Subject: Question Of The Day

Q. What's the difference between the democrats B. Obama, H. Clinton, D. Feinstein, J. Biden, J. Lieberman and Z. Miller?

A. Nothing

Bob Lambert
Northridge, CA

Subject: David and Goliath

His name is Clare Callan. He is a feisty 85-year-old former congressman from rural Nebraska.

And he is asking the Supreme Court to declare that President Bush had no legal authority to go to war in Iraq.

Mr. Callan does not see himself as Don Quixote. He is not asking the Supreme Court to end the war. He is a World War II veteran who served on a US Navy destroyer in the Pacific, who is proud of the US military, proud of his own service, and proud of the troops fighting in Iraq. But he believes that president violated the Constitution when he sent American troops into harm’s way. Now, he wants the nation’s highest court to say so.

Here’s his case: When Congress passed the Iraq Resolution, it specifically made it subject to the War Powers Resolution of 1973, known as the War Powers Act. The Iraq resolution was definite. "Nothing in this joint resolution supersedes any requirement of the War Powers Act," Congress said. It did not give the President authority to take the nation to war. It granted him only the right to determine whether the standards required by the War Powers Act Congress had been met.

The War Powers Act was passed near the end of the Vietnam War in an effort to ensure that future Congresses would be less likely to abdicate their constitutional responsibility to decide whether the nation should go to war.

To justify going to war, the War Powers Act sets out several criteria. Most important of these is "clear" evidence of an "imminent" threat to US security. The words "clear" and "imminent" are used repeatedly in the War Powers Act to describe situations where US military force is permitted.

In the run-up to the invasion -– and ever since -- the president inexplicably went out of his way to avoid using the words "clear" and "imminent." He described the threat from Iraq with many adjectives such as "growing" and "gathering." But, while some of his surrogates, including his then press secretary, Ari Fleischer, declared the threat "imminent," the president never did.

In fact, in his 2003 State of the Union address, the president declared: "Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late."

Mr. Callan’s suit charges that the president thereby failed to meet the criteria of the War Powers Act -- and his Constitutional obligation.

Mr. Callan filed his suit in a US Circuit Court three years ago. It has been rejected and appealed multiple times since then, finally working its way up to the Supreme Court. When the Court met earlier this month to decide the cases it would hear in its next session, it too rejected Mr. Callan. But, undeterred, he is now preparing a petition for rehearing, and hopes the Court will finally listen to his complaint.

Mr. Callan -– whose favorite pastime is talking politics with his fellow veterans at the Elks Lodge in Odell, Nebraska -– served one term as a Democrat in the 89th Congress, when Lyndon Johnson was president. He has financed his current legal battle from his own pocket -– and thinks it's money well spent.

Ironically, some of the nation's best-known conservatives appear to be on Mr. Callan's side. For example, in a January 13 appearance televised on C-Span, Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer agreed that "being the right thing to do" should play no role in how judges enforce the law. Justice Scalia said the court should not be so "arrogant" as to believe that our "moral" standards should be applied to interpret the law.

Many conservative pundits agree. For example, in an August 4 edition of "The Beltway Boys" on Fox News, Fred Barnes, executive editor of the Weekly Standard, not only agreed that President Bush never said there was an imminent threat, but added, he "said the opposite."

The Bush administration defends the war on Iraq as "right," regardless of the evidence, now, or before the war, and provides further justification for the war by arguing that the war in Iraq has made us safer. However, as Justice Scalia said, "Right is not necessarily legal."

Mr. Callan hopes that, belatedly, the Supreme Court will find it illegal. But he is not delusional. "I have no great expectations that my point of view will prevail. But I have an obligation as a citizen to do what I can. If we don't use the freedoms we have, they'll disappear," Mr. Callan says.

William Fisher
http://billfisher.blogspot.com
Old Chatham, NY

Subject: C-SPAN Juan Cole

On 1/27 Dr. Juan Cole of the University of Michigan explained that he is one of around 12 academia in this country qualified to talk intellectually about Iraq.

He stated that Cheney and company did not approach anyone in the academia for information on Iraq in formulating his War Plan. A full transcript of this program would fully enlighten all readers of BuzzFlash. He feels the whole plan is destined for failure. The candidates cannot use their names on ballot, as would be a death sentence. The unicameral will only give the majority the power. He stated the same sort of government as we have, with the Senate and House of Representatives, would give the minority parties some voice and power in the new government.

It is a shame we go to war without consulting the experts in the Middle East affairs, and having some wisdom used in making all the decisions, that cost us billions and untold deaths and injuries.

I hope BuzzFlash can get the entire script that cspan presented today.

Larry
Wounded Knee, S.D.

[BuzzFlash Note: Juan Cole was on Washington Journal. See: http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/cspan.csp?command=dprogram&record=35636492.]

Subject: "See Arnold Run"

Hi, BuzzFlash,

Don't read this if you've just eaten. A&E is airing "See Arnold Run" this coming Sunday. Here's how it's described on the website:

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Sincerely,

Cathy Vance

[BuzzFlash Note: We hope they include clips from "Pumping Iron," which show Arnold to be a world-class manipulator (vis a vis competitor Lou Ferrigno) for his own advancement.]

Subject: More on the Demented Dem from Oklahoma

For you folks that aren't aware of it. We voted to ban cockfighting in Oklahoma, but we have a lot of people who raise game birds and they have been trying to save the industry.

Freaky Frank Shurden introduced a bill to help reduce the blood in a very blood industry. He wants to put little boxing gloves on the spurs and little vests on the chickens.

The vests will have sensors to record every good strike, like in fencing, Freaky Frank says. We need to fence Shurden in to protect all of us.

Karen Webb
Moore, Ok.

Subject: RE: Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think
 
See this web site for more ideas on framing arguments and otherwise promoting a cause--based on research in attitude change and communications. Those ideas and many more come from a book I edited called Working for peace: A Handbook of practical psychology and other tools. One chapter even goes into the idea of linking the term "terrorist" to those being opposed!

Not trying to get folks to buy, as only a few copies still around (a few at Amazon, etc.), as book came out in ’85, but may be of interest to some.

http://www.spssi.org/ppsc.html

Neil Wollman
North Manchester, I

Subject: Arrested for stick figures?

Would stick-figures of the crucifixion also be criminal? What about playing hangman, or will it be okay as long as the word being guessed is torture? I'll admit it is violent, but not as violent as Gonzales' justification for torture and he was allowed to say, "Kings X" and erase the entire thing along with any culpability for torture that resulted from it.

Yesterday orrin Hatch decided to make the confirmation of Gonzales a racial issue. The man who bottled up dozens of Clinton judicial appointees because he disagreed with them wants senators to forget that this man wrote a lovely brief on how to justify the use of torture as long as it didn't result in organ failure or death.

Of course, it says a lot about orrin when he suggests that Hispanics do not care which Hispanic is Attorney General. I happened to know that not all blacks thought Clarence Thomas was the only qualified African American for the supreme court.

Condi Rice was allowed to blame the debacle on leadership in the Iraqi forces. It is the civilian leadership on US forces that is the problem.

Subject: Gary Sartori...mailbag of 1/27/05

So, Gary...what is it that you really like about Joe Lieberman? I can tell you what I
dislike about him. When I went to vote in the primaries...my son called me shortly after,
wondering whom I voted for...I had voted for Howard Dean. (My son is a dyed in the
wool Bushite.) No, he doesn't know why...but does anyone?

He started his screaming at his mother...that I have once again become used to..."Why
didn't I vote for Lieberman?"... He went on to remind me that I voted for Lieberman when
he was running with Gore. I "felt" the need to explain to him...that I was not voting for
Lieberman...I was not really even voting for Gore...I was voting against George Bush!!!
Yeah, I know...that is not the way to vote....but, you see what I mean now, and if you
don't, you, my friend, are blind!

One thing killed the Gore presidency...his need to distance himself from the best
president this country has known since Roosevelt...with a short time thrown in for Kennedy. Gore, I am quite sure, picked Lieberman...because Lieberman loved to brag that he was the first senator to stand up on the floor of the senate and berate Mr.Clinton for his personal behavior!!! He was so proud of that! And, Gore thought that is what the country wanted...it somehow did not surprise me at all! I could never stand Lieberman and that whiny voice of his...at least...I am not afraid to admit that there are democrats who
get on my nerves... But, in spite of that...we now see what it means to have an Arrogant Bastard in the White House.

I double dare you, Mr. Sartori...to check out a movie called, "The Control Room"...if
you can get through that movie without feeling absolutely ashamed to be an American,
then I will admit that I understand you. I had to take a bath after watching it!!!
Check your feelings after watching it.

Shirley.....St. Louis

Subject: Question on a Nuance

Dear BuzzFlash,

If indeed US warplanes are flying over Iranian airspace, is this not universally understood as an Act of War?

USAF playing cat and mouse game over Iran (World Peace Herald)

If a President initiates War without being ordered to do so by Congress--and here's where the nuance comes in--is that a "high crime," or is it "treason"? It is certainly criminal, and it certainly strikes at the core of Constitutional government. Can it be both?

Just asking.

Jim P.

Subject: O'reilly's denial about Boxer

In the St. Louis Post Dispatch this morning was a column written by a local writer,
Sylvester Brown, Jr. He starts by ordering food...like "I'll have the beluga caviar, the risotto with fresh white truffles, the linguine w/shrimp and crabmeat and a bottle of your best merlot. Thank you!" He is practicing for his dinner at Tony's restaurant downtown (St. Louis' most trendy restaurant)...with Bill O'Reilly. Seems last week, he was a guest on the O'Reilly Factor...during the show he promised to buy Sylvester dinner, if he couldn't refute a charge that he had made on O'Reilly's show. Seems, O'Reilly's boss had called to say they had seen columns in which Mr. Brown had criticized Fox...and called O'Reilly and other conservative hosts "Blowhards!"

The producer said that Bill wanted to discuss journalism and go from there. A colleague had told Mr. Brown..."Don't do it, he will eat you alive!" He realized the risk of entering O'Reilly's "no spin zone" but figured he had better back up what he wrote...he gulped and agreed.

He planned to challenge the station's motto, "We report, you decide." He thought it was
more, "We report...and the right decides."
O'Reilly said something to the effect, "Woah, woah, woah...woah...let's leave that for another night," interrupting Brown's planned opening comments. Then Bill played the "put upon," telling him that he had said some pretty harsh things about him...what was Bill doing to annoy him? Then Mr. Brown said some things, unflattering, about conservative right wing talk show hosts...like Sean Hannity, O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. Mr. Brown compared the trio to Jerry Springer...and of course, Bill did not take kindly to the comparison.

Mr. Brown told him that liberal talk show hosts, never resort to calling people names...like they do, in that he had called Barbara Boxer a nut...or loony. O'Reilly went off on him...and denied that he ever did that...that he spoke about them as maybe the loony left people, or this is nuts...but, I never say, "She is nuts" or "She is loony."

At that time...O'Reilly wagered a dinner at Tony's, that he never called Boxer a nut! He
promised to find the clip and air it tomorrow...screaming to Mr Brown..."You're a fraud, and
we will prove it tomorrow."

Media Matters for America...a research group...posted the exchange between Brown and
O'Reilly...they added to it the transcript from the Radio Factor, Jan. 19, which Mr. Brown
had alluded to.

Going like this: O'Reilly,"She sponsored a bill to have jet airlines be equipped with missile
defense systems. I mean, this is a nut, okay? This is a nut we got in the senate."

Mr. Brown watched the O'Reilly factor the next night, Wednesday, to see if he would air
the Boxer clip. He didn't...he did however, admit calling Boxer a nut after reviewing his
transcripts. "Brown was right...and I was wrong...I hate that!"

Brown ended by saying that it sure sounds like "Spin" to him. Bill, let's make that dinner
date. I won't make you eat crow...there is much better on the menu at Tony's!
Sylvester Brown, Jr. is still waiting for the dinner...tee hee tee hee...Billy!

Great read, Mr. Brown.

Shirley....St. Louis

Subject: We Can't Win Elections With Blind Loyalties . . . Ten Years of Them

BuzzFlash,

Give me snarky any day . . .

That headline suggests no such thing. And, one of the problems with Democrats today is that they just want to get along. I hope BuzzFlash doesn't listen to the person above. She, I think is a she . . . why can't people just read . . . it's not their site and I find this kind of nit-picking very irritating anyway. :)

When people get wealthy from jobs such as being a member in Congress and a job that is supposed to represent Americans in our government . . . they need to learn to take the heat if they aren't doing their job. If the Democratic Party was a corporation . . . 2/3 would have been fired by now.

Actually, this person can speak for herself . . . Hillary is as DLC as is Clinton who helped found it. Clinton did some good, but he did a lot of Republican crapola too (NAFTA). Aside from Clinton, the Democrats lost race after race after race and this bipartisanship that the Democrats seem to think is so important was all through President Clinton's eight years, even though we have to put up with the hatred and hypocrisy of the Republicans and their 70,000 dollar scheme of investigations on Clinton . . . we could use the money today.

Regardless of what Hillary wants . . . it would be better for her if there was some common ground. People need to face up to the fact that today's Democrats do not fight from the belly or the heart . . . Hillary represents a liberal area . . . makes her job easier, maybe, but she still gives Bush what he wants (check out her votes) and any Democrat who keeps doing that is no Democrat. It's all about bipartisanship. Don't get the Bush Republicans' dander up.

I will not condone Democrats or keep from "sniping" at them because they have cost us a Democracy . . . they are supposed to be representatives and I hate it when people want everyone to just shut up and be "nice." Nice gets you f **king killed in this Country, check out all of the bodies coming back from Iraq. Nice got us into a war. Nice has ruined every program fit for man in the US. If this person thinks that uniting with our Democrats in Congress will bring us victory in 2006 or 2008 . . . forget it. And, Nice is going to screw up our Social Security, which will not affect one member in Congress. They are all wealthy.

Not only do we have to fight Republicans, Right Wingers, and Democrats . . . people just refuse to see what in the hell is going on in DC . . .

That kind of blindness to the Democratic Party, is the same blindness Americans have towards Bush and his administration. I am sick of people just wanting to get along. That is why we are in a war and it is one reason for all of the ills that we face in this Country today.

Sorry, but I don't see any difference in what this person is writing about concerning BuzzFlash, than what I would have to say about Clinton or Kerry. We should not let our Representative off the hook when they don't do their damn job. They have a serious job and it hurts this Country when they don't do it.

This is the problem with people willing to constantly overlook what is happening and the fact that our Democratic Representatives are not doing their jobs and haven't been for years. My god, how many years does it take for people to realize what the hell has happened to the Democratic Party? I just want to scream! I thought your headline about Hillary was right on target. Snarky headlines don't hurt your pocketbook. Snarky headlines don't kill people. We have an administration that lied us into a war and was never attacked before the election for anything that has been done to this Country in four years and I will never forget Kerry for that. He can afford some snarky remarks and so can the Clintons. But, no worry, most of the members in Congress don't pay any attention to what is said to them or about them by us common folk out in the motherland.

I don't think this person has ever read any of my writing. :) This person doesn't have to worry about your headlines or about Clinton and Kerry being in the enemy camp. they get enough praises from Bush and everybody in DC is happy, happy check out their votes, people. Sure Kerry is voting now, when it doesn't count for anything. Big @#$%$ deal. I love your snarky headlines.

Thanks BuzzFlash,

Shirley Smith

Subject: "TRUST IN GOD, BUT TIE YOUR CAMEL!"

An Old Persian Proverb... With the Iraq Elections coming up, the Iraqis would do well to follow the advice of an Old Persian Proverb and, "trust in God; but tie your camel!" The cruelty of war has not passed the Iraqi people by! It has come with the high price of a bloodbath for their citizens and the destruction of their cities.

Bush and the Administration are now lowering expectations in the elections, after loudly blowing their bugle of success! Many Americans and Europeans alike have agreed George W. Bush has used the immense power of the United States irresponsibly! Despite the continuous defense of going to war by the Bushies, peace may evade Iraq, and time may prove Bush’s decision the greatest mistake made in modern times!

Please take some advice, dear Iraqis, from some who have reason to doubt! One must consider "skullduggery" before declaring success! Some questions to ask might be; how many times will one vote be counted? Do you have disappearing ink? Ask not only who will be voting, but what foxes will be guarding, watching, and counting at your voting henhouses?

Bush’s abuse of invading a Sovereign Nation under false pretenses cannot and should not be excused by the American people and the world. Freedom cannot be won by bombs and military action. That truth has been stated time and time again and more Americans are beginning to doubt the actions of the Bush Regime! Making God your accomplice does not excuse the lies or hypocrisy! Pious words do not excuse tyranny.

It is now obvious to any well-informed citizen that much has been exaggerated and misrepresented about this war. Right up until today, the facts of the Iraq War have been hidden by this Administration, with the results being doubts and questions of deception are now rampant! Many more people each day are less convinced of the legitimacy of going to war.

The deaths of our soldiers are over 1400 now, with about 5000 out of the many thousands of injuries to our soldiers being so serious that they can not return to Iraq. Next month George Bush plans to visit Europe. Again we can expect Anti-Bush protestors in Europe to march. As usual, we will probably hear little or nothing about their demonstrations in the United States, as the media will collaborate with the Administration in hiding Bush’s unpopularity. Once again, as in this country, dissenters will be discouraged and hidden from the eyes of the world under the disguise of security!

As George W. Bush makes this trip to Europe, should we consider the words quoted by Sir Winston Churchill in a Hindustani Proverb:, "Dictators ride to and from upon tigers from which they dare not dismount"? 

Susan Carr
Tucson, Arizona

Subject: Actions Speak Louder Than Lies

I caught a video clip of Dick Cheney thanking Holocaust survivors in Krakow, Poland for bearing witness of the horrors they endured and "keeping alive the memory of good people, righteous people, who did no wrong and who no man had any right to harm."

I was stunned to hear such sentiment coming out of Dick. I wanted to hear more. So I tracked down the text of his address at the source to review Dick's speech more closely.

Dick further told the audience, "you saw the face of systematic merciless cruelty that killed innocent people."

What he termed "the greatest victory of all" was that "Evil did not have the final say," adding, "You survived terror."

Dick stated that at an upcoming international forum he would remind those attending that "these great evils of history were perpetrated not in some remote uncivilized part of the world, but in the very heart of the civilized world."

Dick maintained that "Men without conscience are capable of any cruelty the human mind can imagine" and pointed out, "Therefore we must teach every generation the values of tolerance and decency and moral courage."

Dick insisted that "in every generation, free nations must maintain the will, the foresight and the strength to fight tyranny and spread the freedom that leads to peace."

Dick claimed that those gathered at Auschwitz to recognize the victims showed their "determination to oppose anti-Semitism, religious intolerance, bigotry and genocide."

"We must face down hatred together." said Dick. "We are dedicated to the task at hand, and we will never forget. Let he who makes peace in the heavens grant peace to all of us."

Reading his words over several times I realized that I agreed with this Dick's words for the first time ever.

Unfortunately, I also recognized what lying hypocrites Dick and the rest of his Neo-Con mob really are based on their actions around the globe.

I do hope Dick is right and evil doesn't have "the final say."

Vice President's Remarks at Reception for Survivors of Auschwitz (whitehouse.gov)

Allan Stagg

Subject: US Concentration Camp X

Female interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay by sexual touching, wearing a miniskirt and thong underwear and in one case smearing a Saudi man's face with fake menstrual blood 1/28

Auschwitz reminds me...this is a Concentration Camp.

Nowhere have I seen recent reference to the Bush Prescott investment in the Nazi camps.

Kind Regards,

David Broatch

[BuzzFlash Note: This from Bill Gallagher (niagarafallsreporter.com): "George W.'s great-grandfather, George Herbert Walker, used the Union Banking Corp. he controlled to funnel money to rising young fascist Adolf Hitler, helping him finance the fledgling Nazi party. Walker arranged for his son-in-law, Prescott Bush -- father of the first President Bush and grandfather of our current president -- to get a job with the investment banking firm of W.A. Harriman and Company and to join the board of directors of Union Banking. The bank not only helped Hitler rise to power, but also helped him wage war. Well after the invasion of Poland, the bank was financing Nazi industrialists. When the U.S. government seized Nazi Germany's banking operations in New York City in 1942, the assets were liquidated. Prescott Bush and George Herbert Walker raked in $750,000 each. Nice work if you can get it. When it comes to money, they don't mind the source."]

Subject: Pentagon will be ready for the NEXT Enron...

I have to admit that I had thought the Bush Administration has been much too soft on corporate misdoings and the harm it has caused America. I believed that George Bush's plan was to do the absolute minimum in the way of controlling corporate finances and market manipulations.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that instead the administration was going to take an extremely firm stance against at least some forms of corporate misdeeds. It involves the following:

You might recall that part of Enron's corporate shenanigans was to manipulate power outputs in such a way that contributed to California's rolling blackouts and brownouts. If that isn't "sabotage of U.S. electrical grids," I don't know what is?


But with U.S. Special Forces on the job I can see the next Ken Lay being bundled off to Guantanamo for a little hooding and electrode action. Perhaps under these new threat plans, the Enron management team could have done a little team building with naked pyramids while living out their indefinite detention without trial.

This is something I could really get behind. Perhaps the next time there is a chemical massacre such as at Bhopal, companies like Union Carbide will be occupied and put under new and democratic management as well.

This could give a whole new meaning to the term corporate "raiders."

signed,

A BuzzFlash Reader and Big Time Patriot

Subject: Ted Turner doesn't control CNN any more

Buzz,

About your: Ted Turner calls FOX a "propaganda voice for the government." True,
Ted, but CNN isn't exactly the voice of the people. 1/28

Ted Turner doesn't control CNN any more, he got screwed, and now we get Fox-lite propaganda on CNN.

Bob

The DHS US Visit program is preparing to start using RFID tags at the border crossings in Alexandria Bay, NY, and Nogales, AZ, and one in Washington State. As a friend of mine has put it, "They're banding visitors like friggin' geese." This program is to kick off in July. I have an email that introduces the program; but, the DHS website doesn't mention RFID tagging. Is this the prelude to a national ID card, and monitorring of citizen's movements within the country? I wouldn't be surprised.

States to test ID chips on foreign visitors (CNET News)

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Senator Kennedy's Stand on Iraq

The sign I am contemplating to hold up one day every week on main street in Rochester, MN is this: STOP THE WAR BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW

Short and sweet and to the point. The time for debates, discussions, committees, elections, or anything else offered up by the Bush administration is over. We the People - the people of the US, the people of Iraq, the people of the world want this insane occupation of Iraq to end now.
 
A BuzzFlash Reader
Rochester, MN

Subject: Re: Isolation, breakdowns and mysterious injections (Guardian)

BuzzFlash,

This prisoner, captured in Afghanistan, is going to be treated upon his release by the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. He will be joining another released prisoner who has been receiving treatment there for the past ten months. I don't recall that we ever provided any proof that the 9-11 attacks ever came from Afghanistan other that a CNN article. We haven't explained the bombs reported going off in the WTC basement, and FEMA managed the structural steel analysis, which meant there was no investigation before the steel was recycled. We've been bombing, invading, and torturing based solely on our government's whim.

Jim Holsen
St Louis, MO

Subject: Diebold

Dear Buzz,

Just caught the headline that Diebold says a paper trail is possible...DUH! Like we didn't know that? With all the hackers out there who say the system of Diebold is easy to hack, I'm wondering about this, and could someone answer my question and calm my fear?

Ok, so now we have a paper trail for the upcoming election, let's pretend that Nov 2nd has not happened yet, and when I touch the screen for Kerry, the paper will show that I voted for Kerry............... Could it be possible for Diebold to say, yes, we all can feel safer now, we've given you a paper trail...meanwhile, while you're touching the screen for Kerry, it's registering a vote for Bush? Meanwhile Rethugs are touching the screen for Bush and getting a paper trail for Bush? And here we're getting a paper trail saying we voted for Kerry, and the computer chip or whatever is tallying a vote for Bush? Could this actually happen???

We need to get back to the pencil in hand and filling in the circles of our candidates of choice on paper!! Voting changes need to be done NOW in order for a legitimate vote to be counted.

A Loyal BuzzFan Forever!!

Sharon Carlton
Bellevue, Nebraska

Subject: Why are Democrats so defensive? Was every GOP Senator so impressed that none broke rank?

It is shocking to see the Democrats so defensive in explaining why some didn't vote for Rice. The onus should have been put on the Republicans for playing politics and being forced to ALL support her. You can't tell me that every GOP Senator wanted to confirm her? Why did Collins, Snowe, McCain, Chaffee VOTE TO CONFIRM THAT FOOL? Once one votes to confirm, how can you ever have a right to criticize them? You knew what they were and yet you voted for them. You have abdicated your moral dignity for political whoredom.

Democrats display at least some integrity. The GOP display no integrity. Thus impugning it is impossible. It takes some to impugn some.

Where is the Democrat's vision or strategy? They have no imagination or guts. Pick the fight and figure out how to win it. There are many of us who would gladly donate if there was a hint of spine, intelligence, and imaginative strategy that would give us hope.

Remember Churchill..."We will fight them on the beaches, we will fight them in the trenches, we will fight them all the way." Better to fight them on nearly every issue than just give up and give in and act like republicans.

Democrats must use a litmus test to decide when to fight the Republicans. Is it fair and just and decent? If not, then Democrats must fight this issue, this legislation, this nomination. It is simple. It is right. And we will prevail. Explain, explain and explain the rationale. And then fight in the House and the Senate and in the media and in the country and in the world.

DON'T they get it. We are in a WAR for our lives. And I don't mean that phony war on terror that Bush uses to scare us. This is not the usual political gamesmanship. This is whether or not we survive as a democracy.

AND it all starts with the ballot box. And I mean that literally. NO machines no scanners no touch screens. PAPER or Nothing. It is the only way to take this country back from the fascist fools.

BuzzFlash Addict

Regarding Senator Kennedy's address at Johns Hopkins: What more can be done if the administration is hell bent on the destruction of our way of life, yes, our country?

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Cheney's Green Parka and Boots Stand Out (AP/CHicago Tribune)

This underscores the administration's indifference to global sensitivities, to say nothing of respect, common sense, and good taste. Cheney's comfort trumps memorial for 13 million murdered.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Disagree?

I totally disagree with those that complain about your titles. They are ingenious and serve to bring out important points! They make us laugh! We are all entitled to our opinions, that is what a Democracy should be, but frankly if they don't like it, no one is holding a gun to their heads to make them read the titles. Keep up the GREAT WORK!

Susan Carr
Tucson, Az

BuzzFlash,

There is a Congressional hearing going on right now[late Friday morning], broadcast on C-span radio with whistle blowers from the Social Security Administration, testifying that they were forced to promote the privatization of SS, using taxpayer funds. TOTALLY ILLEGAL FOR A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: The Christian Primer

Sponge Bob is gay! Beware of same sex children holding hands when they go out to play! One touch and homosexuality is on the way! If you plan to refinance your home, find a "lending advisor with Biblical values": ChristianMortgageUSA.com. You can be sure this is a legitimate operation, just from the name! Give your tsunami relief to religious organizations who will insist upon conversion before passing out the biscuits to the homeless and starving. You can be sure this is what Jesus would do! If you want Roe versus Wade overturned, consider being neutered unless you are absolutely sure you can be totally celibate.

Twelve states now allow pharmacists who oppose contraception to refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control. Find your local Pro-Life group to join the bandwagon for abstinence! Whatever you do, don't read any stories about innocent people being released from death row on the basis of new DNA evidence! Remember, this is NOT a Pro-Life issue!

Tune into Rush Limbaugh for tips on how to bash organizations like the ACLU that defend your privacy rights. Put all your trust in those who bear the "born again" label. Their Christian integrity ensures they would never pay journalists to bear false witness. All ads promoting the administration's agenda can be believed without further thought.

Give no credence to any evidence that the past two elections have been stolen. God wants George Bush to be president and has told him so. All Christians are patriots. All patriots support the war. Those who support the war do not criticize its conduct. If doubts creep in, think of it as a crusade: we can convert Muslims to Christianity if we bring them democracy.

Don't concern yourself with stories of war crimes and torture committed by Americans. We are committed to bringing freedom to the whole world and God has exempted us from all accountability with a new proverb: two wrongs make right when you've got the might!

Last, but not least: don't worry. The Rapture is on its way. If you voted for George Bush, you are automatically on the list of those selected. He is the Second Coming and knows the mind of his REAL father.

Barbara Minich
Decatur, Illinois

Subject: What the hell does Ted have to do with CNN Anymore?

What the hell does Ted have to do with CNN Anymore? Ya Know Buzz, with stupid lines like this and your loser "gun control" crap, I'm really sorry that you're on my side. Please get a clue or defect to the Republicans.

Michael D. Adams
Atlanta, Ga.

[BuzzFlash Note: As the AP article notes, "Turner stepped down as vice chairman of AOL Time Warner in May 2003."]

Subject: Re Insult to injury (Salon.com)

40 million plus for Bush's big Dance and our military one of two things, killed or wounded in Iraq or screwed by the Bush Administration. Conservative, no, use US resources for personal profit and gain . . .

YES! Bush needs to be impeached. How many abuses to the Presidency are allowed before Bush is made accountable? This is nothing new, the abuse to our troops. I would like to take those flags waving around by people who are for this illegal war and stuff them! I have never, ever seen anything like this in America.

Lying our troops into a war is an act of treason and compounded by abusing them. How anyone could back this administration with its self indulgence and lack of care or even interest in this Country and our military, Iraq, or anything else the Bush administration has attempted. How can this Nation put up with this administration for four more years of death and destruction without any direction? The worst shame this Country has ever had to bear. I'm tired of this administration raping our Country and our citizens for their personal benefits.

It proves one thing, you can't put the experience of a boy into a man's job and expect a good outcome. It would help if members of Congress used their experience instead of just going along with the Bush administration . . . it's worse than the blind leading the blind when people get killed, maimed, and a whole Country is destroyed, along with over 100,000 innocent lives taken and in the name of GOD? Please!

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject : kennedy

kennedy basically says the troops can't win the fight and will fail so bring them home. how is that supporting them? they think they can win i know for a fact. i am very confused by this because it seems like hypocrisy from this site which accuses republicans of that all the time. and you say that your web site is about fair objective media free of government, but all you do is praise democrats and bash republicans, so how does that make this web site anything more than partisan garbage? please explain and clear up my confusions.

A BuzzFlash Reader
philadelphia/PA

[BuzzFlash Note: We don't equate supporting our troops with supporting Bush's war.]

Subject: Wisdom From The Founders

...Because it completely destroys the notion that America is a "Christian nation."

Ian

Subject: Cheney at Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony

What really pisses me off is that the press is raising this issue about what Cheney wore to the ceremony for remembrance of victims of the Holocaust. Of ALLLL the things this guy has done to our country, our freedoms, etc., and they are worried that he didn't dress correctly at a function held in freezing weather.

If they are worried about him making our country look bad, this is a strange issue for them to pick. I could name some other things if they are interested in reporting REAL news. Who cares what evil wears?

Danielle in the Panhandle

Subject: Senate Democrats Lay Out Opposition Agenda

It is MOST discouraging that the Senate Democrats have not seen fit to include sexual minority rights in its "Opposition Agenda" platform of most pressing issues. Indeed, it is an understatement to regard gay rights as a pressing issue. How many times do we queer activists need to blow the whistle on the increasing persecution upon at least 10% of our populace?

This 2% crap is propaganda effectively infiltrating our liberal media and ideas...and is a trivialization of our plight. 2% is more accurately defined as a gauge of those gays who are out to the public, while the remaining 8% remains closeted in fear and thus not counted as part of the non-hetero populace. Also, do not forget that it doesn't stop at 10%, when you take into account the many bisexuals coerced to play straight all their lives, and thus live a seemingly-pure hetero lifestyle. Unless of course you count their escorts, and other sex trade slaves to provide what they really prefer from time to time.

And it is IMMENSELY discouraging that the Democratic Party members (and other progressives) are cheering this "bold" Dem platform, without even bothering to notice that we sexual minority issues have been totally eliminated from the party platform. We have been intentionally shoved into the closet by the very political party so many of us have counted on to defend our integrity, security, rights, and equality.

Just as homosexuals who survived Nazi concentration camps were NOT really freed by the allied forces, but were promptly sent to prisons of their own governments...we queers are once more expected to shut up and take the suffering like a man...a straight man. What a joke! You're a bunch of sickos, many of you, who claim the mantle of the Democratic Party.

Though the lesser of the evil party, the Dems are still too hopeless to keep me in their party after 50 years of my loyalty! Gays have no political party fighting for their equality, in any way NEAR the aggression and solidarity they've shown for other oppressed groups.

For LGBT people, Amerikan society is itself a huge prison. And just like prison, the best strategy is to take no sides, don't join any gang...or party. Drop out of the Democratic party, if you're still a member. And let's not be fooled about the Greens: their pro-gay support is just as lackluster as the Dems. Stay non-partisan.

Zeke Krahlin
http://www.gay-bible.org 
San Francisco, CA