August 11, 2004
The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. Read the BuzzFlash FAQ for info on submitting to the Mailbag.
Subject: Joe Scarborough
Buzz,
MSNBC was
just showing Bush giving a speech in Florida and there in the front
row, directly behind him, was Joe Scarborough cheering. We all know
that Scarborough is a rightwing political hack, but we also know that
MSNBC has given him a full hour show for his bias to be aired. For Scarborough
to be at this speech in the front row was just blatantly in your face.
He is not even trying to give the appearance of being "fair and balanced." I
have e-mailed MSNBC and Scarborough Country to tell them I will never
watch MSNBC again (Joe@msnbc.com and
feedback@msnbc.com).
Gloria
Subject: Porter Goss
Remember Porter Goss, Bush's person to head our "new improved intelligence agency," was the guy that said, "anyone having a problem with the Patriot Act can call our 800 number"...which didn't exist...yep, intelligence gatherer.... If I remember correctly, the CIA failed to look in the phone book for some of the terrorists...my guess is a guy that doesn't know he doesn't have a phone number is not the guy to head up this charge.
'Fahrenheit' calls put Goss in hot seat (USA Today)
How anyone could vote for Bush the Doofus I have no idea....
Marc L. Lippincott
Austin, TX
Subject: Bush's New Campaign Ad encouraging us to own something
How about starting this new campaign ad with owning our jobs rather than exporting them! How can you own anything if you're unemployed? It seems to me he is so out of touch, he even sounds like he's living in another decade.
Georgina H.
Subject: Tom Brokaw Again (still)
Below is a letter that I sent to NBC news. I read several articles on your website today, and thought someone there might like to see my letter. I, too, am sick to death of the horribly slanted "news" coverage by Bush supporters, oops I mean anchormen! I remember, and long for, the days when we didn't know who our news people supported. I also long for the days when our government AND our media didn't think we were all mentally stunted! I am usually insulted by the very tone of our supposedly "unbiased" news coverage. Anyway, the letter follows. Use it as you wish, including the delete button if you are so inclined. Thanks for the great website!
I watched NBC's coverage of the convention, and frankly, I am dismayed at the
tone of the news in general, and Mr. Brokaw's interview with Illinois State
Senator Barack Obama specifically. In general, I think the news has taken a
decidedly pro-Bush stance. I think your job is to report objectively, and let us
make up our own minds. Specifically, I was shocked to hear Mr. Brokaw question Mr. Obama about cocaine use. Perhaps much of America, including the media has forgotten the election of 2000, but I have not! We were told adamantly that it was none of the American people's business when George W. Bush did cocaine last."NONE OF OUR BUSINESS!" If it is none of our business when our president and so-called leader of the free world did cocaine last, then shame on you, Mr. Brokaw, for bringing it up. And if the Republicans do indeed "go
after" Mr. Obama about it, well, shame on them too!
Pam Cummins
McMinnville, OR
Subject: On the Valerie Plame case and the First Amendment
Many years ago I was a reporter and the editor of a weekly newspaper.Very rarely did we ever become involved in controversy, but it occasionally did happen.
I read on the internet that the reporters who outed Valerie Plame have been ordered to reveal their sources to a grand jury, and TIME is backing their plan of refusing under freedom of the press.
Freedom means the right to choose.
The outing of a CIA operative, illegal by law, served no purposes but political ones. It also put lives at risk and may have led to the death of some of the operative's contacts.
If I was one of the reporters, I would weigh the precedent against the harm and CHOOSE to reveal my source.
Mike Curtis
Greenbrier, Ark
Subject: More on the Krugman-O'Reilly "Debate"
Greetings, 8/10
I just sent you a posting that includes the transcript of the controversial "debate" between Krugman and O'Reilly that was supposedly moderated by Tim Russert on CNBC August 7th. You already have several stories posted about this "debate" and I followed the links to find the transcript. But it is on a right wing website that is full of nasty anti-Krugman propaganda. It is ironic that I saw the Russert show, because I don't have cable. I was at a relative's house and my daughter noticed Krugman would be on the Russert show. We were all outraged. O'Reilly's behavior and insulting diatribes against Krugman mark a new low in American journalism--which is really saying something. You must read the transcript and see the video to believe it. It will make you furious--even if you've seen "Outfoxed."
I called CNBC {1-877-251-5685) to complain about O'Reilly's behavior and Russert's inability or unwillingness to moderate the discussion and control O'Reilly. I also got info on how to get the video and the transcript. You can contact Burrelles Transcripts, 1-800-777-8399, or go on line, cnbc.burrelles.com (with no www, she said). The video is $40 with $3 handling (but you won't get it for 2-3 weeks). For an extra $25, it will arrive on Thursday.
What is the best way to get this video in circulation and the clean transcript (also from Burrelles) available to your readers? Any help on this will be greatly appreciated. I would also encourage people to contact Krugman, pkrugman@nytimes.com, to support him.
Thanks again.
Judy Munro-Leighton
[BuzzFlash Note: If someone can send us another link to the transcript, we'll be happy to post it.]
Subject: Houston soldier dies from shrapnel wounds
He was a West Point graduate and in the 1ID. The parents kept by his bedside and maintained a weblog of Andy's progress. He went from critical to stable, seemed to be improving, and then died, a month after being injured, of a blood clot, which caused extensive brain stem damage.
The family reported daily on Andy's progress and then steady deterioration. It's a moving read, and a reminder of what so many of our troops and their families are going through, with these head traumas.
At least Andy knew his parents were by his side.
Read "News" from the bottom, up: http://www.andyhoughton.org/news.htm
Article is here: http://www.team4news.com/Global/story.asp?S=2155181
Michele W.
Subject: Tommy Franks
General Franks, whom I suspect is Bush's surrogate "Undecided" voter who will eventually break from Bush and bring his fans with him... has three purple hearts.
Has anybody any info on how badly injured Franks was?
Rosamond
[BuzzFlash Note: We can't answer that one but found a website on Franks' background.... "Tommy Franks left his position as Vice Chairman of Enron Energy Services in 2001, shortly before the company filed for bankruptcy. This information was on the army web site but was removed after the eruption of the infamous enron scandal."]
Subject: Not too swift veterans
Dear BuzzFlash,
I have been bombarded the last two days with pleas to write letters condemning the so called "Swift boat veterans for truth." I really have no idea what John Kerry did while he was in Vietnam other than what I read and I don't feel qualified to make any statements either for or against his war record. I do wonder, however, why the Navy has not spoken up. It seems to me that the bullshit being pedaled by "Swift boat veterans for truth" is an insult to the Navy and all of the armed forces and everyone who ever won a medal. If it is possible to win medals without having performed a heroic action then all the medals that have ever been awarded are meaningless. I think the armed forces as well as the individual recipients of medals should be speaking out against these guys who are trying to devalue the honor of all medal winners to make some political gain.
Richard Stencil
Washington State
SUBJECT: U.S. Withdrawal from Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
When the news reached me sometime ago that the U.S. was withdrawing from the treaty, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. My fight-or-flight instincts revved up to overdrive. My intuitive instinct told me that there was a reason behind such a decision that I would not necessarily agree with.
Reading today, I came across the answer I've been searching for. In order to test the nuclear-tipped bunker busters and the mini-nukes that Dubya has his heart set on building, above ground tests must be conducted. Evidently the research has reached the stage for testing because the above ground tests are scheduled to start in southern Nevada in May 2005.
I find it strange that the people of northern Arizona are aware, but mainstream media remains in the dark. Just imagine my surprise when I learned of the coming tests while reading "Kerry sees Canyon for first time" in the Flagstaff, Arizona, newspaper The Arizona Daily Sun. Even more surprising is that the testing was just lightly touched on as though the rest of the world was in on the secret.
We really can't allow this to happen. People throughout southern Nevada have suffered for years as a result of the tests conducted there during the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Do we now want to sicken more?
Kerry sees Canyon for first time (Arizona Daily Sun)
SherAn
Subject: back to sanity
I have had four days of sort of insanity....Since when does your fiftieth wedding anniversary become more work for you than for persons giving it for you.? Just feeling sorry for myself....I love my kids dearly, but they do not know squat about making things easy. I did manage to get away each evening and read Buzz, just never quite got time to write.
Also is hard to watch news...you feel as if someone is going to get incensed...and I am sick of living my life for everyone else!
Okay...friends...that is it...I have just missed you!!
I, too, am wondering about the Swiftvet crap. From what I have heard on a chat room, one of them has already retracted his statement? Anyone know about that? It is such an obvious ploy...I am sick to death of them. How in God's name, could they know about his deeds, when they were not even on his detail...I think heads should roll (and they are funded by a republican outfit, that is questionable).
I have noticed a little more of the Kerry for Prez stickers..and a little more of the people on c-span's Washington Journal, something that I have gotten to watch at least 2 mornings, speaking for him. This morning, though, I did hear a man say that he would go ahead and vote for Bush, while holding his nose, because he did not like the way Kerry spoke out against the war when he came back... Folks, I can assure you all, I know my brother this well, had he come home from Viet Nam...he would have done the same thing...I think after almost 59,000 american soldier' deaths...they all had to know, something was not right. And, I remember very well, everyone saying at the time, "The country will never again sit still for a Viet Nam," but, we have, right?
I hold my nose and make myself watch Bush at every speech. Funny, my husband may vote for the man, but he will not watch him make a speech. How in God's name does anyone vote for someone they will never watch speak? I want to be up on what this man says...he is so stupid that he still gets his tongue in the way!
There is a wonderful example I read on BuzzFlash...how he knows that the enemy is planning to hurt us...and then he goes on to ditto it for us...I have to go back and get the article, but you all have read it, I am sure! I am sick to death of his continuing to tell us that even if he knew there were no WMD he would still go into Iraq. Well, Hell, why did he not tell us that to begin with? "Hey y'all...we are going to invade Iraq!" Hu? "For no reason other than that we want to invade Iraq!"
You see, I have started to NOT call it a war, it is nothing but an invasion. We invaded, for no reason, a sovereign nation...and they will never forget it...and if they come to this country and bomb the hell out of us...up and down the coast and down the middle, we have no one to blame but George W.Bush and Rumsfeld, and Cheney and anyone else...to an extent Powell, because they all wanted it!!!
And, then, God help us, we have to put up with the Primo Stepford Wife, trying her best to tell us what stem cells are. Now, in the first place, I have Parkinson's and Alzheimer's in my family. I was talking to one of the two democrats I know, my dentist, yesterday, and he said it is all so dumb...the cells can be taken from placenta and the umbilical cords after each birth. There need not even be abortions for this kind of research.
My son in law, an ardent democrat...but, this is a little touchy, because his wife, my daughter, voted for Bush in 2000, has since recognized her mistake...anyway, upon coming into St. Louis on Sat., he said he saw this horrid old van with huge 'Kerry/Edwards letters painted on the back. He thought it was backers, until he got closer...and the sign read: "With a thousand innocent babies' blood on their hands!" You must understand St. Louis may be one of the largest Catholic metropolises in the country.
My daughter is likely voting for Kerry this time, because she loves John Edwards, and has this little thing about his wife looking like his mother. God Help me...where did I go wrong? She is a great mother, but where in hell did she get her values!? I love Elizabeth Edwards and so does her husband! And I think more of the man because he does love her so much!! I love Teresa and the Heinz boys and the Kerry girls and the entire Edwards family.
As you have probably guessed...I will go into a deep dark hole if they do not win. This is not politics with me...it is fear!!
I am proud of the fact that I displayed my Kerry stickers on both car and refrigerator, thank you very much, BuzzFlash! I did not get killed for it, either!! YEEEHHAWWW! I am seeing a lot of Howard Dean on television...I hope and pray that he will be a part of a Kerry administration when we win....
God help me...without BuzzFlash!!!
And if Kerry does not win, as Elmer Fudd would say....Be Vewy Vewy Afwaid!!!
Much love...there are times I am only sane because of you!
Shirley............St.Louis
Subject: Protecting Scoundrels
You know something? I'm getting sick to death of the news outlets and cables using the terms, "Bush misspoke, Bush misstated," when we get untruths from the Grand Bushwa. Come on, you double-dealing, sorry excuse for journalists. How about some good old fashioned truth. When are the news outlets going to stop pussy-footing around and come out and say, "Bush LIED and Bush LIES?!!!
~ Cathy
Subject: My letter to CBN
Dear Christian Broadcasting Network:
I saw your television story with the Republican veterans sneering at Senator Kerry's war injuries, making fun of a man who was wounded in the service of his country. If you say you stand for Christ, then stop idolizing your Republican Golden Calf and remember what faith is all about. The vicious deceit and arrogance of this attack on Sen. Kerry is not something Jesus would be proud of. And I suspect most God-fearing citizens, Republican or Democrat, would agree.
http://www.cbn.com/cc/contact/feedback-cbnonline.asp
Mike from Fla.
Subject: John Kerry's vote
I think Kerry just sunk himself saying he would still have voted for the war, knowing there were no wmd. Hey, I like the guy and will happily vote for him, but I wish he would have said no to this damn war. As you say, just asking...
G. Adams
Subject: tribal what-ery?
In this video clip is the presidential intelligence we can look forward to if there is a re-election. Personally, I would like the US to be represented by someone that can command a little more respect. Makes you wonder how this knucklehead made it this far without natural selection frying his ass.
http://www.angryfinger.org/archives/tribal_whatery.html
Aaron Horine
Houston, TX
SUBJECT: CNN
If you are interested in telling Dick Parsons, chairman of TimeWarner, that you do not agree with his characterization of CNN news broadcasting as "fair and honest," there's something you can do about it. Write him a letter and tell him exactly how you feel. His address is:
Dick Parsons, Chairman
Time Warner
Inc.
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019
IMHO, CNN is a shadow of its former self. At one time I could count on it for up-to-date, accurate reports. Unfortunately, all that changed when Ted Turner sold the network and greed rather than accurate reporting became the bottom line. Would anyone else be willing to wait a day or two if the news they then received was honestly accurate and complete, devoid of commentary and opinion disguised as fact? I would. I'm tired of having to spend hours in front of the computer each day to find out what's really going on in our world.
SherAn
Subject: Veterans
I'm a vet (Vietnam 68-69) and I have a lot of vet friends.We sure as hell are not voting for this liar Bush. And we do not mind paying taxes, because that's how the country runs!! Jesus, it's simple!!
JC
George Bush re John Wayne.
He tries to act the part...Can't yet walk the part ( and chew Gum).
Rove has yet to tell him that there never was a JOHN WAYNE! There was an actor named Marion Morrison who beat the draft in WW2.
I guess there is some resemblance.
Al Z.
Subject: Wrong Emphasis
Bush seems to think he's going to score points against Kerry by stressing his Iraq War efforts. He tried to bait Kerry to repudiate the October 2002 war vote, but Kerry didn't take the bait. Kerry's not going to give these guys running room on this. He voted the way he voted and he's sticking with it. Personally I don't agree with him but I do think he's craftier than people may realize. Perhaps it is Kerry drawing Bush into a trap, by encouraging Bush to keep talking about something that the polls are showing is a huge negative for him. Every time Bush talks about Iraq, he's drawing the public's attention to a situation over there that is simply a big, big mess. If you were Bush, wouldn't you be trying to change the subject? Yeesh...am I missing something here? Frankly, every time Bush mentions the war in Iraq, Kerry should count his blessings. Bush can no longer link Iraq with "the war on terror," because that canard's not working as good as it used to. So, bring it on...Let Bush mention Iraq every single day, because it's only dragging him down.
Donald P.
Russo
Bethlehem, Pa.
Subject: Flagstaff gives Kerry star treatment
Buzz,
Thank you for posting the Arizona Daily Sun article on the Kerry rally in Flagstaff Arizona. For an Arizona newspaper, I was surprised the article was so positive - great to see. The rally was totally cool, totally party, and everyone seemed determined and encouraged about turning Arizona from red to blue. We Can Do It !!
At the bottom of the article were "Additional photos for this story." The third of this series was especially interesting - some yahoo holding up a Duhhby/Grinch poster. As they say, this is what democracy looks like - where people of differing political beliefs can mingle without hassle. If Kerry used the same fascist tactics at his rallies as Duhhby/Grinch do, this guy would Not have been in the photo - he would have been in handcuffs on his way to the hoosgow.
As all but this one poster read at the rally - America Can Do Better - Help Is On The Way!!
Amazed in Arizona
Subject: Republicans Being Mocked
Dear Buzz,
Being called a Republican is now being used as an adjective to describe incompetence. I have used it thinking it was only me, then the nurse in my doctors office used it to describe her frustration in dealing with the hospital personnel who were not doing their job. This does not bode well for the Republicans! Is this a new trend? I love it.
Moneecat
Subject: the RC vote
"It says that Catholics are not obliged to vote on one issue, no matter how important that issue might be."
