 |
|||
| December 5, 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: Mailbag Hello, Re: Election Fraud In the 12/2 Mailbag a writer complains that "the paucity of discussion of this crucial topic on BuzzFlash leads me to query the commitment of BuzzFlash to honest open reporting. What gives?" Holy S*#t!!! I learned everything I know about election fraud from BuzzFlash - not just 2004, but 2000 and 2002 (and let's hope no more). What gives? You must have been asleep. If you don't read BuzzFlash on a regular basis, you shouldn't be accusing them of a lack of reporting. You're just missing the reporting. That'll teach ya! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: America Bribes Iraqi Journalists It is not a surprise the the Bush administration is bribing Iraqi journalists to print stories in Iraqi newspapers written by the US military pretending to be Iraqi citizens. After all - the Bush administration is doing the same thing here. That's why we are fighting a fraudulent war in the first place. I suppose if you lie your way into a war you might think that you could lie your way out of one. This is America. Can't we do any better than this? I'm Marc Perkel - And I approved this message! Marc Perkel Subject: Mailbag 12/2/05 Cindy...in Northern NY state.....what Hillary needs to do is completely denounce the war....and call for a drawdown...like Nancy Pelosi...and Murtha have done. Likely they are getting the most grief from their constituents back home...I have no idea, but they are at least not believing a thing Bush says. She can make excuses all she wants, as can her husband....but, any kind of friendship with the Bush family is certainly not worth it....(bear in mind...I voted for Bill Clinton twice...and personally think he is the best president in my time). Staying for any amount of time is not going to bring a safe ending to this war! Carla Easterling....you are right. Bush is not dumb. He is a product of his handlers, they think that making misspeaks every once in a while...makes him just like you and me. As in the documentary....Hijacking Catastrophe....Mark Crispin Miller says, they have been brilliant at making him out to be a bumbler...part to sympathize and part to make simple folks feel like he is just normal...like all human beings. Truth of fact is, as Scott Ritter says, in that documentary....He is not a man...he is a coward, who thought it was too dangerous to fly the skies over Houston, Tx....therefore he ran off to Alabama (and remains a coward to this day). And to Dominie...Yucca Valley.....thanks for the names of two documentaries, that sound like I would love...I must find them. As for the woman you speak of who sounds like a wonderfully pleasant, honest and personable person.....I have been through the worst of that. It is really heart-breaking when it is your own children and husband. My daughter, my best friend, voted for Bush the first time...thought Clinton was slime...that is what made this country so careless in not delving into Bush more! I, however, think it is reckless, to allow what Bill Clinton did....to effect the rest of our lives....and the many who have died in Iraq....and the 15 thousand who are limbless for life...we will be taking care of them and their families. When she realized ( it only took her a year).....she cried, to me...that she would have to live with it for the rest of her life (ergo...all the people who said they voted MORALS). And, yes, she will have to live with it for the rest of her life...and well she should...Unfortunately...she married a successful man and will never have to work...nor will she ever have to want for anything (unless the country goes bankrupt...which some think it will.) My sons (one does not vote...thought Clinton should have been hung in the White House)....I am SO waiting for either of them to want R. Guiliani to be the candidate next, they never read, so...I will have to inform them that Guiliani makes Clinton look like a boy scout! When he said this to me, we had gone on a short trip to my hometown and...took them along...and I could not sleep, it was warm outside, and being a little town...I had no fear of going outside and they were there with their wives...one is like my daughter...the other does not care. They were discussing something that involved Bush....and I suggested that Bush knew 911 was going to happen....and my goodness...you would have thought a meteor had crashed into the hotel! Both wives said he did not...and promptly left the scene. Now, I have no idea how that son feels now, because the subject never comes up and his daughter, my granddaughter has spent 10 months in Iraq...she had joined the National Guard, before...not even suspecting that she would be sent there...she came home safely...but it is a mystery. Supposedly...she came out of Iraq with a serious female problem...but, this particular problem never heals itself....then I found out that her humvee had been hit, they had pictures....it was horrid! I had learned to not ever bring the subject up...besides having to deal with a husband who had voted for the criminal twice. Why is it that those of us who knew.....feel sorry for those who have to admit they made a mistake? My husband has never voted democratic in his life, but, after he found out that the administration had called off the search for WMD, and not admitted it until after the 2004 election...there was not a hell of a lot he could say. I am not saying he will vote for the next Rep. candidate....it depends who it is. I am so disillusioned with my party now...I may not even vote. If the next candidate has the evil pull that Bush had....our vote will never count! My husband's family still thinks Bush is God. I stay clear of them except for the occasional family picnic...which I enjoy. My cousins....both...thought Bush was God, and we had little friendly rivalries.....but, recently...one is alone...and takes a lot of medication because of a back injury....she wrote whining to me that, as she put it, "our wonderful" president was cutting her monthly check $200, hard way to find out you were wrong...but a lot of folks are gonna find that out! In, "Hijacking Catastrophe" one of the experts...I have forgotten which...says, that bad leadership....lies....etc.., they are bad...but they will not bring down a country. Monetary bankruptcy will. If the people who own the debt this country is making, decide that they are not going to divvy up anymore...we will be ruined! Another worst case scenario...China owns us! Thanks to all the people in this country who thought Bill Clinton was so bad...that they would vote for the first person who was of the opposite party...not knowing one damned thing about him...or his past, or his connection to Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia....one only has to connect the dots. Thanks Buzz. Shirley..........St. Louis Subject: Free press in Iraq To German Filgueira who wrote: "Just the same, I applaud Chris for even discussing this topic. Now if he ever gets around to actually discussing plants in our own domestic media, and the undermining of our democracy, then we may actually have something to cheer about." If Chris Matthews ever got around to this discussion, he'd have to recuse himself! By the way, nice suggestion about returning the Hillary requests... I've been doing that to AARP and the NASW. AARP supported the horrible Medicare "reform." NASW (National Association of Social Workers) never spoke against the Iraq invasion/war. I have consistently refused to renew my memberships and have consistently told them why, using that same method. Leslie......Evanston Subject: Bush is a Sociopath...A Reply to One of Your Articles Dear BuzzFlash, In reference to: Bush Knew 10 Marines Had Died Prior To Rose Garden Remarks, Didn't Mention It ... all I will say is that he (Bush) does not give a damn. Clearly the person America has running this once great country of ours is a sociopath. I do not know why we are surprised by this behavior coming from Bush when he has not attended one single military funeral and has banned all pictures of our dead soldiers coming home from being published. Now I would like to interject my feelings concerning this "good news" about our economy. This past week in my LIPA (Long Island Power Authority) bill, I was told that my monthly electric rate will now be over $300 dollars. The oil bill that I just paid was close to $600 dollars and that does not even include the increased food bills, the money spent on filling up my gas tank and other added costs. I am sure that others across this nation are feeling the economic pinch and want to know what purchasing power we have during this holiday season. I suspect that many will face a bleak holiday especially if they are victims of Katrina, Rita, Wilma and the twisters that tore through the heartland. That does not even include the thousands who have lost their jobs during this administration. What "good news" awaits them? What "good news" is there for the 30,000 GM employees whose jobs have been sent to India? In an email today in response to a column I wrote for VHeadline.com: "What will it take to restore power to the people? Don't look to Washington, D.C.," the emailer stated: "If everyone were to stop uniting and stop supporting our leaders, how long do you think our position as the most powerful nation would last? We did not get to this point today by encouraging people to be in defiance of the government." My questions to him are: Unite behind what? Are our leaders truly supporting us as they rip into many social programs in order to fund this war in Iraq? I would also add, if our government keeps operating in the business as usual mentality, they will be the ones who will seal our fate and bring us down. I would also like to remind this emailer of this passage within the Declaration of Independence which states:
Sincerely, Mary MacElveen Subject: Cap I read on a link on BUZZFLASH that the Republicans are trying unsuccessfully to put a cap on medical judgments in Wisconsin. I know one such idea that almost every US citizen would endorse, but it hasn't the chance of a snowball in hell of even being introduced. How about a cap on LEGISLATOR and EXECUTIVE CORPORATION PAY AND PENSIONS? Reading each day about layoffs and obscene pensions and "golden envelopes" offered to execs and also reading about the recent pay raise legislators voted themselves, a motion like this would go a LONG way toward convincing the jaded voters that the people we elect do give a damn what happens to us. Like I said, a snowball's chance in hell. Mike Curtis Subject: Masters of Horror Episode I watched a Masters of Horror episode on Showtime last night that was amazing. Bush's administration had to face an army of zombies that rose from the grave to vote him out of office. The brave soldiers got out of coffins sent from Iraq and shambled to the polls to make sure that Bush was not re-elected. When it became obvious that he would lose, someone "made the call" to those controlling the ballot boxes that the "right side" would prevail. Bush won again. Angered by the administration's failure to honor their fallen comrade's votes, dead soldiers from previous wars then got out of their graves to make it clear that never again would a president come to power who would send our young men and women into harm's way for greed. Beverly Adams Subject: When Bad News I would like to know why, when there is bad news from IRAQ such as major bombings or a lot of US casualties like yesterday, there is always a high-ranking officer from Al Qaeda killed, of course, according to the US sources. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10303175/ Officials: CIA missile strike kills al-Qaida No. 3 Terrorist group's operational leader Rabia reportedly slain in Pakistan If that is not part of the US propaganda machine, I do not know what it is. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Why Neil Bush Appeared with Moon With a financial empire in the billions, tax-felon Sun Myung Moon is THE MOST DANGEROUS foreign influence in American History. His movement's seemingly benign idiosyncrasies disguise a right-wing political infection of which The Washington Times is only the smallest claw of a corporate cancer that spans the globe. Notwithstanding his blatant anti-communism, a more careful inspection reveals that it originates only from that ideology's avowed atheism and not from its totalitarian ruthlessness. Indeed, among other things, he's advocated violence against all opposition his organizations cannot convert, and that he styles "satanic"; the destruction of American Bill of Rights as no longer necessary; and stated in no uncertain terms that he will wring individualism completely out of American culture. Just like Hitler, his philosophy is based on blood lineage. The only difference is he sees it as the "spiritual" infection of the "original sin" rather than physically racial. Connect the dots: "God" sees two types of humans: those who become "free of original sin" through Moon's church (his Moonie clones) and the rest of us. Speaking physically though, his ideology is hardly innocuous. He has control of vast munition and ordinance production facilities and plants in Korea and elsewhere in the Far East. Connect the dots again, and you can see his plan for the violent "armageddon" he is planning between his brainwashed "sinless" clones and the rest of the "satanic" world. Now, if you had the warped brain of any Bush, on which side would you hedge your bets? Will Wyche Subject: Ma Barker Bush So Ma Barker Bush is now blaming others for the incompetence of the abomination she spawned (he didn't fall far from the tree, did he?). I have said all along that Ma Barker and Poppy are traitors to this country, because they knew better than anyone that their little prince wasn't fit for office, that he didn't have the intelligence, knowledge, temperament, or character to be dog catcher, much less "president." They betrayed this country because they let him get into a position of power, knowing that he would be manipulated and led by others, and then they stood by instead of speaking out when their spawn destroyed the economy, and sent our troops to their deaths based on lies. I hope that Poppy lies awake at night worrying about what his spawn has done to this country. The hag is too stupid and self-indulgent to know or care, it is obvious where the abomination gets his great empathy for others. Joann Subject: More Than 2000 Newspaper Jobs Lost It couldn't be that more and more Americans have discovered that the corporate publishing syndicates have turned the national "mainstream" media