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February 3, 2005 |
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| 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 FEBRUARY 3, 2005 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. CLICK HERE FOR PART 1 Subject: SOTU/Groundhog Day Here's an odd coincidence! Today is Groundhog Day and the State of the Union Address. It is an ironic juxtaposition: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication, and the other involves a groundhog. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: The Speech The state of the union...did you notice how Bush approached the Social Security issue?? "All ideas are on the table." For just a moment there I thought he was looking presidential and then I remembered you can't trust a single word out of that man's mouth. Immediate fawning over the speech and the delivery of its words by Bush, as the media is required to do. I'm gonna wait to view it again tomorrow, and then think of the young people who have been blown away in a crazy, immoral war and contemplate the real state of the union. Richard Wagner Subject: mailbag...etc. Just remember...we are all (at least what we are made to understand) living in freedom...and that freedom means...to say anything we choose. Many republicans get upset when I have my say...and that hurts when it comes from your family...and when they call you names...and tell you to keep your mouth shut. Yes, it did happen in one case. And, no, I will never get over it...when it comes from your son and he does not even vote...and he, at the time, thought Saddam was responsible for 911...that is a little frightening!!! It should be to all Americans who knew the difference between Saddam and Osama...but, folks...you cannot imagine how many people believed that...and that is what the administration meant to happen. A great thing to do...and many will disagree, but to get your head on straight...is visit a chat room...just watch idiocy that goes on...the things that are said. They start by calling you a hopeless Liberal...who hates the fact that Bush freed the Iraqis...then it progresses from there...to it being hopeless to try to convince a Liberal of anything, that is good for America...and goes on to making us all Unamerican. I must confess, it does get to the point of hysterics sometimes...when you go back and ask them a simple question about Osama...and where he is...and why he has not been found...and on and on and on. Then they start with the blame game. Well, Clinton had many a chance to get him...and he was too busy with Monica...lol! It is funny...I usually ask them if they would volunteer their time to the effort in Iraq...since we are so shorthanded now...with the volunteer military. Then they will change the subject....or start the name calling...and it gets unprintable at times. But, it makes you realize just how misled they are and the way they want you to think! Neighbors at the time of the Iraqi call up said...'No, he really has to go"...but, could never tell me why! Never...one neighbor told me he was involved with "That guy"...and was paying him...whoever the hell that guy was! Some of the things I have listened to, have absolutely made me wonder...about brainwashing...I know the military was, just from things my granddaughter told me! A very unexplainable thing to me...is the very people in my life who are Bush backers...will not watch anything about politics...and have never watched a State of the Union address...believe it or don't! They were quick to criticize Clinton...and the turmoil when he was found to be with Monica...was horrendous!! But, they are the Bush voters...and will not watch him. My husband recently told me...when I asked how he thought the War was going...said he really believed that they would eventually find WMD...a week later, I asked him if he knew that the search had been called off back in Sept. 04....did you know that? And he said that "nothing would surprise him anymore!" End of discussion. And, just a footnote...the reason republicans are so frightened of Howard Dean...is that they know...he will be a democrat!!! It is that simple...ever since the 911 attacks...the dems have given Bush anything he wanted...and he had them right in the palm of his hand. Now, Dean...will not do that. He has a total uphill climb...it is not going to be easy...but it is the only way we will ever get our party back! Shirley............St. Louis Subject: Social Security... Letting the republicans have even one penny of Social Security open to the investment companies, the republicans will finally have their foot in the door, to destroy Social Security through the courts in years to come. All the republicans really want is their foot in the door, to destroy SS as they have vowed to do for 70 years! All of us should be aware that when Social Security passed during the Great Depression in 1935, not one Republican voted for it. All the republicans want is to just get their foot in the door, and then they know, they will be able to destroy Social Security as the years go by…bit by bit. We can’t allow any changes…Social Security is not in a crisis, only one made up by these same republicans who have always despised it, and we are supposed to trust them to “fix” what’s not broken? If one wants to invest, they can invest in a 401K anytime they like. Al Baston Subject: Your great headline/links Your writers are great with the headline links they dream up. very innocent and at the same time, cynical. Tough fence to ride. Like the tabloids, the headlines are often more interesting than the stories they link to by far. You have a wry sense of humor in them, and they really lift my day with more than a couple of laughs. Thanks :-) A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: The GOP has a petition... The GOP has a petition to remove CA Democrat Secretary of State, Kevin Shelley... Just as they had the bucks to secretly and underhandedly smear Clinton they are doing the same with Shelley. If the republicans can get Shelley to resign, Republican Governor Arnold WILL appoint a republican as Sec. of State and that person controls the voting in the state. With a republican Gov and republican Sec of State, they can get their electronic voting machines in California and control the state. www.bartcop.com Secretary Shelley has not been convicted of anything...Just the usual republican smear tactics. Could this be political revenge from companies like Diebold, which Shelley has given such a hard time? Kevin Shelley has been an outspoken critic of electronic voting systems that have been sold and entrusted to California voters for their elections. These systems have been tested by computer scientists and are said to be lacking in the most basic security standards, leaving an open window for vote manipulation. Shelley has been standing up to the E-voting manufacturers and demanding accountability and reliability of the machines California has purchased, decertifying Diebold equipment in all counties using one type of their touch screen system. Could it be, that Shelley is paying the political price for having integrity in his public service? He has come under such a multitude of attacks in the last few weeks, ranging from sexual harassment to laundered campaign donations, it seems a little strange that all this dirt is turning up - one after another. When stories like this come out - somebody has to go digging for it and for a reason. I don't know if the allegations are true or not, but one thing seems apparent, that someone is going after Shelley - but who and why? http://www.americanether.net/shelley.html What the Republicans did to get Democrat Gray Davis run out of office with the Enron created "Gray-outs"-- The Republican financed recall was created to get their celebrity star republican Schwarzenegger to replace Democrat Davis as Governor. Please tell people to write or call Shelley asking him NOT to resign. http://www.ss.ca.gov Donations: Shelley Legal Defense Fund 555 Capital Mall #1425, Sacramento, CA 95814 The republicans want and need to get a republican as Secretary of State in California, they can't do it through the voting process. So they are going about in their usual way, with money, smear tactics, distortions and lies and using the same corporate media lapdogs to feed us the slime. Did you believe the same republican-planted stories about Clinton or Davis? Shelley hasn't been convicted of anything. Get some f**king facts! Is innocent until proven guilty, too far-fetched for you? Is it more important to believe a bunch of nicely placed newspaper stories as truth, than is to seek the real truth...where are these smears coming from? Where did they magically appear about Clinton or Davis or any Democrat? FACT is Republicans will control the voting in California if they succeed in running Shelley out of office, something they couldn't do through voting. And the republicans have the money and the corporate owned media to do it. Al Baston Subject: SOTU Subject: What Bush doesn't tell you about Social Security Here is what Bush doesn't tell you about his plan for private
Social Security accounts. To support the exorbitant claims about
private accounts growing much more than current Social Security
investments, the economy would have to go on a 50 year run without
any economic downturns. Who knows, this could happen. What Bush
doesn't tell you is that if the economy grows at this exorbitant
rate, Social Security -- exactly like it is right now, without
one single change -- will do fantastic and be solvent well into
the next century. A gangbusters economy, like the one Bush touts
for private investments, would help the current Social Security
system just as much as private accounts. Subject: Buzz, how dumb can the Republicans get? Buzz: I am amazed at the ignorance the Republican Party is floating in. Just when you think they can't get any dumber...Buzz, take a look at their so-called Health Care Reform idea. Wow, my employer no longer provides ANY health insurance! THEN, I get to put up to $5,000 in a tax free shelter and then I buy a Golden Rule Health Insurance plan with a high (20,000$) deductible. In the Republican's Laissez, I'll be wise in maximizing my health choices through the free market. Sadly, Buzz, I'm one of those with pre-existing health conditions, I doubt Golden Rule will sell me a policy with a low enough deductible. I already need six medicines to handle my rheumatoid arthritis and hypertension. Who will help me pay for the drugs I need to live? Will the churches help me? I doubt it. Too many of them have "edifice complexes," building bigger churches and buying BMWs for their superstar preachers because the Republicans are diverting MY TAXES to suppoort them... Buzz this is sorta like having the Republicans make me put $5,000 in a Savings and Loan account and then buy a high deductible fire insurance policy for my house. Let's say that deductible is $50,000. Buzz, what the hell would I do if my house burns down and the Insurance company says, too bad, you didn't meet the deductible? Show me where I can buy a house for $5,000 that DOESN'T have a moon cut in the front door! What boils my blood even more is that the Main $tream Media praises all these ideas as being the greatest thing since sliced bread. I got to turn to You, Bartcop, Democratic Underground, Talking Points Memo, Kos, Atrios and others to find out what is REALLY going on! AND you can bet I sent e-mails to Boxer and Feinstein urging them to stand up and save EVERYONE'S Health Insurance before it is too late! Joe Bacon Subject: ILLINOIS REPUPUGS I live in northwest Indiana so all of our media comes from Chicago. On the radio the other day, I believe it was Tuesday, I heard that the the repug leader in Illinois was calling on people to call with any stories of wrong doing or corruption by the democrats in Cook County and gave them the number to call. This is where Chicago is, of course, a democratic stronghold for years. I guess they are trying to get Chicago under their grasp so they can take the rest of the state. I just think this is another dirty tactic to take control and not very ethical [like the repugs care about ethics], because there are already processes you can take to report corruption without calling the repug leader. Jesse Subject: I just got an idea (uh oh!) Listening to The Speech last night, and nearly choking on my
indignation, it suddenly struck me: what if all the liberals and
progressives Fed-Ex ed bags of pretzels to the White House for
Super Bowl Sunday? Maybe Dubya would choke again and land on his
head. On second thought, Condi will probably pre-chew them for
her "husb...President Bush." Oh, well...I guess our
only hope is that all the lies, distortions, and sheer bullshit
about Social Security, Iraq, etc., will eventually come back (and
have to be swallowed) to choke the purveyor. Subject: ethics commitee...an oxymoron News Flash...Rep. Richard Hastings has been tapped to head the House Ethics Commitee...and in other news, John Gotti has been appointed director of the FBI, and Wiley E. Coyote has been named poultry inspector. Phil in Vermont Subject: air america radio is now in los angeles finally karin dicker Dear BuzzFlash: Can we start with the idea that we’re starting the Social Security
Debate so far from the learning curve that us liberals still think
we're on straight road? Subject: Definition of Reform Reformed: Theft Dear BuzzFlash, Subject: State of The Union Speech Dear BuzzFlash Readers: I will have to admit that I didn't actually listen to it ... as there is not enough alcohol in the world to mellow me out enough. However, I did listen 'at' it this morning. Had a difficult time paying attention to what was said, as all I could think of while watching the congress spring up and down to applaud was the scene from "No Time For Sergeants" where, after Andy Griffith has finished polishing the latrines, as the Sergeant comes in to inspect, Griffith steps on a pedal he has rigged up to pop up the toilet seats....I don't know what anyone else who has seen this film thought about that...but to me, the seats were 'saluting'.....looked like congress was doing the same 'thing'........ A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: "Blaming
the Messengers" editorial on 2/3/05 (NY Times) The Times appropriately defends the four lawyers who challenged
the Nov. 2 Ohio vote in court and were then subjected to sanctions
by state officials for having filed "frivolous suits."
But your editorial neglected a remarkable irony in the situation. Subject: Dean is the only chance the Democrats have Dear Buzz, This is a response to a letter written by A BuzzFlash Reader from Concord, NH. The author of the letter stated that "Dean is wrong for the Democrats." I respectfully disagree! Dean is the only chance the Democrats have. It seems as of now most of the Democrats have become backbone challenged. Dean is pretty much the only one that had the guts to stand up to Bush and his bullies. Dean was against the war before it was politically correct to be against it. As I recall, John Kerry and John Edwards voted in favor of the war. The author of the letter needs to realize that you can't compromise with, or give into, the Republicans, because they sure as hell don't want to compromise with you. Just listen to Right Wing radio, and you'll hear some of the most hateful, vile talk coming from not only the host, but also the callers. Democrats will continue to lose if they keep trying to be Republicracts. It doesn't matter to these people if the Democrats change their stance on abortion or gay rights, the GOP slime machine will just say this Democratic candidate was once in favor of abortion, and gay rights. Then they'll throw the label "Flip Flopper" on them. No matter how twisted their logic is, right or wrong, the Republicans keep one position. Dean has the courage and the strength to lead the Democratic party. It's time for Democrats to embrace the term "Liberal," just as Bush embraces the word Conservative. Instead of reaching out to and trying to change the other side, why not create more Democrats? I say Go Dean GO!! Kimberly D. Subject: "Constitutionalism" or "Strict Constructionism" a Smokescreen The extremist religious right would impose its view of the "Judeo-Christian value system" upon us all without any "diversity" if their so-called "Constitutionalism" or "Strict Constructionism" prevails in the courts. http://www.reporternews.com/abil/op_columns/article/0,1874,ABIL_7981_3508482,00.html Dave Haigler Subject: We have heard all of George W Bush's lies! We have heard all of George W Bus's lies! ...that Iraq attacked US on that 911 day! ...that Saddam Hussein was involved with al Qaeda! ...that there were Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq! ...that removing Saddam Hussein from power was the reason! ...that a free election in Iraq was the reason! ...that Social Security is the real enemy! Average Joe Subject: Control the Message Dear BuzzFlash, In the same way the Republicans use repetition to hammer their message through the heads of their target audience, we need to do the same with the IMPEACHMENT message. The evidence of crime is there (war crimes, treason in the Plame case, for example). We need to build the case and keep talking about it. The Constitution provides a process for deposing a criminal president, and we need to use it. Even if it takes until 2006, it will force Bush to spend time and resources in the meantime to fight it. After all, "Daddy" never got impeached, and isn't that what it's all about? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Quote of the Day
Moriah Subject: state of the union Hello Buzz. Another speech, and the rhetoric just keeps piling up like the dung heap that it is. When W. walked out through the hallowed halls his chest was stuck out so far he looked like a chicken pulling a load of logs. A friend commented, between bong hits, that he thought what we really need to combat this BS is a new CD from Frank Zappa. Boy do we miss him in these times. He'd have a Box set out on this bunch. The most unnerving thing about the whole deal was having Cheney hovering over W's shoulder. I actually thought at any moment he would pull a human bone out of his pocket and start gnawing on it like a chicken wing. Then calmly lean over and remove Hastert's hankie from his breast pocket and wipe the corners of his mouth. And who was this so-called Iraqi woman sitting beside Laura Bush? Maybe the Haze is a bit thick and potent, but I had been wondering where the hell Monica Lewinsky had been hanging her hat. They got her stashed away in Crawford or what? Put a few lbs on hasn't she? The horror, the horror. It appears by all intents that Georgie Boy and his thugs are not going anywhere. It will be very interesting to see how it goes come 08'. They've done it to you twice. Three more years and these birds will have it down so well that the Dems will never get back in there. What I found most startling about the whole affair, was the post-speech commentary. There was actual surprise that there were a few muffled "no's" heard from the Dems concerning Social Security. It would be interesting to see how any of these clowns would react in the Canadian Parliament. You want to see THOSE maniacs in action. Opposition parties are raving and screaming at one another, AND the P.M. defends, or justifies his own actions. These guys take debate to a level just short of actual violence. This is the reason Bush did not address the Canadian House. There are some politicians here that would just love to put the 99 degree to the shrub. Ah, there is nothing wrong with George that a good hedge trimmer and a pair of safety glasses wouldn't cure. Anyway fellow flashers, keep up the vigilance. And keep Barbara Boxer in your vision for 08'. That woman has bigger balls than any Democrat I've heard in a while... Tony Gouchie p.s. When W was here in Canada a while back, there was a protester with a sign that stated it all: "get your flu shot and go home!" Subject: A FACT IS LIKE A SACK! Senator Frank Lautenberg described George W. Bush's State of the Union Address accurately when he said, "it had salesmanship but not substance." On the face of things, Luigi Pirandello, author, noted, "A fact is like a sack which won't stand up when it is empty. In order that it may stand up, one has to put into it the reason and sentiment which have caused it to exist!" George Bush can also be described as a man of many faces. One might conclude his normal jaunty demeanor was tempered with a little common sense as his tone was a little less of a bully, and on his face, we saw the smirking grin was effectively covered up for the speech. As expected every Bush-bending fact was cheered by the Republicans while the other side of the aisle was silent! For those calling it a "new day" in Iraq, the news report this morning proved the insurgents were up to "old business," as about 38 of the Iraqi people lost their lives and two more American Marines were killed and that report was just the first action reported for the day. The full story has not been written, so "Not So Fast, Jones!" Though we all appreciate and honor the great sacrifice of our soldiers and the military families, and our hearts went out to the parents who lost their son, with a little patience none of these deaths had to occur. All through the campaign Bush used heartfelt stories that were scripted and that fact was recounted in Paul O'Neill's book, "Price of Loyalty." While we do not believe last night's heartwarming incident was staged, and we do know the emotions of those parents were real, but we should be aware that the parents, the Iraqi voter, and the voter from Afghanistan were placed in that spot for a reason. That is exploitation, and an old proverb states, "Blood oils the machinery of exploitation!" With the realization of that fact, some of our tears might have dried up! As Bush asked us what the state of our children's lives will be, we can only ask him, "Do you think our monstrous debt, our huge trade deficit, a lost surplus, and tax cuts that benefit the rich will help the next generation?" The reason he has to restrain the budget now is because of his total "mismanagement" during his term. By the way, the omission of war costs and other related expenses in your 2005 budget is just another form of deceit, Mr. Bush! At the rate you are going, the deficit will be cut in half like pigs fly! Many others will challenge the Social Security plan, so in passing we must ask ourselves how many knowledgeable people have always known the real Republican plan has been to get rid of Social Security and Medicare, and that this is just the Republicans' first step? As for the rest of his address, the vague and distorted facts,
the same old rhetoric, the sins of omission and the misrepresentation
of the facts are not even worth the time we took to hear them!
It is worth repeating; Bertram Gross, author, explained, "The
more lies are told, the more important it becomes for the liars
to justify themselves by deep moral commitments to high-sounding
objectives that mask the pursuit of money and power!' Subject: no network news Hi, Buzz!! Kimberly D. from NY has a good idea. I also turned off the TV
news several months ago, and it's had a salutary effect on my
blood pressure, if nothing else. I turned it off when I began
to see Ann Coulter on every news program all the time. I don't
know how news people can call themselves journalists when they
give time to somebody like her. Kimberly D is right: If we ALL
turn off the news, the advertisers will go away, and something
will have to give. Maybe we could adopt a slogan (to paraphrase
another form of entertainment): TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! TURN
IT AAAAALLLL OFF!! Thanks, Buzz! Subject: Nationwide Unions must strike now! BuzzFlash--All Union members must join in a nationwide total shutdown strike protesting ending of Social Security and destruction of our way of life by the Bush Cartel--their madness must cease ! ^2U Arthur L. Davis (a UAW retiree)
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