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Subj: Freedom Lost
Dear BuzzFlash,
I found this quote on a petition for the repeal of the Patriot Act. Could you post it at the top of your web page. I think, it says it all.
I just received my copy of Public Citizen News Jan./Feb. 2003 was was shocked at what our government has planned for us. Read about GATS and Bush's open border policy. Our President, Congress, and media have betrayed us by doing all this in secret.
Post this, please.
"If 9/11 was an attack on our freedom, then the USA PATRIOT ACT was our surrender." Quote by Philip Chagnon.
BuzzFlash Reader,
Judith
Stevens
Lake
Zurich, IL
RE: Laura Cancels Poetry Fest
Dear BuzzFlash:
First Lady Laura Bush, who has spent twenty-five percent of the time teaching children and seventy-five percent of the time talking about it, has heroically thwarted a planned invasion of our Dear Leader’s White House by anti-capitalist, pro-Communist, Emily Dickinson-loving evildoer poets. In an effort to undermine President Bush’s wise, bold and loving policy of continuous war, these miscreant rhymemiesters had conspired to bring hated and feared anti-American antiwar poems to a White House poetry symposium scheduled for Feb. 12.
This glorious action by Mrs. Bush, preventing this outrage and safeguarding our Dear Leader's White House from subversives armed with toxic combinations of free verse, pentameter, rhyme and versification, will be applauded by all real Americans everywhere.
Liberals should spend less time using ballads, elegies, odes, pastorals and sonnets to commit treason and promote Marxism and more time thanking God for America.
Thanks, Jim Fiala
Subj: About Spies
Hi BuzzFlash
So now the GOPS are saying there are spies in the anti-war demonstrations?????
I come from way back and this sounds like the *Ole Communism Trick,* they threw around from the Vietnam Era.
There is no level playing field with the GOPS, nowhere, no how!
When they continue to play with lies, they are fooling no one but themselves. You know that fool me once thing, that W couldn't seem to get straight?? Well, the GOPS pushed the envelope on fooling, and shame on us if we let them fool us again.
America, let's show them the Mother and Father of all demonstrations, the good old American way!
An Old BuzzFlash reader
Dear BuzzFlash,
I agree with Cathy about Crossfire. There's many nights lately where the audience definitely seems mostly republican. The other thing I notice about Crossfire lately is that Tucker seems to be getting very mean. He was always a pompous ass, but he was usually pretty good natured. This is another thing that makes me think that the repugs are a little nervous. There's been this nasty edge to him lately, which makes me think he's not so confident anymore. As far as Phil Donahue, I like the man but he's just not tough enough to be doing what he's doing in this political climate. I think he gives in too easily and quite frankly, is a little too polite to compete with the right wingers. We need someone like James Carville to do a show like Donahue's. Someone who does not let up.
I can't get over what a amazing job BuzzFlash is doing. BuzzFlash readers are among the most informed people in the country. That's probably why we're so depressed.
Barbara in NYC
Subj: Cokie Roberts Appointment
Dear BuzzFlash,
From Romenesko's Media News: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45
ABC News political commentator Cokie Roberts has been named to President Bush's Council on Service and Civic Participation. Stephen Koff writes: "Though ABC's Roberts provides analysis on subjects including Bush, an ABC News spokeswoman said the network gave its approval and saw no conflict of interest in her serving on the president's council." That spokeswoman says Roberts "has a very strong and distinguished track record of being an absolutely fair and objective observer and analyst." Posted at 11:18:59 AM
A BuzzFlash Reader
Buzz
I think the term "Little Caeser" for GW Bush is not quite right. After the State of the Union address, what has been apparent to BuzzFlash readers for quite some time should becoming apparent to most fair-minded observers: namely, that the guy seems to "get off" talking about death, destruction and mayhem. Thus, I think of him more as "Caligula," complete with delusions of grandeur and megalomania. Such conditions usually get worse over time.
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subj: Beat the Freepers
CAN YOU somehow encourage those who visit your website to check the freepers who are manipulating polls to join them at their own game. We could visit their site and see the polls they're trying to manipulate. Just a suggestion.
Nicole Carter Tonnessen
Buzz,
Why don't the feds "turn up the heat" on Bush's Harken insider trading deal? It involved a lot more money.
