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April 13, 2004 |
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THIS IS PART 2 OF THE APRIL 13, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. CLICK HERE FOR PART 1. Subj: David Letterman Joke Heard on Letterman: George Bush is working hard to hand over control of Iraq to the Iraqi people on June. He's also working hard to hand over control of the United States to John Kerry in January. Thanks, Sunil Reddy Subj: Imminent Dear BuzzFlash, This is the definition of the word "imminent". I thought that this word needed some clarification because President Bush has had so much trouble with the word. First he told us that we were in imminent danger from the Iraq's WMDs. There were no WMDs. Now he tells us that the August 6, 2001 PDB did not tell him about an imminent threat from Al Qaeda. 911 was proof that there was. imminent adjective About to occur, impending: in imminent danger. Paul Hi, BuzzFlash, My "Pants on Fire" dolls arrived today -- they're hilarious! The timing is also particularly apt given the revelations in the wake of the Rice testimony and C-SPAN's airing last night of the October 7, 2002 speech in which Bush, among other things, used the "the smoking gun could be a mushroom cloud" line. On a more somber note, it occurred to me that if we take Bush at his word and believe they did all they could before the September 11 attacks, what they're saying is that they are, in fact, powerless to keep us safe. Sincerely, Cathy Vance Subj: Condi's Numbers How many times did she say "233"? I would like to be one of the silly panel that let her get by with that bullcrap, and ask her about the 7 months and 24 days.....that they actually put in in that "233" days. Bush has taken more vacation in this 3+ years than I have had in my lifetime...Did the president get hired to spend most of his time at Crawford, Camp David....or more, campaigning?? Yeah, I know...he has to work hard to raise that much money from Rightwingers who vote for any idiot who will make sure they pay no taxes....while we pay through the nose......still! Shirley.........St.Louis Subj: Plane Over Crawford A caller to Randi Rhodes show said there was a plane that flew too closely to the “ranch”but officials secured the prez and had the people identified etc…. (turned out to be father and son on a private plane who accidentally got off course). Hmmm, imagine if norad could have responded to the hijacked planes on 9-11 so quickly…how about putting this story on your website?! A BuzzFlash Reader While Bush out bass fishing, F-16's were able to protect his ranch, but unable to mobilize protection of Pentagon and WTC on 9-11. A BuzzFlash Reader * * *
Subj: Dilemma President Bush expect us to believe "Since he didn't know all the details of 9-11 before it happened it was not his responsibility to warn America". Why are we getting all these warnings after the fact if it wasn't his responsibility then? Bill H. Subj: Responses Dear BuzzFlash, Please pass these messages along. To: Shirley in St. Louis - I was so happy to hear that your granddaughter is back home & alive. Let her know how much you love her & tell her you will always listen if she wants to talk. Reassure her that whatever she says goes no further, that you will listen & not interrupt & not judge. These kids have seen great trauma & it will affect them. To help prevent future problems it's vital that they talk about their experiences. They have got to come to terms with what happened otherwise they end up like my husband who returned from another war 34 years ago today. He suffers from PTSD & regardless what some people still claim, it is real & it is not something you would wish on anybody. To: Michael J. Fowler - I cried when I read your post. My husband & I took the easy way out - we moved to Canada. Our sons are 16 & 18. My husband says he has given more than enough already, Bush is not getting his sons. Canada is pretty much like America, less guns & violence, clean, friendly & more liberal. My prayers go out to you. Think about that vacation! Linda Subj: Bush Says Iraq Crackdown Vital for Power Handover Is this for real? Bush is a goddamn moron of the first order. Let's liberate the Iraqis by blowing them up into little pieces in the name of democracy and freedom! A BuzzFlash Reader Subj: The SPIN Again Funny how resident bush and CON-di Rice could not find anything specific in that PDB on Aug 6, 2001, but COULD find "facts" that didn't even exist to justify an invasion of Iraq. The dots were there to connect on Aug 6, but there weren't even any dots on the "evidence" to bomb Iraq! But man, the little shrub could connect the dots when he was on the Board of Directors at Harken when a financial warning was given. He didn't seem to need specifics then to cash in on his $800,000 windfall! This creep is a SLUG! ...a LIAR ...a FRAUD ...etc -- pulling one of the biggest con jobs on the American public. I am surprised that even 1% of the people still support him. If Clinton had done ONE TENTH of what he has done... Judi Talbot Dear Buzz, Ashcroft flies private jet on 7-26-01
Your friend, L. Highland Subj: Trust and Distrust in Bush's America I trust that the blood of the American men and women being spilled in Iraq at their behest does not discompose the Iraq hawks in the USA. I trust they spend no sleepless nights spent fruitlessly wondering whether the haste to battle was worth the consequences. Given their demonstrated commitment to discount any and all costs I trust they spend no time at all considering the Iraqi lives and families lost and destroyed. I trust the supporters of the Republican Party appreciate the lengths the Bush administration is willing to go to in order to ensure that America remains at war and under attack for the indeterminate future. George W. Bush, the quintessential Republican President, has now defined himself as a “War President”and I’m sure a new “Bellum Americana”is just the party plank you’ve all been seeking. Why settle for four more years? Hell, go for forty! Good luck with it. I trust the major US media, glorious in their credulously embedded powder puff patriotism, are appreciating their red times in the desert sun. There’s nothing quite like a spot of war correspondence in the quest for the gold, is there? In a report in a British publication I read a throwaway line referring to American journalists in Iraq wearing the Maple Leaf of Canada in their lapels. That’s the spirit. I trust very little else about America in these days. I have no trust that the Supreme Court will remain above the political fray. I have no trust that there is still such a thing as separation of powers. The famous checks and balances of the US Constitution are nowhere to be found. Indeed the US Constitution is only occasionally glimpsed and is a mere ragged shadow of it’s former self. I have no trust that the Democratic Party has the grit and cohesion that defeating the Republican juggernaut is going to require. I have no trust that the high mid-double digit approval that Bush continues to enjoy will decline as a result of any of the continuing, worsening revelations about his war and it’s motivations. I have no trust in the fearful, willful ignorance of that part of the American constituency that continues to support Bush. I’ve been following American politics from Canada since Kennedy. This is the first time that I trust the worst of American politics to be more robust, dominant and likely to prevail than the best of American politics. I hate that I have to admit that. Dana Owen
Still Subj: Bush's 50,000 Minutes Dear BuzzFlash, Condi kept trotting out that "only 233 days" line. You might have heard Air America's Randi Rhodes point out that Clinton was in office just about 2 months when the '93 WTC bombing occurred. But you never heard Clinton try to blame Bush Sr. He just went out and caught the criminals--in the process uncovering al-qaeda. Back to Condi. Two hundred thirty-three days is one way to look at it. But if you just look at 36 of those days, from the Aug 6 briefing until Sept 11, you are also looking at 864 hours, and you seeing 51,840 minutes. Fifty thousand minutes. Bush had that many to check with Rumsfeld: "Hey Donny how's our air-defense system working? There might be hi-jacking, and remember just last month my life was threatened in Genoa with airplanes-as-missiles. Heck, we had to sleep on a US warship for safety. So let's make sure that's all working." Is that even one minute of Bush's time? Fifty thousand minutes in which to call Ashcroft and say, "Hey get me a summary on these 70 investigations. Is there any progress being made on these. You pressing on it full tilt?" Would that take even a minute to say? Fifty thousand minutes in which to call Richard Clarke, the coordinator between the various counter-terrorism departments. The only figure who floats between the various agencies that normally don't talk with each other. You know, that "structure" thing Condi tried to blame. "Hey, what's the overview on all this. Is everyone pressing on this?" Not even seconds to say. Fifty thousand minutes to check in with the head of the FAA. "We need you thinking about security." Even fewer seconds than talking to Clarke. Fifty thousand minutes to check with the INS head. "Hey, how's the other departments coordinating with you?" A minute if you want to throw in some pleasantries. Fifty thousand minutes. And George W Bush couldn't even spare five to push for America's safety. And he's running as the "strong on terrorism" president! What a sad, sad, joke. Jim P Subj: The long and short of the August 6 PDB ----------
------- Hello, All, On October 1, 2002 the English-language German newspaper Die Zeit posted their long previously-published 9/11 timeline on the Net. Below is one paragraph from that timeline. You will notice the following sentence concerning the Aug 6, 2001 PDB delivered to Bush in Texas:
It appears that the Bush administration has redacted ten pages from the August 6, 2001 PDB before releasing it to the public. Maybe we all need to be asking what was in those ten removed pages. Barbara * * * "Crawford, Aug. 6, 2001. U.S. president George W. Bush is on vacation. He wants to spend the whole month at his ranch in Texas. Every morning, however, he still receives his Presidential Daily Brief, or PDB, wherein the CIA informs the president about the country's security situation. On this morning, the report is straight from the CIA director. His PDB runs 11 and one-half printed pages, instead of the usual two to three, and carries the title, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." Therein the CIA chief explains that Qaeda has decided to carry out attacks within the United States, and that presumably members of the terrorist organization have been in the country for some time. It is unclear whether the CIA director informed the president about the statements of arrested Qaeda members. According to their confessions, the terrorist organization for some time has been thinking about hijacking planes and using them as missiles." from Die Zeit Subj: Voting Machines Dear BuzzFlash, I have been reading with a great deal of trepidation about the headlong rush by states to employ electronic voting machines. The idea of electronic voting seems logical enough. Having voting machines of any sort without a failsafe way of verifying how votes were actually cast seems ludicrous. We all know that if it is possible to hack into the system and cheat the vote, somebody is going to do just that. I would like to put my two cents worth into the fray and see if anybody else likes my idea. There is currently a system of networked computers in the United States that is accurate, secure and verifiable. ATM machines exist everywhere it seems. A person can go to any ATM machine, anywhere, anytime and conduct transactions with any bank in the country. These machines rarely make a mistake and they print a receipt with every transaction. Why couldn't we just rent some time on these machines and issue voter ID cards so that voters could simply go to any ATM and vote. It would seem a simple matter to write a computer program to make such a thing possible. I can tell you one thing for sure. If I am asked to vote on a tablet pc and walk away without some verification of my vote, I am gonna chain myself to the damn computer until somebody gives me a receipt. I am in favor of electronic voting. It seems a little strange that it has taken so long for it to arrive. I just don't think we can trust the sanctity of the vote to anyone or anything without insuring that our votes won't be compromised. R Franklin
Stencil
Hasn't anyone connected this story of Hamill, a captive in Iraq is there because of the Bush health care in the United States. Walter
Ward Subj: OUR intelligence needs an overhaul! Dear Buzz, You've probably seen by now the headlines breaking all over the newspapers this morning that the Resident says U.S. intelligence agencies may need an overhaul. (To name one article: http://www.freep.com/news/nw/bush13_20040413.htm) So now we know why Ms Converted Rice kept on talking about how structural flaws in the way our intelligence agencies are set up! Because Boo!sh (that's my new spelling of the Resident's sir name) and his handlers decided to use her 9/11 commission testimony to set the stage for the next big hoodwink. Not only do they not admit defeat, they use what should be a defeat as another opportunity to push forward. If we weren't seeing it with our own eyes, would we believe it! Talk about "bold and audacious" (which is what Boo!sh lackeys in the press called the attack on Iraq.) So now we can expect that all the walls between domestic and foreign spying will come down... Checkmate! They got us, and got us good. And we're still pinching ourselves, wondering if it's really happening! You know whose intelligence needs an overhaul? Ours does!!! We sure can't say they didn't warn us though. Every think tank and so on they've ever been involved with is all about what they're doing now. The Project for the New American Century is probably the least of it. They've got a public website at least. Imagine the stuff they say behind closed doors! As for what's going on in Fallujah, they're having a personal pissing match with Al Sadr and even those master occupiers, the British, are upset at how we're handling things (except for Tony.) But Boo!sh and them are all about personal pissing matches. And their documents (PNAC stuff) contain references to things like how we should have the 'stomach' to 'unleash violence' against those who defy us (i.e., those who defy THEM.) They're turning the world into one giant pissing match. I tell you, if the elections really happen and Kerry wins -- so help me God, I'll abandon every conspiracy theory I ever had. Time will tell. Mary in NYC Subj: War Bulletins? Folk. I suggest you start, or attempt, an information page that amounts to a current war bulletin. List the battles taking place in Iraq, deaths and injuries of American soldiers, and estimates of Iraqi soldiers and civilians as casualties. Something up to date. I've not found anything along those lines on the net. What I've been able to do is hit the foreign news sites and the Arabic news. I've discovered that of all of the sites, Al bawaba is usually the first to confirm American casualties and battles taking place. I don't know why this is so, but most of their information is generally subsequently confirmed by other Arabic and western news outfits. For instance, this morning they are reporting an Apache helicopter down and in flames near Fallujah. And an ambush that killed at least one American soldier elsewhere. I feel certain these items will be confirmed later. We'll see. At any rate, there needs to be some news site that focuses exclusively on this war for American consumption. Sincerely, James R.
Smith Of all the drugs made by bush's buddies in big pharma what will be his drug of choice as he appears live on world wide t.v.? Ativan, xanax or maybe even thorazine, but then again he always appears like he's been given several hundred mg of thorazine IM. How about it georgie, got the cojones to do it cold turkey?? Eagerly awaiting the barrel full of lies, Ruth Gottlieb Subj: The media is beginning to get some of the blame it so richly deserves Finally some in the media are admitting that they were part of the problem in the 9-11 attacks by not informing the public about the seriousness of the terrorism threat. Friday on PBS's Newshour, David Broder and Jim Lehrer both agreed that this had been a big problem. However they stopped short of admitting that it was the media's obsession with Clinton's sex life that was the cause of this neglect. (After all, the in depth Hart-Rudman on terrorist threats in early 2001 was ignored by almost all the mainstream media). Then, this morning on Imus, Evan Thomas of Newsweek explicitly blamed the media for its scandal obsession as the reason Clinton was unable to act more effectively against Bin Laden He also said that the military completely stiffed Clinton because of this scandal. (Since when do they get to decide if they will follow their Commander in Chief?) It's time to have this discussion. WIthout the NYTimes obsession with the faux scandal of Whitewater, we never would have had Ken Starr and Monica. But even with that distraction, serious journalist had to have known through their sources that the charge of "Wagging the Dog" was bogus and could have told the public, thus giving Clinton the legitimacy he needed to continue such attacks. We all need to put the pressure on journalists to face the facts about their own culpability. Dora O'Shaughnessy Subj: Bush getting questions for press conference in ADVANCE???? On Air America last night I heard on Marty Kaplan's show that for the press conference tonight (and presumably all press conferences) Bush demands that all questions be submitted in advance. Then his staff filters through the ones that he chooses to address, then Bush calls only on those members of the press with questions that Bush wants to answer. If so, it is absurd and insulting that there's not more attention to this. The public should be outraged that Bush dictates to rather than engages with the electorate. Mike A. Subj: Yet another pertinent warning FBI memo of 7/10/01: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0412042phoenix1.html In light of such warnings (and this, of course, was only one of many), the government, at the very least, should have ordered the routine locking of the cockpit doors on all domestic flights. MCM Subj: Voices A reader talks of our protesting.....to whom? The MEDIA is owned by the Murdochs of this world. Protesting in the streets is dangerous because the Police are instructed by this Regime to keep them at bay and arrest any who dare to get too near to newspeople. RR from Columbia Subj: PDB 8/6/01 There is information developing out there that this doc is 11.5 pages long. WHERE IS THE REST OF IT? Please apply a full court press on this. thx Jack and Laura Gordon Subj: Forget Forget 8/6/2001! Mubarak says he warned" the Americans" on 8/31/2001! Dear Sir/Madam, With Mubarak in the U.S. why hasn't anyone asked him at the White House about the following: In mid-September 2001 the Associated Press reported that Hosni Mubarak stated that he had warned "the Americans" just 12 days prior to 911 (August 31st, 2001) that there was going to be a major terrorist attack on the US and believe me "this one is going to happen". Months later when Colleen Rowley was addressing FBI errors, once again the AP reported that Mubarak repeated his claim that he had warned "the Americans" just 12 days prior to 911. The following day the AP reported that US Intelligence agencies deny receiving any intelligence from Mubarak. Who did Mubarak talk to? Dr. Rice? Dick Clarke? The President? What was done with this information? Can someone ask the White House if anyone in the US ever received Mubarak's warnings and exactly what they did with that intelligence? Respectfully, Mike Scott Subj: Bush: "whoever was the acting FBI Director" Check this out from yesterday's exchange with the "watchdog" press...
"whoever was the Acting FBI Director"....Two and a half years after the worst hostile attack on American soil in history, this unelected drunk hasn't even had enough curiosity to see who was supposed to be in charge of the FBI when he was warned the attack was about to happen. A BuzzFlash Reader Subj: Bush and Tax Cuts Hi: I'm seething right now because, after watching the spin being put out by the white house in texas, I still can't get my wife to understand what the problem is with this bunch. She's a smart woman, master's degree, involved in her work. She keeps saying I should stop wasting my time and start doing something positive, as if trying to regain the America I grew up in is a negligible goal. One argument she made, though, did make plenty of sense. Her sister and the family got a $3200 check from the govt last year as a tax cut. She was thrilled! They ran right out and bought things they couldn't afford all year long because they don't make much money and they have four kids to support (and insist on sending them to Catholic schools). She'll vote for Bush in a heartbeat to keep those checks coming, not realizing that this part of the tax cut charade ends this year. Bush et al. are pushing his tax cuts by using the mantra that tax cuts allow people to go out and buy things they normally wouldn't buy. What happened to the caveats from almost all economists that the reason America is in the shitter economically is because the savings rate is pitiful? Yet every single pundit who supports Bush extols his plan, saying what a great thing it is for the economy. Sure it's a great thing for the economy if you're one of the people earning dividends from the companies experiencing short-term profits thanks to this surge of money. Now we'll be treated to the rhetoric of how great the economy is doing for the next few months as tax refund checks make their way to households across the country. Don't think for one minute that there isn't a concerted effort on the part of political hacks at the IRS to ensure that refunds get out as fast as possible to as many people as possible so that this phony recovery can be touted all the more and the American middle class, what's left of it, can be tricked into believing that this false economy is anything more than a three card monte game. What the hell happened to us? I keep feeling like I've been hit by a train and the paramedics are all standing around gabbing while I bleed to death. This isn't what I want for my children and we're lucky enough to have money and savings and investments for college when my daughter starts in eight years. What about folks who are caught in the vortex of this radical revolution that's drastically changed our values and our way of life? Have we totally forgotten our history? Doesn't anyone care that, in 1985, when Bush's hero, Reagan, was president, we became a debtor nation for the first time in history because his economic policies had squandered a $141 billion dollar current asset surplus in 1981 and turned it into a $107 billion dollar deficit? Our currency was devalued that same year. Doesn't anyone have any memory left or were all the warnings about weed correct? Uh, where was I? Oh yeah. These people don't do things for the good of THE country, they do things for the good of THEIR country and you and I ain't in it. Matt Subj: Send Dubya a Dictionary You know that mindless Rumsfeld exercise in the obvious "going as they are going", "some going well and some not", "there are moments and then there are other moments, some good and some less good", was mind-numbing, but just now on PBS I heard one that could be worse. Apparently Dubya made a remark about the PDB of August 6, 2001 - "bin Laden determined to strike in U.S."? Dubya said, "It had nothing about an attack on America. It was about intentions." Well, let's alert NBC for a possible "Law and Order, CI" plot. The CI stands for Criminal Intent. Karen Webb Subj: 2nd ID battles rising suicide rates Hello, The 2nd Infantry Division is stepping up suicide-prevention efforts in response to a spike in suicides and suicide attempts by its soldiers. Division mental-health officials recorded 52 suicide attempts and ?suicidal gestures? by 2nd ID soldiers during 2003 ? the most in the past decade. Capt. Deborah McCoy, division officer in charge of mental health, released data last week showing 30 2nd ID soldiers attempted to take their own lives in 2003, up from 20 in 2002. Of those 30, two resulted in deaths and one was a suspected suicide, up from none during the previous two years. The data also shows suicidal gestures ? in which a soldier attempts self-harm without the intent to die ? rose from 21 in 2002 to 22 in 2003. http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=21526 Best regards, Michele Subj: mailbag 04/12/04 Good one today...as always! To Ruth Gottlieb, I know exactly what you mean...idiocy is the main reason we are in Iraq...and Bush is president. Clinton haters abounded in 2000....men detested him, he was smart, he was a brilliant speaker, he was not an idiot....but, he had the one thing that republican men, or many democratic men cannot stand, Charisma!! You see, Bush has none! Anyway....I have four male persons in my family, who last year absolutely gave me an ulcer...because those kids over there were fighting for my freedom. "Can't you understand that?" I was stupid enough to ask why...If I had no freedom of speech...and if it was an invasion? Not one of them understood, or would admit they understood what I was talking about! I am hard put to understand that....most of them have been to college.... I have not! Now, I would imagine they all feel like that now, but I have no intention of bringing it up. My granddaughter got home...out of Baghdad....and said she was glad to be home....and there is more there than meets the eye...I think she may have had some nerve problems on top of the cyst! However, during the last 6 months over there, she met a professional that this government has to hire now that we are running out of live bodies, he was a Policeman who was from Pretoria, S. Africa...a Brit! They got very close, as she said, when she was here at Easter. She talked of nothing else...you see, we send out flyers to the surrounding countries....for help at a high rate of pay! He answered, having been a policeman in Johannesburg for three years, and decided he would do his duty and help out in Iraq. This last weekend, he and two buddies decided since they got a weekend pass, they would go to Jordan and rest...on the way back through Fallujah....they were ambushed and he was killed....he lived for a day, then they took him off life support.. Now, she is killing herself, to get a pass, get a passport, get a trip arranged to Pretoria, S. Africa, knowing she may not even make it...it will take ten days to get his body back, then, it will take forever for her to get there...another girl who was in her unit is going, too!(racing the wind!) He must have been a great guy....they were all pretty close in that cesspool they lived in....and I think Kara (my granddaughter) may have thought more of him than just a friendship! Another roller coaster ride....it does not stop. But, I am looking at people every week...and reminded constantly of how George Bush became president....and I am so glad and thank God every day, that I am not responsible for putting him in the White House. Does anyone but me remember the big deal made out of how silly they (the media) made the moving in? How Bush wanted everything in the White House repainted, so nothing would be left of the Clintons! (they were lower, you see?) Now....we know, Americans! And, this idiot, in the White house, does not even know yet, that "War Is Hell!" I hate to admit it, but I hate the man more and more every day...and if he is elected in 2004, I am moving somewhere....away....or get rid of the television. There may be enough mad parents then, to do away with him. This country cannot be that stupid again! And yes, I agree, Ruth....that is exactly why he is in the office....because of the stupidity of the Rightwingnuts in this country! I hope and pray every day, that those who still believe that, will be so overpowered, that they won't matter! Shirley.............St.Louis
Subj: Condi as Frankie? I'd like to share some thoughts with BuzzFlash readers regarding Bush's handmaiden Condi Rice's apparent culpability in failing to sufficiently alert Bush to the dangers of Al Qaeda. And although I assure you I'm no crackpot conspiracy theorist, the scenario that I just couldn't tune out as I watched her testify is considerably more sinister than Condi's putative sleeping on the job. Please...just bear with me for a minute. What if Rice is taking a dive for Bush? What if, like the good little bureaucrat she seems to be, she did indeed keep her boss apprised of everything the intelligence spooks were passing along, and the boss (i.e., probably Cheney) simply chose to ignore it? Rice had to be aware that if the terrorist threat did indeed materialize, she'd find herself in deep doo-doo for having failed to sound the alarm; so what was in it for her to keep The Busher in his usual state of blissful ignorance? Not for nothin', guys, but if you've ever perused Project For a New American Century's mission statement, you couldn't fail to see the phrase "a crisis along the lines of Pearl Harbor" flashing like a particularly ugly neon sign. Being presented with a convenient rationale like that to fulfill their jingoistic dream of colonizing the Middle East would have been manna from heaven for the neocons. So suppose for the sake of argument that Bush and Cheney, having been duly informed of such a possibility by Rice, simply (and optimistically) sat on their hands and waited? In other words, suppose Condi is the Bush Family's Frank Pentangeli, the unfailingly loyal soldier taking one for the team? Is this so far out in left field? For one thing, would you put such a thing past Cheney? (Personally, I believe he'd sell his mother's corpse to vivisectionists for the right price.) Consider this: what would Rice's personal gain have been in keeping mum on all she'd been told about Al Qaeda? I can't think of a single thing. On the other hand, what would Bush/Cheney's personal gain have been in tacitly claiming she'd kept mum? How about a golden opportunity to nail Saddam for 9/11 and thereby loose the dogs of war they'd kept straining at their chains and salivating from the first day they set foot in a stolen White House? Just like Frankie Five Angels, Condi would undoubtedly be assured that The Family would not fail to remember her service. Crazy? Yeah, it probably would be--if we were talking about anybody less crazy than Dick Cheney. Just remember you heard it here first, friends. Ellen Remore Subj: Time to Act on Ashcroft I just wanted to thank you for being the site that pointed out the CBS News story about John Ashcroft's July 2001 decision to stop flying in commercial aircraft due to a "threat assessment." The amazing thing is, you guys pointed this out way back then and asked if he knew something we should know. After 9/11, once again you reposted it, and once again, this story failed to catch on. However, I think that we, as concerned citizens, finally have an opportunity to find out why the Attorney General of the United States apparently knew there existed a threat to commercial airliners significant enough for him to cease flying, and yet he did not instruct the FBI, which is under his authority, to take steps to protect the rest of the flying public. With his pending testimony before the 9/11 commission, perhaps this, and other questions will finally be asked. As we have seen in the past though, unless there is a public outcry, the Bush Administration and their cherry-picked commission will not let the important questions be asked. To this end, I would encourage BuzzFlash to start some kind of email campaign to the commission, or at least to concerned congress people and Senators (particularly Senator Kennedy and Congressman Waxman), encouraging them to see to it that this long-ignored report be brought up during the Ashcroft testimony. This is our last, best opportunity to find out why he chose to stop flying commercial more than 2 months before 4 commercial airplanes were hijacked and used as weapons against the United States. I know BuzzFlash won't let this opportunity pass us by! Sincerely, Scott Murry Subj: Times A'Changin' Dear Buzz, The media, I've heard, is beginning to see the light. They are beginning to print and broadcast news that is not so flattering for the administration. This is reason for celebration according to some folk on the left. "Just recall how the media derailed the war in Vietnam," I've heard it said. "HOGWASH", is what I say. The media began to cover the Vietnam war after years of ignoring the fact. They were cheerleaders of that little corporate adventure until millions of people became aware of the truth through "underground" publications. I used to get my news from the "Burning River Press" in Cleveland and by listening to the Soviet Union's English language broadcast on the shortwave radio. Once the fact of the Vietnam quagmire became common knowledge, the media became the self-proclaimed advocate for the "truth". And the truth was this: The media supported the war in Vietnam for years through it's silence, followed by positive propaganda for the war, and finally resorted to the truth in a bid to salvage it's credibility. This is the same thing that is happening in our present crisis. But the process happened very quickly with regard to the Iraquagmire. Why? You are looking at the reason at this very moment. BuzzFlash, the Democratic Underground, Truthout, Buck Fush, Moveon,and the list goes on and on. I suggest that the print, radio and television media have finally rendered themselves obsolete through their deceptions. People will seek the truth regardless of what the fascist dictator du jour might think about that. These mainstream media are nothing more than the tools of the wealthy corporatists who have made it their mission to cancel the Constitution and reduce the status of Americans to that of serfdom in the service of corporations. If you would break the power of the corporations, you can begin by turning off the TV. Listen to Air America and support it's sponsors. Cancel your newspaper. And call your representatives and senators once a week and give them an earful. You can find their phone numbers at www.congress.org. Stop buying crap. Buy only "fair trade" products such as clothing, coffee, household goods etc. If you can afford the cost, buy a computer for a family member who lacks one and show them how to get their daily buzz; you will be surprised how quickly their television begins to gather dust. The revolution begins with you. Keep up the great work, BuzzFlash and all of you wonderful, powerful BuzzFlash readers! Sincerely, Michael J. Fowler |
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| ANALYSIS | ||||
| MEDIA LINKS | ||||
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Unless
otherwise noted, all original |
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