October 18, 2005

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: A subscription to BuzzFlash

Dear BuzzFlash,

I wanted you to know that I have unsubscribed, except for the weekends for now, from my local newspaper, Lincoln Journal Star in Lincoln, Nebraska. And I will be sending you the $ difference. I figure the newspaper does nothing but pass along whatever is coming from the main papers anyway. I can read them online for local stuff. And, reading about the Big Red football team just doesn't do it for me. You have been my sanity line now for years, so I think I should support you. Thanks for all you do.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Hooray for the David Wyles letter of 10/17/05. I get so much gratification when someone says so well what I'm thinking! I was stunned by what Condi Rice said on Meet The Press. What kind of deliberate crap was that anyway? Who would not scratch their head and say that was creepy, scary and sad for our country to come out of the mouth of the former Nat'l Security Advisor now Secretary of State? Can the woman be THAT stupid, or just deviously rotten?

A BuzzFlash Reader

Dear Buzzers --

I'm referring to her letter in today's Afternoon Buzz. I share (as I have said -- loudly and frequently!) her opinion. I think BOTH Clintons -- Bill becoming Poppy Bush's best friend; Hillary supporting or hedging on the totally unjust, lied-into, life-wasting, no plausible way out, resource draining…OK, I could go on for several pages, but I'll stop here -- war in Iraq. I have a friend (male) who claims that I'm "the only female" who doesn't support Hillary as a candidate in 2008. He seems to be totally baffled at my objections. But the DLC is, and probably always WILL be, "Republican Lite" to me.

Thanks for publishing Cindy. And thank Cindy for taking all that…flak (I was going to use another word here) and persisting in the face of all the abuse she's taken. Ask her, for me, if she'd like to run for President in 2008. Or at least VP. Or Secretary of State. I'd vote for her in a New York (my former home) minute -- which means about 15 seconds.

Barb in Athens, GA
Blue soul in Red state

Nobody is pointing out how the corporate government that is allowing carcinogens into our lives is a big factor driving up the healthcare costs.

The corporations want to cut back on health care costs to make more money, and much of the cost is caused by the bad system, for profit hospitals, and so on. But another big piece is caused by the tremendous expense of health conditions brought on by US corporations.

How much does it cost to treat lung cancer? The govt policy on this over decades punishes any small business that wants to cover its employees but ends up paying for workers who are treated (and mostly die) at great expense.

How much does it cost to treat breast cancer? The big unspoken fact is that something in our environment and lives has caused this. The rates are higher in the US than anywhere else and have been rising for decades. So when the health plans have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for treatment and drugs to keep the women alive, is this not another price?

So

Health effects of our corporate state (carcinogens) + Bad Health Care Administrative System +
Corporations Walking away
=
Workers getting screwed

A BuzzFlash Reader

Unless progressive candidates are put forth who have not been tainted by the rubberstamping, go along at any cost, betrayers who now hold office.

Most lifelong democrats like me are totally dismayed and pissed off.

You have not even bothered to fix the Diebold problem and taken the election out of the hand of the state's secretaries of state. Little hope!

We need to relay this message over and over to the DCC election committee as I have done.

Lawton Watson
Springdale, Ar.

Today, here came da judges and the spin doctors, all spinning approval for the tough sell of Harriet Miers. Here comes the purple fingers, but what are the facts? Will well-deserved indictments be handed out or will the criminal act of outing a CIA agent be degraded and demeaned by a few slaps on the wrists of Administration higher-ups? Does anyone really believe in Miller's and Rove's memory lapses? Over the Bush term of office we have seen various vital issues presented as "making progress" but on closer scrutiny the facts reveals just another con game of lies, diversions, and cover-ups perpetrated on the American public. A popular television program used this quotation; it fits like the clean gloves that hide the dirty hands, in case anyone thinks corruption and the deficit of honesty will end, "PAST PERFORMANCE PREDICTS FUTURE BEHAVIOR!"

John Kennedy once said, "The basis of effective government is public confidence!" Bush Propaganda and persuasion have come under scrutiny and even the press is asking more "hard questions! The once effective "message discipline" from the Bush/Rove political Machine has lost its teeth! In its place is the old saying, "Trust everyone until you have a reason... not to!" Bush and his cohorts have given us many reasons not to trust them! We will not let George W. Bush and his cohorts get away with any more FALSE POSITIVES or destructive initiatives. The stakes are too high and the political future of our nation is on the line! The dodging of bullets and the shocking pattern of corruption must not be given a pass anymore!

Susan Carr
Tucson, Az

Buzz Flash,

Why do people trust anything someone like Judith Miller would say, when she was used as a national sounding board for the treasonous Bush GOP invasion of Iraq and enjoyed every minute of it? Call it paranoia or just plain doubt loaded with gobs of suspicion, but how do we, the public, know how "old" Miller's notes are that she suddenly and very conveniently found. Evidently, they are much older than her memory.

In my book of life, there are two types of liars, those who tell little lies so they don't cause someone to be hurt, such as, gee, you're looking well, today... and then there are those who tell big colossal lies, such as, this car has never been in a wreck, it has only 10,000 miles and is quite safe to drive and oh, what a bargain, or Iraq has WMD and can deliver them in just 45 minutes because Saddam has also developed a very remarkable, jet propelled camel that drinks fuel instead of water (Many Americans were sold what they wanted to hear out of their Bush GOP propagandized imaginary fear)... those type of big lies not only cause people hurt and harm, but those lies in this case have caused tens of thousands of deaths. Big liars, especially those who get paid big bucks, don't mind lying all of the time. There's no lie too big for them to tackle. Judith Miller is used to being treated like a star... she's not going to take burning out... lying down.

Just a thought,

Thanks Buzz Flash,
Shirley Smith

Subject: Trains, Planes, and Automobiles

GM cuts health benefits, threatens pensions, sells subsidiary so it can go bankrupt and cut pay. Products waste energy. Federal funds subsidize roads. All in the name of 'free' enterprise.

Airlines go bankrupt, threaten pensions. Products waste energy. Federal funds subsidize airports and traffic control. Engage in cutthroat price competition to waste even more energy and go bankrupt faster. All in the name of 'free' enterprise.

Amtrak subsidies cut. Must pay more of its own way. Keeps up pensions and benefits. Products would save energy -- the more riders the better energy savings and the more operating revenue -- yet a ticket from Philly to Hartford is $140 while the Airlines charge $79.

Does anyone see the fallacy here? If Airlines and Detroit had to keep up pensions and benefits, prices matched costs, and the number of flights were reduced to match realistically priced demand, then Amtrak could compete and save energy.

But a level playing field would be so old fashioned.

Luther Weeks
Glastonbury, CT

Subject: Tragedy And Farce

That the mainstream media is but a public relations megaphone for the powers that be and that it spins elections for the government in order to protect the bottom line is nothing new. The destroying of our democracy, though, that is something new. How to save our democracy? Better yet, how to make it real? Change the world, that's how!

A BuzzFlash Reader

Eric Alterman's assessment of the Judy Miller thing, has exposed another side to the story. Literally WHO she is in bed with. May I request someone start a Blog or even a Page for the benefit of us outside the Beltway/outside New York folks. Post pictures of people and connect the dots for us: who is married to whom, who is their attorney, editor, business manager, boss, brother in law, father etc. We have no way of knowing this information, and it would certainly give us the scoop on the players in this hideous game we are forced to play. We know Mitchell/Greenspan and now Miller/Epstein, the Bennett Brothers, how many others are there? Thanks,

Konnie Ridout
Mishawaka, In