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A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by smsabatini

How can Barack Obama choose a running mate who will help him win both independents and Hillary supporters, while reassuring his base that he’s still a progressive leader? It may be time to take a closer look at the controversial concept of the voluntary one-term vice president.

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A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Paul A. Moore

Big business and the super rich, like Jeb Bush and his nest of right-wing ideologues, call the shots in Florida. State government is now essentially a tool for their exclusive use. The courts, the legislature, county and city commissions, school boards and superintendants serve as little more than window dressing for their domination. Even Gov. Charlie Crist has been reduced to a well groomed spectator in the arena. He can look good but not touch the levers of real power.

Technorati Tags: Reader Contribution Florida Corporate Media Charlie Crist Jeb Bush

Barack Obama is back from his world tour. I hope we can buy T-shirts commemorating his world tour, as if he were Bruce Springsteen.

Even if you thought your summer vacation has been great so far, it will be difficult to top Obama's vacation. Multiple countries, a magical 3-point shot, visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and who could forget Obama hanging out with 200,000 plus of his friends in Berlin. Boy, the pictures must be awesome.

In one of the 652,479 snafus so far in the John McCain campaign, the campaign challenged Obama to make an overseas trip to see first-hand the issues a president has to face. And Obama did face those well, despite obstacles such as limits on where he could speak in Berlin and Pentagon interference on visiting troops.
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My Republican Friend Says Obama's Berlin Speech Was 'A Little Too Leni Riefenstahl'

Comparing Barack to "Triumph Of The Will"?
People in the GOP really don't
Want to go there because all they've ever had
Is "Triumph Of The Won't."

Technorati Tags: Tony Peyser Barack Obama John McCain 200 000 Berlin Leni Riefenstahl Robert Novak sex doll

A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW

It takes 17 million barrels of oil to make the bottles used in this country for one year's worth of bottled water. And it takes even more oil to transport the water around, to keep the water chilled in the refrigerators, and to send trucks around to collect the empty bottles for disposal or recycling.

-- Elizabeth Royte, Author of Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It

* * *

Elizabeth Royte has written before on environmental topics. For The Tapir's Morning Bath she joined rainforest scientists at their research outposts, and in Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash she followed the path of the mountains of trash generated daily by Americans. Now she tackles bottled water. Who needs it? Why do we buy it? What happens to the bottles? What about tap water? She shares her insights with BuzzFlash here. She just may change the way you choose to drink.

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BARBARA'S DAILY BUZZFLASH MINUTE

For all that talk about “keeping America safe” the Repuglicans are failing the American people right here, right now, in the “Homeland”! “Last week, consumers were worried about salmonella in their fresh tomatoes. Before that, it was E. coli in their spinach. Something is wrong. Eating a salad is not supposed to be a high-risk activity.” If the Repuglicans can’t even keep us safe from the food that we eat, how the hell do you think they can keep us safe from the terrorists????

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A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Christine Bowman

Campaign Finance -- But We're Talking Judicial Races, Here.

Have you ever donated to the campaign coffers of a Supreme Court justice? Don't assume that others haven't.

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A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Meg White

There are two things that just shouldn't mix with religion: politics and money. But with President George W. Bush's reliance upon the evangelical Christian vote to get elected and some pastors' promises to believers that worshiping and giving to the church will bring them personal wealth, there's no shortage of examples of people who benefit greatly by combining twisted views of God and economics.

The Bible doesn't seem to square with either the evangelical notion of "prosperity theology" or Republican economic theory. Jesus tells his followers to give everything to the needy. He also says that we should pay our taxes, rendering unto Caesar (i.e., the government) what is his.

What would Jesus do? Well, none of us can say for sure, but I have a feeling he wouldn't advocate slashing social services for the poor and cutting taxes for the wealthy. And as much as he advocated helping the downtrodden, he wasn't passing around the collection plate himself.

Technorati Tags: Analysis religion economy mega church joel osteen kenneth copeland creflo dollar

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Amy Weiss

After flip-flopping on an anti-affirmative action ballot initiative, John McCain's own campaign will not confirm his position on the issue.

On "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos, McCain said he supported an Arizona ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution to ban affirmative action. McCain told Stephanopoulos he does not believe in quotas, a position he has always held.

He has said in the past, however, that he would support affirmative action programs without quotas and that he did not approve of introducing ballot initiatives such as this one. He said

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A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Meg White

Pop quiz: Which multi-billion dollar defense contractor is actually classified as a small business?  Here's a hint: It's facing a war crimes inquiry and its got "Worldwide" in its name.

After prompting from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, the inspector general from the Small Business Administration (SBA) concluded in a report released Monday that the security company Blackwater Worldwide may have gotten as much as 39 contracts by misleadingly claiming they are a small business.

Though Blackwater is highly involved in the minutia of everyday operations of its employees (scheduling, etc.) the company tried to claim that the people working security were merely independent contractors, which brought the supposed number of employees down to small business size.

Also questioned in the SBA inspector general's report was revenue limitations.  While Blackwater received 32 government contracts that had limited applicants to revenues of $6.5 million or less, the company has earned more than $1 billion in government contracts since 2002, mostly by providing security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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BUZZFLASH MAILBAG

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Subject: A Study In Contrasts

Last night I watched Countdown and KO did a segment on both McCain's interview with Kelly O'Donnell and then, of course, Obama's speech at the Tiergarten in Berlin. McCain was answering simple questions put to him by the interviewer whereas Obama was presenting a speech to over 200,000 people for almost a half hour.

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