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April 12, 2004 |
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Hi Buzz, The other night at Passover dinner, a friend of my sister asked me what I am involved in, knowing that I'm an activist. I pointed to my lapel pin, which says ACLU. She then looked at me and asked what did it stand for!!! And that, my dear friends, is why George Bush is president; just keep them stupid and they'll vote for anything!! Very sad in West Palm Beach Ruth Gottlieb Hi BuzzFlash, Try an experiment...Google 'rice silver bullet', you'll get over 52,000 results. How do the Bush spin doctors do it? The same day that Condoleezza Rice did her song and dance for the 9/11 commission, every media outlet in the world repeated her carefully crafted, meaningless catch phrase "There was no silver bullet that could have prevented the 9/11 attacks." Tomorrow every talking head and White House bagman will be saying it ad nauseum. They do it all the time, it makes me crazy! Remember 'the smoking gun will be a mushroom cloud', 'Saddam is an imminent threat' and the ever-popular 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'? Listen. She was standing there in front of the President of the United States, holding a document entitled “Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States.” There had been multiple reports of Saudi Arabian men taking flying lessons. “Chatter” about hijackings was rampant. They talked about Iraq. They talked about missile defense shields. It just drives me crazy. Andy Grainger Hello BuzzFlash Folks, The bushco pattern of undermining the 911 Commission is unacceptable, and with the iron red hot currently, now is the time to strike in pressuring all White House principals to testify publicly, separately, & under oath-- current "compromise" be damned. "Framing" the issue the following way is certain to resonate, raising public awareness & resentment if not causing CheneyCo to fold yet again, as they consistently have done to try to silence public noise about their resistance to a full and complete 911 investigation (deadline extension, Rice testifying, 8/6 PDB). The issue is obviously kryptonite to them. Please publicly air the issue, using the following framing. This is a letter I've sent to all my pols and rags, to no meaningful response thus far. Thank you so much.
Tom Rategan After suffering through Condi's play acting, I was not only outraged listening to the lies spewing forth like lava, but also by her insistence on reminding us about the wonders of the Patriot Act. I think she brought it up at least six times, but with the shit she was hurling one loses count. I think that we buzzers and all the other good and intelligent people around know that the Patriot Act protects us from nothing and gives this corrupt administration unprecedented power and has brought us to a very frightening precipice. If the dimwit succeeds in stealing another election, Patriot II will come faster than a blink of an eyelash. People. It's our Constitution and Bill of Rights on the line. If for no other reason vote him out, because if we lose our Constitution we’re done. What's left--internment camps, gulags or out and out physical torture for those who would even dare question these thugs? My friends, please spread the word. Send him back to Texas. Ruth K.
Gottlieb Subject: No tax cut for me, thanks. dear buzz, your editorials are great and the mailbag is a source of terrific enjoyment and information. it’s nice to know there are lots of intelligent, caring people there, far brighter than so many of the mindless tv journalists and spinning politicians. there is no doubt bush has to be defeated, disgraced would be better. unfortunately, there are 270 million people in the usa, and the most important thing to most of them is how much money they have in their wallets and trying to survive. they know bush favours tax cuts and millions will support him for this reason. somehow, joe public needs to understand that tax cuts are not really good for him! tax cuts are good for the rich. it’s a hard message to convey to the average person. explain to them that while they are getting a 50 dollar rebate, the executive is getting a 50,000 dollar rebate and the really rich are getting back millions. ask them, would they be willing to forego their tiny pittance if the rich guy had to give back his larger amount? most people would say yes, if they understood, especially if all that money could go to pay for education, health and social security. most of us have a bit of envy in us, we don’t want 50 dollars if the guy driving the ferrari is going to get a million. in fact,we would happily pay 50 dollars if he had to pay a million. it’s a pretty basic concept. if it could somehow be explained to the struggling masses, tax cuts would not be a reason to vote for bush. i cannot think of any other reason to vote for him! he would be gone. and that will be a good thing the country and the whole world. chuck, toronto Subject: What are we accomplishing? It seems to me that we, as loyal Democrats wanting a change in administrations, are spending a great deal of our time, energy, and talent, playing the "Bush Lied" game. We are only preaching to the choir, for no matter what we do or say -- nothing seems to change. The electorate is so polarized, no matter what either side says or does, the polling numbers fluctuate very little. I can attest to the fact that no matter how well I prepare my argument, or how long my list of verifiable lies that Bush and his cronies tell, at the end of the argument neither I nor my "opponent" has budged one iota. I usually get no logical, well-thought rebuttal -- just an Archie Bunker razzberry. Perhaps we would be more productive in the long run if we spent more of our time and effort in attempting to find the solution to the problems facing the country. I am confident that all of us, at one time or another, have opined on job loses, healthcare, Social Security, etc., and ended up by saying, "What they really need to do is - - - - -." Well, as the old saying goes, run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it! Who knows -- someone might come up with just a spore of an idea which, when properly cultivated, could plant ideas in the thinking of others, including the Kerry staff, whom I assure you reads BuzzFlash regularly. Radical? Yeah -- but it just might be more productive being part of a think tank than beating our brains out trying to convince each other that "Bush Lied." Do any of us need to be convinced of that? Bill Sybert Subject: Forgotten Loss of Value Buzz: The poor economy and dismal employment outlook are front and center of many ordinary lives. Two facets of this that face the country as a whole are a surge in bankruptcies and cases where homes are sold for the balance of the mortgage. In bankruptcy cases, a once assumed value no longer exists to the creditors - to the economic pool. When the economy is bad, it is likely the value of the asset transferred going into the debt arrangement is subject to exaggerated market devaluation and amplifies the condition. When the people and companies were on the job, these debts were being paid, assets retained their values, and assumed values were being realized. I know personally a few people who have had to sell their homes for the balance of the mortgage to prevent foreclosure. Instantly, hard-earned value in equity is transferred from ordinary homeowners to people or enterprises leveraged by the fortune of a desperate economy. This devaluation and sudden transfer of wealth surely can be supported by empirical data and factored into the campaign issues arguing against this administration's economic policies - if they have any. I dreamt we were working for a better life. John Subject: an excellent question! If Rice couldn't have imagined planes being flown into buildings, why did she call up San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown on the night of September 10th and warn him not to fly the next day? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: MY BIG WISH.... That BuzzFlash or someone from your company would campaign with Kerry and FORCE him to say what you guys are saying. He's not forceful enough for the corrupt thug in the WH..... if this a.h. steals the Presidency again, it’s the end of the good old USA. Colette
Miller Subject: Re The Empty Room Dear Buzz, I'd like to post this letter I wrote to Bob Herbert, who wrote an editorial in The New York Times, taking the Bush admin to task for their failed policy in Iraq. I wrote it because I just got totally sick of all of us liberals shaking our fingers at the Bush admin's 'mistakes' when the only thing that makes logical sense is, they aren't mistakes at all. I think the Bush administration is accomplishing just what it wants to in Iraq. That is, absolute chaos. And the only price they have to pay for it, is taking a certain amount of heat from us. Heat that amounts to no more than a low level grumbling. Heat that they know, pretty much for certain, they can manage and survive. But while we're nagging them for not minding the store properly -- they aren't TRYING to mind the store properly -- they're happily selling everything in it to their friends. Then the REAL game will begin. But for us, by then, it will be too late. The editorial is called "The Empty Room."
Hi Buzz Long long ago there was a radio program that started out with their theme song..... "Who's the Little Chatterbox…" Yep, those my age will remember "Orphan Annie"! Well I guess she is long gone but now has been replaced with "Filibustering Chatty Condi." She is the talking doll with the constant smile, bad hair do, and has the built in redundancy to repeat phrases over and over when her string is pulled. She is the perfect doll to go along with the GW doll. I listened to her waste all of the committeemen’s time with her redundancy, and I think it was a waste of time to listen to her.......Same O Same O.… I just keep focusing on what I was told growing up: "What goes round, comes round." I only hope I live to see it. Thanx Buzz for helping me to keep my sanity through all of this. And one thing more....Not the hypocrite of the week, or month ,or year...but since he was given the presidency in 2000. Keep buzzing. Genie Subject: re: Why Kissinger was the perfect guy to head the 9/11 commission Dear BuzzFlash, While listening to Air America (which is really great), I heard Al Franken mention that Henry Kissinger was involved with Unocal's negotiations for a pipeline in Afghanistan. Bingo, the light went on. That's why Bush wanted Kissinger to head the 9/11 commission; he played an active role in the plan to butter up the Taliban for the pipeline project. He would be the perfect guy to steer the commission away from the truth about why the administration avoided taking any action against the Taliban and their al-Qaeda guests. See" Pay attention 9/11 Commission: The real reason why Bush dropped the ball on Bib Laden was Enron." www.BuzzFlash.com/contributors/04/04/con04141.html I typed "Kissinger Afghanistan pipeline" into a Google and found the following site entitled "Kissinger, Unocal, Enron and Cheney" www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/kissingerunocal.htm Others have already put this together, but, when I connected the dots for myself, it blew me away. Bush was trying to put one of the co-conspirators in charge of the whitewash! No wonder Kissinger quit so fast when people wanted to know who his clients were. The pipeline deal is the crux of Bush Co.'s failure to pursue Bin Laden, and Kean's commission continues to avoid it like the plague. It is the reason this administration has stonewalled any and all investigations--that and the fact that once they knew attacks were coming they decided to do nothing to stop them. Their behavior amounts to high treason, unlike anything we have ever seen. That is why they are so desperate to hide it from the American people. Given that this commission appears to be a sham, I hope the families of the victims publish their own account of the events leading up to 9/11 including all the troubling questions that this commission will undoubtedly fail to answer. I suspect they know more about the horrible truth than anybody. RA in LA Subject: Titling a link on Clinton's Testimony Dear BuzzFlash, Listen to Kean's description of Clinton's testimony to the Commission: "We asked him some pretty detailed questions on [classified docs]. And he was just totally frank, totally frank, totally honest, and forthcoming." You already have the link titled by you "Out of Usual Spotlight, Clinton Has Long Session With Panel 4/10" May I suggest instead something like: "Clinton, unlike Bush, gives 'totally frank, totally honest, forthcoming' account of himself in no-time-limit testimony. Gore not with him." Jim P Subject: Bush On Holiday Dear BuzzFlash, Given the number and diversity of messes created by Bush during his tenure in White House, I believe we should be very grateful that he has taken over 500 vacation days during his presidency. More working days would certainly have given him more chances to get us all in trouble. Failure seems to be Bush's most consistent achievement. Josh Michael seemed to think that our president ought to be in the White House given the crisis in Iraq. I think the farther he is from the White House, the better off we are. Sincerely, Carol Davidek-Waller Subject: Bring 'em on Last year, Bush made a statement when hostilities continued in Iraq. It looks like the Iraqis have accepted his challenge. A brave statement when he isn't over there to back his words up. By the way George, things aren't so great these days in Afghanistan either.
RB, A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: BOB Kerrey Hi BuzzFlash, I'm so angry at “Nebraska's last Senator, BOB Kerrey.” How dare the man blame President Clinton, comparing him to the war lord, Bush. I don't know who I dislike the most at this time, Lieberman, or BOB Kerrey!!! Unforgivable of him. He the best reason to point to of how the Repubs stick together, but the Democrats, like BOB, eat their own! Angie Subject: Questions? Buzz, Liars are no less guilty if they get away with the lies. Bush/Rice/Cheney et al. can be questioned till November, when they will steal another election. Then they will put a question to those who catch them in lies: "What are you going to do about it?" A BuzzFlash Reader Dear BuzzFlash, So much to say - so little time... I have a few of suggestions for bumper stickers, T-shirts and the like: "Bush - the one term blunder." "God Bless America? God HELP America!" "Bumbling Wishes - Phaedra Albuquerque Subject :re: condi...yes but they didn't tell us when, who, where or anything we could use gee i'm sure the next time osama wants to strike he will accommodate the bushies with a letter from TERRORIST - R - US explaining all of the above accompanied by some map quest print outs showing where the attacks are to take place. :):):) jesus, are these people for real? aren't they embarrassed? and what does condi rice do? just tell bush how great he is all day? :):) sharon swift Subj: Dean's An American Patriot Hi Buzz, Love your site. I have been reading it ever since Guy James ( my personal friend here in SW Florida) turned me on to it. I just finished reading John Dean's new tome, Worse than Watergate". A short but devastating read. For those of us who have kept up with the Bush regime, we knew most of the info . For the rest of the sensible people living under "Dubya" most have sensed the dark world John Dean has described. For all of us it is a great tool for education to sway those who may be sitting on the fence during this Presidential Election. Kerry might not be the warmest of candidates but there is no doubt that Bush and Cheney are the most dangerous pair of powermongers who have sought to undermine our democracy despite their flair for windowdressing and proclamations to the contrary. If you know how to e-mail John Dean please send my praises for his efforts to help restore our nation to sanity. I am grateful to him for his hours of work and contemplation and for his bravery in putting his reputation on the line against those who will attempt to take him down in their interest to maintain power. He's a true American patriot. All the best, Martha Simons CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THE APRIL 12, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. |
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