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Subject: Bush administration investigates itself again and again and...

Hi BuzzFlash,  

As you know there have been so many "probes" and "investigations" that the Bush administration (including its partners in Congress) have been forced to kick off because of their own love for unending scandals, it may be tough to keep track...I thought this compilation might be helpful...   http://www.compassiongate.com/policy/cc333.htm  

About 40 investigations and counting...

Subject: Deductive reasoning

ANALYSIS:

The former US general in charge of all American troops in the Middle East (same job Schwarzkopf and Tommy Franks held) went on "60 Minutes" to declare that the Bush administration has "screwed up" in Iraq. It was one hell of a show. You can read the transcript here (I watched the show, but thanks to BuzzFlash for finding the transcript): .Gen. Zinni: 'They've Screwed Up'

Cellphones fitted with digital cameras have been banned in US army installations in Iraq on orders from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a business newspaper reported.

Quoting a Pentagon source, the business newspaper said the US Defense Department believes that some of the damning photos of US soldiers abusing Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad were taken with camera phones.

Rumsfeld bans camera phones in Iraq (AFP -- Agence France Press)

You see, the REAL problem at Abu Ghraib wasn't the torture. No, the REAL problem at Abu Ghraib was the fact that someone took pictures EXPOSING the torture. Rummy is obviously familiar with the famous metaphysical conundrum: If an Iraqi falls in a prison and there's no camera to prove it, did it really happen?

Pete M.

Subject: Tom Clancy writing anti-neocon book


Hi BuzzFlash,

I found this link on Drudgereport: Gen. Zinni: 'They've Screwed Up'...

If you read carefully it says that General Zinni and Tom Clancy are co-authoring a book called Battle Ready, which lambasts the planning and execution of the Iraq War and calls for the heads of the neocons. Makes me wonder how all the dittoheads and bush-lovers are going to handle this kind of criticism coming from their favorite literary icon.

Cheers,
Mike

Subject: Remember "no permission slips" and "no cut-and-run"?

(Not to mention "personal responsibility.")

Shrub meant that he chooses WHO can issue the permission slips to him, namely the House of Saud, as opposed to anybody representing international standards. And his media flacks have been drum-beating for a week that, when the Shrubbites cut loose whoever the Iraqi government will be, if they ask us to leave, why, we have no choice at all but to "pack our bags and go."

And the same phrase, "pack our bags and go," is used uniformly across the media spectrum, as though ROVE is skipping from one media set to another, slipping on and off his BLITZER, HUME, and RUSSERT masks in turn.

As for "personal responsibility" as opposed to "finger-pointing" and "blame game," every time an underling like John YOO, Alberto GONZALEZ, Ricardo SANCHEZ, et al., are mentioned, a KERRY commercial ought to run a picture of Shrub-CHEENEE with "PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE" stamped across the faces.

Shrub has taken flipping to a new level of flop.

John G.

Subject: Training wheels

Dear Buzz,

Maybe someone in the White House should have bought the idiot some training wheels........he can't run the country, so why would anyone think the slimy, pencil neck, beady eyed, retard could ride a bike?

A loyal Buzz fan forever!

Sharon Carlton
Bellevue, Nebraska

Subject: Book Report Time

Dear BuzzFlash:

Subject: Dimwit's fall

Dear BuzzFlash,

I guess von Bushy was chewing gum (or was it a pretzel) while riding the bike! A prime example of not being able to do more than one thing at a time!

Irma S.
Lincoln, NE

Subject: Keep up the good work Buzz!

Subject: From Friend to Foe

From Friend to Foe
After a startling raid in Baghdad, the U.S. launches an investigation into its former ally Ahmad Chalabi. Was he working for Iran? (Time Online Edition)
By ROMESH RATNESAR
 
Saturday, May. 22, 2004
Ahmad Chalabi likes to sleep in. He does his work at night, engaging in endless back-room meetings and talk sessions that often drag on past midnight. On most days he rises late and eats breakfast alone -- but last Thursday his wake-up call came early. At 10 a.m., five armored humvees pulled up outside Chalabi's two-story house in west Baghdad. While U.S. soldiers cordoned off the street, seven Iraqi police officers broke down the front door and stormed the living room.

Chalabi stumbled downstairs to find cops rummaging through his effects and preparing to arrest one of his drivers. "What are you doing here?" he said. "Get out of my house." Upon recognizing Chalabi, a police captain put down his gun and produced arrest warrants for seven of Chalabi's lieutenants. The captain insisted that the raid wasn't at his instigation. "He had no idea whose house it was," says Haider Musawi, an aide to Chalabi. "He said they were just following American orders."

RB

Subject: Red Dawn

Hello,

I've noticed you recommending films on the site and did very much enjoy "The Quiet American." Last week I happened to catch "Red Dawn," the 1984 film about Russian and Cuban forces invading Colorado. Although much of the dialogue seems to come from NRA and Reagan foreign policy talking points, I found the film to be instructive in many ways. First, it shows how all our fears in the 80's turned out to be WRONG. Most importantly, of course, is the portrayal of the teenage protagonists fighting for their country in the face of a brutal occupation. The Russians never call Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen "terrorists," but their actions in the film could come right out of present day Iraq. I recommend this film for anyone with teenage children as a way to illustrate what it's like to be an "insurgent."

Another film I saw recently was "Mortal Storm" from 1940. This film documents the rise of Hitler in 1930's Germany. Robert Young, James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara all play Germans, but their American accents give an eerie immediacy to events in the film which seem to be recurring today. It CAN happen here.

Thanks for being there.

Mark Davis
Fredericksburg, VA

Subject: Whistling Dixie

Subject: Roxanne Walker

Buzz --

How exciting!  A while back I tracked down a local person, Roxanne Walker, who'd been unfairly fired from a broadcasting job at Clear Channel.  A story you ran mentioned her by name and I wanted to give her the information.  She is also a writer for a weekly alternative newspaper.  She's good.  I told her I read your site and Bart's, too.  Well, today's local Democratic newsletter arrived.  It is her first edition as editor. In it she credits www.buzzflash.com and two others as her favorite sites, as well as informative radio stations. Batons here are being handed down to younger people and I am about as delighted as a person can get whose day has had a damper on it just knowing that Bush is going to be doing yet another lying session this evening.   

Best always,
Liz W.

Subject: Gen. Kimmitt on Bad People Party Etiquette 

"Bad people have parties too," said Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt.

It follows that during a preemptive war from unverifiable reasons that you would attack a wedding because you can't tell if it is good or bad people from a helicopter gunship. I guess they will know now not to exclude the US military from the guest list.

NO:
C heney
A shcroft
R umsfeld
B ush

Speak up or they assume you agree!!!

Karen Webb,
Moore, Ok.

Subject: Ti-Yi-O--Yippi-I-A---Bicycle Cowboy Gets Thrown Off His Bike

Hi Buzz,

One thing you can say about gwb -- he vacations hard. Not a horse in sight so the faithful ranch bicycle stead reared up and bucked him off. We heard a full scale Inquiry is underway -- questions will be asked -- like:

1. Who in the heck took the training wheels off the Huffy?
2. Was his seatbelt engaged?
3. Is the lesson 'Do not drink and drive' so terribly difficult to learn?
4. Was the presidential Jumpsuit torn?
5. Did gwb have a learning permit and adequate adult supervision?
6. Was the presidential couch and the infamous 'pretzel' ever prosecuted?
7. Will the presidential helmet and mouthguard get a special commendation and a secure special viewing place in the comic book section of the gwb 'library'?
8. Did he cry?

Subject: Superman

As a 3rd grader, I remember running home after school to watch "Superman." Superman chose to use his superhuman powers to fight for truth, justice and the American Way. It was the 50's, and Superman embodied the ideals of the USA, through a secular morality that did not need religion for justification.

I understood Superman wasn't real, but I also knew of mere mortals who made me proud to be an American. My Dad told stories about how German soldiers surrendered to Americans, because our boys would treat them better as prisoners than Hitler would treat them as soldiers. Uncle Joe told about prisoners he supervised on Guam, who cried when he told them his tour was up and he was going home. It was comforting for an 8 year old to know that even defeated enemies could be turned into friends, because we treated them with dignity and respect. It was the American way.

I was taught that I should fight for what is right, not just fight against what was wrong. But we were told, "9/11 changed everything." So we're against terrorism, but can any of us explain what we're fighting for?

Think about it, since 9/11 the Bush administration has told us to be afraid to be Americans and even gave us a color code to tell us how afraid to be. They said to be careful of what we say, and to report suspicious people. To feel better we should go to the mall and buy stuff with our credit cards. We have become a country so controlled by fear and consumption that we don't seem to know who we are. Is it any wonder that since we're so confused and frightened that un-American tactics of humiliation and torture by our military have been reported? We try to rationalize this behavior by saying "Well, at least it's not as bad as what they do."

We are experiencing the devastating results of misguided leaders who are in possession of the most effective media and marketing machine that has ever existed. The Bush administration may genuinely be against "evildoers," but their promotion of Christianity in every aspect of their message makes them suspect to the non-Christian world. Since their idea of winning is to force their beliefs on others and totally dominate them, they don't worry about truth and confuse mafia-style revenge with justice. No matter how hard Bush purses his lips and closes his eyes when he publicly prays, he hardly demonstrates a Christian philosophy through his political actions. Colin Powell, who understood that this war on Iraq was not needed, chose to be a good soldier rather than a good human being, let alone a good Christian. Because many made similar decisions, we are paying a dear price, not just in lives and dollars, but also in the corruption of our integrity, spirit and reputation.

When people like Russ Feingold and John Kerry stand up and say, in effect, "Hey, this is not what Superman fought for," they are shouted down and exposed to the Bush propaganda machine's Kryptonite, consisting of deceptive language, character assassination, and their favorite, the unpatriotic label of "those who hate America," which implies anti-Christian as well.

Bush was untruthful in his reasons for invading Iraq (TRUTH?), he unjustly caused the deaths of many soldiers and civilians (JUSTICE?) and through his "enemy combatant" detentions he's tried to convince us that the old rules of human decency do not apply to "his war" (THE AMERICAN WAY?).

I knew Superman, he was a friend of mine and he helped teach me what is good about America. George Bush is not the president of that America. Superman must be as disappointed as the rest of us.

Michael Mertes
Iola, WI

Subject: Free the Bush twins!

Dear Editor,

I know that nothing says "I don't want my daughters turning up in a pile of naked hedonists on acid this summer" better than conscripting them into service on one's campaign, but President Bush should really reconsider his decision to have his daughters join the campaign trail. He could do a significant amount of emotional damage to the girls by preventing them from participating in what has become an American tradition.

When I graduated from CSUS in 1991, I spent the summer going to Grateful Dead shows (only about 10 of them, but it was a summer of relaxation and grooving). Now, nothing bad happened to me. I was able to hold onto my job, and years later I enjoy a healthy lifestyle, an excellent job, and still get to see my share of shows when I can. But the Bush twins are being denied this option. Now I'm not saying I want to see them at a Dead show (that would be a bit of a buzz kill), but they need to be allowed to do whatever it is that they want in this critical time of transition from college to the real world.

If this means hanging out in raves until six o'clock in the morning every weekend dancing to electronic music, fine. If it means grabbing a backpack and flying to Europe where most of their 'summer tour' is spent in Amsterdam at a hash-bar, then fine. Hell, they could even spend the summer volunteering for an environmental agency, or signing up voters for Headcount (not a Republican-sponsored organization, but a good one all the same)...it really doesn't matter, so long as it's their decision.

But campaigning with daddy? Please. No sane person in this country believes the twins are good little Christians who wear conservative dresses with high collars and flat-heeled shoes. Having them appear on TV dressed as such isn't going to change our opinions. They're 22-year-old women who have already demonstrated they enjoy a good party lifestyle. I say, let them live it! Even if they did turn up in a pile of naked hedonists, Bush could simply shrug his shoulders and say, "girls will be girls," and most of his family values support group would laugh it off with him...at least publicly. But if he forces them to be these two 'angels of virtue and young votes,' then god only knows what could happen. What if they lose it in Ohio and are found giving 'embedded reporter' a new meaning? That could be disastrous for Bush's campaign (good for America, but bad for Bush).

Anyway, I'll get off my soap box now. But we should consider asking Bush to free the twins from this humiliation and torture they must feel they are faced with over the next five months. Frankly, they looked miserable on TV the other day when this was announced, and I fear the poor things will explode if they're not released very soon.

Free the Bush twins now!

Sean McCabe

Subject: If it happens, they will go...

Buzz,

A lot of people suspect that the ruling cartel might stage another terrorist attack in this country to sidestep a failed election campaign and hold on to power. The repugs are already pre-programming the public for as much and stating how the nation will "rally around our commander in chief." In a pig's eye! We need to send a message out loud and clear. If another attack occurs between now and the elections, it is PROOF POSITIVE that the gang in power, and the repugs in general, ARE INCOMPETENT, CAN'T PROTECT US AND MUST NOT BE GIVEN ANOTHER TERM. Let's not let them make another attack into some kind of shield for them. Everyone should write letters to the editor stating as much and get the thought into the public's mind.

A Buzz Reader

Subject: propaganda all day

Dear Buzz,

Sunday MSNBC had hours of Bush's biography, what they had to say I do not know, what did he ever DO? Today, all day, every story on all cable news stations has been geared to make Bush's Iraqi policy wonderful. According to one Iraqi living in England, the Iraqi people all love Bush for freeing them from Saddam. They all want Democracy. All is going wonderfully well in most of Iraq. Only a little problem here and there. On and on this went until I became sick to my stomach. The word was out to the media, suck up big time to BUSH. Prime the Americans for the Bush speech tonight. I stuck out a lot of this garbage just to see how far the media would go. It is truly amazing the snow job we are getting. The speech tonight, I predict, will be a monumental failure. Of course he didn't know what was in it until he started to practice today, most of yesterday was spent falling off a bike and having dinner parties for the twins. I will watch for a short time, mostly to see the bruises. The rest is really predictable. We are going to get a barrage of crap. The media can try and try but they cannot "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."

Renee Isabelle

Subject: GeeDubya's Tricycle Exploits = War Occupant of the White House

Hello again to BuzzFlash and all BuzzFlash readers,

Saw this GREAT line on bartcop.com and I wanted to share it with you: "When will the Pentagon award Bush a Purple Heart for falling off his tricycle?"

This got me to thinking about the Right Wing and their ad hominem attacks on John Kerry being awarded multiple Purple Hearts. How long will it take the drug-addled, pilonidal cyst-suffering icon of right wing conservative lemmings to start comparing the severity of the scrapes GeeDubya received in his fall from his 'mountain bike' with the COMBAT injuries that Kerry suffered in Vietnam? Or will Limbaugh instead, in the midst of a confused rant while under the influence, compare GeeDubya's wounds with rug burns suffered in a 'Skull & Bones' initiation?

Just wondering.

Warmest Regards,
GK, a Fervently Loyal, Devoted and Proud Liberal BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Michael Moore

Hi Buzz:

I love everything Mike Moore has done, but I'm particularly thrilled about his winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes -- because this means that HIS version of the Bush years is the one that's going down in history. No one's going to be reading Ann Coulter's schlock 50 years from now, but they'll be watching this movie. We win! Now, let's hope enough people see the thing in time to get Bush out of office in November. It could be what tips the balance thoroughly over.

R. Ellis
NY

Heya BuzzFlash--

Two things: One, thanks so much for what you're doing. I've been out of the U.S. for a year and a half now (sort of a voluntary exile), and it's been great to be able to keep up on the news. Two, I'd like to contribute something, do what you will with it if you like it. Hope you're well.

Separation of Church and State: Important. Separation of Corporation and State: More important. Separation of Bush and State: Crucial.

Steve Gottshall

Subject: More on that Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) study

From Jim Naureckas at FAIR:

An interesting stat from the study that isn't getting much play: Among national news executives, the people whose job descriptions involve setting policy at media outlets, only 16 percent describe themselves as "liberal";  60 describe themselves as "moderate" and 19 percent as "conservative."  With 79 percent of the bosses identifying with something other than "liberal," what happens to the myth of the "liberal media"?

It's also worth asking why the 79 percent of the bosses who are not "liberal" end up hiring a workforce that is 41 percent "liberal" (or "very liberal").  Could it be that they are confident that the institutions of media outlets will prevent these "liberals" from expressing viewpoints that they object to?  Or are there so few qualified "conservative" journalists that the bosses who are "moderate" and "conservative" just can't find more than 7 percent to hire?

Finally, it's worth asking what people mean when they say "liberal."  When people were asked to name a "liberal" outlet, the most common response was The New York Times.  Think of the Times' most prominent "scoops" in recent years:  Whitewater, Wen Ho Lee, Judith Miller's reports on WMD.  If this is what constitutes "liberal" reporting, than the fact that 41 percent of national reporters describe themselves as "liberal" is bad news indeed.

Most NPR sources are Republicans, watchdog group says

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: How Do You Fall off of a Mountain Bike in Flatland Country?

Dear Fellow BuzzFlash Readers:

Every now and then, this proud Christian Liberal needs something to laugh at regarding our Resident-In-Thief (aka Commander-In-Chief for truly elected POTUSes, LOL). I've been to Austin and while there's a couple of "mountains," I don't recall seeing any near the make-believe Presidential ranch. I've been asking myself, "How does one fall off a mountain bike on the 17th mile, after presumably staying upright for the first sixteen miles?" Then it dawned on me: The same way GeeDubya choked on that pretzel and passed out during Super Bowl 2001-- drunk as a skunk in a funk. Yes, kids, our Resident-In-Thief was "on the Sauce," "roaring drunk," "toasted," "lit," (insert your own slang for "truly intoxicated").

And he's proposing to go on TV tonight (May 24) to tell us about handing over Iraq to the Iraqis on June 30th. For me, I cannot believe that (a) major networks are NOT going to interrupt Sweeps week by carrying his speech (except for the fake network known as Fox, and MSNBC, who continues to employ Chris Matthews with his own talk show) and (b) he's going to show that scarred-up face of his to the public, LOL.

I want to know, how do you fall off a bike, except sideways? The injuries GeeDubya suffered indicates he fell forward off his bike and hit the asphalt head first. You don't suffer those kind of abrasions on plain ol' dirt. While I'm glad he didn't suffer more serious injuries (the Christian in me won't allow me to gloat that much about another's affliction), this reminds me more of Moe, Larry and Curly, than the Keystone Cops' antics (which is how this Administration has been operating, lately). All I can say is: "Another instance of GeeDubya -- DUI."

Take care, fellow BuzzFlashers.

Leutisha, Loyal BuzzFlash Reader and Proud, but Amused Christian Liberal

Subject: You might be...

Hi BuzzFlash,

You might be a Liberal if you have a HEART!

You might be a Liberal if you support BuzzFlash!

Angela.....Liberal and proud Democrat

Subject: Rep. Pelosi

Dear Buzz,

Hello Buzzers. Please go to www.congress.org and thank that nice congresswoman Pelosi for speaking the truth about that silver-spoon-up-the-nose-nitwit in the White House. Thanks.

Michael J. Fowler

Subject: Re Graduation  (see Mailbag, 5/24/04)

There would have to be a free speech zone, if they went. Barbara was the speaker for my niece's graduation in Houston. I have no idea whether the grandparents went or not. Everyone would have to be a Bush supporter or leave.

Karen Webb
Moore, Ok.

Subject: Petit mal?

Yours: http://www.wwinfo.com/buzz/bushfall.html

Well and good, but as far as I can tell from the photos these "seizures" occur just about at the same time that his hair has been cut. It's the same length in both photos taken months and months apart, which I find peculiar.

The grazing of his upper lip suggests that a sudden vertical surface brought his head up upon body impact; a sudden horizontal surface would have split his lower lip when his head flopped down and forwards. He wasn't wearing a "mouth guard" -- he has a clip-on dental prosthesis (clipped onto implants) which popped out.   Only his right hand was "grazed," which is odd for a bike accident.   It's a case for the Crash Test Dummies.  

Best,
J . Hulme

Subject: Senate aide fired over Net sex diary (independent.co.uk)

ROVEing hands. . .

Ms. Cutler used the moniker Washingtonienne to recount her racy love life with up to six different partners, identified only by their initials. What gave her diary such cult status was the claim that she was being paid for sex by an administration official to supplement her salary.

Dennis I.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THE MAY 25, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG.