 |
|||||
|
January 22, 2004 |
|||||
Important Note: Because we can't always determine your intentions, we need to ask a favor of you when you send us email. If you DO NOT WANT YOUR EMAIL PUBLISHED in the Mailbag or in the Contributors section, please write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the Subject line or at the top of your email. That way we'll know it's just a comment to BuzzFlash. Additionally, if you submit a mailbag item and DO NOT WANT YOUR NAME associated with your submission, sign your email, "A BuzzFlash Reader." If you send email unsigned, we will post your name with your submission, or, if that's not available, your email name (not the full address, just what's on the left side of the email address). Please try and keep your word count under 400. We can only post a small percentage of what is sent to us. The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. Thanks again for your email and your patience.
THIS IS PART 2 OF THE JANUARY 22, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. CLICK HERE FOR PART 1. Subj: So roids are bad, huh? Thanks a lot! Dear Buzz, Was the State of the Union running a few minutes short during the planning stages? How else can the bizarre and surreal addition of a rant against steroid use (without mention of a solution, mind you) be explained? During the rant, I thought I saw tiny sparks coming from behind Bush's head as a panic ridden but cool Cheney inconspicuously fiddled with his "presidential remote control". I'm speculating that Bush's speech writers finally agreed to the subject of anti-steroid use after mulling over the following subjects: *Waiting at least 30 minutes before getting into the water...coming out FOR it. *Crossing before looking both ways...coming out AGAINST it. *Locking dogs in vehicles during the summer...coming out AGAINST it. *Drinking 8 glasses of water a day....FOR it. *MSG levels in Chinese Buffets...AGAINST it. *Reading the daily newspaper...AGAINST it. Eric Subj: State of the Union Dear BuzzFlash: I have found it way too expensive to watch Mr. Bush on television....I am unable to replace the television every time I throw something through it................... Mary in Indiana Subj: Carville Interview Just in the opening quote, prior to the actual interview, Carville comments on the RNC ad that morphed Tom Daschle into Saddam Hussein. Isn't this the same Saddam Hussein that Junior and Unka Dick have said in several speeches was as bad as Hitler? If A = B and B = C, the A = C So if Daschle = Saddam and Saddam = Hitler, then the neoRNC has said that Daschle = Hitler!! Isn't that 'hate speech?' And if anyone knows about hate speech, it's the ol' neoRNC (Rush, Coulter, Savage, DeLay, an' all them folks at the WSJ Op-Ed page, just to mention a few, like the Silbermans, Babs Olson, Lynn Cheney, Laura Ingraham, Michael Reagan, Bill O'Really...boy, the list just goes on and on and on...) Oh, but that science in the classroom is even worse than that old hate speech, ain't it?! A BuzzFlash Reader Subj: Attacks on Moveon.org Dear Buzz and BuzzFlash Readers: I know there are so many letters to write, calls to make, and so many organizations that need money. I have given more money and written more letters this year than at any time in my whole adult life. PLEASE do everything you can to defend Moveon.org vociferously to every media organization. There is a concerted effort by the ranting and raving Right to discredit and demonize Moveon.org. This just shows you how threatening Moveon is to them. The Right cannot stand that we are organizing successfully, thanks to organizations like Moveon.org and websites like BuzzFlash. I just heard an interview on Fresh Air today with someone named William Green from www.rightmarch.net, and they are determined to undermine Moveon.org. (Just look at this website; these people are nuts. Nuts wouldn't be so bad, but they are dangerous.) Bill O'Reilly is always on Moveon's case as well. Some writer on Newsmax or some site like that claimed Moveon was connected to the World Socialist Party. So the echo chamber is on and they are turning up the volume. Please don't let them defame Moveon.org. We liberals have to be much more proactive about defending ourselves, our views, and our organizations. A disclaimer: I am a member of Moveon.org, and what this means to me is that I get email from them and I can participate in their online activities. I gave them a couple of donations. I don't have any other connection to them other than to be very grateful for their existence. Leslie Smith Subj: CNN SOTU Feedback CNN is saying the reaction to Bush's speech was significantly less positive (45%) than it was to Clinton's SOTU right after the Lewinsky scandal broke. (52%) Rosamond Subj: Same Sex Marriage
The President and those supporting a constitutional ban on same sex marriage encourage a confusion between a "sanctified" religious union, which confers no legal rights, and a civil union, which does. Having laws that confer upon Gay couples legal protections enjoyed by heterosexual couples has absolutely nothing to do with the "sacred" bond of marriage. Sacredness is no part of a civil union, nor should it be. So let those concerned with preserving the sanctity of marriage address this concern in the only appropriate arena --- within the confines of a religion. And let supporters of civil unions promote their view in the legislature and in the courts. Any conflict here is artificial: no erosion of "sacredness" can take place if civil unions are recognized, and no denial of legal rights is entailed by an affirmation of the sanctity of marriage. The President's call for a constitutional amendment banning gay civil unions shows that his true desire is not to "defend the sanctity of marriage," but to deny the protections of the constitution to Gay citizens of the Republic. Albert Clark, NY Subj: Another Potential Lie In The State Of The Union Address It appears that Bush lied again this year in his State of the Union Address. He listed Norway as a member of the Coalition of the Willing. They are not. See link below: http://www.geocities.com/pwhce/willing.html Or, they may be a silent member of the coalition who wished to be a member in secrecy. In which case Bush outed an ally. Way to go W. Mr. President, Norway on the line, they sound pissed! Lance Collins Hi Buzz, I love James Carville and the interview was wonderful - I only wish it were longer, but I suppose I'll be buying his book pretty soon. He seems to be very impressed with you guys at BuzzFlash. I like the way he put it - you guys are the candle-lighters. Maybe sometime you can take him up on his offer to help somehow - BuzzFlash and the Ragin' Cajun. What a team that would make. The candle-lighters and the mouth that roared. Who knows? I also love the one about bitch-slapping the bitches! Keep slapping. Barbara in NYC Subj: Letter/Viewpoint It's increasingly becoming apparent to me that when president Bush tells us that the economy is recovering, that our country is operating in two different economic worlds. There's the economy of the privileged insider that Bush hails from, and there's the economy of the working class. Bush claims that the economy is recovering but in the working class economy consumer debt is at an all time high and personal bankruptcies are also near record levels. Job growth remains virtually nonexistent as more and more jobs are exported overseas. Additionally, 8 million hard-working Americans may soon lose overtime pay, thanks to the president's omnibus spending bill. We struggle to meet our financial obligations, while the president borrows and spends, and won't be in office when the creditors come a callin'. On the other hand, in Bush's corporate fat-cat economy things couldn't be better. The president's tax cuts have dramatically reduced the dividend tax for wealthy stockholders along with reducing the estate tax for the mega rich. The president's tax cuts equated to a tax break of $304 for the lower 60% of taxpayers, but have resulted in an average tax break of over $112,000 for the top 1%. Environmental laws have been relaxed so that corporate executives can further line their pocket, while we in the working class economy have to breath the polluted air. The president as well as the corporate fat-cats get month-long vacations, while we in the working class economy work through our vacations (if we get one at all) in order to make ends meet. Big corporations are seeing increased productivity due to workers being made to work harder with no commensurate increase in compensation. And with the president's proposed amnesty for illegal aliens the big corporations can now look forward to being able to continue to cheaply hire foreign workers but won't have to worry about breaking the law. It's clear that the president comes from and governs for a completely different economic world from the one the rest of us exist in. Lance Collins Subj: Howard Dean ABC's coverage of the Dean campaign (and their attacks on Dean) wouldn't be effected by Dean's proposal to break up corporate media, would it? Ken Melvin Subj: Who will get this message out? Dear BuzzFlash, Tuesday night we heard Bush’s state of the union address. Last year it was all about the WMD. Toward the middle of the year, this had turned to WMD programs. Now, all of a sudden, In the state of the union address, Bush is lauding the fact that the, "Kay Report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities." At this rate, by June he'll be touting the fact that we've identified thousands of mentions of weapons of mass destruction-related program activity proposal ideas. And by the election, we'll have uncovered innumerable weaponizable programs of massively destructive idea-like activities. Needless to say, I am not surprised that the president is distancing himself from his claims of last year. However, I am a little surprised and disappointed that everyone seems to have let this particular turn of phrase slip through without a notice. Let’s look at it again. Weapons of mass destruction-related program activities Now what exactly is a program activity which is related to weapons of mass destruction? Is it a bomb? No, that is a weapon, not an activity. Is it an operational plan to build WMD? No, that is a WMD program. Hmm? Could it be discussions with scientists about their plans and ability to revive the long-dead programs to build WMD? Maybe that’s it. But it’s not an active program, and it certainly is not a looming threat. With this in mind, I have written a commercial. One that I think could be very effective in calling attention to the hypocrisy of this administration and the folly of this war in Iraq. Fade in: A collage of 500 faces of military persons fills the screen. A bell tolls as we hear the president’s voice. GEORGE W. BUSH: Weapons of mass destruction. The camera quickly zooms in on a lone face from the crowd. A description of the person appears on the screen as the camera pulls slowly back. (The names and descriptions in this sample are bogus. In the actual ad real names and real stats would be listed.) CHYRON: Paul Donatello Father of two Killed in Iraq because George W. Bush said "Weapons of Mass Destruction." A bell tolls as we again hear the president’s voice. GEORGE W. BUSH: Weapons of mass destruction. The camera again quickly zooms in on another solitary face from the crowd. CHYRON: (as the camera pulls back) Marie Planter Mother, wife Killed in Iraq because George W. Bush said "Weapons of Mass Destruction." A bell tolls as we again hear the president’s voice. GEORGE W. BUSH: Weapons of mass destruction. The camera again quickly zooms in on another solitary face from the crowd. CHYRON: (as the camera pulls back) Danny Zucker Son, friend, fiancee Killed in Iraq because George W. Bush said "Weapons of Mass Destruction." A bell tolls as we again hear the president’s voice. GEORGE W. BUSH: Already the Kay Report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities. CHYRON: (Appearing as the president speaks) State of the Union Address, January 21, 2003 The camera again quickly zooms in on another solitary face from the crowd. CHYRON: (as the camera pulls back) Thomas Simpson Teacher, brother, uncle Killed in Iraq because George W. Bush said "Weapons of Mass Destruction." The screen fills with the full compliment of 500 CHYRON: WMD A bell tolls GEORGE W. BUSH: (as he speaks additional letters are added to the screen) Weapons of mass destruction-related CHYRON: WMDR GEORGE W. BUSH: program CHYRON: WMDRP GEORGE W. BUSH: activities. CHYRON: WMDRPA The picture of the 500 soldiers fades leaving only the six letters on the screen. Another legend appears below the six letters. CHYRON: Would any of them have died if Bush had said, "Weapons of Mass Destruction-Related Program Activities," last year? ### Unfortunately, I don’t have the technical wherewithal to produce the ad. If anyone wishes to produce it, please do. You have my blessings. Joe Humbleo Subj: 'Pearls of Wisdom' from Richard Perle Hello again to BuzzFlash and to all BuzzFlash readers, After having listened to the Right Wing distort and fabricate General Clark's position on the Iraq War, I thought I would once again expose the Right Wing Lemmingdompubbiehood for the un-patriotic phonies they are. I read the other day the 9-26-02 Congressional testimony on the build up to the Iraq war. General Clark (D-Veteran, 4-stars) and Neocon Hawk Richard Perle (R-Transylvania) testified together, and it was quite an exchange. It is clear from his measured, well-conceived testimony what General Clark's stance was, and it was equally clear how sanctimonious and arrogant Richard Perle was (and still is). What Right Wingers should do on the matter of General Clark's position is to ask the following question: -Why, if General Clark supported the war in Iraq, did Richard Perle SO STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH HIM during their side-by-side testimony? And WE should all ask THIS question: -Why are the Right Wingers and some Democrat opponents (Lieberman and Dean in particular) being SO DISHONEST about General Clark's statements? All anyone has to do is ACTUALLY READ his testimony, and compare his position with that of Perle's. Doesn't the Right Wing think that this can be researched (strong hint to Right Wingers . . . try Google, it's not that difficult) ?!? We could even pull a few 'pearls' from that very same testimony of Richard Perle himself, such as: "I think it is one of the dumber clichés, frankly, to say that force must always be a last resort" "So, I think General Clark doesn't want to see us use military force, and he has thrown out as many reasons as he can to develop for that, but the bottom line is he just doesn't want to take action. He wants to wait." "So, the idea that we will be better off with an inspection regime than acting on the basis of the knowledge we already possess seems to me quite misplaced" "He [Clark] seems to be preoccupied - AND I AM QUOTING NOW [emphasis GK's] - with building legitimacy, with exhausting all diplomatic remedies . . . relegating the use of force as a last resort, to building the biggest coalition; in short, a variety of very amorphous ephemeral concerns . . ." "What I was labeling was the unavoidable conclusion that you think inspections can work, and I think the overwhelming evidence is that they can't." "But, the bigger problem in my view has been a stunning lack of competence among our own intelligence agencies. They simply proved incompetent in this area and I have testified on this theme several times over the last 10 or 15 years." "Let me first observe that when it comes to inspections that are so obviously flawed, my friend and colleague [General Clark] is wildly optimistic. When it comes to dealing with problems that we are quite right to anticipate, he is wholly pessimistic. And, I think the only conclusion you can draw is that he has come down on the side of waiting, of resorting to the dream that inspections will solve this problem." "The President, Secretary Powell, Secretary Rumsfeld and, most recently, British Prime Minister Blair have all spoken in recent days about the urgency of dealing with the threat posed to the American people and others by Saddam Hussein." I could have added three times as many 'Pearls of Wisdom' such as the above, but my point is made. Warmest Regards, GK, a Fervently Loyal, Devoted and Proud Liberal BuzzFlash Reader Subj: TV Dinner
Chewgababy Subj: Sound Familiar? Dear BuzzFlash, I was looking up a pronunciation yesterday and on the same page was this:
Hmmmmm....does any of this sound familiar? We're getting closer every day. Barb in Portland, Oregon Subj: Mission to be Accomplished " Would Americans have supported a war to go get 'program activities?' What is a program activity?" Ha! That's why the mission to Mars. That's where you'll find the program activities. That's where the weapons of mass destruction are. And that, dear reader, is where the yellow cake uranium from Niger with a shipping label to Saddam went. A BuzzFlash Reader Subj: Why do we wonder why Bush sidesteps the 911 investigation?? There are articles on Buzz regarding the ignoring of the investigation of 911: by Conason, Carville, Lyons...many well respected and learned people, at least people whom I think of as intelligent. Why do we wonder why George Bush is evading any investigation of 911?....Only those who have something very important, be it lax or evil, will sidestep an investigation of something that has changed the entire United States. Our lives will never be the same...ever, because of that single event. I am amazed that no one pushes the investigation...people who could...even to the senators and congressmen who are running for President against this man... I fear, we will never know, why 3 thousand people died that day....why the Fcc and Norad failed so horribly..from what I have heard, Norad was even told to Stand down.. why????????? It sometimes keeps me awake at night...most people just go about their day, even those who have no intention of voting for Bush....but, it does not keep them awake at night. It grows, too! It gets worse! As days go by...with no investigation in sight, and hope for one...I wonder if I will ever know ...will anyone my age ever get to know, and understand why it happened???? As Billy O says....I wish to Opine many times about this...and drag out the truth from the belly of the beast...whom I think may live in the White House!!! Shirley..................St. Louis Subj: The Shah of Iraq Last year they went on and on about Bush's 16 little words regarding Iraq's trumped-up nuclear capabilities. I noticed this year that there something very conspicuously missing from his State of the Union campaign speech - the timeline for the exodus of our troops from Iraq. I haven't seen ANY pundits point that out. It's almost as if our occupation of Iraq no longer has any significance. I guess we may as well make it our 51st State. When Bush is retired from running us aground here in the U.S., he should go over there and take his rightful place on the throne as the Shah of Iraq. -oc Subj: WTF??????
Rosamond Subj: Question It's been an exciting news driven few days and this seems to have been lost in the dust storm. Recall that the day before the Iowa Caucus, several high ranking Republicans flew into Iowa. They said their purpose for doing so was to put out Bush's message because the Democrats had been dominating the news with their message. Then we don't hear anything from them. They then have to be back in DC the next night for the State of the Union. So, what were they doing there? Darwin Subj: Another State of the Union speech....and another set of lies. Here is a list of the “coalition of the willing”(so called) and their respective contributions. Again, George Bush lied in his State of the Union speech by saying “Some critics have said our duties in Iraq must be internationalized. This particular criticism is hard to explain to our partners in Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, the Netherlands, Norway, El Salvador, and the 17 other countries that have committed troops to Iraq.” Why do we continue to allow him to get away with these lies?
A loyal BuzzFlash reader - Diedrick
Rucker Subj: The Grand Hypocrisy of Bush's "Immigration Reform." Hi Gang. A thought occurred to me while working on my copy of "George Bush's Connect the Dots Puzzles for Everything" [that's a bit of fiction but you know how each page would look: National Security: no dots to connect, the Economy: you start at the highest number and go backwards, etc. I may even make one up just for you to post on your site.] Bush wants to allow illegal immigrants into our country to work jobs we can't afford to take but yet allows big business to take jobs we need to be moved overseas to be performed by cheap labor. That would be called "Insourcing," would it not? A BuzzFlash Reader Subj: Tom Delay Meets Lou Dobbs Hi Gang. I was watching the Lou Dobbs report on CNN tonight and after he finished interviewing Nancy Pelosi, Lou got to Tom DeLay. I was waiting for a set-up and lo and behold, I got it. After asking Delay about things said by Shrub in the Distaste of the Union Address, Dobbs went right to the jugular. " What do you say about the current trend towards companies outsourcing jobs out of this country? 2.3 million American workers are out of jobs and now it looks like the jobs they once had are going overseas." DeLay's answer and I do not paraphrase: " Uh, er...ah...(Crap! I wasn't coached on this answer!)...well you know...in a global economy, there are shifts and trends...(Come on, Tommy Boy...get a grip on yourself!)...and...ah..." I'm serious - DeLay didn't expect that question at all and gave the typical "I can neither confirm or deny events which may or may not have taken place concurrently it is imperative that we absolve the debasing of our...." answer. You know the one - the one that uses a lot of words but says absolutely nothing. I especially enjoyed Dobbs' cock-headed, mouth slightly open, "I don't believe what you just said" look at the end of the interview. Wish you could have seen it. A BuzzFlash Reader Subj: WMDRPA "weapons of mass destruction-related program activities." Let's see... if an engineer is drawing schematics for various long range rockets and I own a company that makes the graph paper the engineer uses does that mean I'm involved in an activity that is related to a program of weapons of mass destruction? Rosamond Subj: Do my eyes and ears deceive me, or is that some democratic rebellion rising? Dear BuzzFlash, It was all I could do to just sit there and watch Bush go on and on, spewing his delusions as to the great state of this country! He's living in a fantasy land, and during the SOTU, my TV's expected lifetime was growing shorter by the second. What an exercise in self control! The only saving grace of the whole speech was what looked like, GOD FORBID!, some democratic show of opposition coming from the isles. Wasn't it sweet when the democrats stopped Bush in mid sentence with their loud applause immediately after he whined about how the Patriot Act was about to expire? Wasn't it sweet to see the democrats slow clapping, publicly rebelling? Wasn't it sweet to see our man and fighter, the honorable Senator Ted Kennedy, sitting there with a look of utter shock, disbelief and disgust on his face? Wasn't it sweet to see the whole isle of democrats sit still in in their chairs in protest, while the puppet cheerleader republicans kept jumping up like mindless jack-in-the-boxes after everything Bush said? I tell you, you could see that the democratic show of defiance caught Bush off guard, the emperor out there exposed for all the world to see in all his unpopularity and no line of buses to hide the public show of opposition from him and the cameras. You could see the look of combined anger and worry fade across his face in a moment of uncontrolled emotion. Then he started mouthing what sounded clearly to me like threats in tone and word about some of the consequences if his requests (demands) aren't met. Didn't it sound to you guys like he was making some thinly disguised threats about lost jobs and such if the tax cuts aren't made permanent, the unPatriot act isn't made permanent, etc.? And, by the way, I wasn't impressed at all with Daschle's response. What do you think? Regards, Joe Subj: WE DON'T NEED FOUR MORE YEARS OF THIS! Dear Buzz, As I watch the SOTU address on Tuesday, I was amazed at just how much the Bush administration had fooled the american people, and managed to turn this deliberate attack on Iraq, which was a war of choice, into a necessary war to protect the american people. Many people now actually believe that Saddam Hussein was just minutes away from attacking the USA with WMD's. They can all now deny that this (p)resident ever used the word "imminent", but isn't that what his footsoldiers like Rice, Rumsfeld, Powell etc., were implying? Why Rumsfeld even bragged he knew EXACTLY where the WMD's were. Shouldn't s someone hold him accountable for misleading the people? Saddam had become an impotent tyrant, and was no threat to us, as we now can see, there was nothing threatening found so far in Iraq. And it sure seems that Tariq Aziz and even Chemical Ali were surprisingly correct when they denied that they had WMD's. The UN inspectors also backed this up in their latest reports. We could have EASILY waited for further inspections and not been in this mighty hurry to invade Iraq. Just look at the mess Bush has made in Iraq! Iraq could be on the brink of a civil war (according to the CIA today), the Shiites are clamoring for sharia law, and it could become another Iran, if this revolt is successful. Women are losing their rights, and they claim they had more freedom when Saddam was there. WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS BUSH AND HIS BAND OF THIEVES DOING TO THIS COUNTRY? HOW MANY MORE LIVES DO WE HAVE TO SACRIFICE TO SATISFY THIS LYING, TREACHEROUS, GREEDY, MANIPULATIVE ADMINISTRATION? This country is being misled by the executive branch of the government, and we have a spineless congress who says "how high" when Bush says jump, and a member of the judicial branch going duck hunting with that corporate crook Cheney. Are people so dumb that they cannot find something wrong with this picture? Now that I have got that off my chest, let me say one more thing. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE VERY NAIVE TO KEEP BELIEVING ANYTHING THIS ADMINISTRATION SAYS. THEY LIE AND THEY DON'T EVEN TRY TO HIDE IT!! A BuzzFlash Reader RE: Drunken Pilot on Rampage - Mailbag Hello again to BuzzFlash and to all BuzzFlash readers, I just read in the mailbag from Jim Palmer about the piece on John Vincent Salamone, the drunken pilot who buzzed the Philadelphia area for several hours while drunk. He makes some very interesting points. The incident left me with some troubling questions as well:
Just asking . . . . Warmest Regards, GK, a Fervently Loyal, Devoted and Proud Liberal BuzzFlash Reader |
|||||
 |
||||
| DAILY BUZZ | ||||
| INTERVIEWS | ||||
| ANALYSIS | ||||
| MEDIA LINKS | ||||
|
Unless
otherwise noted, all original |
 |
|||
