August 29, 2003

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Subj: Ten Commandments

How come it seems like far more coverage is being given to the less than 1000 protestors in Alabama over the Ten Commandments controversy than was given to the anti-war demonstrations before the war, which had tens of thousands?

What kind of picture are we sending to the rest of the world when we curse the muslim religious fanatics and cover our own christian fanatics with deference? Why does the Media love Falwell, Robertson et al. and criticize the Islamists? Why not call a fanatic a fanatic regardless of religion. The Christianists are just as crazy, only a little less violent for now.

Also how about the hundreds or thousands that protest the President on his dash for cash campaign trips don't they deserve the same coverage as these religious radicals?

thank you,

stevie gardiner
somerdale, nj


My Reaction to G. Bush's addressing the American Legion

To: Commander, American Legion

Subject: Tell me why I should remain a member!

I am a member in good standing in the American Legion. At this point in time, I see no reason for me to remain a member of the A/L. The fact that you would hold a Convention and invite the False Resident of the White House (Rapidly turning yellow from the inhabitant therein) is just too much for me. American Legion members fought valiantly in many wars. They served their country to best of their ability and shed tears when comrades in arms gave their lives in the ultimate sacrifice. It was an honor to be a member of that group. But no more! Do you not realize how out of place G. Bush was and will ever be? Daddy got him out of Vietnam duty and into the Texas National Guard. He went AWOL from that organization for over a year. He ran for President and was given the pResidency of the Yellow House by five fools of the not any more Supreme Court. For this you honor him and let him address you?? Not on my watch!

Note: Please know that I am not going AWOL, but ask that I be relieved from membership in your organization.

Signed JG


BuzzFlash,

I read with interest the commentary on bush being bi-polar. Never in a million years could he be likened to anyone who lives with the illness.

He lack's no essence of creativity, no ability to give to society in any way some contribution, no matter how small. Bi-polars, are generally accepted to be very bright people and do quite well despite this sometimes awful illness. In short, george bush, being bereft of a brain and having no discernible cognitive function, having a flat affect and and so easily controlled by others could not be accepted by us. I can't speak for any other bi-polars, only myself, however, this creep ain't no Ernest Hemingway!!

Ruth
W. Palm Beach


Dear BuzzFlash:

I am outraged at the Halliburton/Bechtel contract windfall. If the Clinton's even thought of giving such an opportunity to their friends--of course, they didn't have those kinds of friends as they both worked for a living--the media would be screaming.

You will recall the same type of things happened under Reagan, Bush, the Elder, and of course Nixon.

Gee, I miss Nixon. His people were amateurs compared to this administration. Watergate is so small compared to Bush, the Younger. Liddy would probably be at home with Bush, the Younger.

Check out http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/ "Orcinus". The essays on fascism are incredible.

Fondly,

Jaye Ramsey Sutter


Subj: Shrub Gassed His Own People!

Buzz,

So now we learn that all us New Yorkers, besides being pandered to and cynically used for political purposes, were gassed by our own leader [LINK], who continues to lie about it (and about everything else). I am starting to look forward to the republican convention here - I think the repubs will get the kind of greeting that they deserve.

A BuzzFlash Reader


Bush didn't lie about evidence. It was that darned Saddam's fault again.

By Bob Drogin, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON - Frustrated at the failure to find Saddam Hussein's suspected stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, U.S. and allied intelligence agencies have launched a major effort to determine if they were victims of bogus Iraqi defectors who planted disinformation to mislead the West before the war.

[LINK]

A BuzzFlash Reader


Subj: Iraq

Now that the lights are on in Iraq (figuratively not literally) the neo-con cockroaches are scattering - all pointing the finger elsewhere on the faulty postwar planning.

How are they going to explain King George's flip on the UN - since he now wants a multinational force under UN auspices. Of course it's easy to explain - Karl Rove and Dick Cheney know a disaster in the making and will flip flop all they have to to get Georgie re-elected.

Somebody needs to provide security for Halliburton over there so they can continue to make the big bucks and contribute to Georgie's campaign.

Peter


Subj: How True! How True!

Ain't it the truth?

SNIP

ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT
150 RIGHTWING PROTESTERS ARE WORTH
MORE COVERAGE THAN A THOUSAND LEFTISTS

The media treated the Alabama Ten Commandment farce as though it were a major challenge to the federal government. If, on the other hand, the 150 protesters had been lefties upholding one of those commandments - thou shalt not kill - there would have been hardly a mention. Progressives need at least ten thousand for a headline. This is a prime example of the media's reflexive tendency to treat the complaints of the right as news while ignoring those of the left.

http://prorev.com/indexa.htm

Chewgababy


Subj: And the other shoe is....??

Has BuzzFlash been watching the political theater in Alabama (regarding 10 commandments in the Federal Courthouse) with the same kind of what's-coming-next sense that I have? Could this farce actually be a public relations effort run by Rove to prepare the core Greedy Old Party constituents for some serious backtracking by the King? He has been losing ground in the polls and September is the normal time that the Bush Cartel rolls out new sales efforts. Perhaps this thing is a GOP effort to give the radical-right some tasty, and unimportant, bone to hold onto into the election next year just before some major backtracking by King G? The question is what could he backtrack on without actually giving up anything? I'll bet we'll know the answer to that in the next seven days....

Phillip


Subj: Arnold's unfunded after-school initiative will add $550 mil to CA debt

BuzzFlash,

Paragraph 5 from article:

"But many children's advocates said Schwarzenegger launched his political career on a measure that made big promises with no guarantee of delivery. It provided no new funding source, but instead bet on a growing state budget in a bad economy."

Jon

* * *

Schwarzenegger's Initiative Unfunded

Prop. 49, passed last year with the actor's push to add before- and after-school activities for kids, may not support any programs until 2007.

August 28, 2003

As Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigns to become California's next governor, he frequently touts his success in sponsoring a $550-million initiative last November to expand before- and after-school activities for hundreds of thousands of youngsters.

But Proposition 49, which marks Schwarzenegger's only previous foray into public policy in California, is not expected to add a dime to such programs anytime soon. Analysts say that state funding for the initiative may not be available before 2007 - three years beyond original projections - because of the state budget crisis.

[LINK]


Subj: Answering to a "higher law"

BuzzFlash,

Alabama's "Judge" Roy Moore says he answers to a "higher law". How about letting the higher law pay his salary? Did you hear the ugly bellowing from the theatrical religious nuts? They love being in the limelight, don't they? If they could have dragged some fetuses around they would have done that, too. I want you to know that here in Greenville, South Carolina, the local supermarket (Dutch owned) stocks Dr. Bob soda pop. Greenville is the home of Bob Jones University. So, your joke about Ten Commandment hamburgers and colas was right on target. You are pretty funny. And I still say Oklahoma can't be as sorrowful sad as S.C. I always get excited when the local news tells the folks they are #1 in something. Today's top of the chart listing is for number of homicides related to domestic abuse. Them there commandments sure work good, don't they?

Liz


Subj: Arnold's OUI Interview

Hi,

I'd like to know how part of this interview isn't about Arnold's self-confessed gang rape? Would the media excuse this if it were a Democrat? He says "everybody jumped on her and took her upstairs," etc etc. How is that not a gang rape?

A BuzzFlash Reader


Re: BuzzFlash Interview with Greg Palast

BuzzFlash,

Excellent article. Keep'm coming. The internet is the last bastion of democracy here in the US.

It seems the plot just keeps getting thicker all the time. And the information the public gets from our corporate media is like what's seen of the proverbial iceberg, about 1/7 of the total story.

However, on "berserker", Webster says, "1: an ancient Scandinavian warrior frenzied in battle and held to be invulnerable 2: one whose actions are recklessly defiant

As a descendent of Norwegian ancestry, I would rather Palast hadn't used the term in conjunction with the Bin Laden terrorists. If the Bush II reign continues for a second term, who's to say there might not be some need for those of us with Viking heritage to go "berserk".

