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February 25, 2004 |
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Subj: Consumer Alert! My Take on Nader Use of the product "Ralph Nader Presidential Candidate" is extremely dangerous for the health of this planet and its people. It can easily result in four more years of deepening fascism at home and imperial military adventurism abroad. This is a defective product. Let the buyer beware! Joe Subj: True Lies - 2/23/04 Dear Buzz, I've just read "The True Lies of George W. Bush" and can't agree more...Wish you had added the many lies regarding 9/11 that have created this invisible gas peddle that is depressed any time the administration needs to rev-up the fear level in the country. (Specifically, who knew what, when) It seems if we're scared enough, we'll believe ANYTHING, and that makes us tools, even when we don't all agree. I've never felt threatened by Iraq. I wonder why Bin Laden has done what he has done because I don't think it's has to do with hating our freedom and democracy, and everything to do with the Caspian Pipelines and oil and natural gas. And I know there have been more threats by the Bush administration against the environment that are far more critical and threatening to life than anything we've seen in our lifetimes. Look at HAARP, the super incinerator that blows holes in the ionosphere, which is our protection against solar radiation, being used as a weapon, using unsound research that the rest of the world is opposed to. No, Saddam never keeps me up all night in fear. He's just a bogeyman that GWB invented that served several purposes. He's someone to blame, an excuse to steal Iraqi oil and to retaliate against and bully during an election. Lastly, I listen to Nader. He is telling the truth about both sides of the political isle that neither ever talks about. He speaks to issues that are omitted so I value his opinions. I think we have to consider him for these reasons and since he has said he'd step down before jeopardizing the democratic campaign against Bush, how can that be so bad? So why does he run? To expose the truths despite the consequences. What does he gain? The criticism of both sides plus the blame for their own failures. Like the redheaded step child, he'll never win and he'll take more heat than anyone deserves. But the big question is why? It's because he has something extremely important to say and no one will let him talk. If we want a truly informed public, we have to let the Naders and Sharptons, the whistleblowers, all truthseekers and even the liars, talk. That is choice. You can't deny his intelligence, his motives are the purest of all the candidates and he has done nothing but good for everyone by exposing the crimes committed by corporations. But if you let the media speak for him, you'll get a slant so biased, the message will be lost. Let HIM talk and let him be heard so we have all the information. You can't help but learn something. And if your politics are so fragile that a Ralph Nader can take them out with his message, then maybe they aren't so solid. Maybe you should rethink your platform, and maybe you haven't propped up the right people to change the world. Maybe you need Nader more that you realized. (suddenly competition is not a good thing)? He won't win. He knows that. We all know that. It is the message and the exposure and the cost of putting it out there. It's valuable information that we aren't getting. Lets not let the media decide anymore elections. And think what an alignment with Nader could do for the Democrats. I say drag him into the mix and really put this country back on the right track. One we don't have to be ashamed of. It would be the end of corporate welfare, subsidies to polluters-gone, lobbyist in D.C.-bam! (Just to name a few.) I don't like this covert, secret, back ops government that is robbing us blind and lining their own pockets while protecting a few special interests. It's corrupt and I want to see it exposed. If that sheds some bad light on a few democrats, well I'm sorry but I'd rather see it than be kept from knowing it. So stop blaming the wrong people for the faults of others. You've got the floor so like Michael Moore at the Oscars, use it selflessly and make some noise! We'll still love you... Kathy in Candia, NH Subject: Nader's run Hi Buzz, The first thing I thought of when Nader was deciding whether to run was the 2000 election campaign and the theft of our Presidency. It naturally followed that I thought of the machine-gunlike fire of daily assaults and death blows the Bush administration has perpetrated on our rights, our environment, our democracy, our constitution and on the world. I don't think I'm the only one. As a matter of fact I think almost 100% of people thought the exact same thing. And I don't know that this is necessarily a bad thing. After all, the whole crux of the problem with our country in the last three years is based on simple awareness. How many thousands of times has the word 'asleep' been written or spoken in the last three years when informed people have bemoaned and decried the abysmal ignorance of most Americans? But with Nader running, the media will again and again talk about him being a spoiler and about the Democrats being angry at him, and the subject of the 2000 theft will be so front and center that only true idiots will be able to keep it out of their awareness. Like most Democrats I don't wish for Nader to run, but perhaps this too will backfire on the Rove machine. After all, their biggest bragging points have all been kicking Republican butt pretty well lately. I don't think that's going away this time. Somehow a people's revolution has been happening mostly on and because of the internet, and thanks to devoted sites like BuzzFlash. Whatever happens, Mr. Nader has just added some real extreme and volatile emotion to this Presidential campaign. For anyone who wanted to see a real down and dirty fight for our future, I think Mr. Nader is the catalyst for it. Without a doubt, this year promises to be a very bumpy rollercoaster adventure (or misadventure) the likes which haven't been seen in most of our lifetimes. The die is cast. Now we're stuck with it, and we better hang on tight. Judith Foster, Subj: Hamburger 'Manufacturing' 101 Dear Buzz, Where did all the jobs go? Stick around, you ain't seen nothin yet. If Bush has his way, you're about to see several million 'manufacturing' jobs created overnight right here in the USA! You see, they don't know it yet, but all those teenagers working part time jobs in burger-flipping joints are actually working in burger 'manufacturing' assembly factories. HEY! It's ALL in the DEFINITION, I guess! What a cheap trick to try and hide the fact that this administration has the worst job loss record in memory. Boy will this backfire big time on them if they try it! I hope they do. These kinds of amateurish mistakes will only help to elect a democrat president. Joe will not be voting for Ralph Nader in the California Primary.....have already sent in my absentee ballot, and have my doubts about how this is going to work out, given the short amount of time left for him to garner national support. However, I do believe that we have to stop calling him a spoiler. He pointed out in a press conference today, that Gore/Lieberman DID WIN in Florida....but they and the wimpy Democrats in the DLC and elsewhere did not fight for themselves or us. There was no doubt that if all the votes had been re-counted, as Florida law requires (when there is a dispute, a question or a request –I think), it would have been discovered that Gore won. Even without the re-count, which was stopped by the Supremes, (two of whom had a personal interest in the outcome of the election –Scalia and Thomas....I believe) , there should have been very forceful and immediate action by the National Democratic Party to void the election results and hold off until ALL the votes could be recounted, because the Republican Party, using bus-loads of party employees, activists, was seen on video camera, and broadcast nation-wide interfering with the recounting of ballots.....it was on national television, for Pete’s sake ! That is an illegal act; I believe that interfering with an election process is a felony ...at least here in California. The people who were doing the interfering were photographed and identified. It was found that they were transported to Florida, they were put up in hotels/motels –whatever....their expenses were paid by some entity of the Republican party, perhaps disguised in some way.....they were people who were Republican activists, who worked in the legislative offices of Republican officeholders, etc. They should have been rounded up and arrested, but the Democratic Party did not do anything about it, and Gore and Lieberman took it. Shame on the party and shame on Gore and Lieberman. But, it was NOT Ralph Nader’s fault. Gore/Lieberman did win the election, but it was stolen from them/us, and the Supreme Court of the United States, to its eternal shame, was a party to that fraud. Sincerely, Grace Cooper Sacramento, CA Subj: Suggested Guest Column BF, Thank you for the service you provide our nation. I was hoping you could forward this message to Jeremy Warren--and perhaps any other BuzzFlash regulars who can help with this request. I thought his list of Real Lies of Bush was excellent: concise, comprehensive, and devastating. I was hoping he might consider putting together a comparative treatment of the pseudo-scandals during the Clinton witchhunt period--and the money spent--with the non-investigations of the Bush administrations Real wrongdoings--including the ones that are only suspected at this point (but that warrant investigation based on what is already known: certainly there is more basis for investigating them than any of the Clinton investigations, which were allowed to go full-throttle). Perhaps Mr. Warren (or someone else) could compare the level of Presidential cooperation, media coverage, investigative resources allocated, etc. between the two administrations. The country needs to know that, while we indulged a media feeding frenzy of Pres. Clinton, with lame allegations airing first, prompting ill-justified and expensive investigations, we are giving Bush a free pass on REAL, probably TRULY IMPEACHABLE, offenses--which are not being adequately investigated or followed in the media. We don't need to adopt the "smear first, fish and harass later" model of the Repubs and their supporters (although the difference in our approaches to investigation of wrongdoing should be noted), but we should stress the genuine basis for THOROUGH, TOUGH, INDEPENDENT investigation of possibly TRUE scandals and abuses of power of the current administration and Pres., including Harken, Natl Guard file purge, Plame, corporate collusion/corruption of policy-making, and all the war-related stuff. I'm sure there's much more: we need to try to get it all into one well-written document like the one Mr. Warren just created on the Bush lies. Even if Democrats regain the White House, these things should not be allowed to pass. The new administration and the media should INSIST on investigating these things so as to keep these sorts of abuses from occurring again. The Dems and media could do it quietly and fairly (unlike the Repubs), but certainly thoroughly and with consequences when the results are determined and presented. I wish I could act on this idea myself, but I think others would handle it more effectively. Please consider acting on it: it is for the good of our country and its future. --John Landis PS, yes, it has been a while since I made a premium purchase: I will make another or a donation soon. Do the premium purchases of books get counted toward the bestseller lists? If not, you may want to regularly encourage visitors to donate directly to BuzzFlash and purchase the books at the stores (as a civic duty)... Subj: Republicans Set "Bear Trap" For Kerry
A BuzzFlash Reader RALPH NADER Contrary to popular opinion, I do not see Nader's candidacy as a negative in this election. In fact, I believe it's a very positive development. It seems to me that Democrats are needlessly engaging in hand-wringing and glass-half-empty thinking, when in fact any votes he should garner are more likely to come from disgruntled tight-fisted Republicans and evangelicals. It is clear from media reports that one segment on the right is furious that Bush has failed to veto a single big-budget bill in the past three years when the Republican-dominated House and Senate were at his beck-and-call. These voters believe he has "outspent" his usefulness to them. The other segment is furious that Bush has not gotten more of their extreme right-wing judicial nominees appointed and has not done enough to create the theocracy in this country they envision. None of those voters would ever DREAM of casting a vote for a Democrat, and have gone so far as to let it be known that three to six million, accounts vary on this, of them stayed home in the last election. Between now and November, Nader will not hesitate to voice his opinions about multinational corporations, outsourcing, the budget, the deficit, the environment, etc. His participation will lighten the burden of the Democratic candidate, to a certain extent. And if anything, any Nader votes would likely have been de facto Bush votes. Sharon Andrews Subj: Nader as a spoiler? There is another. Now that Ralph Nader has joined the presidential mix, I would love to see former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore run too (Constitution Party) To add insult to injury for Moore, Bush made a recess appointment, William H Pryor to the 11th circuit. It was Pryor who as Alabama's attorney general helped give Moore the boot for his refusal to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom. Evangelicals and economic conservatives feel that Bush has been soft on a number of issues, gay marriage, abortion, runaway federal spending, education, etc.. Wouldn't that take a huge bite out of the Republican butts and take votes from Bush. Kathie
King-Hoffman Subj: A Small Word About Ralph Nader - from long time BuzzFlash reader I totally understand your position on Ralph Nader and how you think he lost the democrats the election in 2000. I must say the only persons that lost that election for Al Gore was George Bush and Al Gore. He didn’t fight for his rights, he allowed a court to appoint Bush into office, he also failed to carry his own home state as well as Clinton’s home state. Last but not least Bush of course stole the election. I totally understand that we do need a new president and administration, but I totally disagree with Nader bashing for the sake of trying to scare people into voting for any democrat just to beat Bush. If we as progressives and dare I say liberals (in other words sane people that don’t want to see the country go to hell) lure people into the same fear based voting tactics used by most democrats and republicans in Washington, then we are stooping to their level. It’s ashamed that we don’t spend more time on getting the disenfranchised into politics in non-election years as we do during the election year. It is also ashamed that the system that is meant to allow any qualified American to run for President or any other high ranking federal political office has been high jacked by a “two party”only system that is hardly two parties, when you look at the voting records and actions of our representatives and congressmen. Ralph Nader I honestly believe is a man of integrity. He is one of the few, true public advocates; when reading his articles I can truly see that he means what he says. I think he wants to attack Bush the way he should be attacked, with hard line facts and brutal honesty. If he could run and at least put the real truth out there maybe the democrat that runs against Bush will have the courage to use what Ralph puts out there. To bash a man that has been so whole heartily committed to helping others and opening their eyes to what could be and what really is, is totally an injustice to him and what he has tried to do. I understand your anger and your motive (which isn’t bad) but I must say bashing a man’s character, accusing him of being a right-wing Bush tool to win the election is just totally unfair and honestly self-defeating to our cause. You can’t keep forcing people to vote for the lesser of two evils because in the end both would screw you. I respect Ralph Nader for at least having the guts to say what most democrats including those running for nomination won’t say because they are just as tired to big corporate interest as our president and his administration is. I have been reading your site for at least a year and I am definitely thankful for how informative it is; but I just had to speak out on this. We really need to find a way to make the political system more open for all Americans not just the wealthy ones. We need to find a way to put a third party option on the table for people; an option that won’t just be there to be a “spoiler”or to finally put the real issues out there but a third party that can produce viable candidates that can win. If we don’t find a way to do this then we are truly up the creek because as a young adult that is just starting out in life and in my life as a politically active citizen, I’m fearful and discouraged at what I’m seeing in our great country. I’m truly disappointed in the way we pick our candidates, the one democrat I believed in wasn’t supported by the people not because he didn’t have good ideas but because he supposedly couldn’t compete and beat Bush, penny for penny. The only candidates I felt remotely confidante about was Dean and Kucinich. Kerry to me is Bush lite and the rest have nothing to say when it comes to my needs as a citizen. This honestly makes me feel we will never see a candidate for president that honestly wants to uplift America and its citizens. We are at a crossroads in this country and in critical times as theses, it is up to all of us especially those in the non-mainstream media to think outside of the box, to find a way to make things better in the long term not just in the short term with the “anyone but Bush”mentally. Thank you for your time Teresa (Jersey City NJ) Subj: Education Secretary Bush's Secretary of Education just called the National Education Association "a terrorist organization". I hope you add that article to your post. (Typical Bush-type comment, isn't it?) Sandy Teeple P.S. You are my primary source of news. Keep up the good work! Subj: DOCTOR Paige..SEC. of Education So the good Doctor Paige labels the NEA a terrorist organization. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-02-23-paige-remarks_x.htm Considering that the good DOCTOR Paige got his doctorate degree in which his dissertation was based on the "reaction" time of football linemen, would it be fair to ask the reaction time between his brain and his mouth or would it be safe to assume that they never connect? A BuzzFlash Reader Re: The Wall Street Journal Asks "Why Do Democrats Call The President a Liar?"
A good way to start is to use the Wall Street Journal as a contrary indicator. If the WSJ says something is black, it is definitely white. Their editorial page is strictly to express a point of view somewhat to the right of Ann Coulter's.
Hmmm... repetition and brainwashing? Like when the GOP Big Lies Machine convinced 80% of Americans that Iraq has attacked the World Trade Center on 9/11? Howie Subj: A site to behold This site pretty well covers the Bush regime as the worst in this nation's history! http://www.bushpresident2004.com/donate.htm Click around on a few of the buttons at top ----- A BuzzFlash Reader Subj: Nader BAshing Bashing Nader will only alienate the left-er or your readers which could strengthen their resolve to vote for him and not Kerry. Please show a little more respect. Thank you, Dan Lutger Subj: Time to re-frame the discussion! The weekend pundits remarked over and over about how CLOSE the election would be this year. It is time for the anti-Bush side to STOP agreeing with this statement and counter with something like, "NO, I don't think it will be close at all since more and more people are beginning to see how important it is that Bush and his cronies be removed from office given what they have done to our international reputation, the economy, etc., etc., etc." This would help make it OK for the wavering to oppose the 'war president' and at the same time help produce pre-election polls with a wider margin between the two candidates. This is VERY important since it would make the expected vote 'fixing' (especially in CA now that Arnold is there to help) a little more difficult to pull off. Keep up the Buzz, Buzz!! A BuzzFlash Reader Subj: Iraq I must be nuts. If the Bushies believed that Hussein was a significant military threat, how did they conclude that his military would be a pushover? Just asking. Lee D. Mockrin Subj: Tom Daschle Hey, you are helping the Republicans in my state by going after Tom Daschle. A lot of Republicans vote for him as he has been in for awhile and they will read these articles and boom we have another Republican getting the seat this October...Please give him hands up for us that really like what he has done for our state. Also John Thune is a republican that will suck up to Bush and we can't have that..President wants Thune in already and I don't like to see him get in...Daschle is a good senator for SD....Thune is another liar as Bush is.... Sharon Subj: The Real Reason Why Dubya Sent The Troops To Iraq In regards to "The True Lies Of GWB", Jeremy Warren missed the single REAL reason why Dubya sent our troops to Iraq and then LIED about why we went there, while Bin Laden is still alive: "Saddam Tried To Kill Dubya's Daddy"!! Tom Wieliczka Subj: GOOD WORK! The piece on Bush's LYING is excellent. But I think you need to add the following to Bush's "war" service. It has been reported by Greg Palast that Bush scored a 25 out of 100 on the Pilot Aptitude Test ("Bush Family Fortunes", BBC Three, July 2003.) Former Lt.Col. Bill Burkett has also stated it. IF Bush actually scored an abysmal 25 out of 100, then all other questions flow from that. Example: With a 25 out of 100, how did he go to the top of the list to get into the Texas Air Guard? Answer: Daddy Bush. Bush is quoted as telling a reporter during the 2000 campaign, when asked about "preferential treatment in 1968", "Ask the General in charge of my unit. He says no preferential treatment." So, if Bush did only score a 25 out of 100, it is CLEAR he got preferential treatment or he would never have gotten in. THEN, Bush's statement in 2000 (no preferential treatment) was a bare-faced LIE. Chalk up another BIG FAT LIE to the "family values" President. Bottom line: Bush is the biggest LIAR since Nixon / Agnew. Bush is one of the biggest LIARS in U.S. political history. If you haven't seen Greg Palast's "Bush Family Fortunes", I highly recommend it. It's here: http://www.activeopposition.com/audio-video.htm Then click on "Watch the Video." Regards, Bob Comer, Subj: OBL... You have to figure that Bush and Co. are just sitting on bin Laden...waiting for the 'best time' to announce his capture/killing... I don't know who is more evil, them or him! I hope Kerry/Edwards have something up their sleeves to combat the sure-to-be rise in Bush approval ratings... Four more years of this clown will be the end to democracy as we know it... John Rafferty Subj: Mailbag...to Sue in Florida... Subj: absentee ballots Message to Sue in FL Sue, With every fiber of my cellular structure I, like you, will NEVER GET OVER IT. I feel like my life has been on hold for the last four years as if in slow motion. Thanks to BuzzFlash I have been able to remain partially sane. I was attempting to point out that each state has their own eligibility rules on absentee balloting. Especially in this election the paper trail, if possible through absentee balloting should be utilized. You make a good point about following those instructions precisely. Repugs will look for anything to disenfranchise a democratic vote. They seem to have no respect for the sanctity of the vote in our Republic....the very basis of our political system. Thanks for the reminder of what they did to illegitimate and legitimate voters in Florida. I too get incredibly outraged just thinking about the last election, but I have tried to turn that energy into educating the sheeple about this administration. Stay mad. You should be. I am too. Let's take that passion to the polls in November. I'm still mad as hell. I want my country back. Tom T. in Austin, Texas Subj: More Bush Lies Governor Bush promised when running for President that if there were gas lines, that he would call OPEC and tell them to turn on the spigots and let the oil flow...well, I live in Southern California and gas is now $2.19 for regular...either Governor Bush has lost the telephone number to OPEC or this another one of his BIG PROMISES that he did not deliver on - he LIED. Thank you, James L. White Subj: Clinton vs. Bush on job creation Dear BuzzFlash, I just read an article that said that during the 8 years that Clinton was president the United States created an average of 248,000 jobs a month. If Bush had done as well, we would have 9,176,000 more jobs now. Instead, we have lost 2,700,000 jobs. Essentially, the real job loss is 11,876,000 - the difference between jobs we already had that were lost and the jobs we should have gained! "It's still the economy, Stupid, Junior." A BuzzFlash Reader Re: The Embarrassment President P.M. Carpenter was right on target in The Embarrassment President. I was watching Book TV on CSPAN2, and they had a show called “The Other President’s Day.”It was a scholarly presentation by four presidential biographers hosted by Arthur Schlesinger. I missed some of the first author, but I heard the second author do some humorous comparisons to Rutherford B. Hayes and George W. Bush. But the really amazing part was when the Republican authors had their turn. Kevin Phillips teased the two Democrats about poking fun at Bush, but then added that, in fact, the two Republicans on the panel were the only ones to have written anti-Bush books. He also joked that it was probably without historical precedent that we lived in a time where the two Republicans on a Smithsonian panel discussion were actually embarrassed to be Republicans! I don’t have the exact quotes, but you can watch the whole thing on the CSPAN2 archive. It’s mostly just history, but the two Republican’s comments on Bush really made my day! As noted by the other Republican on the panel, Kevin Phillips’book is American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush (available on BuzzFlash!). John Dean’s upcoming book is "Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush." John Dean said he does not use this phrase, “Worse Than Watergate”lightly. Republicans with brains? It can happen, and Bush can be beaten! Joseph Luna Dear BuzzFlash, Rod Paige has called the teachers in the NEA a group of terrorists. Combine this with Paige’s lies and cooking the books on the Houston School District info so that he could get Bush elected and himself named to the Cabinet Education position, and one can conclude that Paige ought to be a “paige in history”. He should resign. Bush, Ashcroft, and now Paige, are getting waaaaaaay out of control. And Paige is not setting a good example for our young people. Keep up the good work, Buzzy. Margaret Waid, Ph.D. and Teacher CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THE FEBRUARY 25, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. |
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