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| December 7, 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: Save Our Soldiers, Impeach George Bush George Bush made it clear in his speech November 30th, 2005, that the only way we can save our soldiers from this pathological liar is to remove him from office. He clearly stated, "That as long as I am Commander in Chief we will not withdraw." He then proceeded to make his case based upon the same baseless nonsense that he has put forth in the past. I believe that George Bush no longer can discern fact from fiction. I therefore implore all elected officials to begin the process to remove George Bush and his entire cabinet from office. George Bush is an incompetent leader, and those that allegedly provide him with intelligence fail. They have drained our treasury and cost us lives needlessly. They have used debunked intelligence as a means to promote their philosophical war. They have failed in their efforts to plan for the peace and to determine what it is exactly that constitutes victory. The President promised to capture or kill our known enemy, Osama Bin Laden, but instead then chose to turn our resources toward an invasion of Iraq, and in doing so, began an organized campaign to build public support for such an invasion through a constant linking of Iraq to the attack of September 11th, the basis of which was known faulty intelligence. The President, in so doing, as well as his cabinet members, sought to purposefully deceive the public with false statements. They chose to lie. President Bush is now forced to continue his foible for the sake of political survival. Lives lost are meaningless relative to political survival. Crime and corruption are running rampant through the Republican Party with the promise of more to come. The party that liked to pretend that they were the morally superior party, seems to easily succumb to bribery, perjury, and abuse of civil rights. They seem to easily and comfortably advocate for the legalization of torture and smearing those that disagree with them. They pay for stories to be written that favor their policies as though they are selling used cars, and allow corporations to trade in toxic emissions as though they were wheat futures. It is a culture of corruption and it is costing us the lives of American heroes and innocent Iraqis. 80% of the Iraqi people want us to leave, and yet George Bush insists upon keeping our men and women in harm's way, for a war that we entered into based upon a series of mistakes. The biggest mistake we the people made was in November of 2000. George W. Bush was never elected, but was selected by The Supreme Court to be President. We never should have accepted such an outcome, regardless of the measures that may have been necessary to prevent such a travesty. We repeated our error in 2004, because we were gullible enough to believe that the President of the United States would never have led us into a war without just cause. We were used as George Bush and Karl Rove engineered and successfully implemented an ad campaign for war. It has cost us 2,100 heroes and drained our treasury. We have spent 200 Billion Dollars in Iraq and we have American citizens that go to bed each night hungry, homeless, and without a job. Our air cargo goes unchecked because we do not have the 4 Billion Dollars it would take to make us safer. Our ports and borders are essentially wide open and communication between intelligence groups and first responders is unchanged. It is not hopeless. We need our elected officials to do their duty. We need them to Impeach George Bush on charges of abuse of power and gross incompetence that has cost us lives and drained our treasury. We need Congress to Impeach George Bush on the misuse of intelligence. The Republicans will, of course, claim that they know of no such basis for Impeachment. The point of Impeachment is a trial to determine if the charges brought against George W. Bush would constitute removal from office. What does and does not rise to that level is a matter of debate and not fact. We the people must therefore demand of our elected officials that they take the needed steps to begin the Impeachment process. Our National Security depends upon it, the lives of our soldiers demands it. Jim Ridout Subject: “That’s Not a Lie; It’s a Terminological Inexactitude!” -- Alexander Haig
Bush said this morning, what Stephen Hadley {National Security Advisor} declared on December 4. To all this, the White House has tried outright denial: “We comply with U.S. law. We respect the sovereignty of the countries with which we deal. And we do not move people around the world so that they can be tortured." This article gives examples to the contrary, and they can be found in the reports of many humanitarian watch groups. The article concludes by saying, “At a time when the administration was frantically dismissing Abu Ghraib as a case of a "few rotten apples," Masri's case shows it for what it really was - a reckless policy put in place by the administration in violation of US and international laws.
Under George W. Bush and his administration, we have seen example after example of corruption and a decay of decency which has lost us the respect of the world and of our own respect with Bush’s misbegotten policies. We have heard Orwellian words twisted, so it seems that those opposed to war and torture are unpatriotic and hurting our soldiers. Before us stands the Bush Government and his henchmen, who put no limitations on their conduct and then seek to justify their wrongdoing with inaccurate and deliberately false statements, as, day after day Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld once again repetitively lie to the American people. Susan Carr Subject:
The Power of Tens Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld while speaking at John Hopkins University was a premier thespian in his act of ignorance over the admitted paying of Iraqi newspapers to run pro U.S. policy articles. Donny who loves the stage acted as though he wasn't quite sure of this alleged story, a story to which the Pentagon admitted last week, but yet there was Don the bold faced liar up at the microphone proclaiming ignorance and trying to blame the "liberal" media. A riddle of the day may be, "What keeps Donald Rumsfeld erect when he has no spine? And then we have Condi, sweet Condi. Don't her shoes look lovely? Condi who took to the podium to proclaim that," The United States does not transport prisoners to secret prisons", this while simultaneously officers with the CIA made it public that they had to scramble to move prisoners from secret prisons in Europe before Condi got there. Condi proclaimed our innocence while stories abound of innocent men being transported by the United States to prisons in Saudi Arabia where they are raped and tortured. But suppose for just an instant that The United States paid contractors to move the prisoners and it was not actually U.S. Military or CIA then did Condi lie or just mislead? One must listen very carefully to the nuances of the professional liar. Let us not forget that torture was the thing that Bush said we did not do while Cheney was lobbying Congress to legalize it and the Pentagon admitted to it. But we hold some of the responsibility. Where are the curious and courageous minds at the Universities, or in the media, or riding the subway? This is OUR government not theirs. We have the power to bring about swift change. The lives of American citizens are at stake. Where was the outrage by students at John Hopkins as Lying Donny took the stage? There are those that tell us that we cannot cause the impeachment of George Bush. To them I say they fail to understand the power of tens. You see, that is what it takes; it is a matter of 10 to the power of 7. If you know ten people who believe as you do, AND they are willing to take action, get them to do so; if each of them then knows 10 people who will do the same, and so on, until we have gone through the exercise 7 times with each person talking to 10 people and convincing them to call and write their elected officials and demand the Impeachment of George Bush, it will happen. 10 to the 7th power is 10,000,000 people. It is a government by the people and for the people. George Bush would rather lie than come clean. If our elected representatives are faced with the real threat of 10,000,000 voices, they will act. This is the basis for any grass roots effort. The time is ripe for a Renaissance in the Progressive Movement. Taking control of our government is the first step. We must look at creating a new vision based on bread and butter values. Recently there have been a number of announced plant closings because of rising healthcare costs. General Motors estimates that Healthcare costs amount to $1,500 per automobile. General Motors should not be in the healthcare business. We need to demand Universal Health Care for all American citizens. It will not only save jobs but create them, it will help fight the war on poverty, as costs to the poor for healthcare coverage are no longer an issue and the savings will put food on the table. Unions need to reestablish a vision for the common man that also incorporates a sense of communal good. Republicans want us to believe that the costs of healthcare are our fault with insurance claims; the truth is healthcare costs and premiums are rising due to irresponsible employers who offer no healthcare and the rest of us then have to pay. It is not our seeking retribution for the amputation of the wrong limb or wrong medication that is the problem, that is just another lie of the right, as they give to those that already have it and not those in need. Every other modern society on the planet has Universal Healthcare, and they provide for all of their citizens at half the cost per man, women, and child. The Republicans in the past have always been able to play this up as pure Socialism, which they make akin to Communism, all of which is misleading. Yes, it is a social program but it is not Communism. It all begins with understanding the power of tens. It begins with everyday people talking about everyday values and what our government can do to provide for the general welfare. Jim Ridout Subject: Tookie Williams In light of all this Tookie Williams press, can Buzz select an article about Karla Faye Tucker to post, to remind people, and in memory of her, another person who, for 14 years was on death row, having repented, helped others and only wanted life in prison to help others, but a certain person George Bush, killed her, a woman, a Christian, no less, for votes from his fundamentalist conservatives...then laughed. Karla Faye Tucker, what good did killing her do? All these years since, who knows all the women who she could have counseled, nurtured, and would have been a part of their lives for good, so that God could have worked through her to minister to their lives. After all, she got on drugs in the 3rd grade (!) to numb the pain of being forced to prostitute for her mother, a drug addict, and for money for food them. When the drugs wore off a few days later she immediately regretted what she had done in the drug-induced pent-up rage she experienced and took out on others. Yet, her character was not that of a hard core killer, nor a serial murderer to be feared and eliminated from society, but a horribly wounded child who had barely just grown up when she was just doing what she had learned since she was a little girl. The truth is George Bush has killed more innocents than Karla Faye Tucker before he laughed at the Christian woman he'd just killed. He just used her life and her ministry to get votes from the "law and order religious conservative fundamentalists." Now, what is Arnold going to do? Sell his soul for votes, too? If Bush were running for President, Arnold would put Tookie to death. Since Bush can't run anymore, and neither can Arnold, there may be a chance for Tookie. The word "mercy" is many times in their Christian/Catholic Bibles, but neither knows what it means. Betsy Subject: German sovereignty & US rights, law, CIA flights and European Court of Justice Victims Could Sue for Human Rights in European Court of Justice Interview with human rights lawyer Nolte The secret prisoner transports of the CIA create an uncomfortable situation for several members of the old (*the new one is in for a week) German administration. The Munich human rights attorney Georg Note speaks with Spiegel Online about Germany's responsibility and possible repercussions of the affair. Spiegel Online: US Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice spoke of possible mistakes in relationship to the secret CIA prisoner transports, but at the same time emphasized that the US is a constitutional democracy that meets its international responsibilities. What kind of human rights problems do the secret flights raise? Nolte: The USA ratified the UN pact for civil and political rights as well as the UN convention against torture and other brutal, inhumane and demeaning punishment or treatment. Thus they are obligated under international law to respect the rights within the scope contained in the framework of the contracts. Spiegel Online: And the role of Germany ... would the administration have made itself complicit if it had tolerated the infringement of human rights of prisoners in its sovereign territory? Nolte: According to Article 1 of the European Human Rights Convention Germany is obligated to guarantee the rights and freedoms stipulated in the conventions to all persons under its sovereignty. This is defined as responsibility as far as possible to also prevent for human rights abuses by third parties in its sovereign territory. Spiegel Online: What could be the consequences? Nolte: Every person who considers himself to have been the victim of an abuse of human rights which could be attributed to Germany, after exhausting all national legal processes, can file a suit at the European Court of Justice. Spiegel Online: Would the German government be in a position to avoid giving the US landing and over-flight rights, or does this NATO partner have far reaching rights? What rights do the Americans have in Germany? Nolte: Military flights "within the framework of German law" are allowed according to the Article 57 of the NATO troop statute supplementary agreement. Other flights must be approved. Spiegel Online: Is German sovereignty put in question as a result of the CIA actions? Spiegel Online: German sovereignty is always affected when other States do not respect German law within Germany. Whether this has occurred must be determined on a case by case basis. The interview was held by Björn Hengst http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,388901,00.html A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Re: Thom Hartmann's "Independent Thinker" Book of the Month Review: "Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit" Add that Ishmael is a trilogy. 1. Ishmael 2. My Ishmael - this one was the tear jerker. 3. The Story of B. Peace, Claude Subject: Cheney ditches White House Christmas Dinner to Parlay with DeLay
Everyone needs an out. Bush may be radioactive, but going to his Christmas Party doesn't mean you want him at your fundraiser. Christmas is the season of good will, DeLay is another thing altogether. Cheney has an excuse not to hobnob with Bush.
I suppose at sometime you have to expect Jared Woodfill to come out with a true statement. I am positive Bush and Cheney are well aware that DeLay can, if he is in the mood or wants to, move forward the Bush agenda. They know he is effective and they don't care how he does it.
How strange? If you want just people from DeLay's district why not have the fundraiser in DeLay's district? Couldn't he find a hotel in his own district to have this shindig or do they all think he is poison? They just did a poll in his district and 36% is his approval rating. A generic democrat would get 49% of the vote. Very little of DeLay's district is even in Harris County, so Bettencourt has to be an import, right? I know a lot of people down there, and no one has to be paid (professional) to protest Tom DeLay or Dick Cheney. In fact, I am surprised there weren't thousands. I think Bettencourt needs to be clued in that DeLay's district isn't the only one DeLay gerrymandered out of whack. DeLay's own lawyer wants a change of venue because DeLay took Congressional District 10, which included all of Austin, and split it into Districts 10, which goes nearly to Houston and is next to DeLay's 22; District 21, which goes out into the rural, heavily Republican Hill Country; and District 15, which is a long finger that goes nearly to Brownsville. DeLay would like you to know it isn't gerrymandering, but take a look at the map and see for yourself. Check out Districts 10, 21 and 15. http://congdistdata.tamu.edu/USCongressionalDistricts.pdf I know 200 people in Houston who would picket DeLay for bus money. I would hardly call that professional. According to the report, there were 300 inside and 200 outside. Only 300 DeLay supporters and I think we need to check all of their voter registrations because my bet is not many were from his district. Where does Bettencourt live? It turns out that Bettencourt lives in District 7, so why was he there? If people outside the district can't protest, then why can people outside the district donate? Karen Webb Subject: Outsourcing Hi, Buzz!! Barbara's Minute has a few things to say about the obscene level of CEO pay in this country - and she's right, of course. The grunt workers get laid off when times are bad, but you never hear about executives getting pay cuts. It is truly obscene, and I don't see any end to it. Which reminds me of something I read somewhere, some time ago (I don't remember where, but it was probably BuzzFlash...): Instead of sending all our factory jobs overseas to "save money," why don't corporations simply outsource their executives? The report I read said that executives in Asia and elsewhere make a fraction of what our CEOs do. Let them work for our companies instead; seems to me corporations could save a lot of money that way. If you really believe this will happen, however, I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Jane Hawes Subject: Prisoners in Romania and Poland I am appalled, did, Poland not learn from WW2, the imprisoning of the Jews?? The torturing, if this is true, I wonder what they are going to receive for a payoff? As a person whose paternal great grandmother and grandmother came from Poland, I am even more outraged that this could be true. Sandi Subject: Finally, a war that O’Reilly is willing to fight in . . . Too bad it's the fictitious "war on Christmas.” I say merry Christmas to the people that I know who celebrate Christmas and I say happy holidays to people I don't know that well. It’s about being considerate to others and their beliefs. Is it really going to diminish one's beliefs if a tree is called a "holiday tree," instead of a Christmas tree? It seems that people such as O'Reilly have forgotten what the real meaning of Christmas is. O'Reilly is just like the Grinch in "How the Grinch stole Christmas." The Grinch believed that the presents and the tree were more important to the Whos than the holiday itself. Of course he realized he was wrong, after the Whos were still happy without their presents and decorations. If Christmas trees and saying Merry Christmas were outlawed in the United States, wouldn’t Christmas still take place? Wouldn't believers still believe? Happy Holidays to the BuzzFlash staff and all of my fellow Buzzers! Kimberly D. [BuzzFlash Note: It's indeed a sad commentary on right-wing inspired polarization of the people, when we can't even settle in for a non-politicized holiday season. Is Peace political? How about Joy? How about candles and lights, gifts, and coming together?] Subject: Predatory Lending Dear BuzzFlash, After seeing the post to TPM Cafe on the Ney/Kanjorski bill to weaken protections against predatory lending, I had to pass along the story below, which doesn't seem to have gotten much attention. Note that the link is to a media outlet that reproduced a press release rather than creating an independent story (the lazy media is a different story), but I couldn't find an actual article that talked about the former employee's testimony about the company's practices. One other salient fact: The defendant company services loans for the Veterans' Administration! http://www.homeloans.va.gov/faqmisc.htm
Sincerely, Cathy Vance Subject: So America's Out To Change the World? Last night I happened to catch a Republican congressman reciting the dictum, "America has to change the world or the world will change America." He said it like an oft-repeated rallying cry, so I must have been out sick when they launched that one. My first thought was, are these our only choices? If so, I'll have to opt for (B.) What in the name of all that's holy gives America (or anyone else) a right to "change the world?" And change it into what, pray? A globeful of Reaganized Latin Americas with Pinochet-like viceroys to run the store? Or perhaps a mega-collection of Soviet-style clones and client states? It's hardly likely that we'd become willing to "change the world" so that poverty-stricken nations could aspire to a standard of living in the same sphere as our own. Hell, we begrudge giving a poor Mexican kid a free DPT shot. Moreover, the Republicans' habitual selective vision has made them overlook the fact that the America of 2005 has precious little to recommend it as a role model. Among other things, we've pretty much mortgaged the farm, we import more than we export, and except for the wealthy, our citizens haven't much in the way of financial security. For the past five years I've watched my country evolve with astounding rapidity into a Global Autocrat. We dictate to emerging nations what arsenal of weapons they're permitted to have, even as Bush opted out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty before he finished unpacking in the White House. The genocide in Iraq proves that the US now conducts its affairs solely on the maxim that Might Makes Right. The Europeans, of course, used that rationale for half a millennium to rape half the world. I had thought the Western moral consciousness had evolved sufficiently to conclude that colonialism was ultimately a pernicious idea. But it might be difficult to convince most Iraqis of that. Change the world? What insufferable arrogance! The mere fact that we possess the capacity to blow Nation X off the planet, but scruple to do it, does not entitle us to that nation's expressing its gratitude by meekly dancing to whatever tune we choose to call. I rather doubt that's what the Founding Fathers had in mind with that "blessings of liberty" thing. Ellie Remore Subject: "Victory" in Iraq Please request from anyone...especially the usual suspects, Bush, Cheney etc., to answer this question: What constitutes VICTORY in Iraq and when will we know when and if it happens ? When we left Vietnam the jackass "Domino Theory" was exposed as nothing more than an excuse then. We're at the same point now, because if we left Iraq immediately the same thing would happen again... all out Civil War we shouldn't have anything to do with. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Is Hillary overcompensating or what? I think everyone in Washington is so paranoid that they try to play both sides of the road. It seems to me that the Clintons change from day to day...almost as if they are being blackmailed. I, for one, thought Bill Clinton was the best president of my time....since Kennedy did not live out one term.....and I think he seriously tried to do the job for the people, we had peace, prosperity, low unemployment...balanced budget ... surpluses ...etc., But, I have a bit of trouble with his doing with the Bushes. Even though it was charity work...and that is what his foundation is about....I just did not like it....! How can you get that close to vermin....and not become one! I don' t even trust the Bush women...so...even if she is trying to keep in good stead with everyone...and even if she is thinking about a run for president in 2008...it is just a deep dark mystery to me, and may be a mistake! And, I think that we do not know what to believe from one day to the next anymore. I just watched Robert Baer on Matthews.....and he has the book that George Clooney has made into Syriana.......and he says there is no way we can win...none, and we cannot leave either...he says the best thing is to keep only the troops that are military police there...otherwise...as mad and as upset as they are now...they hate America so much...they will band with Iran and blow us the hell off this planet! Just about what I had figured. The thing that makes me so enraged about this entire war...is...that it is turning out exactly like I thought in the first few days...when everyone accused me of being unpatriotic...UnAmerican...etc. We were made to believe from every turn...that (like Cheney and Bush say now) "We don't want the troops to hear anything negative like that"...That is the most overused sentence this administration uses...every time they get the chance ... And, I have become so inured to it...I just almost laugh! Once again...today Christmas shopping...I was at one of the biggest...and I checked, it is worth it...for any cars left with the big W sign...or any kind of Bush sign...bumper sticker...whatever...None! I am not lying...people were telling me that...and I never checked...but, I do now. And, it does my heart good to not have to look at that anymore! I seriously have not seen one...so I suppose the poll numbers are right. Shirley......................St. Louis Subject: "Fascism Files" The Indy Voice has created an entirely new category called "Fascism Files." Since we won't (unfortunately) be running out of good material to fit in this category I figured why not create a whole new category. To start us off just take a look, Bush critics stifled from representing U.S. overseas (Knight-Ridder/Billings Gazette) According to Laurence W. Britt in an article published in Free Inquiry magazine entitled "Fascism Anyone?" he concludes that there are 14 characteristics of fascists or proto-fascist states after studying the regimes in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, Papadopoulos's Greece, Pinochet's Chile, and Suharto's Indonesia. This action by the Bush administration most closely resembles characteristic #11, Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
It also closely resembles characteristic #6, a controlled mass media.
