April 24, 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: Pravda by the Potomac? 

Dear Buzzers,

I'd like to point you to a particularly good article in today's Daily Howler:

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh042106.shtml

Bob slams the Washington Post for whitewashing Bush and President Hu's abysmal antics yesterday. Here's a sample:

Readers, they introduced Hu as if he were president of Taiwan! This amazing gaffe is featured in all other papers. At Pravda-by-the-Potomac, though, Baker doesn’t even mention this blunder. Instead, we are affirmatively told about the meticulous staging.

Then Somerby moves to Richard Cohen's flip-flopping views of Al Gore, and demands that Cohen produce a mea culpa if we are to believe he's a changed man.

Somerby's analysis of Al Gore's prospects for a 2008 presidential run is something all Dems and progressives need to understand. I really hope you link to this article.

Thanks for your time, and keep up the great work.

Sincerely,

Don Kuhns
Omaha, NE

Subject: It's All About the Frogs [thanks to GOOGLE]

As I  listen to spring peepers in the marsh behind our house, I have come to the conclusion that it's all about the frogs.

The evidence:

1.  A Fourth of July celebration for little George W. Bush in Midland involved blowing up frogs with firecrackers.
2. We changed french fries to freedom fries, but the French Are Unmoved by US 'Frog Bashing'
3. Conservative Mark Alexander gloats in "The Frog that Roared," [Collegiate Patriot, April 18, 2003,] saying,  "And how about that war plan, described by every Leftmedia pundit three short weeks ago as 'failed' and inevitably leading to a 'quagmire'?"
4. "The FROG-7 is the latest addition to the "Free Rocket Over Ground" family of unguided, spin-stabilized, short-range (battlefield support) artillery rockets" which are a conventional weapons deployed in places like North Korea, Syria and, formerly, Iraq.  We probably found FROGS when we were looking for WMDs.
5. The 'end times' described in Revelations 16, shows that frogs have a major role at Armageddon: "The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East. Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for battle on the great day of God Almighty."  Revelation 16:12-14" [essay on this subject]. Note that there are only three species of frogs in Iraq (scroll down) and the marshes have been drained. The fundies could make a big deal of this. [One of the few good things about the regime change is that we have begun marsh restoration.]  
6. Joe Wilson called for Karl Rove to be 'frog-marched' out of the White House.  This inspired Papa Dish to write this song, the Joe Wilson Rag [audio].
7. The parable of the Boiling Frog is used by all sides to illustrate the point that we'll wake up to find that gradual changes have resulted in enormous consequences.  Democrats:  the environment, wiretaps, executive power, and other infringements of rights. Republicans: creeping tax increases and social programs.  Nobody talks about earmarks. [According to Snopes, this parable is untrue. The frog always hops out if he can.]
8. The Republicans are overtly at war with frogs and the environment. "The Bush administration on Thursday dramatically shrank the land deemed crucial for survival of the California red-legged frog, a threatened amphibian at the center of a national debate. After years of litigation and scientific dispute, the Fish and Wildlife Service formally declared 450,288 acres as "critical habitat" for the frog once celebrated by Mark Twain." SacBee, 04/14/06.
9. 2006 is The Year of the Frog (in the Caribbean, not China).  2006 would be a very good year for the whole lot of them to be frog-marched out of the White House.  We've waited long enough so let's hop to it.  If we don't, we'll all eventually croak in a boiling quagmire under a toadstool shaped cloud.

Sigrid Smith
North Haven, CT

Subject: A Campaign Al Gore Can't Lose 4/21

Wonderful article ... the country is so accustomed to dumbing down ... I fear no one can understand a smart, peaceful campaign. I am looking forward to seeing the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" ... so it's boring ... at least it is smart. This country is in so much trouble ... even on call-in shows everyone is cheating ... they have been taught well. The Democrats call on the Republican line ... because the Democratic lines are always full. Here's hoping that 8 years will not completely wreck the country ... but all we can do is hope!

