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THIS IS PART 2 OF THE JULY 6, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. CLICK HERE FOR PART 1.

Re: Spam Alert: Today's Top 5 Headlines on BuzzFlash.com

BuzzFlash,

As you can see, they have a Spam alert on this heading. But I don't pay attention to it because it never stopped me from going to BuzzFlash, anyway.

If it did I would really make some noise in their direction.

Angela..Philly

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----- Original Message -----
From: BuzzFlash
Sent: 07/04/2004 7:57 AM
Subject: Spam Alert: Today's Top 5 Headlines on BuzzFlash.com

Subject: Christians and Bush

To BuzzFlash:

The bush regime is trying to get the fundamentalist church's to use their membership lists to unite the, so called, christian right to campaign for his (re-election?). Some are saying that if the elections were held today, bush would get 63 % of the born again christian vote.

You know, I have always been a little conflicted, or maybe it's just simply ambivalence, when it comes to religion. I am, almost, positive that there is a God, a Force, if you want to call it that, which has a certain amount of input into what has, and is taking place on this little blue planet. I think that all religions have played an important part in the "spiritual development" of the human animal. As a believer in reincarnation, I think that Jesus was the first man who finally touched what might be the Godliness of man, and that he was simply trying to teach us to do the same thing. Am I right or wrong...hell... I don't know? But I do know this. If g.w. bush is a "Christian", then I am the reincarnated Son of God. Having said that, I am just trying to understand what makes a born again christian. Did Jesus teach hate, revenge, lying, bigotry, killing, greed, and disregard for the lives of our fellow man? Not according to what I have gathered from his teaching. So, if these so called "born again christians" are supporting g.w. they are supporting just the opposite of what Jesus tried to teach, and are nothing but lying hypocrites, just like the man they are supporting. I have never said this about another human being before, but his demise would not be a source of remorse in my realm of existence.

Thanks for letting me spout my 2 cents worth.

Wynn Spell
Clute, Texas

Subject: Yahoo also Labels BuzzFlash Mail as Spam

No matter how many times I designate it as "not spam" Yahoo mail tosses it into their spam bin!

You might question other readers to see if they have the same problem.

Don

Subject: hmmmmmmmm

we have been seeing people all over the tv saying john kerry is not likable, people can't relate to him. he is not a regular guy like bush...............but in the polls bush and kerry are neck and neck. so does that mean after three and a half years to show the american people what a good president he is..........just as many people don't like bush? or is it just that over the past three and half years bush has made so many people hate him they would vote for a rattle snake over bush?

don and diane in miami florida

Subject: It's MY Flag

I am again flying the American flag. I have reclaimed it from the Bush Administration, who has tried to co-opt it for political purpose.

I will not be manipulated by this Presidents arrogant declaration that we are with him..or we are with the terrorists. I am for America. I am not for the terrorists, and I am most certainly not for Mr.Bush and his doctrine of preemptive war and other policies that are harming my country.

My flag stands for the America I know, not the one I see us becoming under this President.It stands for an America that truly strives to be a land of the free. It stands for a land where if one was willing to work hard, opportunities were equal, and a decent living was possible. It stands for a land where everyone can get an higher education and medical care and have a home, not just the wealthy. It stands for a land that cares for all of its citizens enough to at least provide needed services for their most vulnerable, and see's to it the vital middle class thrives along with the corporations.

It stands for a country solid enough in its founding principles that it has no need to attack countries who have not attacked us, and wise enough to know that allies are more valuable than any blustery show of shock and awe. It stands for a land that knows how to lead by example, not brute force.

My flag stands for liberty and justice for all, not for a government that wants sovereign power to imprison indefinitely, without recourse, and has to be stopped from doing so by the Supreme count.

MY flag flies in honor for my dead brother and all the men and women who gave their lives to defend this country and keep it free and for those still out there putting their lives on the line every minute. It does not fly in honor to those willing to wage unnecessary wars that take American and innocent civilian lives for unclear, deceptive stated purposes, and without having any effective plans for getting us back out.

My flag flies in the still living hope for the day when those elected to office get there honestly, placed in office by the true will of the people, not by the will of wealthy corporations and through election manipulation, and who govern from principle and integrity and a love of country, rather than from a need for personal and political glory and gain and greed for power.

My flag flies on the winds of hope that by this November, enough Americans will have done their patriotic duty of becoming informed and are willing to go out and exercise the privilege of voting to remove this President, who has led us down such a dark lonely, and dangerous path.

See you November 2, 2004.

g.mills

Subject: Less profanity and more Moore

Just about the only thing we can all agree about lately is that the events of September 11, 2001 did indeed change our country forever. Beyond that, we have become the divided states of America. The debate we should be having about Islamic radicalism has been replaced by political warfare. The most recent broadside in this war was a terse and angry “F*** yourself”, launched by our Vice President toward a critic. In truth, this “frank exchange of views”about a perceived insult merely made explicit what for years has been implied by administration officials, rank and file Republicans and radio talk shows. But Mr. Cheney’s outburst begs the question, what should the proportional response of Democrats be to the many attacks on their patriotism during the last three years?

For the Bush administration, attacks on patriotism have replaced counterarguments as the favored rebuttal. Rumsfeld has said “that critics of the Bush Administration's Iraq policy are encouraging terrorists and complicating the ongoing U.S. war on terrorism.”John Ashcroft said, in response to critics of the Patriot Act, "your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends.”Rush Limbaugh says “what's good for Al Qaeda is good for the Democratic Party in this country today.”And for an hour every day, American Forces Radio broadcasts Limbaugh’s talk show, replete with these kinds of remarks, to its military audience all over the world, many of whom are Democrats. Don’t minimize how effective this kind of rant can be. Limbaugh was once described by a prominent Republican as “perhaps the most consequential person in political life at the moment.”

Assaults on patriotism are only part of the arsenal. Assaults on objective reality have also proven to be very effective. On a visit to Ireland recently, Bush claimed, despite a State Dept. report to the contrary, that “the world is a safer place and becoming a safer place.”In reality the number of victims of terrorist attacks has sharply increased. The initial report had claimed a dramatic decrease in terrorism and was hailed as proof that Bush policies were succeeding. Whether this was a deliberate lie or simple incompetence hardly matters. How will we ever be able to recognize truth when its appearance is changed so often?

In the same interview, Bush made the assertion that "On September 11, 2001, we were attacked in an unprovoked fashion -- everybody thought the world was calm." In just one little sentence, Bush managed to rewrite the first nine months of his presidency during which he received a significant number of dire warnings about al Qaeda. The American public may have thought all was calm, but we now know that others were not. The chief of the FBI counterterrorism division told the National Governors Association in July of 2001 that a significant terrorist attack was likely on U.S. soil. "I'm not a gloom-and-doom-type person”he said. “But I will tell you this. [We are] headed for an incident inside the United States.”

Bush also said that the war in Iraq is justified simply “to promote freedom and at the same time protect our security.”Once again, Bush’s statements seem unconnected to objective reality. The White House's own Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World reported that since 9/11, "hostility toward America has reached shocking levels”and a March poll conducted by the Pew Center found that the percentage of people in Muslim countries who think suicide bombings are justified has grown by roughly 40 percent since the American occupation of Iraq.

Bush could have made this country stronger and safer through alliances and by seeking out and strengthening shared values across the world. Instead, he chose to make us more warlike and unilateral; more hated and feared. Instead of reinvigorating democracy on our shores by encouraging debate and condemning attacks on the patriotism of his critics, he has worn his presidency like an imperial mantle. What has ensued is political bedlam, a polarized public and a problem that seems to be getting scarier by the minute.

So don’t be surprised by the glee felt by Democrats now that a proportional response to Cheney and the Republican attack machine has finally arrived, courtesy of Michael Moore. The video clip of our president reading to school children on 9/11 as bafflement plays across his face proves that, sometimes, a picture truly is worth a thousand words.

Judith Krieger

Subject: another theater chain refusing to show F911

The Douglas Theatre Company www.douglastheatres.com in Lincoln Nebraska is also not showing 'Fahrenheit 9/11'. Its showing at a very small theater on the University of Nebraska campus www.theross.org. Douglas Theatre Company services pretty much the entire southeastern part of Nebraska. Major geographical censorship.

Jeff K.

Asking a church to turn over their directory is going too far with politics. It's shameful. I'm a churchgoer but, The G.Bush team asking for the church membership directory is provocative, evil, and despicable to me. Yes, I dislike G.Bush and Cheney any-way, and I will not be voting for them. But enough is enough.The Bush team act like they may say or do anything and get away with it because the country now is ran by Republicans. The Supreme court is in their pocket, and they have Tom Delay, Dennis Hastert, and Senator Frisk running Congress, so all of their request for how stupid it maybe is ok.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: 4th of July-Editorial

Hi Buzz,

Hurrah, another 4th of July and another chance to celebrate the birth of our nation!

Your Editorial does set a tone for the celebration of the Spirit of ''76, and a call for all of us to do the work of preserving this experiment in a government "Of the People, for the People" so it will not perish form the earth. Thanks Buzz.

Your article also shakes up some thoughts, like ' What exactly was lurking in the shrub mind as he used the word 'it'--when he said. "...it would be easier if this was a dictatorship"?

There definitely was a goal, or goals in the shallow mind, but no one has asked. The first time I heard him said it he was freshly 'appointed pResident' and having done so little at the time it was very odd. Another thought is the claim that God talks to 'me', gwb and his mob, and a select few others like Gibson, Falwell. By gosh, if they actually believe that God created this universe then what is the need for these little thorns?

Time to do some serious pruning.

Best,

Cole...

Bush's "Seven Minutes of Fame": This needs to become the "Where's the beef?" catchphrase in this '04 election. Write an article about those now-famous seven minutes and use it as a headline. Circulate it to all the media, alternative and major. We've got the sucker up against a wall. Now he needs to be nailed to it. Thanks. I release all rights to the above phrase, "Bush's Seven Minutes of Fame".

Larry Piltz
Austin, Texas

Subject: All I need to know anyway ...

I think it tells you all you need to know about our current administration’s priorities when oil is such a valuable resource that even the reserves must not be used during “this time of war”but they have no problem whatsoever when it comes to “using”human lives and stretching our troop reserves to very dangerous levels. The only conclusion I can come to is that this current administration values oil very much but when it comes to OUR reserve troops who directly protect our domestic tranquility (ie…security, defense) …not so much. Never mind that they are also mothers, fathers, sons and daughters and that oil is …well …just oil. Call me liberal or libertarian or any new moniker you can produce but that is not a choice for me. People are ALWAYS more important than oil.

Shunk Wugga …

Only One Member of Congress Has a Child Serving in Iraq

Senator Tim Johnson, (D-South Dakota)

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2003/03/54585.shtml

Jim

Subject: The Week That Was

It's Sunday morning and I find myself pondering the week that was. I've learned that for republican's it's okay to say go f*** yourself, even on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Can you even imagine if Gore, when he was Vice President, had told a senator on the judiciary committee, say someone like Orrin Hatch, to go f*** himself? The right wing's panties would still be in a wad up their fat, greedy butts. Just another example of the outrageous hypocrisy practiced by the repugs.

I've also learned that the old saying that white guys don't have rhythm doesn't necessarily mean that all black guys automatically do have rhythm. Colin Powell proved that. But, in all fairness, I suppose you have to give him some credit for trying.

I've learned that as of Friday, July 2, 2004 858 brave men and women have given their lives for George Bush's imperial doctrine; not to mention the thousands of Americans who've suffered wretched physical, mental and spiritual wounds. And then there are the countless dead and wounded Iraqi's. The BuzzFlash flash on the effects of depleted uranium brought me to tears. If you haven't viewed Poisonous Legacy, do make an effort to see it. It is important that we keep ourselves informed, even when it's painful to do so.

Jeb Bush is still at it, trying his best to steal another election for his big brother. His tactics of deception are so obvious to anyone with even a minimally functioning brain. So when will the voters in Florida stand up to Jeb, Glenda Hood ( the new but not necessarily improved version of Katherine Harris) and the corrupt republican-run Florida State House and demand clean, verifiable elections? I hope its not when hell freezes over because we're just about out of time.

And we've learned that sovereignty doesn't really mean sovereign. God only knows what will happen in Iraq now. Cross your fingers, say your prayers. Whatever works.

There was plenty more bad news but there was some good news as well. Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911 continues to draw large crowds. I saw it last night in Durango and I experienced the full range of emotions that so many of you have described in your postings. It was riveting and the full house that viewed the film applauded when it was over. There's some evidence, that after having seen the film, some republicans are having second thoughts about voting for Bush this time around. Good job Michael Moore! There was a lady handing out flyers reminding people to vote in the upcoming primary in August, specifically for Mike Miles for Senate. Oh how we'd love to see the Democrats pull that off. Anyway, I was impressed that the theatre management allowed the lady to hand the flyers out.

Bill Clinton's new book is a major best seller and huge crowds turn out for all his book signings. Way to go President Clinton. We love you Bill and we always will!

Thanks to a CNN lawsuit, Florida was forced to release their 2004 felons list. Of course, their were many names on the list that shouldn't be there. Gee, I wonder which party they'll be voting for once their name is removed from the list.

John Kerry will pick a running mate this coming week. That will provide a lot of media interest for the Democrats. I'm hoping it's Edwards or Clark but I'll support Kerry's choice, no matter who it is. Anyone but Bush and Kerry in a landslide!

Polls seem to be going south for Dumbya. May they slide even further.

Word is, Ken Lay will be indicted this coming week. Yeah! Throw the book at the bastard.

U.S. lawmakers are requesting that the U.N. oversee our presidential election. I pray they will. Maybe it'll keep the repugs honest, even if it illustrates that we've come to a very sad point in our democracy.

And it seems that the repugs plan to use church rosters for their campaigns might be backfiring. The Southern Baptist Convention, a rather conservative group, is none too happy with Karl Rove's latest idea. Good! Let's hope other religious groups follow.

As usual, the best news is that we have BuzzFlash and all those great people who contribute to and read the mailbag. Thanks to you all and keep up the good work.

Judy Maclean
Colorado

Subject: Road Runner -You need Parson's email address

When you consider the lopsided and outsized contributions Richard Parsons, Time-Warner's CEO has made to the republicans (visit http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/fecimg/norindsea.html and enter his name) and the wacky front page of this week's Time Mag, questioning whether telling the truth about Bush is good for America, you suspect that maybe Roadrunner is acting on purpose to hinder BuzzFlash' emails.

Wish I could find Parson's email address--that is where the enquiries and complaints should go.

MW

[BuzzFlash Note: According to the link above, he's given over 72,000 to the GOP.]

Subject: BILL MOYERS 7/2/04 PBS SHOW NOW-YOU MUST GET PEOPLE TO READ TRANSCRIPT OR WATCH REPEAT

THIS IS A COPY OF AN E MAIL I SENT TO JOHN KERRY--THEN I REMEMBERED YOU REALLY NEED TO DIRECT PEOPLE TO THIS SHOW OR A TRANSCRIPT OF IT-IT IS TOTALLY MIND BLOWING.

oh my goodness. on pbs Now with Bill Moyers, Frank Luntz (the main put the word's in the mouth of Bush administration), is spewing out his secrets to the interviewer. You must watch or get a transcript of July 2, 2004 Now with Bill Moyers on PBS. Here is the website address http://www.pbs.org/now/sched.html ---this will help you. Also, they did an piece on Congress' raises that are automatic-and all the health care everyone gets, yet soldiers have a charity food bank on base-and so many people have no healthcare. It is Weird to know that congress is paying 235.48 dollars a year for a family of four-and that each of you make over 150,000 a year-and your pensions...unreal. This really needs to be fixed. And congress is trying to help corporations lower their companies pension funds. What is this. You all get a raise automatically every year and your pensions go up every year. SPEAK OUT NOW....

Karin

Subject: No Hossanas for Gore Vidal ?

To you whom it concerns,

Hate to steal any one's thunder but ya'll do know that Gore Vidal has a 2 cd set out 'Gore Vidal Speaks Heresy' (about the war in Iraq) and that radio station WBAI (Pacifica) in New York City is hawking it as a membership pledge item and I haven't seen it mentioned in your very thorough log of events and happenings so I thought I'd take a stab and say something.

I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else either--envy maybe? Personally I think everyone's done a bang up job at bringing the selected prez down. Vidal's got to be feeling good about the amazing surge of anti -Bush, anti-war energy from a year ago particularly given that most of us-- even 60s rads like myself--learned much if not everything we know at his knee (and after the 60s by the way).

The ad in the Nation describes his rant as 'making mince-meat' of Bush and Cheney's reasons for going to war. Too bad we didn't know as much in the first place and could have gone after our lame Congress that just more-or-less gave Bush a blank check and let it happen.

a killjoy in Calliefornia (as Gov. Gropinator has officially renamed it)

Subject: A letter To Editor I wrote to local Paper Entitled "Moon Shine"

During the Clinton Administration there was much publicized moral outrage accusing the President of renting out the Lincoln Bedroom to wealthy contributors and low life friends.

Do you suspect that there might be a little residual outrage left within our collective spleen to learn that members of the current administration utilized the Halls of Congress to anoint the new Messiah?

On March 23rd of this year, the Dirksen Senate Office Building staged the coronation ceremony of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, owner of the conservative Washington Times newspaper and founder of the cult group called the "Moonies." He was formally deified as humanity's " Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent."

At the coronation, Korean born Moon and his wife Mrs. Hak Ja Moon both dressed in maroon and ermine robes were presented bejeweled golden crowns. During his presentation Rev. Moon declared himself the Second Coming.

Several members of Congress attended the ceremony. The Unification Church estimates 81 Congressmen attended. Other sources claim only 12.

Sadly, a man I highly respect, Sen. Lyndsey Graham R-SC, is listed on the program as a member of the Invitational Committee.

Admittedly, Rev. Moon's beliefs are supportive of the current President. He is also opposed to premarital sex. (His post-marital views on sex, however, are a bit XXX rated). Moon also opposes homosexuality and preaches that gays are "dung eating dogs". (Perhaps in Korean cultures this may be seen as a term of endearment.) Moon further explains that Jews brought on the Holocaust by betraying Jesus, and the U.S. Constitution should be scrapped in favor of a system he calls "Godism", with him in charge.

Well, everybody gets a little passionate about his belief system. But he does oppose gay marriage, abortion in all its forms, sex before marriage and secular liberalism. He strongly supports faith-born initiatives.

The coronation was the grand finale of Moon's coast-to-coast "tear down the cross Moonification tour", intended to remove Christian crosses from almost 300 churches in poor neighborhoods -- the idea being that the cross was an obstacle to uniting religions under Moon.

Who could possibly find it in their heart to oppose this unifying initiative to meld Church and State?

John Walsh

(Source: http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2004/06/21/moon/index.html)

Subject: Cheney's Granddaughter

Hey Buzz,

I was watching the news this morning, and there was Cheney, with granddaughter in tow. I said to my 84 year-old mom, "He needs to soften his image. He's USING the poor kid." She says, "Yes, and people can't yell 'GO F*** YOURSELF, CHEYNEY' with a little girl right there." Out of the mouths of babes...and grandmothers!

God save the USA. Thanks for fighting the good fight.

Bill Rockland, Maine

Subject: 16,000 Wounded in Iraq War

Regarding "Pentagon Confirms More Than 16,000 Wounded/Injured in Iraq War," I haven't yet seen any major news outlets report the fact that, once again, the bush admin's figures don't square up with the facts. Underreporting 11,000 wounded? Shades of underreporting the increase in terrorism. So how do we get those lazy reporters to get doing their jobs on this one? I don't know, but maybe Buzz readers sending the link to the story (on veteransforcommonsense.org) to news outlets would be a start. And don't forget to ask the question: Why aren't you reporting this highly important story?

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/newsArticle.asp?id=1782

Sue

Subject: Cheney's Optimism

Dear BuzzFlash,

Cheney has been running Kerry in the ground as a pessimist and Bush/Cheney as optimistic. I would be optimistic too if my company was making billions on the taxpayers backs. I would want the war to last FOREVER!! You couldn't wipe that smile off my face, no wonder Cheney smiles all the time!

Phillip Dirig

Subject: Pentagon uses anti-war soldier for propaganda, but fails to tell you

Danielle Green, the Notre Dame basketball star who lost her arm in Iraq, is featured in three articles on the Pentagon's propaganda website, including a meeting with Regis Philbin, and a citation by Paul Wolfowitz.

But they don't mention what she thinks of the war........... (I'm sure the Pentagon somehow 'forgot' to report that she's very very very anti-war)

GO TO "Regis Philbin Inspired by Wounded Service Members' Spirit"

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"Chicago's Own Danielle Green has Never Been so "Smooth"

Like the late NFL safety turned Army Ranger Pat Tillman, Green could easily be used as a symbol of patriotic resolve. She would fit neatly into potent place where athletics meets war. Yet unlike Tillman, who cannot speak for himself, D-Smooth has chosen not be treated like an icon but to speak out against what she sees from first hand experience, as an unjust war.

From her hospital bed, Green told the New York Times, "They just don't want us there. I personally don't think we should have gone into Iraq. Not the way things have turned out. A lot more people are going to get hurt, and for what?"

Secretary of State Colin Powell confronted with her words on Meet the Press could only mutter, "I hope she will see in time that her sacrifice was worth it."

Green respectfully disagrees. "I'm not going to lie I didn't understand the mission, the purpose. If you understand what you're fighting for, then you've got something to hang on to. But we didn't even have that. I think if I hadn't lost my arm, I would have lost my mind. It was enough to drive you insane, and I think that's where I might have been headed."

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Cheney should resign

Our VP should step down, but not simply because of his outburst on the Senate floor. President Bush brought along the VP (rather conspicuously) in front of the 9/11 Commission to help explain what happened. The President seemed to be saying: " Here, THIS is the guy you want to talk to......HE had the "fever" for Iraq.....Him and Wolfowitz and Perle and Rumsfeld. I went along with it because Saddam tried to murder my dad."

The ten Commission members have been finding some incredible things over the past 17 months. Things like:

1- Intelligence being ignored about an attack.
2- Intelligence being manipulated to support war.
3- 28 redacted pages on Saudi Arabia in another investigation.
4- 9/11 timeline irregularities.
5- The White House approval of a plane scooting the Bin Laden family out of the country just days after 9/11.
6- A very strong coziness between the Bush family and Saudi Arabia.
7- A huge resistance to the 9/11 investigation.
8- Nine members of the Bush Cabinet are making millions from their investments in the War Industry (The Institute for Public Integrity - www.publicintegrity.org).

Now, please ask yourself - Would this "gung-ho Iraq Administration" have been able to invade Iraq if 9/11 had been thwarted?

Wolfowitz and Perle stated over ten years ago that we should invade Iraq. Rumsfeld was quoted in a White House meeting his second day in this Administration that we should invade Iraq. Cheney was somewhat obsessed with invading Iraq as Woodward divulged in his new book. Let's hope that the other members of this Administration profiting from the war will also resign.

President Eisenhower told us to beware of the Military Industrial Complex. Now, they're occupying the White House, and they got what they wanted.

Denny Burbeck
Omaha, Ne.