Gigi
Subj: Richard Stringer's editorial
Richard said that he needed to get the scoop on why Gee Duhbya is pushing for tax dollars for hydrogen engines now. I was wondering why he would stake claim to Al Gore's choice myself. I did a very, very quick google and got the impression that there is keen competition from Japan for dominance of the patents on this technology. Mazda and Ford might be duking it out for the consumer dollar.
Interesting though, is that United Technologies is the developer of the UTC cell used in the Ford Focus hydrogen concept car. You might have heard of them; they own Pratt and Wittney, the fighter jet engine corporation. They make a lot of cool gizmos for NASA and the military too.
Hope this help him.
Sincerely,
Carey L. Thaldorf
Subj: The State of the Union by the Numbers
Total length of speech: 5,400 words*
Percent devoted to tax cuts: 10
On legislation to combat African AIDS: 6**
On the war on terror: 5
On hydrogen cars: 3
On race and affirmative action: 0
Axis of Evil
Percent devoted to Iraq: 25
Korea: 4
Iran: 1
Number of times "Saddam Hussein" was uttered: 19
" Osama bin Laden": 0
" God": 4
__________________
*New York Times transcript
**Initiative as a percent of projected 2003 budget: .1%
http://notesontheatrocities.blogspot.com/
Subj: P.S. on George Kennan
Dear BuzzFlash,
P.S. I meant to call your attention to the last paragraph in the interview with George Kennan. It fits right in with the BuzzFlash mission. Why did a 98 year-old man have more courage than most Democratic candidates?!
-------
George Kennan:
"I wonder why the Democrats have not asked the president right out, 'What are you talking about? Are you talking about one war or two wars? And if it's two wars, have we really faced up to the competing demands of the two'?"
He added, "This is, to me, as a very old, independent citizen, a shabby and shameful reaction. I deplore this timidity out of concern for the elections on the part of the Democrats."
Subj: Shuttle Loss
Dear BuzzFlash,
I used to work with the Shuttle Program and I will tell you something personal about this horrible loss:
The people who work at the program are in ground control centers located around the world. The astronauts who are going on a mission travel to ALL the different centers and stay for about a week before they go on their flight. They meet with all the workers and share not only tech info, but warmth, love, and friendliness with these people. When they leave to go on their mission, the people on the ground who support them are their personal friends and co-workers.
When something like this happens, the people who are tasked with solving the mystery of what happened are in deep shock and they are suffering the loss of a group of best friends. They are very dedicated and very good people. They are really suffering right now, along with the families of the lost astronauts.
We all need to remember these dedicated people in our prayers and be sensitive to everyone's loss.
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subj: Bush Perpetuates White House Vandalism Myth - January 30, 2003 Washington Post
Welcome back to the White House, George [Stephanopoulos]. We'll have to make sure that we count the silverware"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63153-2003Jan29.html
We already knew about the president's opening quip to the former Bill Clinton aide -- "Welcome back to the White House, George. We'll have to make sure that we count the silverware" -- but Brokaw recounted an even sharper jape. Discussing his upcoming State of the Union address, Bush told the assembled media heavies: "I'm prepared. I'm not the kind of guy who's going to sit in the back of the limo on the way to the Capitol and rewrite my speech. Know what I mean, George?"
A BuzzFlash Reader
[BuzzFlash Reader: Perhaps we should start referring to George W. Bush as the "silver-spooned, drunk driving, cocaine snorting, insider trading AWOLer." Unfortunately, that wouldn't equate to the lies spread by the Bush Administration, mostly because the "trash" on Bush is true.]
Subj: Space Shuttle Probe
Buzz-
Why is there talk of a probe within minutes of the space shuttle disaster, but we still have no investigation into the WTC and Pentagon attacks of September 11? Just asking.
John Pettit
Subj: The True Cost is Measured in Lives
Dear BuzzFlash,
A good article on the whacking of NASA's space shuttle program budget by Junior. He " scolded" NASA for "inefficient safety upgrades" to the shuttle and then proposed to cut its budget by 65 million. What the hell could have been so "inefficient" about making the shuttle safer, I ask?!? Was it "inefficient" because the money was not channeled to his aeronautical/defense contractor buddies? Then, to compound the insult, he gleefully proposed to REDUCE the shuttle budget, outsource its ENTIRE operational control to private contractors and SELL off some of the shuttle hardware. Safety would sure as hell be sure to be ignored then since excessive "inefficient" attention to safety would impinge on the almighty sacrosanct profit margin and stock prices of the contractors. This is yet more evidence of how dangerous his ridiculous plans to cut vital areas of the budget to finance his obscene tax cut can be.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/02/04/nasa.budget/
Dan DeLisio
Dear BuzzFlash,
Saudi Arabians, using Saudi oil money to finance the crime, flew airplanes into buildings and killed nearly 3000 innocent people. One of the results of this crime will be the execution of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. Never mind that none of these innocent and oppressed people had anything to do with the crime. They are still scheduled for execution in the near future.
To start the war, Bush plans to hit Baghdad with 800 cruise missiles over a 48 hour time period. "There will not be a safe place in Baghdad," said one Pentagon official who has been briefed on the plan. "The sheer size of this has never been seen before, never contemplated before," the official said.
Translation: thousands of innocent people are specifically targeted in this war of "liberation".
Let me see if I understand the logic behind this:
In order to liberate the Iraqi people, we are going to reduce a modern and historic city to rubble, knowingly and willingly execute thousands of its civilian citizens, destroy most of the country's infrastructure, and, if they decide to, flood the area by bombing dams on the Tigris and Euphrates. All of this carnage will be inflicted on these people to get rid of one man, a dictator we supported in the past and have kept in a box for 11 years.
The survivors will surely greet their liberators with open arms. They will, of course, if their memories of the incident last only as long as the stench of their dead families and neighbors. They'll come in massive numbers, lining up on what's left of the streets of Baghdad, thanking us for killing their citizens, destroying their property, and for the soon-to-be-installed, USA-approved puppet government.
And none of this will guarantee that Saddam will be captured or killed.
I wonder how the "liberal" media will spin this. Will they continue covering for Bush on this one? Will they continue being the Bush "press release reprinting service"? Or will the independent foreign media pressure them into actually reporting the events?
Dick Erickson
BuzzFlash
Reader
Subj: War Plans
Hi Buzz
According to the recent news Dim-son will not allow a long debate--translation: the timetable is set, and it is to be soon.
From other reports it will be a Wham, Bam, thank you Ma'am WAR, after which the oil fields having been liberated will be taken over in trust 'for the benefit of the Iraqi people". Most of the Iraqi people will have been liberated from their previous lives will be
in Turkey,
as refugees
in
Pakistan, as refugees
in Cinders.
To whom will the proceeds of the trust be distributed?
Compassion?
Best
Cole...
Subj: No fly zone website, peace buttons, Feb 15 rally
Dear BuzzFlash readers,
To the person who gave us those great websites on no-fly zone bombings (Jan 31 mailbag), here's one that gathers ALL articles on no-fly bombings. It lets you see how many times we have been bombing Iraq: http://www.ccmep.org/usbombingwatch/2002.html
Also, a request to everyone: PLEASE WEAR YOUR PEACE BUTTONS PROMINENTLY wherever you go. There should be more of us displaying our stand in public. Once the U.S. begins its total devastation of Iraq, there may very well be some blowback. What I mean is, it is NEVER going to get any easier to take a stand for peace -- and it may well get harder. The time to show our numbers is NOW! I was out in Astoria this weekend and got some evil looks -- but you know what? I REFUSE TO LIVE IN FEAR! (Just like the presidente said....!)
Last note: We've been hearing that NYC is trying limit the Feb 15 rally permit to 10,000. Add that to what the NY Daily News is insinuating -- about Iraqi spies being anti-war rally organizers -- and you can see we're feeling slightly dispirited here. But we are not going to let it get us down. Feb 15 will be heard around the world. We've all got to turn out on that day, and keep an eye on the media afterwards, to make sure they give it proper coverage.
Finally, we also have to remember that not only are we bombing Iraq, but we say in print that we are using the no-fly zones for target practice. We've sent assassins into the country. They are still under sanctions. Our tabloid press have warmongering, threatening headlines every single day -- including talk of nuclear weapons and the amount of devastation we are going to inflict. Members of the administration (Richard Perle) write op-ed pieces saying no matter WHAT the inspectors find, we're going to war. President Bush says he is a man of patience and peace, while repeating bald lies in his state of the union address. Imagine how terrified the Iraqis must feel? It's a nightmare. The White House is throwing so many lies at us at once, it's no wonder some people have gotten their brains scrambled and don't know what to think. Even us devout peaceniks can hardly keep up.
But there's no other option. We HAVE to keep on standing for peace. And we have to keep on TALKING peace. And we also have to ask ourselves, what the H were we doing all these years when our foreign policy was getting more and more out of touch with reality, and more and more out of control?
Sincerely,
Mary - NYC
Subj: Support Helen Thomas!
Dear BuzzFlash,
from the 29 Jan 2003 Rochester NY Democrat & Chronicle: http://www.rochesterdandc.com/news/0129story24_news.shtml
After decades of writing news, [Helen] Thomas says, “I barely realized how much I censored myself. I didn’t bow out of the human race, but I always kept my opinion to myself. Now I can say what I think.”
That freedom comes at a price, of course. “I’m hating to read my e-mail,”she says. “No one seems to agree with me.”
<end snip>
After reading that, I immediately wrote and sent the following reply to Helen. I heartily urge you to write an encouraging note, too. Her email is helent@hearstdc.com
Dear Ms. Thomas:
Oh, please, don't think that no one agrees with you! It seems, from the reports being published about "Freepers" who spam the media with right-wing rants and scripted letters to the editor, that only they are making noise these days,
But it's most definitely not true that no one agrees with you! You are a veritable saint among the anti-bush/cheney/ashcroft/rove/rumsfeld/wolfowitz/axis-of-really-evil these days. We applaud your spirit, your bulldog tenacity in resolutely standing up to Ari "What's a nice Jewish boy doing telling all those horrible lies?" Fleischer day after day after frustrating day.
And when you say George W. Bush is the most horrible president in the history of America (http://dailybreeze.com/content/bog/nmbogert19.html), millions of Americans and millions of people around the world whole-heartedly agree with you!
Peace,
Linda Ann Wheeler Hilton
Buckeye (near Phoenix), Arizona
Subj: Leave no child behind - pollute more
Dear BuzzFlash
Kids
bearing brunt of chemical contamination, big study finds
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/02/01/MN87521.DTL
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subj: Daniel Ellsberg
Hi Buzz,
I just wanted to let you know that Daniel Ellsberg was absolutely riveting last night when he spoke at the local bookstore here in Petaluma. It was a standing room only crowd, over 200 people in a mid-sized store.
He spoke about the utterly corrupt and immoral Johnson and Nixon administrations, whose lies and secrets were directly responsible for so many deaths. At one point, he read (from his book) a transcript of a Nixon tape, in which Kissinger and Nixon discuss using nuclear weapons on the Vietnamese. It was absolutely chilling to hear how little regard for humanity our "leaders" had for the people of that country, and indeed, for our own military in harm's way.You could have heard a pin drop as Daniel read the transcript AGAIN, repeating Nixon's maniacal desire to obliterate a civilian population. Daniel also said: "If you think conversations like this are not occurring right now in the Bush administration, you are very very wrong." The audience audibly groaned at that point.
All was not doom and gloom, however. Daniel Ellsberg is utterly charming; soft spoken but with a perpetual slight grin, as if bemused to find himself the beloved center of attention. And he is a bit of a ham: he actually performed magic tricks at my house after dinner. And did more magic on the sidewalk, later in the evening, after his talk.
At the end of the evening, I walked with him the few blocks to the car that was waiting to take him back home. We walked slowly and away from the crowd, and I asked him about his wife. I told him that a favorite part of his book for me was the story of their long, on-again off-again courtship. It reminded me of my own story with my husband, who was my friend for 13 years before we married. He was very sweet as he spoke of his best friend, Patricia, and that did it...I was smitten!
He is a brilliant, passionate and remarkable person who speaks fervently against war and government secrecy. He was truly inspiring, and moved many of us to tears. I think that was because in spite of his experiences, and even though the spotlight is on him again quite intensely, he is very human and compassionate, and very open in sharing his information with everyone. He signed books for a long time, was very patient, and hugged people who were total strangers.
Just before he got into the car to leave, he gave me a big hug, and thanked ME for the evening. I'll never forget that.
elaine in Petaluma
Subj: Bush NASA Budget Cut
Dear BuzzFlash:
Bush not only diverted shuttle monies, but I question that what is being funded is a "nuclear powered space program". After he kicked the guts out of NASA morale by transferring projects from California's Jet Propulsion Laboratories to some obscure site in Maryland (here in Calif., we feel the Bush love - especially when he shuts off our water and lights) ...and, I assume, these projects are now tucked under the wing of a secret parallel military program. That not only hurt the shuttle budget, it hurt morale and no matter how professional individuals are when piling pressure upon pressure and when career-ending decisions can come about at the whims of this "president," it is stressful.
Rosamond
Subj: Shuttle Disaster: The Warnings
Dear BuzzFlash,
In a letter to the White House, Don Nelson, who served with Nasa for 36 years until he retired in 1999, wrote to President George W. Bush warning that his 'intervention' was necessary to 'prevent another catastrophic space shuttle accident'
Guardian Unlimited Observer | International | Nasa chiefs 'repeatedly ignored'
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subj: BlackBoxVoting.com
Dear BuzzFlash,
After reading the information on www.blackboxvoting.com, which I was linked to from your site, I am compelled to write and beg you for more front and center coverage on voting reform. Something must be done before the 2004 election cycle begins! Electronic voting may be convenient, but after hearing a sample of the voting machine error rates and 'software problems', I am amazed that more people are not concerned. The potential for manipulation and misuse is so great and seems to be virtually ignored. PLEASE BuzzFlash - LET'S MAKE THIS AN ISSUE !!! We need to go back to hand ballots. No more electronic voting - every vote has to count! Our country needs a uniform tabulation system for all states that cannot be tampered with and then maybe we can begin to have faith in our election process once more.
Perhaps we need a bill to save the ballot…
A Concerned BuzzFlash Reader
Has anyone commented on the contrast between the creation of an independent commission to investigate the loss of Columbia and its tragic loss of 7 within hours of its loss and the resistance to any kind of public investigation of 9/11 and its loss of 3000?
Stephen Bruns
Subj: Just think what a 100 billion for war could do for the space program.
I sat in utter shock as the shuttle disintegrated in mid flight yesterday (Saturday).
Then I wondered out loud just exactly what would happen if all those billions spent for a war with Iraq were spent on the space program.
The money could have saved seven lives--
--I think it would have been a fair trade.
Gully Foyle
Subj: Washington Post "Poll"
Richard Morin and Claudia Deane's recent article re a "poll" of "855 randomly selected adults" which showed a majority of Americans supporting our unilateral invasion of Iraq, had to be conducted among President Bush's family and friends.
I dare you come out to California and conduct your poll.
Natalie
Rothschild
San
Mateo, CA
Subj: Ms. Thomas, You Are Outstanding
Listen,
It really hurts me to read that Helen Thomas hates to read her email anymore because "no one agrees with her." I don't have her email address so if anyone does who reads this will they please forward it to her.
Ms. Thomas, you are not only wonderful, you are necessary. Your observation about our current leader was dead on and a joy and relief to read. You are history's true voice. She has spoken through you to us now. Thank you. I know that you won't let the vilification of the unreflecting and the hateful silence you and that even if you hate to read your email, you will not back down. You won't let it hurt you or make you doubt yourself. There are millions of us who agree with you. Believe that. It's the truth.
Donna Lively
Subj: This Date In History
Newsday's This Date In History
In 1997, President Clinton unveiled a $1.73 trillion budget claiming the first surpluses in 30 years and pumping billions to schools, health and child care.
Now fast forward to the present:
Bush's Budget, Projects Record Deficits
(snip)
(AP) - President Bush would strengthen the Internal Revenue Service's ability to pursue tax scofflaws, rich and poor, in a $2.23 trillion budget for 2004 that he will send Congress on Monday. The initiative will be part of a fiscal blueprint that will project federal deficits for each of the next five years, though the shortfalls will decline annually, a Republican familiar with the Bush administration's plans confirmed Saturday. More...
Oh to have those Clinton/Gore years back now. President Clinton funneled the funds where they were needed most. To the people, not the powerful.
While some tried to tear him down, many like me looked upon the Clinton/Gore administration with pride. At least he was a people's president. This one is nothing but an embarrassment.
Mary!
Subj: How Disgusting is This?
Dear BuzzFlash,
Saturday. President George "Shock and Awe" Bush reading the Bible.
Pamela of the Poconos
Subj: X-33 venture star cancellation
Hello,
I remember little mention of the Bush cancellation of the X-33 venture star program right after he took office. This was the project that was given the green light to be the next system to replace the aging shuttle fleet. Does anyone remember the reasons the administration gave for canceling the program?
After looking at this document:
http://eemo.msfc.nasa.gov/eemo/x33_eis/x-33_pdf/executive_summary.pdf
It looks like a lot of money was spent to move the project along. I know it was a project with a lot of support from Al Gore. There must have been some reasoning for stopping the program other than the fact that Al Gore's name was attached to it's announcement. It seems to me that we would be in a much better position, as a nation, to move forward after the recent Columbia tragedy had this program been allowed to continue.
The pages were gone from the lockheed site. The program seems to have disappeared.
Jeff b
Subj: Faith-Based Initiative
In Detroit Free Press, the article states that Bush's proposal will use tax dollars to build places of worship as long as their work is done under the same roof. These funds will be transferred from existing programs for single parents, homeless, and Aids victims. As if that isn't enough, depending on the religious convictions of the organization receiving the federal grant, some of those very people could be excluded from the very facilities this tax money would create. Please help spread the word. I just thought I'd seen outrageous before, but this truly takes the cake.
Carol Bennett
Subj: Dirty Bomb, Dirty Trick
The reports emerging about a dirty bomb in Afghanistan are curiously emerging as information about Uranium and depleted uranium being used in hellfire bombs, and I think daisy cutter bombs by U.S. forces. I'm not saying this is propaganda to create plausible denial for the military but...
cynically yours,
One cell of the earth body
Subj: Shuttle Accident
Dear Buzz,
I understand the GOP is already blaming President Clinton for the shuttle accident. Sen Hutchinson, Texas, said on one of the Sunday talk shows that the Clinton administration was to blame because it underfunded it.... What A crock of s--- Sounds like the crap we heard after 9-11.....
Thank for the good reporting, Jim Haas
Subj: Just Like in Texas
Dear BuzzFlash,
I don't understand why George W. Bush seems to love to kill people. It appears that he loved killing people in the death chamber when he was governor of Texas, and he it seems like he can't wait to kill people in Iraq now, regardless of who happens to be innocent. What kind of mind lurks inside of someone like that?
mev
Dear Senators Akaka & Inouye,
According to the Chicago Tribune's article "U.S. woos war allies with cash, weapons".
President Bush & his associates in the Bush Administration are offering billions of dollars in "aid" to Turkey in exchange for Turkey letting the US use it's bases, airfields & ports. This is bribery, pure & simple & the last time I checked bribery is a specific criminal act. Who knows what he has promised other countries? What is the bribery price tag? Where does this end?
I am against this war against Iraq, until & unless I see some specific reason for it. I do not want suppositions & "what ifs". We are supposed to be the world's leader & it is about time we started acting like leaders rather than spoiled children afraid of the boogeyman. I need someone to explain to me how it is that diplomacy will work with North Korea but is totally useless against Iraq. Why is containment good for North Korea but won't work in Iraq even though it has been working for the past decade. Other news articles today point out that even though we have spent more than a year searching "very hard" for a link between Hussein & bin Laden, there is no link. How much did that cost us? It's been widely reported that Bush & Cheney decided to go after Iraq within days of September 11th. If that is true & I have no reason to doubt it as it was widely reported in the news & no denial from the White House, then what the Bush Administration is doing is nothing more than a frame job - manufacture the evidence to get Hussein.
If this was a just war, if we were justified in attacking Iraq, we would not have to bribe other countries to support us. This whole thing stinks & the particular odor is oil. We are going to kill millions of Iraqi civilians in order to preserve the oil fields. No thought has been given to how we are going to be able to pay for this outrageous power grab. No thought has been given to what happens afterwards. Not only are the American people being tasked to pay for these bribes, but we will end up paying for the next 30 or 50 years to try to keep the peace in Iraq, but we will also pay in increased terrorist attacks. By attacking Iraq we will be creating more terrorists, not less. This is not making us safer.
Who approved these expenditures - for all this "aid" - these bribes? Last year we were told there wasn't enough money to fund equipment for the fire fighters, that we had to tighten our belts & that everyone had to sacrifice (except the wealthy, of course). If we didn't have enough money last year & we are now $300 billion more in debt - where is this bribe money coming from? Why are my tax dollars being used to bribe other nations to support the Bush Administration's oil agenda?
I am tired of being lied to by the Bush Administration. We heard all about the "rule of law" & "abuse of power" when President Clinton was in office. Do those terms only apply to Democrats? Are the Republican's above the law? Can the Republican's not abuse their power? It sure seems like it from my perspective.
I believe it is time to start Impeachment Proceedings.
Linda Kekumu
Pahoa
Hawaii
Dear BuzzFlash,
Just announced on local DFW news that George and Laura will be flying to Houston on Tuesday to attend a "private" memorial service...private, don't you know...
Betsy
Dear BuzzFlash,
After reading a few articles about the Columbia accident I have a question.(at the end)
One article states that a Ret. Navy Admiral will lead the Columbia probe. and it says all theories about what happened are being explored. It also says a 'special government commission' (an independent objective board) will go through the wreckage for analysis and look at every possible angle for what caused the accident and "will leave absolutely no stone unturned" NASA will also conduct it's own investigation.
Then this from
"Several Shuttle Probes Planned"
by Matt Kelley The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (Feb. 2)Hearings are expected in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said Sen. Sam Brownback, chairman of the subcommittee on science, technology and space.
``The key issue for us in Congress is why did it happen, how did it happen, how do we fix it and then how do we project on forward with manned space flight,'' said Brownback, R-Kan. ``We need to continue that for the vision of the country and the vision of the world.''
(snip)
Following the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, President Reagan appointed a 13-member commission headed by former Secretary of State William P. Rogers to investigate the accident.
-------
My question...Just one day after the Columbia tragedy..there is a full scale investigation, a patriotic, 'no holds barred' interest in getting to the bottom of WHY the Columbia exploded, by NASA and Congress, and Bush and his administration refuse a full scale investigation for 9-11?
Seven men and women died in the Columbia shuttle disaster (and I'm not dismissing the fact that this was a sad and terrible tragedy and I do feel horrible for them and for their families) but at least 3000 people died Sept 11 and what have they done? Nothing. Absolutely nothing ! They have shied away from it, sealed records and screamed about national security. The Democrats and all of America should be screaming WHY !!! And the real question is, what are they afraid of and what are they hiding?
The families of 9-11 must be outraged. I know I am.
Susan N.
Subj: Space, Privatization, and Tax Cuts
Dear BuzzFlash,
Is the Columbia crash yet another devastating example of the results of privatization in our society? For god's sake, what is more important -- a human life or the bottom line?
I would happily give back my rebate and forego all future tax cuts if it would mean that we could increase astronaut safety and ensure that people are not forced to travel in 20+-year-old shuttles where important heat-resistant tiles routinely fall off.
How about you?
A Loyal BuzzFlash Reader
Subj: Alternative To War
Alternative to war. Invade Iraq with food, medicine, and compassion. This will give George W. Bush a great place in history. Never would coalition building be so easy. If he get's excited about it and "expands human rights to include food, shelter, medicine and education"* with a healthy dose of self determination and environmentalism for the whole world, his picture will adorn the walls of every home. Hurray!!! for George the Great.
He will become rich beyond his wildest dreams. Instead of having a tiny part of the Planet, to, enjoy beauty behind compound walls, while the rest is ugly, culturally bereft, and hostile; he will inherit(as we all would) a beautiful planet filled with arts, cultures,and species of all kinds and the ability to go anywhere and know he will be welcomed honored and secure.
To prevent Class warfare, at a time when the people of the world are standing up to claim the inalienable rights America pontificated, we must help the present elite redefine what is wealth, power, and security.
Optimistically,
darrell robert denisi
*Jimmy Carter, nobel peace prize speech
Subj: The Oil Nazi
Dear BuzzFlash,
I could hardly believe the article about Lugar, GOP Senator from Indiana telling Russia and France that if they don't get on board Bush's war, there would be no Iraqi oil for them.
Besides the obvious (the impending war is, indeed about oil) the statement coming from Lugar reminded me of the situation comedy, Seinfeld, namely the Soup Nazi episodes. In those episodes, if a customer didn't quickly recite their order, or dared to ask a question, the Soup Nazi would yell, "No soup for you! Next!" And if customers got back in line, the Soup Nazi recognized them and shouted the same phrase again.
The Soup Nazi was labeled as such because it was a spoof on the dictatorial personality of an actual owner of a Soup/Sandwich Deli in NY. In other words, the spoof centered on the Soup Nazi refusing to fill an order if it wasn't placed in the owner's 'My way or the Highway' manner. So now we have Lugar threatening Russia and France for Bush. Both countries have not satisfactorily put in their orders for war to the liking of the administration. France and Russia have asked for something that's not on the menu... diplomacy. "No oil for you! Next!," the Oil Nazi for the administration, barks at them.
Yes, it does sound like a situation comedy. The whole administration is a situation comedy.
~ Cathy
