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May 12, 2004 |
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Subject: Novak outed the wrong person Interesting Bob "I'm a Traitor" Novak Column: Few friends rush to aid Rumsfeld 5/11 Robert Novak says in 2001 "an old friend of his [Rumsfeld's] gave me a disturbing report. A former senior government official who was now a defense industry consultant, he told me Rumsfeld was a disaster waiting to happen." What a pity Novak chose instead to "out" Valerie Plame. Rosamond
Subject: Back to Crawford Hello BuzzFlash:Well, I didn't think I'd live to see it, but the day has finally arrived when there is no atrocity left that can be perpetrated against the American public and the world by the Bush administration. For years I've written letters to the editor to voice my feelings about the issues of the day but there are so many issues on the table right now that I'm suffering from shell shock, feeling confused and beleaguered each time I attempt to put my opinions on paper. The problems of our world are so convoluted that everything has become a blur, with one issue spilling over into another until the canvas of issues looks like more like a Picasso than a Renoir. Everyday I ask myself how has this administration has been able to use juxtaposition in ways that I never thought possible? How have they been able to interchange Afghanistan with Iraq, Terrorism with Islam and Osama with Saddam, while sliding under the radar screen of truth?How have they been able to create and maintain the perception that the seeds of a weapons programs are the equivalent of weapons of mass destruction? How have they been successful at elevating a paper tiger to the status of anti-christ and maintain that perception even after the anti-christ was found sniveling in a hole filled with his own body waste? How have they gotten away with using propaganda and coercion in ways not seen in 60 years? Why have they been allowed to lust after the natural resources of every country on the planet while wasting and misusing the dwindling resources of America? How is it they've been able to send our children and grandchildren to fight and die in an unwinnable war, while shaming us for asking questions about the war and pitting us against each other over the war? How were they able to destroy our trust, our faith and our hope and leave us with nothing to do but write feeble, incoherent Letters to the Editor in just 3 short years? God I can't wait until the election in November so that I can pull the lever and cast a vote to help send Bush back to where he belongs, his make-believe ranch in Crawford, Texas. Maybe then we'll be able to take back our country. Carolyn in Tennessee
Subject: Responding to The Post-Crescent request for balance I saw the article in The Post-Crescent (Another swing at the plate on letters to the editor) asking for more pro-Bush letters in order to achieve a balance of opinion. Below is the email I sent them as my response to their request. Concerning your May 4 request for pro-Bush letters: Have you stopped to consider that maybe there isn't enough support for Bush left in your readership to accommodate your request for balance? Every day, those who are paying attention to the news, and not just scanning the headlines, can see the daily predation of the Bush Administration against the country they were given charge of. Only those who choose not to see would miss these. You state, "At best, [the reader letters] should offer a full spectrum of beliefs and topics." Where were you the past three years, when it was all pro-Bush all the time? Balance was not allowed to interfere with the image of the Bush Administration or their plans to win the war on terror, especially after 9/11. The need for balance was then, and just might have prevented the torture scandal from happening in the first place. The entire world advised that we demonstrate the need for the attack on Iraq, and now over 750 Americans are dead over what is now known to be false reasons for war. It isn't just Iraq that needed the balance you now beg. Its Medicare against the elderly, jobs leaving the country against those seeking work, and polluters being granted free rein while those who choke on the smoke all cry out for balance. It is time to end the hypocritical calls for balanced opinion and time to start the real effort to restore balance to the nation as a whole. A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: bumper sticker "Impeach
em all, Steve K.
Subject: Taguba Hearing/Pathology alert Reality check, please? Did anyone else see Senator Inhofe, R-OK, at the continuing Torture Hearings? Was his ill-considered rant so far over-the-top as to be in another galaxy? I honestly did not think that my jaw could hit the floor again quite so hard. Did he really call concern, regarding the torture of Iraqi prisoners, politically motivated hand-ringing? I am not being funny here. This man sounded like he had no clue what he was talking about. He was just ranting and saying things that we know are not true, and that are going to emerge as not true? He was demanding that every time a picture is shown of an Iraqi being tortured, it be accompanied by a photo of the crimes of Saddam. God, it was nuts. He said that he was sick of do-gooders crawling all over our prisons in Iraq. You all need to see this for yourselves. Between this Inhofe crackpot and the Right-wingnut blogs, I am seeing more pathology than usual, as a matter of fact, it is off the scale. This makes me think that the Bushies are coming down. These people are so furious that they cannot think straight. Cant keep their mouths shut either apparently. I believe this is testimony to the abilities of the "other superpower," world opinion and its uncontrollable methods. The Control-freaks on the right are losing it in public on a daily basis. I highly recommend that everyone make an attempt to see the startlingly petulant and childish display by Inhofe. I am sure that the rest of the world will not respect us as a result of what they hear from Inhofe, but they will probably understand why we are having such a hard time. I am sure the Hearing will be re-televised on C-span. Dot
Subject: Sen. Inhofe, Evil Prick of the Day Dear Senator Inhofe, I am outraged by your outrage at the outrage of decent people of good conscience. To paraphrase, because we, via our American representatives in Iraq, only rammed objects into prisoners anuses, rather than ramming drill bits through their hands, we are better. That we have only raped and beaten children rather than lined them up and shot them, we are much kindeR oppresSors? As a human being I can hardly understand your sentiments. As an American I am ashamed of your performance today. These people are praising "Allah" that Hussein is gone?! Forgetting that Iraq was more secular and has a Christian population as well, your condescending smug righteousness is appalling. Stating that these are people "guilty" of being terrorists and aiders and abettors, how can you possibly know that? Most of these people have not been processed yet, much less tried and convicted. Have you not paid any attention to the ICRC when it says that up to 90% of these prisoners were incorrectly swept up in wide net operations? In other words, they were only in the wrong place at the wrong time and were suspected of no crime. And we all know this reaches far beyond seven rogues. Don't you even listen to the hearing going on around you? It was stated during this proceeding that these atrocities occurred in many prisons throughout Iraq. Acting as if citizens of a country that was invaded, that is now occupied, have equal power with the invaders and occupiers is just wrong. And the fact that atrocities have been committed by the Iraqis as well has no legitimate purpose here. What...they did it too? They started it? I don't allow that from my own children. We as Americans are responsible for our own actions. I don't think saddling up an elderly woman and riding around on her like a donkey is any kind of appropriate response to anything. Anything! As far as politics, you just brought it to the floor and tainted these hearings yourself. But you knew that. Within your glass house, with your blinders on, I suppose you need to be reminded that photographs of President Bush on Air force One, on September 11, 2001, a day drenched with American blood, were sold as a fundraising effort. And that further photos of a body being hauled from the wreckage of the Towers were used in political ads. Remind yourself, who benefited from these? I certainly hope that your performance was a calculated effort to appease your base and not your true feelings. Hard to say which of these would be more shameful on your part. But both are shameful. Shame on you Mr. Inhofe. Your attitude taints all Americans, and I, Sir, disavow any connection to you or your ilk. I will not believe that you represent America, or the majority of the American peoples sentiment. If you do, shame on all of us. Lexie
Subject: Pandering to Special Interests? Not the GOP! Hi Gang! Medicare Contractor Firm Donates to GOP Talk about being caught with your pants down. Gee, this is going to be a rotten week for Bush. Now, only if John Kerry would start opening his mouth a little more...not that all this bad news isn't doing it for him. Jerry Peurala
Subject: My Letter To The Editor of The Post-Crescent I just read the article from a link on your website entitled: This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read from a newspaper. I just sent a letter to The Post-Crescent editorial staff. I have included it below. This May 4th article is a joke, right? "Editorial: We need more letters to achieve a balance...How can we balance the perspectives and topics of our letters when many of our submissions have been coming only from one side? We've been getting more letters critical of President Bush than those that support him. We're not sure why, nor do we want to guess..." Let me assist you. The first sentence of your article should give you the answer to your dilemma. By not receiving many positive letters regarding President Bush, the political and social temperature of the Valley is that it is cold towards this lying, dishonest and immoral man who is responsible for a failing economy, the largest jobs loss of any past administration, the weakening of our constitutional rights, a constant loosening of our environmental protections, unilateral loss of good will towards our country and the fiasco that is Iraq. Don't get me started on the stonewalling, lies and total lack of openness he displays regarding anything of importance to the American people and to the well being of the country he is supposed to be leading. By asking for positive letters that citizens aren't motivated to write, you are obviously trying to positively influence the opinion of your readership towards a president that deserves no help. Even with the influx of right wing talking heads and administration apologists that have now overtaken our televisions, radios and print media, your pathetic request for positive opinion letters in favor of Dubya is a new low for a newspaper editorial page. Please tell me this was a joke. Sincerely, Ryan Williamson Thanks for your terrific website and unfailing work in fighting the evil that is George "Dubya" Bush. Sincerely,
Subject: Ashcroft: Petition Launched Today For Special Prosecutor Public Campaign Action Fund just launched a petition drive to urge Ashcroft to appoint a special counsel to investigate his violation of campaign finance laws and his potential violations of tax and disclosure laws. http://ga3.org/campaign/Ashcroft_special_counsel/step1.tc David Donnelly
Subject: Hunting Felons in Florida BuzzFlash, We know what happens when criminals such as Katherine Harris and Jeb Bush are not brought to justice. Another Open Season on our votes. Shirley Smith
Subject: Female Private Ordered to Pose with Leash [I think the trail of slime is going to lead all the way back to Cheney.] Excerpt - Army Pfc. Lynndie R. England was ordered by her superiors to pose with naked Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, her attorneys said Monday, so that the photos could be used to frighten and demoralize other prisoners." [thought so, and why her?] "They picked her to get the smallest, youngest, lowest-rank woman they could find, and that would increase the humiliation for an Iraqi man," said Rose Mary Zapor, another member of the Denver-based legal team. Here's the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16371-2004May10.html A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: Is this not an an act of treason? The Bush family are carriers of the deny-destroy-and-be-damned virus. Prescott Bush never apologized for trading with the Nazis. George Bush Senior professed to know nothing of the drug and arms dealing that funded the bloody, illegal Iran-Contra operations, although it was common knowledge that he directed them. He and his sons enriched themselves through shady real estate deals and financial manipulations that brought down entire banking and savings and loan institutions. They are all consummate inside traders, looting and leaving ruin in their wake. President-Select George Bush is no exception. He has no scruples about exploiting his office for personal and family gain. The Texas governor who could joke about frying prisoners in the electric chair will not, as president, agonize over the decision to send young men and women into battle--or over denying them medical care when they are injured. There is irrefutable evidence that highly-placed Saudis aided and supported the terrorists who murdered over 3000 American citizens on September 11, 2001. Yet George Bush persists in protecting and colluding with those who sponsor terrorists. Is this not an an act of treason? Thomas L
Potter
Subject: Rumsfeld wants to pull funding for Stars & Stripes This following a series by the newspaper that found nearly one third of all Army troops in the Iraqi Theatre rated their unit's morale as "low" or "very low." Jackie N.
Subject: Sen. Inhofe's statement/Globe & Mail article I heard an excerpt from Inhofe's statement a couple of hours ago and was both confused and appalled by the ignorance and venom of what he said. I think some of these Republicans are living on another planet or have become totally irrational. Senator livid at fuss photos have caused Robbie McCosh
Subject: The jury of conscience, the U.S., and the ICC The United States, and the Bush Administration, has been found guilty of war crimes. Obviously, the jury of conscience is not an official war tribunal, or anything, but something in the article gave me an idea. Allow me to quote:
I've seen a lot happen lately through grass-roots movements like Move-On.org, and maybe I'm being far too hopeful here, but if a large amount of people got together, and signed a document saying that we wanted to be a part of the ICC, and be held accountable for these crimes, it would have to become law. It is our job, as Americans, to keep our government in check. They are our leaders, and our law-makers, but every single one of us is responsible for the decisions made in this country. That is part of being a Democracy, and is something we have all forgotten. Even though this Administration was illegally, and unconstitutionally "elected," We the People are still accountable. It is our job to stand up, and accept responsibility. If we can't accept responsibility, than we have no right to ask George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, or anyone else to do the same. We must stand United, no matter what. I can only pray that someone else out there agrees with me. Dominic Ervolina
Subject: James Inhofe hates the Constitution Like many Americans I was saddened and disgusted by the revelation of photographs from the Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad. Now a US senator, James Inhofe, is outraged that people would actually be outraged about this (Senator 'Outraged by Outrage' at Prison Abuse). He says, "If they're in cellblock 1-A or 1-B, these prisoners, they're murderers, they're terrorists, they're insurgents. Many of them probably have American blood on their hands and here we're so concerned about the treatment of those individuals." That mindset is the single most hypocritical, intellectually devoid and morally reprehensible position that any human being could take. By this justification, we admit that Saddam Hussein and his army are the ones who set the standards for right and wrong. Since Saddam and his army tortured and murdered Iraqi citizens and US troops, shall we just follow his lead and do likewise? Furthermore, he says that those being tortured "probably" have hurt Americans. What happened to the presumption of innocence? I would also remind Senator Inhofe that we are supposed to be the civilized nation. We agreed NOT to torture prisoners of war long ago because we wanted to be part of the civilized world. We are not barbarians; therefore we do not seek to emulate them. This action and ideology only demonstrates that the US is no different from the evil that we fight. The United States has, for 225 years, stood as a beacon of civilized, enlightened and progressive thought and action. The unprovoked attack against a nation that could barely defend itself (the exact same thing that Saddam Hussein did against Kuwait in 1990) showed the world that, not only do we respect the ideological views of the hateful, we seek to emulate them. In fact, the only similarity between George W Bush's (W's) 2002 attack on Iraq and Saddam's 1990 attack on Kuwait that is actively denied by W is that Saddam admitted that he was going to war for money. That denial is transformed into an insult when we see the Iraqi people being denied any benefit from their natural resources and rich Americans, who contributed heavily to the president, are getting even richer as a direct result of the war. It seems that the President of our nation thinks his own people bumbling idiots who can't put 2 and 2 together. The anti-American terrorists around the world hate the United States and especially our constitution. They say it is a liberal feel-good document designed to protect evil doers. They hate our justice system with its prohibition on torture and its arcane, unholy process, judicial review. The terrorists we fight believe that "guilt by accusation" alone is the most effective means of justice (sound familiar, Senator Inhofe?) and public trials and lawyers only serve to blur the absolute distinction between right and wrong which can be easily determined by victims of wrong doing. Public justice, to terrorists, means public exhibitions of executions and amputations. These terrorists are, of course, brain-dead morons. According to them, an enemy deserves no mercy nor should he even be considered a valid life form. Indeed, should the terrorists ever capture any "enemy combatants," they would not be afforded such weak-minded, bleeding heart, liberal rights such as humane treatment, notification of the charges against them, access to counsel or fair trial. They would be brutally tortured and killed. However, it appears that our current executive administration, along with James Inhofe, are admitting, by their actions and words, that the terrorists may have a point. W has chosen to keep his prized POW's in Cuba, far away from the burdensome constitution that he swore to uphold and defend. W can't be bothered by such trivial things as the Geneva Conventions or "equal protection" (which is the argument he used in the Supreme Court to get himself "elected' [sic]) or other international treaties which he is required by the constitution to abide by. No, the government of the United States and its citizens must, in deed and thought, follow the example set for us by our enemy. We must shoot first and ask questions later. We must declare "death to the infidels" and crush our enemy at all costs. Since we know, for absolute, incontrovertible fact, that God is on our side and he has ordered us to "invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity" (Ann Coulter, National Review, 09/13/2001 ), we must be willing to make sacrifices, including our constitution, to achieve those ends. Steven
Otto Pottorff
Subject: The almighty buck Buzz,Someone needs to tell George Bush that when Harry Truman said, "The buck stops here," he wasn't talking about the almighty dollar. Take care, Barbara A. Rittiman
Subject: The Berg Beheading will only help the Bush warmongers keep theirs Dear Buzz, In one fell swoop of maniacal mayhem and political miscalculation, the inhumane al-Qaeda terrorist cell who took it upon themselves to provide bloody video-coverage of the beheading of American Nick Berg as an alleged act of retribution on behalf of the abused Iraqi prisoners revealed not only the immeasurable cruelty and inhumanity that provides the template for terrorism, but also their collective ignorance as a pseudo-political faction in the Middle East. Just as the polling numbers had begun to bend slightly toward a new and growing awareness of the Bush Administration's inability to successfully wage this crumbling campaign in Iraq, this one renegade al-Qaeda group has managed to diminish, if not completely eradicate, whatever empathy and support for the Iraqis had hesitantly begun to emerge in the United States. Consequently, because statistics prove that more than half of Americans are still unable to distinguish between al-Qaeda and everyone else in the Middle East who shares the same physical skin-color and features, there will most assuredly be a resurgence of the flag-waving hysteria and "gung-ho kill 'em all" bravado that existed just after 9/11. Catching the cresting wave of this terrorist-created tsunami and attempting to ride it all the way to the White House, of course, will be a merry band of Neo-Cons whose political lives, I feel, may have just been saved by the savage sacrifice of Nick Berg. In the eyes of most Americans, there is no discernible difference or political distinction between the Iraqi prisoners and al-Qaeda. Thus, the terrorists have created a multi-headed American hydra with one decapitation. Larry
Talley
Subject: We MUST not take this I just can't let this go..... One of our esteemed Senators, not just some crazy talk show host, James M. Inhofe, claims he is "outraged by the outrage" of the treatment of prisoners in Iraq, and says he is "also outraged that we have so many humanitarian do-gooders right now crawling all over these prisons looking for human rights violations, while our troops, our heroes are fighting and dying".......I'm assuming he means for the American Way, democracy, freedom, etc??!! Apparently, that means rape, murder, and torture, also.....Are these the kind of people we want representing us? Please show YOUR outrage about his comments by AT THE VERY LEAST writing him at: http://inhofe.senate.gov/contactus.htm My letter is copied below. Sen. Inhofe; Your comments about the abuse of prisoners in Iraq are OUTRAGEOUS, UNFOUNDED, and DESPICABLE. Most of those held, perhaps 70-90% according to the Red Cross, ARE innocent, and many ARE being held for minor crimes and infractions. But MORE IMPORTANTLY, your condoning of the treatment of these people shows your character and plays into the hands of those who wish to destroy us. I urge you to retract those comments for the good of America. Sincerely; Darrin K. Gilbert More info: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040510/D82FRB680.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1211374,00.html http://news.amnesty.org/mav/index/ENGAMR510772004 Please pass this on. Thanks. Darrin Gilbert
Subject: Rumsfeld Attitude Towards Disabled Veterans
Secretary
Rumsfeld personally lobbied Congress and wrote letters
stating he did not believe in supporting disabled veterans
in America. By this action he was one of the chief supporters
on President Bush, backing President Bush 100% in his veto
threat of any type of concurrent receipt legislation.
Spiegel: According to the secret Red Cross report, Rumsfeld was told of the torture in October 2003, and if he had cared, might have been able to stop the events in the photos we saw, which happened in Dec. 2003. A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: Letter to the Editor - You don't want to watch it There are a number of web sites on the Internet that have the whole video of the man getting his head cut off. Having viewed the video -- you don't want to watch it. I decided to watch it because it is what really happened and it is the price of fighting a fraudulent war. But having watched it I strongly recommend that you don't. It's enough to know that the guy was beheaded alive and that it was not a quick death. I'm still in shock as I write this. Having said that -- I think that every single member of Congress who voted for the war and every one of those generals in the chain of command who decided that torture was a good idea and let this happen -- they should all be forced to see the video -- and see the results of what happens when you have a clueless president. Had we gone after the real terrorists instead of Saddam this would never have happened. We are on the verge of losing this war because we have wasted our resources fighting the wrong enemy. It's time we got out of Iraq -- turn it over to the UN -- and go after Osama bin Laden. Let's go after the real terrorists who actually cut the man's head off and were behind 9-11 instead. Marc
Perkel Side note: Having watched the video there's something else I noticed and it was in the CNN video as well. You don't have to watch the whole tape to see it. The terrorists who cut the guy's head off were WHITE! Even though their faces were covered you can see that they are tall, stocky, and FAT. What I see is an American style gut on these terrorists. They aren't the dark thin lean muslim radicals you see in other bin Laden videos. I don't know what to make of THAT but you look at it and you tell me what YOU see. I'm still stunned. Seriously - you don't want to watch the last 45 seconds of the video - seriously !!! You may THINK you want to see it - but - you don't !!!
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