 |
|||
| August 12, 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: Cindy Sheehan, a Woman of Courage and Conviction Cindy Sheehan Is a woman of courage and conviction. She’s doing something that our instincts as parents tell us to do… Fight for your child. Yes it’s true that her son voluntarily joined the military, but we must look at the whole picture. When he signed up to fight for his country he assumed that everything that Bush and administration said was true, that Saddam did in fact have WMD’s, that Saddam was working with the terrorists and sooner or later we would have a mushroom-cloud lurking over us. Casey Sheehan thought he was fighting to protect America from the likes of Saddam. With the release of the Downing Street Memo, and the Duelfer report, we know unequivocally that those assumptions were all false. The people on the right who call themselves Christians really need to do some soul searching before criticizing Ms. Sheehan. Casey Sheehan will never celebrate another birthday, his mother will never again be able to touch his face or hear his voice. The only thing Ms. Sheehan has left of her son is memories and photographs. Bill O’Reilly and Michelle Malkin can kiss their kids at night and tuck them safely into bed. Ms. Sheehan can’t. When Bill or Michelle sends one of their own over to Iraq and he or she returns in a body bag, then they’ll have an inside look into the mind of Ms. Sheehan. Until then, they should stop making jackasses of themselves and continue to cover fluff news. Why would anyone expect Ms. Sheehan to sit silently by and become a picture in the background for Bush when he wants to show that he still has support from military families? It’s her duty as a mother and as an American to speak out when she sees wrongdoing by her government. Kimberly D. Subject: Democrats and Diebold Machines Are the Democrats going to use the Diebold machines to win re-election in 2006? With republican approval, those democrats who have rubber stamped the bushites' policies can easily overcome any challenge from a progressive who embodies the real ideals of liberals. IF NOT, THEN WHY HAVE THEY NOT FOUGHT FOR PAPER BALLOT AND FAIR, ALL-EMCOMPASSING ELECTIONS? WHY? Lawton Watson Subject: Justice Dept. lawyers claim US has right to torture my wife Hello BuzzFlash, I'm a huge fan of your site and visit it almost every day. I noticed that you hadn't picked up on the attached story and wanted to flag it for you. I've been disgusted and ashamed of the Bush Justice Department before, but this time I cannot stay silent. I'm an American who had the good fortune to marry a wonderful Canadian woman, and we often travel to visit my family in the US. On Tuesday, a lawyer arguing for the government (in the Maher Arar rendition and torture case) described just what my wife can expect crossing the border. If she is suspected of being a threat, she can be arrested without warrant, given no access to a lawyer or consular officials, denied food and sleep, and tortured just shy of causing "gross physical harm." If it's all a mistake, the US admits no responsibility. I'm sure most Americans would be horrified if Canada claimed the power to behave this way towards US visitors. To proudly proclaim your national right to beat and starve other human beings is beneath contempt. This story is getting coverage across Canada (I heard it on national CBC Radio this morning). I expect more of my Canadian friends will shake their heads and ask me what happened to my country. I can't even begin to answer on this one. Keep up the good fight, U.S. Defends Detentions at Airports (NY Times) David Williams [BuzzFlash Note: The headline is on our site.] Subject: FCC Hires Conservative Advisor To Combat Indecency... (huffingtonpost.com) i do not want my tax dollars wasted on this b/s...how do we raise public awareness of just how their taxpayer money is being spent? the right doesn't want to fund abortions-i do not want to fund this or an illegal war. how do we organize a tax protest? Karin Subject: Clint Black I decided to write to Clint Black who will apparently be performing at the, "Freedom For You March," to ask him to please reconsider. Web site was busy so I did a google and this site was there and I was just stunned by what I saw. Make up your own minds about this. http://www.richardsandsouthern.com/clintblack/ Colleen Martinico Subject: One Thing and Another Hi, Buzz!!! A few months ago I quoted Jim Wallis on the need for someone to change the wind in politics, as Martin Luther King did. I think Cindy Sheehan may be that person. So I say to her: YOU GO, GIRL!! I haven't read the article the wingnuts are quoting to prove she "flip-flopped" on the war, but so what if she did? I think it was Benjamin Franklin (?) who said, "Only fools and dead men never change their minds." Speaking of which, W is fond of bragging that he never changes his mind. What does that tell us (nothing we didn't already know)? The announcement of a concert to mark the 9-11 anniversary reminds me of the Roman emperors' tactic for keeping the people quiet: Bread and circuses. It may have worked for the Roman ruling classes, but in the U.S.A., it only works if we let it. W notwithstanding, We the People still have the real power. Jane Hawes Subject: Accomplices Thirty-five years ago war protesters and supporters alike had a limited access to media information, mainly three major networks and a fledgling PBS. There were newspapers, with their usual political stances, and news magazines, but it was relatively easy to control what information the public received, compared to today. Now we have millions of web sites, cable and satellite access, in addition to the papers and radio to get information. When our country has been forced into a war where we don't belong and phony terror attacks are deployed to provide the justification for that war, it behooves every one of us to investigate all the facts, not just the ones we want to hear. Truth is out there, and it isn't coming from George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh, FOX News and right-wing radical blogs. Turning a blind eye to the treason and genocide this President has committed and supporting our being in Iraq is absolutely inexcusable. We all support our troops - we want them home. "Support" doesn't mean rooting for more deaths and sinking into an even deeper quagmire. It is not too much of a stretch to suggest that anybody who continues to support Bush, be it a media sycophant or some person who is too lazy to give this war the scrutiny it deserves, is complicit in this heinous chapter in our history. Bush can and should be stopped - however, if we allow him to continue unabated his own terror campaign, then we have condoned what he has done and should hang our heads in shame. Scott Subject: Support for Cindy Sheehan Dear Buzzers, In today's (Thurs) Mailbag, this folllow-up was offered to a couple of letters about the lack of support from the Democrats: "BuzzFlash Note: FYI: 38 Members of Congress Call on Bush to Meet with Cindy Sheehan." I know that my congresswoman signed onto that letter and that she has been in the groups that have marched in Washington for various purposes. But she is not in Crawford. So I called her local office and requested that she go to Crawford. Everyone can call your local congress person's office and make that request. Tell them why you want them in Crawford. (They are on vacation right now, just as Bush is. Only they are supposed to be meeting and talking with their constituents during this time.) Talk to them. Maybe, then, we will see some Democrats with Cindy Sheehan. (By the way, I heard her say that Walter Jones - the Republican from North Carolina, plans to join her in Crawford. I said that to the person in Jan Schakowsky's office, too.) Leslie Subject: Christian Values God, and True Christianity have not changed. Mainstream Christians still believe in These greedy elite and racists are the worst in our society, they're the backbone of the republican party. Without their combined votes, the greedy, alone, or the racist hate groups, alone, wouldn't have any political influence. Their evil has been united under the most unlikely of all covers . .."Christianity." The republican "elitists" attitude tells them they are wealthy because they are smarter, or "blessed by God," and because they are smarter or "blessed by God," they know what's best for America, and therefore are justified in doing whatever it takes to retain power and wealth. This republican southern strategy has worked since the civil rights act of 1965 enacted by the Democrats Kennedy and Johnson. Johnson said publicly the republicans will win the south for generations to come. The racists' south became the backbone of the republican party and remains so today ... they vote republican EVERY election. The "religious" right have distorted christianity ... they are the American taliban ... old south conservatives who have perverted true christainity ... the white supremicist, kkk christians ... all conservative radicals that vote republican. They want to destroy the public school system, [segregation], racial hatred, [expel all nonwhites from the country] ... hate of homosexuals, because the bible identifies it as wrong, [along with greed, slavery, adultery, hate, torture lite, etc., which is apparently ok] ... their hate of jews, the states' rights [to reenact segregation] gun rights, etc. all the platform of the republican party. Requirements of membership in the ku klux klan is that you be a WHITE,
CHRISTIAN, PRODESTANT, of HIGH MORAL CHARACTER. It's mind boggling that they consider
themselves to be of high moral character OR a christian, with their hatred and racism, but, There are many Americans today who would never consider themselves to be kkk types, but they agree with the very same fundamental values of these groups ... and also think they have high moral character and are christians ... only they call themselves fundamentalists and conservatives. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ... it's a duck. As each pseudo christian right winger takes a hard look in the mirror, he will see he's not fooling anyone but himself ... and certainly not God. For the elitists republicans to win elections, they must pander to their voting base by Jesus said, his sheep know his voice and follow him. Hitler claimed to be a christian It's obvious the radical right doesn't care the least about Christianity, it's
about the money ... greed ... and power. They are so moral debating endlessly about their
love for the frozen stem cell, and the cruelty of the "godless" in the medical field
that want to use them for medical research. They say it would be murder or taking a life, so
they want to keep it frozen for eternity. Their hypocrisy is renowned, the elite 5% in the
republican party that benefit from this process are drunk on power and greed and certainly
are smarter than the 95% that vote for this and lose their country, their freedom, their A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Mr. Bush not Mr. President I cannot in good conscience call you Mr. President, so, Mr. Bush ... do you realize that Cindy Sheehan is practically camped on your doorstep? Why would you need to hear from others about Sheehan’s plight? All you have to do is walk down that dusty, old, forlorn road leading to your ranch and speak with her personally. The nation and the world is watching you. They see a coward hiding in his house, afraid to give a little honor and dignity to this woman who lost her son, by talking to her. You don’t even have to invite her onto your property ... just walk down the road, skunk. You could even ride your bike if you don’t feel like walking ... on second thought, stick with walking. Yes, we are watching ... watching a common American woman insisting on speaking with you. Mr. Bush, you have exposed your hand by refusing to let her have her say directly to you. You are viewed as the schoolyard bully cowering in a corner after having his chimes rung by the kid who took it and took it from you. When your vacation is over, will you order helicopters to lift you away from Crawford and the ever gathering protesters? Will you glance down from the helicopter, smirking while carving another notch on your belt? When you are back in Washington, will you breathe a sigh of relief knowing that you have dodged a distraught woman who lost her son? You don’t know the first thing about bringing honor and dignity to the White House, nor did you ever. This is not going to go away as easily as you might think. You may think of yourself as a big man, but the nation is looking at you as pitifully small ... small enough to walk under doors rather than through them. You are the armpit of the world and as useful as a sack of camel dung! Cathy L. Subject: Swindler Rep Bob Ney OHIO A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Magic What else, when at the exact moment when the get-out-of-Iraq peace movement is most needy, in waltzes Cindy Sheehan with exactly what we need: an Icon - Cindy the oh so brave with a story so vital and powerful that it's gonna change the world when it gets out to we the people. Why else would the talk-show jocks & their shills be trying so desperately now, by whatever means are available, to discredit her? Why, they've pulled out all the stoppers! Ain't going to work, though. Cindy knows the truth through her life experiences. Hers is a story everyone can understand and relate to - a mother entrusts her son to a commander-in-chief who, she discovers later, had lied to her about his reasons for sending her son off to a war in which, as a consequence of said lies, her precious son dies. Compounding Cindy's loss is the fact that while her son is now in the hereafter, this same liar-president is still at large and in the world as it is today there's no chance that he'll ever be charged and prosecuted for what he did to her family. How then to get the president on the charge of murder? There's only one way, and that's to change the world. Nobody need worry for the ex-president-to-be, though, as he's sure to get a fair trial at the International Court of Criminal Justice. That'll be a well-deserved bonus to all of us as his trial doubtlessly will be carried on the Internet for all to see and enjoy, and thanks, Cindy, for being who you are. A BuzzFlash Reader CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THE AUGUST 12, 2005 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG |
|||
| . | |||