I never saw this story posted on Buzz, but I think it's deserving.
The Catholic position is nuanced, not black and white as the GOPers want it to be.
Keep up the great site.
HM.
Subject: Rash Limplimp
Have any idea when the state of Fl. is going to get off their asses and put the pill roller in jail where he belongs???????
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: When Will Journalists Ask Bush for the Killian Disciplinary Report?
Linda Starr blogs Bush "was actually grounded in a two page disciplinary report signed by LTC Jerry Killian, his commanding officer. I dare ANY reporter to ask Bush what this document contains. Ask why he hasn't signed an official release for release of his entire files (because this document is what they are hiding, and it's really bad). Don't take my word for it, ask the WH and/or Bush to produce it. If they insist it doesn't exist, ask if they are aware there are copies of this very report floating around on the Internet. Then ask if they still insist this document doesn't exist. "
Linda Starr: "How Bush failed to fulfill his duty to our country... "
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: History Lesson in NJ Paper
Good article which pretty well tells us that Bush has led us into a quagmire from the get-go. When Bush began squawking about Iraq, BuzzFlash ran articles about Iraq's tribes and factions through history and pretty well predicted where we are now. But of course, Bush thinks History is something that happened yesterday. Your History buff readers might appreciate this article.
~ Cathy
* * *
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Iraq divided by tribes, religious factions
By SALAH NASRAWI
Associated Press WriterCAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Iraq has long been a religious, ethnic and ideological mosaic difficult to rule as a united entity, and Saddam Hussein's removal wouldn't do much to change that.
"Regrettably, I can say there is no Iraqi people yet, but only deluded human groups void of any national idea," King Faisal, the first monarch in Iraq's modern era, wrote in his memoirs shortly before his death in 1937.
Subject: Gore Vidal's "The Best Man"
I saw that you had "Wag the Dog" among your premiums. Yesterday I happened to catch on cable the adaptation of Gore Vidal's "The Best Man." I had never heard of it, much less watched it. Despite the differences between the way political conventions where handled then (mid-60s) and now, I found it eerie in moments, in the way that the old "Manchurian Candidate," made two years earlier in 1962, reverberates and warns in the present tense. Of course, such correspondences are no accident, since the neo-neocons' rule is predicated on their recreation of the Cold-War theater of fear.
Interestingly, Bush's latest flirtation with abolishing income tax, was actually a proposal by one of the candidates depicted in the "The Best Man." This candidate at one point is asked, before an audience, how he expects to rid the country of income tax while also proposing to increase military spending. Instead of addressing the question, he responds by shouting to the audience some nationalistic platitude. The audience cheers affirmatively. (Sound familiar?) Bush's revival of this irresponsible proposal floats in the legacy of Ronald Reagan, which represents the deep inroads he made towards reversing FDR's New Deal. In turn, Junior/Cheney would like, as Paul Krugman has pointed out, to take us back to the pre-Progressive Era -- not just pre-1992, but pre-1890.
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: Bush/McCain '04???
Hey BuzzFlash -
I wish I could claim ownership of this idea, but I can't. It belongs to one of my coworkers, Paul Harris. Anyway, in a recent message he sent me, Paul said:
"You know I have this weird theory. I think Karl Rove has plans to possibly use McCain as the back up V.P. in case Cheney either dies or is indicted for being such an asshole. Even though Bush screwed over McCain in 2000, I think McCain has been campaigning so hard for Bush because he has been promised this and realizes he could then run for Pres. in 2008. A Bush-McCain ticket would be hard to beat in 2004. We should publicize this possibility so the RNC has to respond & nip it in the bud."
What do you think?
-Peter Mueller
[BuzzFlash Note: We think Cheney is going to remain on the ticket (and that they'll keep putting new equipment in him to keep him alive) because the only thing Bush has to run on are tax cuts for the rich and his "conviction" (Can one have the "conviction" to steal from the poor?), which somehow transmogrifies in the brains of ignorant Bush-lovers' and becomes: "Bush never changes his mind, so he must always be right." Dumping Cheney would be a major break from his "conviction." But, like they did with Collin, McCain is a big draw for any Republicans conflicted over their support for Bush. With Collin out in '04, they'll need someone to attract moderates. Perhaps they promised Powell's job to McCain?]