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| November 4, 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: John Kerry Did Not Vote To Go To War Political pundits are always saying Kerry voted for the war. He did not vote to go to war. He voted for a resolution that gave Bush the authority to use force as a last resort, if it became absolutely necessary to protect us from an imminent threat from WMDs. If Kerry is guilty of anything, its of being gullible enough to believe the lies told by the President of the United State, and his fellow liars, on the world stage. In a speech on the Senate Floor on the day of the vote, Kerry made it clear that he was not voting to go to war when he said, "approving this resolution does not mean that military action is imminent or unavoidable." It means "America speaks with one voice." Kerry had no reason to think Bush was set to go to war. As he pointed out, any threat posed by Saddam and his WMDs, was "not imminent, and no one in the CIA, no intelligence briefing ... suggests it is imminent. None of our intelligence reports suggest that he is about to launch an attack," Kerry said. "Every nation has the right to act preemptively, if it faces an imminent and grave threat, for its self-defense ... The threat we face today with Iraq does not meet that test yet." Kerry said that he would only agree to go to war for one reason, to rid Saddam of WMDs. He emphatically warned Bush that if he did take the country to war for any other reason than an imminent threat, that he would be the first to speak out and demand that Bush be held accountable. As we know now, there never were any WMDs and so therefore, as Kerry made clear, he would have never voted to go to war. He clarified what his vote meant when he said, "let me be clear, the vote I will give ... is for one reason and one reason only: To disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, if we cannot accomplish that objective through new, tough weapons inspections in joint concert with our allies," he said. "In giving the President this authority, I expect him to fulfill the commitments ... to work with the United Nations ... to adopt a new resolution setting out tough and immediate inspection requirements, and to act with our allies at our side if we have to disarm Saddam Hussein by force. If he fails to do so, I will be among the first to speak out." "If we do wind up going to war with Iraq, it is imperative that we do so with others in the international community, unless there is a showing of a grave, imminent--and I emphasize "imminent"--threat to this country which requires the President to respond in a way that protects our immediate national security needs." If my opinion, the day for demanding accountability from Bush has long passed. It should have happened the day he took the country to war in Iraq. That said, I look forward to an opportunity to demand accountability from the Bush administration. Kerry warned us about what would happen if Bush took us to war without just cause, and without our allies. He speech on the Senate floor on the day of the vote almost seems prophetic in hindsight. Here are a few excerpts from his October 9, 2002 Senate speech: "The President needs to give the American people a fairer and fuller, clearer understanding of the magnitude and long-term financial cost of that effort. "The international community's support will be critical because we will not be able to rebuild Iraq single-handedly. We will lack the credibility and the expertise and the capacity. "The administration may not be in the habit of building coalitions, but that is what they need to do. ... If we go it alone without reason, we risk inflaming an entire region, breeding a new generation of terrorists, a new cadre of anti-American zealots, and we will be less secure, not more secure, at the end of the day, even with Saddam Hussein disarmed." Everything Kerry said would happen, happened. The skyrocketing costs of the war, both in lives lost, and tax dollars spent blow Americans away. The country was not prepared to sustain such a drastic drain on its resources. Nor were we prepared for the hatred that has been directed at Americans, not only in Iraq, but also throughout the Middle East. Just like Kerry predicted, the region has become a magnet for terrorists that hate Americans. And he's right; Saddam's capture provides no consolation when weighed against the mess Bush got us into. A scheme that turned Iraq into a boomtown for Bush and his fellow war profiteers, has turned into a never-ending nightmare for the rest of the country. First thing we see each morning, when we turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper, is the number of soldiers killed or injured the day before. And there is no end in sight. John Kerry bears no responsibility whatsoever for the war in Iraq. If he had been president we never would have ended up there to begin with. Evelyn Pringle Subject: Outlaws Hello, Senators and Representative Inslee. News of the irregular holding of prisoners and the use of torture continues to surface sporadically in the media. Senator McCain, with broad bipartisan support, added an Amendment requiring humane treatment of prisoners, which Mr. Bush has said he will veto. Mr. Cheney wishes a specific carte blanche for the CIA to torture. A few news items of relevance and interest are: Bush: Treaty Outlawing Torture Doesn't Apply Beyond US Soil (Common Dreams) Guantanamo Desperation Seen in Suicide Attempts (Washington Post) Detainee Policy Sharply Divides Bush Officials (NY Times) CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons (Washington Post) Rumsfeld says no U.N. access to Guantanamo inmates (Reuters/Yahoo) According to the terms of the 1949 Geneva Convention on treatment of prisoners, there should be no prisoners from the Afghanistan war at this point. According to the clear definitions of the Geneva Convention, all of these persons captured and held from the Afghanistan war are Prisoners of War. They are not "enemy combatants," which is a coined term having no validity. Those who have not been charged with specific crimes should be free. The Bush administration, with the tacit consent of Congress, has decided, without any authority, to place persons beyond the Constitutional protections of U.S. law, and beyond the restraints on treatment of prisoners under US Code or international treaties. The Administration has explicitly claimed that if prisoners are held outside the U.S., none of the laws or restrictions on treatment apply. I am sickened by association with actions that are outside all boundaries of law, and by the willingness of the Congress to allow abuses to continue, literally for years. Those who allow this criminality are co-conspirators. How much longer before we simply feed people alive into the furnaces, as the KGB is supposed to have done? The handwriting is on the wall with copious examples of abuse of power and disregard for law. Congress needs to assert itself and restore the balance of power, as Senator Reid recently and eloquently said: http://www.BuzzFlash.com/?track=6873 What does it take to rise to the level of a High Crime and Misdemeanor? Regards, John F. Williford Subject: "You're Doing A Heck Of A Job, Brownie" Our commander-in-chief deserves credit on this one because he meant what he said. As far as he's concerned his FEMA director, to advance the agenda of the powers that be, went far beyond the call of duty. What's even better, he did everything for the haves, nothing at all for the have-nots nor for all among us who are barely hanging-on. Nothing that is but offer a few crumbs plus the trickle down. And all the while our President's Mr. Brownie stayed the course, followed the game plan which was to use Katrina to rid New Orleans of New Orleaners. "Yes, we took a few casualties. We're gonna report maybe a thousand dead, but never mind, the end always justifies the means." The powers that be even thought they'd get away with it, too. Why not? In the nineteenth century they used a biological weapon of mass destruction to wipe out native people, distributing blankets infected with the smallpox virus to unsuspecting Indians. Was Brownie thinking "we got away with it against the Indians so nobody's going to object if I let the levees break"? Much like Hitler, aware that a million Armenians had been slaughtered and the world hardly blinked, knew that he, too, would get away with genocide. Yes, indeed, heck of a job, Brownie, and for your good work expect to be tried at the International Court of Criminal Justice for criminal negligence and mass-murder; together with our president, of course. Could have been worse for the both of you. Hitler committed suicide. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: 'Mormon' Judge With Three Wives Your headline link to the CNN story about the 'Mormon Judge who has three wives' essentially labels all Mormons as hypocrites for opposing same-sex marriage, while at the same time allowing their judges to have three wives. As the CNN article clearly states, the Mormon, (LDS) Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints has not practiced polygamy for over 100 years. The judge in question belongs to a break-away sect that has no relationship with the LDS church at all. Perhaps just a few correct facts mixed in with your hysteria would make your website a more intriguing place to visit. A BuzzFlash Reader [BuzzFlash Note: Quoting from the article: "After taking an oath to uphold the law, he shouldn't be breaking it. ... Bigamy is a third-degree felony in Utah punishable by up to five years in prison ... Steed's attorney ... said Utah's attorney general and the Washington County prosecutor have declined to prosecute his client. ... The complaint against Steed was filed ... by Tapestry Against Polygamy, an advocacy group founded by ex-polygamous women who organized to help others leave the handful of secretive religious colonies that adhere to the practice. ... About 30,000 polygamists, who split from the main church into various fundamentalist sects more than 100 years ago, are believed to be living in Utah. ... The three [wives] are biological sisters and no one in the family was expecting that the second and third marriages would be civilly recognized. ... The state Supreme Court's chief justice, Christine Durham, opted not to place Steed on administrative leave during the investigation." So, the judge - a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - and roughly 30,000 others - are committing a felony - but that's okay? And those who look the other way are not hypocritical?] Subject: Rosa Parks Dear BuzzFlash, Yesterday, I watched quite a bit of the Detroit services for Rosa Parks. If republicans are saying that the family did not have time to say their farewells to Mrs. Parks, that just is not true. There was a very long line of people who approached the casket, said their good-byes, and moved on until at the very end, the family arrived and had their time. Everything was handled with decorum and the family certainly was not in any difficulty. One person who spoke, garnered good feelings from the audience....Bill Clinton. He told them that this is where he wanted to be, but that he could not stay because he had to get back to New York to work on a plan to get health care to all the people who don't have it. That fostered quite a response from the good folks who were listening to him. Jennifer Granholm, Democratic Governor of Michigan, gave a stupendous speech. Her delivery was heart felt and strong. We should refute any remarks made by the republicans. They are such a sorry lot. Stephanie Subject: Alito and Spousal Notification Has it occurred to anyone that a woman's husband may not be the father of the child she is carrying? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: BuzzFlash a Failure? To the BuzzFlash reader in the November 3rd Mailbag who accused BuzzFlash of being a "failure" -- you need to get your head examined. If you call what Bush has done to America successful, so be it. In many ways your point is well taken but if, for the sake of comparison, you call what BuzzFlash has done for truthseeking Americans a failure you are way out in left field. Exactly how, other than getting out the truth, is a progressive news source supposed to "slow the president's forward march?" Take up arms? BuzzFlash has literally saved my sanity during this freak show. They have given me sufficient ammunition to counter any conservative I discuss politics with and, unless said conservatives are beyond reason (too many are), I have had enormous "success" in extracting their heads from a very dark and private place. Being armed with the truth is a powerful thing. Before you castigate BuzzFlash for being a failure you should consider that, as a human being, Bush is a miserable failure. His only success is his pathological lying and that has only worked because he's been propped up by a bunch of sociopaths who have seen to it that he is never taken to task by the MSM. Cut us Flashers some slack -- don't kill the messenger. Steve Moore P.S. As soon as the funds from the sale of my condo are transferred to my checking account BuzzFlash is going to receive a very nice contribution -- my tribute to their "success" in providing me with the truth and a whole lot of hope. [BuzzFlash Note: Thanks for making our day!] Subject: A heck of a job Buzz, just stunning -- the advice Mike Brown received from his (press!) secretary as Katrina was raging on:
So possibly this is what Bush referred to as he praised Brown for his "heck of a job" -- the job Brownie did rolling up the sleeves of his shirts, all shirts, to look more hard-working. These new revelations of Brown's e-mails show a man woefully out of touch with reality; a man who, when confronted with a tragedy of epic proportions where his actions were vital to survival of thousands of people, was concerned only with himself and his image. A man who instead of behaving like a responsible adult showed himself to be a spoiled, flippant and petulant brat. Not surprisingly, this petulant, egocentric brattiness that overrides decency and common sense appears to be an important qualification, in addition to incompetence, for being selected as part of Bush's cabal. W. himself fits this profile to a T. As we have seen over and over again, competent and caring adults need not apply to Bush&Co. The era of Bush's governance is all about image and its management -- the management necessary to cover up lack of qualifications, and mind-blowing arrogance and greed. Roll up your sleeves to look more hard-working ... This is what Bush's America is about. Elizabeth Subject: Patrick Fitzgerald I wrote a letter to P. Fitzgerald over a week ago. I told him how proud the American people are of him. To stand up to the pig bush and his clan. I felt like I was back in America again. He should be in the White House, then it should be called the White House. The bush and his clan will never tell the truth. This is the worst president America ever had, and gets away with it. I don't get it. I email everyone, I don't care who they are. PEACE and Power, Loretta Rosa [BuzzFlash Note: Yes - and Ambassador Wilson is another hero, in our book.] Subject: A new standard for foreign intelligence evaluators With all the hub-bub circulating in Washington regarding security breaches, outings, indictments, botched unqualified appointments, etc., along comes this item from the current issue of Newsweek magazine:
I had no inkling that being a campaign contributor qualifies one to advise the president on foreign intelligence matters. I thought the stakes would be just a teeny bit higher. Do you feel more secure? I don't! Bill Sybert Subject: Mailbag 11/3 ... to C... I agree with this Buzzer. If you watch the dvd, "Hijacking Catastrophe"....it delves much into the pseudo idiot that we think Bush is! (he is stupid....there is a difference). All through the dvd, actually, but noticeably at the end, when they compile some silly mis-pronouncments that he has made...such as "Subliminabable"....and "Nu ku lar"...dozens of times....Mark Crispin Miller says, "His handlers have been brilliant in their success of making him seem just like you and me." In his cowboy hat ... with scenes of High Noon, to which Scott Ritter, the weapons inspector, replied, "He is not a cowboy...he is a coward who would not go to war...I suppose the skies over Houston,Tx. were too dangerous...he ran off to Alabama...and went Awol"....(which during wartime...is desertion!) You are right...this man has pulled the wool over our eyes....but, I know this sounds very arrogant...Bush has never fooled me, not since he was seated in the Oval office. I knew when all the family was here, talking about how he surrounded himself by good people. Huh??...but, when you are outnumbered, you say nothing...you bite your tongue, because you are so tired of people treating you like you have leprosy! I remembered Dick Cheney bragging about how many times he avoided going to Vietnam, with pride....did not apologize ....with no regrets! This is hard to take, when you have lost a dear brother in that war!! Come to find out...that Rummy dodged Korea.....Wolfowitz dodged Vietnam....Ashcroft dodged Vietnam...8 times...no less........and at least a dozen other prominent rightwingers, including the man in the oval office. Hell yeah....he knows exactly what he is doing...and so do his handlers...and the most frightening thing to me is.......we have no power...! I know from experience, either from not wanting to admit a mistake...or just downright ignorance....his steadfast followers...are sticking to their story! No matter how many of our young folks die...unless one of theirs has to go...they will stick to that story...Bush is our president (which I always remind them...he is not mine)...and he wants us to be forward looking and resolute. After the war started....he said....and so did Bill O'Reilly that he expected us to back the war. Well, sorry, Buddy...even though I was pretty much ostracized....I did not then...and I will not now! period....that is my story and I am sticking to it!!!! Shirley...........St. Louis Subject: Wal-Mart and Politics I used to shop at Wal-Mart and I used to be a Wal-Mart stockholder back when Wal-Mart bragged about their products being made in America. Now I'm living in California where Wal-Mart has given Governor Schwarzenegger over a million dollars to promote his special election reforms. Wal-Mart is now the third largest trading partner with Communist China and I'm not comfortable with communist money being pumped into our local elections. So I'm going to vote against Wal-Mart in the elections on Tuesday because I really don't think Wal-Mart has the best interests of the people in mind. Marc Perkel Subject: Bush's Response to Possible Pandemic Sorry I could not respond sooner, fellow Buzzers, but I was out of town the last couple of days. However, I did catch on t.v. Bush's speech to the public in regards to what steps he thinks should be taken in preparation for possible pandemic. I noted that he said nothing in specific as to what may be done militarily. He does not want to talk about it because it is too much a hotbed of controversy and he knows we will not agree to martial law should the flu come to our country. So he will sneakily think of some other way of making it happen when we are least aware, like he has tried before. ARE WE GOING TO LET HIM GET BY WITH IT??? DON'T LET HIM GET BY WITH IT, HE WILL GAIN ALL POWER!!! THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE OF THIS YEAR PEOPLE! Before I started writing this I read the Nov. 1 edition of BuzzFlash and I stumbled upon the response of Mike from R.I. Mike, I am no medical person myself but I do tend to think that the 1918 flu was caused perhaps by the war and we all know that war causes disease. It is a fact and the soldiers at that time were in close quarters and fighting in trenches and I think this helped contribute to it or to the spread. I do think in our day and age with planes or a large group of people at a big gathering of some type it could be possible a disease could spread like wildfire. I, however, do not buy into all this vaccine b.s. I am over the half century mark but I do not get these shots that they recommend because I feel like I continually have the flu anyway with my condition and it just aggravates it. When I don't have vaccinations I am a whole lot better off and I don't end up having flu like everyone else nor does my husband. I think this whole thing about making a lot of vaccinations just profits Big-Medical, and like every project the government does, the money ends up being diverted in some way and we never see what actually happens to it. Is it a wonder why we can't trust those who we are supposed to trust to help us? Boy, we sure learned that lesson from Katrina! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Rosa Parks/Best Protest Sign Seen at an anti-bush rally in Detroit: HONOR ROSA PARKS - LIVE LIKE HER No politician can improve on that! Phillip Sherwood Subject: Bush travels to Argentina with an entourage of 2000 This article describes Bush's security detail during summit in Mar del Plata, Argentina as comprised by 2000 men. Plus four AWAC planes, helicopters and U.S. ships have been deployed....Last week saw the arrival of three planes with arms to protect Bush and with food for the delegation. Can you imagine how much it all costs? [in Spanish] http://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/11/03/um/m-01083041.htm A BuzzFlash Reader CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THE NOVEMBER 4, 2005 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG
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