The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. Read the BuzzFlash FAQ for info on submitting to the Mailbag.

Subject: PLEASE GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!

I was very pleasantly surprised by Control Room.  I encourage everyone that enjoyed Fahrenheit 9/11 to spend the next movie night taking in Control Room.  Gave me great faith to learn that the rest of the world isn't as stupid and ignorant as the typical red state American.

Subject: Cheney has a knack for his timing

Dear Buzz/Flash,

Isn't it ironic that on the very same day that Cheney made Nixon proud with his language in The Senate Chamber, the REPUBLICANS pushed through a new law, because of Howard Stern and Janet Jackson, known as "The Decency Law".

Hey "Halliburton-Man", before you get "peeved off" AGAIN, I think you had better start READING the laws that get passed and signed.

As for you, "Flyboy", you're no better off by calling a NY Times reporter an "AH" back in 2000, while campaigning with The "President Select", err, I mean, The "Vice-President Select".

Yup, that's one "awesome" team that is spreading their gospel of "Compassion" and "Family Values" around the world with their new video, coming to an X-Rated store near you real soon.

Tom Wieliczka
Windsor Locks, CT

Subject: Fahrenheit 9/11 Delivers!

I cannot add much more to the glowing reviews other BuzzFlashers have already bestowed on Mike's latest tour de force, except to say, "go see it"! I hope and pray that this film will give a dope slap and wake-up call to the silent majority who would rather sit back and get all their news from Faux and the Big 3 networks. I also hope that the BFEE's smear machine and the worst that Karl Rove can vomit up cannot reverse what Moore has done.

I did speak with some people who had nits to pick with F 9/11, saying they thought it was shallow, missed important points, was "partisan," lame, but these folks were in the minority. I told a couple of them that for Michael to capture even half of the antics of the BFEE would require a 72-hour movie epic, that would have to allow for bathroom, meal and nap breaks. What Mike did seemed to be zeroed in on certain points. Ahhh, I finally got to see the inauguration day protests that the good puppy press ignored, among many other scenes that helped amplify what I and probably many other BuzzFlash visitors already know from a diet other than Faux and the Big 3.

I was hoping he would have included investigative footage about Karl Rove, Norquist and Cat Killer Frist, to count a few. It's funny, but about half the strong neocon supporters I have talked to admitted to not knowing who Karl Rove is. I told them to just go into Google or other search engine of choice and enter Karl Rove. I've done it, plus other fun inquiries in a number of search engines and the results are truly....thought provoking.

A couple of the people came back to be in total shock after following some of the links and reading articles, then following other links to articles about other cast members of the BFEE. An almost equal number came back claiming that it was all lies and the internet only carries wild eye'd disinformation for terrorists, ufo whackos, child molesters and tabloid junkies. These are the same people I deal with who believe that the Bush administration will deliver us all from all unsavory internet content in his second term. Yes these folks want to see about 90% of the net blocked from red-blooded American eyes.

Sigh, I hope that the good Lord looks over and protects Michael Moore and others who long to see the "awful truth" revealed and the real perpetrators brought to justice. Whew! not that my blood pressure wasn't elevated enough after election...I mean "selection 2000," but Fahrenheit 9/11 really lit a fire in my belly.

John Bigboote's Area51

Subject: Cheney's Loss of Control

cheney's inability to [avoid] losing control and using inappropriate language to a colleague on the floor of the U.S. Senate is appalling.

having two young sons, it only exacerbates the problem we first ran into when clinton's "I did not have sex with that woman -- Miss Lewinsky" first made its way into the public air waves.

it is time for civil discourse in our public debates, not personal, verbal attacks.

Jim B.

Subject: Alinksy on flag as potent symbol of our hopes and dreams (Forwarded to BuzzFlash)

To: Jillian A.

I appreciate your daughter's poem on the U.S. flag.

Even the most elementary grasp of the fundamental  idea that one communicates within the experience of his audience -- and gives full respect to the other's  values -- would have ruled out attacks on the American flag.
 
The responsible organizer would have known that it is the establishment that has betrayed the flag while the flag itself, remains the glorious symbol of America's hopes and aspirations, and he would have conveyed  this message to his audience. -- Saul Alinsky

Subject: Overload, but keeping up!

It's such a relief things are finally rolling.  How will you ever be able to take the credit you deserve?  I have irritated my Yankee relatives so much with forwards from your site that when I get up there next month they may just take me out to a State Park and drown me!  Shirley's clan has nothing on them. Haven't written lately as your other letter writers put me to shame. There's no way I could add anything to what they say.  I'm impressed with the caliber of their talent and intelligence.  Glad to see your "nuclear/extended family" guy is back.

Liz W

Subject: Early Handover

A few BuzzFlash readers wondered why the early handover to Iraq, and a couple of readers brought something to our attention that I think could be the reason, but nobody made the link.

I wonder if the WH saw that there was going to be an announcement about the unaccounted-for (missing) couple of billion $$$? They probably went into red code and needed to come up with something, in this instance the early handover. But once again the 'liberal' news agencies did little to report this. Somebody in the know please speculate where the money went.

CWC

Subject: "She was NASTY, she was MEAN....WAAAAA"

Maria
NYC

Subject: Courageous Carole Coleman and Fahrenheit 9/11

I am thrilled that Bush finally encountered a real journalist who was not willing to accept soundbites for answers. I am just sorry that the entire US media don't have the same kind of guts to actually do their jobs one woman from Ireland has.

I see that posters on the Free Republic board (1) have a campaign going to scold Carole Coleman for actually doing her job, so I thought it would be a good thing to counteract that with letters of appreciation. Here is the contact info for RTE News (2):

worldreport@rte.ie

Address RTE News 2030 M Street NW, Washington DC, 20036

Telephone (001-202) 467-5933/4 (001-202) 2237996 Fax (001-202) 467-5937

Link to the Coleman interview: http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0624/primetime.html

Also, as far right-wing groups protest Fahrenheit 9/11 with email and phone campaigns to scare theaters from showing this documentary I would like to suggest a counter campaign. Please phone the nearest theater that is showing F9/11 and thank them. Second phone your local theaters who are not showing it and ask them, too. Express disappointment that they are not showing it. This will greatly contrast with the fanatics who phoned and emailed threats if theaters dared to show it.

(1) Free Republic IRISH FREEPers! Contact info for rude RTE Reporter

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1160457/posts

(2) RTE Email http://www.rte.ie/news/contact_details.html

RTE Snail Mail http://www.rte.ie/about/contact/worldwide.html

Maya

Subject: Does the Right Wing Really Have God Staked Out?

The extreme right wing in our country has been imminently successful in claiming a sort of Divine Right of Republicans.  They would have us believe that they, their politics and ambitions are anointed and directed by God Himself.

Subject: army recalling soldiers -- if this isn't a draft, then what is???

Reserves brace for call-up notices (seattlepi.com)
 
WASHINGTON -- It could be a long weekend for thousands of former soldiers. The Army says it will begin notifying more than 5,600 of those soldiers next week that they are being involuntarily recalled to active duty and could be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan as early as this fall.

"There's going to be soldiers who, yes, will be shocked," said Col. Debra A. Cook, commander of the Army's Human Resources Command and the final arbiter of petitions for exemption.

Most of the former soldiers recently left the Army as truck drivers, mechanics, supply clerks, administrative clerks or combat engineers. All will be kept on active duty for at least 18 months but not longer than two years. The first formal notifications are due to arrive in mailboxes on Tuesday....

Subject: F 9/11

Hey Buzzers,

The next time a neo-con tells you that F9/11 isn't really a documentary because it isn't balanced, point this out. The definition of documentary is "giving a factual presentation in an artistic form." The 1960 award-winning documentary "Harvest of Shame" was narrated by Edward R. Murrow and described the plight of farm workers. Although it was factual, it didn't talk about the growers or the big grocery chains because it had a POINT OF VIEW! Also, consider "The Fog of War," an excellent documentary about Robert McNamara and the Viet Nam War. It also has a point of view. I guess unless it is "Charlie the Lonesome Cougar," this crowd just doesn't think it qualifies as a documentary. The hideous flip side of that is "The Clinton Chronicles," by Jerry Falwell, which was filled with lies, unlike F9/11, but was still referred to as a documentary by neo-cons.

Go Michael Moore! Bush OUT 2004!

Leslie Crabtree
Altadena, CA

Mr. Nader,

People are talking, and as a deeply worried American citizen and social progressive, I don't like what I'm hearing. If it's true that you're being funded by the GOP and have GOP aides helping your campaign, then you have zero credibility with me. Do you understand what I'm saying, sir? Zero credibility.

Running a "progressive" campaign on GOP money is nothing more than the action of an ego-inflated political prostitute willing to sell out the progressive movement for personal motives simply because you aren't willing to be sidelined in this most important of elections where democracy itself is at stake. If true, all past accomplishments are dishonored in a wide stroke of the brush. If ever there was a time when a third party candidate with the potential to keep a fascist, warmongering regime in power should, for the good of the nation, defer and withdraw, now is that time. A patriot would withdraw. It's your right to stay, but there's a grand canyon between what's your right and what's the right thing to do. If you want to be remembered as a self-serving spoiler instead of a team player serving the greater good of this country and the world, so be it. But, make no mistake about it, you've hitched your wagon to the wrong horse, sir. As hard as the corporate media tries to make the majority in this country feel isolated and in the minority, we know where we as a majority stand. We stand for the Constitution, the rule of law. We stand for freedom. Not the kind of "freedom" that Bush promises while he works to take it away, but the kind of freedom that is spelled out in the Constitution which, by the way, the Resident swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend, not undermine, marginalize, sidestep and ignore.

Bill Clinton recently chastised those who have drawn distinctions between politicians using the terms of good and evil instead of right and wrong. But the fact of the matter is that one only need look at what has transpired in this country over the past 3.5 years under this corrupt, fascist-leaning government-for-the-wealthy to see that it really is about good and evil.

George dubya is probably the most despised person on the planet right now. The masses have been watching and taking note. Cheney, the corrupt corporate crony veep, is seen for what he is as was demonstrated by the booing at the Yankees game as soon as his mug was displayed on the screen. If you want to cast your lot in with these unbelievably greedy, corrupt, morally bankrupt, fascist clowns and thugs, so be it. The choice is yours, and you have every right to do so. But, keep in mind that in so doing, everyone may be forced to suffer the consequences including yourself. Can you live with that on your conscience? How much more blood will be spilled needlessly because of presidential hubris and lies should John Kerry, the only person with the potential to unseat Bush, fail to do so? And that old tired corporate media line that the distinctions between the two are minimal is simply untrue. The distinctions are clear and numerous. It's the difference between honor and unmitigated greed.

The next four years have the potential to see us as a nation and a world emerge from this long, dark tunnel with new hope. Or, should the coup d'etat that installed resident Bush be continued, shall we be heartbroken, hopeless witnesses to the death of open democracy in this country? The mainstream corporate media has chosen to lay down with the usurpers. It's one big back scratching party. That's what is behind the push to loosen media ownership rules. "You do me a favor, I'll do you a favor." Only a grassroots movement preceding fair, unrigged, voter-verifiable elections or a military coup d'etat has the chance to restore our country to its true path. Sides are being drawn. Think hard about your real motives, and be honest with yourself. Choose wisely. The repugs are on their way out and the whiny little snots know it.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Wolf Blitzing Free Speech

BuzzFlash --

Here's a transcript of a segment from Wolf Blitzer today that I happened to catch.  It leaves me speechless (pardon the pun), so I leave commentary to you and your readers.

CNN WOLF BLITZER REPORTS (cnn.com)

BLITZER: A new novel that won't come out until later this summer is already raising some serious concerns. It includes talk about assassinating President Bush. Our Tom Foreman has been looking into this.
It's a pretty shocking development.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's almost entirely about assassinating President Bush. And that has got the Secret Service interested and, no doubt, a good number of readers at this point. It is proving highly controversial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: The novel, all about a plan to assassinate President Bush, is called "Checkpoint." And Knopf Publishing will release it on August 17, two weeks before the Republican Convention. The book is only 115 pages long, but in those pages, a character named Jay (ph) meets his friend Ben at a Washington hotel and furiously criticizes the president.

"He is beyond the beyond," Jay says. "What he's done with this war, the murder of the innocent and now the prisons, it's too much. It makes me so angry." Later, Jay adds, "I'm going to kill that bastard" and "He's one dead armadillo."

Knopf says the characters then go on way to review ways in which the president might be murdered, some comic, such as rolling a giant ball bearing down Pennsylvania Avenue, some in earnest. The Secret Service says it has not received an advance copy and so will not comment, but despite its controversial subject matter, some First Amendment advocates are defending its publication.

RONALD COLLINS, FIRST AMENDMENT CENTER: If political discourse is to be poignant, if it is to have that kind of prick that the founders wanted it, then timing is everything. And the timing at the time of election is the perfect time. (CROSSTALK)

FOREMAN (on camera): ... is dangerous?

COLLINS: Well, I think all speech is fraught with some measure of danger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "TAXI DRIVER")

ROBERT DE NIRO, ACTOR: You talking to me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN (voice-over): Fictional works have apparently inspired violence before. The movie "Taxi Driver," in which a deranged man plots to kill a senator, is believed to have spurred John Hinckley to shoot President Reagan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: This is exactly the sort of thing that worries the Secret Service and others who are concerned with this type of thing. All day long, the author, Nicholas Baker (ph), and his publisher have said he would give a statement to us explaining his thoughts on the matter. That's still in the works.

Apparently, the publisher says this is just political satire. But I'll guarantee you, there are many people here in Washington, who, with the war on terror and everything else, are not laughing at all.

BLITZER: Not laughing for good reason. I covered the White House for many years. I dealt with the Secret Service all the time. You can't even fool around talking about killing a president of the United States. Does Knopf, the publisher, a major publisher which has published Bill Clinton's memoirs, now, do they realize what they're doing?

FOREMAN: They seem to be taking seriously the concern that's rising around this. They keep saying this is not a primer on murder. It is meant to be political satire. At the same time, right before the convention, with everything that's going on, identifying the target, I don't think legally it can be stopped, but certainly a lot of people, morally, ethically have questions about this.

BLITZER: It's going to be an issue and a good subject for debate. Thanks very much, Tom Foreman.

-- Cathy Vance

Sent to rush@eibnet.com:

Subject: Fahrenheit 9/11

Dear Rush [Limbaugh]:

As a 61 year old, tax paying, hard working citizen of the United States of America, let me say this, "I love Michael Moore's new documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11. Let me say it again with more enthusiasm: I LOVE MICHAEL MOORE'S NEW DOCUMENTARY, FARENHEIT 9/11.

It was with great pleasure, my pleasure, to view the truth. I already knew it was the truth. Yet, it validates one's senses when viewing the truth. Facts. They are the best. Something you do not understand.

Remember the verse, The Truth Shall Set You Free? It did. It was the best. I cannot wait until November to vote for John Kerry. I do wish I were voting for Hillary. That will come soon, too.

Well, just wanted you to know there are many, and I do mean many citizens of this United States of America, tax paying, hard working people who DO NOT want Mr. Bush, the pResident now dirtying the White House. Let us not forget Mr. Cheney, the foul-mouthed Vice pResident. He will soon be out of the office, too.

There, I do feel good now!! Happy trails to youuuuu.

Sincerely,

Dolores M. Dryden

Subject: He Spoke and I Saw Red.

Hi Gang!

I was watching the news tonight and there was Mr. Bremer himself, looking like a total clown, clodding along with Shrubya and still wearing his "trademark" combat boots.

The reporter said that when Bremer was asked about the handover, his comment was, "My biggest regret is that I couldn't do more to keep the insurgency under control."

Needless to say, my wife sat there, totally aghast, and my dog hid behind the chair in the living room as my reaction was thus:

"THEN WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU STAY THERE INSTEAD OF HIGH-TAILING IT OUT OF THERE, YOU JACK-ASS?!!"

My wife promptly found her voter registration form and stuck it in the mail.

Jerry Peurala
Westfield, IN

Subject: Bumper sticker I'd like see

Hi Buzz,

In light of Dick Cheney's recent rudeness on the Senate floor, I would like to see a bumper sticker with the following line:

"Next November, tell Dick Cheney to go F*** himself"

Subject: Election Idea!

Hi BuzzFlash:

Hello, America!  Did you know that up here in Canada we just had a Federal Election?  It wasn't much, we don't know how to do things properly in the Great White North.  Get this...I went into the polling centre, and the man gave me a slip of paper with 3 names on it, each one clearly stating which party they ran for. 

I walked over to a little cardboard shield on a table and picked up -- I swear to God -- a pencil.  I made an X mark on the big circle beside the name of the person and party I was voting for.  Then I...don't laugh now...dropped it in a box and left.  Later, competent and responsible people affiliated with all parties counted them by hand and reported the results.  We have a minority government and -- wait for it -- they're going to have to work together and compromise to govern us. 

Seriously.

It's hard to believe.  No chads or levers or computers or cool electronic gimgams.  No multi-candidate ballots, just 3 names. 

I'm embarrassed to be Canadian.  Could you send some election officials up here to show us how to do it the modern American way?

From a backwoods boy...

A. Grainger
London, Canada

Subject: Another Classic Lardbaugh Distortion.

Hi Gang!

I was alerted to this latest gem from Limbaugh: 

"Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you," Sen. Clinton said. "We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

Rush goes on to blather that Hillary is a Socialist, and even though he does make mention of the audience she said in front of, he's attempting to smear her with a near as you can get to being a Commie accusation.

The Actual Article:  San Francisco rolls out the red carpet for the Clintons (sfgate.com/AP)

Subject: the lies mount

Check this out,  they had to change their story even from their National Press Club thing this morning. Or is this just another "clarification??

3 Utahns Off Moon Hook (deseretnews.com/)

The concession was an about-face from claims made earlier in the day that Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, state Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, and businessman Stephen Covey fibbed in denying they were not host committee members for the March 23 event, where Moon was dressed in a gold crown and royal robes as a king of peace.

When the Utahns cried foul, the Moon officials changed their story.

" Though we did not intend to misuse the names of any of our friends, we did not communicate properly," the Rev. Michael Jenkins, president of Moon's Family Federation for World Peace and Unification USA, said in a written statement.

Earlier in the day Moon allies called a National Press Club press conference to address what they said were press distortions of the event. Jenkins said that the Utahns initially gave permission for use of their names but then later denied it to the press amid mounting political pressure.

Subject: Media rush to defend their president

More Distortions From Michael Moore  (msnbc.msn.com) (that's not quite "six degrees of separation," guys)

Amazing.

When it comes to defending THIS presidency. When it comes to defending THIS president... SUDDENLY... the whole of the news media "wakes up" and decides it is time for hard-hitting, follow-up, detailed reporting to "get to the bottom" of any questions or issues that may tarnish him.

Simply amazing.

Where in the hell were these guys when Bill Clintons penis was SO MUCH more important than running America, than fighting terrorism, etc. in the 1990's?

