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

THIS IS PART 2 OF THE JULY 26, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. CLICK HERE FOR PART 1.

Subject: Bob Novak

Subject: Sandy Berger Flap

Hey BuzzFlash,

The recent 911 Commission report clearly indicates a failure on the part of the BuckFush administrations' National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in protecting this country, resulting in the deaths of 3000+ Americans. Looks like she'll again get a pass on this and other serious failures of her department. On the other hand, Sandy Berger, President Clinton's National Security Advisor, who helped dramatically in keeping this country safe during the Presidents eight years in office is now being portrayed by the repugs as dam near being a traitor and enemy of the people for a stupid mistake that nobody died for.

Maybe Condi will get a garbage scow named after her (as opposed to an oil tanker) for her service to this country. When Kerry moves into the White House, perhaps he can push for a good long jail term for her and the rest of this cabal -- for their utter failure in keeping this country safe on their watch.

Howard in Phoenix

If you think you're too small to have an effect on anything, then you've never been in bed with a mosquito.

Subject: Any Follow-Up?

As far as you know, was there any follow up to this September 2003 story in Newsweek?

Alleged Hijackers May Have Trained at U.S. Bases

The Pentagon has turned over military records on five men to the FBI

By George Wehrfritz, Catharine Skipp and John Barry
NEWSWEEK

Sept. 15 —U.S. military sources have given the FBI information that suggests five of the alleged hijackers of the planes that were used in Tuesday’s terror attacks received training at secure U.S. military installations in the 1990s.

THREE OF THE alleged hijackers listed their address on drivers licenses and car registrations as the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla.—known as the “Cradle of U.S. Navy Aviation,”according to a high-ranking U.S. Navy source.

Another of the alleged hijackers may have been trained in strategy and tactics at the Air War College in Montgomery, Ala., said another high-ranking Pentagon official. The fifth man may have received language instruction at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Tex. Both were former Saudi Air Force pilots who had come to the United States, according to the Pentagon source.

A BuzzFlash Reader

The 9-11 Report comes out and says our government must make immediate changes, changes imperative to our country's safety. What does Bush do?

He goes to Crawford to clear some brush!

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: GOP national security strength

So now the affair of Rep. Sen. Richard Shelby's leak of classified intelligence to the media looks like it will be swept under the rug by our esteemed "Justice" Department. When you consider the fact that the leak compromised an active and accurate intelligence channel into the 9/11 connections, I'm sure the GOP breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Or maybe they're just confused after all the spin.

Add to this Sen. Hatch's "personal" warning to Osama bin Laden on 9/13/01 that we were tracing his sat phone and closing in (nice of FOX to broadcast that) and it makes you wonder what this myth of GOP strength on national security issues is built upon.

And let's not mention the years of work Valerie Plame put in to develop her cover--as an agent that actually tracked real WMD's--a cover that was blown by a GOP leak at the highest level. (Everyone knows the VP is the leader of the free world).

Republicans. Strong on defense. Got it. Will anyone connect these dots of lunacy anytime soon?

D. Ashcraft

Subject: Fahrenheit 9/11

I dreaded seeing this movie because I knew it would upset me. I knew that seeing this movie would prevent me from ignoring bush, and his illegitimate presidency any longer. I have been trying to ignore him since Florida. I have failed.

I have also been trying to cut back on my favorite modifier lately. I believe dick cheney knows the word. But after watching bush for an hour and 56 minutes, I fell off the wagon with a vengeance.

Michael Moore references George Orwell's 1984, but while watching bush senior, and dubaya laughing and smiling with their arab oil buddies, I was reminded of another Orwell masterpiece, Animal Farm, the last paragraph.

"Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

A picture is worth a thousand words. Michael Moore used more news footage than spin to show Americans the truth. It is this simple fact above all others that bush supporters don't want voters to see.

It is not un-American to be informed. See the movie, then cast your ballot.

Tammy
Ohio

Subject: Media not reporting reality viz. Bush vs. Kerry

I don't think the media is approximating reality. In trying to "show both sides" the media sometimes distorts the truth. On one side are the Bush negatives: the tortured prisoners in the Iraq prison, the lies about WMD, the pro-rich tax cuts, trashing the environment. On the positives, what? hardly anything. But the media, to show "both sides" has to thus invent the nonexistent positive such as having guest Republicans mouthing unrealistic and untrue gobbledygook just to give some semblance that Bush actually has anything good going for him. I believe Bush will lose by a landslide--and that'll be the reality and not what the media reports.

Vip, Manila

Subject: What the 9/11 Commission failed to report

Bush's 9/11 Secrets
Will the true extent of Bush's complicity in 9/11 ever be made public?

" ...Once Cheney's role in the 9/11 attacks is clearly exposed, the scope of a truly independent inquiry would naturally be widened to expose the duplicitous behavior of much of the rest of the Bush team. If this should happen, it would only be a matter of time before, either through the process of indictments and impeachment or at the hands of newly enlightened voters, that the Bush team will ultimately be removed from power. Four more years is too long to wait."

This article be found at http://www.joecitizen.org/911_secrets.html

Please link to it or reference it as you see fit.

JC
http://www.JoeCitzen.org

Subject: Piss-poor AP story du jour

Hey Buzz:

Here's my latest to the AP (man, am I sick of writing to them) in response to Terence Hunt's "Clintons to Kick off Democratic Convention" (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&c...).

* * *

Dear AP:

It's becoming a daily habit to chastise you on your pitiful approach to reporting. For some reason, you think that drawing subjective comparisons between the Clintons and Kerry is newsworthy. In fact, writer Terence Hunt goes so far as to say the Clintons are "stealing [Kerry's] opening-night thunder" at the Democratic Convention. Umm, really? Because, you know, I think advocating Kerry for president isn't really "stealing his thunder."

Also, just asking, what part of the following has anything to do with objective journalism: "The only problem is that Kerry may suffer by comparison, making Democrats wistful for a more dynamic candidate, one who doesn't have to struggle so hard to connect with voters."

Pitiful. You're as bad as FOX. The state of AP's media presence stinks.

with ongoing disgust, A BuzzFlash Devotee

Subject: Liberals

Hello, There:

Would someone please remind the religious righteous ones who slobber behind the man called "president" who speaks through "God"...that Jesus was the most liberal being...ever.

Thank you.

BB

Subject: "Inkling" bulletin revisited

In response to Jeremy's mail regarding Bush's "If we had an inkling" quote:

The Bush Administration would like us to believe that the August 6, 2001 memo entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US" was not itself an "inkling" of warning. Fine then, let's forget about the memo for one moment.

Let us never forget, and in fact let us remind the public as often as possible, that Bush himself admitted prior knowledge of the terrorist plot to fly jetliners into buildings.

In his prime time news conference disaster of March 6, 2003, Bush referred to intel he received before the G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy:

" Ed, I asked for the briefing. And the reason I did is because there had been a lot of threat intelligence from overseas. And so -- part of it had to do with Genoa, the G8 conference that I was going to attend. And I asked, at that point in time, let's make sure we are paying attention here at home, as well.

" The report, itself, I've characterized as mainly history, and I think when you look at it you'll see that it was talking about '97 and '98 and '99. It was also an indication, as you mentioned, that bin Laden might want to hijack an airplane, but as you said, not to fly into a building, but perhaps to release a person in jail. In other words, serve it as a blackmail."

This, like the majority of his utterances, was a lie. The threat was specific: al Qaida operatives might hijack aircraft and assassinate Bush and other foreign leaders by crashing them into the meeting itself. This is why, as multiple news sources reported, anti-aircraft guns were stationed strategically throughout Genoa during the conference. Additionally, Bush stayed on an aircraft carrier and other leaders slept on luxury cruise liners. The Italian government closed off local air space and had fighter jets patrolling the skies during the summit. (http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0406-11.htm) Security measures were unprecedented and underreported.

These events took place in July of 2001. If the Bush Administration dares to suggest that they had no warning of the kind of attack that took place on September 11, we must conclude that they are dangerously incompetent in forgetting the G8 warnings and the August 8 memo, and not making the elementary connections between the two before and during September 11. Or they are lying.

Either way, these facts MUST be made widely known in the run-up to the election, because Bush somehow still polls very high in the public's trust against terrorism. I encourage everyone, everywhere in this country to write to their local newspapers, Congressmen, and campaign headquarters regarding the puzzle pieces above. Proof of Bush's guilt and/or incompetence is everywhere, but it is entirely up to us, the people, to make it known.

Fred M.
Glendale CA

Subject: No News Coverage About Sibel Edmonds and the FBI Coverup by The US Media CorpSE

Dear BuzzFlash,

I just did a search on The Washington Post and other major newspaper websites, looking for their news coverage about "Sibel Edmonds". I came up with little or no articles. Lets see, Edmonds "is only" a former FBI translator, turned Informant, who was then fired. Whatever happened to "The Whistle blower Protection Laws"? So much for people who see a wrong, and want to right it.

Sibel Edmonds testified to The 9/11 Commission, yet she only gets recognized in footnote number 25 of their report.

The FBI used 9/11 as an opportunity to "let the translation work pile up" to get more workers. How? By telling FBI translators to work slowly. You heard me correct, work slowly!! However, if you cared about your country as a conscientious American, and did your foreign translations quickly as Sibel did, the translations would get deleted by your boss to "teach you a lesson".

The FBI also did poor interviewing of translators, since people on the other side, known as enemies, were accepted to enter their new FBI Translating jobs.

Ashcroft has succeeded in covering-up The FBI's many errors, by getting a Republican Judge get her "secret case" thrown out.

How do I know all of this information. I read everything I could about Sibel, after Randi Rhodes interviewed her.

The scandal gets even larger than that, and I suggest every reader of BuzzFlash reader read the articles on www.breakfornews.com/Sibel-Edmonds.htm or any other Google search sites you find on Sibel Edmonds. I also suggest that BuzzFlash put it's own link to updated articles on Sibel on BuzzFlash.com.

You know that Ashcroft doesn't want the public to know what's going on with our intelligence agencies, when he muzzles Senators Leahy and Grassley on the Sibel Edmonds story. When is the last time you heard of Senators being muzzled? There is no way you are going to tell me that is not a cover-up occurring right now by Ashcroft and Bush, and yet the media is staying mute!!

I thought, according to LimBORE, that the media was very "Liberal". So ... where are they with this Anti-Bush story?

I think I know how to "excite the media and get them to cover" this scandal. Spread the word that there is some "type of sex involved" between Sibel Edmonds and AG Ashcroft. You will see the INEPT News Media CorpSE hyper-ventilating to get the news out to the Americans, 24/7, seven days a week. On the other hand, that is probably all they would "try" to look for and report on. Bad idea.

Sad, so sad!! Nixon must be rolling over in his grave and thinking, "Why couldn't the media have been so inept back in the 1970's?"

Since the mainstream media does not think this scandal is worth covering in depth, I strongly suggest that readers do a Google search on "Sibel Edmonds" and see WHAT THE PRESS and TV Media DOES NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW about Bush and Ashcroft.

She was first seen on 60 Minutes in 2002 by Ed Bradley. The story was "Lost in Translation".

Tom Wieliczka

Subject: Sen. Shelby

http://www.chalcedon.edu/articles/0404/040420duigon.shtml

Sen. Shelby is involved with the Reconstructionist Movement which has very Extreme Ideology to say the least. Anyone involved with Theonomy and/or Theocracy is worth keeping an eye on. Sen. Shelby has been very involved in the Constitution Restoration Act of 2004(S.2082) along with Herb Titus and Roy Moore(HR.3799). The final goal of Reconstructionism is Dominion over all of us while the Theocratic Elite become the ruling party. The Reconstructionists are considered to be anti-constitution, and theirs is a government based on \"biblical law\" which comes from the teachings of R. J. Rushdoony. Most Christians are unaware of Reconstructionism due to its use of stealth tactics to gain control. Not being a conspiracy theorist, of course, but I did find the article on the Sen. Shelby Probe very interesting, especially when you know a little about Sen. Shelby\'s background.

Rod S.

Subject: Re: 'Buzz democratic convention Blog.'...

Loved that,,,,, it was soooo accurate. was surprised that Paula the Buttkisser Zahn is only making 2 mill, course she's only worth 200 wk. Aren't you guys BuzzFlash going to be at the convention giving us the accurate news, surely Kerry's crowd would give you a seat at the TOP table, I can't believe otherwise???? You have done so much for them they owe it to YOU and us- the people.

Colette Miller
Wellington
Fl

Subject: Medical Policies

I just saw Nancy Reagan on CNN talking about Stem Cell research being abandoned by the BS administration. Ronald Reagan is the GOP patron saint! I am sympathetic to Ms. Reagan, even though her husband was a jerk.

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1992 & eventually forced to retire in 2002.About 5-6 years ago an MS publication found Stem Cell replacement may indeed reverse the effects of MS or even cure it. I know scientists were looking for cures for all neurological disorders including MS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's,Lupus & many other diseases.When the compassionate conservatives were appointed,Bush ended all funding for this research which looked very promising for us all. I guess there are 2 million people in the US suffering from these disorders. I'm now depending on Social Security & Medicare. However my Medications alone are $ 2,400 per Month. That's hard to do every month when I make about $ 1,800 & Medical bills are just piling up. I can't qualify for Medical,as they say I earn too much $$.I hope this research starts again if & when Kerry's elected.Its obvious there is no compassion for any of us (even Ronald McReagan)

Separately, Thanks for the good website, its good to see some intelligent people are still out there!

Mr. Pete Lee
Tonopah, Nv.

Subject: George w. Bush brand spirituality

Hi buzzers,

I wanted to thank you for the information you provide and present the text of a letter I sent to a couple of pastors and Christians of my acquaintance as well as our local newspaper the Ann Arbor News, all utilizing info found in BuzzFlash interviews articles, and right here from the mailbag. I hope the folks quoted will be okay with this, in the interest of getting the word out.

Mark Crispin Miller is the author of a book entitled THE BUSH DISLEXICON, a collection of misstatements by the president. Intended as a humorous study, Miller found Bush's gaffes instead paint a sobering picture of the man's spiritual and emotional core. The presidential tongue consistently trips over statements whose themes are humility, understanding, empathy, contrition, remorse; whereas the same tongue dances quite trippingly over references to judgment, violence, wrath, vengeance, and, of course, war.

Miller often cites the example of the speech where the president was supposed to quote the saying "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." Bush seemed actually physically incapable of finishing the thought. All he could get out was something like "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, won't--won't get fooled again!" Miller suggests the president's inability to say "shame on me" even in this context shows how alien humility, remorse, or contrition really are to Bush's nature.

A few sharp Bush-watchers have noted recent Bush misstatements which further illuminate George W. Bush brand spirituality, and have generously shared their observations in letters posted at the BuzzFlash mail-bag. http://www.BuzzFlash.com/mailbag/04/07/mai04203.html

The following quotes appeared there.

President Bush gave a big speech earlier this month about how his faith is so "important" to him. In this attempt to convince the American people that we should consider him for president, he announced that his favorite Bible verse is John 16:3.

Of course the speech writer meant John 3:16, but nobody in the Bush camp was familiar enough with scripture to catch the error. And do you know what John 16:3 says? John 16:3 says; "And they will do this because they have not known the Father nor Me."

" To whom much has been given, much is owed." -George W. Bush, July 20, 2004 (instead of, as we find in Luke,"From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.")

Submitted for your amusement, disdain, or bereavement. I certainly go back and forth myself.

Cory

Subject: Bush Names Acting CFTC Chairwoman

Excerpt:

Brown-Hruska worked in the CFTC's Division of Economic Analysis when Gramm as chairwoman shepherded through the agency an exemption from government regulation for electronic energy trading, which benefited Enron and other companies.

"Bush also will nominate her to a second term as commissioner expiring in April 2009, the White House said. "

------------------

Full story at: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/200...

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Oy veh!

Sirs, if God is looking in on events since George Bush took office, he must be shaking his head, and asking himself, what the heaven are these people doing?

I try to find a some news anywhere worth reading, and except for sports, there is none. George Bush has unleashed the four horsemen, and they are everywhere. Wars, and more wars. More injustice of one human being to another. The world has gone mad. Where does one catch the little gray-green guys express? I'd be out of here in a minute. May God help us all, and deliver us all from the George Bush's of the world. Amen!

Qzr.

Subject: Bush to Cop-Killers: I Want Your Vote

July 22, 2004 | 11:30 p.m.

The ban on assault weapons, as Swami has noted before, expires in September. The President says he'd like the ban renewed. He has a funny way of expressing that. Reports The Naples Daily News:

You would think that supporting, at the minimum, a simple extension of the ban would be the ultimate political no-brainer. But House Republican leader Tom DeLay of Texas says he won't push the vote because Bush hasn't told him to. Bush is trying hard to say nothing. Even though, in 1999, candidate Bush said: "It makes no sense for assault weapons to be around our society." But now all you get is this June 24 report in The Boston Globe: "Ken Lisaius, a White House spokesman, said Bush still supports the ban but is waiting for the House to act."

And after the ban expires? Former Senator Howard Metzenbaum writes:

The gun industry is licking its chops waiting for the ban to expire. In an upcoming report from the Consumer Federation of America, "Back in Business," one assault weapon manufacturer's sales and marketing director told us, "When the AWB sunsets, which I fully expect it to do, we will be manufacturing pre-ban style weapons and shipping them to the general public through distribution systems and dealers the very next day without doubt ... We look forward to Sept. 14th with great enthusiasm."

Just in case you were "undecided" about the candidates: your police want the ban renewed.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Voter Registration fraud in Florida.

I did not see a story I heard reported on National Public Radio yesterday listed on BuzzFlash.com.

Apparently several hundred new citizens were sworn in at a ceremony in Florida and then invited to register to vote. One of the registrants (whose wife is a Republican, but who wanted to register as a Democrat) noticed that the box for Party was already checked in blue ink. It was the box for Republican. The chairman for the Republican party in that county could not be reached for comment. After examining the voter registration forms (if I remember correctly) between 80 and 90 people had unwittingly registered as "Republican".

This is Republican democracy in action. If it weren't so dangerous and sad it would be funny.

The title of this little movie-"Steal and Steal Again."

from a new Democrat in Maine-

[BuzzFlash Note: You can read about it here: "GOP gets scolded on recruitment; Naturalization ceremonies in Jacksonville are to be relocated after complaints that GOP activists registered new citizens as Republicans."]

Subject: The Big Con

Dear BuzzFlash,

Re: Those 16 words

What if we stopped to think that Bush planted all those stupid lies in our heads to divert us from seeing the real reason for the war in Iraq? If you stop and think about it, all of the statements made by George Bush about WMDs and ties to Al Queda are so ludicrous that they never should have been given serious consideration. We have been hoodwinked. Bush made a series of statements knowing that they would start a prolonged debate. This is not a sophisticated con, nor is it something new. Of course every politician and pundit in the country fell for it hook, line and sinker. Bush tricked us into thinking that we went to war in Iraq because of terrorism or at the least because of 9/11. I suspect that it has gone on for so long that it will be nearly impossible to re-focus people’s attention because they will all be too embarrassed to admit they have been suckered.

One only has to read “Rebuilding America’s Defenses”published by the PNAC in 2000 to discover the real reason for going to war in Iraq. Since the majority of the members of the PNAC are now members of the Bush Administration, it is reasonable to assume that the stated goals of “Rebuilding America’s Defenses”are still valid. Looking at the war from the point of view of the PNAC, you could say that it was highly successful. Saddam is out, our man is in, virtually all of Iraq’s resources have been privatized, we are building a number of military bases throughout Iraq, we have a platform from where we can now invade Iran and the military budget has been increased by precisely the amount recommended by the PNAC.

While the entire country was preoccupied, arguing about WMDs, Bush managed to successfully complete the mission in Iraq and is now ready to proceed with phase two of “Rebuilding America’s Defenses”. I wonder what they will use for a diversion this time?

Richard Stencil
Washington State

Subject: There's A Conversation Going On

Hey Buzz:

While visiting some friends yesterday, I was startled when Ray revealed that he and some co-workers at Lockheed Martin in Palo Alto, had went as a group to see Michael Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 9/11". Ray, (a former Marine and Bush supporter in the last election) has worked for the defense contractor over 25 years. He surprised me when he brought the subject up. I'm the instigator in our crowd.

Well, what did you think"? I inquired, mentally gathering my rebuttal notes together.

After a few moments, he answered, "It blew my mind. I mean there are some parts that are by way of implication a little over the top, but for the most part, it just blew my mind. It was unbelievable. Sure, he's biased, but you can't argue with some of it. It changed my view, I mean, I pay closer attention now. I don't think we got the whole story on the war. I don't trust Bush the way I did. No way".

I was almost too stunned for words. This was hardly the same guy who was so gung ho on the first night of the war that he was wishing he could go over there and fight. At that time, he equated 9/11 and Iraq. Subsequently, we had a few heated battles on that subject.

His wife joined in the conversation. "Did you know that John Kerry was in Vietnam"? she asked Ray.

"Yeah, I heard about that. He is a hero or something right"?

Then Carol, Ray's wife blew my mind. "I think Kerry would make a good president". This was coming for the same woman who had only weeks before declared that she thought Bush was doing a good job. She also equated 9/11 and Iraq. "Better for us to go get them before they come over here".

But I was more interested in the reaction Ray and his colleagues had to the movie. I wanted to know if they talked about anything after seeing it. If it provoked debate among them. If it gave them pause. It had. Ray said that they're still talking about the movie and more. And that the conversation is much less Bush friendly these days.

I then had a question that I knew might be waving a red flag, but what the hell, like I said, I'm the instigator.

I asked if he thought Michael Moore hated America for making such a film. If he betrayed America.

Ray was adamant. "No. Not at all. I think he's a great patriot. He loves this country. It's not right for people to say that".

That was good enough for me, at least for the time being. Another day, we will talk about the media, tax cuts, privatization, de-regulation, the environment, cronyism, corporate America and lots of other issues. But not today. Today, I was grateful to hear that there's a conversation going on.

Rae Ann T.