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

Subject: Kerry-Edwards Rally in Springfield, Ohio

I attended the "rebuttal" rally in Springfield, Ohio with several of my friends from the Cincinnati area. We knew they wouldn't be speaking until after Dubya finished his speech so I expected a couple of hundred people at most.

Imagine our surprise to see lines that were 4 blocks long. There were a lot of people (at least a couple thousand) who weren't able to get in. Both Kerry and Edwards were great! I was surprised at how relaxed and comfortable they were. After all the Repugs vicious attacks over the past couple of weeks, I'm amazed at their ability to stay focused on the important matters: jobs, health care, education and fixing the mess in Iraq.

However, there were two things I found most impressive about the rally. The first was the huge number of people who traveled from all over Ohio and waited til midnight to hear them speak. We are, after all Democrats, and if we're lucky enough to still have a job in Ohio, we were keeping very late hours for a weekday.

The other thing that struck me was the wonderful, unforced diversity of the crowd. There were young adults and teenagers some in punk outfits and some in J Crew. There were elderly couples and working men and women. There were blacks, Latinos and Asians. It was very heartening to see not only the numbers of supporters but their wonderful diversity and none of it staged!

I was proud to be there with these wonderful people to support Kerry and Edwards in their battle to take back America!

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Remember George's historic comments from the White House immediately after the attacks on 9-11?

Do you remember George's historic comments from the White House where he returned immediately after hearing of the attacks on 9-11? Of course not, they never happened. It took most of a day of fleeing around the country before he had the nerve to get back to Washington D.C. It's not so surprising; George Bush had never before faced a personal physical threat stronger than driving while drunk.

3 days later he managed to get composed enough to make a nice little Kodak moment in the rubble of the World Trade Center. The repeated recalling of Bush's moment at the 9-11 site where he stood next to a fireman was a bit much. I mean, that was a nice moment, but a moment that most high school coaches probably have enough leadership to perform.

Is one moment like this supposed to replace the real moment we needed leadership? Like the whole day of 9-11 when George flew from here to there across the country and waited for someone to tell him what to do?

p.s. George's acceptance speech surprised me in one regard, he didn’t smirk much during the speech, more of a condescending smug little smile instead, as he passed off his platitudes to the rubes at the convention and accepted their blind adulation (as he probably felt was appropriate for someone who had braved the 9-11 attack site, only DAYS after the attack)...

http://www.bigtimepatriot.com/default.asp?itemID=167

signed,

A BuzzFlash Reader and Big Time Patriot

Subject: Iraq Soldiers Denied Secret Ballot

I just checked in late in the day to BuzzFlash to read today's NY Times editorial that's in your first column. THIS SHOULD BE ABSOLUTE HEADLINE NEWS ON YOUR SERVICE!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING THIS A HEADLINE. THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT TO GET OUT THAN ANYTHING I CAN THINK OF TODAY !!!!! ALL the talking heads need to see this.

Thank you!!

A supporter and fan,

Elizabeth Benedict

Subject: September 11 was our government's greatest failure

Dear Editor,

September 11 was our government's greatest defense and intelligence failure since the British burned down the White House in 1814. How could 19 Saudi terrorists live among us for years, training for this day, without anyone noticing? How could the authorities have ignored all the warning signs that were put on the President's desk? How could four hijacked planes wander the skies of America for almost an hour with no detection or interception by those who are supposed to keep our skies safe?

And the real question: how has the Bush Administration managed to turn their greatest failure into their greatest "success"?

Barry Pascal
Overland Park, KS

Subject: This Explains a Lot

Buzz,

Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh must be feeling better after his separation in June from his third wife, Marta. He has a new girlfriend--and it's a surprising coupling that lends credence to the idea that opposites attract. She's none other than CNN anchor Daryn Kagan, reports Washington Post "Reliable Source" columnist Richard Leiby.

Kagan is 41. Limbaugh is 53. A spokesman for Limbaugh confirmed to the Washington Post that the two are dating. They were spotted at a GOP party in a New York City restaurant co-hosted by Limbaugh. Among the political power big-wigs that showed up were Vice President and Mrs. Cheney, New York Gov. George Pataki and his wife Libby, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Matthew in Michigan

Subject: woodruff didn't know her mike was live! :):):)

did ya hear it? :):) just before that cross fire show judy woodruff was caught when she didn't know her mike was live saying there is a problem with that times poll, that other polls have them dead even! so what's up with that? :):)

shorty

Subject: Here's an idea

After watching Mr. Bush's speech at the GOP convention, I realized that I might have been witnessing a man getting himself reelected.

