Special From NewsMax's Most Informed Sources
Monday, Aug. 23, 2004

Kerry Fears This Book!
Find out about our free offer!

For more information, Go Here Now.

1. Is the Bush Campaign Running Out of Money?

When John Kerry's campaign came from near insolvency to raising more money than the incumbent, President George Bush, we thought the President would be in a wee bit of money trouble.

And when we saw the 527s raising tens of millions backed by the likes of George Soros -- without the Republicans doing likewise -- we knew that Republicans would be in for a big store of trouble.

NewsMax's Insider Report was the first to reveal that the FEC would not rule against the 527s. In fact, we reported that Republican commission members had warned the Bush White House to get into the game ASAP because the 527s would not be declared illegal.

But the Bush campaign, not interested in having independent groups they could not control, would not give its blessing to pro-Bush 527s.

Now the money math is simple. The Kerry forces – through his campaign, the unions and the 527s – will outspend Bush by some $300 million or more by election day.

With just two months left we thought the Republicans would be desperate for money. And so it is.

One wealthy Republican – one of the few who can write Soros-style checks of $10 million or more – tells us that he has, all of a sudden, gotten calls from desperate Republicans seeking help, including one call from RNC chief Ed Gillespie. All calls have gone unreturned.

Like most Republicans, he is strongly rooting for Bush. But no money will be sent. This donor doesn't believe it will make much of a difference at this point.

And then there's politics. President Bush never invited the donor – a frequent guest in the Oval Office of previous Republican presidents - to the White House even once during the past four years.

It's a story we have heard time and again. Conservatives who write to the president get no response, and no one from the Bush White House calls to thank their friends and supporters on behalf of the President. These are the normal things previous administrations have done.

The stories about lack of follow up from the Bush White House and RNC are legion with the constituencies of the "Reagan base" of the party.

For example, there's the NRA – perhaps the most critical group that backed Bush in 2000 – still furious over the McCain-Feingold bill that has perhaps permanently emasculated them in the political process.

But there are other stories told. There is a prominent Democrat who endorsed Bush and never heard from the Republicans for months after going public. Now when they call he says he is still supporting Bush, but "please, let me do my own thing" (read: please keep your distance).

If Bush loses in November it may be due to his lack of cash – and more likely due to the poor job his political operatives have done.

Tip O'Neill once said all politics is local. He was wrong: all politics is politics.

2. Ronald Reagan Outlived His Funeral Directors

Both Nancy and Ronald Reagan loved big shows.

And Nancy apparently wanted a great send-off for her love and one of the greatest presidents in American history.

And Ronald Reagan also liked surprises.

Perhaps his biggest surprise was just how long he lived – some ten years from the time he announced his Alzheimer's in his farewell letter to America.

During the 90s Reagan just kept ticking though there were numerous reports his death was imminent.

With the tabloids and gossip columnists saying Reagan's death was "soon-to-be" in recent years, NewsMax reported Reagan was still swimming laps in the pool of his Bel Air home.

Dominic Dunne, in the September edition of Vanity Fair magazine, explains just what a surprise Reagan's stamina was.

Dunne reports that Reagan's funeral had been in planning for some ten years before his death.

In fact, the indomitable Gipper, Dunne writes, outlived two of the directors hired to oversee the services and funeral of Reagan. In the end, a third director, Craig Janoff, helped masterfully coordinate the ceremonies.

As an aside, we were disappointed that the camera shots at most of the ceremonies excluded President Reagan's son Michael and his lovely wife Colleen. Michael is the eldest son of president Reagan and his former wife Jane Wyman.

But the funeral planners never anticipated that Michael would, on several occasions, walk from his designated seat to his father's coffin. For sure, his father would have been proud. Michael Reagan is the only Reagan to continue his father's conservative legacy.

3. Big Media Backing John Kerry 

Though John Kerry recently declared his opposition to media consolidation and support for "stronger ownership rules," reports Techliberation.com, the big media companies still like John Kerry.

The Center for Responsive Politics says these companies have given nearly a million more to Kerry than the $1.1 million they've given to President Bush.

Not surprisingly, the lion's share of media money – approximately two thirds – has been donated to the Democratic Party. Media giants Time Warner and Viacom have given 72% and 74% of their political donation budgets to Democrats.

No surprise there.

4. National Archives: New System Will Stop Sandy Berger's Socks

Perhaps Sandy Berger's sox-docs caper shook up the staid folks at the National Archives.

Just in case Berger decides to pull another one, the National Archives has a backup plan. They're going to back everything up electronically.

The NA has assigned this monstrous task to the ERA – the Electronic Records Archives, which assures it "is committed to addressing this challenge head on."

It seems the problem of "dying technology" is bigger than the one of former government officials sticking documents in their pants.

World magazine reports, "As time passes, newer generations of media (from punch cards to 8-inch floppy disks to Zip disks to CD-ROMs) become prominent."

After each new medium, it becomes more difficult to retrieve information from the old dinosaur formats. The proposed Electronic Records Archives will supposedly allow users to access any data no matter what technological innovations evolve.

ERA says its vision is "create a system that will authentically preserve and provide access to any kind of electronic record, free from dependency on any specific hardware or software, enabling NARA to carry out its mission into the future."

The new agency is a project of the National Archives and Records Administration, which recently announced Lockheed Martin and Harris Company as the recipients for the contracts to develop the ERA.

No word yet if they'll be able to scan documents hidden in the undergarment of former Clinton aides, but perhaps that technology will arrive soon.

5. Airline Threat: Missiles Next

One of the biggest terror fears is that terrorists will use a surface to air missiles (SAM) – including the shoulder variety-type – to bring down a domestic airliner.

The Transnational Threats Initiative and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) reports that there are approximately 100,000 SAMs in various hands around the world, including in the hands of terrorists.

Some SAMs can even hit planes in mid-flight, and the CIA says the missiles "could be purchased on the black market for around $100,000 per weapon."

After the CIA gave some of the U.S. made shoulder-fired SAMs, or Stingers, to the Afghans when they were fighting against the Soviet invasion, the U.S. tried to buy them back. But Uncle Sam was only able to re-acquire a few.

Some airlines do have systems to respond to a potential SAM attack – releasing flares at the approach of the heat-sensing missile to direct it from the plane.

But the systems are not legal in the U.S. due to the potential danger of other planes or buildings being hit on the ground.

After an El Al plane in Kenya was attacked, Israel began improving the system to guard Israeli planes against the missiles.

Israel's Armament Development Authority developed a system that jams a SAMs electronics with a laser beam, though the program has been expensive and fraught with technical issues. 

CSIS says lists other defense companies working on anti-SAM systems: Northrop Grumman, United Airlines, and BAE Systems.

The U.S. government has allotted part of the $32 billion Homeland Security Bill for "civilian anti-SAM research."

Only another 9/11 – this time caused by SAMs – may create the demand for such defenses.

More to See: