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Subj: Bush

"Saddam Hussein is a dangerous, dangerous man with dangerous, dangerous weapons." No, this is not a first grader speaking. This is the President of the United States. I sat down to read the paper this morning and there on the front page of the N.O. Times Picayune is a picture of Bush, with one of his usual "chimpanzee" expressions, and this quote beneath it. It simply took my breath away! How can he be this stupid and intellectually challenged, after the expensive education he had? Dumb and dangerous!!! Guess he didn't get the nickname "Uncurious George" for nothing.

Gigi

Subj: Look again at the ABCnews.com article about the faked "made in US" boxes. (Jan 23, 2003)

Buzz,

The text of the article describes the audience and the president being... flanked on all sides by piles of cardboard boxes with additional piles in front of and behind his podium." However, the photo caption tells a completely different story... President Bush stands in front of a painted canvas backdrop that depict boxes that are stamped Made in America as he addresses a group of local officials and small business owners at the JB Logistics shipping company in St. Louis, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003. Bush was in the gateway city to push his economic plan and to highlight its impact for small business. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast).

So, not having yet seen the video myself, I'm left to wonder whether it was actually a bunch of actual boxes or a backdrop that merely depicted boxes. Is the photo captioning merely an attempt to distort the facts and confuse the public? Either way, your point is taken that this is just the type of thing we have come to expect from The Sopranos, oops! er, I mean the Bush Administration.

Regards,

Bryan Saxton

Subj: Thanks for the fantastic editorial! (Muscle Beach)

Dear BuzzFlash,

Thanks for the fantastic editorial entitled "Welcome to the Muscle Beach Party". It was perfectly stated and dead on. I'm forwarding it to my friends who don't check BuzzFlash as regularly as I do.

Sincerely,

Eric Foss
Seattle, WA

Re: Bush Warns Iraqi Generals on War Crimes

Buzz,

What gall this Dubya does not possess! He is going to invade a country who everyone agrees is not a threat to the U.S. He is going to attack them on their land, then if they dare fight to protect their country, he's going to have them "persecuted" as war criminals? Unbelievable! And the Washington Post repeats this astounding madness without comment, like Dubya's order that Iraqi soldiers commit treason is everyday, okay stuff. This farce gets more absurd with every passing day.

T Quigly

Dear Buzz, 1/23/03

GREAT editorial, about the Bullies on Muscle Beach! It gives the clearest picture of the whole scene. SEND IT, to all the Democrats, and anyone else you can think of!

I have found out just lately (all on the Internet) about the "slanted digging" technology that the CIA introduced to Kuwait in the late 1980's when Bush Sr. was President (Scowcroft's company) to siphon out Iraq's oil -- which evidently dropped the price for all of OPEC, including Iraq, at the same time enriching Dubya's own company. This was evidently the pretext for Saddam's move into Kuwait, which he thought he had cleared with Bush Sr.'s ambassador to the region, April Glaspie (having been our erstwhile ally.)

Just as with Iran-Contra, the "forbidden" subject of the 1980's, this present invasion is not only to avenge the attempt on Bush Sr.'s life, but to recover any evidence of this theft before it is discovered (I guess the area where the equipment is still in the ground is covered in mines) and to crush Saddam, who through Tariq Aziz evidently threatened the Kuwaiti foreign minister to the point of his fainting with a document showing the above. This document, showing the complicity of the CIA, Bush and Kuwait, is evidently Saddam's ace in the hole and why they want to rid the world of him.

There is a NYTimes Dec 12, 1999 article where Dubya stated that taking on Iraq would be his first order of business once elected. So much for all the charade of "protecting the American people," "bringing about peace," "bringing about security." The only security and peace the Bushes are interested in--is their own.

Sincerely,

Linda Cecsarini
Markham, IL

P.S. Ari's press conference today was appalling--dismissing not only the French and the Germans, but the widespread anti-war opinion of the American people! As many who disagree with this war are in the military, and even among the Joint Chiefs, do we all think it is time to move to impeach him, as Ramsey Clark called for on Saturday? HE MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE US TO WAR AND BANKRUPT OUR COUNTRY WHEN WE ALL DO NOT WANT THIS! I know, it is up to certain patriotic Republicans as well as the languid Dems. But we have so little time.