For, in spite of the untruths, and filtered facts, he demonstrated his resolve to forge ahead -"lead," as he calls it, and provided many new programs to support this view of himself. Very little was credible in what he said, in my opinion, but, I know that there is a huge number of Americans who are not well informed on these matters and not likely to take the time to get the facts before the election.

In recent weeks I have found myself defending Mr. Kerry against the Republican attacks. I have done all the research, run all the allegations to ground and I can, indeed, defend him eloquently. But, of course, that isn't my problem, and my doing it doesn't help fix the problem; Mr, Kerry's lack of credibility with at least half of the electorate. Self defense is his job, and he should be doing it, for himself, for all of the rest of up who support him and for the country we would like him to get to lead.

Why don't we start a grass roots effort to get him to go on TV, in Prime Time, with a brand named journalist, to address all the accusations against him, off the stump, in a casual atmosphere, where all the world can watch. He'll probably lose the election if he doesn't do it, and he could very well win well if he does.

Do you feel this is idea has merit? I'll gladly contribute 24/7 to composing letters and compiling mailing lists and telephone numbers; do my share of the mailings. Anyone with me? I have a plan fleshed out, but, it will take partisan websites' participation to make it happen.

Paul E.

Subject: THE REPUGS AND THEIR HATE FEST

Dear BuzzFlash

I cannot understand why the repugs are so vicious and angry. They control both houses, the white house, and even the judicial branch of the government, and yet you could see all that anger and rage at their convention. If things are not going well for this country, they have themselves to blame. You cannot blame Bill Clinton or the Dems for that anymore.

There was a sense of Nero fiddling as Rome burned at the convention.

Bush was able to convince his cool aid drinkers that everything is going great in our nation. I might have been impressed if he mentioned why he has not found Bin Laden (dead or alive) in one of those caves he promised to search, or why he has turned a large surplus into one of the biggest deficits in our history, or what happened to those jobs he promised when he gave those huge tax cuts to his buddies. Instead he just rambled on about stuff he did not do the last four years, and most probably will not do the next four years. I did not buy it, and when I saw his supporters swallow every word, I realized that yes, there are naive, foolish, misinformed, brainwashed folks in the USA. Very, sad.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but it was amazing that the camera's always panned at colored folk at the convention. They showed african americans, asians and others, and that was odd indeed. Were they trying to put a false front (as usual) to the world, that they are an all inclusive party? What a bunch of hypocrites.

I was so happy to see Senator Kerry give a forceful speech minutes after the convention was over. About time too. I think it is time that the democrats realize that you have got to fight fire with fire, and have their people act like the repugs - angry attack dogs.

We have a war hero, who fought for his country with honor and distinction, and many years of experience, and they have a draft dodging, incompetent, misleader, who took this country into an unnecessary war, and who has a dismal record to show for these last four years, so we should be able to defeat this nincompoop this November.

Thanks for listening.

Roseanne

Subject: Make that Karl with a "K" Rove in 1960

If Nixon had had Karl Rove in 1960

I was thinking this morning how differently Nixon could have handled John F. Kennedy's heroics aboard PT109 had he had Karl Rove advising him in the close 1960 presidential race. For those too young to remember, J.F.K. had served as the skipper of another type of "fast boat" in the Second World War, a plywood PT or "patrol torpedo" boat. During one nighttime patrol his boat was struck amidships by a Japanese destroyer in the fog and sliced in half. Two crewmembers were killed outright and several others were severely wounded. Kennedy led the remaining crew to safety by swimming several miles to a small deserted island. Kennedy "towed" one of the injured crewman by clutching one of his life jacket straps in his teeth. After several days they were able to get word back to the Americans through some friendly natives by carving a message in a coconut and were rescued.

Press Release

The group PT Boat Veterans for Truth released a political ad today questioning the heroism of John F. Kennedy in WWII. " He wasn't even being shot at", said Cmdr. I. M. Backstabber (ret), a Navy veteran. "I mean, he got his boat sunk and then has the gall to think that he is some kind of hero just because he swam a few laps. This whole incident has been totally blown out of proportion just to score some cheap political points. People drag wounded men through the water by their teeth for a couple of miles every day. It is nothing to get excited about." Cmdr. Backstabber went on to note, "What if the Ruskies put missiles in Cuba or something? How can you trust someone who can't even run a PT boat to handle a global nuclear crisis?"

###

As vilified as Richard Nixon has come to be in the American mind, his campaigns have an almost quaint feel to them when compared to the present one. And as low as the image of Richard Nixon has sunk, I cannot imagine him stooping to the level of the SBVFT.

Paul Walliker
Galva, Il

Subject: President Clinton

Hi BuzzFlash

Our prayers are with this wonderful man, President Clinton and his family.

I'll never forgive the repugs, for what they put this man through, when those years as President, would have been one of the highlights of his life.

As for John Kerry, and John Edwards, these man are cut from the same fabric as President Clinton, and Al Gore. So all of us who think, they should act like the low lives, we just listen to(I really didn't watch that fiasco just caught bits and pieces, from T.V.) should think twice. I wouldn't want to be identified with those cult like drones, who would cheer all that crap.

John Kerry made a wonderful speech, and he WILL be our next president. I will not complain any more for him to get down and dirty, with the repugs!

I loved it when the young and not so young ladies screamed for John Edwards, like he was a star. It's that beautiful bright smile of his. (I'm a Grandmother, and I love that smile)

Kerry and Edwards compliment each other. One tall and presidential looking, who speaks perfect sentences, as Kerry does. The other young, who brings sunshine to the two,and just as intelligent,Edwards. They know just what they are doing. I trust them to handle this campaign perfectly.

Like Kerry said in so many words, it's their record and lies, or our record, and the truth, take your pick!

BUSH WILL LOSE BY A LANDSLIDE! BELIEVE IT!

Feeling good about our ticket Kerry/Edwards.

Angie..Philly

Subject: Potshots at the Juggernaut

Dear BuzzFlash:

Any resemblance between the Resident's speech last night and reality is due only to a vaguely shared vocabulary. Indeed, Bush's speech reminded me much of Benito Mussolini's speeches to the Italian farm workers of the 1930's: bluster and glory without a shred of substance. What does the "ownership society" really mean? It means universal ownership by private transnational corporations. Which means universal serfdom for the rest of us "lucky" enough to survive the Straussian turmoil of the next decades. Which means most of us won't. Have a nice f**king day. Which means a "terrorist" attack whenever the administration feels like pulling a few policy strings.

The Republican indignation at the liberal left's invocation of "class warfare" reminds me very much like the rapist's anger at his victim's attempt to resist.

The Democratic Party's response to the Republican slime machine should be this, and not merely this, but these are the words of one of the greatest Americans who ever lived, Joseph Welch (to Sen. Joseph McCarthy): "You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" My God, one of the greatest quotes in all of human political history, and the American people have no memory of it. Shame on us all.

If George W. Bush takes the oath of office in January 2005 (as I fear he might) then I ask we all declare a national day of shame and mourning, for in spite of the voting machine fraud, it was our own fault; for in spite of the Florida vote, it was our own fault; for in spite of the perjured-for-cash swift boat veteran testimony, it was our own fault; for these and all our other sins we ask forgiveness, O Lord. NOW REPEAT AFTER ME: NEVER AGAIN. NEVER AGAIN. NEVER AGAIN.

Stanley R. Day
Denver CO

Subject: they are scared

my wife and children have been hiding in the closet, is it ok to let them out now? they saw the rnc and were terrified those people would come to our home with torches, pull us out and burn us at the stake for being kerry supporters. gw bush should be ashamed.

leo swift
memphis tn

Subject: It's all in the words

Dear Buzz:

Did anyone else catch the phrase that Cheney used to describe Kerry "Unfit." Where did we hear that before? Oh I know from the Swift Boat Liars for Bush. Yet they expect us to believe there's no connection.

Kimberly D
New York

Subject: lets call it 'barf' or 'upchuck'..or 'Hurl'

Have you all noticed in the mailroom lately, how many people are 'puking' while watching or reading something about the slimy republican convention...in their cars...at home..wherever? This is not good for the stomach...but, lets give it a better name...like in Wayne and Garths excellent vactaion...they 'hurled',...some call it barfing...or tossing cookies...or just plain throwing up! Hey Dems...we are gonna get a lot sicker before this is over. Its gonna be a couple of months of bloodletting!!!!! I did not watch anything but the sneering, viscous, meanness of Zell Miller.

I would say that they Bush campaign could use a new Bumper sticker.."Sneer and Smirk" but, you would have to add another sneer now!(Yeah, old Zell) I also loved his challenging Chris Matthews to a Duel...how old is this man???

I really do not think old Zell helped them that much...no one liked it...and even Phyllis Schlafly, the rightwing Zealot in these parts made jest of the Bush Girls. She, of course, the lady with the steel trap drawers. Did not like the speech from the girls of 'Sex in the city' which our Bill McClellan said he did not get right at first, until he realized, they were just stupid!!!(Sex and the city) And, then there was much criticism in the paper (here in St. Louis) about Ahnold, the man who thinks he is the 'Anti-Girlie Man"...lol...he is the anti everything..and an ignorant man...not a good impression of immigrants. I wonder how many of them cringe at the sound of him...I am not an immigrant.(..well, we all are.) going way back.....but, I cringe just listening to him.

I would bet Mr. Clinton will be back campaigning for Kerry, in two weeks..I hope and pray! He was a good man and a great president!!!

Good mailbag.....Shirley...........St.Louis

Subject: HALLIBURTON WANTED TO OFFER BRIBES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57347-2004Sep2.html

An internal Halliburton Co. investigation has uncovered handwritten notes suggesting that former employees considered offering bribes to Nigerian officials a decade ago to secure work in a $5 billion project to build a natural gas liquefaction plant.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Kerry's Speech in 1971

Dear Buzz,

I just found on today's BuzzFlash the article about John Kerry.

I thank you a thousand times for bringing this out into the open. I am 83, and the memories of this war and seeing some of my friends sons coming home with the effects of that war, find it so difficult to believe that today's people still cannot see what is happening here.

I and my friend (who was in WWII) are doing everything we possibly can to enlighten those who think that the present admin. is ok and to look at the facts.

"Whose side are you on? How can you go against your own working class?"- the environment, education, all the programs that the people are contributing taxes to and it is now being stolen to kill innocent people.

I have managed to get one or two younger ones to research and realize what is happening - but too many are blinded by Fox and the handcuffed media. Bless you for your great efforts to get others to see the "light"

a daily reader of Buzz

From Friday, 9/3:

You probably know that Bush will be in Erie tomorrow. First, it was announced that if you wanted to see him (at Veteran's Stadium ... ironic) you had to go to republican headquarters to get tickets, and the event was supposed to be open to the public. There was a story on the news tonight about a lady who went to pick up 4 tickets. She got her tickets and stepped out of the line to wait for a friend who was behind her. When her friend joined her they were followed to her car on which she had two anti-Bush bumperstickers and those in charge tried to rip the tickets out of her hand.

The fence around the airport is completely lined with hugh city dump trucks filled with dirt. I'll let you know if anything interesting happens ... if anyone in the press tells us that anything interesting happened!

t

Subject: Kevin Phillips Was Right in 1969, Let's Hope His Theory Sticks

In his 1969 book, The Emerging Republican Majority, Kevin Phillips, who at the time was on the staff of the infamous John Mitchell, wrote that the 1968 election represented a turning point for the country. He stated that the democrats had been in power for thirty-six years, with the exception of the Eisenhower interregnum, and that according to his research, the republican party was poised to win the '68 election and would retain power for the foreseeable future.

He wasn't far off the mark. His research showed that the reforms instituted by FDR in the face of the Great Depression had been played out and that there was tremendous resentment on the part of the democrats' traditional base, southern males. The candidacy of Wallace served to skew the election results, but Nixon prevailed and the democrats haven't held sway in the south since that election.

Perhaps we can look to Phillips for some relief in these hand-wringing days following the celebration of hate otherwise known as the Republican National Convention.

This election is exactly thirty-six years after the Nixon victory in 1968. We've had the eight year interregnum with Clinton at the helm (I don't count the Carter fluke because that was more of a Watergate denouement) and we are now on the verge of a new political alignment.

