October 14, 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 14, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. CLICK HERE FOR PART 1.
Subject: James Baker's Double Life BIG NEWS!!
I am secretly in love with Naomi Klein (LOL)
...Seriously she premiered this story on Democracy Now this morning. It is such an entwined mess because James Baker and his cronies deliberately made it that way to secure HUGE profits for the Carlyle Group. The gist of the plot is that Kuwait would give Carlyle a ONE BILLION dollar contract in exchange for helping get Iraq to pay back around $30 billion of its debt and about another $30 billion in war reparations from the first Gulf War. Since we are financing a substantial portion of Iraq's rebuilding capital, that means that a substantial portion of that $60 billion will come directly out of OUR POCKETS. It should clearly show that Bush, Baker and Baker, and Botts are all in this together to make HUGE profits on the back of Iraq AND the American taxpayers. It is war profiteering at its very worst. By the way Baker, Botts and James Baker are also defending the Saudis against lawsuits brought by victims of the 9-11 tragedy. BushCo can talk about the "evil trial lawyers" all day but his best buddy and personal advisor for these matters (James Baker) is one of the biggest and most corrupt trial lawyers IN THE WORLD!!!
I think it's also worth noting that the reason John Kerry voted against the $87 billion was because $20 billion of it was a direct gift to Iraq from the American taxpayers just so this war profiteering could not take place. He was trying to protect the American taxpayers. Now we see why BushCo did not want this gift to be a loan. It might actually take money from his and James Baker's pocketbook so now WE the taxpayers are footing the bill. War profiteering is an ugly business.
James Baker's Double Life (The Nation)
Subject: Republican Dirty Tricks in Florida - - VOTE EARLY OR VOTE ABSENTEE
I received this information from an unimpeachable source that tells me the following:
Jeb Bush, Glenda Hood & the Florida Republican Party are planning to fill up the parking lots & keep them filled at highly Democratic precincts in the state, thereby preventing Democrats from voting.
If anyone has more information on this, let's spread it nationwide because if they are going to do it in Florida, you can bet this has been shared with Republicans in Ohio and other key states.
This is another very important reason to VOTE EARLY OR VOTE ABSENTEE. This is especially important in Florida where we have been hit by multiple hurricanes & where the precinct locations may have been changed.
Shunk Wugga
Subject: Sinclair Group 'Slimes' the Election
If this is going to be against Federal law, why can't there be an injunction issued by a Federal court against it? The Kerry campaign is truly asleep if they don't jump on this one. If the US Government can suppress the latest Civil Rights Commission report (or, more accurately, public discussions thereof) on the grounds that it might unfairly affect the US Presidential election, then they can sure as hell stop this injustice too!
Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of the largest chain of television stations in the nation, plans to air a documentary that accuses John Kerry of betraying American prisoners during the Vietnam War, the Washington Post reported Monday. By airing this documentary so close to the presidential election, Sinclair is trying to manipulate the outcome of the election because of the broadcaster's documented ties to the current administration.
Sinclair is the same group that refused to air the Nightline Memorial Day tribute to the soldiers killed in Iraq, because they considered it a political statement. The network has ordered all 62 of its stations to air "Stolen Honor, Wounds that Never Heal" next week during prime time...
Coalition for Equity-Restorative Justice (CERJer Lena Smolon)
John Wilmerding
Subject: America Votes
You've probably been bombarded with corrections already, but I just wanted to let you know that the scumbags doing the fraudulent voter registration were PRETENDING to be America Votes. Please don't let SherAnn's reader commentary continue to make this mistake which will continue to confuse the public.
America Votes = Good
Nathan Sproul = Bad
Thanks,
A loyal reader
Dave Roberts
[BuzzFlash Note: Done:Voter Fraud: GOP-Funded "Voter's Outreach of America" is NOT "America Votes": A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION by Victor Steinbok]
Subject: Oregon Voter Registration Fraud
This article from the Oregon Vanguard warrants national attention. Attempts to destroy voter registration forms have been reported in Oregon and Nevada, while in Ohio, unless voter registration forms were printed on 80 lb paper, they were discarded. Last minute changes in polling locations in northeast PA county with predominantly Democratic precincts was carried out by Republican operatives to confuse voters. African-American voters in FL have been threatened with arrest.
Is this truly the operations of a democracy? Where is the indignation? Where is the media outrage?
Registration bait and switch? Students may have inadvertently registered Republican while signing petition (Portland State U. Vanguard)
Matt Petrie - Vanguard
October 13, 2004Students passing through the Park Blocks yesterday afternoon were shocked to discover that a group of petitioners may have misled them into changing their party affiliation to Republican on their voter registration.
The petitioners, who refused to identify themselves and gave conflicting accounts of who they were working for, asked passers by to sign a petition "to lower auto insurance costs for young people." When students signed the petition, they were handed voter registration cards and told to fill out only the name and address section, in order to "verify" their signature on the petition.
Mark Perloe
Subject: Voter Registration Fraud
Searching for information on the voter registration fraud stories breaking tonight in Nevada and Oregon, one name keeps coming up: Nathan Sproul of Sproul & Associates in Phoenix, Arizona. Sproul is connected with the Republican National Committee-funded voter registration organization, Voter Outreach, Inc., a group that used paid registrars to register voters in a number of states including Nevada, Oregon, Arizona and perhaps more, including Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maine and Missouri. (Others states pending, particularly swing states.) Sproul's organization also recruited registrars by fraudulently telling recruits that they would be working for America Votes, a legitimate nonpartisan GOTV operation.
Keep in mind that in the recruitment ads for Voter Outreach, Inc, run on careerbuilder.com in targeted states (including Missouri and Arizona), the bottom of the ads included this statement: Paid for by the Republican National Committee. www.gop.com. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
There has been a lot of evidence come up over the past few days in regards to massive voter fraud being executed against the American people.
This is a huge story, but I've yet to see it in any mainstream news source. Please, for the good of the American people, I beg you to look into this story.
More information here: http://dailykos.com/story/2004/10/13/32821/029
This could be the biggest scandal of the past few years, and it would be a shame if it goes by unnoticed. Thank you very much,
Aaron Mehta
Hi Buzz......
Poor (not really) Martha Stewart had to be strip searched.......In light of the "wire" rumor that is going around, wouldn't it be be wise for "DUBYA"to be "strip searched" too.......also to those Repugs that are still Bushite lovers......wouldn't it be prudent for those voters (for all of our sakes) to remember what the arab beheaders said on the video site of the beheadings....."WOE TO THE AMERICANS WHO VOTE FOR THE COWBOY"?......Not my words....but theirs..........just wondering..........
Genie
Subject: Breaking story on Apparent RNC support of multi-state Voter Reg. Fraud Effort
Check here for detailed information on a breaking story of voter registration fraud which appears to be backed by the RNC.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/10/13/32821/029
Nathan Sproul, a Christian conservative activist and GOP operative from Arizona seems to keep popping up as the common thread as more and more states discover he has been running a voter registration effort, backed by the GOP, (public records show the links) which tells potential voters it is working for a legitimate organization, America Votes (it is not), and then either registers only GOP voters (in violation of the law), or registers everyone and then shreds or discards Democratic registrations.
This story is now breaking in Nevada and Oregon with at least one instance reported of a shredding of Democratic registrations being caught on video tape.
It appears Sproul's organization, using temporary workers, has also been a leading actor in efforts to help Ralph Nader to get enough signatures to get on the ballot in many states.
Regards,
Doug Webster
Berkeley, CA
Subject: On writing to sponsors of the Sinclair Group
Now, I live in Arkansas, and the Sinclair Group has no stations here, and Arkansas will not see any of their broadcasts.
BUT....
Among the list of sponsors of Sinclair Broadcasting are Sonic Drive In (where I eat twice a week) Pfizer, (who send me mail), Cheerios (we're out but will be waiting to see if we should buy more) and many others. I wrote ten sponsors of products I USE or restaurants I FREQUENT here in Arkansas letting them know that I would cease my business with their outlets here unless they acted.
Don't think just because you're not in the Sinclair area it will not affect you or that you cannot make a difference.
My Arkansas dollars go to these sponsors just like the ones in the affected states.
Take action now!
Mike Curtis
Greenbrier, Ark.
Subject: Voting in Milwaukee
Please, please get this up on your site asap. Not enough people even here in the city know about this, since it's getting virtually no coverage other than this one article. I suspect this is going on in other cities, but I don't know that for sure. The only way to spot a trend is to get these articles out there where many people can read and compare, just like today's stories about the RNC-backed canvassers in Oregon and Las Vegas.
City, county spar over ballot supply: Walker cites fraud concerns; Barrett cries foul (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
By DAVE UMHOEFER and GREG J. BOROWSKI
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, citing vote-fraud concerns, is publicly balking at a City of Milwaukee request for almost 260,000 additional ballots in anticipation of high turnout for the Nov. 2 presidential election.
Mayor Tom Barrett blasted Walker's stance, and Common Council President Willie Hines Jr. immediately joined in, saying it was an attempt to suppress the central-city vote.
"I'm going to lay this at the footsteps of the county if there aren't enough ballots in the city," said Barrett.
Barrett said that the 679,000 ballots the county had agreed to print were less than the amount prepared for the presidential election in 2000 as well as for the the gubernatorial race in 2002. He and the city's top election official said that the city requested 938,000 ballots from the county, which, by law, pays for and prints ballots....
Thanks.
Laura in Milwaukee
Subject: Anyone Smell Something Fishy?
Hi:
Here's an interesting item from Air Security International, an advisory service for people who make frequent trips to distant parts of the world:
Afghanistan (Country threat level - 5): A Russian-built Mi-8 helicopter operated by the U.N.-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body crash-landed in the northern Badakhshan province on 12 October 2004 after a turbine engine powering the helicopter's main rotor failed. The aircraft, carrying ballot boxes from remote polling stations in Afghanistan, landed hard in a snowfield at an altitude of 12,000 ft/4,000 m. No injuries were immediately reported, however, the crew of the helicopter will need to remain onboard overnight until rescue crews can reach the area. [end]
Sure, the election took place on Saturday, the Bush administration declared Karzai the winner, and, how fortunate, a plane falls out of the sky carrying ballots from remote regions of the country that probably contain votes for Karzai's challengers.
Anyone else but me familiar with the Bush M.O. when it comes to getting rid of political challenges? Aside from getting together with others to shoot them in the head while they ride in a motorcade, this group just LOVES seeing planes falling out of the sky. Remember Paul Wellstone?
And how convenient the crash was coming right on the heels of this little tidbit from the same source:
United States (Country threat level - 3): Reports emerged on 11 October 2004 that on 9 October two 80 ft/24 m electrical transmission towers fell to the ground in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, as a result of sabotage. A four-hour blackout resulted, affecting approximately 17,000 people. Flights out of Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport (KMKE) were delayed as screening equipment was shut down and passengers and luggage were screened by hand. Passenger and freight trains were also delayed. The bolts connecting one of the tower's legs to its base had been removed, and as a result, that tower collapsed onto a second tower. Police officials continue to investigate the incident and are uncertain of the motives behind the sabotage. [end]
So now all the folks in Wisconsin can get that "terrorism can strike anywhere" twinge just ahead of tomorrow's debate in Arizona. Sure would help old George if his boys could cause some havoc out in the desert, too.
And, here's another funny thing: a friend of mine is having company from Austin, Texas. The woman is supposed to fly into Austin on November 1, the day before the election. People at the airline told her they couldn't tell her where she'd be landing upon return! Does anyone think the Bushes would stoop to having an "attack" happen in Texas while Georgie is down there voting? I do. And they could kill two birds with one stone: the image of a "war president" standing solid in the face of danger is one plus; if they could combine it with severe damage to a refinery down there, supply is curtailed, demand shoots up, and bingo, Halliburton gets a contract to repair the refinery while Georgie and Company get to pocket the profits from increased prices paid by you and me.
If l'il ole me can think this stuff up, don't think Rove et al haven't tossed it around.
Matt Carmody
Washingtonville, NY
Subject: Amazing Republican vote-suppression scheme reported in Milwaukee
Check out this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story, which was the top page one story in today's newspaper. It's simply incredible. The Milwaukee County Executive -- a Republican and a Bush state campaign official -- refuses to print the number of election ballots requested by the City of Milwaukee Election Commission. In swing-state Wisconsin, where many Democratic votes are cast in Milwaukee, this scheme could throw the Badger State's key electoral votes over to Bush.
Ron L.
Subject: My Dinner with Ann Coulter
Having been a diligent reader here for years, I've never actually read anything from Ann Coulter (my time is precious). Wow, what a piece of work. My submarine sandwich went rancid watching her on CBC Newsworld's "Face to Face" with Neil McDonald. Ack! She just claimed that they found WMDs after the invasion of Iraq. Ack! She said that "well, there weren't stockpiles." How does anyone take her seriously? Ack! Now Fox News is reality. At least I can now say that I've suffered through Ann Coulter. Keep fighting the good fight down there. Ack! Now every article in the New York Times was skeptical of the Iraq War. Geez Louise.
A Canadian BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: Sinclair Unfair
Dear BuzzFlash -- It's obvious by now that when the Sinclair Group decided it wanted to air the anti-Kerry special -- and then touted that they invited Kerry to come on afterwards and answer the charges "to be fair" -- they were not being fair. Being fair is not putting a presidential candidate "on the spot." Being fair would be: 1) Airing the anti-Kerry special and THEN (2) airing the special "Going Upriver" -- to give both positive and negative sides to the "news." OR 1) Airing the anti-Kerry special and asking Kerry to answer AND THEN (2) airing Fahrenheit 9/11 and asking Bush to answer. (Of course he wouldn't. He'd need Cheney and Rummie at his side, or at least someone putting words in his mouth by radio.)
Since Sinclair did neither, and both would have been easy to arrange, we must assume that they were not interested in news or the spirit of fairness. FCC and FEC, throw the book at 'em!
Steve Cooperman
Woodland Hills, CA
Subject: This is a Disinterested Moderator?
What a freakin' outrage!!
Listening to Bob Schieffer throw rocks at Kerry while he lobbed cotton puffs at his idiot friend, I had to get up and walk away from the debates, the first time I didn't sit through the full event.
The crowning moment was when Schieffer informed those Americans who didn't already know that Catholic bishops are urging their parishioners to not vote for Kerry because of his views on a woman's right to choose. I mean, why not just get Jerry Falwell to sit in as moderator, or Sean Hannity, or even Bill O'Reilly. At least with O'Reilly there's be an entertainment factor involved.
Oh My God!!! Schieffer just asked the easiest question of all, How does your faith affect how you govern?
What the fuck is going on here? How about asking him if he believes that God approves of killing innocent women and children in Iraq. Ask him if his view on the sanctity of life for the unborn coincides with his actions in executing people in Texas while he was governor or in his first strike against the Iraqi nation, a country that never attacked the US.
How in the world is this going to be spun as anything less than a positive for Bush? Is this what we need? A complacent FRIEND OF GEORGE W. BUSH sitting in as moderator with whom the occupant of the White House was exchanging grins and "gotcha" looks as he answered, with lies, questions with trite, tired cliches.
How did this nation become divided after 9-11? Did it have anything to do with no democrats who were willing to stand up to the draconian measures adopted by this administration?
How about a vice president telling a senator, and a senior senator at
that, to GO FUCK YOURSELF? Does that unite people? How about the display
of the flag as an indicator of just how crazy the occupant of a vehicle
who just rear-ended you is? The more flags or yellow ribbons displayed,
the likelier it is that he's coming at you
with a tire iron.
Imagine that, the American flag as a leading indicator of the potential for violence. How have we allowed these bastards to take our flag as theirs alone?
How? By allowing the press to cede it's constitutionally protected function of reporting the truth and letting the media replace it with parroting the lines of a fucking little dictator.
Wake the fuck up America!! The moderator tonight might just as well have worked for FOX News as for CBS News, not that there's much of a difference anymore.
And, with the DOW just barely crawling back up above the 10,000 mark today after being down in the 9,000s again, this is the strong economy that Bush takes credit for?
God help the United States of AMerica.
Matt Carmody
Subject: Did Bush have a Stroke? (forwarded to BuzzFlash)
John in DC - 10/13/2004 09:06:40: http://americablog.blogspot.com/archives/2004...
The left side of his mouth is drooping down, it's as if he had a stroke or something. You'll recall that in the past few weeks the White House announced something about Bush not getting his annual physical until after the election (something like that). I think there's something wrong with him.
Note this Reuters story from one week ago: http://olympics.reuters.com/news...
The White House cited Bush's heavy travel schedule for his decision to delay his annual physical exam, which usually takes place in August, until after the election. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush's doctors "felt it was perfectly fine to do it later this year... The president is a very active person. He's in great health."
B.S. Numerous observers here with me, and in the chat, said they saw drool at the beginning of the debate (again, I'm serious). There's something wrong with his face tonight and he's not admitting it.
More evidence that Bush is ailing by John in DC - 10/14/2004 10:59:38 AM
There's a video going around of Bush's debate performance in the early 1990s against Ann Richards, when Bush was running for governor of Texas. The difference between his performance there and his performance now is shocking. As someone wrote on another site, Bush THEN is clearly the Yale grad and Harvard MBA that he is. Bush now is something completely different. I recommend you watch the video.
I bring this up because, as I'd written last night, I think Bush may have had a stroke and no one is telling us....
Jim K.