October 1, 2004

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.

THIS IS PART 2 OF THE SEPTEMBER 23, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. CLICK HERE FOR PART 1.

Subject: Quotes

So president Bush draws on Cicero? Draw on this:

To disregard what the world thinks of us is not only arrogant but utterly shameless.
[Lat., Negligere quid de se quisque sentiat, non solum arrogantis est, sed etiam omnino dissoluti.]
- De Officiis (1, 28) [Reputation]

No well-informed person has declared a change of opinion to be inconstancy.
[Lat., Nemo doctus unquam mutationem consilii inconstantiam dixit esse.]
- Epistoloe ad Atticum (bk. XVI, 8) [Consistency]

Any man may make a mistake; none but a fool will stick to it. Second thoughts are best as the proverb says.
[Lat., Cujusvis hominis est errare; nullius, nisi insipientis, in errore perseverae. Posteriores enim cogitationes (ut aiunt) sapientiores solent esse.]
- Philippicoe (XII, 2) [Thought]

To err is human, but to persevere in error is only the act of a fool.
[Lat., Cujusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare.]
- Philippicoe (XII, 2) [Errors : Proverbs]

http://www.giga-usa.com/gigaweb1/quotes2/quautcicerox011.htm

Michael Urban

Subject: Kerry Rocked the House

Hey Buzz:

You and I both know I'm biased, but that was an all-out smack-down by Kerry tonight in Coral Gables. I watched via my local PBS channel, so I didn't have the benefit of the split screen, but when I switched channels, even the FOX commentators were at a loss immediately after the debate as to how to positively spin it. Their token woman commentator actually said Bush looked "sour" during much of the event. Excellent.

The truth will win out. I was proud of and impressed by John Kerry's performance tonight.

Feeling hopeful (at least for the moment),

A dedicated BuzzFlash reader

Subject: FROM EUPHORIA TO PARANOIA AND REPUGNANT REPTILES

Hi Buzz,

Like most, if not all of you, I was so excited with Kerry's impressive performance against Bush during last night's debate. Kerry appeared strong, intelligent and well prepared. Bush, on the other hand, appeared weak, dim-witted and absolutely lost on the issues. I think he was scared too and he certainly had a bad case of dry-mouth, a byproduct of fear. Did you notice how much water he drank? When I saw the polls following the debate, I was thrilled that Kerry won by unbelievably lopsided numbers. I was euphoric. I went to bed so happy and excited that I worried I might have trouble falling to sleep.

Sleep did come, for a while anyway, until I woke up in a cold sweat because of a dream. I rarely have nightmares, but this one was terrifying. I saw some kind of reptiles, a horrifying cross between snakes and lizards, slithering on their slimy bellies towards their dark, dank holes. Mesmerized, I watched them as a terrible recognition invaded my consciousness. They might have looked like some kind of repugnant reptiles, but they were politicos of the worst kind: Bush, Rove and their cohorts. And they were at their most dangerous stage of existence, beaten and defeated. I knew they'd slither into their damp, black holes and hatch some new nefarious plan to regain their losses.

Awake and shaken, I headed to my computer to sound the clarion call. Be alert America. And be very careful and very, very afraid. God only knows what they'll do now. These people will never give up power without resorting to every dirty trick known to man, and a few yet uninvented. Will it be a new and even dirtier smear campaign against Kerry? Will Ridge's terrorism color-code zoom up to bright, blood red? Or will it be some unspeakable crime against this nation designed to show Bush as the big, brave, macho leader? I don't know about you but I've gone from euphoria to paranoia in the space of a few hours just thinking about it.

Judy Maclean
Colorado

Subject: Debates

It is midnight...and since I have no one else to share it with...I must write to someone......I have hope now!

I was concerned...lately the polls have had Bush double digits ahead of Kerry...and I knew that could not be true, but...............

When I went to my campaign headquarters two days ago....they were out of almost everything...and there were at least 50 people working hard....7 phone bankers...and others just doing all kinds of things.

They are not sure when they can get yard signs in.....and I really have been seeing them springing up, even in this lily white neighborhood.

I think likely....Kerry said the right things about the war...when Bush said that "What the Senator does not tell you is that we were attacked by the terrorists on 911" and I so hoped Kerry would pick up on that...and he did...he retorted back" The president has just said a very important thing..."The terrorist attacked us on 911...the Terrorists, it was Bin Ladin...not Saddam."...To me that was the most important thing Kerry said all evening. You cannot imagine how many people out here, either think that Saddam attacked us, or is trying to do the same thing Bush is doing....trying to infer that Saddam attacked us.....simply because they cannot stand for their man to be that stupid....STUPID!!!!!

Shirley............St.Louis

I really was glad...for me that is what won the debate for him...if anything did. He was good,....he was composed....he never made angry faces like Bush did. There were times, I thought Bush was going to scream....but, the place stopped him. Kerry...is cool....he will do what he has to do....and bring in other countries...to help with the straightening out of Iraq...and allow them to rebuild.

I do have hope now....and we all need hope...this country cannot take another four years of George Bush!

Subject: President implies Dienbienphu strategy

The President tonight implied that he believed in a Dienbienphu strategy in fighting terrorism. He agreed that terrorists were pouring across the borders into Iraq to fight us, the United States. This inevitably calls to mind the ill fated strategy of the French army in Vietnam in 1954 when it decided to draw the Viet Minh communist forces into a final battle. Tragically the French suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of their underrated opponents. Now in Iraq, U.S. forces are anchored in one central position providing easy targets for incoming terrorists. Most likely, the President, who does not demonstrate any great grasp of history, is unaware of this analogy.

Tom Walker

Subject: Bush says we can't afford Homeland Security!

The topic was homeland security. Kerry listed the litany of Bush failures to secure the homeland: trains and subways unsecured, 95% of shipping containers uninspected, air cargo not screened, funding for local police and firefighters not available. Kerry said he wanted to change that.

George said: "I don't think we want to get to how he's going to pay for all these promises." That's exactly what Bush said. Essentially, he said "There's no money available for homeland security."

Come on, Mr. Kerry ... where the heck are ya gonna find the money to pay for keeping us safe?

Bush took that money and SPENT it instead of protecting the country.

A few hundred million spent selling the idea of war to the American people, a couple HUNDRED BILLION for the war, more billions to give tax cuts to the rich, no-bid contracts to friends, and oops, 8 billion dollars just kinda gone missing somewhere in Iraq (I thought I told you to get a receipt, Rummy!).

Somehow or other we don't have any money left to pay for security! Maybe we'll just give another tax cut to the rich and hope it "trickles down" to the police.

Mary Lou Foley
Brewster, MA

Dear Buzz,

I noticed in this article (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/01/politics/01ethics.html) that Tom DeLay's defense for bribing a fellow Republican over the Medicare legislation implies that he does this kind of thing all the time:

In a statement, Mr. DeLay said that he had not meant to violate House rules and that the panel had never ruled on this type of activity before.

Read that again, "...never ruled on this type of activity before." So just how many times has DeLay and the GOP leadership resorted to bribery to advance their corrupt agenda? I'm almost afraid to know the real answer to that question.

Troy Torstrick

Subject: This election is a matter of life and death. Please cover it as such. Please.

Everyone needs to read this. George W. Bush is living in a fantasyland of spin, pretending that things are getting better. George W. Bush has turned a potential threat into an active threat.

Here is an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal Reporter's E-mail:

It's hard to pinpoint when the 'turning point' exactly began. Was it April when the Fallujah fell out of the grasp of the Americans? Was it when Moqtada and Jish Mahdi declared war on the U.S. military? Was it when Sadr City, home to ten percent of Iraq's population, became a nightly battlefield for the Americans? Or was it when the insurgency began spreading from isolated pockets in the Sunni triangle to include most of Iraq? *Despite President Bush's rosy assessments, Iraq remains a disaster. If under Saddam it was a 'potential' threat, under the Americans it has been transformed to 'imminent and active threat,' a foreign policy failure bound to haunt the United States for decades to come.*

Iraqis like to call this mess 'the situation.' When asked 'how are thing?' they reply: 'the situation is very bad."

What they mean by situation is this: the Iraqi government doesn't control most Iraqi cities, there are several car bombs going off each day around the country killing and injuring scores of innocent people, the country's roads are becoming impassable and littered by hundreds of landmines and explosive devices aimed to kill American soldiers, there are assassinations, kidnappings and beheadings. The situation, basically, means a raging barbaric guerilla war. In four days, 110 people died and over 300 got injured in Baghdad alone. The numbers are so shocking that the ministry of health -- which was attempting an exercise of public transparency by releasing the numbers -- has now stopped disclosing them.

Insurgents now attack Americans 87 times a day.

We did not need to fight this particular war. We had a real war to fight and we did a half assed job of it in Afghanistan because certain members of the Bush administration used 9/11 as an excuse to go after an old enemy who was not an imminent threat. Invading Iraq played into our real enemy's hands and gave their cause new life and many, many recruits. It lost us friends and allies throughout the world. We are less safe than we would have been if George W. Bush had fought the war we needed to fight instead of the war he wanted to fight.

The American people do not want to believe that our government could make a mistake of such epic proportions. But it did and the man at the top needs to be fired. He is not willing to change course and fix his mistakes, so the American people are going to have to do it for him.

Read the entire piece. Why are you covering this election as if it were a sporting event when it is a matter of life and death. "The situation" is lethal and Americans may have to pay a very heavy price if we don't take this war out of Bush's hands while we have the chance. He and his comrades have shown that they cannot be trusted to wage the war correctly.

HB

Subject: Osama says Vote for Bush!

It would be cool if you could make up a cartoon of OSAMA bin Laden, laughin his a** off, and wearing a VOTE for BUSH button. Because that is exactly what he is doing!

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: If this is Bush's idea of bringing a bad-guy to justice guess he'll send Bin Laden to be Martha Stewart's cell mate.

A.Q. Khan has not been brought to justice or whatever self-serving lie Bush exactly said, and repeated, in the debate. The Pakistani arch-proliferator got a pardon and got to keep the millions he made selling bomb components and plans. If this is Bush's idea of bringing a bad-guy to justice guess he'll be sending Bin Laden to be Martha Stewart's cell mate.

Will Parker

BTW: I never watch 'Imus' but when I turned on the tv this morning, MSNBC was on. Apparently, there were a couple members of his 'broadcast team' who are now former die-hard bush supporters. One guy said something to the effect, "there was only one person on that stage who was presidential last night and it was John Kerry. Bush made a fool of himself, stumbling and bumbling and repeating the same thing over and over. After what I saw, I am going to vote for Kerry."

Imus had a great line he heard from someone: Bush had 30 minutes of material for a 90 minute debate.

Liz

Subject: You need to look at this!!

Last night, Thursday, after watching post-debate coverage on CNN, I was shocked to hear a promotion for CNN’s upcoming coverage of the Vice Presidential debate.

According to the promo, the debate coverage is “sponsored”by Americans for Balanced Renewable Energy. Could this possibly be correct? I know this is a pro “clean coal”advocacy group which has obvious politic leanings. Could you look further into this, because I think this could be a huge story: a news network allowing an advocacy group to sponsor their supposedly unbalanced coverage of the vice presidential debate.

http://www.balancedenergy.org/cct_brochure/page12.asp

Phil

Subject: Bush down one..get Osama ready...

As someone said yesterday, when they pull Osama out in a week and a half, look for the freezer burns....

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Leashes

Hello Again to BuzzFlash and to all BuzzFlash readers,

Toward the conclusion of the 90-minute Bush smack-down from last evening, in a lame attempt at humor, GeeDubya made reference to putting leashes on his daughters.

Could you imagine Karl Rove cringing after watching his Presidential Work-In-Progress getting thoroughly whipped by Senator Kerry on Bush's alleged "home turf" foreign policy?

Rove realized he forgot to explain to GeeDubya that, in a foreign policy debate, after the Abu Ghraib prison abuses:

YOU DON'T BRING UP LEASHES!!

Karl Rove Note to Self - "NO Leash References"

Warmest Regards,

GK, a Fervently Loyal, Devoted and Proud Liberal BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Debate

BuzzFlash,

http://www.BuzzFlash.com/editorial/04/10/edi04069.html

Although Kerry did well, he missed one good opportunity. When asked whether Bush had lied to the American public, Kerry retreated into generalities. He could have listed at least any of a dozen specific lies. Most importantly, that Iraq was involved in 9-11 and that there was a connection between Iraq and Al Quida. That would have put Bush on the spot, in front of a large audience, on two allegations that are still being made by members of his administration. I hope he jumps on future questions like that one.

Larry,
Maryland

Subject: In eight sentences, why we can't win in Iraq.

You can't win a guerilla war by killing all the guerillas.

There are too many of them.

You can only win when you have the support of the people who are backing the Guerillas.

In Iraq, we are the hated occupiers and will never have the support of the general population.

Therefore we can never win in Iraq.

We will just go on losing American troops, killing thousands of Iraqis, and spending endless billions of dollars.

That is, unless George Bush ever admits he was wrong.

Or if he is replaced.

RB

Subject: Kerry's Chance

John Kerry had a unique opportunity to ruffle George W. Bush's feathers last night, to completely rattle his cage.

When the "debate" subject turned to Iran, Kerry spoke about putting sanctions on Iran and letting them work. This is the point where Bush determined that diplomacy just doesn't cut it. After Kerry mentioned using sanctions, on the very next question, which dealt with the Sudan, Bush just couldn't let the Iran issue die. He saw a chance to get in a shot at the Carter administration, the one that his dad and William Casey surreptitiously undermined in October 1980, with a determined covert action taken against the elected government of the United States. Kind of like the coup that took place in 2000.

He just had to blurt out that "It was not my administration that put the sanctions on Iran. That happened long before I arrived in Washington, D. C."

Right there, he left himself exposed. Kerry, who had led a feeble investigation into the Iran-Contra Scandal which Bush's dad helped to orchestrate, should have offered this retort:

"That's correct, your administration didn't impose the sanctions on Iran, but it is the direct descendant of subsequent Republican administrations that flouted those sanctions by dealing with Iran behind the backs of the American people and the American congress. Your Republican predecessor, your father, pardoned the very man who would have implicated him in the intricate minutiae of what is known as the Iran-Contra Scandal. I know because I investigated that scandal and I know where the lies led and what they covered up."

Bush would have become apoplectic and the sneer that is so prominent on Mark Crispin Miller's book would have been unleashed for all of America to see. Hell, Zell Miller's rabid rants would have placed a far second to what would have been seen by the American people if only Kerry had taken off the gloves, engaged in some cutthroat campaigning of his own, and exposed the delicate foundation of lies upon which this administration and its progenitors are based.

Although Kerry did very well last night, he should have trashed this little Louis XVIII (I won't give him the honor of comparing him with Louis XVI), this pretender to the American presidency. I was actually embarrassed for us as a nation last night watching this bumbling idiot stumble over the same trite phrases time and again in response to Kerry's charges.

I was reminded of the Kennedy-Nixon debates which I watched as a ten year old. First of all, the thought that I have been thinking about politics for that long shows that I need to get a life. But, more to the point, George Bush reminded me of Richard Nixon last night. His suit didn't contrast with the background and his tie blended in with it. He was hunched and hunkered down at the podium, a podium for which he was too short, thereby making him appear lost up there, aside from the fact that the man can't speak. This was a friggin' presidential debate. Do you think the man could have studied his lines a little before getting out of the car? Or do he and his handlers really believe the pablum that they are feeding to the American people? Do they honestly believe that continually stating that Kerry changed his mind as the facts changed is enough to fool enough people into voting for Bush? Or have they already settled on how this election will be stolen from us? Do they know which precincts in Ohio will go for Bush thereby giving him that state's electors? Have they finally perfected their plan for stealing Florida yet again?

Speaking of Florida and the Cuban vote. Nice touch, those Viva Bush signs in the background after the debates. Kind of reminds me of what the State Department used to remark about the gatherings of Cubans who listened to Castro's speeches. Banners everywhere with Viva Fidel on them, signs throughout the crowds and on the buildings extolling their Communist leader.

When it comes to the uses of propaganda by this current administration, they look like a combination of Hitler's Germany, Mao's China, Fidel's Cuba, and Il's North Korea. Now there's a scary thought - the people manipulating public opinion in this country can't choose who they'd rather be, so they're trying to be all those demented groups tightly wound into one message.

Bush should get himself to an AA meeting and quickly do a personal inventory. Maybe if he started accepting responsibility for his actions instead of always trying to blame somebody else, things would get safer and saner, not only for him, but for the entire world.

Billy Graham is no Bill W., just as George W. Bush is no Ronald Raygun.

Matt Carmody

Subject: Debate

Good news! On the MSBNC web-site, with over 1 million responses, Kerry is leading the voting 64% to 36% as winning the debate.

Tom M.

Subject: View on the debate from Canada

Dear Buzz,

From my view up here in Canada, the debate looked like a slam-dunk for Kerry. Kerry did what he had to do as the challenger - hold Bush accountable for his pitiful record. Had Al Gore been as assertive during the 2000 debates as Kerry was last night, perhaps your country wouldn't be in the mess it is in.

It was fun to watch Bush straining for words. It was a riot to see the Alfred E. Newman look on his face as Kerry launched political attacks which portrayed Bush as the lying, untrustworthy, stubborn, dumb, incompetent isolationist that he is. Or was that a look of a deer, frozen from the glare of the headlights?

Keep up the pressure Buzz. You're almost there.

A BuzzFlash Reader in Canada
http://polunatic.blogspot.com/

Subject: Debate Poll Results

Dearest Buzz,

USA Today's phone-in poll showed 53% of callers thought Kerry won the debate.

Yet --

54% think Bush is more capable of handling the situation in Iraq.

49% think Bush agrees with them on issues.

50% believe Bush was more believable.

48% feel Bush is more likeable.

54% thought Bush was tough enough for the job.

At first glance it appears that 51% of Americans are uninformed morons.

Then a scary reality kicks in. 51% of Americans actually believe BushCorp is on the right track.

Therefore...51% think the US can wage pre-emptive war without just cause.

51% think the US does not have to abide by the Geneva War Conventions.

51% condone the torture of prisoners of war.

51% believe the US is not accountable to the World Court.

51% believe the US is not accountable to the United Nations.

51% believe the US has a divine right to the oil fields of the world

51% believe that profits of Big Business outweigh any environmental concerns.

Scary...the list could go on and on...maybe 51% of Americans just think brown shirts and jackboots look real sharp.

Tom Coombs

Subject: Big John

There is a renewed hope today, for me and my family, after watching Big John's evisceration of the Little Man in last night's debate.

And did you notice that despite instructions NOT to show both candidates on screen at the same time, most networks had a split screen while each candidate was speaking. This allowed Americans to see the smirking, shirking, slouching, arrogant Little Man at his school yard bully best. And with each Bushspeak (the same mantra over and over and over again), Big John was cool, respectful, never once rolled his eyes, or sighed or showed any hint of condescension. He let the Little Man hang himself with his own words and actions.

By keeping himself in check during this campaign, despite intense pressure to fight as dirty as the GOP has, Big John has saved his ammunition for the end, used his bullets sparingly, but with deadly precision. And he's got a full chamber going into the showdown.

That is wisdom. That is our future Commander in Chief. Remember what Horace said: "Force without wisdom falls of its own weight." Let's watch the Little Man fall, finally.

elaine in petaluma

Subject: Tom DeLay's Illegal Activity

Dear Buzz,

I noticed in this article that Tom DeLay's defense for bribing a fellow Republican over the Medicare legislation implies that he does this kind of thing all the time:

In a statement, Mr. DeLay said that he had not meant to violate House rules and that the panel had never ruled on this type of activity before.

House Ethics Panel Says DeLay Tried to Trade Favor for a Vote (NY Times)

Read that again: "...never ruled on this type of activity before." So just how many times has DeLay and the GOP leadership resorted to bribery to advance their corrupt agenda? I'm almost afraid to know the real answer to that question.

Troy Torstrick

Subject: Scalia: an observation

"I even take the position that sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged." -- The Guardian

An observation: A man is a so-called devout Catholic; a rabid right-wing ideologue, a dedicated Clinton-hater--ranting against his 'affairs'; and is employed by the federal government. Also: A member of the wacky "Opus Dei", a secretive and UBER-right wing Roman Catholic organization with its claws deep into the Vatican. Turns out, too, the guy is just a wee bit on the kinky side.

Antonin Scalia? Nope. Robert Hanssen: disgraced FBI agent and sicko who was so devoted to the tenets of the Church and diligent in honoring his marriage vows that allowed his
friend(s) to watch when he and his wife had sex. Then, of course, there was that relationship with the hooker. His ethics and morality were such 'core values' that he sold out his country and cost the lives of a unknown number of secret operatives.

By the way: another patriot (known as the "Douche of Liberty" by Jon Stewart) is a member of that ignominious organization, Robert Novak.

Can you say "repressed"? How about "deviate"? We can definitely all say "hypocrite"!

Liz Taylor
["cradle to maybe the grave", taught by the nuns, Roman Catholic]
Houston

On Scalia's membership and information on the organization, see: 'Scalia and Opus Dei.'

On Novak:

http://www.nealjconway.com/essays/oneandtrue/opusdei.html

If Opus Dei is trying to dispel the notion that it does not peddle political influence, then its most prominent priest in the U.S., Fr. C.John McCloskey is not helping. As director of the posh new Catholic Information Center at 15th & K St., NW, Washington, DC, "pundit" McCloskey also seems to be an Apostle to the Powerful and Famous (Wasn't there a preacher in a comic strip like that?). He is credited with winning Bob Novak over to Christ and with attempting to convert Sen. Kerry. In fact, the chapel at the center was paid for with hush money received by another McCloskey convert, Tyco International Lawyer, Mark Belnick who has been indicted for said receipt.*

http://www.suburbanguerrilla.blogspot.com/20...

In a nutshell, Opus Dei is an extremist, secretive Catholic cult which subscribes to the notion it is perfectly acceptable to steal or coerce if it furthers the interests of the group. Some other famous members are former FBI director Louis Freeh, FBI agent Robert Hansen (convicted of spying for the Russians - he used some of the proceeds to send his children to Opus schools), and wingnut commentators Bob Novak and Lawrence Kudlow.