THIS MUST BE ONE OF THOSE MOVEON-AFFILIATED OUTFITS, even though it doesn’t admit it.

They’ll say anything to make Bush look bad. . . .

UPDATE: My God, these people will stop at nothing!

HEH. JUST SAW THIS PICTURE. Nobody tell Atrios. . . .

VIDEOBLOGGING FROM THE NYC PROTESTS as anarchists attack.

(More here.)

IF YOU’VE ENJOYED JEFF SOYER’S BLOG, now might be a good time to hit the tip jar. I just did. (It’s on the upper right, with the bullets — I had to look twice to find it.)

If you need a stronger sales pitch, Jay Solo’s got it.

CONGRATULATIONS to Daniel Drezner!

THE GREAT EURO-UNLEARNING CONTINUES:

PARIS — The plight of two French journalists abducted by Islamic extremists in Iraq dominated French public life today as journalists, Muslim intellectuals and others rallied on the hostages’ behalf and top officials raced against an ultimatum issued by the kidnappers. . . .

The hostage ordeal has hit France hard. It is a gloomy rebuttal of the theory held by some-though not by most French government officials or those knowledgeable about Islam-that France’s anti-war, pro-Arab policies had inoculated the country against such aggressions.

Meanwhile, Iyad Allawi is giving the French some advice, which Greg Djerejian has translated. Excerpt:

The French, like all democratic countries, can’t content themselves with adopting a passive position. The Americans, British and other nations that are fighting in Iraq are not only fighting to protect Iraqis, they are fighting to protect their own countries.

The governments that decided to stay on the defensive will be the next targets of the terrorists. Terrorist attacks will occur in Paris, in Nice, in Cannes or in San Francisco. The time has come to act against terrorism, in the same fashion…that Europe fought Hitler. Every day, tens of people are killed in Iraq. They are not dying because we are going through a major national crisis, but because we have decided to combat evil. That’s why the entire international community must assist us, as rapidly as possible, to improve the security of our country.

…the U.S. decided to disembark in Normandy, to eliminate Hitler. They suffered heavy losses to accomplish this objective. The same thing is happening today. People must assume their responsibilities. The decision to assist Iraq is courageous. Let me tell you that the French, despite all the noise they make–‘We don’t want war!’–will shortly have to fight the terrorists.

Djerejian also translates an editorial from Le Monde suggesting that the French are catching on. Best bit: “We have touched the limits of anti-Americanism that seems to too often take the place of French foreign policy.”

Indeed.

NEAL BOORTZ is photoblogging from the RNC:

Three years ago I wouldn’t have been able to see the Hudson River from this room. Eighteen months ago this room, and this whole hotel was empty. I wouldn’t be able to see the river because the view would have been blocked by two skyscrapers, and I wouldn’t have been staying in this room because this particular hotel was closed for 20 months to repair damage from the collapse of the World Trade Towers. Right below me, Ground Zero.

Indeed.

JONAH GOLDBERG ASKS: “What do fat people, MoveOn.org and the Swift Boat Vets for Truth have in common?”

TOM HUMPHREY has gotten some bad information:

After all, bloggers, I am instructed, do not have to follow those ironclad rules of attribution, fact-checking, logic and such that burden the daily production of stuff to print by traditionally ink-stained wretches. You can just babble like a talk show radio guy.

Or maybe he’s just been reading Dan Rather’s blog.

UPDATE: Some sounder information for Tom, here.

And here. He’s a smart guy — he’ll catch on.

OLD MEDIA VS. NEW MEDIA: The new media wins, the old media whines.

POWERLINE HAS POSTED ITS FIRST VIDEOBLOG FROM THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION: Sean Hannity makes an appearance.

NO NETWORK COVERAGE TONIGHT for the RNC. Is this bias? I don’t think so — just more evidence that the major networks aren’t nearly as big a source of news as they used to be.

HERE’S AN INTERESTING NEWSWEEK INTERVIEW with Kfir Alfia of ProtestWarrior.com. Excerpt:

I think the punch we pack with our style is very powerful. That’s why we’ve attracted a lot of college students and high-school students who are hungry for an outlet to do exactly this. They look like the type of person you would find at the antiwar protests, but that doesn’t mean they share the same ideology. Part of the appeal of the left up until now has been, “Look, forget ideology, we’re cool. We’re here to have fun.” That really struck a chord with a younger generation. I think that’s changing, and I think we’re part of evidence.

I guess this is just another sign that the left is losing its teen spirit, something that’s been discussed before.

UPDATE: Michael Ubaldi emails:

Alfia has a point about image and iconography. The stereotype that righties are old guys in suits smoking cigarillos made from $100 bills has been spoon-fed for decades; just open a thesaurus and look up “conservative.” But just give a quick look around: who’s calling for Third Worlders to be given the same rights we enjoy? Protest Warriors, Sabine Herold’s Liberté Cherie, Conservative Punk, adjuncts to Daneshjoo; all friends of the right. I don’t think Bruce Springsteen and friends understand how silly and hypocritical they look by talking about love and peace while flipping the bird to Iraqis and Afghans.

Besides mocking the left, Protest Warrior offers a chance for young adults to be part of real protests for real progress.

Indeed.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Here’s an older interview of Alfia from when Protest Warrior was just getting started. Best bit: “And since the Republican party is sure to continue its tradition of weak, pathetic, uninspiring ads, it’s time for the grassroots to pick up the slack.”

JOHN KERRY: MIA? Can this be right?

CAMPAIGN FINANCE “REFORM” HAS BEEN A MISERABLE FAILURE, and John McCain is unhappy.

THE NATION has been blogging the NYC protests.

I find the Reason convention blog more interesting, though.

And Jim Glassman has more thoughts.

HOPE NOT FEAR: This commercial from the Log Cabin Republicans seems just right to me. And you know, these guys are going to win.

(Via BoiFromTroy).

JEFF JARVIS is having a big blogging panel with a host of luminaries, tomorrow night in New York. If you’re in the area, show up.

Er, unless you happen to be “Michael J. Copps, the Democratic member of the FCC and the one most likely to tear down both the free marketplace of both ideas and commerce.” Then it might be a mistake to come within striking range of Jeff.

RYAN SAGER has exclusive assassin photography from New York.

BLOG FATIGUE: STEVEN DEN BESTE has grown tired of being a public utility. I’m not in the same place, but I understand where he’s coming from.

UPDATE: Related thoughts here — including the amusing origins of “Mindles Dreck” as a pseudonym. Plus this. Heh.

TOM MAGUIRE WANTS KERRY TO RELEASE HIS MEDICAL RECORDS, and offers some cogent arguments as to why that’s an issue.

It’s been an issue for a while, actually, with the Washington Post noting back in March that Kerry had lied about his health earlier, to the Boston Globe. “Kerry lied to the Boston Globe when asked whether he was sick.”

JAMES MORROW WRITES that it’s 1972 all over again.

But not exactly. Because in 1972, at a rock-and-roll event, Democrats wouldn’t have been booed. (You can see video here.)

Ann Althouse writes: “You could conclude that it’s a shame that these young people today don’t care about politics, but that’s not the impression I got. I think it’s politically savvy to reject an attempt to usurp a music party for a political purpose. It’s a solid political opinion to believe that politics don’t belong everywhere.”

UPDATE: This CNN story claims that it was the Bush daughters who were being booed, but the reader who sent it says that they didn’t come on until afterward. I didn’t see it.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The above CNN report is contradicted by . . . this from CNN. And reader Chris Greer reports: “I watched the awards show last night, the crowd started booing when the Kerry daughters started speaking and continued booing while the Bush daughters made their statements. Basically, the crowd did not want any political agendas pushed during the award show.” The personal isn’t political, I guess.

IN THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Mary Schmich writes that the media are eating away their own credibility.

RNCBLOGGERS is picking up all the posts from bloggers at the RNC, and aggregating them for your convenience.

IS BUSH GETTING AN OLYMPICS BOUNCE?