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December 3, 2003 |
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Subj: Bush Trip to Iraq Dear BuzzFlash, A lot of different guesses as to the visit of Bush in Iraq. Most of them give him more credit than he deserves: Political strategy? A thanks to the soldiers?? etc. No, the secret trip looked more like a cops-and-robbers game like the very young boys like it. Susanne
Arends Subj: Radio Ad by The People of Saudi Arabia Dear BuzzFlash, I just wanted to report on a radio ad I heard this morning on our local "light rock" radio station here in Cleveland. The ad featured a Saudi woman explaining, in Arabic with voice over translation, how Saudi Arabia is changing for the better. She compares the old ways to new reforms and likens the movement to that of JFK's space race and Martin Luther King, Jr. "dream" speech, in that these things take time. The ad makes no mention of Al-Qaeda, 9/11, Iraq or the war on terror. The ad says it is paid for by the "People of Saudi Arabia." I couldn't figure out who exactly that was, so there's no telling who is really behind this ad. I'm not making a judgement of any kind, but I find it curious that the Saudi People feel it's necessary to placate our reservations about their politics and philosophy. Just thought you'd be interested. Tom Loveman Subj: Means to An Evil End In response to Paul Krugman’s incredibly important piece about electronic voting machines, I believe what might prove to be the single greatest threat to the continuation of our democracy is this relatively non-complex piece of technology, quite capable, in the hands of such as our present oligarchy, of permanently destroying what has been our evolving democracy. I’m sure that there are some who consider this warning simply another bow to conspiracy nonsense and that as bad as our junta might seem they are certainly not that evil. To those of you who harbor such kind thoughts in your bosoms, I suggest you raise sky-high a monument to the tooth fairy. Our present administration is absolutely capable of outrages limited only by one’s imagination. The sole reason they have not thus far wreaked even more harm in this country and the world is less from lack of desire and trying than from an occasional exposure when their massive secrecy is breached and the outrage simply too great to be ignored. Krugman neatly pins it down and I believe he is, if anything, understating the potential this bit of electronic hardware/software has for completing the task of turning us into a fully fascistic society controlled by corporations for the sake of themselves. Norman
Weinstein * * * From Krugman's "Hacking the Vote": "Early this year Bev Harris, who is writing a book on voting machines, found Diebold software —which the company refuses to make available for public inspection, on the grounds that it's proprietary —on an unprotected server, where anyone could download it. (The software was in a folder titled "rob-Georgia.zip.") The server was used by employees of Diebold Election Systems to update software on its machines. This in itself was an incredible breach of security, offering someone who wanted to hack into the machines both the information and the opportunity to do so." Subj: Bribery Alert on Medicare Vote! I would like to call your attention to an editorial by Robert Novak in the Washington Post on November 28th, titled "Hammering Republicans". In it, Novak describes a blatant attempt to bribe Representative Nick Smith with an offer of $100,000 if he would change his vote on the Medicare bill. When Smith turned down the offer and voted his conscience instead, House Republicans then resorted to blackmail. Clearly, these are criminal actions which must be fully investigated and punished. Whoever tried to bribe the good congressman should be expelled from the House and then frogmarched straight to jail. Novak also describes intense pressure, bordering on bribery and blackmail, on other congressmen. The question then arises of what incentives or threats finally made others change their votes. Will the media follow up aggressively on this story, or will they drop the ball again? This article, by the way, appeared in the printed paper, but I am unable to find it on the Post's website. I finally found it again on Novak's website, so I am pasting the text below. A BuzzFlash Reader _________________
Subj: The Cute Little Story The cute little story about the BA pilot spotting the president's plane, turns out to be just that -- a cute little story (not true). Just like Jessica Lynch rambo/rape/rescue, so many discoveries of WMD, the pre-war threat intelligence, Colin Powell's entire UN speech, virtually every word out of Cheney's and Rice's mouths, and countless other cute little stories we've heard. Where do all these cute little stories come from? The reporters don't make them all up. (If you believe they do, then you'll believe anything, and the Republicans would like you to take a job as a reporter on the WH or DOD beat.) No, these stories are dreamed up and disseminated by the party "political officers" -- as Hitler and Stalin and others used to call them. Welcome to the New American Century. Michael Hi Buzz, Please have the author GK forward this to move on.org for their Bush in 30 seconds contest. It's perfect. Keep up the good work. Rob Subj: Gay Marriage If Republicans are going to make gay marriage an issue, the left should face it head on with a commercial like this:
A BuzzFlash Reader Re: Maureen Farrell I don't think "unhinged" is quite the end point of this debate. I think "polarized" is where it goes. This of course raises the spectre of "Us vs Them" which leads where I think America is really going.....Division, civil disobedience, civil war????? I wouldn't have conceived of this a few years ago but the avenues of free expression and debate vital to your democracy have been shut down (your article illustrates how this has been done..through ridicule, vitriol coupled with control of the means of debate i.e. media). America has never been in such dangerous times, not even during the civil war years. Sadly too many Americans have been rendered so self absorbed and vacuous through years of media conditioning that they fail to notice what is happening to their country, or to themselves. I know you are bashing your collective heads against a brick wall on the so called "liberal left" of American politics (liberal left.....what a typically dumb American media expression that is), but you are the only line of defense against the insanity that prevails today. You may soon have to do a lot more that write to resecure your democracy. I just wish you all the luck and pluck in the world. Paul Subj: A BuzzFlash Call to Action I watched most of the Reagan movie on Showtime the other day, and while it wasn't exactly a great movie, it was about what you would expect from a made-for-TV dramatization. There was plenty about it that hammy, silly, and schmaltzy, but I didn't see anything overtly offensive. So why was it scuttled off to Showtime instead of appearing on CBS? Because a small group of very vocal right wingers threatened to boycott the sponsors of the program, and the network caved in to the pressure. So this makes me wonder -- why is there no organized boycott from the left against the sponsors and networks that carry Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Neal Boortz, and the rest? We complain all the time about the extreme right-wing slant dominating much of the media, but at the end of the day, media is a business, and these shows wouldn't be on the air if there weren't companies lining up to buy the advertising time. If it was that easy to get CBS to cave in on The Reagans, shouldn't we take that up as a call to arms and use the same tactics against that which we find offensive? We need someone like BuzzFlash to promote the idea, organize and publish lists of sponsors we can target, with contact addresses that we can write to. There are more of us than there are of them -- the right wingers just tend to make a whole lot more noise. I think it is time to fight back. Steve Re: It's the Incompetence, Stupid James writes: "Incompetence? Well, he can't find Bin ladin, who is six foot five inches tall and has to receive regular dialysis." - It's been suggested the object of this administration is to *not* find Bin Laden. Finding him might shorten the 'war on terror', both hurting the Pentagon's budget and reducing the excuse for ongoing global imperialism (as well as 'home security' and all the profitable cost cutting repression that entails). The same could apply for Saddam. How hard can it really be to pin him down in an occupied country? Rich Re: Rep. Nick Smith and offer to bribe him Hi Buzz, A piece in my E from MSN Newsletter by Timothy Noah regarding Nick Smith and an attempt to force his vote on the Medicare bill is well worth reading. It appears that Rep. Smith was planning to vote Nay and pressure was brought on him to change his mind, and that pressure included a large 'bribe'. At the close of the piece Timothy asked Rep. Smith to disclose the name of the 'bribe' maker. As a citizen (I am not a lawyer) I feel that a crime has been committed and should be vigorously investigated and prosecuted. No man is above the law--they say, and that is often used in the context of issuing punishment. But it also applies to this crime. Rep. Smith is a witness to a crime and should make full disclosure of that crime and those involved. Rep. Smith may not want to go further with this but that is not his choice. It is for a criminal investigator and the court to decide. It is in the better interest of society to prevent a mockery of our criminal justice system, is it not? If "We the People" allow this crime and the crime of 'outing' Valerie Plame (Treason) to pass without insisting on vigorous investigations of each of those crimes then we are complicit in letting the rule of Law degrade into meaninglessness. As we were told, over and over, by the Repugs in Congress during the Clinton years--"All we want is the truth!"--that is all we should want now and those same Repugs should be with us and shouting the loudest. Best, Cole... Subj: Janklow Hi Buzz: You guys just keep getting better and better. Heard an interesting tidbit on CNN this AM. Janklow will have a lot of witnesses in his defense and guess who was with him right before the accident and probably will testify in his behalf? None other than our fearless champion of the senate - Tom Daschle. Why doesn't that surprise me? Regards, Marlene W. Subj: America Unhinged . . . To: Maureen Farrell I had to tell you that "America Unhinged" is a truly great essay. Unfortunately, it's all too true. As Jack Nicholson said, "Can we take the truth?" I'm not optimistic. Dr Eugene
Thamon Simpson Dear Buzz, Why feed the beast? Let's starve them! Much has been written regarding the sorry media. So why aren't liberals protesting in earnest against them? When will we be proactive and create the biggest movement possible to stop the newsless, sensationalist corporate money grubbing machines from ignoring us -- and more importantly, the real news? Scaife and Moon can afford to perpetuate their propaganda without ever earning a profit. However the networks and cable industry have their shareholders to please. And boy have we learned that life revolves around the shareholders! What if we were to choose a date and cancel our cable and satellite access? Would the suits still be able to dismiss the starving liberal audience if we put a dent in their bottom line? Why not try -- and remain steadfast in our sacrifice until we get a decent solo host that reflects our concerns? Randi Rhodes and Janeane Garafolo come to mind. Think about it. Thousands of people protesting in a way the media cannot ignore. Thousands of liberals pledging to use the money they'll save to support progressive magazines, websites, causes, and candidates. At the very least, shouldn't liberals be rejecting these supposed "news" networks by refusing to watch them let alone email or call in? Every time a liberal confesses to watching or writing to these goons I ask why? Why would you feed the beast? They love it. Sure there will be the addicts and webmasters who can't part with the Daily Show or their cable modems, but couldn't they be the designated Media Reviewers who summarize what the pathetic talking heads focused on that day--or as is the case under Bush -- failed to mention? And just imagine all the free time we'd have to register voters, read more, and educate the public. Oh, and our health! Since Bush's phony war began, my blood pressure is up 20 points. Sadly, I'm sure I'm not alone. If this guy gets elected, we'll all have Irritable Bowel Syndrome! Bill Moyers ended his Friday broadcast with a poignant quote from John Leonard who wrote about the media:
Dear Liberals, we need to act. Let's show that we are willing to make personal sacrifices. Let's give up on the corporate media and stimulate the liberal economy. Mary Subj: hope you are watching daschle stand-up comedy on charlie rose Best laugh of the night: tom said it was a long hard decision not to run for president. Why he should resign as minority leader: even without wmd’s he would have backed bush on the war. That’s all you need to know. A BuzzFlash Reader FW: Fun with google Dear BuzzFlash, Go to www.google.com and search for "miserable failure" See what heads the list Jim P Subj: Body Count Do any of you remember the Nam and exaggerated body counts. I do, I was there. Do you remember the pictures of VC and NVA bodies stacked up with weapons if the troops did hit a high body count? You did not see that the other day when it was reported that our troops had hit and killed over fifty bad guys. The blood trails of the mass amount of wounded that should have been noted when the troops went into the AO for the body count. Sounds like the Nam all over again. Make us look good PR folks, jack up the body counts from eight to eighty so the folks at home think we are doing our job. Graygoosedown1 Subj: The myth of Bush's run-in with a British Airways flight... or How to spot a Liar Since when does Air force 1 fly anywhere, anytime, without a completely sealed full protective circle of air force escorts that would be remiss and derelict in their duty to let anything within sight of Air force 1??? Once again Bush's bogus lies jeopardize our troops, this time by maligning how they do their jobs... Roger Subj: RNC Letter The other day I received a fundraising letter from the RNC addressed to Fellow Republican. Although I am a registered Democrat this is the second one of these letters I have received in the last couple of months. The first one included an 8 x 10 of our impostor in chief and prompted me to write a scathing email to the RNC blasting them for the mailing and telling them in no uncertain terms I was not interested and was embarrassed that my mailman might think I was a republican. This one was called a census and included questions to be answered yes, no and undecided. Some of the questions were worded in such a way that even a liberal democrat would say yes. Things like, "Do you support helping small business to help them grow and add more jobs?" Duh, who doesn't. I guess they have to word these in such a way to get as many yes answers as possible. After a dozen or so questions came the fundraising part. You could answer yes, I will give money, undecided or no. I thought it was quite funny that next to the no box it said "I will support liberal democrats for the next ten years." Naturally I checked this box, wrote all over the letter "TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST, I AM A DEMOCRAT" and mailed it back. Postage paid courtesy of the RNC of course. Mark Podhorzer Subj: Mischief: The devil made me do it, TWICE! Dear BuzzFlash, Last month, while picking up a few items at the supermarket, I passed a display of book offerings. Yes, there were those LBB [lying bastard books] by O'Reilly, Coulter and the likes, all prominently displayed for shoppers who find it necessary to approach the check-out lanes. Imagine that?!!! Around the back of the display and thoroughly buried, was the small book, "Bushisms." I promptly brought the book to the front of the display, then checked out. Last night I was at the same supermarket and the "Bushism" book had been re-buried around the back. Mischievously and once again, I brought it around and placed it in front. Just doing my patriotic job, 'ya know. Driving home, I wondered if a manager or shopper buries the "Bushisms" book. Then a better thought came to me. While there were surpluses of pro-republican books [which didn't seem to be selling] why was there only one "Bushisms" book available? Could it be that a book pointing out Bush's inept use of the English language was sold down to a single copy? A warm, happy, feeling engulfed me and I smiled the rest of the way home. ~ Cathy Subject: Bag Bolton Here is a letter to the Editor in response to the USA Today article on John Bolton: It is frighteningly disturbing that an individual with the temperament and demeanor of John Bolton actually represents our nation in diplomatic matters during these troubling times. In your article "State Dept. hawk has firm hand in policies", cited were two separate observations that may be more than coincidentally linked. Undersecretary Bolton being "a passionate supporter of the military's ballistic missile-defense system" and his "aggressive objections to offering North Korea any rewards for giving up its nuclear bomb program" exposes a serious conflict of interest. Exacerbating an already tense nuclear standoff with a nation that, if equipped with armed ballistic missiles, became a prima facie case for the missile-defense shield leaves too much room for concern regarding Mr. Bolton's efforts to undermine a non-proliferating solution to this very dangerous development. YT Cai Subj: Praise for Christopher Wright's "gop" Dear Buzz, As a writer who is always looking for ways to expand his vocabulary, I want to praise Christopher Wright for his erudite new addition to the English language: the verb "to gop," meaning to deceive, practice massive disinformation, etc., as is routinely done by today's GOP, aka The Republicans. I will now incorporate his new word into my active vocabulary. And I'm not just gopping you when I say that. Jon Krampner Subj: Gay marriages Dear BuzzFlash, The debate about gays and their marriage seems odd to most people in Scandinavia - where it has been a right for many years. You commented on Hannity's response and I remembered a wise comment on this issue: Everybody has some homosexual feeling - by some it is more latent than by other people. The saying continues: the more latent the homosexual tendencies are, the more homophobic some people get. Just watch the hands of Bill O'Reilly and listen to his comments. Best regards, Susanne
Arends Dear BuzzFlash, Saw this on Atrios:
Here's one I did:
Enjoy! Joey Martin Hi Buzz and readers, You have got to be kidding. Chimpy had those troops cramming turkey and stuffing down their throats at 5:30 a.m.? The trials and inconveniences he puts people through for photo ops are disturbing at the very least. And that little embellishment about the British Airways plane - all brought to you by Herr Rove. I'm sure they'll make a move about it. The whole story smells to me. And it's not turkey I'm smelling. Oh well, the day is almost over - I guess I'll go home and have breakfast? By the way, it was a great article you posted yesterday about MoveOn.org. Made me feel empowered. So do you. Knowledge is power. Hooray for BuzzFlash and MoveOn! Barbara in NYC |
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