Dear BuzzFlash,

I have gathered some of the protests and the number of people participating that took place around the country on January 18, 2003. I have tallied the many protests in different cities as best as I could under the circumstances (i.e. media coverup. My sources have been eyewitness accounts, mainstream news sites, Indy Media, ANSWER, BuzzFlash, Democratic Underground, peace activist sites, and numerous other sources on the internet. I started collecting them immediately after I got home from my local protest.

I know there was a protest in St. Louis, MO - but I have conflicting numbers so I haven't yet included them on the list.

Peace!

Key (For Rally held on day other than January, 18, 2003)
* Peace rally held the weekend of J18 including Friday, or MLK Day
** Held within a week of the protest

Anchorage, AK - 450
Fairbanks, AK - 1,000
Sitka, AK - 180
Huntsville, AL - 38
Fort Smith, AR - 75
Little Rock, AR - 250
Tucson, AZ ** - 100
Tucson AZ - 5,300
Fresno, CA - 100
Orange County, CA - 3,000
Palo Alto, CA** - 30
San Diego, CA - 1,000
San Francisco, CA - 225,000 - 300,000
San Luis Obispo - 1,273
Santa Barbara, CA - 5,000
Ventura, CA - 200
Denver, CO - 400
Denver, CO* - 3,000
Durango, CO* - 80
Grand Junction, CO - 200
New Haven, CT - 60
New London, CT - 50
Washington, D.C. - 500,000
Gainesville, FL - 50
Jacksonville, FL - 60
Orlando, FL - 100
Tampa/McDill AFB, FL - 2,000
Tallahassee, FL* - 250
Tallahassee, FL* - 35
Tallahassee, FL - 150
St. Augustine, FL - 250
Venice, FL - 400
Vero Beach, FL - 200
Atlanta, GA* - 2,000
Wailuku, HI - 450
Honolulu, HI - 1,500
Davenport/Moline - 100
Des Moines, IA - 150
Sandpoint, ID* - 100
Rockford, IL - 500
Chicago, IL** - 2,500
Indianapolis, IN - 600
Terre Haute, IN - 150
Lawrence, KS - 650
Bluegrass Army Depot, KY - 325
Louisville, KY - 650**
Arlington/Cambridge/Summerville, MA - 200
Jamaica Plain, MA - 150
Watertown, MA -250
Columbia, MD - 14
Damarscotta, ME - 9
Ann Arbor, MI - 1,200
Holland/Grand Haven, MI - 70
Lansing, MI - 800
Saginaw, MI - ?
Traverse City, MI - 175
Columbia, MO - 515
Kansas City, MO* - 630
Rolla, MO - 65
Springfield, MO - 300
St. Louis, MO - 2,000 (discrepency, and will not be included till verified, again)
Tupelo, MS - 75
Bozeman, MT - 750
Great Falls, MT - 65
Helena, MT - 250
Missoula, MT* - 800
Lincoln, NE - 1,000
Concord, NH - 300
Keene, NH - 100
Peterborough, NH - 230
Albuqurque, NM - 5,000
Dixon, NM - 89
Las Cruces, NM - 121
Silver City, NM* - 300
Las Vegas, NV - 1,500
Reno, NV* - 600
Binghamton, NY - 100
Monticello, NY - 275
Westbury, NY - 75
Cincinnati, OH - 200
Cleveland, OH - 2,000
Toledo, OH* - 350
Oklahoma City, OK - 400
Tulsa, OK - 400
Ashland/Medford, OR - 1,000
Brownsville, OR - 25
Coos Bay, OR - 108
Grants Pass, OR - 447
Klamath Falls, OR* - 300
Portland, OR - 30,000
Honesdale, PA - 100
Lancaster, PA - 200
West Chester, PA - 20
Scranton, PA* - 100
York, PA* - 40
York, PA - 50
Providence, RI - 100
Nashville, TN - 150
Dallas, TX - 300
Houston, TX - 675
Logan, UT - 250
Moab, UT - 182
Salt Lake City, UT - 3,000
Brattleboro, VT - 53
Montpelier, VT - 2,800
Bellingham, WA - 300
Olympia, WA - 350
Seattle, WA* - 60
Spokane, WA - 1,000
Vancouver, WA - 400
Algoma, WI - 20
Appleton, WI - 125
Madison, WI - 700
Menomonie, WI - 200
Milwaukee, WI - 1,200
Minocqua, WI - 50
Sturgeon Bay, WI - 100
Wauwatosa, WI - 12

Canada:
Montreal - 20,000
Victoria, BC - 3,000
Toronto - 10,000

Subj: About NPR . . .

Dear BuzzFlash,

This is for the person who wrote about NPR's sudden "Move to the Right". They have always been on the Right side. It's nothing new. They had Ann "Anthrax" Coulter on last Friday bashing feminists. Debbie Schussel, Jane Chastain, Betsy Stark, and a few other right-wingnuts have always been allowed on NPR. Thank goodness for liberals like Peter Werbe, Lynn Samuels, Jim Hightower, and many other progressive voices out there who speak for us. I switched off NPR when they did all that cheerleading for GWB. Keep up the Great work.

Joan P :)

Subj: Our Tax Dollars for Moonie Churches?

Dear Buzz,

Now Bush plans to use our tax dollars to build churches, temples and mosques. The only requirement, as far as he is concerned, is that in addition to religious services, the buildings must also be used for social purposes.

So, let me get this straight: We could build the Cathedral of Chartres as long as let some social group come in, say, once a month for tea or something. When did we revoke the First Amendment of the Constitution that says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."?

Isn't using OUR tax dollars to build a church -- that has been chosen and okayed by Bush to receive federal funding -- going against what our Founding Fathers intended?

Why should I, or you or anyone, have to pay to build a religious edifice for a group that preaches a religion that is contrary to our own religious beliefs? For instance, one of the religious leaders CLOSEST to the Bush Family is Sun Yung Moon, leader of the Unification Church -- the Moonies -- whose doctrine is loosely based on Christianity as interpreted by Moon, who has suggested that he may be the “real Messiah.”

Sun Yung Moon is described at: http://www.gcmi.net/moon.html "One of the foremost and most formidable religious leaders today is the cult leader Sun Yung Moon."

Sun Yung Moon, according to: http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/moon.html is "a Bush family benefactor." I imagine Moon would go to the FRONT of the line when it comes time to dole out our tax dollars to build religious edifices. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell's churches would probably be next in line to get OUR money.

But poor children in America will get NO healthcare "because there is not enough money in the federal treasury" and the frail elderly will die because they cannot afford medical treatment or medicines.

But we should feel as happy as those poor French peasants did in the 13th century to see the spires of the churches rising above the treetops -- even if the spires are atop the Moonie Unification Church!

Oh, and I hope no one writes to tell me that federal funds can be used only for the parts of the buildings that are used for "social" purposes. If we pay for that part of a religious edifice, the religious group's money is thus freed up to complete the rest of the building. And did you ever hear of "pushing the envelope"? If a thing can be done, it will be done. Graft will occur. Misuse will occur. The spires will rise, and we will pay for them.

Years ago, our small church used the entire building, except for the altar area, for social purposes. So, with this legislation, tax dollars could have built our entire church except for the few square feet involving the altar area.

-- excerpt from The New York Times at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/politics/23FAIT.html

"Bush Plans to Let Religious Groups Get Building Aid"

*WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 —The Bush administration plans to allow religious groups for the first time to use federal housing money to help build centers where religious worship is held, as long as part of the building is also used for social services.

The policy shift, which was made in a rule that the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed this month, significantly expands the administration's contentious religion-based initiative.

The White House says it wants to end discrimination against religious groups. Opponents say the policy breaches the separation of church and state. *

Best regards,

A Loyal BuzzFlasher

Fwd: DoD Announces Top Contractors for Fiscal 2002

Dear BuzzFlash,

And how much did each donate (bribe) to the Bush Election Committee?

NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense

No. 034-03
(703)697-5131(media)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2003
(703)428-0711(public/industry)

DOD ANNOUNCES TOP CONTRACTORS FOR FISCAL 2002

The Department of Defense announced today that the fiscal year 2002 report of "100 Companies Receiving the Largest Dollar Volume of Prime Contract Awards (Top 100)" is now available on the World Wide Web. The web site address for locating this publication and other DoD contract statistics is http://www.dior.whs.mil/peidhome/procstat/p01/fy2002/top100.htm.

According to the new report, the top 10 Defense contractors for fiscal 2002 were:

(In billions)

1. Lockheed Martin Corp. $17.0

2. The Boeing Co. 16.6

3. Northrop Grumman Corp. 8.7

4. Raytheon Co. 7.0

5. General Dynamics Corp. 7.0

6. United Technologies Corp. 3.6

7. Science Applications International Corp. 2.1

8. TRW Inc. 2.0

9. Health Net Inc. 1.7

10. L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. 1.7

In fiscal 2002, DoD prime contract awards totaled $170.8 billion, $26.2 billion more than in fiscal 2001.

[Web version: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2003/b01232003_bt034-03.html]

To BuzzFlash reader...re: persecuted vs. Prosecuted...I am sure the dimwit meant prosecuted...he has never been able to know the difference.

I was really writing about the ChinaCrateGate. It was a hugh story here in St. Louis. They showed all the REAL crates, shoved back where no one could see them...I saw a small blurb about it on one of the right wing stations this morning, they tried to blame it on a person (the one who goes ahead to see that everything is as it should be for the anointed one). You know the one, who herds all the protesters in a little corral out back, so they won't be on camera! It was 12 degrees here yesterday and about 150 protestors went out in that, only to be put away so no one could see them. They, however, did get the "Right to Lifers" on camera!

The real crates, incidentally, had Made In China as plain as the nose on the face, they had been shoved every which way, so as to not be seen by any cameras, even duct taped over it. What a bunch of phonies! This J.G. Logistics factory was supposed to be a blue collar working place, too.

I don't think this country can stoop any lower than to keep this nutcase on another term!!!!

Shirley, St. Louis Help!!!!!

Subj: The Sanctity of Oil Puts us all in Danger

Dear BuzzFlash,

If they are going to protect the oilfields perhaps that would be a safe place for the Iraqi families to pitch a tent? It's probably where Saddam hid in his bunker. It's like that game at the carnival where you try to hit the critter as it's head keeps popping out different holes (whack-a-something), too stressful for my liking, I'm not into adrenaline, now crafts..don't get me started.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,880321,00.html

Progressively,

Cassandra Murck

[BuzzFlash Note: The game is called "Whack-a-Mole".]

Subj: Mike Malloy Live from The Capital

Host Mike Malloy from the i.e. America Radio Network will be broadcasting live from The Capital of the United States; he was invited by Democracy Radio...an organization dedicated to the promotion of progressive talk radio in America.

Radio show hosts have been invited to participate in a roundtable discussion titled "A progressive view of the state of the union" on the same day of President Bush's State of the Union Speech, January 28, 2003.

Listen to Mike's broadcast as he interviews leading democrats, progressive congressmen, and other personalities on Monday, January 27 and Wednesday, January 29 live from the capital.

Juline Jordan of The Peter Werbe Show will be filling in for Mike on Tuesday, January 28 as Mike participates in the roundtable discussions.

For more information visit our homepage and listen live.

www.ieamericaradio.com

Subj: THIS IS EGREGIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear BuzzFlash,

Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), a House Appropriations “cardinal,”has made sure an ID card manufactured in his district is included in a pilot program for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), even though critics say the card is vulnerable to security breaches against which smart cards are immune.

http://www.hillnews.com/lobbying/012203.aspx

Rogers’insistence may also have delayed card implementation, which the TSA regards as a key part of its mission to protect Homeland Security.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subj: Rally against war with bags of rice

Dear BuzzFlash,

This amazing idea from the Boulder Mennonite Church.

There is a grassroots campaign underway to protest war in Iraq in a simple, but potentially powerful way.

Place 1/2 cup uncooked rice in a small plastic bag (a snack-size bag or sandwich bag work fine). Squeeze out excess air and seal the bag. Wrap it in a piece of paper on which you have written, "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. Romans 12:20. Please send this rice to the people of Iraq; do not attack them."

Place the paper and bag of rice in an envelope (either a letter-sized or padded mailing envelope--both are the same cost to mail) and address them to:

President George Bush White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20500

Attach $1.06 in postage. (Three 37-cent stamps equal $1.11.)

Drop this in the mail TODAY. It is important to act NOW so that President Bush gets the letters ASAP, preferably before the report from the inspectors comes out on the 27th.

In order for this protest to be effective, there must be hundreds of thousands of such rice deliveries to the White House. We can do this if you each forward this message to your friends and family.

There is a positive history of this protest! In the 1950s, Fellowship of Reconciliation began a similar protest, which is credited with influencing President Eisenhower against attacking China. Read on:

"In the mid-1950s, the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation, learning of famine in the Chinese mainland, launched a 'Feed Thine Enemy' campaign. Members and friends mailed thousands of little bags of rice to the White House with a tag quoting the Bible, "If thine enemy hunger, feed him." As far as anyone knew for more than ten years, the campaign was an abject failure. The President did not acknowledge receipt of the bags publicly; certainly, no rice was ever sent to China.

"What nonviolent activists only learned a decade later was that the campaign played a significant, perhaps even determining role in preventing nuclear war. Twice while the campaign was on, President Eisenhower met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to consider U.S. options in the conflict with China over two islands, Quemoy and Matsu. The generals twice recommended the use of nuclear weapons. President Eisenhower each time turned to his aide and asked how many little bags of rice had come in. When told they numbered in the tens of thousands, Eisenhower told the generals that as long as so many Americans were expressing active interest in having the U.S. feed the Chinese, he certainly wasn't going to consider using nuclear weapons against them."

From: People Power: Applying Nonviolence Theory by David H. Albert, p. 43, New Society, 19.

Subj: A Line in the Sand

Dear BuzzFlash,

Get ready because here it is folks, what Dumbya has wanted to do all along, which is to privatize Medicare and force our elderly into HMO's. According to this article, he will be announcing his grandiose "stratgery" next week, in his State of the Union (Very Bad, and Getting Worse) address. Under the guise of providing prescription drugs he is going to try to force seniors to go into HMO's and lose their freedom of medical choice, so they can be then faced with the simply charming Hobbesian dilemma, either accept being forced into an HMO and then run the very a serious risk of being denied the care they need when they face a serious illness, or be bankrupted by the never ending upward spiral of prescription drug costs.

The Democrats need to go to the battlements on this one. If Strom could filibuster endlessly against civil rights we sure as hell can filibuster against the elderly being herded into cost whacking HMO's who will invariably deny treatment to those seniors who have the audacity to threaten their profits by getting sick. Of course said seniors who are denied treatment by HMO's, even though very sick, will have no recourse against the HMO because Bush and his toady Billy Club Frist will see to it that the HMO's rapacious, patient gouging profit protection practices aren't threatened by any pesky patient bill of rights. The Democrats need to fight this with every tool at their disposal, and guarantee, by law, that every senior on Medicare has full access to the medications they need and also propose a plan that either caps the costs of prescription drugs, or does what the Canadian plan does,which is negotiate a fixed price for all drugs.

In so doing, they may actually find that they have many Republican allies in this battle, specifically Republicans who are skittish about answering to their constituents who only want help with the outrageous cost of prescription drugs, not denial of their freedom of medical choice. Remember folks, this is a change that will adversely affect EVERYONE sooner or later as, God willing, we will all get old one day. The time is now to bury this ridiculous plan before it buries us.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35396-2003Jan23.html