Shirley ... St. Louis

Subject: Oil

Can someone please explain why we allow US companies, getting oil out of the ground in the US (and off our shores), to sell said oil back to Americans for the same price we pay for middle eastern oil?

Michael Mcfadden
Baltimore, Maryland

Subject: The Decider

Great commentary about Bush, the self-proclaimed "decider," by Jon Carroll, who may have been the first person ever to call him "Our first sock puppet president, way back in 2000:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi...

John Lovejoy
Lebanon, Oregon

Subject: Heels dug in - baltimoresun.com

So, after hearing Rummy say he has “tendered his resignation twice to the President” and it was not accepted...I am confused. Is it a felony to actually quit even if your resignation is NOT “accepted”?!? Will you be sent to Gitmo if you suddenly stop showing up to work, even though your boss did not sign your resignation and file it properly?

We’d all be better off either way if Rumsfeld would just stop showing up at the office. Rumsfeld is fond of repeating that he “serves at the pleasure of the President.” It would be our pleasure entirely if Mr. Rumsfeld chose not to “serve” him, or us, anymore.

John L. Johnson
Laingsburg, Michigan

Subject : CIA Agent Fired for Leak

I guess the hypocrisy just never stops in the Bush administration. I just read that the CIA has fired an agent for leaking classified information, and the Justice Department is considering criminal charges. I guess leaking is against the law for everyone but old Dubya and his crew. Not really surprising.

CIA Fires Analyst for Alleged Press Leak (AP/Bismarck Tribune)

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Re: Gun Laws

"A BuzzFlash Reader" wrote in on April 20th that "I am a proud progressive, bordering on Libertarian. You either believe that Americans have a Constitutional right to bear arms, or you don't. I happen to believe that we do. Every time guns laws are made stricter BuzzFlash appears gleeful in response."

Now I am a Canadian and even I know that the 2nd Amendment states that: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." (Okay, I pasted that from a website but I knew it referred to a militia for the security of a free state.) Every time I hear people on TV, radio, etc. claim it is their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms, I scream at the TV, radio, etc. about the fact it refers to a militia (much to the annoyance of my girlfriend).

Now don't get me wrong. I come from a family who hunts. I have hunted ducks and geese and shot skeet since I was young. We use shotguns which are designed for just that purpose. What is the purpose of a handgun or semi-automatic rifle? Killing people. They have no place in a civilian's hands.

Joel Brown
Prince Edward Island, Canada

Subject: Another Cheerleader For War

Dear Buzz,

Our West Virginia governor, Joe Manchin, recently took a PENTAGON sponsored trip to Iraq. In a photo op he wrote this on a couple of rockets: "A LITTLE BIT OF HELL FROM ALMOST HEAVEN'. What is he thinking? It's WWII and we are about to bomb Tokyo.

Dave
Moundsville, WV

Hi Buzz,

I'm glad you posted Bob Somersby's article re: Richard Cohen's flattering article on Al Gore. The whole time I was reading Cohen's article, I was saying wait a minute … I seem to remember … ? Cohen was so on that bandwagon I can't even believe he could seriously write an article like this and not expect more than a few people to jump on him. Yeah, he would love it if Al ran again. What fun he could have. Do these people realize we have memories?

But no, Gore isn’t currently perfect—because of two things which Cohen omitted from his column. For one thing, Cohen omitted those dismal numbers—Gore’s Cheney-like favorable-to-unfavorable ratio (see THE DAILY HOWLER, 4/19/06). And oh yes—the pundit also omitted the reason for Gore’s ugly numbers. Wouldn’t you know it? Richard Cohen forgot to mention the endless, crackpot press corps war which produced those horrible numbers for Gore—a war which was staged by Cohen’s colleagues and oh yes, by Cohen himself. And no, it isn’t just Cohen’s past work which leaves Gore less than currently perfect. If Gore ran again, we know what would happen. Alpha male pundits would start to churn their thousand-and-one brainless anti-Gore scripts—and betas like Cohen would curl up and die. Cohen praises Gore today—but he’d surely turn tail tomorrow. Dems who fail to grasp these points are living in a fantasy world.

