April 7, 2006

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: National Intelligence Estimates

Here we go again. Bush claims he "declassified" certain portions of the National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq and WMD to help make his case with the American people. This sounds fishy on the surface and if you dig a little further, it is more than fishy.

First of all, Bush claims he has the authority to declassify an NIE. I don't see how that can possibly be in accordance with the law (of course, the law doesn't mean anything to GDubya). At the very least, a NIE is likely to be classified as "Top Secret-Sensitive Compartmented Intelligence" (TS-SCI) meaning it contains real-world intelligence of a highly sensitive nature.

The CIA, according to its own website, is the proponent agency of the NIE. As such, it is the CIA who would classify the NIE, decide the declassification schedule, and when, or if, any such information can be declassified ahead of the legally prescribed declassification schedule.

Unless things have changed drastically since was I an intelligence analyst, because the executive branch of the government is not the proponent agency of the NIE, they would not have any authority to declassify it. The fallacy of this thinking is ludicrous on its face to anyone who has ever held a security clearance. It just doesn't work that way. Further, there is no reasonable way that an NIE produced during a time of military deployment overseas would be released while the operation is ongoing.

Let's assume for a moment that the CIA did declassify parts of its NIE applicable to the "current on-the-ground" situation in Iraq, then why was it necessary to "leak" it through Judith Miller of the NYT? If the President believed it was so important, why not just disclose it in a straight-forward, above-board manner like going directly to the citizens and taxpayers of this country? He could have easily requested an evening block of TV time to do so, and the networks would have complied.

Another point of contention is why was the CIA so incensed about the release of information that they requested it be investigated? Obviously, the CIA hadn't declassified any of the information.

We are also expected to believe that Valerie Plame's identity was contained in a "secret" document that Colin Powell had on an airplane. That also strains credulity. USC 421 addresses the issue of disclosing the identities of CIA agents. It is not to be done by anyone -- no how, no way. It is also safe to reason that the identities of CIA NOCs would be classified "TS-SCI" and not to be released except to immediate "need to know" personnel in Plame's direct line of supervision at CIA. There is no logical reason that anyone in the Executive Branch would "need-to-know" the identities of CIA NOCs.

The bottom line with all of this is that GDubya and his thugs have committed treasonous acts, high crimes and misdemeanors, and have undermined the security of this formerly great and highly respected country.

They are a disgrace to all of us who believe in high moral character, honesty, morals and principles. To continue wrapping this administration in the American flag is a disgrace to every citizen and a real slap in the face to all of our current military members and those of us who are veterans.

Lisa J.
Milwaukee, WI

Subject: The War on Terror

Dear BuzzFlash,

Scooter Libby has identified a terrorist in the White House. His name is George W. Bush and he would just as soon shoot the American people in the back as Dick Cheney would shoot them in the face.

Keep up your good work, Buzz.

Margaret
Medicine Park, OK

Subject: Thank You, Mr. Bush

I am writing to thank those who have written to the Mailbag about my article "Thank You, Mr. Bush," and for the kind words that were addressed to me because of what I wrote. It helps me to know that others share my thoughts and beliefs about the current state of our country. Recent events seem to indicate that many of those responsible for the problems of the country are seeing "their pigeons coming home to roost," but because of the damage that has been done, I believe it will be a long time before we will be able to regain what we have lost.

Maureen R. Sinclair
Lexington, Kentucky

Subject: jesus god!

bush authorized the the leak for political gain and then lied to us all about it! ... SO WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TRUST HIM NOT TO USE HIS DOMESTIC SPY PROGRAM FOR POLITICAL GAIN? JESUS GOD! THIS GUY IS JUST A SERIAL LIAR!

karen massey
south carolina

ps. watch fox news go into overdrive trying to save bush on this one!

Subject: Democratic Message

The problem is not that we don't have our act together, or that we don't have a clear concise message. The problem is (and this should be our bumper sticker): WHERE DO WE BEGIN?

The country is so screwed up, nothing we could possibly come up with would fit a sound bite.

The problems are systemic, starting w/ the tax code. There is the war of course, the environment, health insurance, corruption, collusion, taking back the congress from lobbyists, the wall street/corporation/government connections to be severed, immigration, education,etc. etc. etc. The list just goes on and on.

So, any candidate - and my choice is Al Gore - should organize a shadow government with the best minds available. His candidacy should tout his "cabinet" and plans to set America on the correct path for the people, not the economy! Give us something to vote for.....

Oh, and include taking back Jesus......by the folks that actually follow his teachings. Do you really think Jesus was a repuglican? get real!

Re-state the argument! Every time - every opportunity!

Thanks,

Konnie
MIshawaka, In

Subject: Racism or Thugism? Bob Barr's assaults on guards didn't get nonstop media coverage

Bob Barr's multiple racist assaults and batteries on security guards didn't set off the same nonstop coverage as Cynthia McKinney ...

Barr and McKinney: Mixing It Up With Security Personnel Is OK -- If You're A Republican (phoenixwoman.blogspot)

The Cynthia McKinney did-she-or-didn't-she story is the headline du jour today.

But I remember not so long ago when a sitting and respected REPUBLICAN Congressman, a media darling, the man who led the battle to impeach Bill Clinton, was accused of similar if not worse things to security guards on two separate occasions (and there were three credible witnesses to his behavior) -- and the stories weren't pushed by our media anywhere near the way this one's being pushed.

But before I continue, try and guess who it is I'm talking about. (Hint: He's from the same state as McKinney.) I'll bet that unless you live in the Atlanta area and/or have been hanging out on political sites such as Salon's Table Talk for at least five years, you likely won't have heard about either story before seeing this post.

Give up? Here it is:

The Republican in question? Why, none other than BOB BARR, the guy who made it politically feasible to impeach Bill Clinton:

ATLANTA - Three security guards have filed complaints accusing U.S. Rep. Bob Barr of cursing and yelling racial slurs after he was denied entry to a private parking lot at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport.

Reports obtained by WSB-TV show that three guards for Barton Protective Services complained to supervisors, saying Barr yelled at them when they told him he would have to walk from a shuttle to his car because the van was not allowed into the lot.

[...]

Guard Ramona Phenix, who is black, wrote in her report that Barr cursed at her and used racial slurs when she told him the van could not enter the lot. He said he had several bags and did not want to carry them to the car.

Supervisor Alicia S. Gordon, who is also black, wrote a three-page report with guard Frank Lovett. She said Barr became more angry when they decided to let the van into the lot, but not until the driver filled out a form. While the driver was working on the form, Barr became angry again.

"This time he yelled, 'When are you going to open the gate you stupid black idiot,'" Gordon wrote.

Or as the magazine In These Times tells it:

After a few minutes of waiting for the driver to complete the form, according to a complaint filed by security supervisor Alicia Gordon, Barr jumped out of the van again and shouted, "When are you going to open the damn gate, you stupid black idiot?"

When a guard tried to explain that the form had to be filled out, Barr continued, "Look you idiot little n***er, just open the motherf***ing gate."

Oh, and this isn't the only -- or even the first -- time that Bob Barr had a run-in with security guards. In 1998 he actually slapped a female airport security guard:

In the annals of congressional arrogance, Barr is a repeat offender. In 1998, The New York Times reported an incident in which Barr slapped a female security guard at the airport, after which his wife summarized her view of airport security: "They were all from other countries, and they were talking about me in their language...I thought, 'Hey, this is my country.'"

Kinda tells you something, doesn't it?

My challenge to you, the reader, is as follows:

Contact the media outlet of your choice and ask them if they gave Bob Barr's shenanigans the same wall-to-wall coverage they are giving McKinney's.

If we all did this, that would kill this story deader than anything else we could do. And we could all go on to other things.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Tom DeLay

We shouldn't be so quick to applaud the deserved demise of Tom DeLay at this time. It's clear that the GOP is trying to divest itself of this albatross in time for the short attention-spanned American electorate to forget about him before the mid-term elections. We would be better served by him slowly twisting in the wind later in the year.

Bernard J. Wenzel
Oak Lawn, IL

Subject: Re: Valerie Plame Case

Way back when this first started, Bush said he would fire the person responsible. Besides lying to all of us, now that we know who did it, will he fire himself? :):):)

MJ

Subject: Oh, MORE good news (NOT!!)

Dear Buzzers --

Just heard that "good ol' Bush boy" Alberto Gonzales announced that there are apparently no restrictions for warrantless surveillance of DOMESTIC phone calls and emails. I've been around too long not to have realized that this has been going on for quite a while now, and -- with my FBI file -- I KNOW I've been spied upon. I've never been arrested or participated in an "illegal" demonstration, though I'm certainly outspoken, as many of us are. Therefore, it's sickening to hear that -- as I've suspected (strongly) all along -- we're not only being tracked, but Gonzales is claiming that HIS opinion (that this police state behavior is, in HIS opinion -- geez, who died and made HIM God? -- unobjectionable.

Guess we'd all better kiss our First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights goodbye. I wouldn't be surprised if the Busheviks set up a "committee" to redesign/rewrite the entire Constitution.

This news (the Gonzales "opinion") coming on top of rumors that Bush (as wartime "commander-in-chief" -- I'd laugh if it weren't so outrageous) has declared his right to stay in office beyond 2008.

We can't let these thugs stay in office. I don't have kids, but many of you do. Would you really want to let them grow up in Hitlerland? (Rhetorical question, of course).

Barbara Lee (Barb) Blazyk
Athens, GA ("Oh, Canada!)

Subject: Reflections on What It Took To Change the World (an Interview
with a Participant )

"What was the mood of the public just before it happened?"

"Well, hardly anybody was thinking about a New Society, that's for sure. People were tied up with every day things - making a living, taking care of oneself and one's family, shopping, studying, entertainment and such."

"How'd it happen, then."

"There was this anti-immigrant push by racists and other hateful people. They were attracting some support from workers who blamed immigrants of the loss of jobs that was taking place mostly because of outsourcing of entire industries to Asia and other parts where labor was cheap. Also there was this Iraq war in which the American president lied and some of our best and brightest died."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, there was the dread of sickness because health care was being squeezed. Also fear of growing old because pensions had gone down the drain. The reasons given were always the same - 'The nation can't afford it, what with the Iraq war, the war on drugs, the war on crime and the interest on all these wars'" So much turmoil.

"Then what happened."

"It's hard to say but suddenly there was all this energy. Folks who previously were struggling for their special cause began joining with other groups who were fighting for different causes. Everyone clamoring for change. There was this kind of fusion of diverse interests."

"And after that?"

"It just happened, that's all. Everything turned upside down, inside-out."

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: O'Reilly's Comment on a Hillary Clinton Presidency

Bill,

You stated that Bin Laden would welcome a Hillary Clinton presidency as weak. If that is the case, he must be singing "Hallelujah" for the Bush presidency. How often do you get your sworn enemy to spend over $1 trillion ousting another of your enemies? How often do you get your sworn enemy to waste 1000s of its soldiers' lives? How often do you get your sworn enemy to become an international pariah? How often do you get your sworn enemy to increase the influence of the religious fundamentalism that you support? The Hallelujahs for the Bush presidency from Afghanistan (or Pakistan) must be deafening!

John Healy
Washington, DC

Subject: God and Government

Has any one noticed that since we put the words "in God we trust" in 1957 on our money and "one nation under God" 1954 in our pledge of allegiance our Government has become more evil? They have become arrogant and self righteous, acting like they are all powerful yet we have not won a war since. They have become covert and sinister by invading hundreds of other institutions and governments trying to convert them to "our" way of thinking. They have turned on there own people by spying on us and denying us the truth and knowledge of their activities at home and abroad. They have denied us an inalienable right to affordable higher education. They have trashed our constitutional obligation to "provide for the general welfare" by turning over our health care to corporate thugs that put profit way ahead of your health, that literally hold everyone whom is not wealthy hostage by giving you the choice of your money or your life in health care decisions.

Believe me; God does not want his name on any of this. Thou shalt not mix Government and Religion.

This is just another one of Gods laws you will not find in the bible.

Thank God our founding fathers of the United States had the wisdom to understand this most important fundamental aspect of any good government. We had all better wake up and realize this before our government starts issuing death sentences for converting from the state sponsored religion.

Tom Dodamead
Marathon, FL

Subject: Massachussetts' Mandatory Health Coverage

Better than nothing, but it's going to go belly-up sooner rather than later. Why? Because it's still dependent upon private health insurance, which is very expensive and wasteful compared to public plans such as our own Medicare as well as the single payer plans in Canada, Europe and Japan. Why do politicos persist in this private insurance/HMO fiasco? Well, this has nothing to do with health care, it's for ideological reasons. We the people must never get the idea that our government can do anything better and more efficiently than the private sector. That's why the Gipper's infamous "The government's the problem" mantra has been the staple of right-wing attacks on social services (especially our New Deal heritage) for almost thirty years. Alas, it's come to be accepted by the public almost as a truism.

Why isn't the private sector up to the task of providing an effective, low-cost health care system? It's not interested, that's why. Why would it be? The name of its game is the market & that operates exclusively by the greed principle (ie. strictly for profit). Want good health care, delivered efficiently and with TLC? Then dump this private sector nonsense & go for a Universal Single Payer coverage. No big deal. After all, we already have it with Medicare. All we need to do is extend Medicare to everyone. Not only will the care delivered be better but it'll be much more extensive. It's hard to believe just how much moola the insurance companies, HMOs and other designated skimmers make. For doing what? For the privilege of holding our money, that's what, because they actually don't do a f----- thing other than that. And don't fall for these combination private/public systems, either, because that always translates into we the people picking up the tab after the piggies (the privateers) satisfy their gluttony.

We've got to kick the private sector out of health care or before long there won't be any health care. Simple as that!

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Call DeLay's office, leave a message

Hey, turns out that number for DeLay's office ((281.343.1333) at Juanita's site

http://www.brazosriver.com/index.html

... still works, and after ringing for a while, will give you options...press "9" to leave "general comments." I personally congratulated them on attacking a 70 year old woman and told them they were pond scum. Very cathartic. If the repugs can organize to jam phones and disrupt press conferences, the least we can do is give ol' Tom a call and wish him a 'fond' farewell. Have fun!

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Headlines

Hey Buzz,

No one can do headlines like you, but I just checked out today’s (April 6th) Huffington Post. Some of their headlines were interesting:

"Bush: If There is a Leak out of My Administration, I Want to Know Who It Is. And If the Person Has Violated Law, The Person Will be Taken Care Of…"

He was true to his word. He took care of Rove and Libby as long as it was convenient. He must know by now that he can do or say anything he likes and get away with it. "White House Press Corps Fails to Ask McClellan About Bush’s Authorization of Leak"

They just forgot. Don’t be too hard on them. We know the MSM is always busy, digging, keeping us up to date on all the truth from Washington, letting the chips fall where they may.

"Meredith Vieira is Couric’s Successor on Today Show"

I can't believe it. Meredith Vieira is an idiot. When the French declined the invitation to be part of the Coalition of the Willing (remember freedom fries, dumping French wines) I heard her ask on The View, the last time I ever watched it, “Why are the French so unpatriotic?”

She didn’t even know the meaning of “patriotic.” The French overwhelmingly agreed with their government to stay out of the war. They were patriotic, which means showing love for one’s (OWN) country. Canadians also agreed with our government to stay out, which meant we were also patriotic. Only Americans can feel patriotism for the US.

Patty Coombs
Surrey, BC, Canada

Subject: Smoking Gun

So far as I am concerned, there is no such thing as a smoking gun with anyone in this administration. They have been caught with more egg on their combined faces, than anyone in my lifetime...and nothing...just nothing is done. And, so far as an apology...I suppose the nearest we have come...is Rumsfeld apologizing for 'a few' bad ones and the abuse at Abu Ghraib, taking orders from him and Bush! I am convinced that if murder were proven against Bush, Cheney and anyone else...especially that Gonzales (what an evader)...if they actually were in front of anyone lying dead, with the gun in their hands...they would deny it...and this country would have to prove it. Once again...for anyone reading this, who voted for this fool...I hope you see what we worried about! Or, are they all in my family?

Shirley ... St. Louis

Subject: Hmmmm

Since it is clearly obvious at this point that Bush is a pathological liar ... how do we know he has not used the domestic spy program to spy on what he thinks are political enemies? Because he says so? (Like OJ and the Scott Peterson bunch). He is still looking for the leaker, next thing you know, he will put a reward out for the guy.

RK

Subject: Free Wi-Fi for All?

"Early fears by the mayor that the telecommunications industry would fight the project by filing lawsuits have yet to materialize..."

Nah. They will wait until the taxpayers fully fund the infrastructure before they lobby the Republicans to rob it and give it to the private sector...you big sillies....why would they want to stop it now?

Shortcut to: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f...

John L. Johnson
Laingsburg, Michigan

Subject: Another blog

Dear BuzzFlash:

I've decided the time has come for NoIranAttack.blogspot.com blog, before the hour gets any later. Thank you posting my previous letter in the mail bag a time ago about my shaysreblog. Could you check out this other blog...? Thank you again.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Their Man Bush

I'm writing to express my wonderment..on how Bush still has his supporters..I mean other than the war profiteers, the extremely wealthy, his own family members..and others whose livelihood depends on his lies and his power..other than those, who on earth would be supporting this creep? I truly believe he is sociopathic as I understand the word. We have a monster in the WH--well, a TWO-headed one because Cheney has to be counted. It is amazing. I knew this back in 1999 when first becoming aware of Junior that he was very bad news. I hate to scream I Told You So to the rooftops..but to all those taken in by Bush..I did tell you he would be a disaster. I get no sense of satisfaction in being right, though. I'd rather be wrong for the sake of all those lives lost, who'll never come home. 

A BuzzFlash Reader