BuzzFlash Mailbag for April 17, 2008

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Subject: Elitist? I Hope So!!!

After nearly 8 years of one of the dumbest of the dumb, the dolt of the doltish, the dullest of the dull, the densest of the dense, the dimmest of the dim, we need superior leadership. Both John McCain and Hillary Clinton have announced their belief that Senator Barack Obama is the best of the best, he is of the elite. And the Lord knows we need strength, and vision and intellect to lead us out of the quagmire that George The Witless has created.

Now I realize in this time of mud slinging, of creating diversions to your own ineptitude by name calling and character asassination, the Politics by the Rove rules are to try to ruin the reputation of your opponent through the sorts of antics you find on grade school playgrounds. That is why it is so refreshing to hear those resounding endorsements by Senator Obama's opponents: He is better, he is elite, he speaks the truth, and he brings us hope. Both McCain and Clinton felt so strongly about this attribute of Senator Obama that they repeated it over and over again.

And a particular hats off to Senator Clinton who had the courage to not only publicly acknowledge Senator Obama's superiority, she had the class to make up buttons that read, I'm Not Bitter. What a graceful way to exit the race.

Some of that difference was presented in last night's debate in regards to the resolution of the Social Security problem. Senator Obama rightly said he would like to raise the false ceiling on the FICA tax which says after you reach $97,000 you don't pay anymore. This disproportionate unfair taxing of the middle and lower class needs to stop. Such an elimination would end the Social Security crisis and it simply levels out the playing field for all income brackets. Why should the wealthier pay less? Brilliant.

Senator Clinton had no answer other than some mealy mouthed reply that there are a lot of other ways to solve the problem, she couldn't name any. And what she did say sounds like she would reduce benefits on future generations.

As for mean, nasty, grumpy, and stupid John McCain he thinks he is in fact George W. Bush, that they took an oath in some back room, shared some blood and vowed to continue on the path of ruin so boldly laid out by the worst President of all time. John McCain is an absolute dunce.

It is hard to overstate the urgency of getting leadership of a thoughtful and positive nature into the White House. And every day it just gets worse. George Bush announced yesterday that by 2025 he has a plan to limit greenhouse gases, and at that time he will offer tax rebates to those that have to flee their homes as they become part of a coral reef. And he beats the drums of war with Iran, while he is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis and thousands of US soldiers.

He knew that we were torturing people and he lied to us. He knew he was illegally spying on us before September 11th and he lied to us. He knew Iraq had no connection to 9/11 and he lied to us. He knew that his Vice President was committing treason in outing a CIA agent and he lied to us. He said he was a man of faith and compassion and he lied to us.

So is Barack Obama an eltist? I sure as hell hope so!!

Jim Ridout
Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Subject: No one is talking about the fact that Hillary said she lied about Bosnia

She said something like less than the truth - I remember my jaw dropped when she said that. She just admitted lying in the debate. I called ABC and gave a piece of my mind how awful the debate was. And how they picked and picked on Obama. I want Obama ... but the headline should be Hillary said she lied. And not a word.

And I wrote about going to Bosnia in my book in 2004. I laid it all out there. And you're right. On a couple of occasions in the last weeks I just said some things that weren't in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book. And, you know, I'm embarrassed by it. I have apologized for it. I've said it was a mistake. And it is, I hope, something that you can look over, because clearly I am proud that I went to Bosnia. It was a war zone. ...

So I know that it is something that some people have said, "Wait a minute. What happened here?" But I have talked about this and written about it. And then, unfortunately, on a few occasions I was not as accurate as I have been in the past.

... So I will either try to get more sleep, Tom, or, you know, have somebody who, you know, is there as a reminder to me. You know, you can go back for the past 15 months. We both have said things that, you know, turned out not to be accurate. You know, that happens when you're talking as much as we have talked.

But you know, I'm very sorry that I said it. And I have said that, you know, it just didn't jibe with what I had written about and knew to be the truth.

Debate Transcript

Karin
Los Angeles

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Subject: Flag Pins

All the fuss about flag pins. How stupid can Americans get. Cheney wears a flag pin. Think he's patriotic? Where are these flag pins made? China, that's where. Any truly patriotic American right now would wear a flag pin upside down.

A BuzzFlash Reader

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Subject: Let's Use Our Brains, America!!!

Here's what we have here today! We have a President in Office who couldn't care LESS about this country, or the citizens of this country! Really, think about this! The past 8 years, has he REALLY done anything to help the economy, unemployment, education, or actual people??? He turned his back on us, time and time again. He turned his back on 911 First Responders, 911 Victims, Victims of Katrina, Children, and others. He is all talk, and no action. He only helps himself, and the Corporations, and has let Our Once Proud Nation fall into disrepair and neglect.

We have a lot of Future Presidential Candidates right now who want to emulate this. We have Elected Officials who will NOT listen to what the people want. In Fact, they go so far as to arrest people who try to talk with them! We are slowly slipping into a Militarized Police State. We are not being allowed to express our frustrations, or our rights of Free Speech. Our Police, who are SUPPOSED to Protect and To Serve, feel like they now can use Tasers on a person, just for looking at them the wrong way.

WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE IN AMERICA??? To me, it seems like this Country is just becoming a *Country Club* for the Wealthy. We seem to be trying to get rid of the poor, the Middle Class, and the Immigrants. Never before in my life, have I seen such a wide Class Gap! It's going against EVERYTHING I was ever taught in school. America is SUPPOSED to be the land of Opportunity, where EVERYONE can get a chance at Freedom, and the American Dream. What is happening now?? The Average American citizen is being shut out and ignored.

IT'S TIME FOR VOTERS TO TAKE A STAND!!! We need to make ourselves heard. THIS IS OUR COUNTRY!!!!

A BuzzFlash Reader

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Subject: Stuff

Hi, Buzz!!

I see that Sam Brownback is being himself again - pushing a resolution in the Senate to name the first weekend in May "Ten Commandments Weekend." Isn't that special? It would be a better idea for everybody in Washington to resolve to OBEY the Ten Commandments. But that would be hard - much easier just to talk about what great Commandments they are.

I believe it was G.K. Chesterton who said: "The Christian way has not been tried and found wanting; it's been found difficult and not tried."

Also, to Tom Wieliczka: Your points are all well taken, and eloquently expressed; we need a government that will open the way for everyone to have a better life. We may have a chance to get that with Obama. I have one little tiny argument with you, however: Americans did not, in fact, accept immigrants with open arms in the 19th century. We have never really welcomed large numbers of newcomers. Nineteenth-century Americans didn't like to see Catholics coming in; they didn't like to see Germans coming in; and they certainly didn't like to see Irish coming in. It wasn't uncommon for employers to hang signs saying, "No Irish need apply." In mid-century there was a political party called the Know-Nothings whose whole platform was anti-Catholic, anti-black, and anti-immigrant. Hispanics are simply the latest group to be subject to our xenophobic streak.

Finally, I'm no economist, but I have a modest proposal to get at least some of our manufacturing base back. It will take time, but may be worth it: The next President should give all manufacturing concerns that have taken their factories overseas to avoid our taxes and screw their workers, two years to bring at least 75% of their manufacturing back to this country. If they fail to do so, they should not be allowed to sell here. And, of course, no government contract should go to any outfit that doesn't make its products here.

If you want to change the fat cats' behavior, you have to hit them in the pocketbook, and the U.S. is still a huge market. Of course, no right-winger will go for this - they're too busy lining their own pockets at our expense - which is one more reason we need regime change.

Jane Hawes (red-state Democrat)
Emporia, KS 

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Subject: Here is another lie from Hillary 

Lucky for Obama, one of those Pennsylvania voters who was so offended by Obama's "bitter" remarks in the Clinton commercial is actually a registered New Jersey voter who's already cast his ballot, the Chicago Tribune's Josh Drobnyk. Says Scranton-born Clyde Thomas: "I see Pennsylvanians for what they are. I grew up with the values of Pennsylvanians." this was from

The Note: Kitchen's Sink (ABC News)

Karin D.

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Subject: Israel

From what I read on other, albeit inferior websites, Israel and AIPAC are the real driving forces for war on the Middle East. Oil is just a side benefit.

Much to do about Iran not coming clean about alleged nuclear weapons program. Not PROGRAM not actual weapons. Weapons would be 5 years down the road IF such a program existed.

Meanwhile, Israel has 200 warheads with the delivery systems all ready to go. And has had them since Kennedy, who opposed them strongly.

And Israel refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Surely these are important facts that need to be given the light of day on your important website.

A BuzzFlash Reader 

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Subject: Anti-intellectualism was tried 

Buzzflash, We know what it would be like to get rid of the intellectual elite in this country because that experiment has already been tried; the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

The Right Flexes That Anti-intellectual Muscle Between Its Ears Once Again (P.M. Carpenter/BuzzFlash)

The soft-on-torture liberal

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Subject: P.M.S. Carpenter

Carpenter certainly is not an objective journalist. If he were to write one positive sentence about Senator Clinton I am certain that there would be storms all across the United States. As I said in an earlier email I no longer give money to BuzzFlash. Carpenter has to be costing you a ton of donations. 

J. Landers 

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Subject: They Think That We All Rode The Short Bus To School 

Buzz:

Listening to the presidential debate on ABC it's unbelievable that the news moderators spent the first 45 minutes asking questions about Obama's former pastor, associations with the Weather Underground, who lied about Bosnia, wearing flag pins, the word "bitter" and whether Obama is an elitist!! Meanwhile the American people want to know what Obama and Hillary plan to do about this terrible economy, gas prices, rising health costs, job losses, etc.

Barack Obama has tried to stick to these issues, but the media (and at times Hillary) appear to not want to do this. As long as voters are frightened into voting for wedge issues (gay marriage, abortions, Rev. Wright. and who's "bitter") we will continue to put idiots like George Bush and Sen. McCain in the White House.

People around the world are already rioting over food prices. In the USA it's possible that gas prices will soon be $4.00 a gallon, but Charles Gibson wants to know why Obama didn't have Rev. Wright say the prayer when he announced his run for the presidency. Apparently he and others believe that Americans are naive, stupid, and utterly gullible...............Lord, I hope that they are wrong!

Dee Turner
Atlanta

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Subject: Annie Oakley

So there I was, one arm around frightened Chelsea, wounded Sinbad clinging to my neck, zig-zagging as fast as we could across the Tuzla tarmac. I was firing as we ran, shooting my made-in-Pennsylvania deer-hunting semi-automatic up into the surrounding hills at the Colombian narco-Muslims (as far as I know). I remember thinking, God save me, I have so much still to do, like opposing NAFTA, like getting through a good health care plan, like getting those WMDs out of Iraq, like resisting the onset of bitterness among people worse off than me.

Mirth
Saint Joseph, MO

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Subject: Bitter? Yep

Whoever that woman was that told Barack that he misspoke but didn't lie was dead on. One of the wise gems I have gleaned from this campaign is from, ironically enough, Mike Huckabee. He said "when you throw a stone over the fence, it's the dog that yells is the one that's been hit." People are angry about being called bitter because they know it's true. What is so frustrating about the reaction to the statement is if you change the word bitter to something with less punch like disappointed and you change the word cling to something like ... find solace with or turn to ... all of sudden there is no story.

I have never been a fan of any public servant or candidate that retracts statements simply because it stirred people up or offended some. If you say something mean it - say it again and say it louder. Obama has not backed down nor should he - he has admitted to poor word choice and frankly that is all he is guilty of.

It is so ironic that the pundits think they know how Pennsylvanians will react without actually asking us. Clinton had a response ad up almost immediately and she apparently had time to find pissed off Pennsylvanians. Got nothing better to do? I am a Pennsylvanian who doesn't go to church or have a gun but I know the middle class is shrinking. And candidate after candidate, presidency after presidency nothing has been done about it.

I was in high school when Bush 1 promised he was going to be the education president. Now our education system is in complete ruin. Are we bitter? Does it matter?

Obama did not call us bitter and then suggest we get over it. He said we are bitter and have every reason to be. Are we that incredulous when we hear a candidate genuinely empathize with hard working Americans that we can't recognize acknowlegement and validation when we hear it?

Christy Tramdaks

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Subject: What A Disgrace

Dear BuzzFlash:

I don't know about other readers or your staff, but I sure get tired of election season politics as usual. Haven't we wrung out the Obama "bitter" comment to the consistency of beef jerky already? Good Lord, how many times would I have been hung for something I said, or phrased poorly?

Hillary and McCain's pouncing on this episode is just a convenient way to avoid being on any clear message, preferring instead to go for the most basic emotions they sense in the electorate, and oversimplifying everything, because, in case nobody's figured it out yet, they think we the voters are simpletons who respond to cheap shots and sloganeering much better than any meaningful discourse on the country's problems.

And guess what - they're right. Especially on the right, those pathetic lemmings are so well programmed that they will argue with you even when you agree with them! Case in point: one Republican I work with was criticizing the Democrats for running on the promise of trying to do something about gas prices, and failing to do so. I agreed on that point. They have failed us, and I don't think they're even trying. I did try to point out that partisonship is also a factor, as the sides are so divided nobody will budge an inch from the party line, and this guy kept arguing the point over and over even when I had just conceded that point to him!!

He clearly was not interested in my opinion, so much so that he wouldn't listen to a single word I said, even when I was in agreement. It's like surrendering to an enemy and have them shoot you anyway. You can't argue with twits like that.

Appealing to the lowest common denominator through jingoistic soundbites and tired cliches, not to mention shameless pandering, is what gets the job done for politicians, and Hillary and McCain reveal their true feelings of the electorate, too, just by how they lower themselves during the campaign, instead of trying to uplift and educate.

We have to get smarter, and do it quick so we can demand more from our elected "leaders" lest the nation die of ignorance.

Scott
Fayetteville, Ar.

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Subject: We Elect A President Who Ends The Iraq War Plus Negotiating with Iran And That'll Do It For Us

"Including our having a single payer health care system for all?"

"Yes."

"But none of the three remaining candidates has come out for a single payer system."

"No matter."

"Why not?"

"Such a president will be just as responsive to our call for a single payer system as he or she was to our demand that the Iraq War be ended."

"And why is this?"

"Has to do with government of the people, by the people and for the people."

"Plus liberty and justice for all."

A BuzzFlash Reader

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Subject: Bush Is Not A Holy Man

Why would any supposedly holy man like the Pope or the Dalai Lama meet with Bush? Hugo Chavez had it right about the smell of sulfur.

A BuzzFlash Reader

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Subject: Elitists

Hi, Buzz!!

Having actually read what Sen. Obama said about blue-collar workers' frustrations, I am confused yet again. The pundit class likes to natter on about "authenticity," but when Sen. Obama tells the TRUTH, they gang up on him like so many schoolyard bullies. And here I thought telling the truth was part of being authentic....

The whole "elitist" charge tells me that the Right - along with the McMedia that supports it - either doesn't understand the English language, or is twisting it for its own ends. Sen. Obama is clearly a member of the elite, by which I mean he is part of the cream that rises to the top of our culture. Being an elitist is something different.

An elitist sees membership in the elite as an entitlement, whether by virtue of money and/or birth, not something that can be attained by using one's gifts. An elitist thinks that only the elite is qualified to have anything to say about the way this country is run, or how our people live. Elitists do not know, nor do they care about, what most people's lives are like. Elitists look at the majority of us and see cannon fodder, or drones who can be used, and then discarded whenever the CEO finds out that labor costs less in China, or India, or wherever.

Political elitists look at us and see a mob whose worst instincts they can - and have the right to - manipulate to keep power. Elitists do not look at the majority and see people whose dignity should be respected. They do not see us as a constituency to be served, but as peons to be mastered.

Being in the elite does not automatically make one an elitist. FDR was wealthy, but he nevertheless kept the needy in mind and did what he could to ease their pain. He was called a traitor to his class by the elitists of his time.

When I look at the candidates (and the pundits who "cover" them) in this election season, I see elitists everywhere. But Sen Obama is not one of them.

BTW, thanks for the piece on our Gov. Sebelius; it's good to see her getting the attention she deserves!

Jane Hawes (red-state Democrat)
Emporia, KS

[BuzzFlash Note: Your distinction between "elite" and "elitist" is important. We wrote on that topic, too: Sticks and Stones: Clinton's Name-Calling in Pennsylvania, and Obama, the Evil Community-Organizing Elitist.]

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Subject: Obama Referred To As "That Boy" By Southern Congressman

'That boy's finger does not need to be on the button'

U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, a Hebron Republican, compared Obama and his message for change similar to a "snake oil salesman" [at a Northern Kentucky Lincoln Day dinner].

He said in his remarks at the GOP dinner that he also recently participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama.

"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."

An aide to Davis, Jeremy Hughes, declined to comment on the remark, and didn't dispute the accuracy of the quote.

http://polwatchers.typepad.com/pol_watchers...

Then: 

Davis Apologizes: 'A poor choice of words'

Rep. Geoff Davis, moving to contain the damage of a Saturday night reference to Barack Obama as a "boy" whose finger shouldn't be on the nuclear button, has apologized.

In a letter to Obama, which a Davis aide provided to Politico, Davis apologized for his "poor choice of words."

"I offer my sincere apology to you and ask for your forgiveness," he wrote.

The letter makes no reference to the substance of Davis's remarks, that Obama's behavior in a classified exercise had convinced Davis the Illinois Senator is unready to b president.

"Immediately upon arriving back in Washington, D.C. today, Congressman Davis personally delivered a letter of apology to Senator Obama's office," said Davis campaign manager Jeremy Hughes.

http://polwatchers.typepad.com/pol_watchers...

KC
PA

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