Any New Age Viking Berserkers would prefer not to be confused with Bin Laden terrorists.

A BuzzFlash Reader


RE: Ahnuld--Democrats need to get this book!

BuzzFlash,

The LATimes mentions an unauthorized biography about Ahnuld, which asserts that Schwarzenegger has made racist/anti-semitic comments, and the lengths Schwarzenegger went through to bury the story, in the following article:

* * *

May 12, 2002

Los Angeles Times Magazine
Run, Arnold, Run

The muscleman-turned-actor wants to make the leap into politics. But the Hollywood press never played hardball. How strong is he really?

By MARK Z. BARABAK, Times Staff Writer

snip

But a rather less flattering portrait emerges in "Arnold," a decidedly unauthorized 1990 biography. Among other unsavory details, the book recounts that Schwarzenegger's late father, Gustav, was a member of the Nazi Party. The work, by journalist Wendy Leigh, also includes detailed allegations of womanizing, cruel practical jokes, extensive use of steroids in his bodybuilding days and suggestions that the actor made racist and anti-Semitic remarks as a young man. Schwarzenegger denounced the book as trash. But James Willwerth, a Time correspondent who profiled Schwarzenegger for the magazine, told the Columbia Journalism Review that he checked Leigh's research, using her 34 pages of source notes as a guide, and considered her work "well reported. My nose told me that the book was on target."

Wherever the truth lies, the response to Leigh's dishy biography was instructive. At the 1990 Cannes film festival, reporters wishing to cover Schwarzenegger were asked to sign an agreement promising not to ask about the book. "That issue had been completely dealt with in various different outlets," explains Charlotte Parker, a former Schwarzenegger publicist who imposed the reporting requirement as a condition for attending a breakfast buffet with the star. "I didn't want every single person to reinvent the wheel."

Leigh, who was shunned by Schwarzenegger and his intimates while writing the biography, claims she was further blackballed when she set out to publicize her work. Television appearances were canceled, interviews were scrubbed and newspaper articles were spiked, according to Leigh. "I found out through intermediaries that publicists were told if they put me on, Arnold wouldn't do their show," says the author, speaking by telephone from her home in London. "He made absolutely sure no one had anything to do with" the book. But Parker denies any involvement in Leigh's promotional difficulties. "I don't know where that came from," Parker says. "I did not call anyone and request that."

Regardless, the rules of engagement could not be more different in a political campaign. Handlers may limit access to a candidate. Office-seekers will often try to duck uncomfortable questions. But the time is long past when someone seeking high public office can shield their indiscretions from a none-too-inquisitive press corps, the way John F. Kennedy managed. One of California's most practiced Republican strategists suggests that in this age of 24-hour news programming and post- Monica sensibilities, candidates have to assume that anything they try to conceal will eventually come out. "I'd give him the same speech I give every candidate that sits down for the first time" to talk about a potential campaign, the strategist says of Schwarzenegger. "I ask, 'Is there anything about your life your wife doesn't know and you never want her to find out?' "

The actor himself is the only one who can say. But even if he has nothing to hide, he may wonder: Who needs the aggravation? George Butler, who produced and directed "Pumping Iron" and has been friends with Schwarzenegger since, suggested, "He's got to make a choice about what he's willing to put out there . . . . If Arnold is going to run for public office, he's got to realize there's a tremendous amount of baggage."

That said, Butler calls Schwarzenegger "one of the most adaptable" and single-minded individuals he has ever met. "He's going to know the ground rules before he plays the game," Butler says, and if Schwarzenegger decides to run for office, no amount of adversity will put him off. "He'll keep coming back and coming back. If he can't make it one way, he will figure out how to make it another way. He's very, very smart and always has been."

[LINK]

Anyone know what those racist/anti-semitic remarks were?

