Eric Minameyer, an advisor to Jean Schmidt, was just the beginning of the "swift boating" of Paul Hackett in what appears to be a coordinated effort by her campaign.  Upon arriving at Hackett HQ this morning to take some photos and videos, I was shocked to hear that the deplorable tactics have been taken to a new level in the past 24 hours.

1.) A local conservaitve radio host started by questioning Paul Hackett's service to country.  Scott Sloan of WLW 700 AM in Cincinnati went off on some insane rant about the real level Paul's patriotism regarding the war in Iraq and claimed Hackett was using his service for "political purposes."

3.) A few days ago, an Amry Private First Class was burried in Fairfield, Ohio.  Within 24 hours, a number of flags were burned and tossed into a pile infront of his mother and father-in law's home.  As you can imagine, this incident has led to a lot of press and sadness for the family.

The same host above, Scott Sloan, attempted to tie Paul Hackett to the flag burning incident.

Our question is this? DO Rethuglicans have a soul? No, I'm serious. Do they have a mutha fucking soul?

The boys at The Rat bust open our stash for beer and threw some more loot at Paul. Now We're asking you Rat Bastards to do the same. Let fuck these assholes were it hurts and send Paul to Congress!!!

The Army, which expects to miss its 2005 recruiting goal by about 12,000, already is falling behind for next year.

The pool of recruits who sign up as much as a year before they report for training is dwindling. So far, 3,100 have signed up for 2006, according to Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky. The Army says it hopes to have 7,200 recruits in the pool by Oct. 1, when the 2006 recruiting year begins. By comparison:

• The Army started the 2005 recruiting year with about 14,700 recruits in the delayed entry pool. It is making up some of the shortfall in recruiting by re-enlisting soldiers at a higher-than-expected rate. But the Army also has tried to trim this year's shortfall by rushing many delayed entry enlistees into basic training.

• In 2004, the Army had more than 33,000 enlistees signed up ahead of time. It met its recruiting goals.

Allowing recruits to put off going to boot camp for up to a year gives enlistees flexibility and provides the Army with a buffer for future recruiting needs. Army statistics show the pool's size is a key indicator of its annual recruiting.

Maj. Gen. Michael Rochelle, who heads Army Recruiting Command, said recruiting in July is slightly ahead of its goal, but that won't wipe out the current shortfall. He said parents are still reluctant to encourage their children to enlist. The Army has taken the brunt of U.S. casualties in Iraq.

Rochelle acknowledged it can expect another struggle next year.

The proposal also appears to rule out non-governmental militias, an area addressed Monday by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. Urging Iraqis to build national institutions, he said there is no place for factional forces that "build the infrastructure for a future civil war."

On the capital's western outskirts, gunmen shot up a pair of buses carrying workers home from a government-owned company Tuesday, killing 12 and wounding nine, police said. Attackers also fatally shot a Baghdad police officer and wounded a Health Ministry employee.

The man was identified by police as Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian, described by officers as an electrician on his way to work. "He was not connected to incidents in central London on 21st July, 2005, in which four explosive devices were partly detonated," a police statement said.