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| January 2, 2006 |
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The BuzzFlash Mailbag The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. More reader opinion is at "Contributors." You can write to Mailbag at http://www.buzzflash.com/contact/mail.html. Guidelines for submissions are at BuzzFlash FAQ #18. Subject: Justice Dept "leak" Investigation Could this be a way to negate a congressional inquiry into the Bush/NSA investigation?? Tony Divincenzo Subject: from the ap article re: medicare part d this paragraph got me
my story: i am 58 and disabled-and receive social security disability and medicare and belong to an hmo that has the least amount of choices on their formulary. social security is my sole income. wasn't planning on becoming disabled, and also, while i had to appeal the original denial of benefits, i had to spend my savings because i had to continue to pay over 300 a month just for kaiser healthcare-that doesn't count Rx's, or deductibles. when i go to hospital i have to pay 300 a day until i reach 3000 dollars. how am i supposed to do that? in feb. i have to be hospitalized for 3 days-that is 900 dollars. that gives me less than 300 to live on that month. what is going on in this world? there IS NO SAFETY NET. in order to get help with medicare Rx- you have to be low income. I make 30 dollars too much to be considered low income. With my social security going up 26 whole dollars in 2006-they do not consider the 15 extra dollars kaiser is taking for my using them with medicare and they count the money that i pay to medicare almost 89.00 every month as part of my income. so i am about 30 too high to get help. nor can i get food stamps or ssi. with the medicare i make 150% of the poverty level. what a fu**ing joke-this is los angeles-not some boonie town. because i make more than 856 dollars in l.a. i get no help to eat or help for living. that is what you get when you work over 40 years. ain't 'merica great? karin d. Subject: BuzzFlash Kvetching BuzzFlash: I read you on a daily basis but I am getting increasingly tired of your constant kvetching about hypocrisy in the GOP. We KNOW where THEY stand. The real problem with American politics is that there is no real opposition party. The Dems are cowardly, co-opted and contemptible, and IMO, that is where the main thrust of your energy (e.g., "hypocrite of the week" columns) ought to be directed if you want real change. Thank God for the lawyers, but I'm anything but sanguine, what with supposedly "liberal" Democrats like Washington Sen. Patty Murray endorsing potential fascists like Justice Roberts and the increasingly radicalized constituency of the Supreme Court. Once the Supremes (it was a far more liberal court that anointed Bush in 2000) reject the Padilla case and articulate legal reasoning giving the Executive Branch unchecked powers (they will say it's not unchecked because Congress gave him these powers in drafting the German Enabling Act/American Patriot Act), the president will have a blank check to do just about anything he wants. http://www.masnet.org/news.asp We're already in endgame even if Alito fails to gets confirmed; if he gets confirmed, it's all over. I don't blame the R's for this. I blame elected officials like Clinton and Murray and other Democrats who have yet to show a backbone (Clinton's big deal these days is to try to outlaw defacement of the flag). I voted for Dems all my life except in 1988, where I voted for Jackson. After Kerry's rollover speech on November 4, 2004 (ignoring what Theresa knew, which is that the election was stolen), I decided that I won't be voting Dem again. Ever. The only good news on the scene is that maintaining a police state costs money, and Bush's dreams of a thousand year Reich will, I think, be very short-lived. Michael Green Subject: Florida Gets an F in Science Education A new Fordham study grades states on their science education programs and Florida gets an F along with Alabama and Mississippi. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush is questioning evolution and sees nothing wrong with teaching intelligent design in the schools "as long as it's not in the curriculum." Huh? And this man has said he may want to run for president in 2008! Yikes! Read more about it here: N. E. Riley Subject: The question you should be asking every day (sent to corporate media) … until the administration gives us a straight answer. "The Bush administration simply cannot answer this one question - if time was of the essence, why didn't they conduct the searches and get the warrants after the fact, something that is allowed under the FISA law? They conducted the searches alright, but they never once sought the retroactive warrants." Why aren’t you asking this question? Richard Armstrong Subject: Joe 'Gutless" Biden GUYS at BF ... It's time, actually OVERDUE, to throw the bums out and either (a) get a NEW Democratic party, or (b) Get A WHOLE NEW THIRD PARTY. We the people have ONE party NOW - it's very obvious, and as a result we the populace are NOT getting any representation whatsoever. If you look up "Spineless" in the dictionary, you'll see Joe Biden's picture. The same guy who was the great ENABLER in letting Clarence Thomas slide through to the Supremes. Need I say more? I truly empathize with the people of Delaware. He's another "half-baked" Lieberman. Margaret P. Miller Subject: What We Pay For
Does this mean we get back all the tax money paid to the NSA to spy on Democrats? Democrats Seek Records on Romney, Others (AP/Yahoo) Mike Curtis Subject: Paul Craig Roberts You should add Paul Craig Roberts to your list of links. Although he was a conservative until Bush, he is now writing some of the most incisive and courageous articles against the excesses of the Bush administration. http://antiwar.com/roberts/archives.php http://www.creators.com/opinion_show.cfm?columnsName=pcr http://www.vdare.com/roberts/all_columns.htm Rollie Thurogood Subject: Thoughts on a Cloudy Day It’s a grey, gloomy day in Wisconsin. The temperature is just above freezing and the humidity is 87%. Anyone over the age of 40 is probably feeling achy. It is the end of a grey, gloomy, year. I try to think of something positive and cannot. We saw more Americans die in Iraq this year. We know there are now over 2170 families who had to celebrate the Holidays without a beloved presence. How might that one presence, that one wonderful human being, have contributed to the totality of human life in our country? An outstretched hand to someone in need, a moment of kindness, an instant of laughter that will now never come. It is not just the loss of what was, it is the loss of all that might have been. On television we see the unfolding story of Baby Noor. The tiny baby born in Iraq with spina bifida. We applaud the compassion of the Americans who are getting this fragile mite to America so that she gets life-saving surgery. We like stories like this. It makes us feel good about ourselves. Not like the stories about babies and children who have been blown to pieces in the last 3 years in Iraq. We don’t want to think about that. We don’t want to hear about that. Killing children isn’t something that Americans do. It seems to me sometimes that Americans believe in a cult of death. We bow down to those who have given the greatest sacrifice for what they believed in. How much more might they have given had they lived? We are told that they died so that the people of Iraq could have freedom. Death is a sacrifice that can be made just once. What could they have contributed had they lived to work for freedom and peace that does not rely on persuasion from the muzzle of a gun? We will never know. They are dead and gone and soon only their families will visit the graves and remember them. And perhaps I feel so sad just because it is a grey, gloomy, day in Wisconsin. Link to information on Spina Bifida: Marjorie L. Swanson [BuzzFlash Note: On Monday morning's "Good Morning America" program (ABC), some of the soldiers who helped rescue Noor were interviewed. One GI said in effect, "This is what America is good at," with the implication (at least, as we heard it) that killing and invading were not. He seemed to be one soldier, perhaps among many, who is seeking ways to help win hearts and minds, in the midst of the military and political mess.] Subject: Postcards from the Edge What about, "Bush spied and the Constitution died"? Vic Anderson Subject: Oil prices Jan 19, 2000 Dear BuzzFlash, Happy New Year to you!!! The day before Bush formally seized the White House the price of oil was $26 a barrel. Now it's $61. That's 234%--2 and a third times--what it was when Bush came in. Now that's corporate-style management! Amazing how the mainstream market pundits have understood since that dark day that there's no real connection between oil and the economy. Price of oil Jan 19, 2000 from the Federal Reserve/Dallas website: "Oil prices increased from $23 to $26 per barrel in the past few weeks" responding to the Y2K jitters. http://www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2000/20000119/11.htm European Stocks Rise; Energy Companies Lead Gains on Oil Price (Bloomberg)Jim P. Subject: Poster Idea I was thinking of a poster in an office which lists the ways in which one should live Life. And I was thinking how great it would be if a poster were created that stated succinctly all the ways in which Bush has ruined America. I know I have read such lists circulating on the Internet. If such a list were made, and designed in a compelling way, such posters could be slapped up on telephone poles and posted in prominent locations all across this country. Those Americans who have been asleep the past five years, and those Americans who have been brainwashed by the Limbaugh crowd would at least have to face our view of things every time they opened a public door or sat at a stoplight next to a telephone pole. A summary of his destruction. A different take on his "greatness." It might wake up some of the masses. It could even be a comparison of the Soviet Union and America as it is today. Something, anything that points out simply and powerfully how much this one man has changed the America we loved. Anyone have some great design abilities? A BuzzFlash Reader [BuzzFlash Note: The Freeway Blogger had a similar notion.] Subject: above all ......... while we are happy about that little baby noor, we also wonder how many american babies need help, how many free operations do those doctors perform on american children? how many american children are waiting for health care while their parents are holding bake sales and fund drives to raise money? ABOVE ALL WE WONDER IF THIS WAS ALL ABOUT PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ. randi, liz and renee Subject: The Dumbest Things President Bush Said in 2005 10) "It's totally wiped out. ... It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground." --turning to his aides while surveying Hurricane Katrina flood damage from Air Force One, Aug. 31, 2005 9) "I'm occasionally reading, I want you to know, in the second term." --Washington, D.C., March 16, 2005 8) "This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table." --Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 22, 2005 7) "I'm going to spend a lot of time on Social Security. I enjoy it. I enjoy taking on the issue. I guess, it's the mother in me." --Washington D.C., April 14, 2005 6) "Because the - all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculate, for example, is on the table; whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those - changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be - or closer delivered to what has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled." --explaining his plan to save Social Security, Tampa, Fla., Feb. 4, 2005 5) "I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible?" --in a note to to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a U.N. Security Council meeting, September 14, 2005 4) "We've got a lot of rebuilding to do. First, we're going to save lives and stabilize the situation. And then we're going to help these communities rebuild. The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." (Laughter) --touring hurricane damage, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005 3) "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." --Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005 2) "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." --to FEMA director Michael Brown, who resigned 10 days later amid criticism over his handling of the Hurricane Katrina debacle, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005 1) "You work three jobs? Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." --to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005 A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Ohio and Florida Shouldn't Be Included in the Electoral College Voting Results
Two counties in Florida have already demonstrated that electronic voting machines can be quickly, easily and surreptitiously reprogrammed to give ANY final result. If Secretaries of State in Ohio and Florida and Georgia, et al., feel that their easily hackable electronic voting machines do not need oversight by the American voter - that corporate America should be allowed to regulate and control the vote counting process - can we as voters by some constitutional and legal means remove these states from the national election process? I don't want the next president to be determined through predictably fraudulent means - and I do not trust Ohio and Florida to be reliable and trustworthy swing states that could decide an election. Bill Powell Subject: Voting Records (Re: Subject: Voting records/Mailbag suggestion) That voters' record should name exactly the 25 demorat senators and 73 demorat Reps who voted for bankruptcy bill. The 10 demorat senators and l5 demorat Reps who voted for CAFTA etc. Exactly like senators Stabenow, Conrad, Bachus, Byrd, Nelson and Nelson etc. voted for bankruptcy bill. That Senators Feinstein, Wyden, Cantwell and Rep Moran etc. voted for CAFTA. To have it accurate and fair, have to name names of who voted for what. The people have a right to know what candidates voted for before they vote, give money and time to their campaign. In fact, it is like they try to hide it like everything else when comes to this administration and politicians in general from the people. Putting the voting records of congressmen out there is best thing I have heard of with all the bad things being done from every direction. Actually, if had a good government, they would have already done it for the people. You shouldn't have to be the one to do it, the government should have already done it. If this a democracy, they would have done so. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Spy Then Lie What kind of example is George W. Bush setting for our children by spying and then lying? A cartoon commentary by Holland at notsofunnypages.com: http://notsofunnypages.com/spythenlie.htm Holland Subject: Letter in NYTimes, 1/1/06 Buzzers - Here's a letter I had published in the NYTimes on Jan 1. First letter too! Below is the link to the op-ed piece I was writing about. The Times published 4 other letters as well. Published: January 1, 2006 To the Editor: Re "Unwarranted Complaints" (Op-Ed, Dec. 27): David B. Rivkin and Lee A. Casey assert as settled exactly that which is under dispute - whether the president has the unlimited constitutional authority to circumvent the courts established by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and to take other secret actions in the name of national security. Since World War II, first during the cold war and now in the "war on terrorism," our civil liberties have often been swept aside in the name of protecting the American people. Mr. Rivkin and Mr. Casey dismiss complaints about the use of executive power as the antipathy of the "chattering classes" to strong government. Citizens in a democracy are responsible for the protection of their freedoms. Public demands for accountability and transparency from the executive branch are not "chatter." Colleen Clark http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/27/opinion/27casey.html Happy New Year to all. May some better sense in the public sphere prevail this year! Subject: Bush's blatant disregard for other oppressed nations The reason Bush has no sympathy for these places, Tibet, Burma, Uzbekistan, E. Timor...etc....is exactly why he was not at all concerned about the Gulf Coast of this country. They have nothing he needs....so....they do not count! Bush's only concern is for Iraq....and the propaganda about the elections....and the democracy he thinks we think he is making possible there. He thinks he is making a Legacy for himself....and all he is doing is the crap work, for the Evil Four.....Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld...and Perle...or is it Rice??? I just read over the weekend...that Cheney is so obstinate that he does not even itemize his expense reports....it is like" Trip"... 20 thousand dollars ... pay up! Shirley...............St. Louis Subject: Farris Hassan's trip to Baghdad BuzzFlashers - Here's the text of a letter I sent to the Boston Globe. It has not been published, at least not yet, as the Globe has not published any letters on this story so far. Links to Globe story and New Yorker article are below. The text of the letter expresses most of my outrage at the administration's complaints about how "negative" the reporting is from Iraq, as though there's a lot of "positive" news getting buried or ignored. Here's some on the ground reporting from this week that surely DoD did not pay to get published! Review of the Year: Iraq: View From Baghdad: Bush and Blair plot their exit strategy as a nation falls apart at the seams. (The Independent/Truthout) To the Globe: The story of the trip of Farris Hassan, a high school junior from Florida, to Baghdad this week encapsulates the American (mis)adventure in Iraq since March, 2003 (For teen, an enlightening and dangerous trip to Iraq, Dec 30). After the loss of American and Iraqi lives, the expenditure of blood and billions of dollars, it's not safe to go out for a bite to eat in Baghdad. Even the U.S. ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, cannot go out for ice cream in Baghdad anymore, as he said he was able to in 2003 (American Viceroy, Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, Dec 19, 2005). How do Iraqis manage? Meanwhile back home President Bush travels around in his armored black SUVs assuring us in televised addresses in front of hand-picked audiences that he has a plan for victory and that the Iraqi people are voting for a democracy that will spread freedom in the Middle East. What confidence can we have that the president, who was clueless about New Orleans, has a better grasp of the situation in Iraq? Making upbeat speeches and planting optimistic news stories in Iraqi newspapers is not a plan. Yours truly, Colleen Clark Here's hoping for a better year for the poor beleaguered population of Iraq. Subject: Hypocrites and Wings of Justice Awards of the Year Vote Hi BuzzFlash Readers, Happy New Year to BuzzFlash and its Readers!! Now let's get down to "The Serious Business" we all strive for, shall we? Who do you think should be both the Republican and Democratic person, that best qualifies as THE HYPOCRITES OF THE YEAR of BOTH PARTIES? And how about the Media Hypocrite of The Year? Sure seems like Joey "kiss me" Lieberman has a very long lead, but could "MBNA Bailout" Biden be far behind, and gaining down the stretch for the Democratic Hypocrite of the Year? Are there any other big Democratic Contenders who are gaining down the stretch of the Donkey Hypocrite Award Race? On the Republican side, it looks like a "Minefield of Candidates" to choose from, when you see the likes of "Smirking" Bush, "Last Throes" Cheney, "Five Day War" Rumsfeld, "I Believe It Said" Rice, "Who, Me?" Rove, "Book Him Danno!" Libby, "HCA Inside Trader" Frist, "Hammerless" DeLay, "Gavel-Taker" Sensenbrenner, and many, many, many, many other dips, err, I mean Hypocrites. Are there any other big Republican Contenders that are gaining down the stretch of the Elephant Hypocrite Award Race? The Media corpSE Hypocrite of The Year is another "Big Minefield" as it could be "Jail Bird" Miller. Then again, we also have "Writing Next Book" Woodward or "Cursing Bye-Bye" Novak, along with "Puffball" Matthews" among the many, many, many, many "Contenders," who eagerly wait for "Their Hard Fought Prize," just as their "Hard Work" OF ASS KISSING has demonstrated. Who is your "Media Hypocrite" of the year? As for "The Wings of Justice Award of The Year," it sure looks like Mr. Fitzgerald has a REAL GOOD LOCK on that prize. Why, Fitz was even more "secretive" with his investigation of the CIA LEAK than Bush was with his "Listening to Your Telephone Calls," "Read Your Mail" or "Reading Internet(s) Letters" like this - and Then Putting Me On a Bad Person List"!! Tom Wieliczka Subject: Gee. "I forgot" -- and "the dog ate my homework"!! Just read (on truthout.com) that Karl Rove still "can't remember" talking with Matt Cooper and disclosing Valerie Plame Wilson's identity, thereby wrecking her career as a covert CIA agent. What's next? A sworn statement from Rove's doctor stating that he suffers from early Alzheimer's and can't remember ANYTHING?? I'm sorry, but though I'm disorganized (to put it mildly), I remember to pay my bills each month. I remember to pay my taxes by April 15th. I also remember what I tell people (though I sometimes repeat myself, forgetting to whom I said what, but, since I don't lie, the repetition is simply annoying, not criminal.) Wouldn't you think that something as important as exposing an undercover agent would stick in Rove's memory? (Rhetorical question, of course.) What a CROCK!! This assministration is in deep doodoo up to its ears. The only thing that will save it, at this point, is their orchestrating another terrorist attack to take place before the Nov. elections. Don't be surprised if one occurs. I certainly won't be. (By then, however, I may be living in a tin storage box at Gitmo, along with several fellow Buzzers.) Barbara Lee (Barb) Blazyk Subject: Busted Link - Your 1/1/2006 Ohio Voter Reg Scam Link Is Broken You're making me paranoid. The level of conspiracy, bribery, and intrigue that surrounds this theft of democracy is bad enough w/o broken links to breaking stories about it. Suggestion: A link on your homepage for reporting broken links in the headlines. I've tried to contact you regarding broken links several times FFFFrrustrating. But, Keep up the good work. You guys rock the House (in 2006)!! In struggle, ( to borrow a venerable Labor closing), A BuzzFlash Reader [BuzzFlash Note: Mailbag will pass your suggestion along. Meanwhile, the quickest way to fix a headline issue is to click "Contact" at the bottom of our home page, then "Click here" for "News Tip."] Subject: Your readers feel the say way....BuzzFlash! I could not get on the "reply " link....I figured the Buzzers had it so jammed! Anyway....We feel the same way about you, BuzzFlash, we really mean it when we say we likely could not get through this Bush Badness, madness, without you! On days when it seems especially grevious.....I get on Democratic Underground's top ten conservative Idiots...and they explain it in a way that I likely would never have been able to put into words....and make me laugh so hard. Also....the funny Video of Bush...how in the world, whomever did that....it makes everyone laugh...even the people who voted for him. I look at it so often...just to laugh. (Seriously, nothing this man does is funny. ) As in the DVD 'Hijacking Catastrophe'...Mark C. Miller and a couple of others....say...and think that his act is the work of his handlers...and they may be right. (So he will seem just like you and me)!! Incidentally....I once thought that Robert Baer, the CIA analyst who wrote the book..."See No Evil"..which the Movie 'Syriana' is based on....was in that DVD...Sorry If I misled anyone, he is in "Uncovered" one of the series of dvds...by Robert Greenwald ... who also did "Unprecedented" about the election ... and "Unconstitutional" about the Patriot Act. If anyone has these DVDs....every time I look at one again...I see something else...unfortunately...not something that makes me laugh! Once again.....To the BuzzFlash web...and all the readers and friends that make the circle....Have a wonderful 2006! Shirley..............St. Louis Subject: Taking Back America .... May Not Happen Overnight? Well, Not Literally; but maybe so, if we consider how long the history of our country is, or life itself. From such a vantage point, BuzzFlash's "happen overnight" suggestion seems just about right and how very, very timely, too. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Israel Offers Evangelical Christians a Chunk of the Holy land Hmm, that's going to turn the evangelicals themselves into bonafide colonists. What would Jesus say? Well, if peace on earth and goodwill to all living beings remain dear to his heart, wouldn't he be saying - "Occupy Palestine? Not in my name!" A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Iraqi Civil War? Some Experts Say It's Arrived - LA Times Front Page Headline 1/1/06 This, after pummeling its readers the past two weeks with rubbish about the positive things going on there, with close-ups of Iraqis riding on the good ship lollypop to Uncle Sam's Candy Store and oh such optimism! Then, suddenly today, a hint that maybe things ain't going so well there after all. Mentioning this now for the first time, so when civil war is raging there and the public here asks "how come you kept telling us that the Iraqis were glad that we'd liberated them," the Times, in self-defense, could point to its new year's day article. Such won't be enough to get the newspaper off the hook for its role in getting us into the Iraq war, with all the death and destruction that's ensued, because had only the Times all along told it to us the way it really was (is), there'd have been no war, no casualties. Why didn't the Times tell us the truth? Why did it lie to us, instead? Must have to do with the power of the truth. Yes, it'll free us all; but what then becomes of the LA Times and the rest of the Mainstream Media? How to find out? We the people change the world. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: A Comment on Spy-gate "President Bush strongly defended his domestic spying program on Sunday, calling it legal as well as vital to thwarting terrorist attacks." What is Bush protecting us from? Death? He may THINK God is talking to him, but even his Grand Wizard Karl Rove and his Bad Witch Condi cannot protect us from the Grim Reaper. If we want him to protect us from death because we were saddened by 3,000 deaths on 9/11, far better that he pass a law immediately banning: - tobacco sales and usage - animal products sales and consumption - alcohol sales and usage - car sales and usage. Those things separately and together kill far, FAR more people than Muslims with box cutters, but we would never allow the President to infringe on our freedoms in those areas, even if he claimed it was to PROTECT us. If it is NOT our death that the spying is intended to prevent, what else? Torture by bad guys? No. His policies have made torture by bad guys much more likely as torture is now seen by the world as "the American way." Attack by WMD - chemical or biological weapons? Well, if he was concerned about that, why haven't we heard anything about the anthrax attacks in YEARS? And why DID White House staff start taking Cipro on 9/11, two weeks before the first anthrax letter was sent, and a month before we knew there was a deliberate biological attack underway? http://www.judicialwatch.org/2953.shtml Thousands of people throughout our history have risked or given their lives to secure our rights and freedoms. So what sense does it make to give them up for the elusive and impossible goal of "security"? What is security anyway? THAT is the question we should be asking. Is it economic security? Then why are our jobs outsourced and our largest companies allowed to default on their pension promises? Is it health security? Then why was Congress tricked into passing a crazy Medicare plan which mainly protects the bottom lines of drug companies? Why is the richest country the world has ever known STILL not providing health care for ALL of its people? Is security the ability to care for and educate our children? Then why are so many being left behind? Why are so many living in poverty? Why are so many schools struggling and cutting back? After Katrina we should have no illusions that Bush et al. have any interest in the security and well-being of the American people, nor that their cronies have any ability to provide for our needs. Oh, a question for the Religious Right Bush supporters ... didn't Christ teach that we are to hold to our values and beliefs even under pain of torture and even unto death, because this life isn't all there is? So why should we give up our freedoms and rights for the promise of protection ... a promise which Bush has no power to fulfill?
Linda Wymore Subject: Oh, right. Now we're ending the REBUILDING funding for Iraq Dear Buzzers: I was floored by a WP (of all places) article stating that the Busheviks don't intend to seek additional funding to "rebuild" the Iraq they destroyed. Seems like too many of the billions of dollars "we" contributed have gone -- largely unaccounted for -- to (surprise!!) Halliburton and the other parasites. Meanwhile, we continue to cause the deaths of our own troops, reporters, and innocent Iraqi civilians. This, of course, means that clean water and electricity will be denied to whoever's left alive in Iraq after this bunch has done even more damage to their infrastructure. Every time I think I can't get any more disgusted than I already AM, I DO. And, as Buzz pointed out in today's editorial, with few exceptions, the Dems remain on the fence while watching the shredder at work on our Constitution. In case I was foaming at the mouth too much to make my point, NO ONE (in this assministration) has done ANYTHING to help the civilians in the country we invaded on the basis of lies and no just cause. Maybe the money they save by denying Iraqi citizens decent living conditions -- but letting Halliburton, et al., steal billions of our "reconstruction" funding," will go into the fund to monitor us progressives. See you guys in that tin box at Gitmo. (If they even threaten to pull out one of my fingernails, I'll tell them whatever they want to hear. Of course, it will all be lies; I simply have a low threshold for pain! I'll say ANYTHING to ANYONE if torture is even suggested! I suspect that may be true of others as well, though I may be more cowardly than the general population!) Barbara Lee (Barb) Blazyk Subject: Only the Truth Can Make Us Free Patriotic Americans have had to watch over the past five years as our beloved country has sunk deeper and deeper into a moral swamp. Our name is tarnished and we are ashamed. Those who pervert all that make America great claim to be patriots and denigrate those who want America to fulfill all her promise as America-Haters. My dad, who was a Master Sergeant in the United States Army used to call that kind of thinking bassackward. When he didn’t call it something worse. We were lied into a seemingly endless war. Now we are supposed to believe the words of these liars because they are making us safe. How is that working? We are now fighting the terrorists in Iraq, who, by the way, weren’t there before we invaded, so that we don’t have to fight them over here. It may look to some of us that they are getting to kill us over there because they don’t have to come over here. Huh? Excuse me while I put a cold towel on my head. We shouldn’t we care about illegal wiretapping or eavesdropping or whatever, because they are just protecting our rights as Americans. Of course one of the rights we have as Americans is not to be illegally wiretapped … We say that we are in Iraq to set the people free. Well, there are a whole lot of them that are now free from breathing. We expect them to be willing to die for freedom but we’re willing to give up our freedoms in order to make us safe. Kind of makes your head hurt, doesn’t it? The beliefs that divide this country have grown so deep and so wide that it will take something extraordinary to mend that breach. If it can be mended at all. It seems that Red State Americans hate Blue State Americans far more than they hate an external enemy. And vice-versa. The media divides us even further. Those who try to just find out the truth will not find it on television. Lots of blah, blahing, little truth. More rhetoric than truth and very little real investigative journalism. Certainly not from the likes of Koppel and Brokaw who are resting on their laurels and look only sad and ineffective. So we enter a New Year and it does not look to be any better than the old year. Politicians still lie, polluters still pollute, Federal agencies still protect the corporations and not the people, and energy problems will not go away. And Americans who should have their whole lives before them are still dying in Iraq. How very discouraging it all is. Maybe the truth will win. Maybe all the chickens will come home to roost. And maybe pigs will fly. Marjorie L. Swanson Subject: Letting People Know What They Are Voting For Below is a letter I sent to my local paper. Maybe someone will read it and decide that voting for this person who is supposed to represent the 1st District here in Wisconsin may not be such a good idea. We can always hope. Mr. Ryan Strikes Again and Again Mr. Paul Ryan, our congressman from the 1st District doesn’t seem to think that the working people deserve his help. Or so it would appear so from his voting record. Congressman Ryan: 1. Supported a trade agreement that will send jobs overseas and worsen conditions for workers [CAFTA, Vote #443, 7/28/05] 2. Blocked a vote to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour [Vote #365, 7/12/05] 3. Refused to support the reinstatement of Davis-Bacon community wage standards for workers on federal construction projects in states affected by Hurricane Katrina, which President Bush suspended [HR 3763] 4. Supported giving Wal-Mart a sweetheart deal—after it violated child labor laws—that would weaken wage and hour protections [Vote #318, 6/24/05] 5. Refused to support a bill that provides protections for workers to form unions [Employee Free Choice Act, HR 1696] 6. Opposed protecting pension benefits for more than 120,000 United Airlines workers [Vote #309, 6/24/05] 7.Supported slashing funds for Medicaid, which provides low-income families, children and seniors with health care [Vote #601, 11/18/05] 8. Supported a health care plan that would strip away critical consumer protections and raise premiums for the majority of small business employees [Vote #426, 7/26/05] 9. Supported a budget that uses the Social Security trust fund surplus to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans [Vote #149, 4/28/05] 10. Voted for $56 billion in tax cuts mostly for wealthy investors—even though the House earlier voted to cut $50 billion from Medicaid, food stamps and student loans [Vote #621, 12/8/05] 11. Supported cutting $14.3 billion from federal student financial aid programs that help middle-class families afford to send students to college [Vote #601, 11/18/05] 12. Supported cutting $784 million in funding for America’s public schools [Vote #598, 11/17/05] If a working man or woman votes for Paul Ryan after being given 12 reasons why he does not represent them, they vote once again against their own interests. Marjorie L. Swanson [BuzzFlash Note: Great compilation. You should get it out there in anyway you can; and others could follow your example to document their local reps' sorry records.] Here's a good, simple talking point for the left -- Nixon broke into two offices. Bush has broken into every home and business in America. Some on the right will say it had to be done to fight terrorism. That's 1. untrue and 2. beside the point. If Americans were to agree to it, fine. But if you don't tell us first, you have broken the law. Last, the right says spying was necessary "because technology has changed." This is ass-backward. Because the technology changed it made Bush's eavesdropping possible. Rosamond Subject: Macho Pipsqueak Just remember, the bully is the most frightened one in the room... A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: "Christ"ian Right Buys Air America Phoenix, KXXT If you can, tune in Tuesday the 3rd AZ time. Charles Goyette will do his whole show about it and callers are urged to respond. I catch him after 9:00 AM (he MAY be on earlier) and signs off at 10:00 AM. I heard this happened (buy out) last Friday on the M & M brothers show, and am SICK about it. Callers are getting together to get SOMETHING.........ANYTHING.......... going! Any ideas welcome! Also the Repub Sec of State is going to purchase DIEBOLD voting machines for the upcoming election! I wonder, with the Repub AZ Republic Newspaper and ALL ELSE, how WE were able to elect a Democratic Governor? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: A little removed from reality?? Kerry positioned for 08 WH bid (AP/Guardian) Someone should tell this man he has nothing to sell except some used ideas which didn't work in 2004 ... and, that those of us who voted for him did it halfheartedly out of the helpless feeling of having no choice, but the fact that he quit the fight before it even became a fight, made us realize we shouldn't have bothered, and certainly won't a second time!! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Make a Difference in World Hunger----Yes, YOU! ... go to http:///www.worldmanna.org and sign the pledge. You will soon be able to buy food that will contribute a percentage of their profit to the fight against world hunger. Together we can do it! Thanks! Subject: Attacking Iran My One Big Prediction for 2006: The United States will NOT attack Iran. It will not do so for several reasons. The backlash from Shiites in Iraq would be huge. If the US thinks it has a hard time holding together support for its continued presence in Iraq now, it would become impossible after an attack on Iran. The Shiite clerics in Iraq would send the people into violent resistance, that is if they would need any encouragement in the first place. The US might as well shoot itself in the head as far as creating any kind of lasting pro-US regime in Iraq. Iran is actually an ally for the US in its struggle against Saudi fundamentalist Waahabist Islam. As predicted by Juan Cole, Saudi Arabia will use its huge oil profit windfall to further strengthen itself and its worldwide Wahaabist message, which is anti-USA at its very core. Iran's Shi'a leadership and the Persian people are natural and historic allies against Saudi Wahaabism. Militarily, an attack on Iran would bring ruin to US relations with China and Russia, both of whom have been working closely with the Iranian regime, in many areas of military and economic cooperation. An American attack would further isolate the US and would give rise to more anti-US regimes along the lines of Chavez' Venezuela. Can you imagine dozens of Chavez-like leaders biting at George Bush's ankles and causing him to sweat profusely everywhere he goes? Iran's potential nuclear weapons capability actually represents a counter-weight to other Sunni Islamic nuclear powers and potential nuclear powers. Iran is not so much a threat to the US as it is to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Syria, and other hardline Sunni-dominated countries. An attack on Iran would destroy this balance and give hope to anti-US Sunni rejectionists in Iraq, not to mention anti-American Wahaabists in Saudi Arabia. The alternative to a US attack on Iran's nuclear weapons potential would be an Israeli attack, both unthinkable for Israel and impermissible for the US. Despite Israeli saber-rattling, as well as US threats, the attack will not happen. If I am wrong, and I grant my fallibility, it will only be because George Bush is even more foolish and reckless than I think he is. Stephen McArthur Subject: Leaving Iraq on the cheap Hello, All. I sent the following letter to my Senators and selected Representatives. I hope some of you will join me in asking the Congress to act in a more moral and pragmatic way. Hello, Senators and Representative Inslee. I see by a Washington Post news item that the administration plans to wind down reconstruction in Iraq by eliminating any new provision in the federal budget for the activity: U.S. Has End in Sight on Iraq Rebuilding: Documents Show Much of the Funding Diverted to Security, Justice System and Hussein Inquiry (Washington Post) All of the justifications for the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the U.S. that were included in the War Powers authorization by Congress have been shown to be factually bankrupt. The two specific authorization points to keep forces there have vanished. Yet, in spite of these factual matters and the illegality of so many actions by the U.S., resulting in the death of tens of thousands of Iraqis and untold billions in physical damage, the U.S. (embodied by Mr. G.W. Bush) admits neither error nor remorse. A country that lives under the rule of law and honors its moral roots would: 1. Admit its mistake. 2. Express remorse. 3. Pay reparations for its illegal war of aggression. We seem determined, with the consent of Congress by continued passage of legislation, including the present plan to walk away from our responsibility for reparations, to do otherwise. This attitude validates and enables Mr. Bush's refusal to admit error and accept blame. These qualities may be core aspects of Mr. Bush's self-aggrandizing stubbornness, but I sincerely hope they do not represent the will and character of the American people. The administration, through quiet diplomacy, should be arranging the handoff of Iraqi reconstruction and security to a multinational effort, relinquishing our direct control, contingent on our clear admission of error, expression of remorse, and payment of reparations. In this way, we would avoid an exit from Iraq similar to the one the USSR took from Afghanistan. Congress needs to make itself clear that trying to bail out of Iraq on the cheap by leaving all the damage we have caused on the ground is unacceptable. Please vote against this legislation in its present form, and introduce resolutions to merit the engagement of the rest of the world community. John F. Williford Subject: Perkie Katie That CBS, or any network, is considering Katie Couric as Dan Rather's replacement, or even as a serious journalist, says it all about the laughable standards of the 4th estate on American television. Why not replace Rather with Judith Miller ... or Armstrong Williams? If you recall, in the days prior to the invasion of Iraq (and here I recall Gore Vidal's apt moniker for public memory, "The United States of Amnesia"), NBC's Today Show was on the ground in the fertile crescent paving the way for the White House and Troops for their floral Iraqi reception, accompanied by hugs and kisses ala 1947 NYC Times Square. (After forced retirement, perhaps Rumsfeld can rehabilitate himself as a Hollywood scriptwriter.) Not once during the lead up to occupation, did the network or its morning Cheerleaders, perkie Katie and handsome Matt, ask one thoughtful, let alone contrary, question of the White House inner circle staffers making frequent sound bite appearances, fresh from harvesting the CIA intelligence cherry orchard. Remember, contrary to the current spin, the White House and its stenographers, masquerading as media, chose to ignore every State Department and past and present U.N. inspector report that was contrary to the sissy hawks vision of "Pax Americana." Never mind that the spilling of innocent American soldiers' blood, let alone Iraqi civilians, should ever be considered or questioned. Where is Queen Barbara Bush when you need her? So, presently, corporate media finds themselves aligned once again with White House propaganda, as it lies that we ALL were led to war by the same poor CIA intelligence!!! Poppycock, Balderdash and Twaddle. That both the Congress and the Media rolled over and gave sloppy seconds to the Bush White House for its march to terrorize the middle-east, is unethical, immoral, undemocratic and unpardonable. Perhaps CBS could get Kukla, Fran and Ollie to replace Dan Rather? Ernest W Sturdevant Subject: Jack Abramoff Documentary on C-Span Tuesday, Wednesday Dear BuzzFlash, Jack Abramoff has made it to CSPAN. Tomorrow and Wednesday they will be airing a documentary regarding his lobbying and corruption. I thought you might want to post this. Tues. & Weds., January 3 & 4 A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: How Do Neo-cons Keep Clean? With Neo-Con Toilet Tissue, of course. Now, from the makers of The Blame Game (Home Edition), you can purchase your own NEO-CON TOILET TISSUE. This is the perfect accent for any lock-step NEO-CON's bathroom. Each roll is guaranteed to be as soft and white as the NEO-CON who uses it. With our NEO-CON TOILET TISSUE you can get the sweet satisfaction that can only come with defacing and defiling these symbols of individual liberty and international cooperation. Be the envy of your Klavern and order NEO-CON TOILET TISSUE today! This item was formerly sold under the brand name POOPIE PARCHMENT. http://www.freesqueeze.com/NCTT.htm Fred Freesqueeze
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