![]() |
||||||
|
April 16, 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. If your letter includes hypertext links, please include the entire URL. 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.
Subject: "class" A "sad BuzzFlash reader" wrote...
Listen here, good people. It's time to pull up our bootstraps. It's time to bare our teeth and show our canines. It's time to froth at the mouth, if necessary. We've "classed" ourselves into this situation. We've allowed this fascist Bush regime to illegally take over our government and rip the Constitution to shreds. They've illegally and immorally taken us to war for greed and profit. They lie every time they open their mouths. They have no class, yet half of the American population supports them and approve of them. Our base is solid. It's their base that we must begin chipping away at. It's time to stop trying to behave "classy," and fight fire with fire. This must begin NOW. In Liberty, A fired-up BuzzFlash reader Subject: Maureen Farrell's column "Deep, Dark, Truthful Mirror" Wow! This is surely the most concise, comprehensive indictment of the Bush administration you have published yet! I wish this could be reprinted in full in every newspaper and displayed on every progressive site everywhere. Awesome research and fact-finding... Thank you., Becky Miller
Subject: ABCNEWS.com Transcript of Bush Press Conference March 7, 2003 Ha! I knew I'd heard him say this. I've been looking for these comments for a long time.
Rosamond
Subj: Frontline I just watched it, about John O'Neill, the FBI agent who was more or less forced out of the FBI, and took a job making a lot in the Trade Center....was killed when it was hit! You should all get the tape and watch this....this is the only man, maybe other than Richard Clarke, who knew exactly what Bin Ladin was up to. It creeped me out so much, I do not think I can sleep tonight. Because of whomever....the jealousy ran so high in that department.....they hated the man...basically for the same reason all white men hated Clinton....that they would not give him an assignment that might have saved the Trade Towers.....just because of that! (He actually had the thing worked out...the diagram...every move the man made.) I think so long as we have liars like Bill Frist, Trent Lott, Slade Gorton (one of my all time favorites, almost near insanity)...and you all know the rest....they will play games and get their way. Even Richard Clarke, in his testimony to the 911 Commission, said that during the Clinton years, a lot of things were never acted upon, because of the "Wag the Dog' scenario! That, my friends, is awful...and scares the hell out of me! Are men in that position, so jealous of another one who is just a little better looking, smarter, more charismatic...........that they let it effect the job?? Well, yeah....we have seen it so many times. In Bill Clinton's speech at the Democratic Unity dinner, he said (and he does not mind speaking truthfully about the other side now, and I am paraphrasing!) that............. "just look what they did to John McCain in the 2000 primaries? They accused him of having a black child, in S. or N. Carolina, where that would be an issue!" And he went on to say...."And he did, God Bless him, He had adopted a child from Bangladesh!" There will be nastiness coming in 2004, but the ads that Bush has put out so far, are so bland and boring...he is gonna have to get on the ball, or they will put the opposition to sleep! God bless all....and Hey to you, Travis of Collinsville...and everyone else that makes this website so wonderful....not to mention the people who work their little fannies off to bring it to us....we should all stand and applaud the staff at BuzzFlash...like so many, I do not know what I would do without it! I have not seen my granddaughter since she returned from the war, except for Easter. She has gone to S. Africa to the funeral of her friend who was ambushed in Fallujah... It is that important to her....But, I have a feeling that something else is going on...that she may have worse feelings about the place than any of the family will ever know. Although, I was the only one against it...and she is loving to me....so we will see...thanks for all the prayers!!! Shirley..............St.Louis Subject: Maureen Farrell and the Mirror BuzzFlash, Thank you so much for the article "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" by Maureen Farrell. It is an incredible compilation of quotes that every American should be familiar with. Is there any way that this article or parts of it can be printed in newspapers? I visit BuzzFlash every day, sometimes several times a day. I need your articles for my sanity. Last summer in the midst of the Iraqi 'victory' there were so few dissenters that to convince myself I was not in some kind of parallel universe I would sign on to BuzzFlash just to hear that there are others in the world who were appalled by the Bush administration and the things they were up to. You are my main source of news and much appreciated. Again thank you and thanks to Maureen Farrell for her important piece of work. Patti Dugan
Subject: Another book of wisdom I would echo and applaud letter writer Richard M.'s words concerning the 9/11 panel. As so many have noted, if this were not deadly serious it would make a stunning plot for a farcical spy novel. Almost everyone of the panel members, be he Democrat or Republican, is horrendously compromised. These people did business with the bin Ladens, Saudis or big oil right out in the open, others have banking, think tank and political entanglements that should literally frighten the "non-elites" of the world. How about the "Wall Street Journal" editorial and other rightwing mouthpieces that demand the widows shut up and put up (with the ruse)? Go to Amazon.com, or if BuzzFlash offers it, purchase Dr. David Ray Griffin's book, "The New Pearl Harbor." Dr. Griffin, an esteemed and erudite professor at the Claremont Colleges, leaves hypothesis of what may have taken place out of the equation, but wonders why in the world the investigative journalists (would someone please wake those props up), and law enforcement officials sworn to allegiance of the United States of America are not even attempting to answer some of the most perplexing and monumental questions concerning the actual events of 9/11. Just Google his name for more information. Thanks. A BuzzFlash Reader
Hi Buzz, It seems that everyone missed chances and dropped balls except for the Bush White House. Here's what the Commission is telling us: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/15/opinion/15THU1.html According to a commission staff report, until the Sept. 11 attacks, the intelligence community had not done a National Intelligence Estimate on terrorism - a sweeping summary of the intelligence community's views - since 1997. But the fact is, there were many desperate warnings given to the Bush White House. The one below is just one example. We all know Richard Clarke is another example. http://www.guardian.co.uk/september11/story/0,11209,1188133,00.html Together with Warren Rudman, a veteran Republican politician, Mr Hart chaired the US commission on national security/21st century, which was established by President Bill Clinton in October 1998 and told to report to the incoming president in early 2001. That report predicted: "America will become increasingly vulnerable to hostile attack on our homeland [and] Americans will likely die on American soil, possibly in large numbers." It recommended a national homeland security agency. That sounds pretty much like an intelligence estimate on terrorism to me. And another quote from The New York Times editorial above: Mr. Tenet and the panel's staff rightly noted that the C.I.A. suffered huge budget cuts in the 1990's under Democratic and Republican Congresses and that those cuts severely hurt its ability to gather and analyze intelligence. Excuse me George, but throughout the 90's, the Congress was Republican, with the exception of maybe a couple of years. So let's not try and be so even-handed when it's clearly not so. They can keep blaming the intelligence community, but the Bush team was warned by enough credible people. But someone else has to take the fall, don't they? Barbara in NYC - Hooray for BuzzFlash and BuzzFlashers
Subject: the philosophy of george bush with apologies to robert kennedy After reviewing george w. bush's interview on meet the press and other statements he has made regarding his being a "war president," it appears his philosophy is as follows: "Some people see wars as they are in the world today and ask: 'Why?' I see wars which don't exist and ask: 'Why not?' " Dustin
Subject: Weird Question I haven't seen this but it has been bothering me all week. When the White House released the PDB, very little was blacked out. If they released the entire document with so little scratched out, why would they black out the page number? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Nader Could Ralph be using his 'impeachment petition' to gather names for his presidential run? I don't doubt that's his plan, and by checking the innocuous boxes a signer might be declaring the intention of putting him on the ballot in whatever state the signer resides. You should let people know about this scam! Thanks for all you do. Cathy LaPointe
Subject: GeeDubya's National Insecurity Advisor Hello BuzzFlash and all BuzzFlash readers, Listening to the testimony of Condoleezza Rice at the recent September 11 commission hearings, and watching George W. Bush stammer and stumble through a powder-puff press conference (he tried to use far too many three-syllable words), it makes one wonder - do Condi and GeeDubya expect phone calls and e-mails from those whom they have recently dubbed 'the Terrorists' highlighting times, places and methods of attack? Would they prefer a week's advance notice, or is 24 hours sufficient? Otherwise, there is nothing more that can be done to prevent terrorist attacks than to change color codes?!? I find it comforting to know that with Condi in charge of our National Security, she and GeeDubya certainly would have done everything they could to have prevented the September 11 attacks from occurring, had they simply known that 19 hijackers, 15 of whom were Saudis, would have commandeered four airliners, American Airlines Flight 11 from Logan Airport in Boston, and slammed it into the 93rd floor of the North WTC Tower at 8:46 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175, also from Logan Airport in Boston, and slammed it into South WTC Tower between the 78th and 84th floors at 9:03 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 from Dulles International Airport near Washington, and slammed it into the Pentagon at 9:38 a.m., and United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark Airport in Newark, headed to a destination unknown, perhaps the Capital Building, yet ended up crashing in a field in Shanksville, PA at 10:06 a.m., on the morning of September 11, 2001, while GeeDubya was reading a story called 'Pet Goat' to second-graders at Booker Elementary School in Sarasota Florida, and while Condi was preparing to give a policy speech designed to promote Missile Defense as the cornerstone of a new national security strategy that contained no mention of al Qaeda or Osama bin Laden. Doesn't that bring you comfort? Never mind that in the summer of 2001 we received alerts as to potential hijacking of airliners in the U.S., that most of the September 11 hijackers had entered or re-entered the country after the spring of 2001, that Federal buildings in NYC were being photographed by people from Yemen (remember the Cole bombing - in Yemen?), that there were threats of hijacked aircraft being used to attack the G-8 conference in Italy, and that we received information of terrorist attacks on prominent targets in the U.S. using high explosives. But hey, without specifics as to when, where and how an attack was to occur, there was nothing more they could have done. We need to just move on. You see, we need to fight the war on terror in Iraq so that we don't have to fight the war on our soil. I'm sure you feel safer, too - as I do - knowing that Condi is still advising GeeDubya on National Security issues. Warmest Regards, GK, a Fervently Loyal, Devoted and Proud Liberal BuzzFlash Reader
Subject:: Check out The New York Times, Pentagon Seeks to Use Foreign Airlines With the state of our nation's airlines and the thousands and thousands of jobs that they represent at stake ( never mind the security of our troops and equipment) the US government wants to "outsource" transportation to foreign carriers. In the above- mentioned article, the excuse is lame. The Pentagon says that it has trouble determining the foreign ownership and, therefore, it is difficult to award contracts since the law requires 50% US ownership for our airlines to be considered domestic carriers. Since the Pentagon has complied in the past and knows the airlines that they used, why is that suddenly so difficult to determine? Delta, Continental, American, United, USAir, Globe, World, Northwest and particularly American Trans Air have all carried troops and freight. How many people on the street would have difficulty identifying foreign airlines as opposed to those previously mentioned? Does the Pentagon not recognize that Air France, British Air, Air India, China Southern or Japan or Thai Airlines are not US carriers?. Give me a break. This is more about letting those such as Richard Branson come into the US and "Rupert Murdoching"our US airlines than it is about difficulty in identifying which carrier is ours. So many pilots, mechanics and other airline pilots are former military, I guess this is just another way to say thank you for serving your country. Not only has the American public paid to help our airlines recover from the horrendous blow that the industry took after Sept 11th, many of these same people have seen their jobs lost through bad corporate management and corporate greed. Delta Airlines is losing money daily. The pilots, though they have offered give backs for the last year that would amount to millions of dollars, have been refused. The CEO says he needs a shunt not an aspirin, yet the former CEO just left with a 16 million dollar platinum parachute. Delta's rank and file have had their pensions converted to a cash balance plan while the senior executives got a guaranteed multimillion-dollar tax-free bankruptcy surviving plan. Just like the other major airlines, the pension funds of the employees are grossly underfunded. Congress just gave them relief from the normal compliance with pension law. Meanwhile, similar practices have gone on at other airlines. Delta is not the only one.And now to add insult to injury, the US government wants to save, so they put our troops and equipment in the hands of foreign nationals flying planes of other countries than our own. And by the way, many foreign flag carriers are subsidized by their own governments. This is a travesty. The world under the Bush administration feels like Alice through the Looking Glass - everything is topsy turvey and nothing makes sense. I pray that this bad dream will end on November 2nd. Peggy in TX
Subject: THE MAN WHO KNEW..........scary stuff John O'Neill was almost run out of the FBI. Actually I guess he finally was. He was in the first week of his job as head of security at the World Trade Centers that he was murdered on 9-11. I get chills just thinking about it. Might be the most maddeningly ironic tale of all. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ Lp
Subject: Your headline re: Pat Roberts Contradicting Frist on Clarke Your blurb read: "After Richard Clarke's Sensational Revelations Before the 9/11 Commission, Bill "Kill the Cats" Frist Virtually Charged Him with Perjury. Now, A Republican Senator Indicates Frist Was Wrong. Clarke was Consistent. 4/15" I would like to point out that Pat Roberts is not just a Republican senator, but is the CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE. More people might read the article if you pointed THAT little nugget of information out in your blurb. Interesting, by the way, that neither The Washington Post nor The New York Times saw fit to cover that. Jean Subject: stay the course what does iraq have to do with the war on terrorism? terrorism is a tactic. america was victim of a terrorist attack by an islamic fundamentalist group financed by saudi arabia. in retaliation we attacked afghanistan. then we launched a pre-emptive terrorist attack on iraq, a country who had been our ally, who had no connection to islamic fundamentalism, and who had never aggressed against or even threatened us. we abandoned the war against islamic fundamentalist terrorism to wage a war of terrorism in iraq. and we did this not because iraq had WMD, not because they posed an imminent threat, not because they had ties to 9/11, not to remove a brutal dictator, but because, with the inevitable lifting of UN sanctions, iraq would be free to control its own oil resources. we are off course in the war on terrorism but we will stay the course in iraq. and as we do we undercut the moral leadership of a democracy by imposing on others what we reject for ourselves. annabel kendall
Subject: Bush fears Sharon's pullback plan would destabilize Mideast Hi BuzzFlash, Ran across this blast from the past, how things have changed, eh? Today, only a month or so later, Bush is praising this disastrous pullback plan, saying, "These are historic and courageous actions..."! Is there a collective amnesia in the Washington press corp? This is exactly the same plan. One thing has changed though, now there's a Sunni and a Shia insurgency in Iraq to deal with!....and twice as many bodies. It's enough to make a strong man weep. Andy Grainger London, Canada
Subject: Commissioner Gorelick Dear BuzzFlash,I sent [the following] letter to Rep. Sensenbrenner (Republican, Wisconsin). You have my permission to post it. Regarding your call for Ms. Gorelick's resignation from the 911 commission, I feel that your actions are being governed by partisan politics. Certainly, the relation between Mr. Zelikow and much of the Bush administration constitutes a much deeper conflict than any of Ms.Gorelick's actions/associations. If questions (regarding any commissioner's impartiality) are to be raised, then Mr. Zelikow's ongoing relationship with Ms. Rice should be the first to be brought under scrutiny. In light of Mr. Zelikow's past, your recent attack on Ms. Gorelick appears opportunistic, politically expedient and blatantly hypocritical. I give the following citations to back my point: http://forums.tomjoyner.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=892418&Main=892418 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59517-2004Apr7.html http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Philip_D._Zelikow http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/2004_archives/000584.html http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0304/032204c1.htm http://hnn.us/roundup/14.html http://hnn.us/roundup/14.html#4565 Zelikow worked for Rice on the National Security Council staff during the administration of George H.W. Bush, and went on to write a book with Rice on German reunification that drew heavily on classified documents both had access to during their time in government. In December 2000, Rice brought Zelikow back to the White House to aid in the transition to the current administration. During that month-long stint, Zelikow sat in on briefings by counterterrorism coordinator Richard A. Clarke and others, made recommendations for changes in the NSC's structure and proposed language for security directives having to do with terrorism, according to those familiar with his position. Zelikow has recused himself from issues involving the NSC transition, and has refrained from questioning Rice during private interviews, panel officials said. But as the White House's record on counterterrorism policy has come under sharp scrutiny from the commission, so too has Zelikow's role in helping formulate those policies. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50188-2004Apr4.html Zelikow served on the National Security Council staff with Rice during the first Bush administration and later wrote a book with her. In recent media reports, some family members of Sept. 11 victims have said that could taint the commission's deliberations. http://www.911independentcommission.org/ http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030707&s=com ...And Push remarks,"I'm not crazy that Philip Zelikow has such a close relationship to Rice and other people the commission is investigating."Reading the recent articles regarding the 911 investigation, our Attorney General, John Ashcroft, has been attacking Commissioner Jamie Gorelick for her work under former Attorney General Janet Reno. Apparently Attorney General Ashcroft has found an expedient scapegoat for his bungling of national security. For the uneducated, Ms. Gorelick's actions, separating criminal investigations from national security, appears to be "the wall" that blocked our ability to prevent 911. These are Mr. Ashcroft's words and sentiments. However, Ms. Gorelick's actions hold to safeguard The Bill Of Rights. As such, citizens don't need to fear the CIA, the FBI or Homeland Security tapping their phones and invading their lives. Certainly we didn't need to fear the Dept. of Homeland Security being misused to track down political opponents (the way the Texas Democrats were hunted down last year at the behest of Tom DeLay). Mr. Ashcroft's actions in June of 2001 - cessation of flying commercially due to FBI intelligence reports (indicating a heightened danger) - directly demonstrate that he knew of the impending threat against us. He did nothing to prevent it. This piece of evidence against him is damning. Jamie Gorelick is apparently his scapegoat. Sadly you seem to be facilitating his lack of accountability. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/07/26/national/main303601.shtml In response to inquiries from CBS News over why Ashcroft was traveling exclusively by leased jet aircraft instead of commercial airlines, the Justice Department cited what it called a "threat assessment" by the FBI, and said Ashcroft has been advised to travel only by private jet for the remainder of his term.You dishonor the dead by manipulating the commission and debasing it with political expediencies. You hurt the families of those who suffered the loss. A BuzzFlash Reader
I gasped last night when I heard our president say this: "One of my hardest parts of my job is to console the family members, who've lost their life." I agree with the president, it is really hard to console the family members who are dead! A Buzz Reader
Subject: voila It Gets Uglier. Human Rights Violator Negroponte Said to be Bush's Next Ambassador to Iraq. Many Dead Bodies Turned up in Honduras Due to Death Squads When Negroponte Was Ambassador There -- And It Was Just Fine With Him. 4/14 He sounds perfect for the job. And what about the return of Elliot Abrams? Maybe their expertise at drug running can come in handy with Afghanistan's heroin supply...perhaps to fund new wars...on to Syria, Iran, and North Korea! Sari K. Subj: Missing Point Thank you for your daily reports I find them to be a much more valid statement on what is really taking place in the geopolitical world then the major media outlets, which somehow always seem to be skewed so that this administration never has to accept responsibility for anything. I am writing because I think a very important point is being missed in the hearings of the 9/11 commission. John Ashcroft and others keep stating that the Clinton administration is really responsible for not going after the terrorists, but how would that have been possible? All of the Republicans were too busy investigating Clinton's sexual peccadilloes to have anytime to consider his proposals concerning Osama Bin Laden, in fact when he made a military attempt to get Osama, they (the Repugs), all screamed that this was not really about a legitimate threat, thus they broadcast their 'Wag The Dog' theory and went right on exploring Clinton's personal life instead of paying attention to national concerns. I really wish someone on the commission or in the press would point this out. Thank you, Marcia
Booker Subj: Where's Scotty? The last gaggle was April 7, and the last actual briefing was April 1, two full weeks ago. Is such a long gap between Press Secretary appearances not uncommon? I don’t recall such a gap, so naturally I was wondering if they’re worried that putting Scotty out there just gives people one more opportunity to catch them in another lie. Just asking. Warren Subj: WMDs? BuzzFlash - Have you heard about these [urban legends?] allegedly from Iran? I would consider this BS/disinformation given the alleged source, but if WMDs ARE found in Iraq, this issue will need to be revisited. Nothing about this administration would surprise me. George Dee
Subj: Bush and Reporters While I was watching Bush give his speech Tuesday night, my seven-year-old son wandered in and after watching for a minute asked me why all the people asking Bush questions had brown heads? It was then I realized that I needed to explain the facts of life about George Bush and reporters. I began by explaining that the term "brown nose" means someone’s nose becomes brown when kissing somebody’s butt. "Then why are there heads all brown," my son asked again? "It’s because Bush demands that the reporters asking him prearranged questions be 100% butt kissers, I told him. " But why are just their heads brown and not their whole bodies," my observant son asked"? I explained, "when it comes to kissing George Bush’s butt, their shoulders are an just an inch or so too wide," You brown head reporters are doing your profession and your Country a huge disservice! JA Subj: Our own John Ashcroft And believe me, it is hard to admit that dimwit is from our state. I thought I had heard Clinton blamed for everything, until the idiot arrived. And, I remember well when he was being taken to his favorite fishing spots in Missouri on charter jets...it was all over the papers...who does he think he is fooling? When all else fails, and we think we have hit rock bottom, and we wonder if the world will survive because of this president and ALL his mistake...even though he cannot name one..... We have the funny side...on Buzz. I took time to go there tonight...and it pepped me up.! Thanks again............Shirley....St.Louis Subj: Fuzzy Math
Has a familiar pattern to it...50 tons sounds better than 24 tons. Thanks to you, I know where to get the news! Barry
Baker Hello all, The other morning I saw General Barry McCaffrey (I think that's his name) on the Today Show. He said something that almost made my coffee go down the wrong pipe, because suddenly an analogy popped into my mind. Matt Lauer was asking him about the growing need to put more troops on the ground in Iraq. McCaffrey's response was something of this nature - "Well, we aren't increasing the troops - this is simply an 'arrest' in the decreasing of deployment of troops." Yeah, no shit, he really said that. Well, it made me think of this: when the Democrats say they would repeal the tax cuts for the top 1-2% wealthiest people, the republicans scream "they'll raise you taxes!, they'll raise your taxes!". Well, maybe the good general can explain to the repugs that it's actually an "arresting" of the tax cuts, not an increase in taxes. Doesn't the same concept apply? Barbara in NYC Subj: Racicot's response to Kerry remarks Hi: John Kerry made some remarks in NYC the other night at a fundraiser. Marc Racicot, one of the criminals in this administration, came right out and stated: "On a day when Osama bin Laden has again threatened the United States and its allies..." Anybody get the feeling that this tape might have been for internal US consumption instead of aimed at the purported European audience? Try to focus the fickle American electorate on the fact that this "monster" is still out there posing a threat to our great war president and his plans? Maybe get people's minds off the fact that Bush's agreement with Sharon (reported the same day) will scuttle any peace plans for the Middle East? Keep folks attention riveted away from the economy that's in the crapper? Need I go on? Osama bin Laden isn't George Bush's enemy, he's his best friend. He won't be captured and if he does turn up dead, the DNA that's used to identify the body has already been collected. Osama will then disappear behind the curtain with Rove and others after gallantly serving in the effort to completely subvert the American way of life. Matt gw bush said he does not do anything based on polls, so why does he spend so much money on them? we were told the iraq people could pay their own way with oil money, so why are we paying a billion a week? have bush's daughters ever done any public service? have they ever had a job? who pays their secret service? by law it is not supposed to be the tax payer since they are over 21. why did bush lie in his book? he said he volunteered to go to vietnam, then on tim russert he said he did not. bush told reporters at a press conference to read the harken file,then off camera would not release it. why? why in the world is he sooo determined to make the presidency soo secretive when it is historically clear that the more sunshine you allow on your government, they cleaner they are. historians were suing bush for the release of documents, what happened to that? i have a lot more but this will do for now. shorty Subj: Suggested reaction to current situation Below is a letter that I wrote to our local newspaper. I think we should flood every newspaper in the country with similar letters. When I was growing up one of the most important principles my parents taught me was about integrity –that you dealt honestly with other people and took responsibility for your actions. Everyone makes mistakes and they taught me that when you make a mistake, you admit it, make whatever amends are needed, and move on. Dad always said the only good mistake was one where you learned something. I bring this up because I am watching the current proceedings of the “9/11 Commission”with great dismay –It would seem that this terrible disaster happened to us and nobody is responsible. The Commission was established to try to find out what happened and try to prevent it happening again. But from having read the transcripts and seen the hearings on television, it has been procession of witnesses all saying, “not my fault”and “don’t blame me (us).”The only exception has been Richard Clarke, who offered an apology to the American people for letting them down, and for that he was roundly criticized and ridiculed by the Republicans. This attitude of “don’t blame us”has been especially true of the Bush White House. To listen to them, in three years in office, none of them, repeat none, has ever made a mistake (that they will admit) Mistakes are never made at the Bush White House –the president probably sent around an executive order to that effect. When Bush was running for president, one of his big campaign themes was that he was going to “restore integrity to the White House.”I presume he was referring to Clinton’s dissembling about his sex affairs. Personally, I would prefer a president who fibs about his sexual affairs to one who refuses to give us the “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”about the affairs of state. For example, the Bush White House says (from multiple witnesses) “we were never warned”prior to 9/11, while multiple documents in the public record say they were. The bottom line: Integrity is much ballyhooed around the Bush White House, but not practiced. We all know people who refuse to take responsibility for their actions –they want to blame someone, anyone, for their misfortunes and mistakes. It is an annoying trait in an individual, but for those who are in charge of the national government to act that way, it is absolutely disastrous. Sincerely yours, Rev.
David Heckenlively |
||||||
| DAILY BUZZ | ||||
| INTERVIEWS | ||||
| ANALYSIS | ||||
| MEDIA LINKS | ||||
|
Unless
otherwise noted, all original |
||||