If, like me, you’ve wondered who Karl Rove is, where he came from and why some say he’s the most powerful man in America, rent or buy the movie Bush’s Brain.

I won’t give it a full review here; suffice it to say it’s a documentary on Rove and how he operates, based on a book of the same title by Joseph Mealey and Michael Paradies Shoob, both prominent Texas journalists.

Before seeing the film I never realized just how down and dirty Rove plays. He believes in only one thing in life, and that is winning. Now, that’s okay; winning is important, and it certainly beats losing. The fascinating thing is exactly what he’s willing to do to win. In the name of winning, he has virtually no concern for the life and reputation of the opponent. There can only be total victory, at whatever cost to the loser.

One of his favorite tactics is the coordinated whisper campaign. He used this against Ann Richards when Bush ran against her for governeor in Texas. Although she is a grandmother, toward the end of the campaign word began to spread that she was a lesbian. Suddenly people were calling the talk radio stations throughout the state, all raising the same question about her sexuality.

Nowhere is Rove more famous for this tactic than in the attempt (successful) to smear John McCain during the 2000 primaries. It all started after McCain beat Bush in New Hampshire and was about to move on to South Carolina. This was seen as absolutely pivotal, and sure enough, phone calls started coming in to the right-wing talk-show hosts, this time raising an evil rumor that McCain had a black daughter he fathered with a prostitute. To call this “evil” doesn’t quite cut it. McCain had adopted an impoverished black daughter (I believe she was from India but am not certain) in an act of extraordianry humanity and decency, and Rove was twisting it into racist nonsense — except a lot of people didn’t know it was nonsense. Then came the whispers about McCain’s wife being an active drug addict, another very dirty trick (she was, like Kitty Dukakis, an addict at one time, and has always been open about her orderal and her road to recovery). And he went on to do even worse to McCain; so much worse, I can’t imagine how they got him to be their keynote speaker at the upcoming GOP convention.

The movie interviews a broad range of politicians and journalists, each of whom has a horror story to tell about Karl’s ruthlessness. (The interview with Max Cleland was especially poignant.) Some of the stories blew me away, especially Rove’s ability to use slander and innuendo to turn things around at the 11th hour. Sometimes it’s worse than slander.

And that’s what makes me so worried now. I simply cannot believe that as November 2 approaches Rove will refrain from implementing once again his time-honored and proven tactic of take-no-prisoners character assassination. Especially if the race remains tight. I’m worried that Rove will strike at the most critical time, as he always does. There are no rules with Rove, no restrictions. It’s full-frontal assault and morality be damned. Bush, of course, gives it his full blessing. Such are the ways of our great religious president, the resident White House saint.

Bush’s Brain also reminded me of how good a campaigner Bush can be, despite his lack of depth or ideas. Rove and Huighes have trained Bush to remain ruthlessly “on message,” and no matter what he’s asked, he knows how to keep spewing out his message while ignoring the question. So I get worried when everyone says how easy it will be for Kerry to win in the debates. Personally, I think Kerry will win, but Bush won’t go down easily, and if he just comes out alive and in one piece he’ll be seen by many as the winner.

Bush’s Brain is gripping, disturbing and loaded with good information. It isn’t anywhere close to Fahrenheit 9/11 in terms of polish and excitement; it’s basically a lot of interviews strung together. It’s intense, but it’s not entertaining the way Moore is. Still, it’s a great primer oo who Rove is and how lethal he can be.

I pray to God the Kerry camp has a copy; I suspect that the better Kerry does in the polls, the more violent will be Rove’s assault at the most critical moment. And Rove doesn’t lose. So please, Mr. Kerry, watch out.

In case you’ve missed it, there’s quite a comments thread going on in regard to that most sensitive of issues, whether or not China would really consider invading Taiwan. I’m steering clear of the issue because I’m not much of an expert on the topic, but some of the points people are making there are damned interesting. It ‘s certainly the most spirited discussion this site has seen in some months.

Sweet.

USA Today has dropped plans for conservative columnist Ann Coulter to write a daily column from the Democratic National Convention this week after an editing dispute over her first piece could not be resolved on Monday. Jonah Goldberg, a contributor to the National Review, has agreed to take her place, with his first column slated to run Tuesday.

Goldberg, of course, is the editor of National Review Online who fired Coulter a couple of years back for her inafmous remarks on how we should invade the Middle East and convert all the Muslims to Christianity.

It leaves one wondering, why on earth would mainstream USA Today hire the likes of Ann Coulter, a true extremist, in the first place? She is way too out there for the mainstream, kind of like signing on Mike Savage or Noam Chomsky. Definitely not mainstream.

Meanwhile, on her own site, she of the anorexic body and protruding Adam’s apple has posted a copy of the column that got her fired on her first day. Here’s a snip.

Here at the Spawn of Satan convention in Boston, conservatives are deploying a series of covert signals to identify one another, much like gay men do. My allies are the ones wearing crosses or American flags. The people sporting shirts emblazened with the “F-word” are my opponents. Also, as always, the pretty girls and cops are on my side, most of them barely able to conceal their eye-rolling.

Democrats are constantly suing and slandering police as violent, fascist racists — with the exception of Boston’s police, who’ll be lauded as national heroes right up until the Democrats pack up and leave town on Friday, whereupon they’ll revert to their natural state of being fascist, racist pigs.

Is that really what mom and dad want their kids reading over breakfast? I think this confirms what most of us know: that Ann is a fire-breathing, Democrat-hating walking streak of sleaze, a freakish entity that somehow made it to Earth, where its sole attraction is its freakishness. Let’s just hope the entity never reproduces. One Ann Coulter is way too many.

Now this is news. One of the lead characters in The Simpsons is going to officially come out of the closet and publicly embrace his sexuality — and I don’t think it’s Smithers. (After all that’d be no surprise.)

“We have a show where, to raise money, Springfield legalizes gay marriage,” producer Al Jean told a gathering of thousands at the convention. “Homer becomes a minister by going on the Internet and filling out a form. A longtime character comes out of the closet, but I’m not saying who.”

That’ll be a show worth tuning in to.

Matt Groening is a genius when it comes to weaving social commentary into old fashioned belly-laugh-inducing humor.

As a commenter says, it’s up at Drudge already. It looks like it won’t leave us disappointed — plenty of pyrotechnics. I only skimmed it, as I’m waiting to see it for myself in about an hour.

This time it’s more of the Peasant’s Survey, and a letter from outspoken professor Jiao Guobiao, along with the site owner’s usual great insights. Must reading for those trying to keep their fingers on the pulse of change (be it good or bad) in China.

He also has some upsetting photos and observations on the poor Chinese woman who was manhandled by our security-loving TSA. From the pictures, “torture” may be a more apt description.

This is a grim, ugly article about poor Chinese people whose lives have been ruined, often by local cadre officials, and their attempts to petition the CCP for justice.

She lives with her 26-year-old son, Liu Suan, in a dark and foetid underground tunnel.

Petitioners living in an underground tunnel in Beijing
The tunnel where Chi Yumei lives is home to other petitioners too

She sold her house to come to Beijing to seek justice for her son, who was brain-damaged in an accident and was not given any compensation.

Now time is running out. He needs an operation, but Chi Yumei is penniless.

“I can’t talk about it because it makes me cry,” she sobbed.

“My son is too young. I tried to find a government department to solve the problem. But none of them will help. If someone really wanted to help, my son could have his operation.”

By day, they trudge from one government office to another. At each, they join the line of the dissatisfied and dispossessed, filing their complaints into a black hole of bureaucracy.

This type of story belies the great China success story and reveals the dark underbelly of The New China. It’s something they’d rather we not know about. But it’s an escalating problem — as the article says, the petition system is now under incredible strain — and it underscores just how dire life can be when there is no rule of law.

Go read it, but prepare to be upset.

Philip Sen beat me to the punch on this one (sorry, couldn’t resist the boxing metaphor) — a seeemingly flippant but actually very perceptive article about Jiang Zemin duking it out with Dr. Jiang Yanyong. Read Philip’s post, and definitely check out the article he alludes to in the Guardian.

(Thanks to the reader who clued me in to this article earlier today.)

Do not miss Bill O’Reilly tomorrow (Tuesday) night. He met Michael Moore on the street in Boston today, and the bad boy himself agreed to go on “the Factor” and duke it out with the nation’s most unethical and self-obsessed pundit. Unfortunately, O’Reilly always has the last word, and if Moore succeeds in making him appear too stupid (which isn’t that difficult) O’Reilly will simply shout out, “Kill his mic,” so there’s no doubt Bill will “win.” Nevertheless, it should be quite a show.

Yes, here is a pic of the No. 1 anonyblogger himself. Frankly, I’m totally surprised. I thought he’d be older and more bookish.