into blacked-out, covered-up and censored propaganda, could it? Will Wyche Subject: DeLay Ignoring DoJ I think about half the country either didn't know or didn't care that the DeLay grab for illegal redistricting was even happening - and the half that did know and care couldn't get the news across to the others. Obviously, this kind of bullying hurts everyone in the U. S. But, how can that point be made effectively? it seems like maybe we all have to be shoved up against the wall before we'll unite to use what we have been given, i.e. the ability and the responsibility to understand the power of the US Constitution. Our leadership has folded under the seduction of win at all costs mentality. When the group (DoJ) who are charged with advising the leadership are subverted and ignored, and the people who are being affected (i.e., the citizens) don't know or care, what's the use in even pretending the system still works? US voters, yes even Texas voters, have to muster the energy and the will and the intelligence to care and to act. The DeLays, the Diebolds, and the politicized christian right wing may win again and again. They may, although it angers me to admit it, continue to manipulate us and victimize us. Unless people who supported bush and pals because they thought republicans would truly be honorable and fiscally responsible change their minds, and get with the progressives, we'll still be victims in '06. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Giving Democrats a Free Ride The Bush administration is in tatters and disgrace. This should be a triumphant moment for the Democrats. It's not. Why not? Because for years the timid Dems have had no agenda. They cling to the center, cowed by Republicans, imitating their fake moralistic/patriotic posture. Democrats have abandoned the poor, the environment, and the working American as thoroughly as the Republicans. Most signed off on the Iraq war, which is why they can't claim any moral high ground today. We'd be out of Iraq next week if the Democrats had opposed the war in 2003 as vociferously as they do now. Too little, too late. BuzzFlash is an invaluable website, but by investing in a monolithic criticism of Bush, and giving the Democrats a free ride, BuzzFlash is not serving the long-term needs of our country and the world. We're facing devastating shortfalls of natural gas, oil, water, and food in the next decade. The Democrats are silent on this. The U.S. should be investing in alternative energy on a grand scale akin to gearing up industrially for World War II. The gap between rich and poor is now obscene, and the rich are paying the lowest taxes since before WWII. The poor are vanishing from the media landscape, descending into chronic at-risk status for health, housing, and education. The Democrats and BuzzFlash are nearly silent on this. Rampant globalization, outsourcing, and the triumph of corporate interests over local governments and peoples is at a pinnacle. Regulation is a dirty word, and NAFTA, GATT, and other crippling international treaties are leading the race to the bottom for working people of the world. The U.S. economy, overspent, in debt, and producing little of material substance, is heading for a crash. When does a Democrat talk about this? A Democratic capture of Congress is a possibility, despite the Democrat's non-existent agenda for turning America around. It may indeed be enough for candidates to say "I'm not Republican" to win. But what then? Eight more years of tepid Clinton/Gore do-nothing house-sitting? The global crises will be upon us. America is adrift and in decline. The Democrats need to know that they need to rediscover what the party of Roosevelt, Kennedy, McGovern, and Carter used to do for the common man. BuzzFlash should be as harsh a critic of Democratic leaders as of the Bush regime. The free ride and unconditioned support is a big mistake. Paul Lacques Subject: States Shouldn't Kill Perpetuating the cycles of violence, that's what the death penalty's about. If Stanley Tookie Williams gets the lethal injection, how many murders of retribution will be carried out in his name with how many more lethal injections sure to follow? What's the answer? Stop all state-sponsored killings - from lethal injections, from wars, from these here safety net cuts and from ignoring global-warming. How to bring about such a turnabout? We the people change the world. Anything less than that will be fatal to all living beings. We better hurry, too. The polar ice caps are melting fast. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: War - !!?? - On Christmas Hi, Buzz!! After reading Bill O'Reilly's take on the "secular progressive war on Christmas," I had to rent a crane to get my jaw off the floor. Let me correct him. First of all, Bill, if you are a Christian, you don't call Jesus a "philosopher." You call Him the only-begotten Son of God, and our Lord and Savior. Got that? Second, if you are a Christian, Christmas is not "the big commercial holiday." Christmas is the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, a RELIGIOUS holiday. All the churches I've been associated with are very down on the idea of Christmas as a "commercial holiday," because commercialism distracts us from a lot of eternal truths. Calling it a "commercial holiday" makes you sound very secular. So get it right, okay? Finally, the Founding Fathers were not a Christian voting bloc. They were deists by and large, which means they disagreed with Christianity on a lot of rather important issues. Like miracles. Thomas Jefferson, for example, published a bowdlerized version of the Bible that deleted all of Jesus' miracles. Christians believe in those miracles. So be careful what you say about the Founding Fathers, all right? There is no war on Christmas. Whether we say, "Merry Christmas," or "Happy Hanukah," or "Bah, humbug," is not about anybody's rights. It's about courtesy. The Constitution doesn't give anybody the right to shove his religion down anybody else's throat. You might understand these things better if you would, first, actually read the Constitution (I'm paying you the compliment of assuming you can read). Then I suggest you read the Bible. Really read it. Read it all - especially the parts about compassion and giving to the poor. Then, find yourself a church - not one that uses Christianity as a stalking horse for a political agenda, but a congregation for whom Christianity is a way of life, for whom Jesus is the Master, not a convenient name to drop. You might find yourself changing your mind about a lot of things, and believe me, you need to. Jane Hawes "Did you ever wonder why newspapers almost never run exposes on car dealer repairs or car dealers in general? or on real estate firms? Or in the case of the Washington Post, for example, on Pentagon contractors and war profiteering?" or why newspapers don't tout the benefits of organically grown food (vegetables free of pesticides and genetic engineering and meat free of hormones and antibiotics) They get a lot of advertising from the Safeway's and Krogers of this world and none from Whole Foods and Wild Oats. Check out Union of Concerned Scientists http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/ Thanks, Evelyn Chorush Subject: A Retail Nightmare Before Xmas (Santa Monica) A new store (Global SomethingSomething), which only a month ago replaced AX on the NW corner of Main and Pier, is having a "Picket Sale". While striking employees toting placards stand assembled on the sidewalk, making a public plea to the shop's owner for long overdue paychecks. Store reps still on-the-job stand beside the picketers holding "Picket Sale" banners, each emblazoned with a picket fence background. "Come inside, we have some really great clothing for men," entreated one female rep clutching a "Picket Sale" banner. "Cross the picket and get ten-percent off today," said another. "It's offensive," said one striking male employee, as one rep held a video camera in his face, "the owner hasn't paid us, so the sale in itself is a statement. The owner is well aware of our dispute, and feels no urgency to resolve it." The picketers hope their vocal public effort can deliver owed wages in time for the holidays. Raven Byron Subject: Re your mailbag on Hillary for president Problem is, the Clinton Administration put in NAFTA and favorable one-way trade with Communist China. With Hillary's legal background, cannot claim ignorance. Not to mention active, pushy and arrogant first lady. She is republican enabler, put her daughter through it; Whitewater; last Clinton in oval office put in NAFTA; and a lot of people do not trust or like her. Not time for woman to run. Republican party will have a field day with Hillary running for president. Bayh and Biden voted for the bankruptcy bill. Dean, Edwards and Kerry for president. And Independent Rep soon to be senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont. And anyone from Vermont will tell you that he is for the people, will fight for the people and his signature is the elderly. Sanders is gold and Hillary, Bayh and Biden are scum and against the people. See you put this on. If you are for Hillary and from Chicago you are traitor to Chicago and Illinois that have been hard hit with NAFTA and outsourcing. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Voting Equipment Please consider the potential of the following idea to force the Democratic Party to push the DRE issue--
Yes, I would vastly prefer verifiable paper ballots, but Jan 1 is coming very soon and a lot of DRE systems are getting certified. http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?id=5018 Any thoughts? Robert Millman Subject: A Message to Pharmacists I just read this story about 4 pharmacists in Illinois Walgreens' withholding morning after pills for "religious or moral objections." Ill. pharmacists withhold emergency pill (AP/San Jose Mercury News) I wish I could ask them a simple question. What if everyone could do that? What if your house was on fire and the firemen objected to what you had on your VCR or art on your walls and refused to fight the fire? What if you were being mugged and a nearby policeman would not help because he thought "you brought it on yourself because you dressed that way?" What if someone robbed you and the courts felt your lifestyle wasn't moral enough to warrant justice? Think about it. Mike Curtis [BuzzFlash Note: Walgreens has put the four pharmacists on unpaid leave.] Subject: Fixing the Game -- Why not? (as sent to NY Times) I enjoyed your naive editorial entitled "Fixing the Game" at Fixing the Game - New York Times Editorial Why not? Worked very well for Herr Hitler in the early 1930s. And, it took him less time. John F. Williford Subject: Katrina: Who Should Pay, and an AOL Poll Taken Dear Folks, This is the lunacy that this war in Iraq has brought forth where we even have to ask “who will pay” for this immense rebuilding project. To the politicians who voted for this damn war, you bankrupted this nation in doing so. This is what our money should have been used for, period! But, what drives me nuts is the AOL poll taken below, where 62 percent of our fellow Americans stated that it is not a good use of our federal dollars to rebuild this storm-ravaged region. I say raise the taxes on the filthy and greedy rich who have made out like bandits during this administration. Do not cut further into our social programs. But, hey that is just sanity talking where insanity rules the day.
An AOL Poll Taken Concerning Who Should Pay: Do you want your federal tax dollars going to rebuild the Gulf Coast? Mary Subject: ALITO TELLS POLICE -- SHOOT FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER Alito, Scalito, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off Samuel Alito favors strip-searching 10 year-old girls. He'll do anything, including lying under oath, to overturn Roe v. Wade. Now, it turns out that he thinks that it's perfectly okay for police to kill unarmed teenagers (who are suspected of fleeing the scene of a $10 crime). I guess this is what George W. Bush calls a "compassionate conservative." Samuel "Shoot First, Ask Questions Later" Alito -- Legally Armed and Dangerous - to America
David Wyles Subject: Convince Us One More Time We don’t have a government anymore, we’ve got a bunch of p.r. flacks! We don’t need to be told the truth so that we can come to our own conclusions. We get p.r. speeches to convince us that if you repeat certain words over and over again they will somehow be true. Our plan for victory is a bulleted little power point presentation that should convince no one who has made it past the fifth grade. Hey, this is war or peace, life or death, not some presentation on a new improved box of corn flakes. It will no doubt convince people who are naïve enough that they think if they see it on the television it must be true. It’s not hard to convince these folks about anything. Repeat the words, freedom, victory, mission, over and over again until all the little pointy heads are nodding in unison. Now repeat after me, “War Good, peace bad.” That’s our good little Republican Party faithful. The rest of us, those who do have a mind and bother to fact check and even have been known to think once in a while, will now have to listen to these morons. They corner you at the water cooler, in the hall way and even in the bathroom. “See,” they say, smiling brightly, “President Bush does have a plan for Victory in Iraq.” Don’t point out to them that there is really nothing new in this presentation. It gets ugly when they turn on you in the bathroom. We don’t get a plan for victory with tactics and strategy and all that military technical stuff. No. We get a nice little presentation by Professor Peter Feavor whose purpose was to convince us that Bush does have a plan that will achieve victory. See, the idea is that the dumb public will accept all these people dying if they convince us that we can win. Talk about your smoke and mirrors! I don’t know about anyone else, but I am willing to fight to the death of the last neo-con who thought and still thinks that this whole war in Iraq is a good thing. Anyone else, not so much. Marjorie L. Swanson Subject: Premiums are ok w/me I totally agree with you that to take advertising from any company would compromise the quality of the great stuff you are able to bring to us that we may not otherwise know about. I have bought two premiums and they were well worth the money and I probably would not have found them at my local Borders. So, I say, to those who complain, quit yer bi**hin and just ignore the requests for support while you enjoy some of the best real news around. Patricia Victour Subject: Saddam Kills & Bush Kills Saddam killed political opponents. He did not slaughter KIDS. It is estimated that, of those Iraqi civilians killed, one third or over 10,000 were children. Murdered in wedding parties. Murdered in Market Square. Murdered at checkpoints. Murdered by firing 7 (yes 7) Cruise Missiles into an empty Palace killing those in surrounding homes. One man screaming "They killed my son, my only child. I want to kill Americans. I want to spend the rest of my life killing Americans". Anyone blame him? Bush is one who said, "I will not waste a million dollar missile on an empty tent." So cute. So frat Boy. So stupid. Show Americans the Slaughter of Children and watch revulsion. You could see pics on European TV, but not American TV. I saw children with no feet--no legs-no hands-no arms-half a face, etc. Bush kills Children. Child Murderer. He kills the reputation of his political opponents. Where do they go to get their reputation back after frog manure assaults from Bush Gang? clarence swinney Subject: Bush's Speech Do you remember as a child how good it felt to know that you knew what the adults knew? Can you remember how proud you were when younger siblings or neighborhood children still bought into the fantasy but you – you knew better. As we move on toward adulthood we take pride in the fact that we did as children do, when we were children, but now we do as adults do. Well, at least some of us do. While most of us have cast aside fantasy for the more realistic trappings of adulthood, the conservatives and good people at the Fantasy News Channel (that is Fox to you and me) still have visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads. The problem with fantasy is that, if followed too long, it will lead you to a place where reality will slap you in the face – hard! For most of us that would be a wake-up call. Some however remain intent on continuing down the same path as always. These individuals, George Bush being one of them, refuse to see that life is not a simple matter of cowboys and Indians, black and white, or good and “evil-doers.” And given the national (well really international) platform of the presidency, an obstinate individual like this might stand before the nation to present thirty plus pages of a strategy for dealing with the crisis in Iraq which amounts to closing his eyes, covering his ears and crossing his fingers. Crossed fingers are not good foreign policy especially not now. Thirty-five pages that could have been covered in two. No really, it could have, read the executive summary, which is two pages long and then read the rest and see if there is anything more you get out of it. However, thirty-five pages of repetition would have been fine, had there been a plan somewhere within the text. Two thousand-plus dead soldiers are not a milestone, nor are they a fantasy. Two thousand-plus dead soldiers are two thousand-plus individual stories, two thousand-plus minds, two thousand-plus smiles that George Bush’s obstinacy helped remove forever from the earth. The reality of supporting the troops is that there is no support for dead troops. They are dead! The reality of supporting the troops is to ensure that we know why they are in harm's way in the first place, that we support their mission to support and defend the constitution, that we understand what it is we are supporting. Supporting the troops does not mean supporting a president who has no concept of how to get those troops home safely. Supporting the troops means that when the president tells us that Bin Laden says that the third world war is waging (in at least three speeches) we are not scared into conformity; that we ask when did he say that and in what context. I did not remember a quote of Bin Laden’s exactly as the president said it so I read the speech to see if it was a direct quote; the ellipses suggest that it is not. Therefore, I spent a few hours searching for the quote. I never found it; the closest I came was a quote that could have been chopped down to what the president said with the use of ellipses. The problem is that the quote in context is not one where Bin Laden is declaring the third world war, as Bush’s words would have you believe, but where he is saying that, the US is waging the third world war on Islam. Supporting the troops is asking why we have only heard of terrorists who resist our benevolent efforts to bring democracy, until this speech, where we are told by the president that they are the smallest part of the opposition to us. The fantasy is that it is the evil terrorists that oppose us. The reality is that the opposition is a mix of different groups (including terrorists) opposing us for different reasons and you cannot just kill them all. Perhaps that is the reason for the fake news stories to sway those who oppose us and are not terrorists. They need to understand that democracy is a good thing even if we need to violate the principles of democracy to convince them. But that is just the military, George Bush had no idea what his military was doing. Maybe the greatest fantasy that the president takes part in is that all of us can be swayed by attacks on our patriotism, fear mongering in his speeches, or the Fantasy News Channel (Fox). Gary Holder-Winfield Subject: Torture Is a Crime, Even if You Outsource It! Today, Condoleezza Rice had the nerve to lecture the European people on torture. She had the nerve to say that we Europeans - I'm from Belgium - are profiting from the "lawful weapons" the U.S. uses. Some nerve ... but not enough to talk straight. She danced around the torture questions and even suggested that the U.S. was using only lawful techniques. Technically, the U.S. does not torture because the U.S. does not perform the actual torturing. Just like a mob boss who hires a hit man to do the killing does not commit homicide. Does anyone in the U.S. fall for that? Do all of you in the U.S. fall for such nonsense? Torture is a crime, even if you outsource it! Why aren't all U.S. citizens on the streets protesting against these clear violations of international law and human rights? Are Americans too timid, too lazy or do they really agree with such fascist atrocities from their government? Every American citizen who silently condones this is at least a little guilty. Maybe you should remember what the Germans said about the extermination of the Jews (after Hitler lost): "Ich habe es nicht gewusst." I guess pleading ignorance is the best that most Americans can come up with at the moment. Diether Samaey Subject: 36% Who Support Bush Hi, Check the website about Hitler becoming chancellor of Germany in the 1933 election. While he didn't win an outright majority, he had a plurality of the German votes (remember: that there were many parties running candidates) ... of around 37% !!!! Does that tell you something about the average Bush supporter? I wonder if they would still vote for him even if he were wearing a swastika, a brownshirt, and jodhpurs? Talk about true believers! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Limbaugh "the biggest morale booster that the soldiers have in Iraq" What would be worse for morale: A WAR WITH NO END IN SIGHT, or A WAR WITH A CLEAR TIMETABLE TO LEAVE? What would make a soldier feel better, if he heard this, ""We will be their till the job gets done (which is not defined), or "We will bring home most of the troops out of Iraq in 2006!"? It is clear to me having a timetable would enhance troop moral in a positive way. The soldiers know of the big lie, they are there for their fellow troops - they are not in Iraq for their democracy or for our security - 60+ percent of America knows that now. Limbaugh "the biggest morale booster that the soldiers have in Iraq" A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: George Is on the Campaign Trail ... Again! Every day of the week, or almost every day, we have to listen to the irritating drone of George Bush and his henchmen until I want to put my foot through the television set. I have the TV turned on to news. Even my parrot starts groaning every time he hears Dumbya’s voice now. My parrot has more sense then most Republicans. EVERY YEAR, around November, and December, or a little earlier, or a little later, people buy more {consumer confidence? Or JUST the holiday season?}. Same thing for jobs, more hiring of course, yet Bush touts his success based on this period. Of course, what is not mentioned are the almost three trillion in trade deficits in just 5 years. The face he puts on the economy is false in many aspects. What about the high energy costs this winter that come out of the average American’s household budget?? The Democrats should have a response to EVERY speech Bush makes, and point out the distortions! His campaign is running once again and needs a strong response! Too many uninformed, gullible, and indifferent citizens will still hang on to his words unless we show them otherwise.
Meanwhile, Rice wants to excuse rendition and berates the E.U. Rumsfeld thinks everything in Iraq is just hunky-dory and progressing {B.S.}. TreasonGate goes on with not TOO much attention from the media anymore. We have not had a progress report on Phase Two which seemed more of a one-day wonder, and the 9/11 Commission ends with a wimp, though admitting Bush’s report card has more F’s then A’s. Global Warming protests from 30 countries do not get into the news, DeLay’s delayed his rightful punishment, and Bolton is giving the UN a hard time on the budget {much to the displeasure of our allies and other members} JUST THINK, THERE ARE 1540 days, 13 hours, 3 minutes, and 11 seconds and moving, left of George W. Bush’s time in the White House!!! Susan Carr |
|||
| back to top | |||