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| February 21, 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: Turn the Facts into Action BuzzFlash is an excellent news source. I like reading news that the so-called left news media won't print. But what is BuzzFlash doing with all this knowledge? It is like a complaint department without a repair department. Like a confession booth to get it off one's chest. Where is the action department to stop the current government from destroying the US? You can't count on the Democrats. You can't count on old folks like me. Where is the action team to get the word out to the mindless supporters of the Bush team? There is no value to complaining if there is no action to fix the complaint. Robert Slotnick [BuzzFlash Note: Wake up! You - our readers - are the action and repair department. You are sophisticated political animals who know how to connect with MoveOn and grassroots groups and your own representatives. Are you lobbying? And sharing information and understanding where it might help? And working at the grassroots level? And selectively encouraging or assisting the few good candidates? How about running for office? BuzzFlash is a small news aggregating and analysis team. We don't have super powers or big bucks, but we do use our 5 million visitor sessions per month to get out the facts and provide some understanding. We think that makes a difference. We expect all our readers to act, too. And we do post the action plans that readers share with us.] Subject: How Many Screw-ups? How many screw-ups does the Bush administration get before even their staunchest supporters finally see them for the inept bunch of nincompoops they really are? Bush and the Republicans have tried their damnedest to scare the bejeebers out of everyone and convince people only they can protect us. Now they want to turn our port security over to a company owned by an Arab country. How many times do they have to exhibit their absolute incompetence before the people of this country have enough? Marjorie L. Swanson Subject: America Graced by God. Pam Clifford Subject: Another "Heads Up" from truthout here (2/20) This time it's about the sham committee the Busheviks set up -- staffed, of course, by two of its own lawyers and God only knows who else. (I guess we'd have to check the "big donor" list!) After "more than a year," the committee has not held a single meeting. The title of the piece is "Privacy Guardian Is Still a Paper Tiger" (LA Times). (Yeah, TELL me about it! Why am I not surprised?) My favorite quote: "Critics say the inaction shows the administration is just going through the motions when it comes to civil liberties." Well, DUHHHH. Another observation: this "fledgling watchdog" (quote from the article) will never leave the nest! This assministration is made up of smoke and mirrors (as well as shotgun pellets and secret drunks). As a kid, I went to Coney Island (Brooklyn, NY); one of my uncles would take us to the "fun house," where the mirrors all reflected distorted images of anyone who looked into them. I'm beginning to think that anyone who still supports the Busheviks must be trapped inside that old funhouse, staring at those mirrors. Barbara Lee (Barb) Blazyk Subject: I'll Bet that Congress Really Is Being Blackmailed Good morning, all, The BuzzFlash reader responding to a previous letter regarding the aforementioned subject makes so much sense it's sad. I may have mentioned this before: if the GOP can do what they did to Max Cleland when he ran against Saxby Chambliss for a Georgia Senate seat, Lord knows what they'll do, and more likely have already done, to others who step in the way of their New World Order-style agenda. Think Valerie Plame, think Richard Clarke, think Paul Hackett. If there are others I've missed, please fill me in. Thanks for reading Lisa Navarro Subject: Pandora's Box! Recently at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference a former Justice Department official named Viet Dinh got a standing ovation when he told the audience that the rule of law must not get in the way of President Bush protecting Americans from Osama bin Laden. After reading this I immediately thought of a verbal exchange that Sir Thomas More, Chancellor of England had with his son-in-law Will Roper in the movie A Man For All Seasons. Sir Thomas stated that any man including the devil himself had the right to go free until he broke the law to which Roper replied: Will Roper: "So! Now you'd give the devil benefit of law." Sir Thomas: "Yes! What would you do, cut a great road through the law to get after the devil?" Will Roper: "Yes! I'd cut down every law in England to do that." Sir Thomas: "Oh? And when the last law was down and the devil turned round on you where would you hide with all the laws being flat. This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast, man's laws not god's and if you cut them down do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then. Yes! I'd give the devil benefit of law for my own safety's sake." The people of the United States must realize that if we allow George Bush to break the law under any circumstances then we are opening a Pandora's Box of horrors that will eventually be turned on us. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: On the verge of Going Green for GOOD! Dear BuzzFlash: One of your cover stories “Democrats may unite on plan to phase down troops in Iraq” is just another in a long line of too little, too late, failures by the Democratic Party. Frankly I’m so sick of the Democrats' inability to put together any sort of cohesive plan to stand against the policies and practices of the most destructive presidency in the history of our nation that I’m on the verge of abandoning the party altogether, and I know many other people who feel the same way. After 5 LONG years of watching Democrats procrastinate, obfuscate, send mixed and confusing messages, turn the other cheek, commit malfeasance, wallow in their own pity and hypocrisy, practice duplicity while taking part in the mass deception of those who’ve supported and trusted them, that I’m on the verge of jumping ship. There is only one question left to ask the Democrats: Who is left in the Democratic Party with the COURAGE and CHARACTER to break the mold, speak the unabashed truth and take on George W. Bush and his vast network of opportunistic, self-serving cronies? With every passing day the Democrats are looking more hopeless and hapless and the only real alternative for a liberal/progress revolution is looking more and more like the “Green Party.” At least the Green Party has the courage to use straight talk while standing against the ongoing atrocities of the Bush Administration, even if their voice is somewhat muffled due to lack of numbers. So I have a message for the Democratic Party, GET OFF YOUR BUTTS and stop behaving like republican LITE! Liberals and Progressives want a party that’s unafraid to take on the forces that are destroying our country. If you CAN’T do it, or WON’T do it then you leave us with NO alternative but to seek out a 3rd party solution. And please don’t give us the tired old message that “voting for a 3rd party candidate is throwing our vote away” because NOW we know that voting for YOU is throwing our vote away. Get busy reforming yourselves into the party we voted for, because if you don’t, many of us are on the verge of going GREEN for GOOD! And whatever you do, please don’t make your typical mistake of considering this warning a threat, consider it what it is, a PROMISE! Carolyn in Tennessee Subject: Port Security It is very disturbing to me how the U.S. government has arranged how Dubai from the UAE be the company to run American ports, especially without consulting previously the governors of the states which have these ports that may be run by them. The false media has been making it sound like the UAE have been big friends of the U.S. when they have let terrorists move around freely in their country. The U.S. (Torquemada Gonzales and his gang) have said that this has been closely looked into and considered to be safe. I am sorry to say that I cannot be in agreement with this. Like everything else that these people push, which they claim is harmless, it allows a dangerous foothold into the further destruction of our country and our national security. I do not like this that our beloved country could be an entry point to Arab extremists being able to execute with precision further attacks. THESE ATTACKS WILL BE ON AMERICAN SOIL and THEY WILL BE ON AMERICAN SOIL MARK MY WORDS... Once again Bush and Co. try to get by with jeopardizing national security ... A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Which Laws To Enforce The place where many of my liberal friends and I have a parting of the way is over illegal immigration. Note: I said ILLEGAL immigration. Immigration has been the life’s blood of America. We are all, with the exception of Native Americans, immigrants. That includes you Hispanics out there because the last time I checked, Spain was still in Europe. Democrats must approach the illegal immigrant problem carefully. If they want to see what Americans think about illegal immigration just watch the Lou Dobbs show on CNN for a week. (You will also be treated to viewer letters bashing Bush and his administration soundly. Fun, but not relevant to this discussion.) It is disgusting that believing the immigration laws should be enforced leads to being called racists. It’s the law. Liberals cannot insist on one hand that Bush has to obey the law and then insist that illegal immigrants have a right to stay illegally in this country. Millions of people enter this country illegally every year. The government seems to think this isn’t a problem. Aunt Minnie has to take her shoes off before getting on a plane yet anyone can just walk across our borders. Some security system we don't have. Most illegal immigrants are just people looking for a better way of life. Is it realistic to believe that it is the responsibility of the United States to provide a better way of life for all the peoples of the world? If so, it's gonna get mighty damn crowded. Where is the incentive for Mexico, to use only one example, to provide a better way of life for its citizens when those citizens can slip across the border, find work and then send the money home? That money