Never forget that this is your country not theirs! The Indy Voice Subject: The Call For Howard Dean To Be Killed He's only their first designated target. Off the record, though, the powers that be aren't just aiming at Dean, they've got all of us in their sights. "Submit or die," that's what's behind this threat, And even if they don't shoot Dean, "am I next" is going to be on everyone's mind; not right away, perhaps, but sooner or later because that's what happens when there's a mad dash for world domination and absolute power as there is right now here in America. ri And for reasons that have to do with the dead-end straight ahead that we're on, how we the people handle this particular death threat will be crucial to our very survival. We the people do nothing about it and sooner rather than later we'll become a Nazi Germany, American style. That's the bad news. The good news is what's going to happen if we the people see to it that the person(s) who issued this threat on Howard Dean's life are brought to justice and punished for their crime. Too much to expect? How could that be? Standing-up for Howard Dean is in our own self-interest, each of us, because by our seeing to it that such a threat never occurs in America again, we the people will have changed the world. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Lie To Win The only question, is LIEberman being paid by Bush, or is he seriously demented? And to those that question me for questioning a Dem. He ain't one, and he won't be the Dem candidate for Pres, nor will Biden. So save it. Wait. Can LIEberman be our savior? He will lead us. The only way to get the middle is to lie your fool ass off. If we can't learn to lie, we will never be elected. So let's hang Howard Dean for, GASP, telling the truth. And as long as I'm ranting. How many Iraqis were killed today? 50, imagine if that was in London, we would be wall to wall coverage. The ABC outlet just gave it three seconds, after story about smoking in bars. See what we are up against? There were four peace workers kidnapped and will probably be beheaded. I signed petitions, along with Nader. But, guess what, that is an average day in Iraq. Can we tell the truth, and get elected? Ken Swann Subject: More Shenanigans According to the Center for Public Integrity ... http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/report.aspx?aid=766 ... White House Staffers are getting lots of little free trips. Does it not strike anyone that the people who could afford travel the most are the ones who have their hands out for free flights? Doesn’t the White House pay a salary that would allow Karl Rove to pay for his own flights? Maybe he just needs to go ask for a raise. He took 8 trips that cost more than a total of $10,000.00 dollars. If he can’t afford that, he should do what ordinary citizens do. Stay home. People who make what seems like an enormous salary to most of us just can’t seem to resist freebies. The access these little trips allows often results in some more of those “little favors” Washington insiders hand out as if they were entitled to give this country away bit by bit. There needs to be an end to all these little “gifts” and “favors”. Even if all of Congress has not been bought, it just looks so cheap. White House staffers should be even more careful to keep their knickers clean. You work in the White House for God’s sake. Aren’t you smart enough to see that taking freebies might not look so good? Is this dumb or is it arrogant? (Like the old joke says; look up arrogant in the dictionary and find a picture of any number of White House Staff.) A growing proportion of the country is coming to believe that most of our elected officials and many appointed ones are corrupt. Scandal after scandal breaks and the best the republicans can come up with is that "so do" the democrats. There are millions of Americans in prisons. Maybe some of the elected officials that believe themselves above the law will soon discover a different reality. They may shortly be sharing one of those little rooms with bars on the windows and no key to the door. The politicians in Washington have let us down in so many ways that it should come as no surprise that they are crooks as well. Unless and until Americans get angry enough to make it their responsibility to vote out these scum, we will continue to get the government we deserve.
Marjorie L. Swanson Subject: Poll finds broad approval of terrorist torture
Being a true American, I just LOVE me a good poll! So ... WTF is a "rare occasion"? Christmas? A Blue Moon? A White Sale at Sears? Whenever the FvCK Rummy gets an ingrown toenail? Once again, the media lapdogs seem intent upon saving the Boy King. John L. Johnson Subject: The Old War Criminal Give Dick Cheney his due. Despite the "quintuple-Vietnam-bypass," he is still able to muster the energy to send young men to their deaths in Iraq. Paul A. Moore Subject: Christmas at the White House Hi Buzz: As George constantly repeats, "we're at war," yet I believe he and Laura plan to have Nine Thousand guests at the White House this Christmas Season. They have decorated our House with fresh trees and garland using fresh white lilies as ornaments, which need to be replaced every few days, except of course, the lilies at the very tippy top of the trees, which will be treated, so they won't have to bring cranes in each time they change those fresh flowers. Laura says the scent is ever so beautiful. Personally, I think it all stinks. I wonder how many of the families of our fallen soldiers will get an invitation to see all the Holiday splendor their taxpayers' dollars are paying for? I am not aware of how the Holidays were handled during the time of previous wars, perhaps the same, but I hope not. The excessiveness of this Administration does not at all surprise me, it just sickens me. I wonder if the powers that be would even think to put one fresh lily on one of our fallen Heroes' graves. I bet not. Regards, Marlene W. Subject: The McCain Campaign John McCain must really want to be president. Why else would this man decide to denigrate another serviceman as he did in his recent remarks about Congressman Jack Murtha? We can never forget, nor denigrate McCain’s great service to this country. We cannot and should not use that service as an excuse for what he says or does. McCain was once a brave young warrior. So was Duke Cunningham. Like all of us time and circumstance mold and shape the people we become. Duke Cunningham is paying the price for the greedy, venal man he grew to be. John McCain seems to have decided some time ago that he owes his loyalty not to his country, but to the Republican Party. Many politicians make that choice. McCain could have become a statesman, he chose to become a politician. McCain seems a thoughtful man who does what he believes only after careful consideration. The problem here is that he makes his decisions based on what will be best for the campaign of John McCain, not what will be best for the country. McCain has now said that John Murtha is not a deep thinker. Politely calling an old warrior like Jack Murtha stupid may play big with the Republican base but it may backfire amongst the public at large. We see Jack Murtha doing a very simple and honest thing; saying what he believes. He’s not positioning himself for a run at the presidency. He’s just saying what he honestly believes. Maybe, in McCain’s circles, that really is stupid. McCain also accused Jack Murtha of being too sentimental. He seems to think that Murtha’s frequent trips to Walter Reed to visit wounded service people makes him less apt to make the tough decisions. People in Congress shouldn’t be making their decisions based on the number of our people who are dying and being maimed in a war sold on a false premise? Congress shouldn’t care that they sent these people off to war ill equipped and in many cases ill trained for the job they had to do? Guess this is what happens to men like McCain when they stop belonging to the Band of Brothers and sell out to the Republican Party. Marjorie L. Swanson Subject: Hillary's Flag Burning Bill I have to laugh when I think of Hillary sponsoring a flag burning bill. I give her credit for the humor in her bill. It really puts the Rethuglicans on the spot. Do they support her bill or do they vote against it? It is pandering and she knows it and now the GOP will have to admit to the country that they know it is pandering too. It is just political....DUHHHH! That is what makes it so funny. Democrats should just laugh when they hear about her bill and enjoy the irony. She is no fool. I just love it when a Democrat gives the GOP a taste of its own medicine. We should enjoy her sparring with the fools in the bush administration. Don't attack her for the joke on them. It isn't going to pass and she nails them to their foolishness. I just wish she had couched the flag burning bill in response to global warming. BuzzFlash Addict Subject: Those Flag-Waving Cowards (An Open Letter to All U.S. Senators) The Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton, et al. Dear United States Senators: I’m writing to urge you to oppose the proposed legislation to ban the burning of the U.S. flag. My opposition is based on many reasons. Here are several: 1) It takes away yet another precious American right to free speech. As a military veteran, I do not find this proposal to be the least bit patriotic; in fact, it violates everything for which I served in the military: freedom for all Americans, including freedom of expression. 2) It’s victimless, hurts nobody. In fact, the argument could easily be made that it is, in fact, preferable for someone to want to take their frustrations out on an inanimate piece of cloth, rather than their fellow human beings. 3) This “solution” fixes a non-existent “problem.” It is a waste of time, energy, resources and taxpayer dollars to even bring the matter up, let alone waste time enacting it into law. 4) It is a diversion by the more cowardly members of Congress to avoid having to address real problems facing this country; such as ending the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which is needlessly killing U.S. troops and innocent civilians. It is the opposite of true leadership. 5) It is pure demagoguery. What next, legislation protecting Motherhood and apple pie? If the purpose of this amendment is to compel more Americans to pay honor to the flag, then it has failed before it has even been enacted. That’s because, if this is enacted into law, I, for one, will never stand for, salute, or otherwise pay tribute to the U.S. flag again. Why? Because, I will consider the flag to have been permanently desecrated by a bunch of political thugs who used -- in fact, abused -- it for tawdry political purposes. Sincerely, A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: German gov't. knew of Masri kidnapping by US in 2004 http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,388967,00.html Apparently Bush didn't know what a good friend he had in Schröder.... keeping this secret is illegal by German law.... law says he should have filed a formal complaint against the US.... A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Maxnews.com Why on earth do you give this right wing organization the time of day? Their reporting is akin to Fox News. You lose serious credibility with me when you give them a voice on your site. I do NOT want to donate money to any organization that gives air time to these people and their ilk. A BuzzFlash Reader [BuzzFlash Note: You're right about Newsmax. Usually, we avoid them, and they are identified at the bottom of our home page as a "WHITE HOUSE/GOP PROPAGANDA MISINFORMATION SOURCE." Sorry.] Subject: Trashing Military Service Where does the Right Wing get off anyway? Ever since Iraq and attack and war have been brought up, the right-wing message which is echoed loudly by the MSM is "support the troops" (code for I love bush). Bill O'Reilly told everyone who disagreed with the war to "just shut up!" when the first missiles were fired into Baghdad in March of 2003. But what troops do they "support" and how do they measure military service? Prior to this, think back to before the 2002 mid-term election and the trashing Max Cleland took, or back even further to the trashing of John McCain's service during the Presidential race in 2000. And 2004, what a disgrace it was to see military service trashed by the Right Wing in America. (You know who you are.) And what about Paul Hackett, just this year, 2005, the Right Wing was degrading his service in Iraq as simply a "paper pusher." (Rush) Now I have never met a veteran of the military who does not support the right to speak out against government policy. Most will tell you they have fought for that right and strongly support it today. Yet the Right Wing would have you believe that by doing so, you are "undermining the troops." Today we have John Murtha, a highly respected veteran of service past. He's been demoted to a "cut and run coward" and wack job. It's obvious by the actions and shouting of the Right Wing, that it is NOT the military service of a veteran they admire, it IS their politics and whether or not they still "fall in." Now imagine a soldier today serving in Iraq or Afghanistan or anywhere who is fulfilling their commitment of duty, if they agree or not with American policy and today's wars. Do they ever wonder if down the road, be it tomorrow or next year or 10, or 20, or 30 years, that their military service will be belittled and degraded to a farce? Do you think that a soldier who supports bush fully would offer any less cover fire to a soldier who doesn't? Or the other way around, for that matter? Do you think soldiers sit around their quarters calling each other cowards or yellow or commie or liberal or terrorist supporter just because of their politics? What type of cohesiveness would this cause amongst "brothers" in battle? I am dreading to hear what the Right Wing has to say about young soldiers like Tomas Young, who was paralyzed in the same battle in which Casey Sheehan died, and is hoping to campaign across America for stem cell research with others like him. You see, Tomas is only 22, and he would love to be able to walk again one day if at all possible, he told me in DC. Will they say things like "Oh, he was too stupid to take cover during battle" ... or "he wants to kill babies cuz he can no longer shoot randomly at innocent children in Iraq"? Sick, I know, but I put nothing past the hate of the Right Wing towards people that disagree with them. It is the rhetoric of words that have spewed from the Right regarding military service that guarantees "spitting on the troops" is not over. For them anyway. Monica Schrack Subject: Some Bush History That Maureen Farrell Forgot Dear BuzzFlash; Please forward this to Maureen Farwell. She did an excellent job, but she completely forgot an important historical thread which is woven into the events she describes: Enron. Enron is the very first crime committed by Bush administration officials and possibly the only one for which W. himself could be indicted in a court of law. With Rove as a presumed intermediary, W. rolled back Clinton's energy price caps early in his first term, allowing Enron to price gouge California. This was almost certainly pay back for the many favors performed by his biggest contributor, Ken Lay. Then, Bush's administration, including the FERC chief that Rove recommended, allowed the price gouging to continue, until a federal judge spotted it. In addition, Ken Lay met with Cheney to help form his energy plan, Lay was involved in the negotiations with the Taliban over a gas pipeline which later broke down and led to US threats of violence against Afghanistan before 9-11 and Lay family members took part in questionable oil for food deals with Iraq. As rumors were flying on Wall Street because of Skillings' defection, 9-11 happened. Almost immediately, a House Republican proposed legislation which would have given Enron a much needed infusion of cash in the form of an immediate rebate of taxes it had never paid, as part of a financial stimulus package for the economy. Despite what Dana Milbank later wrote in the Wa Post, administration officials really did lobby for this bill which passed the House easily but which got hung up in the Democratic Senate. When the bill failed to pass, Enron went bankrupt, and its house of cards collapsed. This led to the first big administration scandal--and to the first big Senate investigation of the White House. The change from Democratic majority to Republican majority in the White House was essential if the Bush administration was to keep a lid on its own involvement in the crimes of Enron, especially the price gouging of California. In addition, Gov. Grey Davis had to be replaced by a Republican who would settle the civil suit with Enron. These things happened. The other potentially embarrassing moment came in March 2003 when the FERC finally had to admit that Enron price gouged California and the Bush administration not only did nothing to stop it, Cheney and others laughed at California's pleas for help. I suggest that the invasion of Iraq one week before the FERC's report was no accident. This blockbuster announcement was greeted by California with "I told you so" headlines--and was completely ignored by the rest of the country. Right now, with Congress in Republican hands,the only things that the administration has to fear are the secrets in Ken Lay's and Jeff Skillings' heads, and they can not talk because they are under very, very slow federal indictment in the Houston area. If some way can be found to get these two acquitted on a technicality or have their sentences overturned on appeal, then the Bush administration will have succeeded in covering up one of its first and potentially most damaging domestic crimes. And, as Ms. Farrell's piece shows, Rove and Co. have done an excellent job of deflecting the nation's attention. McCamy Taylor Subject: Looks Like Chimpy Didn't Get the Memo This time it looks like the Republican noise machine forgot to let the White House in on the plan. Fox News, in an effort to avoid having to distort, I mean report -- on the Iraq fiasco, defending torture, defending covert propaganda, blaming prosecutors for DeLay's money laundering, glossing over a multi million dollar bribery conviction of a congressman on the intelligence appropriations committee because he's a republican, needing not to go near the implications of the Woodward story because it only points up, making sure to bury the GAO report confirming fraud in the 2004 Ohio and Florida vote reporting, needing not to mention the daily list of republicans implicated in the Jack Abramoff cesspool, the recall of various republican mayors and governors for such things as racketeering and in Spokane, raping young boys, having to overlook that the centerpiece of the president's new agenda, an overhaul of the tax code, has been shelved because of arithmetic reality, and needing not to mention several new war profiteering outrages by Halliburton -- Fox has come up with their own story to run twenty times a day: The war on Christmas. Seems these evil, depraved liberals hate our dear lord so much that out of cowardice and to appease the Jews, who we love, don't get me wrong, so long as they can be saved, have undertaken an all out war to remove the spirit and the soul of the loving blood of our blessed savior Jesus Christ from the crass, soiled, impure marketplace. According to a book by a Fox TV commentator, there is a well funded, highly coordinated, carefully scripted, desperate effort by the America haters to stomp out the true meaning of Christmas. These jihadist loving blasphemers spout evil lies such as that the Yule, which can only be called the Christmas tree, happens to predate Christianity by, give or take, eight thousand years. These suicide bomber sympathisers try to argue that just because Christmas happens to be celebrated on the slightly miscalculated day of the winter solstice that happened to be the biggest holiday of the Roman Empire, Saturnalia, and that the Egyptian mythic Osiris was also said to be born on December 25, as was the Greek knock off Dionysus, some fact-deprived crackpot can place the Lamb of God in some sort of quote "historikal context." Sick bastards. To them this doesn't even prove that all those heathen feints were part of the devine plan of the almighty to foretell the Christ. In today's Dallas Morning News, Mark Davis, our local Rush wannabe, has been given the entire op-ed page to decry the cataclysmic threat of the Christmas haters, led by Hillary herself, with Ted and Nancy in the backroom directing troop movements, who are at this very moment waging an all out battle against our god given right to place a creche scene in the front of every public government building of the people. But, also in today's paper is another article. The White House Christmas card came out today and on the card appear the dreaded code words of the American Taliban: "Happy Holidays." It does not say the requisite Merry Christmas. Not only is the card non-religious, it's downright secular humanist. No doubt about it, Karl Rove is no longer firing on all cylinders. Now the Moonies over at the Washington Times and Murdoch the smut peddler seem to be freelancing their money-making hate excrement. The War on Christmas, initiated by the book said to be authored by Fox personality Gibson, does not seem to have been initiated by the White House. How else can one explain this tactical blunder? What happens if they find out that Bush and Cheney are not actually Christians but Masons? Do you know what they call being elevated to the 33rd level in the masonic temple? It's called being Born Again. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Governor Faces Revolt in GOP (LA Times) *snicker* There is no kook like a California Republican kook. These people are like hoo-ha.
Rosamond Subject: Hardball Tries To Make A Silk Purse Out Of A Sow's Ear! We all get sick and tired of the Republican spin doctors! This is just ONE EXAMPLE OUT OF SO MANY, that would be funny if it wasn't the rule, rather than the exception, in media reporting. Please read until the end and watch how Matthews spins the facts and concludes the report! FROM THE TRANSCRIPT: 'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for Dec. 6th
My input: {also includes all “NEGATIVES” TO MAKE A POINT} Michael is the same embedded reporter that WAS THERE and said Special Forces led and supplied in Talafar when BUSH LIED and said Iraqis were in charge of the battle! NEGATIVE
MY INPUT NOTE: At the time it served the U.S. purpose, as they were using extreme pressure to get this passed and get Bush another benchmark. Since then the Shia Militia have become government-supported death squads and killed Sunnis, bringing the country closer to a civil war!!!
The Iraq Ministry under the sway of Tehran!??? NEGATIVE NOW people, watch the spin from good ole Chris talking with his head up his arse!
THIS IS THE KIND OF B.S AND TWISTING OF THE FACTS, DISTORTION, AND LIES THAT GOES ON IN THE BUSH SUPPORTING MEDIA AND FALLS OFF THE LYING LIPS OF BUSH, CHENEY, RICE, RUMSFELD, REPUBLICANS AND THE FAR RIGHT! Susan Carr Subject: Summing Up the Presidency of George W. Bush "SO BAD AND GETTING WORSE" http://ilovepoetry.com/VIEWPOEM.ASP?ID=85854 A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Jimmy Carter Hi Buzzers, Anyone catch Jimmy Carter on The Daily Show the other night? How brilliant and eloquent he is. And he's got a great sense of humor - he kept up with Jon Stewart really well in the humor department. I think Jon was a bit in awe of Carter - Jon Stewart usually doesn't show that side of himself, but he did this time. There is no question that Jimmy Carter can't answer; no subject he can't discuss with infinite wisdom. I love when the pundits try to trip him up. He very calmly makes an ass out of them every time. The pundits don't know how to deal with genuine intellect. I guess they no longer recognize it when they see it. What a class act Carter is. There are very few like him these days. Barbara in NYC [BuzzFlash Note: Thanks for saying what we were thinking.]
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