CR

Oklahoma


Subj: GOP can be forgiven, but never a Dem

Buzz,

I saw some commentator trying to refer to sleazy Arnold's filth mouth and wild orgies as "foibles of the past". He said Americans are willing to overlook that. Would he have said the same thing if Ahhnold had been a Democrat? No, they were all over Clinton like a hornet's nest about his past with the Flowers woman. This media just excuses Repubs no matter what. Arnold is a sleazeball PERIOD. He disgusts me that he posed nude. Hey that is fine if that's what he wants to do but it is stupid to run for governor with that in his past.

mev


Subj: Money Trail

Dear BuzzFlash:

First congratulations on being such a great site and letting the people all know about the stuff that doesn't make it into the corporate media. It would be hard to understate the necessity of that in this day and age.

One thing I did want to ask/suggest to you though that I have not seen there on your site. Everywhere you turn you see the figure of 1 billion a week being spent in Iraq. I will assume for the moment that the administration isn't piling the bills onto rockets and shooting them at the sun so the money must have a more terrestrial destination. The question then is simple (although the answer likely will not be) where is that Billion going every week? Where does the money trail lead? Inquiring minds and all that.

My heartfelt thanks,

Don


Subj: Mailbag 8/28

Dear BuzzFlash,

Does anyone else think it is a little superstitious that the power outage in London was tied to the Niagara Grid??? How much longer do we all have to remain dumb??? When I heard this...this afternoon..on the news...I thought, "weird...wonder if Halliburton owns that grid...and gets to replace all of them...all over...making much, much money".... I have always thought of Cheney as a little sneering Nazi-like parasite...he sees green in everything..he is money hungry and cannot live without seeing it. If any company even slightly tied to the Clintons had drained the money out of a war, rebuilding("sure!") they would have impeached him and his entire family, including Chelsea...and we wonder why he is so content being out of that rightwing Hell hole?

Before I forget, to Manny Mitikas...thank you so much for the wonderfully humble letter regarding the VietNam vets..the ones who came home and the ones who didn't. My brother did not come home from that war...and it is so refreshing to hear someone word it just the way you did...the country is proud of you...as if you went and either did not come back or came home wounded. So, from the sister of a man who did not make it home...I bow to you! (your honesty is so refreshing)

And, to Mev....yeah, Arnie is that sleazy...just this afternoon, they have uncovered a taped interview he did back when he was a new star over here and making the rounds trying to be a bid deal. I am sure, he might not say these things now...but with our experiences with the way Mr. Clinton was treated...it just does not matter anymore...according to the rightwingnuts of this country..you cannot slip...you cannot falter...you cannot fail........in any way. (the tape discussed his being involved in a "group sex thing." It was disgusting..to think that not only is this man not intelligent, but he is not even very logical. Not for us, but for California to worry about!) Thank God, we do not have to think of him running for Prez.

Nothing about Clinton was ever found out for sure, even by that nasty Kenneth Starr,,,,except a dalliance with an intern..of age...of consensual age, at that! For eight years we endured our president being lied about, disgraced..he and his family went through it and we had to put up with it. I think it bothered those of us who backed him, more than it did him! And, at last, being impeached by a bunch of old goats whose private lives just revealed that half of them were worse...Bob Livingston (the man who would be Don Juan) Henry Hyde (the man who would not give up his affair, to the husband, in his youthful days..of 46) the same age as Mr. Clinton...another good one is Tim Hutchinson...who actually lost the election this year...was having an affair as he voted to impeach Bill Clinton...afterwards, divorced his wife and married said younger woman...as did Newtie...I could go on and on...but it just goes to show you all the hypocrisy of the right wing...

I ask you....is it not scary to have them controlling every single wing of this government????????? With a plurality in the Supreme court???

Shirley...............St. Louis


Subj: Hou Chron: Plea bargain "bloodbath"

Hi, Buzz.

Ken "Get-away" Lay still slipping the noose, though

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2071922

Quote: Indicted ex-Enron Treasurer Ben Glisan Jr. is negotiating a plea bargain and cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors ... When Glisan flips, this could be a bloodbath," said one lawyer familiar with the Enron investigation. Glisan was installed as Enron treasurer in 2000 and was known as a protege of both Fastow and ex-CEO Jeff Skilling.

Regards,

Elaine
? 9/11 ?


Subj: FOXNews' Britt Hume Trivializes 1.7 average troop deaths a day in Iraq

Dear Buzz,

Death rates are generally measured per thousand population, not per square mile. With a population of 34 million, California has about 200 times the population of 150,000 troops in Iraq. If California were to experience the population death rate of Iraq, the state would see an average of 340 needless deaths a day. Britt Hume would have us believe this is trivial.

Mark Lamb


Subj: 1 in 4000 chance of giving full measure

Dear BuzzFlash,

There was a .0000676 chance of getting murdered in California in the year 2000. Based on a population of 34,000,000 and 2300 murders.

There is a .0041366 chance of a US soldier being murdered, or dying from other causes currently in Iraq. Based on 1.7 deaths per day, and 365 days, you arrive at 620.5 deaths per year out of a population of about 150,000 soldiers.

In Iraq, as an American soldier, you have about a 1 in 4000 chance of giving full measure. Whereas in California, the ratio of population to death by murder is about 1 in 600,000.

Funny what you can do with statistics. No matter what Donald Rumsfeld or even Britt Hume have to say, I really think it would be much safer to stay in California.

Check my math.

Thanks, Mike


Subj: Another BuzzFlash mention in the St. Pete Times

Scroll down

Flawed power system has been ignored too long

"On Aug. 14, as reported on BuzzFlash.com and elsewhere, the president stated that we have time to examine the grid and determine whether or not it needs to be modernized. "I happen to think it does and have said so all along."

[LINK]

A BuzzFlash Reader


Sent to: special@foxnews.com <special@foxnews.com>:

Subj: Deaths in Iraq compared to California

Mr. Hume,

You said in your Grapevine segment:

Two hundred and seventy seven U.S. soldiers have now died in Iraq, which means that, statistically speaking, U.S. soldiers have less of a chance of dying from all causes in Iraq than citizens have of being murdered in California...which is roughly the same geographical size. The most recent statistics indicate California has more than 2,300 homicides each year, which means about 6.6 murders each day. Meanwhile, U.S. troops have been in Iraq for 160 days, which means they are incurring about 1.7, including illness and accidents, each day.

Instead of saying "Californians", say "COPS", because that is what we are over there. Any state, city, or village that had a daily death rate of almost two "COPS" would find it unacceptable, especially if they were being assassinated in the streets. Would you find it unsettling to see a death rate of "COPS" this high in Washington, which is a dangerous city itself.

As someone who knows one of these "COPS" who will likely be called up soon (dutifully serving in the Nat'l. Guard), I find your comments both arrogant and uninformed. Thank God people like you dodged Viet Nam, otherwise I shudder to think of how much worse our casualties would have been.

Ed Rzeppa
South Elgin


Subj: It Wasn't Our Fault---Saddam Lied to Us!

Re: U.S. Suspects It Received False Iraq Arms Tips, 8/28 LA Times

Dear Buzz:

The liars are blaming Saddam for lying about having WMDs! That's so pathetically funny that I'll probably be laughing all day.

Regards,

William Wilgus
Silver Springs. FL


Subj: Al Franken and Fox News

Good to know that the dismissal of Fox's suit against Al Franken indicates that the US justice system still works, notwithstanding Attorney General Ashcroft.

I have a fair and balanced suggestion. Should the occasional viewer of Fox News record the names of advertisers on Fox and decide not to purchase any of their products?

Norman


Subj: Blair Questions

BuzzFlash,

Tony Blair appears to be the only person in the world that believes Iraq could have attacked his country in 45 minutes and was a year away from launching nuclear weapons. Even Bush is distancing himself from those claims. Does Blair think this is a "defense" ?????? Is he on drugs ? Why didn't anyone at the Hutton hearings laugh ?

Larry,
Maryland


Subj: Reality Check for Flag Wavers

Dear BuzzFlash,

"The US government, which is spending $4bn a month keeping its troops in Iraq, admitted yesterday that the cost had risen rapidly, and that the price of reconstruction was almost impossible to exaggerate." [From the 8/28/03 Guardian]

We're talking 48 Billion a year. That's with a [B] folks! The reality of it all? 48 Billion a year, is just to keep our present level of troops in Iraq. Now let's talk reconstruction. By comparison, the quoted figure for keeping our troops in Iraq begins to look like peanuts. Collectively, we will be looking at Trillions.

To the pre-Iraq war [Flag waving] [Gullible] [Pro-Bush] [I'm patriotic-you're not] [Cable news junkie] numbskulls who refused to do their homework:

Did you ever ask yourselves where the money would come from for Bush's war and reconstruction? Check your own pockets, Flag Wavers! Check the White House announcement about the Postal Workers getting a bare minimum raise next year to help pay for Bush's insane war. Check out the programs Bush continues to cut to the bone. Check out the lousy economy, stock market and unemployment lines. Check out the rise in state taxes to compensate for Bush's program cuts and mandates in Homeland Security. And for those Flag Wavers on Social Security, if you think last year's Cost of Living raise was puny and unfair, it is likely that Bush will authorize no raise at all for next year. Look no further than your own pockets, Flag Wavers. Because of your conformity flag waving and complete trust in Bush, those who did their homework and tried to give you the facts, are also paying the price. The Flag Wavers will get no sympathy from me when they complain about their finances. In fact, I'm going to be in your faces with government facts and figures.

And speaking of Flag Wavers, have you noticed the autos driving around with American Flags flapping in the wind? Ironically, the blues and reds are extremely faded and the materials are shredded and torn.

I see those flags as truly symbolic of the State of our Nation under Bush!

~ Cathy


Subj: Ely Classifieds

Found this in the Ely Newspaper. Hey maybe we should start something like this - very inexpensive.

TAKE A MOMENT TO LEARN the truth about America! www.BuzzFlash.com or www.democracynow.com or FSTV 9415 satellite TV (Free Speech TV) EE 7/21-8/25

[LINK]

Chewgababy


Subj: On Calif. vs. Iraq, the historical revisionists need some more honor and integrity

Oh Mighty BuzzFlash:

The historical revisionists need to get some honor and integrity because their comparisons are all off. To be more accurate, we should be comparing the per capita likelihood of getting a rocket-propelled grenade up the kazoo in California vs. Iraq. The odds favor safety in Cali by many orders of magnitude.

Or, better to compare the odds of standing next to a detonating car bomb in California vs. Iraq. I will take my chances with our vastly under-weaponized homegrown hoods any day of the week.

But since Brit Hume, Limbaugh and similar ilk are so concerned about California, why divert to L.A. some of the tens of billions we're sending to Baghdad every day? It might help California get out of some of the Kennyboy-induced debt, and reduce the murder rate even further -- since Brit and the rest are so concerned, I mean.

Best regards,

Ron Shapella
West Amwell Township, NJ


Subj: Your Vote or Your Life

BuzzFlash,

Re: http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/08/29_fox.html

The same people who claimed denying one soldier the vote in Florida was treason, now claim its OK to deny soldiers their lives.

The same people who claimed disagreement with the Government was treason, now claim ignoring our own military casualties is patriotic.

The same people who claimed they supported our troops, the same people who claim the right to life of every unborn is sacred, now claim one soldier's life doesn't matter.

I have a hard time understanding these "family values."

Larry,
Maryland


Subj: What's even more pathetic about the Iraq and California comparison.....

...is how Fox counts on its viewers' stupidity to let the statistics cited go unchallenged. Using 2002 population estimates for California, the odds of being murdered were 2,300 out of 34,000,000+; while in Iraq the odds of a soldier dying are 282 (the number of deaths reported as of today) out of the number of troops that have served in Iraq, which if I remember correctly has never been more than 300,000. In other words, 0.007% of Californians were murdered while 0.1% soldiers serving in Iraq have been killed. So much for the soldiers having a statistically speaking less chance of dying.

A BuzzFlash Reader


Subj: fox news -- liars, idiots, or lying idiots?

To: Fox News
From: A "news" consumer
RE: This idiotic Fox story right here:

California Roughly Same Size As Iraq

Two hundred and seventy seven U.S. soldiers have now died in Iraq, which means that, statistically speaking, U.S. soldiers have less of a chance of dying from all causes in Iraq than citizens have of being murdered in California…which is roughly the same geographical size. The most recent statistics indicate California has more than 2,300 homicides each year, which means about 6.6 murders each day. Meanwhile, U.S. troops have been in Iraq for 160 days, which means they are incurring about 1.7, including illness and accidents, each day.

(Click here to see: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95850,00.html)

Dear Morons,

We here on planet Earth have become accustomed to seeing superficial, extraordinarily unfair, poorly researched Republican spin on your so-called news network, but your pack of inbred, slack-jawed drool dispensers have really gone off the deep end on this one.

Either you really are disingenuous enough to make a lifelong politician squirm, or you're obtuse beyond all hope and reason.

Try to figure out this story problem: If Sue moves to California, where there are 6.6 murders per day among a population of 35 million, while John joins the Army and is shipped to Iraq with 150,000 fellow soldiers, 1.7 of whom, on average, die every day (and then gets his pay cut later on in the year because the president needs to give tax breaks to billionaires and their kids, who don't need to join the Army), considering that California and Iraq are roughly the same geographical size, who is more likely to be killed, John or Sue?

The answer, of course, is John, which anyone who has taken a vacation in California recently had already figured out. As with many old story problems from the days when our craniums were still soft, this one has a couple extraneous pieces of information. Knowing that George W. Bush is a selfish, callow chickenhawk who's beholden to his buddies and campaign contributors and couldn't care less about soldiers except as stage props may help you figure out how to vote next year, but it doesn't help you solve this particular problem. Similarly, that California and Iraq are roughly the same size is as relevant as my left buttock.

I gave this story problem to my 5-year-old nephew. He said "poopies" and then delivered the answer with alacrity. If only the fair and balanced former Republican operative and head of your network, Roger Ailes, could see fit to hire him as a fact checker. You might save yourselves some embarrassment down the road.

Incidentally, for those too dense to understand why the answer is "John" (i.e. regular viewers of Fox), the reason is John is one of a group of 150,000 soldiers, while Californians number 35 million. Thirty three million is much bigger than 150,000, so it doesn't matter that 6.6 is a little bigger than 1.7. 6.6/35 million is a very, very small number. 1.7/150,000 is also very small, but much bigger than 6.6/35 million. Thus, Sue's "chance" of being killed is much, much smaller than John's, unless she's getting a ride home from Jenna Bush. Yes, it is kind of embarrassing to have to point this out, but then I didn't change the rules of rational discourse, you did.

Sincerely,

Tom Breuer,
Appleton, Wis.


Dear BuzzFlash,

On page A7. Headline:

Crew Purposely Felled Shiites' Banner, U. S. Commander Says.

I'm surprised to not see this on your site. More lies exposed and more backpedaling by the most backpedaling administration I've ever seen. They should be in a circus. Thanks for BuzzFlash

Your friend,

George Rodriguez
Oxnard, CA


Subj: The Mess in Iraq

Dear BuzzFlash,

Today's terrible explosion in Najjaf proves yet again that Bush has made a terrible blunder in attacking Iraq. He seems to have bitten off more than he can chew, and the situation gets worse by the day. Perhaps it may dawn on his supporters that maybe France was right in insisting that we send in more weapons inspectors before starting this bloody war, and that now we may have to eat a whole lot of humble pie and plead to the UN (the institution that was called irrelevant by the neo-cons) for troops and other forms of help.

A BuzzFlash Reader

P.S. Since our troops are in harm's way and we are shorthanded, perhaps this may be a good time for the pro war supporters including the Limbaughs, O'Reillys, and other loudmouths to volunteer and go over to Iraq and support our troops. After all, they were the so-called patriotic bunch. It is time they showed us how much they love their country.

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