Where in the hell were these guys during the last presidential campaign when Karl Rove was seeing to it that Al Gore's definition would be that of a "liar" based on such wisdom as "he said he invented the internet"? (Hell.. they laughed along)

Where in the hell were these guys when Republicans stopped vote counting in Florida in 2000?

Where in the hell were these guys when it became clear that a VERY FLAWED "voter roll scrub" by a third party contractor hired by George Bush's brother was instrumental in keeping Floridians from exercising their right to vote in the 2000 election?

Where in the hell were these guys when we were being propagandized and LIED into a WAR? Not penis games, mind you... but a GODDAMN WAR?!

Anybody who was there with me and has lived through these times knows the answer to these questions. The answer is that the "media" was suspiciously absent. They either just weren't there, or they were fanning flames of diversion themselves. Either way, Michael Moore is indeed correct on this point: the media finds itself complicit in the mess we find ourselves in today. And as a group they are either too corrupt, or too ashamed, to admit it.

John L. Johnson
Laingsburg, Michigan

Subject: Blocking the Buzz

Dear Buzz,

For a while, Yahoo was also blocking Truthout.com's daily emails. I unblocked truthout several times, only to have it blocked again several days later. This finally stopped after a while.

If you haven't noticed of late, there is a tremendous rhetorical drive against spam. You see articles referring to it as a scourge that costs companies billions of dollars every year - yet without providing proof of those billions. You see the government saying that there is very little they can do to prevent spam and that a no-spam list is not a viable option.

Spam is being attacked from every direction, almost as though someone is working very hard to make the case that spam threatens the future of email and the internet (actually, I have seen an article that says just that).

Yet for me, spam is no big deal. Yes, I receive dozens of spam messages a day, hundreds a week. Most are sorted out. I delete the few that get through. If it gets too bad, I change my email address. I don't post my email address to web pages, where it can be picked up by spammers. I don't respond to spam, even to "opt-out" as this confirms that the email address is used. I don't give out my email address to companies simply because they ask for it. Simple common sense measures.

Spam is a minor inconvenience. The much vaunted "free market" will soon kill the market for spam if no one responds to it - advertising that doesn't provide a return soon dies. We can fight spam on our own by boycotting it and telling everyone else to boycott it.

Yet the powers that be, especially AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo, seem intent on convincing us that we need their protection from spam, probably through monitoring or identification software. Software that will likely spell the doom of the last free exchange of ideas we have available.

There is one reason why the Bush administration isn't already coasting toward November - the internet. The internet has been a three-year thorn in their sides. Sites like BuzzFlash and Bartcop and Democratic Underground and MoveOn, and blogs like Eschaton and TPM, have kept alive the dying flame of freedom by sharing information that would otherwise have been buried, and by researching and exposing those items that never would have seen the light of day.

Don't let hatred of spam drive you into the arms of those who would protect you by protecting their own corporate interests. Freedom comes at a price. The freedom we enjoy here has a price, and it is Bulk Mail folder full of spam. That, my friends, is a small price to pay.

Jeff Crook

Subject: Harry Thomason

One thing that is probably not in the movie or book is that, for at least a year after the 1992 election, Rush Limbaugh, the leading Republican spokesman and the man most credited with the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, began every show with "Day __ of America Held Hostage." This is further proof that the Republicans did not accept the legitimate election of Bill Clinton from day 1.

Ellen K.

Subject: 7 of 12 of U.S. Navy's CSGs to So. China Sea in mid-July

What do you make of this article. (It's also on the Navy's website under news about fleet deployment): http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,259015,00.html

I find this very disturbing. Am I crazy to think this sounds provocative? Is the Bush mis-administration trying to set up something similar to the Cuban missile crisis so that the pResident gets a chance to look like a brinkmanship diplomat?

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: BUSH/NADER - DANGEROUS LIAISONS?

Dear BuzzFlash

Ralph Nader is a first class hypocrite. He is so hungry for attention, he will even stoop to taking any handouts from the republicans, despite his fake rhetoric against them. People have to be aware that this alliance is going on, and that the republicans are now desperate, and will stop at NOTHING to steal the elections again. I heard many repugs say on television that it would be better for them if Nader runs. So it looks like they are willing to spend their millions on him.

Nader is a shameless spoiler, and is losing the little respect he has left, around the country. I hope that his supporters will wise up and realize that he is not practicing what he is preaching. It sure looks like they want Horrible George back!!

Click here: CNN.com - Group: Bush allies illegally helping Nader in Oregon - Jun 30, 2004

Thanks for keeping us informed.

Roseanne

I think Dick Cheney's remark to Sen. Patrick Leahy sums up the Bush administration's general attitude toward most average American citizens as well as the rest of the world. I think Bush and Company have basically told all of us outside the neoconservative realm to "go f_ _k yourselves".

Allen Pitner

Subject: President Reagan namesake supports Kerry

The Republican party must be burning inside. When their own icon president Reagan own son and name sake Ron Reagan jr. express his support for John Kerry for the president. He says that the Republican party represents the extreme right wing elements in our country. The Republican do not support the great diversity of our great nation.

M. Cutelli

Subject: What can we do to help?

The Chicago Tribune ran an article today about the Kurdish town of Halabja, Iraq, where much of the population suffers serious illness due to the 1988 mustard gas attacks by Saddam Hussein. According to the article, no group has come forward to offer these people needed medical treatment! Help wasn't even offered during the Clinton years, if I read the article correctly.

Now, there's lots of problems in the world (especially with Bush in the White House), but can BuzzFlash readers do something -- maybe in conjunction with an organization such as Doctors Without Borders or Oxfam? If this story were checked out and publicized, and if we worked with an organization with expertise in this area, might we be able to raise money on the Internet to fund some health care for these people?

Of course, our own people need health care too. But still….

Sue Pastin
Chicago IL

Subject: Fahrenheit Showing

My father and I attended the afternoon showing of Fahrenheit 911 this afternoon (Wed. June 30) on Staten Island, the most Republican part of New York City. I have been at afternoon showings at this particular theater before, and they are lucky to get five people in the theater at that time. Today, the place was about 3/4 full, an amazing number for a weekday afternoon, and a movie that isn't a big kid attraction. The audience was about 3/4 seniors (who are one of the largest, most reliable voting groups), which makes sense, since most others would be at work.

The audience seemed pretty anti-Bush, laughing at his stupid remarks, etc. I found it painful to watch, since I detest the sight of him, and the sound of his voice, so much. My father and I already are aware of the information covered by the movie, but I hope it opens a few eyes, among people who know only what they can get from the whore mainstream media.

Joann Olbrich

Subject: Three Blind Mice...Bush's Hitler ad makes no sense.

Dear BuzzFlash,

After seeing that Bush/Cheney ad (http://www.georgewbush.com/) which seeks to compare several Democrats to Adolph Hitler, I got to thinking- was Hitler really opposed to torture chambers, starting wars for fictitious reasons, and/or playing on peoples' fears- as the Bush/Cheney ad insinuates? Or is it just that the biggest problem Conservatives have with Hitler is the fact he shouted loudly in front of large crowds?

I have no problem with politicians drawing analogies to Hitler's Germany in political ads as a pointed way of warning people about the policies of their opponents - if they're appropriate. But the sound-bites provided from the Democrats in this Bush/Cheney ad are in diametric opposition to Hitler's ideology.

Speaking of which.....

"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord."

--Adolf Hitler

"Hostility toward America is a religious duty, and we hope to be rewarded for it by God. I am confident that Muslims will be able to end the legend of the so-called superpower that is America."

--Osama bin Laden

"God told me to strike at al Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East."

--GW Bush

This last quote actually scrolls along the bottom of the screen during the ad- making it all the more ironic.

Aaron Cossel,
Portland, OR