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Subject: Wink and close your eyes no more!

To follow foolish precedents and wink

With both our eyes, is easier than to think!

--William Cowper

As I listened to Bush compare the writing of the Iraq Constitution and the war to 1776, the above saying came to mind. WE do not believe Bush and his cronies and their crap anymore! We see that American officials are exerting extreme pressures on Iraq officials so they can claim a benchmark! The Constitution debacle seem to be as ineffective as the past Iraq elections whose time came and went, and left more Iraqi people worried about their security and living conditions then that vote! A watered down version is a temporary fix and voting to pass it is not making progress, if at the end there will not be the votes from Sunnis to ratify it! Mr. Bush has come up with nothing but band-aids in a war that has been given mortal injuries, a war that the passage of time will not change, no matter how dark the tint in your rose-colored glasses may be.

Susan Carr
Tucson, AZ.

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Subject: Call Chavez Democratically Elected

Here's what I think:  Pat Robertson is just the diversion.  You hear on the news that tongues are wagging over Pat Robertson.  Then CNN or whomever plays a clip of him saying we can't afford a war sp it would be cheaper and better to assassinate"Venezuela's iron-fisted dictator" who has "ruined Venezuela's economy".  

So what sticks in the public brain?  That Robertson is a kook?  Nah -- we already know that and we don't care.  It's not going to cost Robertson a penny to say what he said.  Robertson is being used as a Trojan Horse.   The real propaganda message is that Venezuela is ruled by a dictator who has ruined Venezuela's economy.  Sound familiar?   

Suggestion: Whenever you refer to Chavez, call him "Democratically-elected President Chavez.

—Rosamond, a Buzzflash Reader

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Subject: A soldier's story - from Iraq

The mainstream media has so sanitized the war in Iraq that the average American doesn't really understand just what dangers our troops are facing; but now they can.

"The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq," by John Crawford, was recently released and is a must-read for everyone -- whether you are for the war or against it. Those who do not have a loved one, friend, or acquaintance there need to understand just what our brave men and women are facing. THIS book should have been on George W. Bush's summer mandatory reading list. (Or maybe he could get the unabridged audio version to listen to while he's bike riding.)

I'll admit that I had no idea what conditions were like for many of our troops. Now I do, and it motivates me to get more involved to get them out of there and home. Crawford's stories are gripping and written so realistically that you can almost feel as if you were there, too.

George W. Bush's life track record is to plunge into something, screw it up, and then unconscionably leave the mess for someone else to clean up. What he's done to Iraq overwhelms anything he's been involved in before. Pain, death and dying are everywhere in Iraq. This book by Crawford gives us a detailed, unvarnished, inside look at the truth and directly contradicts the positive spin that the Administration is trying so hard to convey. If this book becomes a best-seller, then support for our troops may increase exponentially and it will consist of more than putting a magnetic yellow ribbon on our cars.

Todd Newly
Indianapolis, Indiana

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Subject: Pope Benedict XVI for Hypocrite of the Week

There he was last weekend in Cologne telling a group of Turkish-German Islamic leaders to get their act together. He couldn't have been serious though. Because if it truly mattered to him -- this getting one's act together -- why he'd have fessed-up long ago to his role, while Protector of the Faith, in permitting pedophile priests to run amuck in parish churches and prey upon the very children whom they had been ordained to protect, not to violate. Until the Pope comes clean on his pedophile enabling past how can he go around urging  people to get their act together. You first, Pope Benedict XVI. 

-- A Buzzflash reader  

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Subject: Pat Robertson's Prayer line

I think we should flood Pat Robertson's prayer line for prayers for Pat Robertson that he find Jesus' love. (800) 759-0700.

--Bob Ross

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Subject: Getting it way upside down

Bush is sayinging that I (as an anti-war person) am advocating a policy that would weaken the U.S.

The people who say we can't leave Iraq are the ones who said we had to go in the first place. Since they were so obviously wrong then, we don't have to listen to them now. And if my president had not spent the Viet Nam war in a drunken stupor, he would know that war was not a political strategy. I support our troops by advocating a policy of bringing them home now.

Restless Native
Lake Tahoe , california

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Subject: More to die in Iraq to honor already dead

First the ginned-up WMD reason for attacking Iraq fizzled. Next the 9/11 connection was proved a lie. Finally turning Iraq into a Democracy flamed out with the Iraqi Constitution in fact resembling an Iranian Islamic republic, complete with non-existent women's rights and religious leaders rising above the rule of law.

So what does Bush come up with as the latest reason for staying in Iraq? Brace yourself; this is incredibly evil. His latest reason for staying in Iraq is to "honor" the deaths of those already killed in Iraq.

So now we are told the "mission" in Iraq is to "honor" the dead soldiers.

As Maureen Dowd writes:

"What twisted logic: with no WMD, no link to 9/11 and no democracy, now we have to keep killing people and have our kids killed because so many of our kids have been killed already? Talk about a vicious circle: the killing keeps justifying itself."

In stunning contrast, as the carnage in Iraq escalates, Bush serenely bicycles through a field of yellow flowers with Lance Armstrong.

Mike Reinholz
Seattle, WA

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Subject: Roe or Griswald?

Dear BuzzFlash,
 
I've read much about Supreme Court nominee Roberts and the threat he poses to Roe v. Wade.  I don't disagree, but I think a much larger point gets missed.  
Let's face it; if you say "Roe" or "abortion," you've lost that segment of your audience that is dead set against both. People have made up their minds, on a national level.  

But what does most of the public know of Griswold v. Connecticut, the judicial parent of Roe v. Wade?  Do they know that it struck down a state law that banned contraceptives, even for married couples?  Wouldn't many Americans who think abortion is a wrong agree that contraception is a matter for the couple, not the state, to decide?  

And do the majority realize what they give up if Griswold is overturned?  This is the decision that established for all Americans a guarantee of privacy as against the government.  Without it, in this day and age, it is truly frightening to imagine the myriad ways the government could Constitutionally infringe on many of our most personal decisions.  

I do understand why Roe gets the spotlight when there is real debate over the Roberts nomination.  But a quick study for the American people about what's really at stake, which is embodied in Griswold much more so than in Roe, would yield much better results.
 
Sincerely,
Cathy Vance

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Subject: Unofficial Camp Casey Theme Song - "Sons and Daughters"

Just returned from Camp Casey in Crawford, TX! I am sad to report, although this should come as no surprise, that news coverage of this event is still biased when it comes to reporting the amount of people that are down there. There are more than a hundred permanent campers and the visitors have numbered in the thousands!

Camp Casey II is now in full swing. For those of you that do not know, this area was offered by a relative of the man who was firing his gun in the air close to where we were camped in the ditches. I would imagine he's still pissed off about that!

Also, the tent being used — including the chairs, tables, and kitchen are the same one that Bush used for his fundraiser that he attended when they passed by Camp Casey twice in one day. How ironic that they charged $2,000 a plate for the Chickenhawk, and we're now serving thousands for free.

I have attached a link to the song "Sons and Daughters," written and performed by Jesse Dyen of Oakland, CA. This was one of our late night 'Round Table Warriors' songs and quickly became the Unofficial theme song of the Camp.

The song is incredible and Jesse has given permission to distribute freely. Please spread this song around. Some of the greatest protest songs in history were never planned that way. This could be one of those songs....

I also highly recommend the site www.crawfordorbust.com for some great pictures and audio.

Thanks to the millions of you that have supported Cindy! I know her heart is with each and every one of you that support this movement.

No More Lies.
No More Lives.

Catfish Cooper,
Texarkana, TX

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Subject: Where are Bush & his FCC?

Where are Bush and his FCC? How is it that Pat Robertson can issue death threats against foreign leaders and still be on the public airwaves? This is after a long track record of similar behavior such as praying for the deaths of Supreme Court justices on television & calling on God to replace them with people of Pat's own political persuasion.

Why did Janet Jackson's pasties invoke record fines and a political spectacle by the Justice Sunday types but not a word about Pat's behavior?

We should all write to the FCC and demand that the 700 Club be pulled from the public airwaves, fined & forced to issue a public apology to Venezuela. The networks that carry the 700 Club should all have to pay steep fines just like CBS was nailed for Jackson's pasties which was a far less serious offense and rather harmless. Be sure to tell the FCC that Pat Robertson's comments are driving up the cost of gasoline and heating oil. Tell them that you cannot afford anymore of Pat's comments.

The fact that Pat Robertson is a prominent political figure who ran for president as a republican makes what he did all the more dangerous for the USA. Why hasn't his denomination defrocked him? Why hasn't Bush immediately condemned these comments in the strongest possible terms & issued a statement that Pat Robinson's views do not represent the United States? Why hasn't Bush publicly apologized for any offense that the 700 Club's broadcast may have caused to Venezuela & directed his FCC chief to take appropriate measures immediately?

Pat Robinson should also be investigated to see if he has any investments in oil futures. Write your representatives and demand action.

Does Pat Robinson ever consider the safety of those around him? Making threats to foreign leaders could place his 700 Club colleagues in danger. It was totally irresponsible.

Finally why hasn't Pat Robinson been arrested for inciting terrorism?

Suppose that someone interviewed you for the local news live and you called for a political leader to be murdered. Do you think that you would be arrested? Sure bet!

--A Buzzflash reader

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Subject: RoveGate/Watergate

I picked up "All The President's Men" for reading on my daily train commute. I'm not that far into the book, but I couldn't help but notice many similarities.

We all know to what depths these men will go (don't forget that many of the NEOCONS in the current administration and their disinformation toadies were part of the Nixon (corrupt) administration.

Nixon's campaign manager (John Mitchell) immediately distanced the Nixon re-election campaign (and thus the White House) from involvement stating: "There is no place in our campaign or in the electroal process for this type of activity, AND WE WILL NOT PERMIT OR CONDONE IT." (Emphasis added.)

Nixon White House Deputy Director of Communications informs reporters that: "I've looked into the matter very thoroughly, and I am convinced that neither Mr. Colson nor anyone else at the White House had any knowledge of, or participation in, this deplorable incident at the Democratic National Committee."

Over a period of time, the Nixon White House and campaign spin like a fly-wheel on a racecar, but then the Nixon campaign is connected to the money.

Then, the leaking mouths of the scum are zipped shut. The Nixon campaign issues a statement, over Clark McGregor's name (new campaign director) saying "further comment would not be 'proper' because the matter was under investigation."

Subsequently, McGregor meets with "a select group of White House reporters and made the first public attempt to shift the responsibility to Liddy." (That's the loveable G. Gordon to those wondering).

Am I off base, or is that the original and Rovegate is the 25 year re-adaptation?

Clawson's assertion so parallels McClellan's that I nearly puked. Make Liddy the fall guy (original) or some reporter (re-adaptation)? (We know how the Republican useful idiots, i.e., every man and woman earning wages who voted for a Republican, will buy the evil "liberal media").

Admit nothing. Deny everything. Make counter-accusations. It was their playbook for Nixon and remains their playbook to this day.

PS I wonder if that statement from Bush (the revised statement) that anyone in his administration tat commited a crime would be fired applies to any of the current members, such as Elliot Abrams?

Putting the CON back into conservative...

Mark Hagedorn
Chicago, IL

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Subject: Bush FINALLY quotes numbers -- with an ulterior motive, of course!

I should be USED to unmitigated gall (along with a steady stream of lies, arrogance, stubbornness, and a total lack of compassion) from the Chimp and his cohorts by now.  But to read that he cited exactly TWO numbers -- ostensibly confirming his commitment to our troops by "recognizing their sacrifice" appalled me. The cynicism of self-praise for a nano-second of what passes for respect, empathy, and support is… well… sickening.  He prides himself on "staying the course," just like General Custer.  Or the Captain of the Titanic.  Of course, he forgets the fact that most Americans -- including our troops -- were sold a needless war based on lies, greed, grandiose neocon lust to dominate the Middle East (and later the world),  the prospect of ample, cheap oil under U.S. control, and Halliburton, et.al, salivating over "rebuilding" contracts under which billions of dollars could "disappear" without accountability.

But wait.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe the Chimp had a "What would Jesus do?" moment, inspiring a genuine change of heart.  If that's the case, I'm sure he'll not only permit but encourage showing the flag-draped caskets as they return from Iraq.  He'll start attending funerals, even if it means losing vacation time.  We'll see him visiting military hospitals to meet with the wounded, maimed, and traumatized.  Of course, he'll talk at length with grieving parents to explain, with specifics, the "noble cause" their sons and daughters died for.  He'll call off the vicious Swift Boat-like attacks, apologize to Cindy Sheehan, respectfully addressing her -- and referring to Casey -- by name.  Finally, he'll restore all the benefits and pay that he was so eager to cut for those fighting, dying, or suffering for his "noble cause."

Yeah, right.  This arrogant, self-centered, cold-hearted sociopath probably believes that he did more than enough by acknowledging the number of dead as of yesterday.  Besides, he needs to live his life.  There's brush to clear (the landscapers planted some new flats while he was out of town "staying the course"), bicycles to ride (or fall off), pretzels to choke on while watching football on TV.  And, equally (well almost) important, deMOCKracy to spread to the rest of the world.

Someone should point out that the numbers of dead in both Iraq and Afghanistan are rising every day.  The least he could do is call a news conference or broadcast (out of the Oval Office) the figures as they change. 

Barb in Athens, GA
Blue soul in Red State

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