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May 4, 2004 |
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THIS IS PART 2 OF THE MAY 4, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. CLICK HERE FOR PART 1. Subject: Today's Falwell Lie Falwell is having Karl Rove speak at liberty university's commencement Saturday at 10 am. This is the same Rove who Falwell claimed called him to tell him Ashcroft was going to be Bush's Attorney General nominee (Ashcroft had preached at TRBC for Falwell a couple year's earlier. Today Falwell said the National Democratic Party had funded 15 books coming out this Spring and Summer (he included Clarke's book and Woodward's book in his announcement). Curious. I have e-mailed woodward to find out how much he got from the Demos. Haven't heard from Bob. Guess he's out of the office this weekend spending his Demo bucks.Falwell made this statement over the public airwaves and I recorded it. He can't lie his way out of this outrageous claim. Life in Lynchburg with Falwell, Rove, Bush and the Republican cabal is anything but dull. William R. Goodman, Jr., Ph.D. (Duke University) Subject: Kerry doesn't think people will listen to GOP propaganda. Regarding the New York Times article where Kerry told veteran supporters that "Americans aren't listening to all that junk." Someone needs to have Max Cleland tell him that indeed the busy public does indeed listen and won't have time to investigate the whole truth. Respond now, define Bush or be defined. Thank you, Charles E. Pittman Please consider including this column on your page. Sherri Byrand usually writes a nice homey, neighborly column. I've never seen her write anything quite this overtly political or critical. It's a response to Zell Miller's criticism of the existence of the 9/11 commission. Paragraph 3: "Miller's also ignoring this reality: If Bush had done his job right, we wouldn't be having this argument. He should have appointed a commission to investigate 9/11 within weeks of the attack. .... Paragraph 5: "So who's playing partisan politics here, as Miller accuses: Not me; I'm not angry because Bush is a Republican; I'm angry because he has been making mistake after mistake that he can't even begin to recognize.... They're beginning to turn in the heartland. I don't know how long it will stay at this address. http://www.wisinfo.com/sheboyganpress/news/archive/opinion_15911779.shtml Sincerely yours. S. Mathews Subject: Titan and CACI BuzzFlash, Use of private contractors (Read mercenaries) is part of the problem. Titan, based out of San Diego, and CACI, based out of Virginia were allowed to be part of the interrogations in Baghdad that were so outrageous. "Col Morgenthaler said the charges against the six soldiers included " indecent acts, for ordering detainees to publicly masturbate; maltreatment, for non-physical abuse, piling inmates into nude pyramids and taking pictures of them nude; battery, for shoving and stepping on detainees; dereliction of duty; and conspiracy to maltreat detainees". One of the soldiers, Staff Sgt Chip Frederick is accused of posing in a photograph sitting on top of a detainee, committing an indecent act and with assault for striking detainees - and ordering detainees to strike each other. Ken
Subject: open letter to Senator Kerry and DNC BuzzFlash, Thanks for the great work you are doing off keeping the public informed. I am emailing you a copy of my open letter to Senator Kerry and the DNC Platform Committee. It is my hope to help prevent US military conscription. Feel free to print this on your site or otherwise use it in any manner you wish. Best wishes, Larry Sparrow * * * TO SENATOR JOHN KERRY, THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE, & THE DNC PLATFORM COMMITTEE; First I want you to know that I have been a Democrat for all of my adult life. The first vote I cast was for Walter Mondale for President. Since then I have voted in every election which has been held, and always for the Democratic candidate. Additionally I have contributed time as a volunteer and money to several Democratic campaigns, including a large amount of time for two Democrats running against for Senator against Jesse Helms in my home state of North Carolina. However I can not stress how strongly I am opposed to the current war against Iraq. More and more US troops are dying, more and more innocent Iraqi civilians are dying, and as we have learned from a series of shocking photographs this week Iraqi POWs are being tortured! This illegal and immoral war must end. I BEG YOU TO OFFICIALLY ADOPT TO THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM THAT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE WILL THERE BE A DRAFT FOR EITHER THE IRAQ OR AFGHANISTAN WAR. If Senator Kerry and the DNC do not make an unequivocal pledge that there will NOT BE A DRAFT then I will separate myself forever from the Democratic Party and switch my voting, donating, and volunteer time to a third party. And I am not the only one. There are many young people who fear they may be drafted -- and there are many mature Americans who fear their child or grandchild will be drafted --- and all for Bush's folly! An unequivocal no draft pledge will win the election for Senator Kerry. Failure to make such a pledge may very well cost him the election. Again I beg you to give this matter long and serious consideration. The Democratic Party must stand for something otherwise it ceases to deserve continued support. I would be very grateful for a reply to this query. Sincerely, Larry Sparrow Subject: Condi, the worst NSA ever? I have paid a lot of attention to the National Security Advisor as of late. I have come to the conclusion that she is not only the worst NSA a president could have, but she has also made a mockery of the position she holds. First, not only did 9/11 happen on her watch, but we now have proof that she had warnings at least 6 weeks prior to the tragedy. Proof in the form of a PDB entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike Inside America" dated August 6, 2001. What kind of NSA would not advise her Commander in Chief to take immediate action? Second, we know that outgoing President Clinton and top officials in his cabinet warned Bush, Condi and others in the incoming administration that Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network were the utmost important problem facing NATIONAL SECURITY. Again, NSA Rice, as we know instead focused on Russia, China, and useless "Star Wars" programs. Again, we have proof. This time in the form of an undelivered speech, dated...September 11, 2001. What kind of NSA ignores ominous threats to the nation and focuses on useless programs and non-threatening Nations? Third, the whole 9/11 commission debacle. She wouldn't testify because an NSA doesn't speak publicly about her conversations and advice to the president. Yet she was on more talk shows than a rock star with a hit single and concert tour to promote! What kind of NSA is so hypocritical? The answer to these questions... Condi has answered herself! Through her actions and lack thereof, as well as her very public foot swallowing She has made it abundantly clear that she is the worst NSA a president and a country could have! The only thing honorable for her to do is to resign! Oh, and an apology to the 3,000 families of the victims of the worst atrocity in our history (a tragedy that she could have prevented) would be nice too! Adrian Potter Subject: Iraq, Haiti, Iran, and Cuba is Next. Hi Gang! First, we saw the overthrow of Iraq. Then, we watched as Haiti went next. Iran receives a stern warning (do not forget, what Bush says in interviews and speeches is treated as policy). Now, there is this: "Last October, Bush announced the creation of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba and set a May 1 deadline for completion of a report. The concept and the timing appeared to be linked to maintaining in the November elections the solid support Bush received in 2000 from Cuban-Americans in Florida. Without their backing, the election would have gone to Democrat Al Gore." Talk about making a foreign policy maneuver solely for political gain. http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20040503/D82APPJO0.html This is not the
America I was born in. Jerry Peurala Subject: Rumsfeld should be investigated for torture knowledge! Newswire: 30 MORE TORTURE SCANDALS PROBED Newswire: Iraq prisoners faced "sadistic" abuses (links included below) This is almost too much to take. The Bush/Cheney administration has already lost any credibility or respect from the world, starting with the false WMD's claims and on down the line. But something like this could ruin the reputation of the entire United States of America permanently. Everyone involved, from the bottom to the top, should be held accountable and punished to the fullest extent of the law. The bottom starts with the young soldiers carrying out the acts, and the top starts with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. If the buck stops anywhere, it comes to a loud screeching halt when the United States military is publicly outed before the world for the in-humane torture of prisoners. There should be a criminal investigation, an INDEPENDENT investigation, not one run and controlled by Rumsfeld or anyone else in the Bush/Cheney executive branch. There should also be an investigation from officials ELECTED by the US people, namely the United States congress. Call your congressman and demand that they begin restoring the ruined reputation of the United States by holding immediate public hearings. For starters they should find out not 'if' but exactly WHEN Donald Rumsfeld was made aware that these war crimes were committed. You can call toll free here 1-800-839-5276 and they will patch you through directly to the office of your congressman. Best! Kelley Kramer ---------- 30 MORE TORTURE
SCANDALS PROBED Iraq prisoners
faced "sadistic" abuses Subject: No Laughing Matter Once again, while nine more of our military guys were dying in Iraq and many more were being seriously maimed, our so-called President was busy doing stand-up comedy about his heinous record on the war and the economy for a roomful of Republican fat-cats who apparently think of the people fighting this oil-war as nothing more than "the help." On the upside, if you listen carefully you can almost hear the sawing and the hammering as they build a special West Wing In Hell for everyone participating in this amoral Administration. Larry Talley Subject: Iraq Photos With such evidence showing ABUSE and TORTURE, why does the American media continue to throw out the term ALLEGED when referring to the Iraq prison photos. PJOnes Subject: The Face of Compassion Dear Buzz, I thought that it might interest you and my fellow buzzers that Laura(Mrs Dumbya) Bush responded to news of Iraqi prisoners being tortured by American troops with," Our soldiers are the face of compassion abroad!" Should my fellow buzzers wish to offer their own opinions to the first lady you can reach her @ www.congress.org and go to " Letters to Leaders" and then to "pResident Bush. There is also a feature at this site called "Pledge Your Vote" and I'm certain that Buzzers will find that interesting. Most of the letters to pResident Bush are very negative. The positive messages to "our leader" seem to be primarily from Kree-yist-yins in a panic over gays and lesbians and how they might use their courting tackle if we allow them to wed. * * *
May 4, 2004 To BuzzFlash: Here is how I'd summarize what the U.S. pre-emptive invasion of Iraq has meant to me and perhaps to many others: The invasion of Iraq was unnecessary because Saddam Hussein was no credible threat to the U.S. and was not involved in 9/11. The invasion was illegal because Congress did not declare war on Iraq but unconstitutionally ceded its authority to the President, who had the gall to say recently that he could think of no mistakes he has made since 2001. Our first infallible President! The invasion has energized and united America’s enemies around the world, including the horrific Al Qaeda. The invasion has alienated many of our oldest allies and angered many other nations otherwise inclined to be sympathetic to us. The invasion and our failure to keep the peace for one year in Iraq has given the .S. Military a public relations black eye. We look not like a mighty country with a mighty army, but we come across as the Russians did years ago in Afghanistan--weak and helpless. The invasion has further undercut the authority of the U.N., an organization that, defects notwithstanding, has behaved more sensibly than the current U.S. administration. The invasion, doubtless planned in its broad outlines long before it actually took place (see the writings by Richard Clarke, Paul O'Neill, Bob Woodward, etc., and many more to come) has cost the lives of several hundred American soldiers, wounded several thousand others, killed thousands of Iraqis, including civilians, and destroyed much of the country—which we are now obliged to rebuild. The invasion has cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars and will cost at least a hundred billion dollars more. The invasion, a year later, prompted Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to admit two weeks ago, in a rare moment of candor, that he did not foresee the trouble that would result after we went into Iraq. Why not? Lots of people were convinced there would be big trouble down the road. Secretary Colin Powell, for example. The invasion and, more important now, the continued support of the invasion by about half of Americans, confirm how easily the American public allows itself to be deceived. Too many Bush supporters are blindly and foolishly loyal to this President, and as such they are a danger to the survival of the Republic along with their leader, who may be a religious fanatic and is obviously an extreme right-wing ideologue with not many ideas in his head. The unprovoked invasion of Iraq may have one benefit: it may cost the dangerously incompetent and embarrassing George Bush the November election. For the sake of my country and the world, I hope he loses. How anyone can vote for George Bush, a man who as recently as two weeks ago still talked, incredibly, about finding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, is beyond the capacity of my impoverished intellect to fathom. While many are thinking happily about re-electing him, I am hoping he is impeached because he has deceived the entire world and because this man of so few ideas is slowly destroying America through his colossal incompetence, the arrogance of his ignorance, and his monumental monomania. Elio Zappulla Subject: Accountability Let's get something straight. If a TV network puts on a show and it does poorly on day one; a/they shut down the set. b/Fire everyone. c/probably also replace or severely reprimand the network executive that green lighted the show. But, our government can engage our troops in a bogus war, 700 plus men and women die and thousands are maimed on our side alone, and yet not one single head rolls! Bush has no shame or regrets! That woman CR is shameless and the rest of the gang are simply criminal. What a world. AG Subject: Karen Hughes doesn't believe atrocities occur during war? Dear BuzzFlash, Last week I was watching Karen Hughes criticize John Kerry for coming forward after serving in Vietnam and speaking out about the atrocities of war before the Senate. She acted like he was lying and insinuated that he was disgracing everyone that had served in Vietnam. Does anyone else find it ironic that with the release of these pictures in Iraq of prisoners being tortured and humiliated....that is shows that atrocities do happen during war? I would love to hear Karen Hughes interviewed again and have a journalist ask her if these allegations of prisoner abuse and abuse of innocent civilians are also false? Are the people making these allegations being unpatriotic and smearing our men in uniform? I would much rather have our troops show that they have a conscience and come forward and speak out about the atrocities they have witnessed so that the outrage will force our Commander in Chief to abide by the Geneva Convention and International Law. A BuzzFlash reader Subject: The State of the Army Hi Buzz. I’d like to make a comment about the State of the Army. You know, like the state of the Union. In my opinion, the behavior and mental attitude of the Army as a whole reflects the mental attitude and behavior of the Commander in Chief. We had some great leaders before. We had President Clinton, who was intelligent, courageous, compassionate and peace loving human being. From that, we derived an outstanding Army. The Army of yesterday had compassion, love for peace, and will to end armed conflicts and genocide. Will to help people, not to oppress them. We have Bush now. Bush is a mental dwarf, evil executioner of Texas. He derives pleasure from torturing others. (Remember him mocking the death row inmate?) What is the image that our Army projects today? How do they look in the eyes of the world? Brutal aggressors. Perverted torturers. Crude imbeciles, who enjoy themselves by adopting the torture methods of those they have conquered. Shame. No, not shame on the Army. Shame on Bush, the war criminal. His army is the reflection of his thoughts and actions. I bet he knew first hand what was going on in those Iraqi prisons. I bet he not only knew. He most probably satisfied his lowest and most perverted instincts by watching those pictures before they leaked to the media. I am not condemning the bravest of the brave, who are forced to fight for the wrong reason. I am condemning the trash that is recruited and mixed with our brave and honorable children, and gives them all a bad name. Dear Buzz, you’re my window to the world. Thanks for the untainted, objective, and timely news. Please keep up the good work; I could not stay sane without you. Ms MJ Stringer Subject: Washington Post article Here’s an article from the Washington Post that already disappeared from their Web sites front page as I was reading it. It appears that Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has unappointed General Saleh, formerly of Saddam’s Republican Guard, who had earlier been appointed to command the newly formed Fallujah Brigade. In addition Meyers doesn’t seem to know that the Marines have withdrawn from Fallujah proper. It appears to me that there is in-fighting in the Pentagon. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60444-2004May2.html Here are some excerpts:
A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Hamill "rescue" Dear BuzzFlash: Does anyone else smell a fishy odor emanating from the well-timed Cheney=>Halliburton=>Kellogg-Brown & Root employee's "rescue." Is this another "Jessica Lynch" set-up? MSNBC reported this morning that Hamill escaped his captors not once, but TWICE! The first time he escaped, an American helicopter supposedly didn't "see" him running around on the desert floor. Like trained personnel in a helicopter who are vulnerable to ground attack aren't going to notice some guy running around in the open? He then returned to his captors' house because he didn't have any water to make the trek across the desert....Or... Maybe once his location was noted, the timing just wasn't right for him to be "rescued." But now his rescue is dominating the so-called 24-7 "news" instead of the much more consequential stories about the torture of Iraqi prisoners, which has inflamed the entire Middle East, not to mention former Republican Guard Saleh's apparent lack of cooperation with US propaganda about "foreign" insurgents in Fallujah. Iraqi Saleh says there aren't any foreign insurgents, which means the US has been killing & bombing the hell out of Iraqi citizens who are resisting the US's violent imposition of "democracy" on them. And on top of that there's Sharon-Bush's embarrassment over Likud's rejection of the Gaza strip smoke and mirrors. Of course, the American public must not be allowed to think about any of that--instead we are to believe that despite other captives being killed and tortured, burned to a crisp and hung from a bridge, this oil-company-with connections-to-Cheney guy is kept like a pet until he miraculously sneaks out the door of the house he's being held in not once, but twice, the second time only a half mile from a convoy he can see from where his is and conveniently timed so that we can be treated to endless video of his tearful wife at prayer vigils in Mississippi. H-m-m-m-m. Message: Our God's tougher than your God, We are tough-guy captors, while you let prisoners escape, We know there are "foreign" insurgents, while your former official doesn't know what he's talking about, and besides We didn't really vet him before turning Fallujah over to him--and the spin goes on, and on, and on.... CF Subject: 4 Bush dictatorship quotes with links "It's not
a dictatorship in Washington, but I tried to make it one in that instance.
We are beginning to see some success in opening up federal coffers for faith-based
programs." - George W. Bush Jan. 15, 2004 "A dictatorship
would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it," - George
W. Bush - July 30, 2001 "If this
were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm
the dictator." - George W. Bush - December 18, 2000 "You don't
get everything you want," A dictatorship would be a lot easier." -
George W. Bush July 1998 A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Your message to Kerry Dear BuzzFlash, Your message to John Kerry (5/3/04) hit the nail on the head. I would expand on it by recommending to Kerry that the enlist the services of his primary opponents, Bill Clinton and others in a concerted effort to help fight the Bush propaganda. The one thing that turns me off on Kerry is that he is a Washington insider and he needs the help from outsiders. Regards and keep up the good work, Al Dawson Subject: Does the buck stop anywhere anymore? Hi Buzz, here's my email to BBC news world edition on their stories about the tortures perpetrated by both the Americans and the British on Iraqi prisoners. Dear BBC, Re: your article of Sunday, 2 May, 2004 - 'Iraq torture photos row widens' General Sir Michael Jackson, and General Mark Kimmitt must surely realize they are ultimately the leaders who have to answer about what goes on under their watch. I'm all in favor of prosecuting the soldiers who carried out the torture, though they should get a lenient punishment when their commanders are responsible. These tortures are happening under General Jackson's and General Kimmitts watch. It isn't enough to say pretty platitudes about the uniform and whether someone deserves to wear it. Where is the accountability of the leaders. We do still have it don't we? Judith Foster, ps. Thank you for doing what our media isn't. Folks, how about these apples... So what has Mohammed Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress got on the US secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld you might ask? As late as yesterday on the Sunday talk shows “The Donald”was defending “The Mohammed”. This morning MSNBC reported that Chalabi might have provided secret security and planning information concerning our present war in Iraq to the Iranian government. He [Chalabi] could in probability be a veritable spy in our very own midst. The Pentagon, Rummy’s shop, provides a stipend of more than a third of a million dollars monthly to Chalabi’s, I.N.C., supposedly for intelligence that in the past may have duped President Bush into a war on false pretences and cost us hundreds of brave American lives and billions of taxpayer's dollars and still counting. Now comes the juicy part…If MSNBC is reporting this morning Monday, May, 3, 2004 that they surmise Chalabi might be involved in espionage, why was Rummy still “standing by his man”on yesterday’s talk shows? Methinks Mohammed may have Rummy by some of his very short hairs. Please remember Rumsfeld goes back a very long way when it comes to involvement with Iraq. Recall the picture [circa 1981] of Rumsfeld’s smiling face and hearty handshake with Saddam Hussein in earlier and happier times. Inquiring minds want to know…and it just might be that... Mohammed Chalabi holds some nasty and very unflattering answers to some very embarrassing questions. J. Gocht sends… Your editorial "Message to John Kerry" was absolutely excellent, to the point, and precisely what I think millions are feeling. It is astonishing John Kerry would say "Americans aren't listening to all that junk." Americans aren't necessarily knowingly listening to "all that junk" but it sure is being rammed down their throats. What with a media machine consisting of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, Clear Channel, CNBC, Sinclair Broadcasting, the New York Post, the Washington Times, Rush Limbaugh (as those who immediately come to mind - as if this isn't bad enough), and a timid, cowed press generally, not only does Bush have a nuclear watt megaphone but even those who might not know they're "listening to all that junk" are being brainwashed every minute of every day of every week of every month and the DEMOCRATS BETTER GET A HANDLE ON WHAT AN EMERGENCY THIS IS! Melanie Killinger-Vowell Subject: Atrocities of War Does anyone else find it ironic that the republican party accused Kerry of lying when he spoke out against the atrocities of the Vietnam war when he returned....and this week we are seeing the atrocities of war in the photographs taken in Iraq prisons? I think Karen Hughes owes John Kerry and all veterans an apology. Betty Subject: Slogan According to Craig Crawford on Keith Oberman's "Countdown" program, Democrats were despairing about finding a suitable slogan for Kerry's campaign. Well, here's one for them to try out: "Put a War Hero in the White House, not a War Monger". an avid BuzzFlash reader Thank you for the tremendous editorial today! I am glad I sent you guys money! Please keep up the important fight! What you are doing NOW may save lives in the future....I mean that. SJ Subject: Excellent May 4 Editorial How many of us feel the same way about Kerry? And are already getting ribbing from our friends and co-workers about supporting him? And how totally unenthusiastic I am to work for him—because he himself is so totally unenthusiastic! What a contrast to how I felt about Dean! If Kerry doesn’t change soon, it is already over. Somebody tell Kerry: -- to look at the camera often when you are giving a speech to a large group—the largest audience watching is not the one in the gym hall, but the one played over and over in the next few days on TV, so make strong eye contact with them, too. --stop kissing the head/hair of your wife while holding her; it makes you look needy and dependent on her. (Remember it’s the TV image that is important now.) --stop being a bobble-head when someone is talking or asking a question. --stop wearing suit/tie attire at blue-collar events, or on MTV, it makes you look so out of touch with the country; take a page from Karen Hughes’philosophy of the Bush campaign: dress to impress, dress to relate. At least take your jacket off when you talk. --if someone else is writing your speeches, fire them; if you are doing it yourself, hire someone else FAST. --every time you give a speech, do what Karl Rove did to Bush: make yourself watch the entire speech on Mute to see what the country sees, and watch it over and over like Rove make Bush do. Seriously. --Have some intern assigned every day just to watch CNN and MSNBC and critique what is being said about you and shown about you. .*Beware they will try to guide every aspect of your campaign, just like they did with Gore*. Skip FOX because you are not going to get votes from those watchers. (Remember the media saying Gore was too much of an insider over and over, so he moved his headquarters to Tenn., losing much of his long-time staff and connection, and saying how stiff he looked, so he hired Naomi Wolf who put him in those awful colors, and they media saying he needed to separate himself from Clinton, so he choose, of all people, Lieberman, and wouldn’t let Clinton campaign for him? Etc) And please, no colored shirts in the south during the summer, so no more sweaty armpits shown over and over… --choose John Edwards for VP to send him out as a contract, an excellent speaker, and say you’re going to appoint Dr. Dean and General Clark to some post now. It appears like you think you’re in training camp, when it is already the 4th quarter. --finally, hope you have someone reading the internet websites daily, especially BuzzFlash. Sincerely, Betsy P.S. Just now they are showing only a short 30 seconds of Bush’s speech today in Iowa. He says a sentence and looks left, then he says another sentence and looks right at his audience, then he says the last powerful sentence, looking right at his audience across America. The false impression was that of a strong, honest leader. We are already up a creek, I am afraid, unless things like Speedy Gonzales…Pronto Subject: Unbelievable I just can’t believe it - even from this slimy nincompoop of an administration. The selective service has proposed a draft up to the age of 34, including women. Just how much blood do these bastards need to fight a war we have already lost? People 34 are usually married and parents. What of their children should they be killed? The right house of lords hates social security and aid to dependent children. So how are they supposed to live...go through garbage? But what can you expect from a political party that thinks a nonviable hunk of tissue has more rights than some toddler born into poverty, needing so much and getting nothing under their rule? Enough is enough. These people are not only silly and stupid - they are criminals. This entire administration should not only be impeached but should be tried for war profiteering and war crimes. And if the self-serving Washington democrats don’t have the guts to do it - then we should scare them enough - by writing in Bugs Bunny if need be rather than vote for them. They have become part of the problem. These people are supposed to work for us! If the specter of a draft doesn’t scare the hell out of Americans, I don’t know what will. Are our young men and women a renewable resource to be sent around the world to kill every nasty and whoever is in front of them and then put the same damn nasties right back in place because we have lost control of the situation? Please, please wake up America. Everything we stand for is being jeopardized. We’re hated around the world, we have no honor, we don’t care about our own, we are suffering from a horrible selfishness and sanctimony and we seem to be paralyzed. We weren’t scared of the word “impeachment”when it was a stained blue dress, but we seem to run like rabbits when it becomes a matter of life and death for your children and mine. Tell them they can’t have our sons, daughters, husbands, wives, and parents for this nonsensical, unnecessary war that should never have been allowed to happen in the first place. SOS Click here: CNN.com - Hughes blasts Kerry's Vietnam comments - Apr 26, 2004 These are Hughes comments:
In view of all the atrocities that we have witnesses this week with the photographs released from Iraq....I wonder if Karen Hughes would like to eat her words? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Kerry Needs Help! Al Gore controlled his own campaign for president and he lost. George Bush had no idea how to run a campaign and he won. Bill Clinton won two elections thanks to the direction of James Carville. John Kerry doesn't have a chance to win if he stays on his present course. Seems like a call to Mr. Carville would be prudent at this juncture. Ray Young
Subject: Reporting A major reason the press is going so light is that any reporter who tells it like it is gets sent to 'coventry' as soon as his boss gets the inevitable phone call from the white house. (Lower case is deliberate!) Sydney Parlow Subject: Bad News / Good (sort of) News RE: USNews & WR's Slimy Kerry/Bush Cover Well, the bad news, of course, is that USN&WR is a captive of the corporate right wing, and/or is yet another apologist for the feckless George W. Bush, as evidenced by its May 3, 2004, cover of Kerry in a suit and Bush in uniform. The "good" news is that, in checking out USN&WR's website today (05.03.04), there are a dozen or more "Letters to the Editor" shaming this rag for its blatant bum-kissing of George "run aWay!" Bush. So, at least people are noticing and calling these rags for their unapologetic bias against anyone who would upstage the "Boy King."
Richard R. Newton (Full disclosure post script: I knew to go to the USN&WR letters website when I received an email informing me that my letter had been posted . . . rrn). Subject: Being Aware . . . Dear Buzz, Just wanted everyone to know the word is getting out about filing absentee ballots. My Senator from Nebraska Ben Nelson has sent me a absentee ballot telling me to vote by absentee ballot. Hmmmm..... I never have gotten one of these notices in the mail before.....I think the Democratic Senators are taking the hint. You think? I'm trying to encourage all that I know to vote by absentee ballot, and make a copy of it! Keep up the good work ! A loyal buzz fan forever! Sharon Carlton Subject: Bob McDonald's "Flipping Bush Voters" After reading Bob's article on how hard it is to convince Bush voters of what really goes on, I can completely understand. I did vote for Gore in 2000, and would never vote for any of the Bush clan because I personally believe that crookedness is in their genes (hence Poppy). I only depended on the usual mainstream media (newspapers, TV, radio) for information and was disturbed by the run up to the Iraq war. Why did I hear almost no opposition? When it became blatantly obvious that dipstick lied, I then started digging around on the internet and thought, that SOB! look at what he's been doing all along and if you relied on mainstream press you'd never know. We are censored, and then sold a package of goods. The GOP and corporate interests have skillfully marketed Bush like Kleenex, and half the public doesn't realize the real goober they've been given. Karen Kulmaczewski Subject: Fragging Iraq-Style Monday, May 3, 2004 Dear Buzzies, The fragging reported in Vietnam could be updated for handling today's military crimes. There could be blanket amnesty (or 'immunity from prosecution' pleas) for any soldier who knows of torture or war crimes and comes forward to report it before charges are made. No immunity if someone else in the group reports it first. Wendi Meremark Subject: Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzpatrick Tonight on The Larry King Show, during a discussion of the seemingly lack of progress by the Special Prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, into the White House leak which outed Valerie Plame, wife of Ambassador Joseph Wilson, as a CIA agent, Congresswoman Jane Harman stated there was a column out today that called Mr. Fitzgerald's impartiality into question. I did not understand who wrote the column or in what publication it appeared. I have not been able to find anything regarding this. If you find something I would sure like to seen it in the next edition of BuzzFlash. Thanks for the tremendous job you people are doing. Bill Sybert Subject: Form and content You make a valid point about form and image. But my take is with all the money they have spent on attacking Kerry and can only show maybe a slight lead or a tie, they have a problem. If I was in the Bush's camp, I would be very concern why Bush isn't leading by double digits in these "most likely" polls. I bet Rove is having fits because Bush is so mired in muck that he can't shake Kerry. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Kerry Editorial I thought your editorial was right on the mark! But how do we see to it that Kerry actually sees it and heeds it? I read in a news report that Kerry has not yet formed a "war room," where GWB formed one in March -- from the way the Kerry camp responds to issues, you can tell it. We have to win this election -- this country cannot take four more years of corruption and misrule by GWB and Co. But we aren't going to win it if Kerry keeps on running things with his own version of "The Original Amateur Hour" -- It will be "Dukakis -- The Sequel." Could you encourage people to write to Kerry (and include a copy of your editorial) ? If you could provide an address or email address, we could start a letter writing campaign (now -- before it it too late.) Best regards, Rev. David Heckenlively Subject: Paula Zahn and Victoria Clarke- Psych Ops-iraqui torture issue I am furious about what I just watched on a Paula Zahn segment on CNN (may 3) where pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke continuously stressed that the reason for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners is because of a handful of amoral soldiers, and Paula Zahn cravenly agreed with her that there is definitely something wrong with them and no one normal would ever do such a thing and the entire blame should fall on these soldiers. Of course Clarke's goal is to get the American people to avoid looking at the institutional horrors of war and imprisonment and the responsibilities of those responsible for creating the situation in the first place. Below is what I just wrote to CNN. I now regret that I was so polite and didn't slam her for collaborating in the psychological operations the administration perpetrates on the American people through good graces of the fawningly complicit media. (BTW, psych ops on the american people has been illegal since 1948, not that engaging criminal behavior troubles this administration at all). To CNN and Paula Zahn: I am very disappointed in Paula Zahn for the way she cravenly agreed with Pentagon Spokeswoman Victoria Clarke that the blame must fall completely a few bad-apple soldiers who abused the prisoners in Iraq instead of exploring the broader issue. Everyone who took Psych 101 in college (I assume Paula took this course as well) learned about the Stanford Prison study (1971), where normal middle-class college students became sadistic prison guards in an experiment, even thought they were cautioned against it. Here is a good link to refresh your memory that "The study demonstrated, for example, that "good people are not enough" to prevent abusive excess, he said. "Individual differences matter very little in the face of an extreme situation. . . . Institutional settings develop a life of their own independent of the wishes and intentions and purposes of those who run them." http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/relaged/970108prisonexp.html Please do your viewers a favor and enlighten them on this well-known process. It was no surprise to me that atrocities occurred in that notorious prison setting. Joanne R. Subject: Bush in Michigan :-( Good day BuzzFlash: Please find something wrong with Bush here in Michigan now. He is turning my stomach. All the local channels have him live right now. Smirk is throwing out the lies and propaganda as I write. I've had to change the channel. I'm sure he is speaking to a select crowd that has been screened through a fine mesh in Wings Stadium. My feelings run strong against the appointed cartel leader, and have for over twenty years. It just makes me so sad he gets to flood the air waves for free with what I know is a staged spew of propaganda and catch phrases. Oh the horror, the horror. Marc J. Custer Subject: Kerry's Campaign John Kerry won the primaries his way, and we should let him win the general election his way too. It was Howard Dean, you'll recall, who ran his campaign as you are advising Kerry to run his. The Kerry Campaign has done a wonderful job of raising money and, until today's huge buy, not spending it. Frankly, I would rather have seen him hold off longer. If you're looking for guidance from previous campaigns, consider Lee Atwater, who watched his guy fall SEVENTEEN POINTS behind Dukakis before striking back in August/September. Even when Ann Richards gave her crowd-pleasing skewering of Dad Bush at the Demo convention, Atwater held his fire, knowing he was loaded for bear. Bush's $60 million buy--which is a lot, even for them--didn't do much. His surrogate attacks in the free media have drawn blood, but the correct antidote to that is a united Democratic Party, not a bunch of armchair quarterbacks. Every dollar spent now is a dollar we are going to wish we had in September and October. Every charge made against Bush now is one we are going to wish we'd save until more voters were paying attention. I believe that George Bush is the Dukakis of this year's campaign--although obviously with much better campaign management. Like Dukakis, Bush is far more to the ideological edge than he has represented himself. Bush and his vice-president are well to the right of even many self-described conservatives. Like the elder Bush, Kerry is in a position to claim the center of the field. And like Dukakis, Bush Jr. is in a vulnerable position because he has basically lied to the public about who he is politically. It is difficult to sustain the kind of hard and unrelenting attack that will be necessary against Bush, so it should really begin, just as Atwater began his against Dukakis, after the GOP has finished its convention. In the meantime, public criticism of Kerry's campaign should be muted, at least by those who wish him well. Steve High Subject: Must see website. You can't make this stuff up! Please see this piece of the Bush 2004 website: http://www.bushpresident2004.com/meet-the-liars.htm They have a description of all the people who have criticized Bush with a label "Meet the Liars". Also, at the home page, there is a puff piece about Fox as being fair and balanced. Since when do presidential campaigns endorse commercial TV networks? ZH [BuzzFlash Note: bushpresident2004.com is a satire web site so subtle it's disarming.] Subject: Bush's Rally in Sterling Heights, MI Hi Buzz ~ Only in Bushworld can this happen. Tonight, I happened upon the tail end of Bush's rally in Sterling Heights, Michigan, LIVE on CSpan. As he's working the crowd (much more superficially than Kerry does, I must say), the background music is none other than the incomparable Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered. And the lyrics, no shit, that were blaring over the speaker (and repeated at least once in the song) at the rally were ... priceless. "I've done a lot of foolish things, that I really didn't mean..." WTF? Rovian irony knows no bounds... Regards, Vicki Stein Subject: "Mission Accomplished" version 3
Remember that in previous reworkings of this incident "mission accomplished" was the sole responsibility of the aircraft carrier's crew, and referred only to their particular mission. Presumably, the crew is now to be blamed for leaving out the indefinite article on the conning tower banner. And only a man who reads no newspapers could make a remark about their being no torture chambers in Iraq on a day when our torture chambers are on the front of every paper in the world. Albert Clark, NY |
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