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| March 14, 2005 |
MAILBAG ARCHIVES | ||
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. Subject: Social Security Subject: Reform Social Security All employees and elected officials
in the Legislative Branch of the Federal
Government (i.e. all House and Senate
members, and all staff), would participate
in this trial. All other pension benefits
they might otherwise receive due to
their employment, would be terminated,
and they would instead join the "new"
Social Security" program, and would
be able to contribute to the "personal
accounts." Put this into a Bill,
and introduce it into both houses, and
see how far this would get. Subject: Social Security I believe someone at your creative site can come up w/a way to inundate Duhbya w/band-aids ... he keeps telling his audiences that Congress needs to fix it - "no Band-aid solutions." What do say you? Any ideas? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Democrats ... Double the Trouble ...
I don't think this is a surprise to anyone ... but, with all of
the proven inconsistencies and illegalities in the election of 2000,
2002 and now 2004 ... Democrats, if they are to fight for the Right
to a Democracy ... they have to hit back doubly hard ... a straight
punch to the belly of the Republicans. So hard, that it will take
the sails out of these criminals and get some attention from some
of the media. I think it's time for the Democrats to give Bush something to really
worry about. Impeachment. Not, just for Bush, but everyone in his
administration who shared in this crime. Who needs forensics ...
the blood is on their hands and it's not going to wash off. Regarding,
Washington and their fight ... maybe Kerry would donate some of
his 15 million-plus cash that he has no use for now. The interest
on that money would be quite a donation. Subject: Sen. Lieberman Subject: Great Credit Card Solicitation Method Of Saying No Just heard this on The
Majority Report. From Air America's The Majority Report Blog:
Suggestion from Jenny from California: when credit card companies
send you junk mail solicitations, use their pre-paid envelope, write
"I REJECT THE BUSH AGENDA / I REJECT THE CREDIT CARD LOBBY
THAT OWNS BUSH" on the outside. Then just drop it in the mail.
Tom Subject: Follow The Money If you want to follow the money going to politicians, all you
have to do is go to: http://www.followthemoney.org/
Subject: Journalists Killed Or Taken Hostage In Iraq - But None
Seem To Be From Corporate American Media? Now I, and a lot of other people (and not just bloggers) are beginning to think he might have had something there. I went looking through a few hundred pages of a google search on “American journalists hostage killed Iraq.” I came up with all kinds of hits for journalists from countries other than the U.S. who had been taken hostage and/or killed by “radical muslims.” What I found, through Google, Pandia or Metasearch, was only a single mention of American journalists taken hostage and/or killed in Iraq. It seems that an American journalist, Micah Garen, who worked for an independent media company in New York called Four Corners Media, was taken hostage. Note that the significance of this is: I can’t find ANY other U.S. journalists mentioned anywhere, and this one was INDEPENDENT. Seemingly innocuous, though, as he was covering looting of antiquities. I found where Al Jazeera had to clear out of Baghdad after being bombed a couple of times by the U.S. forces. So, here’s the deal, folks: This smells really, really bad to me. It smells like Eason Jordan might have been right. It also smells like only independent media, freelance, or foreign media journalists are being taken hostage and/or killed in Iraq by “insurgents.” Maybe Eason Jordan only skimmed the tip of the iceberg, because it seems to me that there’s something dark and mealy hidden away in the back of everyone’s fervid paranoia that few seem to want to come right out and say. With that in mind, fear is a tactic, a tactic designed by evolution to keep us from being eaten by lions and tigers and bears, and it is a tactic used by those in power to keep us afraid of questioning. Whether the fear is of being bombed or shot, or of being labeled a crackpot or kook and delegated to the ‘meds’ corner, it is a tactic of control. So, I have to ask the question: Why is it that CNN, or ABC, or NBC, or FOX, or MSNBC, or any of the big newspapers, all owned by the same 2 or 3 companies, have NOT had their journalists bombed by U.S. tanks or shot at by U.S. forces? It could be dumb luck. It could be something much more worrisome, much more insidious, and much more difficult to wrap our heads around than dumb luck. It could be fear by design. We already know that we here in the U.S. do not see the real Iraq war on our televisions. What we see is a watered down, sanitized and even cussing-free version of a war. Our media won’t show us what really goes on over there … but a foreign or independent journalist might. When Giuliana Sgrena, who works for Il Manifesto, an Italian communist newspaper, was able to speak about the events that led to the shooting of herself and the killing of her negotiator, she presented a very different version of events, a version that differs markedly from U.S. military accounts in all but the time of day. One account stated that she had written about a woman held at Abu Ghraib prison, something that the U.S. always denied before when “insurgents” demanded that women be released from Abu Ghraib before they would free a hostage. When she was taken hostage, she was writing an article about refugees from Falluja trying to take refuge in a mosque. Her captors, according to Sgrena, warned her that the U.S. didn’t want her alive as they were releasing her. Wait-pause-rewind-replay – now, what the … ? Would we really be
all that surprised to find out in 20 years when someone in the upper
echelons of our government finally starts to talk that these “insurgents”
might not be just what they appear as presented by our corporate
media? These reports, frankly, are worrisome, and make me wonder
just what the hell is going on over there? Someone, please, please
tell me that our government isn't so hell bent on keeping us ignorant
that they would target journalists, because I may not sleep until
the BushCo administration is over. Subject: Dictatorship Of The GOP Isn't it time to acknowledge that George Bush is only the front man? Isn't it time to name the beast he leads? After all, George is little more than a puppet miming someone else's words. This revolution in politics is more correctly called the Dictatorship of the GOP. It is the collective actions of GOP party leaders, the encouragement of the Coulters-hate-speech crowd, and the acquiescence of Republican supporters that have made possible: • Imprisonment without trial • Abrogation of the Geneva Convention • Torture as standard operating procedure for the US Army • The end of minority participation in the legislative process • The end of a transparent election process • Gulags in Cuba, Egypt, and Afghanistan • Free-speech “Zones” • Publicly-financed propaganda • One party media • Public policy directed by CEO • Pre-emptive invasion of other sovereign countries • Refusal to participate in a World Court • Legislation directed at enriching supporters from the public coffers This does not represent the efforts of one man. The GOP controls
the courts, the legislature, and the executive. Any one of these
institutions—not to mention GOP voters—could have brought much of
this to a screeching halt. But they haven’t. The GOP has become
a dictatorship. It’s time to recognize that the US has now adopted
the system that Reagan supposedly defeated. The dictatorship of
the proletariat has been replaced by a capitalist version—rule by
the rich. Subject: Bush The Fix-it Man Subject: Re Mailbag 3/10/05 Susan Carr, who wrote of the Dan Rather affair ... and the documents
about the Bush To Rich ... Joe Biden has never fooled me. I have never liked the
man ... he is a different And to Suellen Cantrell ... I feel the same way you do about the
President ... the There was this little funny ... that no one seemed to catch ...
it was on someone's show Shirley......St. Louis PS: Time to watch "The Hunting of The President" again
... thank you, BuzzFlash ... time for another donation! If you,
those of you on the Mailbag, do not have this movie ... it is Subject: How To Terminate The Experiment
Gretchen Brandt and the divinity professor demonstrated behavior for Americans to model. They also provided reasoning to support their behavior. 1. Traditional Religion. They both seem to be influenced by the values of traditional religion. Gretchen Brandt mentions what is basically the 'Golden Rule' - do unto others (Mark 12:28-31). The divinity professor is a specialist in the bible. 2. Citizenship and Societal Considerations. Gretchen Brandt says that the lessons of Nazi Germany and its inhumanity may have influenced her. 'Perhaps we have seen too much pain.' The divinity professor says that some things might happen elsewhere, such as in Soviet Russia, but 'not in America.' 3. Disputing Assertions. They both dispute the claims being made. Gretchen Brandt says, "Well, I’m sorry, I think they ARE dangerous." The divinity professor says he "understands" the assertion about the importance of the activity but that he does "not understand" how it is being placed above human life. Let's honor the example of these wonderful Americans. It's time to stop the madness of the Bush experiment. Bush and his acolytes echo the experimenter, saying that "it is absolutely essential ... that we continue," referring to almost identical torture situations as well as to more indirect human effects caused by this ideology-driven government. If more Americans would just emulate Gretchen Brandt and the divinity professor it could be ended. Media? - Bill Keller? Bob Schieffer? Stephanopoulos? Which side are you on? Public Officials? - Joe Biden? Alberto? Michael Chertoff? Joe Lieberman? What are your actions? American citizens? It's time to tell your government to stop. Source: Stanley Milgram Obedience to Authority (paper) Gretchen p84-85 Professor p47 Milgram's work is often cited to show that ordinary people can be influenced to go along with inhumane acts. There is another important reason to cite the study - to honor the people who refused to go along and stopped the experiments. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. -- Mark 12:28-31 http://www.stanleymilgram.com/milgram.html Subject: Bush Lied Subject: Re: Today's Top 5 Headlines on BuzzFlash.com Framing vs. Fencing: A post-Lakoff analysis. What This Amounts to is That the Democrats Have to Destroy the Credibility of the Leninist-Type Extreme Right Wing Opposition, Which the Dems are Ham-Fisted About Doing. 3/12 To allege be so progressive, why do you continue to use 1950's, ultra-rightist style, anti-Communist and anti-Soviet rhetoric? Seems like you're getting your material from old issues of the National Review. Joseph Clore Subject: Bush the Freedom Fighter Subject: Greenspan Is Out Of His Mind As I read the letters to the editor in The Hartford Courant this morning, I couldn't agree [more] with a letter by Cate Groves (Greenspan Is Out Of His Mind) shown below. The next thing you'll hear Greenspan saying is that Massive Budget Deficits, Massive Imports of products FROM China and Outsourcing Jobs TO India "are the way to go" for America's Economy. Or has he already said that? It's time for Greenspan to go!
Tom Wieliczka Subject: The View From The Other Side (of The Mirror) 1. Far righters shouldn't give up on Social Security "reform" just yet [Crisis or Confusion? The Status of Social Security, by Paul Weyrich, Tuesday, March 08, 2005, (chronwatch.com)]. Why? Because Bush "has yet to present his actual plan. So Democrats are really shadowboxing because we don't know exactly what his plan will contain." Because "in contrast [to Hillary Clinton] ... the president ... has remained flexible and open to any idea put forth by the Congress, regardless of party." Because "the president is only in phase one of his education plan. He is trying to convince the American people that Social Security is in crisis and must be fixed." Because "I was at a meeting last week where Karl Rove described the president's feisty determination on this issue." 2. It's time for far righters to turn their right attention to picking the next president [Candidate Credentials: A Dilemma In 2008? By Paul M. Weyrich (03/09/05), (americandaily.com)] That's pretty important, you know, because these folks "helped make Newt Gingrich. We put him on the cover of every magazine. We had him keynote every convention. We helped to bring him a national following which he shrewdly used in ascending the leadership ladder of the GOP in the House." 3. It's time to take the free speech shackles off houses of worship [Restore First Amendment rights to houses of worship (3/12/05), (theunionleader.com)]. Yes, it's time we let the religious leaders step in to the political arena and spend tax-free dollars to tell you to vote for their brand of moralism and intolerance. How could that be a bad idea when it's espoused by someone widely quoted as saying, "We are different from previous generations of conservatives. We are no longer working to preserve the status quo. We are radicals, working to overturn the present power structure in this country." Orwell may well be rolling in his grave, but I suspect that Lewis
Carroll is laughing his butt off in his. Subject: Bob Schieffer's CBS Evening News Debut Featured Conservative
Misinformation On Social Security Bob Schieffer's questions during the Presidential debates made
me realize he is just another press plant. Remember he brought up
the "homosexual" questions. That seemed odd to me at the
time, and I now understand. He is another of Rove's press whores. Subject: Someone Left The Door Open, Do We Feel A Draft! Recruitment for all the armed services is at an all-time low, our military is overextended, yet Mr. Bush still DEPLOYS HIS MOUTH in threatening other nations and continues to lose friends and influence enemies! The Bush-Rove political machine "mizzspeaks" and tells us there will be NO DRAFT!! In February, George W. Bush pledged we are not going to have a draft. Many of us are NOT reassured by the man who has spoken out of BOTH sides of his mouth before! A question to be considered is, if there ever was a preemptive strike by Israel, would "backing up our enemies" be a "Righteous" ploy or a necessity to engage in an acceleration of the war! We heavily rely on our Army Reserve and the National Guard, yet with recruitment as low as it is, and improvement not very likely, if there is a sudden flare-up, it's possible we would have to reconsider ALL options! Our Armed Forces are facing prolonged deployment in Iraq. Bush is far from an angel, many agree he would go in {in an impulsive move} where angels dare to tread! He has also proven, as he invaded a Sovereign Nation, that world opinion is not a deterrent to him. Bush used falsehoods, misrepresentations and omitted dissenting opinions as a means to justify his political ends, and his “legacy!” There is a quote from the German philosopher Nietzsche that explains, “How good bad music and bad reasons sound when one marches against an enemy!” How far will Bush take us down the road of war in his “March towards Democracy?” Since it is his “legacy,” one thing we can believe is the killing, deaths will go on and {excuse me, Martha} he will claim it a “good thing,” even if it is a PREMATURE conclusion! Our young men and women should be on alert, because George Bush would never heed the warning by Woodrow Wilson, when he declared, “You cannot tear up ancient rootages and safely plant the tree of liberty in soil not native to it!” If Democracy is the real choice of the Arab Nations, perhaps it
would be better for those changes to be implemented from within
{as they have asked} without foreign interference! The bigger “legacy”
SHOULD really be to look for a way our youth and others would not
fight or die! CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THE MARCH 14, 2005 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG. |
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