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| January 3, 2006 |
MAILBAG ARCHIVES | ||
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: Bush pulls the plug on Iraq reconstruction (The Guardian) How is this morally justifiable? The US destroyed, and is going to leave the mess it made ... all the promises Bush made to the Iraqis are like the promises he made to Americans. Lies. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Bush Is Picky on What Classified Information Can Be Disclosed Hi BuzzFlash, I'm Confused and Curious, George. Suddenly Bush is "real worried and angry" that after The NY Times and other papers, who "sat on the news for only a year," have disclosed that Bush is spying on Americans. Nothing like having a Good Gestapo to send in, right George? Dictator Bush is going to find the leaker of this one real quick!! But why now, George? Why are you so angry with this revelation of "Secret News"? After all, look at what “Our Dictator” in The White House allowed to get revealed, that actually should have been kept secret ... 1) Plame’s Outing ("Wilson's Wife is Fair Game") Joe Wilson was sent to Niger in Africa, to see if Saddam was getting the needed ingredients he would use to make WMD, before the Iraq War. Wilson came back with a negative report for Bush. So Bush decides he needs a war to get Saddam anyway, because Saddam tried to kill Bush's Daddie. Joe Wilson does not like what is going on vs what he found in Niger and writes an Op-Ed in The New York Times about what he did not find in Niger. Bush/Cheney get pissed-off and has "Two High Level White House Sources" from a Novak article OUT A CIA NOC, who specialized in WMD of all things. Bush has NO PROBLEM with THIS outing disclosure, as he sits on his ASS and does not immediately fire the persons who outed a CIA NOC that specialized in WMD! Fitzgerald is still investigating this TREASON! Now we find out in this link that it may take a decade to rebuild our "Clandestine Services." CIA may need decade to rebuild clandestine service (Reuters) Way to go Bush! Who are you, Cheney or Rove going to OUT from the CIA next, using Novak? Which side are you on - Bin Laden's? 2) 2004 Pre-Election Scare Words and "Khan" Remember Bush saying the name of "Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan" to scare people before the election? Bush abbreviated his name in his stunts and kept referring to him as "Khan"? Remember the scare tactics? Read Retired CIA Analyst Larry Johnson’s article. Leak Hypocrisy (noquarter) Hey George? Why was it fine and dandy for two sources in the White House to disclose confidential information, when you did not like an Op-Ed or when you were trying to put the scare in the people before the election by revealing names of people we are on the hunt for? Now you quickly want the Attorney General to “investigate” and "get to the bottom of" to see who leaked the fact that you are spying on Americans!! Very curious, George. Tom Wieliczka Subject: End of the Year Musing Selected historical quotes applied to … Colin Powell: “The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of great moral crises maintain their neutrality.” -- Dante William H. Rehnquist: “I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” -- Mark Twain Barbara Bush: The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact a return to the idealised past. -- Robertson Davies Importing American Democracy to Iraq: People are always talking about tradition, but they forget we have a tradition of a few hundred years of nonsense and stupidity, that there is a tradition of idiocy, incompetence and crudity. -- Hugo Demartini The media: “In time of war the first casualty is truth.” -- Boake Carter Fundamentalism: "The devil can cite scripture for his purpose." -- Antonio, from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (Act 1, Scene 3) The neocons: “They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge.” -- Thomas Brackett Reed Patriotism: “America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.” -- Georges Clemenceau Republican voters: “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” -- Oscar Wilde “The fewer the facts, the stronger the opinion.” -- Arnold H. Glasow Lynne Stewart: "It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong." -- Voltaire Cynics “A cynic is just a man who found out when he was about ten that there wasn't any Santa Claus, and he's still upset.” -- James Gould Cozzens BuzzFlash Readers: “The important thing is not to stop questioning.” -- Albert Einstein George Bush: “Failure has gone to his head.” -- Wilson Mizner "He could never see a belt without hitting below it." -- Margot Asquith "He had delusions of adequacy." -- Walter Kerr “He is just about the nastiest little man I've ever known. He struts sitting down.” -- Lillian Dykstra A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: No Budget Cuts For some folks on life-support this is an act of terror, a threat to both one's well-being and one's life. Take folks with end-stage renal disease who are receiving dialysis; ninety percent of such folks are on Medicaid/Medicare with the remainder carrying private insurance. The first thing that's going to happen now is that the transportation services will go out of business. As is, companies engaged, compliments of the American people, in transporting patients (from home to dialysis center and back home), are barely getting by because there's no money in doing what they do for a living. What's about to happen is that some dialysis patients won't make it to the dialysis center. Why? They'll have no way to get there. Next thing that happens is that the health and well-being of those unable to make it to a dialysis center will rapidly deteriorate. The most said individuals can anticipate in the way of treatment will be periodic emergency dialysis at a hospital, provided they make it there. For those who don't get to a hospital emergency room; weeks, months perhaps, of the sort of exitus from this world that's too painful even to imagine. And said terrifying outcome will occur in individuals who, had only their dialysis treatments not been stopped, would have had plenty of time left to live and dream. And that's how budget-cuts kill. How to stop the slaughter? We the people change the world. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Happy New Year - There Is Hope in our Future Please read the following letter to the editor, (The Detroit Free Press, 1/02/06), from an 8th grader and then check out the rest of the letters. I pulled up the teacher's e-mail address as well in case anyone would care to write these students via her mail. Please make sure to say you saw this on BuzzFlash, although I think this kid already reads BuzzFlash, DU, Think Progress, etc. ...
Here's the rest; http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060102/OPINION04/601020303 Here's the teacher's e-mail; landerso@livonia.k12.mi.us These kids made my day! Colleen Martinico Subject: Neither Congress nor the Constitution endowed Bush with the authority to spy on Americans without a warrant Dear Buzz, Here's the key that proves the Bushites are lying when they claim Congress gave them unlimited powers in the Sept. 14, 2001 resolution authorizing the President "to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons" that had any role in the September 11, 2001 attacks. When Congress was preparing that resolution, White House officials asked Congress to add explicit language permitting warrantless wiretapping. Congress refused. The very fact that the Bushites wanted that additional language inserted into the resolution proves they knew and know Congress had not given them the right to do warrantless wiretapping. Furthermore, contrary to what a very few Bushite lawyers claim, the president does not have "inherent" powers. Read the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: Amendment X - "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." The president has only those powers enumerated in the Constitution; he does not have any other powers. But the Constitution does stipulate some presidential obligations, and one of those presidential obligations is that "he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." Nowhere is it written in the Constitution that the president can break the law at his whim or on the advice of some hand-picked courtiers. The Founders and the Framers were not stupid or ignorant men; they had read their history and were fully aware that people who are given power will often try to enlarge or abuse that power. The Framers believed they had provided checks and balances so that no president could ever grab kingly or dictatorial powers. I wish all Americans would get a copy of the Constitution of the United States and read it. There are some passages in the Constitution that would amaze most Americans. LE Subject: Water, Better Than Oil Dear Buzzers: Selling, sharing or giving away Canadian water has been a very lengthy, ongoing, and heated debate in Canada: virtually, years of debate. Pressure to export fresh water likely to grow as U.S. shortages increase (Yahoo) We know that once we commit, we can never retract the agreement because then water becomes an extractible resource like oil and thus valued by those who can profit from a free, naturally occurring substance and who will certainly be reluctant to quit the money making proposition. The battle is one that we ordinary Canadians (petitions galore) have taken up volubly against the government and those who would profit monetarily. You can bet it is not the "little people" of Canada who are making any profits from primary resources, and it most certainly is not those of the First Nations (the indigenous population) either. Personally, I think that though it may sound selfish, I would rather not sell our water. Until the developed world stops its reckless disregard for global warming, we, the average Canadian citizen, get to keep it all. If the world lacks fresh water to the point that those who could not afford water were to die, then we should send over tanker loads of it free and no one profits fiscally but those who have a need due to impoverishment will have access in order to survive. I abhor how corporations and governments feel that mother nature's products should naturally create wealth at the expense of many. I especially loathe the way that American politicos feel that we Canadians should automatically provide fresh water to a country that has polluted its own source more than we have ours (yes, our water is polluted too, but just not quite as much). Water is one of the gifts that our earth was endowed with. Without water, humans will die. So instead of trying to force other countries to sell their water, why not stop polluting it so that we can all enjoy our own streams, rivers, lakes and oceans that also happen to be home to the fish that we so enjoy to eat (without mercury and toxins, thank you). Marie-France Germain Subject: Does Anybody Care? I am sitting here tonight, at home with the flu, depressed as heck, and thinking about what this new year might bring. I am an avid reader of BuzzFlash, Common Dreams, Truthout, MichaelMoore.com, and other Progressive websites. I faithfully listen to the Ed Schultz radio program on my way to work every day. I always read the newspaper. I try hard to keep up with what is going on, not only for myself, but to keep my family, friends and co-workers up-to-date and interested in what's going on with our Government and its policies. I was a child of the 60's, actually I was in my 20's in the 60's. I witnessed the Vietnam War protests, the Civil Rights Movement. I have always been a Democrat and a Liberal. There was a time when I loved my Government. When I believed my government was "for the people" -- ALL the people, not just SOME of the people. There was a time when I actually thought my government was honest and good. There was a time when I felt that being a "Christian" meant treating others as I would like them to treat me. When being a good Christian meant helping others, not judging them. Now, I'm just tired. Tired of wondering what kind of a world my grandchildren will have to look forward to. Tired of a criminal President and his criminal administration. Tired of the fact that most people I know, either don't know what's going on, don't want to know what's going on, or don't care. Tired of trying to educate them. Tired of trying to warn them. And saddest of all, I am tired of calling myself a Christian. It's not that I have lost my belief in God, it's just that I no longer wish to affiliate myself with any particular church ... it seems as if they have forgotten their true purpose. God bless the Cindy Sheehans and the Michael Moores of this country, the Ed Shultzes and all the dedicated people out there who work hard every day writing articles, doing talk shows, and trying their hardest to expose the dishonesty and the evil of the Bush Administration and policies. Maybe the truth will eventually get through, and people will wake up before it's really too late. Lucille Gould Subject: Targets of Opportunity Warning to all Democrats attempting to stand up and stand for something, duck! You will be slimed by the right-wing attack machine and when they get done the left will eviscerate you for not going far enough. You are in a can’t win situation and those of you who are hiding on the sideline more than likely already know that. Or else you are listening to some of those bright folks over at the DLC. How’s that working for you? Seeing as how their strategies have worked so well thus far. Were these the same geniuses who thought that having Hillary sign onto a flag-burning bill would be a win-win situation? Now she has honked off a large part of her base. Republicans are about as apt to vote for Hillary as they are to join a Bill Clinton fan club. You seldom pick up a paper or turn on the television without some pointy-headed pundit telling you that Democrats stand for nothing and they are weak on national security. As opposed to Bush, who is lauded as strong and just full of good ideas. Does applauding the Republican ideas that got the United States to where it is today seem like all that good of an idea? Stepping up to the plate has gone real well for Howard Dean. The man has more bullet holes in him than a target at an FBI shooting range. One look at him might be enough to convince anyone else thinking of speaking out that you better keep your trap shut. Then you can also always count on the media to misquote you. I remember when Chris Matthews used to claim daily that “this guy Wilson says that the vice-president sent him to Niger.” Anyone who fact-checked knew that Joseph Wilson never said anything of the sort. He said he believed that he had been sent in response to some questions that the vice-president had asked. Russ Feingold has stood up and taken some hits for speaking his mind. He must sometimes think he’s invisible when he hears repeatedly that no Democrat stands up for anything. Or has any ideas. Or any plans. Just try painting a big target on your back, Russ, then everyone can take a shot at you. Marjorie L. Swanson Subject: Re: Tuesday's Headlines from BuzzFlash.com
RIGHT ON!!! Kerry lost because he and the Dems refused to go for the jugular. It hasn't changed, complacency has set in. Example, Howard Dean's statement; War in Iraq unwinnable, republicans vilified Dean on TV. Bush said it first. NBC Today Show, 8/30/04 Matt Lauer; Can we win it? the war on terror? Pres. "I don't --I don't think we can win it." Why didn't Dems attack with counter TV ads? Whether in sports or the political arena, one must have a certain amount of killer instinct. Dems lack the initiative. Keep after them, someone has to keep a flame under their (Dems') asses. Guy Subject: Infrastructure-nator Watch our Arnold go all Ralph Nader on us now, grandstanding in the flood zones and taking up the Democratic agenda, prescription drugs and infrastructure, at least through November. 2006 will be bigger than Schwarzenegger:
Governor dominated political landscape in 2005, but challenges from left, right await (Tri-Valley Herald) Subject: right-wing silence machine I am a Christian and I am sickened that this right-wing nut case religious station bought the Phoenix station of Air America radio to shut it down. If they are so Christian, why are they afraid of criticism? Why are they afraid of truth? Air America Phoenix Sold! (dailykos) Martisa Subject: Just Think About It Time after time the congress refuses to raise the minimum wage. Then these same hypocrites give themselves a raise. A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it. These clowns find it impossible to help someone making $5.15 an hour while collecting $158,000.00 (rank and file) or $175,000.00 for the majority, minority leaders of both the House and the Senate. Old Hammering Tommy DeLay got to collect $203,000.00 as Majority Leader of the House. Federal Employees have a good health care plan. The rest of us, not so much. If the people of this country are paying the bill, then the same health insurance needs to be available for all citizens. Otherwise it really is all about taking care of those who have and abandoning those who have not. As usual. Elected officials who just can’t seem to find the funds in the budget for universal health care sure are able to find the funds for their health care. America does have some of the best health care in the world. A significant number of Americans will never get this treatment because they can’t afford it. And we differ from third world peasants how? Retirement benefits are another nice little perk the Congress and the Senate have given themselves. Again the American people foot the bill. They have some real tough eligibility requirements they have foisted upon themselves. They must serve for 5 years. They must be at least fifty years of age. As of October 1, 2002, 411 retired members of Congress were receiving retirement benefits. 341 were receiving $55,788.00 and 71 had to struggle along with $41,856.00. No wonder they want their own separate little benefits plan. You won’t see these folks lining up to sign on to the Medicare prescription drug plan. That would be a huge step down. And we will return these people to office so that they can continue to take really good care of themselves while pretty much abandoning the rest of us. And we allow this. As long as we let them get away with it, we deserve what we get. Link to: Salaries and Benefits of U.S. Congress Members http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa031200a.htm http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30631.pdf Marjorie L. Swanson
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