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Jesus god! With terrorism, 900 soldiers dead, god knows how many wounded, people out of work, no respect left in the world, does george bush really think we should vote for him so spoiled, never-had-to-work-a-day-in-her life laura can be first lady for 4 more years?

Is he insane?

Shorty

Ok.... I'm no genius but if bush has done such a great job over the past almost 4 years, why has he gone from an 84% approval rating in this country and no question the whole world was by our side, now his approval is in the low 40's. So now is that because this country is so impressed with the job he has done? Maybe people are just way too stupid to know what a great president he is. Or could it be people are past the emotion of 9-11 and even Fox news can't sell him anymore.

Kate

Subject: Homeland Security Alert!

they're spreading across the country! alert homeland security!

It used to be don't take any wooden nickels, then wooden euros, now .....DON'T TAKE ANY BUSH-TEXAS QUARTERS!

Question is, although the state quarters are being released in the order they ratified the constitution, beginning in 1999 (? or 98?), was it always 4 per year so that we end up with texas right now? Does the distribution pattern correspond to battleground states? They're every where here in NM.

Paul
NM

Subject: My name for the Bush Convention . ..

How bout ..."THE FOUR MORE WARS TOUR"!!!!

Thanks for all you provide,

John Ross
Port St Lucie, FL

Subject: Ted Koppel

Dear BuzzFlash,

Do you think that two years after Bush kicked out the UN inspectors, after Hans Blix published his book and also told the world that they were wrong, don't you think that a professional journalist like Ted Koppel would look to other sources than Dick Cheney for making statements such as these.

It did not make logical sense that Saddam Hussein, whose armies had been defeated once before by the United States and the Coalition, would be prepared to lose control over his country if all he had to do was say all right, U.N., come on in, check it out, I will show you, give you whatever evidence you want to have, let you interview whomever you want to interview. Logically at that time, it seemed as though weapons of mass destruction –did I believe at the time that there were weapons of mass destruction? Absolutely, I did.

I am saying to you that it did not make any sense that Saddam Hussein would run the risk of being overthrown; of losing all the power that he had, if, indeed, in 2003 he had no weapons of mass destruction. Why in the heaven's name did he not permit the kinds of inspections and the kinds of interviews that would have demonstrated that to the world's satisfaction? I am not saying that now I believe there were weapons of mass destruction immediately before the war. But I can understand why our leaders and why many of us in the media were inclined to believe that at the time.

Oops, I'm sorry. Mea Culpa. I just compared Ted Koppel to a professional journalist.

Larry

Subject: Polls numbers down - Terror level alert goes up

Friday, news of the Federal Deficits was not good ( 445 Billion in the red ). July's figures for economical growth has slowed. And now on a day that Kerry / Edwards were scheduled to be on CNN and Faux news (Fox), violence in Iraq is escalating, the polls have Kerry/Edwards ahead of Bush/Cheney, with a 6 points spread and the NYPD is planning on picketing the Republican Convention due to no contract in two years...................................................................................

WE HAVE BREAKING NEWS: We are at a heightened state of alert. New information has developed within the last 72 hours about specific target rom terrorists ( Could that information be the poll numbers for Bush/Cheney ? ), Tom Ridge tells us , using the President in his opening statement, that they have specific intelligence that financial sectors in New York, New Jersey and Washington are being targeted.. A little later in his speech, Tom Ridge said there is no specific intelligence of an imminent attack on those locations (No specific time frame before the November elections). New York's Mayor Bloomberg is putting NYPD on high alert and there will be greater security. Permits for protesting the Republican Convention may be pulled, because of limited resources of the NYPD. He said that New Yorkers should go about their business and report for work. In Washington the President has returned after 2 days of campaigning and he is calling emergency meetings to put into actions plans to protect Congress and the White House. ( Could the threat be defeat in November ? )

I have seen and heard this before, though not with specific locations. Many will remember that the media was calling this administration on the fact that there is never specific information on locations or targets. Now Homeland security has taken that into considerations.

Well, Carl Rove seceded ! Bush's numbers will go up and CNN, MSNBC and FAUX (Fox) news has stopped reporting about the violence in Iraq and is showing pictures of the stepped up security in New York. They are reporting that the news of this is going to play out for days to come Rove, you've hit the Trifecta again.

Senator Lieberman says only a crazy person would think that Homeland security and the terror level alert is being politically used.

Well, I am a crazy women driven that way by this administration. I have ears. I have eyes. I also have a brain, which I know this is a threat to this administration . I, unlike some (Bushites), know when smoke is being blown up my !@#.

I lost three members of my family on 911. I take credible threats seriously, but I don't take this administrations smoke and mirror handling of them. If I am wrong about this threat level alert, I will be the first to say I am sorry, I was wrong. I will admit to my mistake, unlike George W. Bush. Because you see, I am a Democrat! And like my follow Democrats; Harry Truman ( The Buck stops here ), John F. Kennedy (on the Bay of Pigs ), Bill Clinton, I take sole responsibility of my actions and mistakes.

Cheryl L Taylor
Frost, Texas

Subject: Terrorist Alert

Matt Drudge reports dub is coming out swinging against Kerry in Aug, and guess what the 1st day of Aug brings.... we have terrorists ready to attack all over New York, the alert is up to orange, we have police and guards all over the place Tom Ridge giving his up-dates on the situation, but not very much information......Ron Reagan states " Bush cannot be trusted": Oh God how true. A terrorist alert just as Kerry gets into full swing and is up in the polls...A terrorist alert so that protesters can be kept out of NY for the repugs convention. A terrorist alert at this time to keep dub on the front page, and the thing that bothers me the most is we have a gang in the white house we can't trust. How sad that there are many others like me who say "terrorist alert? oh yeah, I have a bridge I can sell you real cheap too"

Ladybug

PS I caught Mary Matlin on This Week today. From the look on her face most of the time, I would say she forgot to use her hemorrhoid medication. What Pain!!!!!!!!

Subject: RIGHT WING SPINNERS ARE ON THE LOOSE AGAIN

Dear BuzzFlash,

Today I lost all regard for Mary Matlin. I watched her on a Sunday morning talk show today, and I was amazed that she condemned the democratic convention by conveying the impression that it was negative and a hate fest. I was really taken aback by this BIG LIE. I wonder what convention she was watching. I think she has been associating with too many right wing liars, she has now become one. Maybe she, like her republican associates are becoming desperate, now that John Kerry and John Edwards are becoming a force to reckon with. I must mention that my family loves her husband James Carville.

Immediately after the convention it was disgusting to see the right wing spinners like Ralph Reed, hammer desperately at Kerry/Edwards, and try to do despicable damage on them. I bet they would give their right arm to have their candidate make a superb entrance like that with his war veteran buddies at his side. Well I guess a young drunk who did not show up for part of his national guard service, and who has nothing admirable to brag about, can only do one thing to take the attention from his lack of accomplishments - attack John Kerry who served with distinction and honor.

We really don't need to keep debating on who would make a better president - it is a no brainer, the question to ask your undecided friends is, would you prefer to have a commander in chief who did not show up for his military duty or his medical tests, and who seemed clueless and at a loss, when informed about the planes hitting the world trade center, like Bush did, or a decisive, intelligent, leader like John Kerry was, who bravely saved the lives of his men at the risk of his own life, and who has shown that he can fight for this country in any crisis. My bet is on Senator John Kerry.

Thanks for keeping us informed.

Roseanne

Subject: Liberal Media Coverage

Hey Buzzers,

I am so disgusted with the "Liberal" Media. Coverage of political conventions should be a condition of the networks usage of our airwaves. They should cover both conventions from opening to closing regardless of the ratings as part of their responsibilities to the public. The fact that the great speeches of Teresa Heinz-Kerry, Al Sharpton and Barak Obama were not broadcast on network TV is shameful.

Even worse was the follow up on Meet the Press, CNN Late Edition and This Week. Unbelievably, Russert's first post-Convention guest was the reprehensible Zell Miller who told lie after lie about Kerry and even claimed his earlier kind comments about Kerry were from a press release he was forced to read. This was the first chance to put the Convention in perspective and Russert gave delusional Zell free reign to trash what was a great, unified and very effective four days. Joe Biden's follow-up should have been a blistering rebuttal but instead he was his usual easy going self. Thanks Tim. You are a total tool.

Then it was on to Wolf Blitzer and a stimulating argument between Mitch McConnell and Joe Lieberman. Couldn't anyone find a real democratic firebrand that could distill the events in Boston for those who had been unable to watch on cable? Wasn't Barak Obama the obvious choice for all of the shows this weekend? Really, who gives a rosy red ass what Joe Lieberman thinks anymore?

And finally, This Week gave us Mary Matalin telling us what a hatefest the Convention was, when anyone who watched could not miss the fact that all the speakers made a special effort to not mention Bush and his lies but instead emphasized the positive message of Kerry and Edwards.

I am so tired of all of the coverage. Fox is the obvious Repo mouthpiece but the networks and CNN are just more subtle. Most times we see a right wing nut job like Mitch McConnell paired with a moderate like Lieberman. When will we get to see the real brains of the left against the ideologues of the right? Why not Robert Wexler, Ann Lewis or Henry Waxman?

I am already preparing myself for the "balanced" coverage we can expect for the Repos in New York.

Grrrrrr,

Leslie Crabtree

Subject: A quick note on Ridge's press statement just now...

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=3870

Here's the transcript of what I'm calling Tom Ridge's "Two-Part Terror Alert" press statement. Part 1 is what I deem relevant information for him to be saying during a press conference that raises the terror alert in parts of the country. That makes sense.

But, Part 2 sounded to me like he was doing a stump speech to trumpet (Bush's) homeland security successes while he had a captive audience on all the networks plus cable newsfotainment channels.

My take is that everything after "Rest assured, the most talented security professionals are working hard to protect all regions of the country and all sectors of our economy." is political fluff.

Anyone think otherwise? Inquiring minds want to know.

Richard F.

Subject: Tell that to Lance Armstrong

I found this idiotic yet rather insidious article in the NY Times, which insinuates certain distinguishing characteristics about Bush and Kerry based on their respective bicycles.

"If Mr. Kerry's bike is a Ferrari, Mr. Bush's is a Land Rover. Mr. Kerry rides on the flat, more or less, and usually on paved surfaces.

"Mr. Bush likes to ride up into the hills of his Texas ranch and then come flying down. To put it another way, Mr. Kerry is more nearly like Greg LeMond, Mr. Bush more like Evil Knievel.

"What this says about their political philosophies is best left to the analysts and the pundits. But a study posted recently on a New Zealand biking Web site suggests that downhill mountain-bike riders, like Mr. Bush, score considerably higher than cross-country riders on something called the Sensation Seeking Scale. (Road riders, like Mr. Kerry, are comparative wussies when it comes to sensation seeking.) Downhill riders are also more likely to drive a car too fast, and to have had a brush with the law.

http://nytimes.com/2004/08/01/weekinreview/01mcgr.html

A BuzzFlash Reader

BuzzFlash headline: Is the Washington Post publishing GOP talking points? 8/1

Haven’t they been doing that for years?

Jeff S.

Subject: Bailing out United Airlines??????

If United Airlines were depositing appropriate monies into the employees' pension accounts, why aren't those dollars still in an account somewhere drawing interest?

If we are to pay for corporate bailouts, we must receive published accounting and audited records of those corporations. Any bank would require no less of each of us if we were trying to borrow "their" money. If we don't insist on corporate accountability, we will never receive it because their lobbyists are working day and night for governmental protections, deregulations and bailouts.

What's wrong with this picture? Taxpayers are asked to bail out corporations, but not individuals who go into bankruptcy. When individuals have to file for personal bankruptcy, they're criticized for putting too much debt on credit cards and mismanaging their monies. When corporate CEO's do the same thing, we bail them out. If we keep rewarding inappropriate behavior of corporate leaders, why should we expect them to behave any differently.

This looks like a "trial balloon" to me.

Check out the NYT article below.

Neb

* * *

Bailout Feared if Airlines Shed Their Pensions
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH

In an echo of the savings and loan industry collapse of the 1980's, the federal agency that insures company pensions is facing a possible cascade of bankruptcies and pension defaults in the airline industry that some experts fear could lead to another multibillion-dollar taxpayer bailout.

"The similarities are incredible," said George J. Benston, a finance professor at Emory University in Atlanta who has written extensively on the regulatory failures that led to the costly savings and loan bailout.

Re: You Made Our Democratic Convention Reporting Possible!

Thank you! I applaud your stand against hiring ad agencies ( I retired after thirty years with BBDO when we were the first agency to use our talents and skills in serving Ike ) and politics have never been the same. Mores the pity.

Keep up the great work...

Clark Slayman
Winter Park, Florida

Subject: Disgusted With The Networks about LAME Political Coverage

E-Mail I Am Sending To Everyone:

I have ceased and desisted from any watching anything on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, MSNBC and CNBC. They have all been purged from my television.

I'll get my news, from now on, through C-Span and PBS, along with any NON-Major Newspaper/TV website. There are plenty of those news-sites out there that actually cover the news.

On election day, if turnout is low, I had better not hear ONE WORD from any of the networks anchors that tell me that the people "just aren't into voting like they use to be."

I HIGHLY recommend that every concerned citizen go to the BuzzFlash website and purchase the DVD named "Orwell Rolls In His Grave. It peeved me like the Fahrenheit 9/11 movie did.

This is what the mainstream media "thought" of our political process during The Democratic Convention. They are going to do the same during The Republican Convention.

The media chose to show the following, as noted in USA Today, during the DNC Convention:

* The Democratic National Convention begins today, and you can find coverage pretty much all day on the cable news networks and PBS. Don't expect similar commitment from the commercial broadcast networks, however. ABC, CBS and NBC are offering only one hour of prime-time coverage at 10 p.m. ET/PT. That's still better than Fox, which has Fox News Channel resources available, yet offers nothing at all.

* What are the networks airing instead? On Fear Factor (NBC, tonight, 8 ET/PT), men dive into Dumpsters searching for bottles of pig uterus and cow stomach to feed to their mates. Gee, when it's something that uplifting and public spirited, how can you complain?

* So if you can't or won't watch the convention, what's to watch? Well, there's 7th Heaven (WB, 8 p.m. ET/PT), where Simon is using Mary's bad reputation to boost his own rep at school. Which actually does sound like something a kid would consider, though in this case, chances are Simon will learn a lesson many kids would be able to escape.

* At least CBS has one of the season's better episodes of CSI: Miami (9 p.m. ET/PT) to offer. The team comes in when a barroom gunfight leads to the death of the club's owners.

As a DISGUSTED AND PEEVED VOTER WITH THE NETWORKS, I am,

Tom Wieliczka

Subject: He's running on results?

Just a few of Mr. Bush's many accomplishments;

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3873.htm
Home foreclosures hit record high 6/21/03

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2002/05/27/daily13.html
Personal Bankruptcy at all time high 6/29/02

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/dec2002/hung-d27.shtml
A record number of citizens in US cities were forced to look for emergency food and shelter

http://www.democrats.org/healthcare/news/200406180002.html
Record 82 Million Americans Have Gone Without Health Insurance

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4105947/
Record number to lose jobless benefits

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Joe Lieberman needs to just go join the Bush campaign!

I have always thought that Joe Lieberman was a “plant”or a “mole”for the Bush Cartel, and that the best thing Karl Rove did was to use CNN, MSNBC, etc. to convince the Al Gore team that Gore needed to distance himself from Clinton, and therefore to choose Lieberman as his VP! Ha!!! It was Al Gore’s first and worst decision! So in 2004 we hear from the talking heads that the VP choice doesn’t matter. Well, can you imagine how it would have been last week if Kerry had chosen someone else, say like Gephardt or Graham? Just think about how wrong those Karl Rove TV Pundits are when you look at the past 2 weeks, the Kerry Edwards’team and wives together!!! So the VP does make a great deal of difference!

Today, Sunday, on Late Edition, Howard Dean said he was suspicious about the timing again of the terrorists’alerts right after the Democratic Convention, then Rino Joe came on and said, “I think anyone must be out of their mind if they think this President would put national security at risk and scare the American public just because of ratings.”Really, Joe? Whose side are you really on? Joe, get out of the closet, like Zell did.

**Everyone needs to write the DNC, the Kerry Campaign, the Edwards campaign and Anyone else they can think of to tell them to put pressure on egotistical Rino Joe Lieberman from becoming the Democratic Spokesman, the Face of the Democratic Party more and more, the Poster Boy for the Democratic Party!!!!!!** ………..I can’t stand it.

Betsy

Subject: Fox News Tactics

Once again, those crumbs. I turned on fox news sunday, kerry and edwards were going to be on. Chris Wallace was quite adversarial the whole time, but look at the pics below. Chris wallace, very soft light, almost like candlelight. Then ............... searchlights on kerry and edwards!! Make them look as unattractive as they can!

..... B.

[BuzzFlash Note: We saw this interview, too. Is Chris Wallace a pompous ass all the time, or just when he interviews Democrats? One kudo to Wallace for admitting there was a "long standing" (and obviously unaccepted) invite to Bush and Cheney to speak on the program.]

Subject: FAXing Florida Fun!

Just wanted to share something I've been doing lately with my fellow BuzzFlashers. I've been printing and faxing articles from BuzzFlash concerning the continued voting mess in Florida to various members of the Florida Republican Party. If there's room in the margins of the article I write, "America is Watching".

Adam in Wisconsin

[BuzzFlash Note: When exiting any of Chicago's great public transit vehicles (buses or trains) or any of its many cabs, we make a habit of leaving behind a Bush Lied or Are You Better Off? postcard on the seat.]

Subject: A little poison, little girl?

Oh please just gag me! Each time bush's poll numbers sink a little---the bush people trot out the terror threats. At this point the bushies are the terrorist trying to scare the hell out of people. I don't believe anything those people say anymore!

Not one of the kool aid drinkers

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THE AUGUST 3, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG.