BuzzFlash Mailbag - September 8, 2004

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

Brad Friedman's ad "Occupier" is great. Cheney pitched a marshmallow this weekend. I'd love to see someone step to the plate.

After reading their surreal editorial about Bush's convention speech, in comparison with the scalpel job they did on John Kerry, it occurred to me that the Washington Post is undoubtedly a whore, but not Bush's whore, in particular. It is an organ of the Washington Republican establishment. With this in mind, I wrote the following letter to the editor.

I won't hold my breath waiting for them to publish this.

Al
Maryland

Subject: Re: The Associated Press is getting better, but they're still telling only half the story.

Dear BuzzFlash,

Here is the letter I sent the Associated Press concerning their article "Bush's National Guard File Missing Records" (Miami Herald). Should any other BuzzFlash Readers wish to contact the AP, here is their e-mail: info@ap.org

As of today, Sept 6, neither my letter nor any other letter has been published in the Boston Globe in reaction to the article that BuzzFlash posted as the first of its Top 5 Headlines on Sept 5.

Manchild Bush Thinks He's a Father to a Nation of Children: White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said that President Bush views America as a ''10-year-old child" in need of the sort of protection provided by a parent.

On the Boston Globe website for Sept 6 this article is still the second most frequently mailed article on Monday. I was unable to find out the total for the week. So I sent the letter below to the Globe's ombudsman. I also left a tel message 617 929-3020.

On Sunday, September 5, on This Week with George Stephanapolous, Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman once again simply would not commit himself to a clear and specific statement that Bush would appear for three debates with John Kerry. This is the second time he's dissembled on the question. In early August, Tim Russert asked Mehlman on Meet the Press if Bush would attend all three debates, and he demurred then also. Mark my words (and anyone reading this should cut and paste it for future reference because I hope you can use it against me next month to prove I was wrong), Bush has no intention of appearing to debate Kerry on three separate occasions. Ain't gonna happen folks; ain't gonna happen. The handwriting is on the wall. The Republicans want to weasel out of the debates, and they want to continue to use slander and smear patented Bush tactics against Kerry in the general election campaign. More swift boat liar slime, but no standing at a podium to debate Kerry, mano 'a mano. So, what I'm suggesting is, let's turn it right around on them and use this as a battering ram against the Republicans. Here's the taunt I would like to see all Democrats lay down against Bush: "Only an economic girly man would refuse to stand up to his opponent toe to toe to debate him about the loss of jobs and health care in this country"!

As I marvel at the incredible, unfathomable debate regarding Senator Kerry's service as compared to the village idiot's, I remain completely perplexed as to why the matter of Bush's excused absence to help run a political campaign has not been a part of the debate.

Excused absence to run a political campaign? From National Guard service? Happens all the time I'll bet. Except that I've talked to friends all over the country, my age(late 50's) and younger, who have never heard of such a thing. Never, nope, never. Not one single instance could I find of a NG service member being excused to work in a political campaign, yet the issue slumbers or is completely buried. Work in a political campaign instead of fulfilling his obligation? Sure, happens all the time!

Come on media, come on pundits, as usual you're ignoring a real issue just to wallow in right wing trash........and at their behest.

a) Attack Kitty Kelley
b) Attack Sharon Bush
c) Blame John Kerry
d) Have Tom Ridge declare a terror alert
e) Have John Ashcroft announce a terrorist capture

John Kerry has added new staff to the campaign team, had a 90 minute chat with Bill Clinton and will try to liven up his homestretch with some aggressive tactics. One of the pieces of advice Kerry received was to stop talking about Vietnam and his military service. I agree. Kerry should stop talking about HIS service but should always talk about W's missing months, convenient lost records and unproduced DD214. Since Kerry will no longer be talking about military service, you can be sure W will not bring it up. The swift boaties have successfully turned logic and reality into the bizzaro world. Kerry: served, wounded, awarded = questionable. Bush: med exam no show, awol at best but could be classified as deserter = ok, so what, who cares.

The media in this country should be ashamed. The people of the military should be ashamed to even consider voting for Bush. The general population of this country should be ashamed. Once again the people are ignorant, uninformed and lied to. And once again, the shrub gets a free pass.

Is it courage to wait seven minutes until new or unsoiled pants were brought to you when you learned that our country was UNDER ATTACK?

Is it courage to be afraid of the questions of a frail,,,,but very dignified and honest journalist...Helen Thomas.?

The governator made his girlie-man stab at the rethuglican convention and no one said anything. Any way you slice it, that is an insult to every woman in America. Is being a girl so awful? Don't I remember something about equality? Homophobia no doubt explains why the women in the convention did not leave after they were slandered. After all, it is a right wing core belief and a party wedge issue. But what about every other woman who was bashed? What about the women news commentators? Not a whimper. Even the Democrats said nothing. The liberal world is terrified by these guys. The are afraid to call out their viciousness.

Schwarzenegger asserts the kind of power that is only useful if he intends to attack you. Of course it would be moot if he didn't have a record of just that. If that is the intent of the claim, it is assault. If it is assisted by the rest of party, it is conspiracy to assault. This is a nightrider tactic. That is where we have been led - rule by a virtual KKK. Talk back to the bullies and all the other coward bullies will go for you.with knife in the back attacks.

Well, I'm now looking for the groups that will return fire. Will it be unfounded, or at best unsupported? Sure. Do I care? No. Let the world know Bush is off the wagon. Proof? Who needs it? No one debunks these internet rumors anyway. My friend heard Cheney gets money from Halliburton for every truck they use in Iraq and more from Halliburton for everything the company ships to Iran.

Another buddy heard that Bush gets a cut of every barrel of oil pumped in to the strategic reserve - that is why he keeps filling it and that makes gas prices sky high. Make this stuff up and float it on every talk show in the US. Put it into every email list you can find. Send it out with the headline "Send this to all your friends."

This world is so gullible that it will start to stick. And if even one rumor turns out to be have a hint of truth to it, it will snowball and soon people will think they are all true.

A Kukri is the scimitar- like knife which those fearsome and wonderful soldiers, the Ghurkas carry. When the knife is drawn from its scabbard the soldier must draw blood! Now if we can only get Kerry to wear and use a verbal Kukri we might start winning the battle against "What. me worry George Bush".

This bloody man has so many chinks in his armor starting with the Coup d'etat. His whole miserable forays into foreign policy-insulting friend a foe alike. His depression era domestic policies. His inability to think and speak at the same time. His reliance on a single party government - a certain harbinger of future fascism in this once noble and great country. My goodness surely Kerry's advisors can build a campaign on the myriad faults of this recovering alcoholic.

I am so angry at Kerry. He is too much a gentleman. And if he carries on in this vein we shall lose the election to these ignorant yahoos. Kerry should realize that half of our electorate is as dumb as mud and one has to spell out simply and repetitively the policies we should pursue to win and change the direction of the country.

I understand James Carville and Paul Begala are joining the campaign. That will be a great help. Fire that damn Zell Miller from the Dem. Party. He should really occupy a room in a special bedlam!

Thx for hearing me out. If you guys and your readers could only vote early and often!

I just got back from Seattle's big annual music festival, "Bumbershoot", and I have to give you a report. Newly reformed hip hop legends, "Public Enemy", were awesome! They did all kinds of anti-Bush stuff in front of thousands of screaming kids, and made a big push for recognizing the whole world... not just the U.S. I am a 59 year old white guy who was right in there with them chanting "F---- George Bush!" Meanwhile, there were people in the crowd carrying clipboards and registering people to vote. "Naz" also did some political stuff, but for my money, there's nothing like the old pros... Public Enemy. They rule!

Earlier I played my own set of music at the blues stage in front of about 2,000 people with "Nick Vigarino's Meantown Blues". I surprised the band by throwing in my own impromptu political rant, "Oh say can you see what they're doin' to me? Turnin' this country to a monarchy!..." Seattle gave me a rousing cheer and I was quite gratified by it. I'm so proud of Seattle... one of the leading cities in the pro-democracy movement. Right on, Seattle!

Don't believe the polls, folks, and don't give up the faith! The spirit of a free America rings out loud and clear. George Bush ain't gonna win this thing.

Georgie boy wants our Soc. Sec. to be put in the hands of an insurance company, so we can handle our own money. What's to stop these companies from going bankrupt? And how in heavens name is Georgie going to rob our Soc. Sec. to pay for his mistakes if the insurance Co, take over. This does not sound like a very good idea, something is wrong here.

Well, come to find out, that the poll that we have been hearing so much about, was taken right after the convention....and 974 republicans were polled...and it still was only a ten point jump...what an awesome thing!!

Well, after the week was over, and real pollsters got in on the fray...Zogby, found that the Bush boost was only 2 points, if that....and Rasmussen, the same.

Who do they think we are....? Are these people, if they get elected (for the first time) ever going to be truthful about anything?

I just don't get it. Why has Kerry allowed the Bushies to put him in a box regarding the Iraq war? He seems to bounce back and forth off the walls and give them ammunition to use against him. Where's the courage of his convictions, such as that which Kucinich and Dean displayed uncompromisingly regarding Iraq?

I heard Kerry say its the "wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time". Listen, if that's what he really believes, then why the hell is he telling us he'll try to get the troops out by the end of his first term?! The war's wrong, unjustified, but we've gotta stay the course because we're there? How many people died in SE Asia because of that kind of thinking? Does that mean that he'll commit our troops to four more years of a war that he doesn't believe in? Kerry of all people should know better, since he was once on the receiving end of that kind of thinking.

He though he was going to play it safe back when the war was popular, and now he's paying for it by having to either agree with the war in some way, or endlessly defend his apparent change of stance and try to reword yet it again to make it more palatable.

If he really thinks this war is wrong, then when he takes office, he needs to do for our soldiers over there in Iraq fighting and dying what the cowardly politicians of the Vietnam era wouldn't do for our soldiers while they were in Vietnam - get them the hell out of the unjustifiable quagmire immediately! He can't have it both ways, and if he tries, it'll cost him the presidency. This, if anything, will be his undoing. We don't belong in Iraq. The majority of Americans now know it was a mistake and not worth it. It didn't and won't make us safer at home, because it was all based on a phantom threat. How much more blood will be on the hands of the politicians in Washington because they continue to promote it in order to justify their initial cowardly position in support of it?

My father and I were having a discussion the other day. Just so there's no misunderstanding as to what his position is, he absolutely detests what Bush has done to this country and wants to see him sent back to Crawford as much as I do. But, he's very, very disappointed that Kerry hasn't educated his listeners about Bush on so many of the things that make Bush/Cheney look like a bunch of mobsters in the White House. He told me that, in his opinion, if Kerry keeps taking his campaign and policy queues from his campaign advisors, lets them convince him to remain silent on these issues thus giving Bush pass after pass, and can't make up his mind what he stands for and then STAND FOR IT, he doesn't deserve to be president, Bush or no Bush. I have to agree with him.

Senator Kerry, if you're reading this, let me just say this in closing. If you really believe this war is the wrong war, then make the commitment to get our troops out immediately, not in four years. If you'll show the courage of your convictions and not let yourself fall into the same trap that the 1960s-1970s politicians did, I'll stand by you come hell or high water. Don't you see that our troops over there in Iraq now are in the same boat you were in while in Vietnam? They deserve better now, as you did then.

Do you have the ability to get through to this campaign? WHY is Kerry answering Bush & Cheney's questioning of his remarks (some of which are teeth crunching to we Democrats) instead of forcefully saying: There they go again! (Yes, use Reagan's phrase against them)..."They want to attack me instead of talking about the loss of jobs, the destruction of Social Security, the destruction of the environment, the destruction of the middle class."....Yes - tell them to use that word destruction over and over again - paint them as the evil they are. As it now stands, the Democrats on my street feel it's over - the warlords have won.

I have about had it with the GOP lashing out at Senator Kerry's two tours of duty in Viet Nam and calling into question his patriotism. Reading this article below has me so enraged. There is NO question about Senator Kerry's heroism in that war, what questions are never discussed are these missing records that have been brought up before. We must ALL be Senator Kerry's mouth piece as we speak with voters and write letters to your local papers should they discuss this or yet again, that swift boat issue which is not really an issue and we must say categorically as Senator Edwards did on Friday night in Wisconsin where he said, "ENOUGH!" Forget those polls taken by Newsweek and Time magazines. Do NOT let them deter any of us from getting this job done. Our job is to take back this country from that band of thugs and elect a man who had standing shoulder to shoulder with him at our convention a true Band of Brothers.

Discredited Republican pollster Frank Luntz made rounds on MSNBC convention coverage with flawed focus group; nobody pointed out his partisanship

Discredited Republican pollster Frank Luntz, CEO and president of Luntz Research Companies, made four appearances during MSNBC's coverage of the Democratic (July 28 and July 29) and Republican (September 1 and September 2) National Conventions, touting flawed focus groups in three of his appearances. Not once during any of these appearances did any MSNBC anchor or commentator mention Luntz's partisan Republican ties or questionable ethical standards.

The overall results of Luntz's convention studies were not overtly in favor of either presidential candidate -- the focus groups' results for each convention generally favored each convention's featured party. But three of his four focus groups showed an institutional bias toward President George W. Bush. One Luntz focus group held during the DNC compared Gore 2000 voters to Bush 2000 voters. But he conducted three other groups (one during the DNC and two during the RNC) in which he compared Republicans' reactions to speeches to the combined reactions of Democrats and Independents. Furthermore, during his September 2 appearance on MSNBC, Luntz described those groups as "Republicans" and "Democrats"; but onscreen, they were identified as "GOP" and "Dem/Ind."

On July 28, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews described Luntz as "a great pollster," but as Media Matters for America has noted, Salon.com reported in 2000 that there is little reason to trust his polls. In 1997, the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) reprimanded Luntz for his polling work on the Republican Party's 1994 Contract with America campaign platform. The Salon.com article described Luntz as "possibly the best example of what we could call the pollster pundit: someone who both purports to scientifically poll the opinions of the public, and then also interpret that data to support his own -- in Luntz's case, conservative -- point of view." Luntz has explained his own methodology as follows: "Say you poll on an environmental issue, and on eight of the 10 questions the numbers are in your favor. Why release the other two? It's like being a lawyer."

MSNBC's failure to identify Luntz's party affiliation notwithstanding, the pollster has conducted polls for Republicans and has made his preference for the 2004 presidential election clear. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on September 2, "Earlier this year, GOP pollster Frank Luntz advised Republicans to never talk about Iraq or homeland security without first mentioning how '9/11 changed everything.'" The Cleveland Plain Dealer noted on September 1 that "Republican pollster Frank Luntz did his best Tuesday to pump up Ohio's Republicans at a delegation breakfast. 'If you guys fail, if John Kerry becomes president by a percent or half a percent, I think you're going to be pretty regretful,' he said."

Despite Luntz's questionable ethical standards and partisan ties, the print media covered his convention focus groups thoroughly. Stories appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the New York Post. As The Washington Post noted, "White House communications director Dan Bartlett, citing Luntz's finding and his own impressions, said in an interview that the [Senator Zell] Miller speech seemed to be effective."

The Iraqi’s captured Hussein’s VP but didn’t talk to them first before announcing the capture, now the Iraqi puppet government has its strings being pulled to say that the capture is “baseless”. It sure looks like the same tactics used before. Capture first then wait until the timing is best to reveal the capture. Wait until there’s some bad news or Kerry is on the rise and then let this one out.

I happened onto a C-Span program today featuring Cate Edwards, Vanessa and Alex Kerry and Andre Heinz at a question/answer forum at Virginia University. If anyone has an opportunity to see these young people in action, take that opportunity and you will easily see who the Kerrys and Edwards are, what kind of people they are, what they believe in and their values and what they have to offer this country.

These young adults, these children of politicians are amazing and they didn't get like that without a tremendous amount of solid guidance, ethics and values from their parents. You don't gain that kind of poise, an ability to articulate well your thoughts and opinions, or that kind of authenticity at their young age through money and a good education alone. You gain it by being listened to, valued and respected by your family while growing up and you learn to listen, value and respect others. You learn a confidence and poise by being a part of the opportunities your family provides, and you learn it by having parents who take the time to teach the values of being part of humanity. These were young people who had been taught to give back, not just take, to listen, not just talk, to value, not demand to be valued.

All four of them have had advantages most people will never have but they were solid and down to earth, showing not one sign of arrogance or egotism or the type of condescending attitude one often associates with people of "priviledge."

Listen to them and you will know John and Teresa Heinz Kerry, and John and Elizabeth Edwards, you will know them very well. Who they are comes through loud and clear by way of their children. These are people who will serve this country in an extraordinary manner giving freely the gifts they have bestowed on their children. They will listen, value, promote and respect the American people, that is something you hope for in your leaders and rarely get, after watching their very young adult children, I know it's something they give to everyone.

The piece on Bush's daughters partying habits, conveniently deleted now from NYPost, is outrageous.

How dare W preach "values" to us with a straight face when his little darlings spend $4,500 on liquor in one evening -- in the midst of RNC, when all nation's eyes are on them (and when soldiers' mothers scrimp to buy and send bulletproof vests to their kids in Iraq).

The Bushmen (and women) know no decency, have no shame. $4,500 is half of the total yearly income for so many American families.

And then there is this nugget from NYT, talking about Perle's creative ways to boost his income via Hollinger machinations (this quote was used in defense of Perle, by the way):

Richard has always been willing to take the highest risks, playing for the highest stakes on policy issues over the years and often winning, but this is also really a story of being seduced by money," said Mr. Gelb, a former official at the State and Defense departments and a former columnist at The New York Times. "People in the foreign policy world do not make a lot of money. They go to think tanks, government, academe, and generally get $125,000 to $150,000 a year. When you are touched by lightning and manage to get into the inner sanctum to make money, the opportunities are delicious."

GOPers are so woefully out of touch with American reality. How can they begin to pretend to represent our -- the majority of Americans' -- interests? Why would anyone vote for them (anyone not making $300,000+ a year, that is -- and that's 99% of Americans)?

There is no such thing as a low blow when dealing with the Bush Family or other right-wing Texas politicians. Never forget who you are dealing with.

[BuzzFlash Note: That's one of our favorite cheers: "Rah Rah Ree, Kick Them in the Knee, Rah Rah Ras, Kick Them in the Other Knee." It ranks up there with this (author unknown): "When you've seen one non-sequitur, the price of tea in China."]

Since President Bush taunted the Iraqi insurgents on July 2, 2003 with the phrase "bring 'em on!" - 780 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq. God knows how many soldiers were seriously wounded during this time frame.

Of course this matters little in Bush's black and white world. It is easy to taunt the enemy from behind a wall of secret service protection, especially when the soldiers you are sacrificing are from the lower and middle class, just like Vietnam.

I bet he would not have been so arrogant and stupid if his two daughters were in Iraq right now. It is easy to be macho and arrogant when you are putting someone else's kids in harms way.

All this blowhard macho posturing reminds me of a grade school bully, more than the "strong leader" he pretends to be. These certainly aren't the statements of a mature adult who understands the complexity of the world.

We are bombarded by Republican/Conservative TV and radio from all directions. Of course individuals can choose to listen to what they please in the privacy of their home or car but often those of us who don't choose to listen have no choice --i.e. when it is aired openly in restaurants, banks, bars, retail stores etc. In order to change this, and maybe along the way even affect Fox News and conservative radio policy, there needs to be a grass roots effort to get their attention.

For example I live in middle Tennessee and my bank just opened an office near my small business. The new bank has a big-screen TV and it had Fox News on blasting the Republican/Bush line. I complained to the manager (obviously a Bush Republican) that I and other Democrats were offended by this and should not have to hear it. After a couple of emails to the bank President and phone calls to the local manager they decided not to have Fox News on constantly during banking hours. I made a small but needed difference.

This is significant in that all Democrats and freethinking Independents do not have to endure Fox News and conservative radio in public places –we can and should make our thoughts and feelings heard. Any public business (restaurants, banks, bars, etc.) should know that --like second hand smoke-- we can not enjoy our experience with Fox News and conservative radio on in the background.

Send comments to Fox News or conservative radio probably does very little to change their thinking but if we hit them in the pocket book maybe we can make a difference. Here are a few suggestions:

1. As a business owner do not advertise on Fox TV channels, conservative radio, or in papers that support the Republican/Bush agenda. And tell them WHY you will not advertise.

2. As a consumer call, email or write local and national businesses (they usually have 800 numbers) who advertise on conservative talk radio and Fox News and tell them WHY you will not buy, support or use their product.

3. Tell owners and managers of restaurants, bars, retail stores, banks, e-business. etc. that you are offended by Fox News and conservative radio and will not be back as long they are on.

4. As a taxpayer do not allow your money to support the airing of Fox News or conservative talk radio in city, county, state or federal facilities. Complain to the powers that be.

5. Switch from Direct TV to Dish Network. And tell them WHY you are switching: You do not want your money used to support the Republican/Conservative/Bush agenda via Rupert Murdoch –whose company is significant owner of Direct TV.

Money talks --our complaints to business and advertisers will not go unheard. Spread the word.

Repubs and Bush supporters keep asking what John Kerry has done for this country. I say check the following, because he has done much good, and will do much more as president. There is absolutely no comparison between him and the worst president in this country's history - George W. Bush.

An article in today’s SALON spoke about the vast amount of advice Kerry is receiving regarding what seems to be his inadequate campaign. And I suppose that all of us BuzzFlashers very much feel like hopping in and adding our three cents. I know I do. At the Democratic National Convention we heard ad nauseum: “No Bush bashing...Keep it nice...Be polite, be civilized...Don’t be like them...Stay positive.”...etc. Oh, yeah? In fighting against this regime that was not so delicately shoved down our throats, you must know them for precisely what they are...and they are not nice. It’s practically euphemistic to call them liars, cheats, bullies. They fight dirty, indeed filthy. For them truth is an irrelevant, tooth-fairy concept for fools. Do you realize that there has not been with this band of thugs one iota of accountability for anything, including their criminal negligence that led to almost 3,000 murdered Americans? They use brass knuckles, they leap out from alleyways, they stab in the back and accuse you of deceit, they repeat over and over again lies too many to enumerate while screaming about good character and family values. In brief, our reason, sanity, logic, decency are for them nothing more than pitiful weapons for pitiful people. What to do? Easy - blast out the truth, but blast it as loudly, simply, and clearly as they do their lies: devastated economy, our nation now largely feared and detested by much of the world, our environment being rapidly despoiled, our soldiers torturing prisoners (remember that?), millions of jobs lost or degraded, not one social promise kept, breakdown of the all-important separation of church and state, a growing list of American dead in Iraq, thousands of Iraqis killed by us (no reference, ever, to this by the regime), official indifference to and cover up of our returning war dead, the exposing of a CIA agent, the demoralization of our intelligence services, attacks against labor that include to a large extent the abolition of overtime, the catering to the pharmaceutical industry, the denigration of war veterans (band-aids and Purple Hearts), the reduction of benefits for the military and their dependents, the nightmarish secrecy of everything the regime does, the direct collusion between the regime and corporations (Halliburton/Enron but the tip of the iceberg).... That is, use the truth as a brass knuckle as they do lies. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t, but by God, we will have tried and nasty though it all might have been, we can claim for what it’s worth that at least we spoke the truth - loudly! Being delicate and nice is no way to take on gutter rats.

Note has been made of the various photographs set up by the Bush PR machine, which appear to give him a halo, or set him against a cross as a backdrop (one, as I recall, with astounding words in light that virtually announce him as the savior). The image created at the Republican Convention last night was astounding and unmistakable. The cross-emblazened podium stood out, as I'd read mention of it in the papers (apparently Jewish groups took offense, surprise surprise). More than that, for me, however, were the ascending circles upon which his platform was built. In Dante's three-part Divine Comedy, the third part details the protagonist's ascension through the nine spheres of heaven, until he at last arrives at "The Empyrean" -- the highest of the high, where God's throne and only the truly blessed souls are found. Take a look at Bush's stage last night. You guessed it - nine rings building up to the magical tenth platform, a presidential seal, atop which sits a cross and George Bush. The "stairs" were apparently purely decorative, as they never appeared to be used for anything, other than signifying "The Empyrean." The ascending circles of heaven in Dante's Paradiso are often noted to be a reflective inversion of the nine circles of hell in Inferno, the first part of the trilogy. So I watched my screen upside down, putting Bush at the bottom of the lowest circle of Hell, where a three headed Satan could feast on him, along with Brutus and Judas, for all eternity. Hey - whatever you gotta do to get through his speeches, right?

I think the Bush administration is cooking the books with the 200 billion dollars supposedly spent on the Iraq war. If they had truly spent that much, it just couldn't be the total disaster that it is. I think several billion has to have gone into the Bushies' back pockets. Has anybody collected any information about this?

To those of you in the media who allowed our current president to completely politicize our national tragedy of Sept. 11th for his personal meager gain...again without question...I say SHAME!!! It isn't bad enough, that you have aided and abetted in this administration's rampant deceit over four years, but you now acquiesce in it's blatant manipulation of a national tragedy for crass political gain. Gentlepersons of the media, I ask; "HAVE YOU NO SHAME?"

It's not race-baiting; hardly ethnic profiling, and so long as the incumbent allows our Saudi "allies" to tap dance around 9/11, it's in America's interest to TURN UP THE HEAT on the House of Saud.

So where ARE the 527 ads CONNECTING Saudi political(petro financial?) of George W. Bush to lack of substantive Saudi PROGRESS in destroying Saudi financial, ideological networks & sub-networks essential to winning the "war against terror?" Or those missing radio/tv blurbs AMPLIFYING Saudi complaints about Kerry being too TOUGH -- "'He almost singled us out by name,' grouse[d Crown Prince Abdullah]."

Is it too much to ask a President to care about poverty, unemployed, or about creating an economy where people can live a decent life?

Is it too much to ask a President to care about ALL Americans, not just the ones who sign loyalty oaths?

Is it too much to ask a President to NOT RUSH into sending our children to war before having ALL the facts -- and before having a plan to win the peace?

This President is a FAILURE and has always been a failure. He's even needed help to succeed as a failure.

He was a failure in school, but his dad helped him get in. He was a failure with his businesses. He was a failure as governor. He couldn't even become president without being helped by the supreme court.

After being helped time and again, this president does not think Americans deserve help! He has failed Americans.

Anyone who supports this President is rewarding failure -- and does not care about this country!!

Every time Bush opens his mouth to expel yet another catchy sound-bite I'm struck by the fact that it all has a double meaning in which there's a dark and sinister undertone hidden within his phrases.

'Turning the corner' - underestimating our intelligence he assumes everyone is going to put a positive spin on this, when, in fact he has turned the corner which leads us not where we should be going, but where he intends to take us. We will be forced to go backwards for a while undoing his trip down his filthy side alley.

'spreading the peace' - 'liberating the Iraqi people' - 'economic growth' - 'tax cuts create jobs'- 'no child left behind' , etc, etc. All true statements but if you look at the facts there's nothing positive in what has really happened. Every single sound-bite can be used to illustrate the opposite of what he hopes we'll think.

Now he uses 'catastrophic success'. I think he's right, only not in the way he wants us to think. He and the people who put him in power have been the most successful people ever to bring deliberate and pre-meditated catastrophe to the entire world. His Mob planned this for decades, and they have been horribly, disastrously, and catastrophically successful beyond our wildest nightmares.

just another example of msnbc's bias! they had a tape of john kerry at a rally saying no one there had to sign a loyalty oath and no one had to ask scripted questions. then that stupid diamond girl they have following him around came on and said "to be fair john kerry's audiences are friendly too" HELLOOO, we expect their audiences to be largely friendly! the point was the kerry people don't give you scripted questions to ask him and you don't have to sign a loyalty oath!


September 8, 2004		MAILBAG ARCHIVES
The BuzzFlash Mailbag The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. Read the BuzzFlash FAQ for info on submitting to the Mailbag. Subject: another ad idea Brad Friedman's ad "Occupier" is great. Cheney pitched a marshmallow this weekend. I'd love to see someone step to the plate. ...Cheney said. 'Terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength. They are invited by the perception of weakness." Kerry Allies Take Shots at Bush, Cheney on Vietnam (LA Times) WASHINGTON -- Six months after taking office, President Bush will begin a month-long vacation Saturday that is significantly longer than the average American's annual getaway. White House to move to Texas for a while (USA TODAY) We don't need to lie for them to look bad. Libby Hicks Subject: Washington Whore Post After reading their surreal editorial about Bush's convention speech, in comparison with the scalpel job they did on John Kerry, it occurred to me that the Washington Post is undoubtedly a whore, but not Bush's whore, in particular. It is an organ of the Washington Republican establishment. With this in mind, I wrote the following letter to the editor. Sir: I have read the Washington Post since 1955, and it has become obvious that in recent years the Post's editorial voice has moved firmly to the right of center. There is nothing improper in this, but it raises a question. Why does the nation's capital need two conservative newspapers? I won't hold my breath waiting for them to publish this. Al Maryland Subject: Re: The Associated Press is getting better, but they're still telling only half the story. Dear BuzzFlash, Here is the letter I sent the Associated Press concerning their article "Bush's National Guard File Missing Records" (Miami Herald). Should any other BuzzFlash Readers wish to contact the AP, here is their e-mail: info@ap.org Dear AP Editor: Thank you for at long last covering Bush's desertion of his military duty and for pursuing him for further records ("Bush's National Guard File Missing Records"). For those who served and those who care deeply about honor above party affiliation, it is about time that the mainstream media gave serious attention to this president's record. I've been waiting four years. There are two points I wish you would pass on to your reporter Matt Kelley. 1) There was no mention in your article on the missing records that a National Guardsman named Bill Burkett has come forward to say that he witnessed the scrubbing of Bush's records at the Texas headquarters. Documents from Bush's file were removed and thrown out. There were other witnesses, but they have since clammed up. Burkett has received death threats, but he still has the courage to talk about it. I have no doubts that if Bush were a Democrat or Independent the AP and the rest of the media would have been all over this coverup years ago. Why avoid any mention of it now when, by your own investigations, you have found many documents missing? 2) Even with the documents that have not been destroyed or withheld, one can conclude that the United States Air Force considered George W. Bush a deserter until strings were pulled and he was "rehabilitated." The pertinent documents and military regulations to back this up can be found at www.glcq.com/bush_at_arpc1.htm Here is their summary of the written evidence: After Bush quit TXANG, he still had nine months of his six-year military commitment left to serve. As a result, Bush became a member of the Air Force Reserves and was transferred to the authority of the Air Reserve Personnel Center (ARPC) in Denver, Colorado. Because this was supposed to be a temporary assignment, ARPC had to review Bush's records to determine where he should ultimately be assigned. That examination would have led to three conclusions: That Bush had "failed to satisfactorily participate" as defined by United States law and Air Force policy, that TXANG could not account for Bush's actions for an entire year, and that Bush's medical records were not up to date. Regardless of what actions ARPC contemplated when reviewing Bush's records, all options required that Bush be certified as physically fit to serve, or as unfit to serve. ARPC thus had to order Bush to get a physical examination, for which Bush did not show up. ARPC then designated Bush as AWOL and a "non-locatee" (i.e. a deserter) who had failed to satisfactorily participate in TXANG, and certified him for immediate induction through his local draft board. Once the Houston draft board got wind of the situation, strings were pulled; and documents were generated which directly contradict Air Force policy, and which were inconsistent with the rest of the records released by the White House. Now that you know the facts, I hope you will lay them out more completely in a future article as you would undoubtedly do for any Democrat or Independent running for the presidency who in fact deserted his duty--not as a matter of opinion of mine or anyone else, but as shown by existing documents. Sincerely, RA in LA Subject: status of letter to Boston Globe on Andrew Card's remarks As of today, Sept 6, neither my letter nor any other letter has been published in the Boston Globe in reaction to the article that BuzzFlash posted as the first of its Top 5 Headlines on Sept 5. Manchild Bush Thinks He's a Father to a Nation of Children: White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said that President Bush views America as a ''10-year-old child" in need of the sort of protection provided by a parent. The letter I sent to the Globe was posted in the BuzzFlash mailbag for Sept 4. On the Boston Globe website for Sept 6 this article is still the second most frequently mailed article on Monday. I was unable to find out the total for the week. So I sent the letter below to the Globe's ombudsman. I also left a tel message 617 929-3020. To the ombudsman - Even today, Sept 6, the Globe's list of most frequently emailed articles has as its second most emailed article at 49 emails, an article published on A27, Sept 2 by Sarah Sweitzer under the headline "Card says president sees America as a child needing parent." (My attempts on the Globe website to get the article count for the past week caused my computer to freeze 4 times, so I gave up.) I was struck by the quote by Andrew Card and emailed the letter below on Sept 3. An article generating a lot of interest among Globe readers, even several days later, would, I'd guess, prompt letters from a number of readers. After all, what the president thinks about the American people is certainly always important news and is especially relevant in this election season. So why have no letters been published? Letters on Globe articles usually appear within a few days of publication. If letters are in press for some day this week I withdraw my complaint. But if not, I think the Globe's not publishing letters allows the story to die. By these kind of editorial decisions the rest of us are having our news managed for us. I will say, however, that I did not see Andrew Card's remarks published in the New York Times. That is a higher level of editorial suppression. Yours truly, Colleen Clark Cambridge, MA I'll keep you all posted of further developments. Subject: Debate Controversy On Sunday, September 5, on This Week with George Stephanapolous, Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman once again simply would not commit himself to a clear and specific statement that Bush would appear for three debates with John Kerry. This is the second time he's dissembled on the question. In early August, Tim Russert asked Mehlman on Meet the Press if Bush would attend all three debates, and he demurred then also. Mark my words (and anyone reading this should cut and paste it for future reference because I hope you can use it against me next month to prove I was wrong), Bush has no intention of appearing to debate Kerry on three separate occasions. Ain't gonna happen folks; ain't gonna happen. The handwriting is on the wall. The Republicans want to weasel out of the debates, and they want to continue to use slander and smear patented Bush tactics against Kerry in the general election campaign. More swift boat liar slime, but no standing at a podium to debate Kerry, mano 'a mano. So, what I'm suggesting is, let's turn it right around on them and use this as a battering ram against the Republicans. Here's the taunt I would like to see all Democrats lay down against Bush: "Only an economic girly man would refuse to stand up to his opponent toe to toe to debate him about the loss of jobs and health care in this country"! Donald P. Russo, Bethlehem, Pa. Subject: Huh? BuzzFlash, As I marvel at the incredible, unfathomable debate regarding Senator Kerry's service as compared to the village idiot's, I remain completely perplexed as to why the matter of Bush's excused absence to help run a political campaign has not been a part of the debate. Excused absence to run a political campaign? From National Guard service? Happens all the time I'll bet. Except that I've talked to friends all over the country, my age(late 50's) and younger, who have never heard of such a thing. Never, nope, never. Not one single instance could I find of a NG service member being excused to work in a political campaign, yet the issue slumbers or is completely buried. Work in a political campaign instead of fulfilling his obligation? Sure, happens all the time! Come on media, come on pundits, as usual you're ignoring a real issue just to wallow in right wing trash........and at their behest. A BuzzFlash reader, a proud and defiant liberal, and a vet. Re: "BUSH 'TOOK COCAINE AT CAMP DAVID'; And wife Laura liked dope, says book" This will set the White House on Code Red. What will Rove do? a) Attack Kitty Kelley b) Attack Sharon Bush c) Blame John Kerry d) Have Tom Ridge declare a terror alert e) Have John Ashcroft announce a terrorist capture bob fertik democrats.com Subject: W gets a free pass again John Kerry has added new staff to the campaign team, had a 90 minute chat with Bill Clinton and will try to liven up his homestretch with some aggressive tactics. One of the pieces of advice Kerry received was to stop talking about Vietnam and his military service. I agree. Kerry should stop talking about HIS service but should always talk about W's missing months, convenient lost records and unproduced DD214. Since Kerry will no longer be talking about military service, you can be sure W will not bring it up. The swift boaties have successfully turned logic and reality into the bizzaro world. Kerry: served, wounded, awarded = questionable. Bush: med exam no show, awol at best but could be classified as deserter = ok, so what, who cares. The media in this country should be ashamed. The people of the military should be ashamed to even consider voting for Bush. The general population of this country should be ashamed. Once again the people are ignorant, uninformed and lied to. And once again, the shrub gets a free pass. Bob Lambert Northridge, CA Subject: What courage? Is it courage to wait seven minutes until new or unsoiled pants were brought to you when you learned that our country was UNDER ATTACK? Is it courage to be afraid of the questions of a frail,,,,but very dignified and honest journalist...Helen Thomas.? Is it courage to only attend rallies where the people have been PRE-SELECTED? Is it courage to have lost a battle with a moving sofa and a choking pretzel? Is it courage to use others to smear your opponents? Is it courage to take a nation into an illegal invasion based solely on LIES? Is it courage to steal an election? Just asking.... Jocelyn Miami, Florida Subject: No reaction to girlie-man? The governator made his girlie-man stab at the rethuglican convention and no one said anything. Any way you slice it, that is an insult to every woman in America. Is being a girl so awful? Don't I remember something about equality? Homophobia no doubt explains why the women in the convention did not leave after they were slandered. After all, it is a right wing core belief and a party wedge issue. But what about every other woman who was bashed? What about the women news commentators? Not a whimper. Even the Democrats said nothing. The liberal world is terrified by these guys. The are afraid to call out their viciousness. Schwarzenegger asserts the kind of power that is only useful if he intends to attack you. Of course it would be moot if he didn't have a record of just that. If that is the intent of the claim, it is assault. If it is assisted by the rest of party, it is conspiracy to assault. This is a nightrider tactic. That is where we have been led - rule by a virtual KKK. Talk back to the bullies and all the other coward bullies will go for you.with knife in the back attacks. Well, I'm now looking for the groups that will return fire. Will it be unfounded, or at best unsupported? Sure. Do I care? No. Let the world know Bush is off the wagon. Proof? Who needs it? No one debunks these internet rumors anyway. My friend heard Cheney gets money from Halliburton for every truck they use in Iraq and more from Halliburton for everything the company ships to Iran. Another buddy heard that Bush gets a cut of every barrel of oil pumped in to the strategic reserve - that is why he keeps filling it and that makes gas prices sky high. Make this stuff up and float it on every talk show in the US. Put it into every email list you can find. Send it out with the headline "Send this to all your friends." This world is so gullible that it will start to stick. And if even one rumor turns out to be have a hint of truth to it, it will snowball and soon people will think they are all true. A Reader in Illinois Subject: Kerry needs a kukri Dear B-F A Kukri is the scimitar- like knife which those fearsome and wonderful soldiers, the Ghurkas carry. When the knife is drawn from its scabbard the soldier must draw blood! Now if we can only get Kerry to wear and use a verbal Kukri we might start winning the battle against "What. me worry George Bush". This bloody man has so many chinks in his armor starting with the Coup d'etat. His whole miserable forays into foreign policy-insulting friend a foe alike. His depression era domestic policies. His inability to think and speak at the same time. His reliance on a single party government - a certain harbinger of future fascism in this once noble and great country. My goodness surely Kerry's advisors can build a campaign on the myriad faults of this recovering alcoholic. I am so angry at Kerry. He is too much a gentleman. And if he carries on in this vein we shall lose the election to these ignorant yahoos. Kerry should realize that half of our electorate is as dumb as mud and one has to spell out simply and repetitively the policies we should pursue to win and change the direction of the country. I understand James Carville and Paul Begala are joining the campaign. That will be a great help. Fire that damn Zell Miller from the Dem. Party. He should really occupy a room in a special bedlam! Thx for hearing me out. If you guys and your readers could only vote early and often! A. Leslie Palmer, Mill Valley, Calif. Subject: Keep the Faith Dear BuzzFlash, I just got back from Seattle's big annual music festival, "Bumbershoot", and I have to give you a report. Newly reformed hip hop legends, "Public Enemy", were awesome! They did all kinds of anti-Bush stuff in front of thousands of screaming kids, and made a big push for recognizing the whole world... not just the U.S. I am a 59 year old white guy who was right in there with them chanting "F---- George Bush!" Meanwhile, there were people in the crowd carrying clipboards and registering people to vote. "Naz" also did some political stuff, but for my money, there's nothing like the old pros... Public Enemy. They rule! Earlier I played my own set of music at the blues stage in front of about 2,000 people with "Nick Vigarino's Meantown Blues". I surprised the band by throwing in my own impromptu political rant, "Oh say can you see what they're doin' to me? Turnin' this country to a monarchy!..." Seattle gave me a rousing cheer and I was quite gratified by it. I'm so proud of Seattle... one of the leading cities in the pro-democracy movement. Right on, Seattle! Don't believe the polls, folks, and don't give up the faith! The spirit of a free America rings out loud and clear. George Bush ain't gonna win this thing. Rob Moitoza Musician/Activist/U.S. Navy Veteran Seattle, WA Georgie boy wants our Soc. Sec. to be put in the hands of an insurance company, so we can handle our own money. What's to stop these companies from going bankrupt? And how in heavens name is Georgie going to rob our Soc. Sec. to pay for his mistakes if the insurance Co, take over. This does not sound like a very good idea, something is wrong here. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Polls????? Well, come to find out, that the poll that we have been hearing so much about, was taken right after the convention....and 974 republicans were polled...and it still was only a ten point jump...what an awesome thing!! Well, after the week was over, and real pollsters got in on the fray...Zogby, found that the Bush boost was only 2 points, if that....and Rasmussen, the same. Who do they think we are....? Are these people, if they get elected (for the first time) ever going to be truthful about anything? I fear not...just another reason to kick them the hell out!!! Shirley............St.Louis Subject: Kerry's position on the Iraq war I just don't get it. Why has Kerry allowed the Bushies to put him in a box regarding the Iraq war? He seems to bounce back and forth off the walls and give them ammunition to use against him. Where's the courage of his convictions, such as that which Kucinich and Dean displayed uncompromisingly regarding Iraq? I heard Kerry say its the "wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time". Listen, if that's what he really believes, then why the hell is he telling us he'll try to get the troops out by the end of his first term?! The war's wrong, unjustified, but we've gotta stay the course because we're there? How many people died in SE Asia because of that kind of thinking? Does that mean that he'll commit our troops to four more years of a war that he doesn't believe in? Kerry of all people should know better, since he was once on the receiving end of that kind of thinking. He though he was going to play it safe back when the war was popular, and now he's paying for it by having to either agree with the war in some way, or endlessly defend his apparent change of stance and try to reword yet it again to make it more palatable. If he really thinks this war is wrong, then when he takes office, he needs to do for our soldiers over there in Iraq fighting and dying what the cowardly politicians of the Vietnam era wouldn't do for our soldiers while they were in Vietnam - get them the hell out of the unjustifiable quagmire immediately! He can't have it both ways, and if he tries, it'll cost him the presidency. This, if anything, will be his undoing. We don't belong in Iraq. The majority of Americans now know it was a mistake and not worth it. It didn't and won't make us safer at home, because it was all based on a phantom threat. How much more blood will be on the hands of the politicians in Washington because they continue to promote it in order to justify their initial cowardly position in support of it? My father and I were having a discussion the other day. Just so there's no misunderstanding as to what his position is, he absolutely detests what Bush has done to this country and wants to see him sent back to Crawford as much as I do. But, he's very, very disappointed that Kerry hasn't educated his listeners about Bush on so many of the things that make Bush/Cheney look like a bunch of mobsters in the White House. He told me that, in his opinion, if Kerry keeps taking his campaign and policy queues from his campaign advisors, lets them convince him to remain silent on these issues thus giving Bush pass after pass, and can't make up his mind what he stands for and then STAND FOR IT, he doesn't deserve to be president, Bush or no Bush. I have to agree with him. Senator Kerry, if you're reading this, let me just say this in closing. If you really believe this war is the wrong war, then make the commitment to get our troops out immediately, not in four years. If you'll show the courage of your convictions and not let yourself fall into the same trap that the 1960s-1970s politicians did, I'll stand by you come hell or high water. Don't you see that our troops over there in Iraq now are in the same boat you were in while in Vietnam? They deserve better now, as you did then. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Clout with Kerry? Do you have the ability to get through to this campaign? WHY is Kerry answering Bush & Cheney's questioning of his remarks (some of which are teeth crunching to we Democrats) instead of forcefully saying: There they go again! (Yes, use Reagan's phrase against them)..."They want to attack me instead of talking about the loss of jobs, the destruction of Social Security, the destruction of the environment, the destruction of the middle class."....Yes - tell them to use that word destruction over and over again - paint them as the evil they are. As it now stands, the Democrats on my street feel it's over - the warlords have won. Rita Lombard, Columbia, Md. Subject: Bush's National Guard File Missing Records/LET'S GET MAD ABOUT THIS! Dear Folks, I have about had it with the GOP lashing out at Senator Kerry's two tours of duty in Viet Nam and calling into question his patriotism. Reading this article below has me so enraged. There is NO question about Senator Kerry's heroism in that war, what questions are never discussed are these missing records that have been brought up before. We must ALL be Senator Kerry's mouth piece as we speak with voters and write letters to your local papers should they discuss this or yet again, that swift boat issue which is not really an issue and we must say categorically as Senator Edwards did on Friday night in Wisconsin where he said, "ENOUGH!" Forget those polls taken by Newsweek and Time magazines. Do NOT let them deter any of us from getting this job done. Our job is to take back this country from that band of thugs and elect a man who had standing shoulder to shoulder with him at our convention a true Band of Brothers. Democratically Yours, Mary! OUR MESSAGE TO BUSH MUST BE, "READY, AIM, AND YOU ARE FIRED!" * * * Bush's National Guard File Missing Records By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer (Snip) WASHINGTON - Documents that should have been written to explain gaps in President Bush (news - web sites)'s Texas Air National Guard service are missing from the military records released about his service in 1972 and 1973, according to regulations and outside experts. Subject: Discredited Republican pollster Frank Luntz Discredited Republican pollster Frank Luntz made rounds on MSNBC convention coverage with flawed focus group; nobody pointed out his partisanship Discredited Republican pollster Frank Luntz, CEO and president of Luntz Research Companies, made four appearances during MSNBC's coverage of the Democratic (July 28 and July 29) and Republican (September 1 and September 2) National Conventions, touting flawed focus groups in three of his appearances. Not once during any of these appearances did any MSNBC anchor or commentator mention Luntz's partisan Republican ties or questionable ethical standards. The overall results of Luntz's convention studies were not overtly in favor of either presidential candidate -- the focus groups' results for each convention generally favored each convention's featured party. But three of his four focus groups showed an institutional bias toward President George W. Bush. One Luntz focus group held during the DNC compared Gore 2000 voters to Bush 2000 voters. But he conducted three other groups (one during the DNC and two during the RNC) in which he compared Republicans' reactions to speeches to the combined reactions of Democrats and Independents. Furthermore, during his September 2 appearance on MSNBC, Luntz described those groups as "Republicans" and "Democrats"; but onscreen, they were identified as "GOP" and "Dem/Ind." On July 28, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews described Luntz as "a great pollster," but as Media Matters for America has noted, Salon.com reported in 2000 that there is little reason to trust his polls. In 1997, the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) reprimanded Luntz for his polling work on the Republican Party's 1994 Contract with America campaign platform. The Salon.com article described Luntz as "possibly the best example of what we could call the pollster pundit: someone who both purports to scientifically poll the opinions of the public, and then also interpret that data to support his own -- in Luntz's case, conservative -- point of view." Luntz has explained his own methodology as follows: "Say you poll on an environmental issue, and on eight of the 10 questions the numbers are in your favor. Why release the other two? It's like being a lawyer." MSNBC's failure to identify Luntz's party affiliation notwithstanding, the pollster has conducted polls for Republicans and has made his preference for the 2004 presidential election clear. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on September 2, "Earlier this year, GOP pollster Frank Luntz advised Republicans to never talk about Iraq or homeland security without first mentioning how '9/11 changed everything.'" The Cleveland Plain Dealer noted on September 1 that "Republican pollster Frank Luntz did his best Tuesday to pump up Ohio's Republicans at a delegation breakfast. 'If you guys fail, if John Kerry becomes president by a percent or half a percent, I think you're going to be pretty regretful,' he said." Despite Luntz's questionable ethical standards and partisan ties, the print media covered his convention focus groups thoroughly. Stories appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the New York Post. As The Washington Post noted, "White House communications director Dan Bartlett, citing Luntz's finding and his own impressions, said in an interview that the [Senator Zell] Miller speech seemed to be effective." Beatrice Nyborg Subject: NYT article about capture of Ibrahim - another surprise? Hello, It looks like the Iraqi security forces caught the Bushies by surprise here: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/06/international/middleeast/06iraq.html The Iraqi’s captured Hussein’s VP but didn’t talk to them first before announcing the capture, now the Iraqi puppet government has its strings being pulled to say that the capture is “baseless”. It sure looks like the same tactics used before. Capture first then wait until the timing is best to reveal the capture. Wait until there’s some bad news or Kerry is on the rise and then let this one out. Please post this article. This tactic must be exposed over and over again. Thanks, BW Subject: The Family I happened onto a C-Span program today featuring Cate Edwards, Vanessa and Alex Kerry and Andre Heinz at a question/answer forum at Virginia University. If anyone has an opportunity to see these young people in action, take that opportunity and you will easily see who the Kerrys and Edwards are, what kind of people they are, what they believe in and their values and what they have to offer this country. These young adults, these children of politicians are amazing and they didn't get like that without a tremendous amount of solid guidance, ethics and values from their parents. You don't gain that kind of poise, an ability to articulate well your thoughts and opinions, or that kind of authenticity at their young age through money and a good education alone. You gain it by being listened to, valued and respected by your family while growing up and you learn to listen, value and respect others. You learn a confidence and poise by being a part of the opportunities your family provides, and you learn it by having parents who take the time to teach the values of being part of humanity. These were young people who had been taught to give back, not just take, to listen, not just talk, to value, not demand to be valued. All four of them have had advantages most people will never have but they were solid and down to earth, showing not one sign of arrogance or egotism or the type of condescending attitude one often associates with people of "priviledge." Listen to them and you will know John and Teresa Heinz Kerry, and John and Elizabeth Edwards, you will know them very well. Who they are comes through loud and clear by way of their children. These are people who will serve this country in an extraordinary manner giving freely the gifts they have bestowed on their children. They will listen, value, promote and respect the American people, that is something you hope for in your leaders and rarely get, after watching their very young adult children, I know it's something they give to everyone. Sally A. McDonald Subject: GOP values in $$$ Buzz, The piece on Bush's daughters partying habits, conveniently deleted now from NYPost, is outrageous. How dare W preach "values" to us with a straight face when his little darlings spend $4,500 on liquor in one evening -- in the midst of RNC, when all nation's eyes are on them (and when soldiers' mothers scrimp to buy and send bulletproof vests to their kids in Iraq). The Bushmen (and women) know no decency, have no shame. $4,500 is half of the total yearly income for so many American families. And then there is this nugget from NYT, talking about Perle's creative ways to boost his income via Hollinger machinations (this quote was used in defense of Perle, by the way): Richard has always been willing to take the highest risks, playing for the highest stakes on policy issues over the years and often winning, but this is also really a story of being seduced by money," said Mr. Gelb, a former official at the State and Defense departments and a former columnist at The New York Times. "People in the foreign policy world do not make a lot of money. They go to think tanks, government, academe, and generally get $125,000 to $150,000 a year. When you are touched by lightning and manage to get into the inner sanctum to make money, the opportunities are delicious." http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/06/business/media/06perle.html What?! $150,000 a year is not a lot of money?! GOPers are so woefully out of touch with American reality. How can they begin to pretend to represent our -- the majority of Americans' -- interests? Why would anyone vote for them (anyone not making $300,000+ a year, that is -- and that's 99% of Americans)? They deserve to be kicked out of Washington for good. A Buzzer. Subject: Rah Rah Ree There is no such thing as a low blow when dealing with the Bush Family or other right-wing Texas politicians. Never forget who you are dealing with. An ex-nice guy, dean glaze austin, texas [BuzzFlash Note: That's one of our favorite cheers: "Rah Rah Ree, Kick Them in the Knee, Rah Rah Ras, Kick Them in the Other Knee." It ranks up there with this (author unknown): "When you've seen one non-sequitur, the price of tea in China."] Subject: 780 KIA since Bush "bring em on" taunt Since President Bush taunted the Iraqi insurgents on July 2, 2003 with the phrase "bring 'em on!" - 780 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq. God knows how many soldiers were seriously wounded during this time frame. Of course this matters little in Bush's black and white world. It is easy to taunt the enemy from behind a wall of secret service protection, especially when the soldiers you are sacrificing are from the lower and middle class, just like Vietnam. I bet he would not have been so arrogant and stupid if his two daughters were in Iraq right now. It is easy to be macho and arrogant when you are putting someone else's kids in harms way. All this blowhard macho posturing reminds me of a grade school bully, more than the "strong leader" he pretends to be. These certainly aren't the statements of a mature adult who understands the complexity of the world. Hopefully next time he will think more before he speaks. http://icasualties.org/oif/ Mike in Seattle SHUT-UP GOES GRASS ROOTS We are bombarded by Republican/Conservative TV and radio from all directions. Of course individuals can choose to listen to what they please in the privacy of their home or car but often those of us who don't choose to listen have no choice --i.e. when it is aired openly in restaurants, banks, bars, retail stores etc. In order to change this, and maybe along the way even affect Fox News and conservative radio policy, there needs to be a grass roots effort to get their attention. For example I live in middle Tennessee and my bank just opened an office near my small business. The new bank has a big-screen TV and it had Fox News on blasting the Republican/Bush line. I complained to the manager (obviously a Bush Republican) that I and other Democrats were offended by this and should not have to hear it. After a couple of emails to the bank President and phone calls to the local manager they decided not to have Fox News on constantly during banking hours. I made a small but needed difference. This is significant in that all Democrats and freethinking Independents do not have to endure Fox News and conservative radio in public places –we can and should make our thoughts and feelings heard. Any public business (restaurants, banks, bars, etc.) should know that --like second hand smoke-- we can not enjoy our experience with Fox News and conservative radio on in the background. Send comments to Fox News or conservative radio probably does very little to change their thinking but if we hit them in the pocket book maybe we can make a difference. Here are a few suggestions: 1. As a business owner do not advertise on Fox TV channels, conservative radio, or in papers that support the Republican/Bush agenda. And tell them WHY you will not advertise. 2. As a consumer call, email or write local and national businesses (they usually have 800 numbers) who advertise on conservative talk radio and Fox News and tell them WHY you will not buy, support or use their product. 3. Tell owners and managers of restaurants, bars, retail stores, banks, e-business. etc. that you are offended by Fox News and conservative radio and will not be back as long they are on. 4. As a taxpayer do not allow your money to support the airing of Fox News or conservative talk radio in city, county, state or federal facilities. Complain to the powers that be. 5. Switch from Direct TV to Dish Network. And tell them WHY you are switching: You do not want your money used to support the Republican/Conservative/Bush agenda via Rupert Murdoch –whose company is significant owner of Direct TV. Money talks --our complaints to business and advertisers will not go unheard. Spread the word. Larry Pinkerton (Small Business Owner) Subject: John Kerry for a great president Repubs and Bush supporters keep asking what John Kerry has done for this country. I say check the following, because he has done much good, and will do much more as president. There is absolutely no comparison between him and the worst president in this country's history - George W. Bush. http://www.issues2000.org/John_Kerry.htm RB Subject: Brass knuckles Dear BuzzFlash, An article in today’s SALON spoke about the vast amount of advice Kerry is receiving regarding what seems to be his inadequate campaign. And I suppose that all of us BuzzFlashers very much feel like hopping in and adding our three cents. I know I do. At the Democratic National Convention we heard ad nauseum: “No Bush bashing...Keep it nice...Be polite, be civilized...Don’t be like them...Stay positive.”...etc. Oh, yeah? In fighting against this regime that was not so delicately shoved down our throats, you must know them for precisely what they are...and they are not nice. It’s practically euphemistic to call them liars, cheats, bullies. They fight dirty, indeed filthy. For them truth is an irrelevant, tooth-fairy concept for fools. Do you realize that there has not been with this band of thugs one iota of accountability for anything, including their criminal negligence that led to almost 3,000 murdered Americans? They use brass knuckles, they leap out from alleyways, they stab in the back and accuse you of deceit, they repeat over and over again lies too many to enumerate while screaming about good character and family values. In brief, our reason, sanity, logic, decency are for them nothing more than pitiful weapons for pitiful people. What to do? Easy - blast out the truth, but blast it as loudly, simply, and clearly as they do their lies: devastated economy, our nation now largely feared and detested by much of the world, our environment being rapidly despoiled, our soldiers torturing prisoners (remember that?), millions of jobs lost or degraded, not one social promise kept, breakdown of the all-important separation of church and state, a growing list of American dead in Iraq, thousands of Iraqis killed by us (no reference, ever, to this by the regime), official indifference to and cover up of our returning war dead, the exposing of a CIA agent, the demoralization of our intelligence services, attacks against labor that include to a large extent the abolition of overtime, the catering to the pharmaceutical industry, the denigration of war veterans (band-aids and Purple Hearts), the reduction of benefits for the military and their dependents, the nightmarish secrecy of everything the regime does, the direct collusion between the regime and corporations (Halliburton/Enron but the tip of the iceberg).... That is, use the truth as a brass knuckle as they do lies. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t, but by God, we will have tried and nasty though it all might have been, we can claim for what it’s worth that at least we spoke the truth - loudly! Being delicate and nice is no way to take on gutter rats. Norman Weinstein NYC Subject: Bush's Deifying Symbolism Note has been made of the various photographs set up by the Bush PR machine, which appear to give him a halo, or set him against a cross as a backdrop (one, as I recall, with astounding words in light that virtually announce him as the savior). The image created at the Republican Convention last night was astounding and unmistakable. The cross-emblazened podium stood out, as I'd read mention of it in the papers (apparently Jewish groups took offense, surprise surprise). More than that, for me, however, were the ascending circles upon which his platform was built. In Dante's three-part Divine Comedy, the third part details the protagonist's ascension through the nine spheres of heaven, until he at last arrives at "The Empyrean" -- the highest of the high, where God's throne and only the truly blessed souls are found. Take a look at Bush's stage last night. You guessed it - nine rings building up to the magical tenth platform, a presidential seal, atop which sits a cross and George Bush. The "stairs" were apparently purely decorative, as they never appeared to be used for anything, other than signifying "The Empyrean." The ascending circles of heaven in Dante's Paradiso are often noted to be a reflective inversion of the nine circles of hell in Inferno, the first part of the trilogy. So I watched my screen upside down, putting Bush at the bottom of the lowest circle of Hell, where a three headed Satan could feast on him, along with Brutus and Judas, for all eternity. Hey - whatever you gotta do to get through his speeches, right? John C. Pitblado Hartford, CT Subject: Read it and Weep Family wasn't ready for this: Dad recalled ---------------------------------- Reserve obligation may mean tour in Iraq for guardsman, 43 By Howard Wilkinson Enquirer staff writer MOUNT ORAB - Eight years ago, when Jim Dillinger resigned his captain's commission in the Ohio National Guard after almost 17 years of service, he thought his turn as a citizen-soldier had come to an end. At last, Dillinger thought, he could start moving up the ladder in his civilian career as a plant safety officer. He and his wife, Tammy, could concentrate on raising their three children and watching them grow. Dillinger was wrong. On a summer Saturday afternoon in August, the 43-year-old former Army guardsman walked to the mailbox outside his family's frame house on a long, narrow, country road in Brown County and found an envelope that will change his life - and the lives of his family - for some time to come. ---------------------------------- Entire article: http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/09/07/loc_loc1asold.html ~ Cathy Subject: Cooked Books? I think the Bush administration is cooking the books with the 200 billion dollars supposedly spent on the Iraq war. If they had truly spent that much, it just couldn't be the total disaster that it is. I think several billion has to have gone into the Bushies' back pockets. Has anybody collected any information about this? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Media SHAME.... To those of you in the media who allowed our current president to completely politicize our national tragedy of Sept. 11th for his personal meager gain...again without question...I say SHAME!!! It isn't bad enough, that you have aided and abetted in this administration's rampant deceit over four years, but you now acquiesce in it's blatant manipulation of a national tragedy for crass political gain. Gentlepersons of the media, I ask; "HAVE YOU NO SHAME?" Frank X. Kleshinski An American It's not race-baiting; hardly ethnic profiling, and so long as the incumbent allows our Saudi "allies" to tap dance around 9/11, it's in America's interest to TURN UP THE HEAT on the House of Saud. So where ARE the 527 ads CONNECTING Saudi political(petro financial?) of George W. Bush to lack of substantive Saudi PROGRESS in destroying Saudi financial, ideological networks & sub-networks essential to winning the "war against terror?" Or those missing radio/tv blurbs AMPLIFYING Saudi complaints about Kerry being too TOUGH -- "'He almost singled us out by name,' grouse[d Crown Prince Abdullah]." - - - - - Washington Outlook \| CAPITAL WRAPUP House of Saud, House of Bush Relations between the Bush and al-Saud clans have long been cozy -- and complaints by some Washington conservatives about the involvement of Saudi citizens and money in September 11 haven't fundamentally changed that. There's no ambiguity among leading princes in Riyadh when it comes to the U.S. Presidential elections: "It's Bush all the way," says a senior member of the House of Saud. According to this prince, the 1.3 million barrel-a-day increase in Saudi oil production, announced on Aug. 11, was designed in part to give a boost to George W. Bush -- although Riyadh would have eventually moved to damp down soaring prices. What's more, senior members of the Saudi royal family, including effective ruler 80-year-old Crown Prince Abdullah, were offended by Democratic nominee John Kerry's perceived anti-Saudi statements at the Democratic Convention. "He almost singled us out by name," grouses the prince. ----- "Can Lawyer Bashing Win Votes for Bush?" - BusinessWeek A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: OB-GYNs Hello Again to BuzzFlash and to all BuzzFlash readers, "We've got an issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB-GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." My goodness gracious. . . I'm surprised he didn't call them "Groinicologists." Warmest Regards, GK, a Fervently Loyal, Devoted and Proud Liberal BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Is it TOO MUCH to ask a President to care about his country? Is it too much to ask a President to care about his country? Is it too much to ask a President to care about poverty, unemployed, or about creating an economy where people can live a decent life? Is it too much to ask a President to care about ALL Americans, not just the ones who sign loyalty oaths? Is it too much to ask a President to NOT RUSH into sending our children to war before having ALL the facts -- and before having a plan to win the peace? This President is a FAILURE and has always been a failure. He's even needed help to succeed as a failure. He was a failure in school, but his dad helped him get in. He was a failure with his businesses. He was a failure as governor. He couldn't even become president without being helped by the supreme court. After being helped time and again, this president does not think Americans deserve help! He has failed Americans. Anyone who supports this President is rewarding failure -- and does not care about this country!! Judith Subject: Catastrophic Success Hi buzz, Every time Bush opens his mouth to expel yet another catchy sound-bite I'm struck by the fact that it all has a double meaning in which there's a dark and sinister undertone hidden within his phrases. 'Turning the corner' - underestimating our intelligence he assumes everyone is going to put a positive spin on this, when, in fact he has turned the corner which leads us not where we should be going, but where he intends to take us. We will be forced to go backwards for a while undoing his trip down his filthy side alley. 'spreading the peace' - 'liberating the Iraqi people' - 'economic growth' - 'tax cuts create jobs'- 'no child left behind' , etc, etc. All true statements but if you look at the facts there's nothing positive in what has really happened. Every single sound-bite can be used to illustrate the opposite of what he hopes we'll think. Now he uses 'catastrophic success'. I think he's right, only not in the way he wants us to think. He and the people who put him in power have been the most successful people ever to bring deliberate and pre-meditated catastrophe to the entire world. His Mob planned this for decades, and they have been horribly, disastrously, and catastrophically successful beyond our wildest nightmares. Judith Foster, Berkeley MSNBC Bias just another example of msnbc's bias! they had a tape of john kerry at a rally saying no one there had to sign a loyalty oath and no one had to ask scripted questions. then that stupid diamond girl they have following him around came on and said "to be fair john kerry's audiences are friendly too" HELLOOO, we expect their audiences to be largely friendly! the point was the kerry people don't give you scripted questions to ask him and you don't have to sign a loyalty oath! A BuzzFlash Reader
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