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The BuzzFlash Mailbag will return on December 29, 2003. Have a Happy Holiday!

Subj: Hey!!

I take strong exception to your comparison of Rush Limbaugh to a Neanderthal and a lowland gorilla. What a cheap shot! For one thing, we know that Neanderthals cared for their sick and wounded and probably had a sense of language, culture, and art. Can you say these things about Rush Limbaugh? Probably not.

We also know that lowland gorillas are peaceable creatures who are both highly social and very intelligent. Does that sound like Rush Limbaugh to you? I didn't think so. Also, you must admit that lowland gorillas are much better looking.

Please apologize to Neanderthals and lowland gorillas everywhere for treating them so shabbily.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Ricker

[BuzzFlash Note: Our sincerest apologies go out to all the Neanderthal men and lowland gorillas (and highland gorillas, too) who may have been offended by the comparison. Despite the photographic resemblances, we're certain that all of them are more caring, generous, and peaceful than the drug addict, hypocrite republican who claims to be "on loan from God." ]

Subject: The value of a grain of salt

Hi Buzz,

Over the past three years, since the theft of the Presidency in 2000, we have gone through a protracted process as citizens of what was once a representative and law abiding government, to citizens of a country under siege, no longer ruled by our elected officials, but increasingly by a corporate fascist state. We are now learning to think the way all people under dictatorships have done for ages. We are taking our news increasingly with a grain of salt.

One fact that is mentioned by once oppressed people around the world is that the difference between us Americans and the people who live in a dictatorship is only that we are the ones who don't realize we're being lied to.

But that is now changing. Reading BuzzFlash, as well as it's mailbag, and other sundry weblogs and online information gatherers it has become increasingly obvious that we are getting wiser about the mainstream media and the government information we are getting. Informed Americans are now cognizant of the fact that what we hear is government sponsored propaganda liberally sprinkled with lies and fabrications. In other words, we are joining the ranks of the citizens of the world who now know they are being lied to. The irony of this is that it's the 'informed' among us who know we are not 'informed' with truth or facts anymore.

So BuzzFlash, you and web sites like yours are now the bearers of the truth and the guardians of facts. Your service is immeasurable in it's vital importance. Without you we would be truly in the dark and as ignorant as the citizens of the most controlled dictatorships in the history of the world.

Thank you,

Judith Foster,
Berkeley

Subj: Rightwing High School Students Love Bush

Hey Buzz,

Check out this article about a Conservative Club of high school students in Cotate, CA who are very well versed in the language of hate, divisiveness and racism. It's very very sad. I've sent them your commentary about the draft, and several other links I've collected regarding the draft reinstatement. I don't have hope that it will change their minds, however. They have been poisoned, by wingnut parents, no doubt.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35852

By the way, when the first website came out asking for draft board members, I immediately signed up. I've received my package, and will be sending it in soon. If by some miracle John Ashcroft's goons don't discover that I am a political activist and I wind up on a deferment board, I will vote for deferment for every single person who comes before me.

Impeach Bush.

A loyal long-time BuzzFlash Reader

Subj: Pretty soon you're talking about real money

Yesterday's CNN QuickVote question at http://www.cnn.com:

Is "Code Orange" worth the estimated $1 billion a week in additional security costs?

Translation of today's CNN QuickVote question:

Is it worth $1 billion a week to distract us from everything that's wrong with the Bush administration?

Answer:

Apparently so.

Patricia

Subj: Rush

Is it just me or does Rush Limbaugh's whinning about being singled out for political reasons sound like a minority person playing the race card when accused of wrong-doing? By his argument, any celebrity being faced with criminal charges, could argue that he or she is being persecuted for who they are.

If there is a question that he went "doctor shopping," how can authorities determine that or dismiss it without access to his medical records? For a man whose earlier remarks revealed no sympathy for others in his current situation, one would think he would want to "clear the air" once and for all.

Mike Brown
Waco, TX

Subj: The Military Draft as a Campaign Issue

Dear BuzzFlash:

I have been following the news relating to a possible reinstitution of the military draft with great interest, as I believe that it is highly likely to occur, given the Bush administration’s foreign policy based on permanent war. I also believe that this can become a “hot button”issue for young people and their families once they realize that they or their loved-ones may be called upon to serve and die.

The challenge for Democrats is to spread the word that a draft will only be necessary if the Republican “War”Party is returned to power, as it is the administration’s clear goal to find wars to fight, not to avoid. This will not be a simple task, as the Repubs will, of course, deny everything, and there will be little help from the corporate media. Hence, the word will have to be spread at a grass roots level by web sites such as BuzzFlash, and by student activists on campus. The latter group must begin sowing the seeds of draft anxiety immediately in order for them to germinate in time for the 2004 elections. Hopefully, such ground work is already underway.

Robert Goldstein

Subj: Bush and the Draft

To the editors:

I just read your editorial regarding Bush and the draft for 2005 - this is one of the most important editorials I've read anywhere during the entire year (I read a LOT of editorials from all sorts of publications).

I really, truly hope you are sending this out to colleges all over the United States - I agree with every word you have written, and perhaps it would be a bit of a wake-up call for those young Republicans who are going to be the next installment of cannon fodder in the Wars for World Domination.

I'm so sad that there are so many misinformed young people - for they are surely the ones who will bear the greatest burden should Bush's tyranny be allowed to continue.

Yours very truly,

Joanne Giza
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

In yesterday's mailbag, Brent writes:

The "Wino Club" doesn't even need to make up anything, just lay the guy's record out and that alone should beat him into a screaming coma. But no, they go after each other -- sad indeed.

First off, if you removed Gephardt, Lieberman, and Kerry from the campaign, it would be much more civil. The problem is not Democrats attacking each other, but rather that these three Democrats do not wish to help the party or the republic if they don't get to be the nominee.

When you have someone who can be civil even if it isn't the best " strategy" for winning, then that's someone who augments our party and republic just by being in the race. This does not mean never saying anything uncomplimentary about another Democrat, but it means that if you say something uncomplimentary you do it sincerely and because you believe it matters.

General Clark can say that the other guys never stared down a tyrant. Representative Kucinich can say that no other candidate cast a nay vote on the Iraq invasion. Etc. These comparisons are sincere and factual.

As for laying out the Unelected Traitor's record and hoping he will deny, I'm not sure Bush would do what one would expect. He is very good at getting away with not addressing an issue. Bush knows that if he is being forced to affirm or deny a charge, it does not matter whether the charge is true or not. If he affirms the charge, voters will associate him with whatever was alleged. If he denies the charge, voters nevertheless with associate him with the allegation. This is what happened to Nixon when he denied being a crook. That's not how Bush wants to end up, so he will go between the horns of the dilemma. He will neither affirm nor deny the charge.

Back in the 2000 race, this is what Bush did with the question of whether he had abused cocaine. He never said he had, and he never said he hadn't. What he _did_ say made it clear that he _had_ abused the substance, but you had to follow a chain of inference to get there. He avoided getting himself labeled a cokehead in the heads of most voters.

Barry Schwartz

Subj: NPR caves; Bill Moyers forced into "apology" by big corporate bullies

Hey Buzz,

Have you read the corporate bully job on PBS which caved and forced Bill Moyers to apologize when no apologize is necessary on a story of local corruption involving GE, the Berkshire Eagle, local pols and boosters and the singularly reptilian Dean Singleton? Here is the new freedom of the press: if the corporates or the right wingers or the theocrats don’t like it, they will sue. Play it their way or No Play.

Thom Prentice

Subj: 14 y.o. kid burns storage housing Bush boat engine; feds prosecute

In this period of "Red" terrorism warnings, why hasn't CNN, Fox and the other networks reported this possible "terrorist act" that raised " national security concerns" in Kennebunk, Maine, and precipitated a unique federal prosecution and near-instant conviction of a 14 year-old kid????

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/23/national/23JUVE.html?th

KENNEBUNK, Me., Dec. 18 - It was supposed to be simple, breaking into a small boatyard near here and stealing a marine radio to monitor police frequencies.

But when the two intruders, Patrick V., 14, and his accomplice, Christopher Conley, 19, spotted what they thought were video surveillance cameras, they panicked and set fire to the building, burning it down along with several boats and engines. Unknown to them, one of the boat engines belonged to former President George Bush, whose summer house is seven miles away.

Within days of the July 2002 fire, Secret Service and other federal agents were at Patrick's house here. His mother, Denise Collier, said they told her that the young men had "blown up the president's boat" in what might have been "a terrorist act." One federal firearms agent told her, Ms. Collier recalled, that the incident had raised " national security concerns."

Patrick then found himself in a highly unusual predicament. Instead of being tried in local juvenile court, he was turned over to the United States attorney's office in Portland, tried in Federal District Court and found guilty. He was given the maximum sentence allowed: 30 months incarceration, followed by 27 months of probation. He was then sent to a maximum security juvenile facility in Pennsylvania on the order of the federal Bureau of Prisons.

<...snip...>

Nice to see that Ashcroft's federal prosecutors have so much free time on their hands, and their American justice system is so fairly applied. (NOT!)

--Jim

Subj: Warning

To the person who thought it was strange that the alert did not come until after all the Sunday morning shows...I think it is just strange, period...It seems like Tom Ridge just does not want us leaving our "environment" at all....maybe he had a little "in" with the retailers....they are doing so bad...maybe if we stay here he thinks that we will buy more goods, so the numbers will go up for actual retailers, and not just for Stocks...You see, the rich tend to invest...ergo the stock markets rise when the Rich have more money...but, if the middle man and the downtrodden buy goods, it is better for retailers....just a thought...it is curiouser...and curiouser!! Must just be me!!

Dee Turner....I am with you, and I really do not know which of those guys could beat the little chimp...but, by golly, if Dean with his economic experience and his "stand up to the chimp" attitude....and Clark with his foreign policy experience cannot beat the little twit...we may as well call it a day...and go down with the ship.

A prayer would be that the two would come together and decide it is more important to beat him than either one of them be the President...Dean is younger...they can work it out so that they can be equal presidents and vice presidents...like Clinton and Gore...Oh!, for the good old days. (Dee, Dean and Clark are my choices, too!)

And, of course, Clark did say the other day that he would kick the shit out of him... so, that will maybe make the chimp start to think....but, then again, I am a conspiracy theorist....I am fearing more and more that this thing, if Bush's Diebold contributors get to fix the voting machines...what the hell can we do???

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

PS: I have read that the two of them have discussed it...and I am not sure that they are just trying to keep it quiet...or that they both want to be prez so bad...they won't consider it...we must make them think it is best for us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We gotta!!!!!!!

Subj: King George goofs

I went here - a nifty little site allowing Bush minions to become willing participants in a PR scam just like the military pulled with all the "Rosy in Iraq" letters:

http://www.georgewbush.com/GetActive/WriteNewspapers.aspx?aid=102

I've written my own little letter, and I'm hoping to stir up a few more mischievous lefties, and get them to get creative with this. I'm hoping you'll mention this scam of theirs so they can be beaten (or at least embarrassed by) their own game.

My letter, sent to about a dozen local papers, courtesy of George:

I am writing this, believe it or not, from George Bush's campaign website. When I click "send," dozens of newspapers will get a copy of what I write here.

There is even a little menu to the side of this form that will allow me to select pre-written text to add to this letter. Here's a sample:

"As a nation, we have watched helplessly as parts of America were devastated by wildfires that displaced families, ruined communities and took lives. In the past two years alone, 147,049 fires burned nearly 11 million acres. The President understands the necessity to manage forest and rangelands to protect the land and prevent further destruction caused not only by fires, but also disease and infestation of insects."

I didn't write that. Some clever marketer for George W. Bush wrote that - but to dozens of papers, it will look like a letter from an ordinary citizen.

I can't say I'm shocked. This is exactly what I'd expect from a politician who has proved a better pitch-man than President. We don't need out own opinions any more - Big Brother will provide them for us.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Rose Emick
Vacaville, Ca

Hi Buzz,

One of the many horrible legacies of the Bush administration is the "boy who cried wolf" mentality that a lot of people have developed over these endless yet very timely and convenient terror alerts. This can translate into something very dangerous someday. I'm not trying to be a fear monger, but it's a sad state of affairs when your own government gives you a terror warning and all you can do is laugh. Two years ago, I never dreamed that I could act so cavalier over terrorist warnings. No, not after standing there and watching the towers come down. But this is where the exploitation ad nauseum has brought me and a lot of other Americans. There ought to be a high price to pay for playing with peoples' minds like that, but for now, I'll settle for a regime change.

Everyone at BuzzFlash, readers, writers, etc. and all of your families have a wonderful holiday season. Thanks for being there, Buzz. I don't normally make New Years resolutions, but this year I think we all need to have one very big one and we all know what it is. Let's make it happen in '04. Rest up - we'll need lots of energy.

Barbara in NYC

Subj: Bush's Motto

FALSA IN UNO, FALSA IN OMNIBUS
(False in one thing, false in all)

Roger

Subj: Harris Poll

Dear BuzzFlash:

I'm glad that you carried the article about the Harris poll result that shows Bush not getting much of an uptick from the Saddam capture. There were a couple of quick overnight polls after the capture, which showed a spike upwards for Bush. But boy oh boy, did the media sycophants ever have a wild field day with that -- as premature as it turned out to be. That upwards spike was all that anyone heard about on the news for a week straight. Now, as it turns out, the initial overnight polls were highly deceptive and misleading. It is so sad and pathetic that the news networks in this country have essentially lapsed into a state-controlled propaganda mechanism for the ruling party.

BuzzFlash reader

Subj: Regarding Mad Cow

Greetings:

I am the author of a definitive book chapter on Mad Cow disease, published in "Everything You Know is Wrong," (Disinformation Company, 2002). If you are planning on headlining the Mad Cow news out of Washington State, please don't believe that this is the "first" case.

If you would like to link to my story, it's posted on my website (gabekphoto.com). The direct link is:

http://www.gabekphoto.com/stories.htm click on "Bovine Bioterrorism"

You may also want to link to PR Watch and John Stauber's excellent "Mad Cow USA" info page, as well as Purefood.org's Mad Cow site run by Dr. Michael Gregor:

http://www.purefood.org/madcow.htm

Peace,

Gabe Kirchheimer

Subj: Holier Than Thou

The arrest of a woman in Texas by undercover cops whom she sold a vibrator to is another reminder of the fact that Republicans and conservatives are among the stupidest, most ignorant people in the world. Here it is 2003 and they still believe they can legislate morality. "Make vibrators illegal and people will stop using them!" "Make homosexual sex illegal and gays will turn straight!" "Make unmarried sex illegal and single people will stop having sex!" That kind of ignorance is downright scary.

Shirley D. Jackson
Portland, Oregon

Hi Buzz,

I ask that you constantly remind all the other buzzers out there to get involved in the electoral process. And that means getting off the internet!

Sure, the web is a great tool for organizing and obtaining information and knowledge, but when it comes to getting people out to vote against Republicans and against Bush this work must be done on the ground.

In 2000, I think I spent too much time on the web when I should’ve been doing more to get people to the polls. So, whether it’s volunteering for a candidate’s campaign or for a political party, the fact is it will take real-world actions to beat back the Bushes.

The GOP has been organizing at the grassroots level for a long time, hence the control they have and the damage they’re doing. We need to get ourselves out on the ground and engage in metaphorical combat with them, because there’s way too much at stake to trust that others will do the hard work.

It is the duty of anyone who opposes Bush to put in the time necessary to oust him.

Sincerely,

Mike Kress
Spokane, WA

Subj: UPI Story

"Next time you eat a hamburger remember you are betting your life that George Bush is Telling the truth"

USDA refused to release mad cow records

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Although the United States Department of Agriculture insisted the U.S. beef supply is safe Tuesday after announcing the first documented case of mad cow disease in the United States, the agency for six months repeatedly refused to release its tests for mad cow to United Press International.

Paul

Subj: MSNBC pulled web page showing USA War Casualties.

Hello BuzzFlash,

I am a past contributor to BuzzFlash.com and I am hoping you can bring attention to something very disturbing regarding MSNBC.com.

After Saddam was captured MSNBC discontinued their web page listing the coalition casualties.

This is one of the web pages I visited every day to remind myself one of the many reasons why I am against the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

This site that I visited regularly was the MSNBC site that has been keeping the name of dead soldiers since Bush announced 'Mission Accomplished'. Lately the list was getting very long. The list contained the date killed, name of soldier, age, hometown, and incident.

Since the capture of Saddam MSNBC has stopped this maintaining this web page. Actually, MSNBC has discontinued this web page completely and have erased all references to it. It no longer exists, and when I search the MSNBC web site I can no longer even find a reference to the old web page.

How can I bring awareness to the fact that MSNBC has stopped publishing the names of the war dead? It is as if the capture of Saddam was used as an excuse for discontinuing this list. It is as if they no longer care about the soldiers or no longer care to publish that soldiers are dying. Maybe you can get one of the MSNBC personalities to look into this for their network.

The web address was: http://www.msnbc.com/news/924214.asp?0cb=-11b133943

After this note I am going to send you a PDF file that contains a copy of this web page. I created this PDF file on September 13, 2003, but the web page was maintained until the capture of Saddam. I want you to see what this site use to contain.

Can you bring attention that MSNBC to discontinue this web site?

Please let me know if you do not get a copy of the reference PDF file. If you write back, please know I will respond in a timely fashion.

Thank you,

Peter Enrico

* * *

Follow-Up Email

BuzzFlash,

This is in reference to the previous note I sent complaining that MSNBC discontinued listing the war dead on their web site.

I've attached to this email a PDF file (280k) that contains a snapshot of this web page. The snap shot was taken September 13, 2003, but the web page was maintained up until the capture of Saddam.

Again, can you find out the motivation of why MSNBC discontinued this web page? You would figure the advertising they did on this page would have paid for the maintenance of the page. You would have thought that since this war is bringing their station ratings the least they can do is publish the names of the war dead.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Many thanks,

Peter Enrico