October 11, 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 OCTOBER 11, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. CLICK HERE FOR PART 1.
Subject: Thanks :-) Just Wondering
Hi!
Thanks for reading my letter. I'm writing to you about last night's debate...what was wrong with the President? I mean he was yelling for the first 1/2 hour and even attacked the moderator. I was really surprised because he wasn't like that at all in the other debates, esp. 4 years ago. What happened to this guy? If my kids acted like that they would be in big trouble if you know what I mean LOL.
As far as I can see no one (tv/newspapers) seems to be talking about it. A lot of people over here are talking about it though, kind of laughing about it on the one hand and saying that it was like an SNL skit. On the other hand it's made some wonder if that temper is what got us in all this trouble in Iraq.
Anyway, I was wondering if you guys are planning on doing some analysis of this...if not would you consider it? Some people here are saying that he's always been like that, but I think they could be biased or trying to convert people. Some others say that it's a recent change, and he never had a temper before. One person said that he's getting more and more reckless (!). I'm worried, because it's fine to laugh about it now but what if he really does have a problem? If that's the way he acts on tv what's he like 'off camera'? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Anita
Subject: Sinclair Broadcasting needs contacts
They own markets that reach a quarter of the nation will broadcast an anti-Kerry version of his Vietnam record during prime time days before the election and they are demanding all their affiliates show it. Check Sinclair's website to see what they own in your area. They own practically nothing west of Okla. and Texas, except in Calif.
They own Channel 25 and 34 in Oklahoma City.
The numbers to call are 405-478-3434 and 405-843-2525 (Fox 25).
Websites: www.kocb.com and www.kokh.com.
I asked them to do the same to Bush.
Karen Webb
Moore, Ok.
[BuzzFlash Note: The Columbia Journalism Review lists the Sinclair-owned stations.]
Subject: GOP Hypocrite of the MONTH
If you do a GOP Hypocrite of the Month, I think it should go to Tom "Nine Commandments is good enough because I can't find it in my heart to honor my mother even for Jesus" DeLay.
R. Miller
Subject: Exhausting and Stressful!
Dear BuzzFlash,
As hopeful as I am that the American people will rise up and outvote the frauds, how much more of a stacked deck can we take???
Thank you for highlighting two of the latest outrages. I can't believe after all the hype on not showing the TRUTH on TV because it might negatively affect Bush this close to the election that Sinclair is going to show that propaganda BS against Kerry!!! Isn't there something we can do?
Oh, and yes, Bush FLIPPED out during that last debate, but are they going to rerun it a million times and ask if he's stable enough to remain in office? Oh, no. That's just for trumped-up Dean-screams.
Well, we can't stop Sinclair, and we can't force them to rerun the flip-out, but maybe, just maybe we CAN force them to expose Bush's wire.
Even if Kerry manages to get so many votes they can't help but count them I'm not going to relax until January 05 and a real President is physically back in the White House.
robyn su
Subject: Bush's new nickname
I have seena few sites calling him "Furious" George. People seem to like it because that is the way he has been acting lately. It will stick.
Ted T.
Subject: "W" is for Wired
Hey, this fellow below has a good idea! Please link to this...maybe a BuzzFlash reader will follow through!
J. writes:
I have carefully reviewed the image that was taken during the Presidential debates where picture was obtained from the back which show an interesting bulge.
...there are four elements that appear to be "printing" on the back of his suit coat. While it is impossible to identify the system, we can review various equipment of the same size and shape.
1. A "box" section of the device which appears to be located between his shoulder blades, and just over his spine. This is the "bodypack."
2) A wire running vertically up his back across his shoulder blade.
3) A shadow behind his right ear may be an ear-piece, but it is difficult to tell due to the poor resolution of the picture. It would be most unwise for a public figure to use an ear piece that was visible, so this may just be a shadow.
4) There appears to be something actually IN his ear, and it is likely a monitor or queuing prompter.
...Around political events these types of systems are very, very popular as the politician can have a half dozen members of his staff feeding him data, thus creating the illusion the suit has a clue of what he speaks.
When the president visited Boston back in March 2004 he stayed at the Park Plaza Hotel. The signal from the system he was using could clearly be heard 1500+ feet away, and one of his advisors could be heard doing voice checks and then feeding him data about the school he was about to visit.
The funny thing about these kinds of system is that mischief makers can set up a transmitter thousands of feet away and feed persons bogus data, and really cause them to screw up their public appearances. Here are links to some of the more popular systems the government uses, and one which the White House has purchased over the past few years.
http://shure.com/pdf/specsheets/spec_psm/psm700.pdf
R. Miller
Subject: The Town Hall Debate
Bush failed - again. He was on the verge of losing it altogether a few times. If ever a man struggled to control himself and appear calm, cool and collected, he certainly did. He reeks of inability to communicate halfway decently or coherently.
When the person asked him to name three mistakes he had made in office, and what he had done to remedy them, he failed to even mention one. He went into another tirade on his defense of the war in Iraq. Maybe that was on his mind as his worst mistake. He has probably now developed a phobia about the biggest blunder in history ever made by a US president.
He attempted to joke about appointing future USSC judges, however his answer regarding appointing judges who will uphold the Constitution was misleading. His favorite judges are the two most radical right-wing judges on the Supreme Court.
The AOL poll had it even at 50-50, but it is always biased, and no way was Bush even close to winning the debate again. Politics is not like golf, you don't have a handicap to change your score. Once again, he was talking to his base supporters, not the whole nation. Bush is attempting to lead the whole country as if everyone is a member of the Christian right, and Kerry stated that he would not impose his religious beliefs on the country. Bush would like to make this a one religion country - his religion.
The Town Hall Debate (NY Times)
R.B.
Subject: Houston not so deep in the heart of Texas
Firstly, I must say that I really enjoy your site, and I tell my friends about it all the time. I did take the poll on the Houston Chronicle, but I must say that Houston is really a city in flux. Though I live in Austin (of course, very liberal), I have been really surprised that inner-city Houston is quite liberal compared to its suburbs. The huge ethnic diversity and gay life make Houston "in the loop" quite comparable to other more liberal cities.
I just felt like I needed to say that.
Thanks for the time.
Travis in Austin
Subject: Debate in St Louis: How absolutely rude of President Bush to talk over the moderator and show such disregard for the rules
I have watched both of the Presidential debates and also the VP debate. What is wrong with this man that he feels he is above the rules and [he can] yell over the moderator? Is he incapable of showing respect? He just cannot control his temper which is a huge character flaw. Another character flaw which is glaring to me is that he cannot admit when he is wrong. Think of what a Performance Rating would be like if Bush was an employee in a corporation:
Respect for authority - Poor
Ability to admit mistakes - Poor
Ability to take constructive criticism - Poor
Ability to follow rules - Poor
Ability to adapt to change - Poor
Accessibility - Poor
Ability to convey ideas - Poor
Additional comments: Takes too much time off for vacation, not a team player, combative, gets frustrated easily, refuses to accept responsibility for his actions, lack of compassion.
If I acted like President Bush at my job, I would be laid off or fired. Contrast this with Senator Kerry speaking succinctly in a detailed fashion on his plans to make things better. In my opinion, Senator Kerry looked and ACTED more Presidential. He has the character and intellect to make a fine leader. I am convinced.
Monica
Subject: Yeh, watch out for unsafe drugs from Canada...
I am one of many who took Vioxx--for 4 years! Had two heart attacks while on it, too. But it was made in the USA and our FDA approved it as safe. Just like the world is a safer place today because of Bush's war. Yet over 2000 people died of terrorist attacks this year. Let's send this guy back to his Texas ranch where BS is common stuff.
Patricia Rodemeyer
Subject: good site
Hey BuzzFlash,
Great site- nice to know you're in Chicago (I'm blue in the red state of Indiana-recently moved for love but still do work and have a home in IL). Keep up the good work- my most recent paranoid thought (for we boomers, it's easy to be paranoid)- is based on the small news items on the net and in the NY Times about an alleged disk found in Iraq with American schools (in CA, NJ and Florida of course) listed- what if Bush folks declare a terrorist threat against schools where many polling places are located? As a parent, (of 4 draft-age kids) I would of course not be able to oppose closing a school with a terrorist threat- we need to demand alternate voting sites and/or days, ahead of time.
Sue Eleuterio
Highland, IN
Subject: Is the Bush's bulge a TENS unit?
Dear Buzz,
Tongues are wagging about Bush's bulge. Here's my theory:
I think it's a TENS unit, a Transcutaneous Nerve Stimulation device. The medical objective is that the TENS unit produces high frequency electrical stimulation of the nerve. This disrupts the pain signal so that the pain is no longer felt, or at least the intensity of the pain is reduced. Perhaps Bush is in some kind of herniated disk pain, not uncommon for a man his age. A TENS unit device is approximately the size as the rectangular bulge under his jacket, and the wire snaking up his shoulder may be the connection to the electrode patch which is to be placed upon or near the source of pain. This arrangement suggests an attempt to reduce cervical (neck) pain.
An untreated herniated cervical disk would explain his irrationality and touchiness in Debate Number 2, as well as his mental stupor on September 30. In other words, his handlers are trying to adjust his medications to work in concert with the TENS unit. For Debate Number 1, Bush was over-medicated. Debate Number 2, he was under-medicated and thus very touchy, as people in pain often tend to be irritable when they're tired. The New York Times called him "incoherent." Pain can definitely produce mental confusion, particularly under pressure.
This may explain why Bush refused to take his recently-scheduled physical, because it would reveal a weakness and tarnish his image as the strutting cowboy. Maybe he is afraid of surgery or possible complications arising from surgery. However, it is frankly beyond comprehension why the White House prefers rampant speculation about a transmitting device as opposed to revealing the truth of the nature of the rectangular bulge.
John Kerry released the results of his recent medical examination. John Kerry has nothing to hide. America deserves to know the truth of what, exactly, the device is that Bush has been wearing at the debates and if it is or is not related to a medical condition.
Regards,
Elaine in Oregon
Subject: Sinclair Broadcasting
THANKS SO MUCH for finally exposing the ultra-right wing Sinclair Broadcasting for what they are, which is WORSE THAN FOX !!! While most folks know about Fox and their notorious right-wing bias...few know about this outfit, headquartered in the northern suburbs of Baltimore (Hunt Valley to be exact)...and the nationally syndicated "news" product they put on every night. Right after 9/11 they "forced" their news anchors to all do little "pro-bush" snippets on the air...even the employees who were NOT pro-bush. More recently, they've been yanking their CBS News affiliations at their radio stations nationwide in response to the Dan Rather situation a few weeks ago. You can find numerous articles about this online. And now THIS ??? You can find an entire listing of Sinclair's TV stations here.
http://www.sbgi.net/business/markets/all.shtml
Fortunately most of them are lesser-watched WB, fox and UPN stations in smaller markets. But that doesn't change the situation at all. And hey for any of you investors out there, ask your broker or your online trader to SHORT SOME SINCLAIR STOCK for you. Ticker symbol is 'SBGI.' Let's run their stock INTO THE GROUND. If you'd like to personally contact the folks at Sinclair, I'm including their contact info.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, Maryland 21030
410-568-1500 (Main Telephone)
410-568-1533 (Main Fax)
BuzzFlash and Air America ROCK !!!
walter
[BuzzFlash Note: See also Boycott Sinclair Broadcasting for Airing Anti-Kerry Propaganda and Calling it "News" on our home page.]
Subject: Countering Flip Flopper - 'the Deficit President'
Hi,
I really like your site.
I have an idea I was hoping you would consider. For Kerr, the Repub Echo Chamber have created "flip flopper." Our equivalent in defining Bush could be "the Deficit President." If every time you posted an article on the economy you included "the Deficit President" in the title, eventually with all the bloggers reading your site, it may begin to stick.
You may consider starting with the article below.
The Deficit President And
how he's getting away with it.
By Jonathan Chait (Slate)
Cheers,
Lewis Albanis
Melbourne, Australia
Subject: Re: Sinclair will air the anti Kerry film two day prior to the election
From today's LA Times:
...Station and network sources said they have been told the Sinclair stations - which include affiliates of Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, as well as WB and UPN - will be preempting regular programming for one hour between Oct. 21 and Oct. 24, depending on the city. The airing of "Stolen Honor" will be followed by a panel discussion, which Kerry will be asked to join, thus potentially satisfying fairness regulations, the sources said.
Sinclair's stations are primarily in swing states. The film "Stolen Honor" is more of the Swift Boat nonsense; Sinclair, a public company that has lost *half* its market value this year, has decided electing Bush is more important than its responsibility to its shareholders and its advertisers, in addition to being a misuse of the public's airwaves and a probable violation of law as well.
This can't be allowed to stand. Here's what we can do:
a. Spread the word about this. Does anyone have posting rights on the Santa Cruz Kerry/Edwards list, but there's only one Sinclair station in California (Sacramento, I hear). So any of you that can post to national Kerry lists or even to the Sacramento area should do so ASAP.
b. If you see this and you have a Sinclair TV station in your area, find out who advertises on the station -- particularly local advertisers, who really can't afford to be boycotted in this economy -- and contact the advertisers directly to express your displeasure with Sinclair and the advertiser's support for it.
c. If you own Sinclair's stock, contact investor relations and tell them not to put management's nutty politics over the interests of shareholders. Consider contacting the SEC to complain about this as well.
d. To get more information, lists of stations and contact information, and more news about this, someone has been good enough to set up a web site:
http://boycottsinclair.blogspot.com/
Again, the more people who know about this, the more we can do about it. Spread the word!
Dorothy M. Neddermeyer
Subject: Delete DeLay
Just a reminder
www.richardmorrisonfordistrict22.com
This guy is running against DeLay. I have been helping him, and many people from around the country have sent donations because it is just as important to dump DeLay as it is to dump Bush. Hope you can push support for him some way. Thanks for your work, Buzz.
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: Oil for food reaches White House? This needs further investigation and reporting
Oil-for-Food Probe to Reach White House (LA Times)
WASHINGTON - A House subcommittee investigating Iraq's oil-for-food program expanded its probe to the Bush administration Tuesday, agreeing to subpoena documents on the U.S. postwar management of oil revenue and, if necessary, audits of contracts for reconstruction projects, including one given to Halliburton Co. Democrats on the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security said there should be a full investigation into the Bush administration's refusal to release audits of Halliburton's $1.5-billion, noncompetitive contract to repair oil production facilities. The Houston-based oil services company was formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney.
J. B.
Subject: orange alert [a prediction?]
Coming soon, just before election day: "Homeland Security officials warn that non-specific evidence from credible sources indicates that terrorists may already be in the US and working and walking among us, hiding as ordinary, law-abiding people, so as not to attract attention to themselves. US Attorney General John Ashcroft says that the fact that we have been unable to discover any specific terrorist activity within the US recently demonstrates how effective this "law abiding" disguise is. "Since we know that terrorists are unhappy with the current administration and planning to disrupt our elections in November, I have put the FBI on high alert to target and question seemingly normal, everyday, law-abiding citizens, prior to and on election day, in an attempt to discover and prevent any plans for a terrorist attack prior to Bush's reelection."
The Patriot act gives the FBI and other Homeland Security agencies the authority to hold indefinitely without charges or legal representation, any person or persons suspected of possible terrorist activity. Even though there is an increased threat of a terrorist attack, officials urge Americans to go about their normal activities, and avoid areas such as public schools, government buildings and voting precincts on election day, particularly if you fit the profile described in the security alert. Says Ashcroft, "We are seeing the chaos and confusion that is happening in the new democracies of Afghanistan and Iraq surrounding their elections and we don't want the same thing to happen in America."
Bryan Morris
Maitland, FL
Subject: Has anyone thought about ...
You have linked a number of stories about Bush's possible use of a box to listen for answers in the first debate. Mildly interesting at the moment. However, something that seems far more troubling to me and that I have yet so see remarked on is Bush's almost manic performance in the second debate and especially, if you pay attention to the close-ups, the very rapid blinking of his eyes on numerous [occasions]. I'm no expert on the matter, but it seems to me that he exhibited all the earmarks of being on some sort of upper, and something considerably stronger than coffee. Are you aware of any comments on this?
Thanks for all your good work.
Steve Aronoff
Bellingham, WA
Subject: Iraq Reality: Bush's vs the Marines
Hi Gang!
First off, if you live near a WalMart, go to the hat section. There you may find a small display of hats. One says "Proud to be a [image of Democrat Donkey]" and you can guess what the other one says. Picked out the ass-kicker.
Now, onto matters of far greater importance...
Shrubya has his reality for what is going on in Iraq, and the Marines have their reality.
Read what our boys are saying. It sounds horribly like the letters and audio recordings from the boys in VietNam.
For Marines, Iraq a frustrating fight (MSNBC/Washington Post)
"Why am I a Democrat? Because I'd rather be an ass-kicking Donkey than a shit-dumping Elephant." -- my quotation.
Jerry Peurala
Westfield, IN
Subject: Bush is Furious at Honest People
Dear Buzz--
Regarding this morning's corner headline about a supposed CIA effort to undermine the White House--which read, in part, "Bush is Furious at Honest People"--it's worth noting that the only mistakes Mr. Bush was willing to acknowledge in Debate 2 were some appointments he had made.
The man claimed that he didn't wish to embarrass these people on national television by naming them, but I think another logic was in play. Had he named them, it would have been clear that his "mistaken appointments" were in fact the numerous people who have bolted this administration and then told the truth about it--John DiIulio, Paul O'Neil, Richard Clarke, David Kay, and so on.
Apparently, in BushThink, it was a mistake to appoint people who thought America should be told the truth--and who were willing to endure ferocious smear campaigns in order to tell it.
It's worth considering that one thing the movement to restore democracy needs is a one-liner shop equal to the marvelous facility operated by the Republicans--so when Mr. Bush talks about "sending the right message to our troops," or "sending the right message to our allies," Mr. Kerry will be ready with something like, "Mr. President, I believe the right message will always be the truth!"
Robert Crawford
Halfway, OR
Subject: Mark Crispin Miller's Patriot Act
Dear BuzzFlash,
I saw your piece about MCM's tour de force. Indeed it is one. I hope he doesn't mind it if I copy the comments I sent to him on 10/8, after watching this sensational piece of work!
The PFAW just sent me a mail saying: Our Civil Liberties Are at Stake This November
Oh no no no, don't belittle their deeds! There's a whole lot more at stake. It's the sanity of a nation, it's the future of the planet, it's... it's... humanity that's at stake. I can't put it right, but just everything is at stake!
We just watched most of your wonderful act. I am floored. I am reeling. We found that we laughed more than the audience did in N.Y.C. but I think I can understand why. They were so awed and so anxious not to miss anything, not a line, that they couldn't let themselves laugh uninhibitedly for fear they'd let some precious truth go by.
It's absolutely ingenious, it was the most wonderful surprise that something so wonderfully funny could be done out of a threatening thing that's looming over the whole world, this insanity that's been spreading like a cancer. Trite, but I don't know how else to put it. It's been so insidious, so scary, so life threatening that I can't find a better image. Sometimes I think this is scarier even than the Nazis, because it's more planned, more carefully thought out way ahead of the time when they finally got a chance to put it into action. They had to destroy Clinton so they could get a chance to destroy the planet and take the whole ship down. Well, we are not going down with the ship. They will take their whole gang down with them and we will arduously get started on building the world back up again.
Back to your act. They are trying to ruin us all and we're actually laughing, but probably laughing the same way we find ourselves laughing at Montserrat Caballe when she sings some aria so incredibly beautifully that all you can do is keep from crying. So you laugh. A lady at the Met in the row in front of us once turned around to hush us when we chuckled in the midst of an aria that way. It may have been Carmen with Marilyn Horne, don't quite remember what exactly it was, but I do know that people tend to get irritated when we laugh softly at things that are just so perfect that...what else can you do?
Chapeau - as the French say when they are filled with admiration. I take off my hat! Well, I am not a man and it's of course a manly expression, but anyway... Chapeau!
You are a marvelous actor. But I am very glad you didn't just become an actor. We need you - right now in particular of course.
All best,
Siv O'Neall,
France