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| October 5, 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. Subject: Draft Gore is the Answer Gore is the only candidate for 2008. He is the legitimate president, and in a Shakespearean sense, only he can set our country back to order and honor. Eva Knapp Subject: Drafting Al Gore Just a few comments on recent stories and reader contributions: No one will ever convince me that Al Gore wasn't robbed of the White House by a well-oiled, (pun very much intended), messianic, treasonous political machine. I truly believe that if Gore had taken residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue we would NOT be in Iraq, our environment would not be repeatedly raped, we would not be running record federal deficits, jeopardizing our national security, we would not have sold our national soul in pursuit of oil, etc. ad nauseum. However, I don't think drafting him is the answer. Yes, he seems to be speaking with more "fire in the belly" recently, and he has a terrific grasp of the problems that face us, and has much better solutions than those proffered by the "piss on my leg and tell me it's raining" Rethugs. But he never did float my "inspirational" boat ... intellectually, he is superb. But on an emotional level, he just doesn't grab me. I certainly prefer the "new Al" to the old, but I think he'd only be successful if paired with a running mate who can inspire us with not only a nuts and bolts vision, but one who can grab us by the patriotism and make us remember the collective emotional optimism, and infinite possibilities, of "ask not"... and "I have a dream"... Those were the days when we had some national awareness that we could achieve more in community than we could as "every man for himself," and felt some degree of "ownership" in our government. We also had a collective understanding that government is only as equitable, accountable, and functional as we make it. The vast majority of American voters remember where they were when the Kennedys and King were shot. They remember their respective calls for us to be better as a nation than we are, and constantly reminded us that we are all together in this grand experiment we call democracy. So, if you're going to draft somebody, my vote would go for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., even if it's for VP. Put him in charge of environmental policy, and of developing a "Manhattan Project" to develop alternative, renewable energy sources. He can articulate the ideals he (and we) share with his father better than Al ever could, and enough time has passed that perhaps those same lofty goals will actually inspire a new generation of Americans like they did us back in "the day." The ideals are timeless, it's just that our articulation of them, through the messengers of our party, have been, like many great human endeavors, highly flawed. Rethugs seized control of our government by manipulating the negative emotions of the electorate. Imagine if we could rekindle the spirit of looking out for one another, of, as Mr. Spock on Star Trek reminded us, that "the good of the many outweighs the needs of the few." Imagine if we forced our elected representatives to keep foremost in their minds the "and justice for all" part of the pledge of allegiance as they evaluate nominees to the judiciary. Imagine if we tapped that chord in the national psyche that tells us "Americans can do anything" and put it to work for good. Just imagine... I have not heard or read a speech by RFK, Jr. in recent years that has not moved me to tears for the lost purpose and potential of our nation. We should, in the words of his father, dream of things that could be, and ask why not? More and more of our citizens are falling into poverty because of the disastrous economic policies of this corporate welfare administration. But they are only poor in material things, as critical and vexing as those concerns are. But they could be poorer still. They could be poor in spirit, lacking in compassion, consumed by greed and the need for power. Unfortunately it's the poor in spirit, dare I say the brazenly amoral, currently at the helm of our ship of state. Fellow citizens, together we can do anything. And the first thing we need to do is take our country back. "Going along to get along" never did work. It's time for bare knuckles... I'm game....are you? Donna J. Wade Subject: Intelligent Design Hi, Buzz!! Just a brief correction for Mark Perkel: The commandment you cited says, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor," which is not quite the same as saying, "Thou shalt not lie." Having said that, however, I must agree with your point: It is hypocritical for the religious Reich to try to sneak God into science class by referring to Him as the Intelligent Designer. Because that is what they're doing, however much they deny it. They don't what schoolchildren educated; they want them indoctrinated. I don't know what the Reich is so afraid of, that they have to have their narrow view of the world reinforced at every point. Is their faith so weak that it can't stand up to a bit of thinking? Because if it is, it's not worth believing. I am reminded of something my high-school biology teacher (a firm believer in evolution) once said in class: At the end of his freshman year in college, he came out of biology class thinking, "You have to be an atheist to believe what they're telling us." At the end of his sophomore year, he said, "There's no way you can be an atheist and believe what they're telling us." The point being that science and religion are not mutually exclusive; they just ask different questions about the world. As I understand it, science asks, "How does it work?" while religion asks "Why are we here?" We need both questions, and as many answers as we can get. Both questions finally aim to help us achieve our fullest humanity. To refuse to allow one or the other of them to be asked makes us less human, and I believe that's not what God wants. Didn't Jesus say, "I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly"? Jane Hawes Subject: Democrat or Republican or -- Southern Republican? Or Bush Republican??? I received this e-mail from one of my Republican buddies down here in Texas. I added the "BUSH Republican" option in my reply. The funny thing is, I haven't heard anything back from him. Are you a Democrat, Republican or Southern Republican? Here is a test that will help you decide. The answer can be found by posing the following question: You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, an Islamic Terrorist with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you. You are carrying a Glock .40 cal pistol and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do? Democrat's Answer: Well, that's not enough information! Does the man look poor? Or oppressed? Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack? Could we run away? What does my wife think? What about the kids? What does the law say about this situation? Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it? Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children? Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me? Should I call 9-1-1? Why is this street so deserted? We need to raise taxes, have a paint and weed day and make this happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior. This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for few days and try to come to a consensus. Republican's Answer: BANG! Southern Republican's Answer: BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!BANG! click....(sounds of reloading). BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click... Daughter: "Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips or Hollow Points?" Or, are you a BUSH Republican? A BUSH Republican throws a pebble at the charging terrorist, misses, then completely loses sight of him. The BUSH Republican then decides to attack a persian rug dealer two streets over because the dealer is a wife beater and because "he might have WMD's." The BUSH Republican's family is left alone huddling in the middle of the deserted street, and before the charging terrorist ever gets to them, they are struck by a hurricane and drowned. A two-year search of the rug shop reveals no WMD's. The BUSH Republican proclaims that this proves that he was right all along, and he dresses up like a fighter pilot and has his picture taken under a sign that says, "Mission Accomplished." In 2006, the BUSH Republican loses his majority in the Senate and the House, and a Congressional Investigation leads to his impeachment and ultimate imprisonment. The BUSH Republican is assaulted in prison by the Islamic terrorist, who has finally been captured by a Democratic president. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Miers Nomination It seems to me that conservative criticism of Miers is a smoke screen, or Rovian trick to fool the public into believing she leans somewhat to the moderate Republican side, or even to the left of center. That way they will give the compromising Democrats a free ticket with their constituents for passing her through the hearings. This is the "Oh, she could be a whole lot worse" propaganda scenario. This is Rove's specialty. Don't think he couldn't pull that one off! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Shirley Smith Hi, Buzz!! I just read Shirley Smith's post, "A Simpleminded Southern Sermon from the Senate." You go, girl!! Assuming the Senator knows what he's talking about, I predict the next natural disaster will occur in Washington, D.C. After all, the federal government is quartered in Washington, D.C., and we all know the federal government is known for sin. And God judges sin. So watch out, politicians! God's coming to get you! Jane Hawes Subject: Letter to Senators Re: Miers I sent the following to my (nominally) Democratic WA Senators, Murray and Cantwell, today. In case anyone wants to use as a template...
This stuff just drives me nuts, and I continue to be baffled at the (non)actions of my so-called 'Democrat' representatives in DC. With the exception of course of Inslee. Thank God for him at least. Regards, A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Let Us Prey Dear Buzz, The one and only chance that democrats have of winning in '08 is to retake the House in '06. As a minority, democrats are a pathetic lot. As a group they have no guts, no stamina, no wisdom and no vision. When cheney told Senator Leahy to "go f**k himself" I don't imagine even he imagined that Leahy would actually take his advice. But by voting for Roberts he did just that. According to the Senator, "I don't believe that Roberts has any hidden agenda" - oh, that must be why Roberts refused to answer nearly every question of any real substance throughout his confirmation hearings. Can we stand any more of this kind of stupidity? Now Senator Reid has chosen to stick his head back up his ass. That's not a very good stance for leadership, and that's our democrats for you! Oh well, so much for the Supreme Court - the damage is permanently done. And the stage is now set for the republican hand-over gambit in '08. Might go something like: start another war (Iran) at a properly strategic moment and paint any democratic opponent as weak on defense. I've never bought the notion that bush is "all hat and no cattle." He's got plenty of cattle and his "ranch hands" herd them very effectively indeed. As is often the case, the truth is exactly the opposite. It's the democrats who are fat headed enough to believe they have any cattle - and they're are the worst kind of tin horns when it comes to herding the few head they think they have. Worse still, they're lost on the prairie with no idea where they're going or how to get there. In '04 when I worried that John Kerry was a born loser, I got booted off the Democratic Underground site. Today's democrats are not unlike their republican counterparts in one important way: they're so desirous of having their candidate (likely would-be Gen. MacArthur in jodhpurs, Hillary Clinton) win that they are willing to blindly put their shoulder to the wheel and just push along. I, for one, am not going to buy this losing strategy again. Democrats have got to realize what even the dumbest republicans know: there is no democratic leadership. if our champion doesn't come from the grass roots of the party - we're bound to lose. Ralph Nader, even with all his faults, has a better grasp of the political situation than any democrat in the senate. But he's the proto-typical intellectual democrat who stands a snow ball's chance in hell of winning. My fellow democrats, I'll tell you right now who our champion should be: Al Gore. That might surprise some, but IMHO BuzzFlash had it right when they awarded him their "Wings of Justice" citation. Al Gore has the fire-in-the-belly that it will take to not just fight the good fight and then issue a pathetic "Next Step" letter to his disappointed supporters when he loses (I ripped my Kerry letter into tiny pieces, stamped on them and howled to the moon). Al Gore is a man who is still capable of learning from his mistakes and use the hard earned experience to his, and our, advantage. Let's get out in front on this. I can envision a Gore/Boxer ticket very easily. Each is a Wings recipient and both have the guts and smarts that it will take to actually win. Put Hillary down now - if she was a leader she would have shown it by now. It's my personal opinion that, if we don't retake the House in '06, we won't stand a chance in '08. And if we follow our "leadership" we won't stand a chance anyway. Let's propel a grass roots leader to the fore who can start carving some Z's in republican hides right now, in advance of the congressional elections. Otherwise it'll be 4 or even 8 more years of republican calls to "Let Us Prey." Tim Mooring Subject: Democrats as wimps I have been a Democrat all of my adult life. I remember what FDR and HST and JFK and LBJ and WJC were all about. The WPA and TVA and the decision to build and drop the bomb and the cold war and the war on poverty and the fight for civil rights and the surplus and balanced budget and high employment rates, all done by Democrats with large gonads. The only respectable Republican I can ever remember was IKE and his interstate highway system. The rest, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Ford and the Bushes have all been bad news bears for the common man. Democrats of today, with one exception, have all been castrated and rendered impotent wimps and I am sick of it. Our only hope is not Hillary or Biden, it is Howard Dean. He needs a wheelbarrow for his gonads and that is a good thing. For example: we are told to ignore history and not examine how Hitler took over Germany in the 1930's. How Adolph first told the people of German they were in great danger and how he took over the newspapers and the radio stations and how he put the military in charge of law enforcement and how he repressed free speech and outlawed crowds of more than three people and how he stuffed ballot boxes and how he appointed judges and how he used the military to invade Palestine and Panama and Granada and Iraq and Poland and Hungary and several other countries. We are told to ignore that stuff because it could never happen here. I, for one, an sure glad it could never happen here. Betty Gordon Subject: What did he mean by 'spray'? At the press conference today, Bush was talking about being prepared for the coming flu pandemic, and he said: "And there's a spray, as you know, that can maybe help arrest the spread of the disease, which is in relatively limited supply." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/10/20051004-1.html Would that be like a nasal spray that you squirt up your nose--or is that an aerial spray, dispensed from on high over populated areas, kind of like what conspiracy buffs say is happening with chemtrails? Just wondering. A BuzzFlash Reader [BuzzFlash Note: It looks like he was talking about a nasal spray ... Md. firm to make avian flu vaccines (Baltimore Sun).] Subject: From Dallas Morning News blog ... Miers' point of view on abortion This was posted today on the Dallas Morning News blog. It was posted by Jim Mitchell, one of the editorial columnists at the paper who apparently received an e-mail from Lorlee Bartos.
Janie W. Subject: Intelligent Design If we put religion in the schools, can we put education in the churches? Is the Religious Right so insecure in their teachings in the churches and parochial schools? If religion is taught in the schools along with science, religion will lose out. Is Freedom of Religion any more righteous than Freedom from Religion? People go to churches by choice. People go to school by law. Does the government have the right to require by law all people to study religion in school? Jesus, when asked by his followers, if the word should be given to the Gentiles, referred to Gentiles once as "swine" (casting pearls) and again as "sows" (silk purse out of sow's ear), thereby saying no. Remember, Jesus was a Jew not a Christian, and there is always the chance that those Christian kids will learn that they are Gentiles. Just how dumb does the Religious Right think those kids are? What do you think will come from a comparison between a book that has day and night divided, a day before the sun and moon are created? How about a book that says that Adam and Eve are the first two humans and then says their first born son goes off to a far distant land and brings back a wife? Will those kids in school ever wonder whether man was created in God's image or was God created in man's image? What if those kids decide to partake of the tree of knowledge and begin to wonder if God has to defecate or urinate or eat like we, who were created in She/He/Its own image, do? Will those kids in school learn to refuse to drink the Kool-Aid? The Religious Right is making a path to their own destruction and I say let them have their way and teach "Intelligent Design" in schools. Let us have prayer in schools. Let the Muslims pray on their prayer rugs five times a day in school. Let the Christians bow down and pray in the morning and at meal time to thank God for the food. Let the Catholics hold their prayer beads in class. Let the Hindus segregate themselves according to caste in the class. Let incense burn in the classrooms. Let preachers, priests, rabbis, and shaman come into the classroom and lead the various prayer groups. The wars and rumors of wars all used religion as justification for said wars. The Constitution was meant to protect a religion from another religion; not to protect religion from the state but to protect the state from religion. I believe there is a higher power than we, but I do not believe that Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad were anything but uneducated and deluded homo-sapiens who have no more had any two-way conversations with a creator than I have. In fact, If I said God talked to me, I would be examined and put away. We have not evolved to the point where we could possibly know who or what is behind it all. Putting religion in public schools will put a crimp in the Religious Right's plan. All that is required to destroy religion is to get people to read about and hear about and THINK ABOUT both sides of the story. What the Religious Right should be SCARED of is the History Channel and the Discovery Channel and "Intelligent Design" taught side by side with science in our public schools. Are churches and parochial schools insufficient to relay the message of the Religious Right? The sun no longer revolves around the earth. My message to the Religious Right is to stay as far away from education as you can; your long-term survival depends on it. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: "It'd be a heck of a lot easier if I were a dictator" So said Mr. Bush on taking office. This fundamentally antiAmerican antidemocratic mindset of his has resulted in Mr. Bush's one size fits all solution to every problem, use the military. So rather than restore the funding to public health programs that he so draconianly slashed, and rather than take common sense precautions like training emergency workers and embarking on a crash program to stockpile antiviral drugs he hatches this harebrained scheme to deal with a flu pandemic, declare martial law and use the military to "quarantine" the sick. So rather than treat them he will imprison them in their homes and shoot them if they try to leave. This is unbelievably appalling, and this Mussolini style thinking needs to be soundly repudiated by the American people before he is able to proceed with any such dictatorial impulses.
Dan D. Subject: Bob Hope Speaks from the Grave DAVID FRUM: [Harriet Miers] once told me that the president was the most brilliant man she had ever met. BOB HOPE: Don't get out much, do you Harriet? Mike Curtis Subject: Draft Al Gore? Draft former Vice-President Al Gore and let the Democrats stand for something once more? Stand for what? Corporate power? Cowardly conduct in investigating the 2000 vote? Blah Blah speeches? I don't care who the democrats nominate any more. It won't be a person who represents the majority interests of this country. It can't work for us until real campaign finance reform frees the "Opposition" party from its chains to corporate power. Don't tell me that just gives another election to the Busheviks. I watched Gore and Kerry do the same thing. Randy Cecil Subject: Enough Talk Talk, talk, talk. When are we going to DO something to save our country? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Federal Troops to Combat the Flu? Today I read that dubya wants to be able to use troops to secure America if the Asian bird flu hits our shores. Does he understand that that would be the role of our National Guard, which is controlled by the Governors of the states involved? On the surface it sounds reasonable. Is this the only way dubya can stay in power after his 8 years are up? It scares me to think that well-meaning people are even contemplating this extreme action. I am petrified that if our Congress gives him this power he will abuse it like he has abused his power in the past. Can anyone say IRAQ! David Stollenwerk BuzzFlash: Your enlightened wake-up call to Harry Reid is brilliant and monumentally important! But it doesn't count unless you call his office and get the word to him. Really hope you did!!! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Media rushes to Bush's aid yet again Just watch them try to help out W to convince his base about Miers. It's so cute! Not. Church ties could shed light on Miers’ thinking: Faith in Jesus has shaped court pick’s personal values (Washington Post) jj Subject: Drafting Mr. Gore ... I would like to loudly second the drafting! At some point, I think most of us realize that the majority of politicians are insane, more or less. However, less is better than more. And Al Gore, while certainly as human as the next person, is so many heads and shoulders above the current crop of the Available Insane, that we should SERIOUSLY consider what it would take to bring him into the fray once again. I follow Gore a lot, read whatever is current, and think it is entirely possible that he could run again. And win, for all the obvious reasons. Again. Somewhere on the Web, at DailyKos, I believe, someone suggested a letter-writing campaign to Gore, encouraging him to wade in. This seems to me a very good idea, as we Buzzers could take it up, and turn it into something that could get some press and send the BIG message to Al. The man does not bleed for public consumption, so unless he senses the time is right, I suspect he'll just continue to be the brilliant statesman, environmentalist & humanitarian we all know and can't believe that we missed as our Pres. This is how we change things, people. This is how we avoid another Available Insane Candidate. Anybody up for this? Sally Lambert Subject: Harriet Miers Is the Ultimate Right-Wing Dream Candidate for Supreme Court, Because She Enthusiastically Supports the Entire Ultra-Right Agenda Beware of some deceitful right-wing Republicans pretending to have doubts about her. This is Constitutionally-protected Free Speech. God bless America! Wake up, America, and pay attention: The right-wing stealth candidate is slipping through our radar defenses. Harriet Miers is the right-wing "Dream Candidate" for the U. S. Supreme Court, because she enthusiastically supports the entire ultra-right agenda - everything from massive privatization, to so-called "Tort Reform" (protecting harmful businesses from being sued), to nineteenth-century morality, to wiping out social entitlements, to tax giveaways, to unregulated dog-eat-dog economics, where the richest guys always win everything. If you don't believe it, read her past speeches and look at her present job. She is the ultra-Right personified. If she were not, she would not have her present job. In addition, she is the mental soul mate of George W. Bush. God must have made them for each other. They are as one in their attitudes and legal philosophies. I cannot imagine her ruling against any legislation that George W. Bush had promoted. Judicial independence from Bush and his policies? Impossible with her. So do not believe anything you read or hear about the right wing having doubts about Harriet Miers. It's all a big smoke screen to let her slip in undetected. Any true right-winger will love her. Period. All of their so-called "doubts and reservations" are essentially make-believe. True ultra-Conservatives would be insane not to love her. For them, she is a dream come true. And when comedian Rush Limbo (sic) and others like him start expressing "grave doubts" about Harriet Miers, don't believe a word of it. It's all baloney, intended to deceive. And when reporters start reporting that the right wing is divided about her, don't believe it. If any true right-winger does not yet love her, he must not yet understand who she really is. Blessings to you in the name of the One God, Who created all things. May God help us all. Rev. Bill McGinnis JUST GAG ME! JUDITH MILLER AND HER DRAMA QUEEN ACT ARE PATHETIC! SHE WAS WORKING FOR THE WHITE HOUSE WHILE GETTING PAID BY THE NEW YORK TIMES AND MISLEADING ALL OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND ALL THE LOST LIVES ARE PARTLY HER FAULT! I USED TO THINK JOURNALISTS SHOULD HAVE A SHIELD LAW. I NO LONGER THINK THAT! TOO EASY TO BE ABUSED BY OUR GOVERNMENT, REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT! SHE DISGUSTS ME! KAREN M. Subject: :):):):):) gee, for years the republicans said clinton would do this, they used it to scare the hell out of people in their fund raising letters and on right wing talk shows. how funny it is now a republican president who wants to do it! :):):):) Giving him the power to use the military as police power (in effect martial law) Dr. Irwin Redlener, associate dean of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and director of its National Center for Disaster Preparedness, called the president's suggestion an "extraordinarily draconian measure" that would be unnecessary if the nation had built the capability for rapid vaccine production, ensured a large supply of anti-virals like Tamiflu, and not allowed the degradation of the public health system. A BuzzFlash Reader OK, WE DON'T GET IT. THE MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS SAYS THEY HAVE TO LAY OFF MOST OF THE CITY EMPLOYEES BECAUSE OF MONEY. WE SPEND ONE AND A HALF BILLION A WEEK IN IRAQ. WHY IN GOD'S NAME CAN'T WE TAKE JUST ONE DAY'S WORTH OF THAT MONEY TO KEEP THAT CITY'S (AN AMERICAN CITY'S) GOVERNMENT OPERATING AND HELP THOSE POOR PEOPLE OUT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RANDI, LIZ AND RENEE Subject: It matters what leaders say (open letter to Bush) I cannot agree with you more, Mr. President, when during your news conference, Tuesday October 04, you said “It matters what leaders say.” You talked about your latest Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers - put her on a pedestal - You talked about Social Security - your issue that will never go away - You talked about our economy - your addiction to ownership - You did not talk about the Valerie Plame investigation – not until the investigation is complete - You said. The more you talked, the more I wondered why you had a news conference. Nothing about what you said was news; your choices and decisions, as you always profess, are always the best for the growth of our economy, the future of our children and the happiness of the American people. But, you also talked about Iraq and you touched a nerve in me, Mr. President. It matters to me that you said that “we” are at war, because Sir, this is YOUR war, not the Americans’ war. It matters to me that you said that we are not leaving Iraq until the war is won. It matters to me that you said that “we” are making progress when the only progress I see is in the climbing numbers of coffins coming home. It matters to me that 1,941 Americans have died since the beginning of your war and that we are spending $5.6 billion a month in Iraq while you are preaching for an ownership society at home as a part of reducing the budget deficit you have created. Mr. President, you always talk about honor, virtue, compassion and commitment. Where was your honor when you lied to the American people for your reasons to bomb Iraq? Where is your virtue when you lie covering your lies about the reasons why you bomb Iraq? Where was your compassion when you sent 1,941 of our people to die for your lies? Where is your commitment to the nation you lead when you have let us down? Yes, it matters what leaders say and this is why I joined 500.000 of my sisters and brothers in Washington to protest your leadership and to demand an end to the carnage you have created in Iraq. Because I am committed to justice I will march and protest again until you pay for your crimes. This is how much it matters to me. Monique Frugier Subject: Treason Cases: Will the New Justices Recuse Themselves? Could bush be thinking of what will happen to him after he leaves office? By putting the person who saved him from problems before into the court, he might be wise. I'd love to hear a senator ask this question at the confirmation hearings. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Physician Assisted Suicide This contentious subject will soon come before the Supreme Court and as usual the religious right is screaming and otherwise having a hissy fit about the sacredness of life. Lest someone accuse me of not having any respect for the opinion of these people let me make it perfectly clear that I do not. Everyone has a right to his or her opinion. Everyone has the right to hold some ridiculous, erroneous idea dear. We all have our own little aberrations. What I am against is someone else trying to force their beliefs on me. Modern medicine has reached a point where it can keep you alive long past any reason to do so. In that respect, as in all others regarding life and death decisions, we need to make our wishes perfectly clear. The government has no place in these decisions. I do not want to be kept alive at all costs. If I cannot function then it is time for me to move on to whatever there is beyond this life. That is a decision that only I have the right to make. I do not want to see my family bankrupt with needless medical bills. I do not want to suffer needlessly for a protracted length of time when there is no hope for what ails me. I do not want my carcass to outlive my brain. This decision must be mine; not the government's, not some physician who doesn’t know me and not some religious nut whose beliefs are not at all compatible with mine. If you want to be kept alive at all costs then that is your right. Make your wishes clear and they can keep you alive by any means at hand. That is your right. Hell have it tattooed on your butt for all I care just grant me the right to make my own finale. No doubt some lobbying HMO sees a profit to be made in keeping people alive so that they can warehouse them in nursing homes. There is always more money to be made off the misery of people in extreme distress. It never ends. Marjorie L. Swanson Subject: To Answer a Mailbag Question on CITGO
Dear Edith and BuzzFlash, As a writer for VHeadline.com which is a Venezuelan news site have been in contact with CITGO asking this question and here is the response that I received from Fernando J. Garay who is the manager of Public Affairs & Corporate Secretary for CITGO where he states:
With that being said, the individual gas stations set their own price since under law, CITGO cannot influence what price is charged. As we have seen many gas stations in the wake of Katrina have price gouged the customers and that is up to the individual states to address if they have laws on the books to deal with it. Sincerely, Mary MacElveen Subject: Dear Buzz... Have to say that I love your headlines: Only on Buzz one gets such a direct and personal commentary right in the headline. I'm still chuckling (with appreciation :-). Warmly, Elizabeth Subject: Can't Shake This Sick Feeling... No one wants to be a chicken little, but sometimes there is writing on the wall and you have to look and you have to read it. Bush is calling for an increased role of the military in emergency management, and he recently called for permission to use the military to quarantine whole regions of the country in the event of a flu outbreak. First of all, isn't that what the national guard is for? Why do we need the regular army to handle what has for years been handled by the national guard? Secondly, what happened in New Orleans that needed the military, as opposed to FEMA, the Red Cross, and the national guard? Most of the rioting and violence that was reported has been debunked, so why divert troops from Iraq just for the sake of putting down the local population? The Avian flu hasn't really happened yet, but he's calling for permission to use the military to control it? First things first, cleanse the CDC of cronies that can't handle their job, and then stockpile whatever medicine that we may need, etc., etc. ... and then, when and if that fails, and there really is rioting, we can call the guard in, in an absolute worst case scenario. What the hell is he talking about using the military here in the United States so often for? Isn't he looking a little too far into the future? BUSH: read your memos, pay attention to what's going on around you as it's happening, get to work, get your mind off the yard in Crawford, get to know how the systems that we already have work, and if, when they are properly used, and still don't work, THEN you can start to talk about ramping up, or whatever needs to be done! I wish that he could have been so forward thinking about 9/11, or Katrina. All of sudden he's got a plan. I can't help but wonder why. SE Subject: Bush Idea for Supreme Court: How About a Born-Again Evangelical Fruit Job? In Midcareer, a Turn to Faith to Fill a Void (NY Times) ... Talks about how this woman, who the media is building up as MODERATE, is one of these nutcase Evangelicals, probably directly suggested by Pat Robertson and Bush's core ... Paul Subject: An Open Letter to Bush and his Crooked Administration!! It’s time you changed your tune!! Every time things begin to look bad for your poll numbers you bring out the “Sep 11/ 2001 Terrorist Attack,” “The worst attack on American soil.” Well, Georgie, that image has about run out of gas! We remember what happened that day, but the underlying event was the way you used this disaster for your political benefit. We are sick of all the references to 9/11 that you use, trying to improve your numbers. We, Americans, think you should find another line. But if the truth be known there isn’t anything you can say that we will now believe… Wait I have a line that may make a majority of the country happy: “I HEREBY RESIGN THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT.” Davesdad [BuzzFlash Note: Her, there is that other Texas role model, LBJ ...] Subject: Decay of Humanity! Robert Burns wrote, “Man’s inhumanity to man/ Makes countless Thousands mourn!” Flourishing by force is not strength. We are engaged in a war with a country that wasn’t an imminent threat. Death and destruction continue without end. On top of that we have a moral dilemma that continues even today! After the initial Abu Ghraib/Guantanamo incidents, the Congress and the networks have given little notice to abuse, torture, and rendition! These are the realities the Bush Administration has imposed upon us and the world, and it is past time to confront them! This is one thing that can be answered when asking, “What did he know and when did he know it?” As Commander-In-Chief, Bush and his head honchos unleashed the CIA’s “shadow army” which has operated beyond the dictates of the law and has created secret prisons and concentration camps all over the world. Many foreign soldiers, renamed “enemy combatants,” were stripped of their rights according to the Geneva Convention. Using covert planes under different companies’ names, prisoners were flown to countries noted for torture like Syria and Uzbekistan, and then they, and all trace of them, disappeared from the face of the earth! Some did not even have charges pressed against them. It was discovered Alberto Gonzales was up to his eyeballs in it, doing more than his share of altering facts to go along with these deplorable policies! His extreme legal opinions can not be justified, but were hardly questioned even to the present day. Bush rewarded him by nominating him for Attorney General, as the Congress hardly made a stab in demanding the truth. It has been common practice for the Bush Administration to deny pertinent documents, flood the Congress with useless documents, or claim “security” or “executive privilege so the truth will be hard to decipher. This is just another rung in the ladder of corruption that exists in this Administration. Humanitarian reports of abuse emerge weekly, and are just as quickly shut down by Bush, his cohorts and the media. Outsourcing torture may keep it away from public condemnation and gives permission to others to do our “dirty work” without accountability, but that’s rather a hypocritical position for an Administration that says they promote moral values! An eye opening article by Ted Rall: Night and fog revisited: Is Harriet Miers a closet sadist? (Yahoo) It is time for our country to stop developing convenient amnesia about the illegal and deplorable practices used by the Bush Administration. We must hold those responsible for this outrage accountable. It is also past time that we, as a nation, stop contributing to the decay of humanity by our silence! Susan Carr
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