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Dear BuzzFlash,

A thought: It would make great sense to get the Texas Democrats to fly to LA as a group and stand there as a visual reminder to the people of California of what the right wing is trying to do. The fact that all of them, save one, are black or Hispanic, would send a very strong visual message. How about suggesting it?

Noel

Subj: "Ex-General" Clark

Just a correction. General Clark is not an ''ex-general". He is a retired general, and as such he will always keep his rank, and it is always appropriate to refer to him as "general". It is offensive to refer to him as an "ex", as that implies that something happened to strip him of his rank. We retired military folks would appreciate it if you would change this.

Thanks so much for your great work. I love your website, and look at it several times a day.

Lorraine Gott
MAJ (USA Ret)
Satellite Beach, FL

AND WHERE WERE BUSH AND CHENEY WHILE KERRY AND CLARK WERE GETTING SHOT AT FOR THEIR COUNTRY? OH THAAAT'S RIGHT! BUSH WAS AWOL AND CHENEY HAD BETTER THINGS TO DO! :):) PASS THIS ALONG TO ALL THE MILITARY YOU KNOW AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS AS WELL AS ENEMIES!

KAREN MASSEY IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Subj: Federal Employees Health Insurance Premiums to Rise

Buzz,

Let's see, they get between a 2% and 4% raise and their health insurance premiums go up 10% and the government calls that good news?

[LINK]

Cynthia

Sent to: cnn@cnn.com <cnn@cnn.com>; comments@foxnews.com <comments@foxnews.com>; drudge@drudgereport.com <drudge@drudgereport.com>; cable@msnbc <cable@msnbc>; letters@nytimes.com <letters@nytimes.com>; oreilly@foxnews.com <oreilly@foxnews.com>; letters@washingtonpost.com <letters@washingtonpost.com>

Subj: WOUNDED

THANK YOU ABC...THANK YOU....ABC has just shown what is for me the first coverage of injured AMERICAN FORCES, CIVILIANNS AND SOME ENEMY WOUNDED on the prime time news......hooray FOR THEM....THEY HAVE HAD THE GUTS TO DO WHAT NO ONE ELSE IS DOING....SHOWING THE TRUTH.......thank you ABC.....

DBRIVERWEST

Subj: WORDS OF MASS DECEPTION

Dear BuzzFlash,

George Bush was right! He said that no terrorists can ever buy weapons of mass destruction from Saddam Hussein now - what he failed to follow it up with is that the fact that they cannot buy any WMD at all is that THERE SEEMS TO BE NONE!! This incompetent administration need to apologize BIG TIME to the UN Weapons Inspectors for being impatient and criticizing their work, our Nation for duping us into a messy war, the world for thumbing their noses at them, even leaders like the Pope and Nelson Mandela. The world must now be looking at George Bush for what he really is - A Big Loser!

I watched Rumsfeld and Cheney on the Sunday talk shows and as I saw them bluff, con and act like snake oil salesmen one thing was clear - THEY ARE STILL STANDING BY THEIR LIES.

Whenever this administration talks about these mass graves they found in Iraq (to justify this war), I wish someone would mention that if all the innocent Iraqi people who were killed in this Bush war were put in one large grave it would be an incredible mass grave too!!

A BUZZFLASH READER

Subj: Visit to Mass Grave Site is little more than Public Relations Ploy

Dear BuzzFlash,

Colin Powell's visit to the mass grave site in Iraq on Monday appears to have been staged as a grand public relations opportunity for the Bush Administration ("Powell Visits Mass Grave of Iraqi Victims", Associated Press, September 15, 2003). It was at this site that the bodies of over 5,000 Iraqis were buried; people who were gassed by Hussein because he believed they backed Iran during the Iran-Iraqi war.

The Bush Administration has jumped at the opportunity to send Colin Powell to this location so that he can denounce the atrocities of Saddam Hussein's tyranny and promise that the United States has put an end to such barbarous acts.

However, what the administration hopes we forget is the fact that this, one of Hussein's most despicable acts, occurred in 1988, a time that we considered him an ally. In fact, the majority of the documented instances of Iraq's use of chemical weapons came during the period when we supported him.

Throughout the 1980's, Iraq was at war with Iran, and we supported Iraq because we considered Iran the greater evil. Throughout this time, Hussein used chemical weapons against the Iranians and his own people. While publicly the United States denounced these actions, we never withdrew our support.

Now, in the absence of evidence demonstrating that Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction or links to Al Qaeda the administration is focusing on Hussein's past atrocities to try and convince critics that the Iraq war was justified. While this may provide some good public relations footage for the upcoming campaign trail, it does not hide the fact that Bush based his arguments for the war on the alleged imminent threat that Hussein posed to the United States, not on actions committed fifteen or more years ago.

The Bush Administration is simply attempting to divert attention from the deteriorating situation in Iraq by grandstanding and taking credit for putting an end to barbarous acts that occurred two decades ago when we called Iraq our friend.

Link to article referenced above: [LINK]

John J. Joex

Subj: those derned eyeraqis

[LINK]

So, the U.S. is holding 4,400 people captive who might commit a crime on American troops. Was this not, more or less, the plot of Minority Report where criminals are arrested before they commit the crime? At least we can look forward to the sequel -- Minority Report II: The Ashcroft Years. In this version, Tom Cruise is taken into custody by Ashcroft and forced to drink tap water. The brutality is shocking.

Kyle

Dear BuzzFlash,

Something I want to say to all the whiney republicans who're crying about the California recall election delay...GET OVER IT!

~joe

Subj: Katherine Harris has offered to help in CA Recall

Dear Buzz,

On tonight's MSNBC's Hardball U.S. House Representative David Drier (R-CA) proudly told Chris Matthews how he had spoken with Katherine Harris (R-FL) on the House Floor where she told Drier that she would happy to help with the California Recall in anyway she can!

Nancy Lynn Nagy (TN)

Subj: Praising Arnold

BuzzFlash,

Almost every pro-Arnold Republican I see says that his rise from humble beginnings to international star, despite some moral lapses, is reason enough to put him in charge of the world's fifth largest economy.

Yet there was another man who came from very humble beginnings and was equipped with his own moral lapses, but rose above it all to reach the highest position in the world. However, the pro-Arnold Republicans relentlessly attacked this man who had the same life story as Arnold. His name?

Bill Clinton.

Vishal
Los Angeles

Subj: WP and Wesley Clark

Buzz,

Here they go, the guys at the Washington Post, with a piece on Wesley Clark intended to dampen down any bounce he may get. The guy hasn't even declared yet. It is truly unbelievable to what lengths they will go to to keep the Bush administration in power. Where is the outrage?

[LINK] [LINK]

Peter

Dear BuzzFlash,

Tuesday’s lead mailbag item from James noted that on Me the Press Dick Chen-saw cited an AIE/Zogby poll indicating that most Iraqis want a U.S. style government. If this is the case, then the Chen-liar spun another whopper. The other day Rush Limbaugh was also gleaning through the very same poll making some incredible stretches to sell any positive findings. On the question of government style, Limbaugh indicated that 37% of Iraqis chose an American style democracy, the largest single response. However, 63% of the respondents, and clearly the majority of those polled, selected among four other government styles –Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and one other regional monarchy. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for a new regime that the neo-cons can manipulate.

YT Cai

PS: I got stuck behind a tanker truck yesterday and there happened to be a “Bush”sticker prominently displayed on the back. How appropriate, I thought, that Greasy George was being promoted by some oil company. To my surprise the truck turned out to be a septic tanker. It hit me right away that Bush’s name on a vehicle of this nature was even more deserving. After all, our economy has hit the crapper, Bush has pissed off most of the world (and half of his own countrymen), and the there is an incredible stink emanating from the lies his administration have leeched across the land.

Subj: Where's the Logic Here

The other night I was sitting at home when the doorbell rang. It was a guy I know who lives across town. He punched me in the nose and ran away. The next day I went over to his house but he wasn't at home; so I went to his neighbor's house and punched him instead.

This is the logic of the Iraq war that the administration expects people to accept. The most amazing thing is that they have!

Dennis Mick
Austin, TX

Subj: My Email to Daschle

Dear BuzzFlash:

Below please find an email I just sent to Tom Daschle. I thought I would forward it on to BuzzFlash as well, fyi.

This went to Sen. Daschle on the morning of Wednesday, September 17, 2003, in the wake of newswire reports I've just read that report Sen. Daschle is joining (but, alas, not leading) critics of VP Cheney for Cheney's receiving "deferred" salary payments from Halliburton while Halliburton continues to receive tens of millions of no-bid $$$ from the Cheney Administration for Iraq-related projects.

Kind regards --

Richard Russell Newton

* * *

Dear Senator Daschle:

Thank you for (finally) finding the backbone to stand up to Cheney and his mob of thieves and liars.

This group of mobsters, who've taken over the U.S. government, make Nixon and his plumbers look like choirboys. Somebody in a leadership position MUST stand up to these thugs.

If not you, who? If not now, when? Please be the Leader that you purport to be.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Richard Russell Newton
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Subj: Okla. GOP Platform 2003-Get a barf bag.

There is a copy of the Oklahoma Republican Party platform at:

http://www.gayokc.com/orpplatform03.htm

It is also at the Okla Rep Party Site, but in a different format and you have to jump around a lot. I love the idea that they affirm the ability of a parent without even a GED to teach a child with our tax money, but require all kinds of things for public school teachers.

The number of things they want to control on schools their kids don't even attend is astounding. They want to turn them into parochial schools.

Karen

Subj: Washington Post Clark article

Hey Buzz:

I didn't find that Washington Post article about Clark [LINK] to be as negative as you apparently did. It notes he's brilliant, articulate, talented, and persuasive. That he rubs some people the wrong way is *not* a bad thing! So does Howard Dean. And so did "Give 'em Hell" Harry Truman. Both Clark and Dean have accomplished an awful lot in their respective military and political careers. I think anyone with vision, charisma, and the ability to realize far-reaching goals will always encounter detractors who lack those qualities. One of Clark's supporters even pointed out the jealousy factor and the truth that Clark was simply a cut above most of his peers in the military. I also find it interesting that the military brass who knocked Clark chose to remain anonymous (can I just add an aside that I am SO SICK of journalists quoting "anonymous" sources in the news—it simply means they can't be held accountable for what they spew). The other generals offering positive comments revealed their names. Why are his detractors afraid to claim their statements? Hmmm. Are they afraid he might overlook them when it comes time to make administrative appointments? Just asking.

At any rate, I, for one, am glad Clark is in the game. He is excellent for the Democratic party. And I don't care if he rubs some higher-ups the wrong way. That's politics (and life). That he could hold together NATO and negotiate an agreement is undeniably impressive and in sharp contrast to Bush's absurd and embarrassing dealings with the U.N.

Laura Parsons
Charlottesville, VA