is a big part of the Mexican economy. Unfortunate, but how is that the problem of the United States? Business interests in this country are lobbying intensely for a guest worker plan. Common sense would tell you that rewarding the breaking of the law is not a very good strategy. But it sure assures employers of a constant supply of people who will work for low wages. One of the things I found surprising when Lou Dobbs took a poll about this issue was that people overwhelmingly just wanted the government to enforce the laws that are now on the books. No new laws, no guest workers, just enforce the laws we have. What a concept! Marjorie L. Swanson [BuzzFlash Note: We wonder where is the task force that tries to address the needs of American workers, small business owners, and Mexican workers and their families who already live here? As for the racism angle, Tommy Lee Jones' movie, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Best actor, Best screenplay at Cannes), addresses that beautifully.] Subject: The Rest of the Story Headline: Bush: U.S. on Verge of Energy Breakthrough Meaning: "We're gonna take them Iranian oil fields." Mike Curtis Subject: Impeachment and Cheney I don't really have a problem with the impeachment of George Bush even if it means the ascent of Cheney to the throne. Cheney basically runs the show anyway, and he is probably the most unpopular Republican alive today. I want to see justice exercised. I want to see Bush spanked (at last). Two years of Cheney in office would be painful, but it would be the pain of a healing wound, not the pain of a gangrenous lesion. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Re: Articles of Impeachment - Bush and Rhode Island those are too narrow. i think you should add these grounds: 2) failure to protect our ports and borders. 3) persistent illegal behavior. bush has ordered illegal wiretapping. this is also an unconstitutional exercise of executive branch power. 4) since the vice president assumes co-responsibility in exercise of presidential power, vice president cheney is hereby considered impeached. if you limit the articles of impeachment to his judgment to go to war in iraq, i think you are on shaky legal ground. but if you add these grounds, i think that an impeachment could occur. Rhode Island wants to impeach Bush 2/20 Suzanne Shatto Subject: Detroit Zoo Problems Hey Buzz, It's not a national issue, but here in Detroit the budget crisis has put our irresponsible Detroit City Council in a position to essentially force the city to close the Detroit Zoo. Saturday Council voted to deny transfer of management of the Detroit Zoo to the Detroit Zoological Society. The transfer has been in the works for months and is supported in the south eastern Michigan community by wide margins as a means to keep the zoo open. Council waited until the last possible date to vote on the matter. Their vote meant that 4 million dollars in state aid is lost. There's plenty of blame all around on this for Detroit City Council and Mayor Kilpatrick for the management of Detroit's money, but like so much else, loud, public, and continued outrage is going to be needed to force politicians to save one of our most valuable cultural assets. url to most recent stories in local papers below: http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060219/METRO/... http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060220/NEWS11/60220012 Jeff
Spakowski Subject: Bush Giving Up on "Osama, Dead or Alive" and UAE Port Deal When will it finally break into the consciousness of the mainstream that the events of 9/11, with all the strange anomalies surrounding the official version, the lack of a forensic investigation to establish a scientifically verifiable narrative, all the coincidences having to come together on that day for the "attack" to have taken place at all as alleged by the 9/11 Commission, all these things taken together do not pass the sniff test. At some point, perhaps too late, the mainstream will realize the reason Mr. Bush is not really interested in bringing Osama bin Laden to justice or protecting port security, or nuclear sites, or explosives sites is because al Qaeda's mythical evil power is just that, a myth perpetrated on our society to scare us into submission and into relinquishing our treasure, our lives, and all semblance of what once was our United States of America. They are doing it right out in the open. Believe it when a senior Bush official told Ronald Suskin in 2002 that people like us live in the "reality based community." These people who have seized power are crazy. They mean it when they say: "That's not the way the world really works anymore...We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do." A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Bush's Power? Bush seems to have the power to literally trump the Congressional and Judicial branches of our federal government. He is (we refuse to admit it) above the laws of our land! He has no accountability! How in hell did we as Americans allow our President to garner so much power? Apparently we have been asleep at the wheel for quite some time now. How close are we to becoming a dictatorial nation? These are truly the disturbing questions of the day. Lawton Watson Subject: Outsourcing the Ports I can not believe the Bushites would think this would go over without a stink and an uproar!!!! Outsourcing our ports to the UAE!!! There has to be more to this story than we are privileged to know, classified, yuh unnerstan, he, he, he. Or maybe this is just the continuation of the happy go-lucky idea of selling our country to the highest bidder!!! Hey, I know, let's outsource Congress! Surely we can get some of our coalition partners (or Arabs) that would be willing to work for a lot less than we pay our current legislators. With presidents appointed by the Supreme Court, and vote fixing, there is no point in holding elections. The current Congress is not interested in doing the will of the people, so why not just put some cheaper place holders in those seats in Washington? All they need to do is rubber stamp paperwork, since the majority doesn't think debate is necessary, and the administration doesn't think the regular citizens are smart enough to unnerstan' the issues. Matter of fact, the outsourced Congress could just work from home, India perhaps, saving taxpayers large sums of travel expenses. More for tax-cuts for the richest people and corporations. This is ludicrous!! Absolutely Insane! This administration has gone past Orwellian to the totally bizarre, in a creepy, scary way. I am beginning to doubt that even with a Democrat takeback in the Congress this fall, the damage to our country is past fixing. I pray that I am wrong. Cindy Subject: Re: DOJ and Texas Since most of the Supreme Court of Texas is Republican, I wouldn't rely on them. Tom needs all the help he can get and there is no way Gonzales will stand up for the people of Texas, even if he is from Texas. All you have to do is look at the map to know what they did. Austin used to be one district and their congressman was a good democrat. He got elected in his portion, anyway. Now Austin is in 3 pieces and one of the fingers goes almost to Houston which is 200 miles. The part that is the most ridiculous is the one that starts in Austin and goes almost to Brownsville, which is about 400 miles, and at some places the finger is only about 1 mile wide. On the map done in 2003 it didn't go all the way to Austin. They are deliberately diluting the Hispanic vote to the South and the Black vote in Austin. Here is the link to the Texas map. 21, 25 and 10 include parts of Austin. Notice that 10 goes nearly to Houston 25 goes all the way down to around McAllen and there is a tiny finger that goes along the border. A lot of South Texas is really nothing. 27, 15, 25 and 28 split the Hispanic vote in those areas. Kenedy County where Cheney shot Whittington is in 27 and so is Corpus Christi. If you click 27 and add cities; there are none large enough to even mention in Kenedy County. DeLay's district is 22. Click 22 and go out until you can read the counties. His district didn't change too much, but others changed drastically. Speak up or they assume you agree!!! ABB Karen Webb Subject: Well, Duh Your headline: Hello, what's this? A Fox News pundit mulling over Cheney's resignation? 2/21 Martin Frost is a Democrat. Why the shock and surprise? I mean, besides the fact that Fox News pays an honest to goodness democrat to speak his mind. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Short Talking Points Again and again we hear that Republicans have short talking points that everyone can repeat while Democrats are all over the place. Well here is a short list of points that perhaps the Democrats can use. Feel free to use them and grow them. Strength not fright Hope not hate Truth not spin Faith not fear Speak not scream Seek not hide A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Stop the Widow's Tax Dear Buzzers, Please use the link below to go to General Wes Clark’s website to sign the petition to stop the widow’s tax. To make those who have all ready sacrificed so much to have to pay a tax on the money they receive is unconscionable. Please help the families of our military personnel who have already given all they have to give. I know I can count on the folks here at Buzz to be as enraged about this matter as I am. Thank you in advance. http://ga4.org/campaign/widowtax/ Marjorie L. Swanson Subject: The Internet Is Changing the World Just in the knick of time, too, because the traditional mass mobilization techniques (rallies, marches, etc.) don't hack it any more, being that they're too stale and predictable. The Internet showed its potential during the 2004 presidential election, particularly in the Howard Dean campaign for the Democratic Party nomination. That's why the powers that be are so eager to restrict its use by those of us who truly cherish the liberty and justice for which we stand. The powers that be know that once we Internet users reach beyond the mere political or the single issue campaign, they'll have to watch-out for what's unpredictable; which includes what the powers that be fear the most, which is that we the people will go on to change the world. Which, of course, we shall. A BuzzFlash Reader |
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