Either that or we are faced with the complete destruction of our representative democracy, a destruction which began under Reagan and continued through the next three presidents, Clinton included. I don't know what it's going to take to bring the rest of our country out of its collective hysterical mind control in the face of republican jingoism masquerading as patriotism, but one would hope that, at some point, people will realize that there aren't going to be any more four hundred dollar per child checks and that the dividend tax cut that Georgie Boy pushed through is only worth a few dollars to workers who have the majority of their stock holdings in 401Ks. Yet, when this administration's tax policies are brought up, people's eyes glaze over and they say, "No other president ever gave us $400 for each child," as if that makes up for the loss of various forms of tax relief for middle class taxpayers including the sales tax write-off or the credit card interest credit, both of which were sacrificed to the tax cutting god under Reagan.

All it would take to secure the Social Security fund would be to eliminate the ceiling on payroll taxes. Let everyone pay taxes on their money throughout the year with no ceiling. More well-to-do people would pay more taxes without having to resort to"fixing" the tax code. How much better for rich people Bush wants to make the current tax codes one can only guess at.

And we shouldn't continue to let these republican tax-cutters get away with calling taxes on dividends double taxation without pointing out that everyone who pays taxes is already at least doubly taxed, if they live in states that have an income tax.

The only way republicans can win is by muddying the waters so that the American people get confused. That is becoming increasingly easy to do with the No child Left Behind Act and other misanthropic bits of legislation targeted at making the quality of education worse and worse. Critical thinking is going to be a lost art before long and I'm sure that corporate human resource people are licking their chops and chomping at the bit waiting to get their hands on a workforce that cannot interpret a contract, for the lucky few who get union jobs, or those who acquiesce in the face of authority because that is what they were taught to do in school in place of questioning rules that make no sense.

Kevin, if you're reading this, I know you have your fingers crossed also. You were right on the money when you worked for Mitchell and when you observed the original George H. W. Bush and knew that he was someone to loathe. Those of us who respect honest differences of opinion between the parties, and unfortunately there are only two of them at this time that vie for peoples' vote, thank you for your reasoned analysis and for your honesty.

And I thank you for a glimmer of hope.

Matt Carmody

Subject: Swagger!

George W. Bush, Thursday night:

"Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called 'walking'."

Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: 1swag.ger
Pronunciation: 'swa-g&r
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): swag.gered; swag.ger.ing /-g(&-)ri[ng]/
Etymology: probably from 1swag + -er (as in chatter)
intransitive senses
1 : to conduct oneself in an arrogant or superciliously pompous manner;
especially : to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence
2 : BOAST, BRAG
transitive senses : to force by argument or threat : BULLY
- swag.ger.er /-g&r-&r/ noun
- swag.ger.ing.ly /-g(&-)ri[ng]-lE/ adverb

He said it, and Merriam-Webster defined it.

Amazing.

And he'll probably get away with this gaffe too.

Carleton MacDonald
Gaithersburg, Maryland

Subject: Zell Miller

Comment! Looks like old Zell did a number on himself - he turned his back on his own party and now the Republicans know it would be political suicide to embrace him! He's sort of like a "man without a country" don't you think? We think he sounded like a total idiot, and of course George W. knew what Zell was going to say and must have "approved this message." One thing the media is not mentioning while they try to extricate Bush from the "Zell situation" is that during his speech George H. and his Mrs. were smiling profusely, and directly following Zell's speech he was sitting with the Senior Bush's and they were all smiling and laughing like it was old home week! While I'm venting I might as well mention Bill Clinton. Here's a great man suffering a heart condition and preparing to have by-pass surgery in the next few days - and the Republicans have the gall to act like they care!! I wish just one television station would mention that perhaps the Republicans had something to do with it. Lord knows the stress from their relentless persecution of President Clinton and his family a few years ago, and their continuous insults since certainly didn't do his heart health any good! In addition to hurting President Clinton if they had spent all that time and all that money protecting our country we might not have so many serious problems in this country today. We wish that he were still our President.

Thank You, The Hunts in Indiana

Cheney, like Bush, avoided being drafted but did it in a much slicker fashion. He had five deferments, all he could get. Then by a stroke of luck it was decided not to draft married men with children. Nine months and two days later his wife gave birth. Why the delay?

Must have been an exhausting two days.

A BuzzFlash reader

[BuzzFlash Note: There's a funny rumor going around that the Cheney's stole their first child.]

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THE SEPTEMBER 7, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG.