of combat. He and his followers foul treatment of a TRUE soldier disgusts me beyond words. And now he has sent young men and women into a war that never should have been started in Iraq and treats them as if they were nothing more than pawns in a chess game that he has to win. This POS has earned a special place in HELL.

What was done to the Abu Ghraib prisoners will haunt us for years to come...even after we recover the White House and the Congress.(I don't want to say if...I can't stand the thought) What was done will be a blot on us that will - if it hasn't already - endanger the men and women serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. And these scumbags haven't got a clue or less than a clue. And what makes me sizzle the most is that Rummy is still here...after admitting he knew what was happening.

Another recipient for "Special HELL."

When these two and several others I can think of die, I think I would find some pleasure in knowing that their end came about like it did to the bad guy in the movie "Ghost", when the black shadows came up and grabbed him and pulled him away.

If Shrub, Rummy, Cheney...all these so called "God fearing men" met their end like that, I would be very satisfied.

:grr: :argh:

[Tactical Progressive]

73. 9/11 Coverup Commission

and the corporate media's complete refusal to question BushCo's blatant culpability in letting us get attacked in 2001.

The media's complicity in promoting the Smearboat Liars probably provokes the biggest spark for me, compared to the slower, more simmering outrage of their 9/11 whitewash complicity. It isn't just that they let it happen, or gave them free, ongoing national media exposure, but it's what they didn't do. Kerry shouldn't have had to say more than a few words. The media should have ripped the Smearboat Liars a new asshole, and the Republican party for putting them up to it. The Kerry campaign shouldn't have even had to be involved. Imagine if the Clinton campaign had tried anything even remotely like that, say impugning Bush Sr. bailing out on his aircrew to die hurtling into the ocean. Imagine what kind of coverage that would have gotten. All the questions would be angry accusations and snide rancor towards the Democrats from the media. It would have been a pure media assault against Democrats.

The difference isn't just in what the corporate media does, it's more often in what they don't do. Same with the 9/11 attack.

Those two are my twin outrages.

[catzies]

80. Remember the hearings? Mr. Ben-Veniste's grilling of Condoleezza Rice?

She lied under oath. She's getting promoted for it. SOP for the GOP and BFEE.

[laura888]

74. Abu Gharib

disgust. shame. anger.

[Annus Horribilis]

77. Swift Boat Vets

And how they insulted not only John Kerry, but insulted every veteran in the country. And how our so-called liberal media played the ad 24 hours a day.

[GOPBasher]

78. The robbing of election in black box machines.

[Skittles]

79. the hearts bandaids thing really struck a nerve with me

as a veteran, as an American, as a human being - it really showed in a simple manner how sick and demented republicans are

[senseandsensibility]

81. Bookmark this list

for when you need a little motivation to keep fighting! Although it's scary to see it all on one page, we need to keep reminding ourselves of all the atrocities that this crowd has been responsible for!!

[The_brave_48_percent]

82. the right-wing media

how fox news became popular, causeing more americans to be uneducated about politics and the world, then evry other news source wanting to become as popular as fox shifted to the right, and made journalism obsolite in the mainstream media. Without a free media, one that has no agenda, a true democracy cannot exist

:mad: :mad:

[lostnfound]

83. Haiti.

Ordinary people became brave enough to accuse FRAPH of torture and murder, and saw their tormentors put in prison.

Bush took FRAPH associates and put them in charge of the country.

Haiti deserved better.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

84. Kerry not putting up a fight and contesting the election. n/t

[spooked]

88. The Phony Press Conference from the White House on Election Eve

n/t

[knight_of_the_star]

90. Rummy the Dummy

I HATED his two most famous quotes to the troops, "You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want," and "No amount of armour in the world will keep a roadside bomb from blowing up your humvee." What a fucking prick!

[sakabatou]

91. "Reverend A$$hole"

for cheering on the tsunami for killing thousands of innocent civilians.

[davidwparker]

92. DNC' putting a bullet in Dean

It will be repaid if Dean doesn't get DNC chair. Or, Hillary is nominated for 2008. This will show me that the leadership wants to continue to ignore the base (i.e., hasn't learned a thing.

Saw a repeat on C-SPAN with Al From. Made me want to :puke:

[nomatrix]

93. The week long 24/7 Reagan funeral

Way overdone.

9/11, 9/11, 9/11 out of every talking head at the Rep. Convention.

Having it in NY City. No shame. A couple of bright notes: the protest was great & John Stewart calling Carlson a dick.

Lay, Novak, & Limba should be in jail.

[Pithy Cherub]

94. A media corps that missed the obvious stories,

(War, elections, its own complicity in setting up entertainment and horse races it just goes on) and failed in the public interest to bring multi-faceted perspectives to bear in the public square.

[amjucsc]

95. The fact that 62,000,000 people voted for W

[Bhaisahab]

96. The suspicious character that is John F Kerry (NT)

[Behind the Aegis]

97. oh so many!

This was the year to be pissed off, and in the case of Dems, pissed on!

In no particular order:
The Dean character assassination!
The attacks on Teresa!
The incompetents in the Kerry campaign that told him to "ride out the Swift Boat" liars!
The Swift Boat liars!
The fact the media turned into tabloid TV instead of reporting and investigating!
That gays were used as a political ploy by both the Rethugs and Dems!
The fake shit about "Christmas" under attack!

That is all for now...I don't want to get too mad!

[senseandsensibility]

99. Yes I agree

Getting too mad is counter productive! But that was quite a list. Thanks!

[Is It Fascism Yet]

98. another stolen election and the media whores ignoring it, n/t

[txaslftist]

102. Abu Ghraib

just pisses me off. What a black eye for America.