Why isn’t Gore currently perfect? Cohen forgot to include the answer—because of Cohen himself.

And I don't need Richard Cohen to tell me that Gore was right!!!

Barbara in NYC

"I'm a Unitah Not a Dividah No, forget all that I'm the Decidah."

Subject: Instability to Insolvency

I'm tired of hearing people say that Bush went into Iraq to get the oil. That's ridiculous. He never had any intention of getting the oil. Besides, we buy the bulk of our oil from unstable regions like Canada and Mexico. The Bush Administration's goal with Iraq was to create an unstable Middle East, which provokes so much fear amongst investors that it drives the oil prices sky high.

The instability caused in Iraq by the Bush Administration, combined with the reckless abandon at which he spends taxpayer money to fund it, could very well be the straw that breaks our backs in America.

The Iraq war has, as we all know now, not a damn thing to do with 9/11. But the ramnifications of the war create a surplus of wealth for Bush friends: Saudi Arabi, particularly Saudi Bin Laden; Halliburton; The United Arab Emirates; and of course, U.S. energy and exploration companies.

Bush's bravado, stupidity, ignorance, greed, & criminality - along with those of his associates - will ultimately conspire to fulfull one of his campaign pledges and programs, The No Child Left Behind act. Because after all the bombs, they'll be dead.

PJ Fuller
Edmond, OK

Subject: A Spy Speaks Out

Hi BuzzFlash Readers,

[On] 60 Minutes this weekend ... Ed Bradley interviews a former CIA Agent, Tyler Drumheller, about Iraq and the fact that they were telling Bush Inc that there were no WMD.

A Spy Speaks Out (CBS News)

April 21, 2006

(CBS) A CIA official who had a top role during the run-up to the Iraqi war charges the White House with ignoring intelligence that said there were no weapons of mass destruction or an active nuclear program in Iraq.

The former highest ranking CIA officer in Europe, Tyler Drumheller, also says that while the intelligence community did give the White House some bad intelligence, it also gave the White House good intelligence — which the administration chose to ignore.

Drumheller talks to 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley in his first television interview this Sunday, April 23 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Drumheller, who retired last year, says the White House ignored crucial information from a high and credible source. The source was Iraq's foreign minister, Naji Sabri, with whom U.S. spies had made a deal.

When CIA Director George Tenet delivered this news to the president, the vice president and other high ranking officials, they were excited — but not for long.

"[The source] told us that there were no active weapons of mass destruction programs," says Drumheller. "The [White House] group that was dealing with preparation for the Iraq war came back and said they were no longer interested. And we said 'Well, what about the intel?' And they said 'Well, this isn't about intel anymore. This is about regime change.' "

They didn't want any additional data from Sabri because, says Drumheller: "The policy was set. The war in Iraq was coming and they were looking for intelligence to fit into the policy."

The White House declined to respond to this charge, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has stated that Sabri was just one source and therefore not reliable.

Drumheller says the administration routinely relied on single sources — when those single sources confirmed what the White House wanted to hear.

"They certainly took information that came from single sources on the yellowcake story and on several other stories with no corroboration at all," he says. The "yellowcake story" refers to a report the CIA received in late 2001 alleging that Iraq had purchased 500 tons of uranium from Africa, presumably to build a nuclear bomb.

Many in the CIA doubted the uranium report from the beginning, and continued to doubt it, even as White House speechwriters tried to include the report in the president’s speeches.

In a major speech the president was scheduled to give in Cincinnati, the leadership of the CIA intervened directly to remove the uranium report from the speech. But that didn't stop it from making it into the president's State of the Union address a short time later. "As a British report," says Drumheller. A senior CIA official signed off on the speech only because the uranium reference was attributed to the British.

"It just sticks in my craw every time I hear them say it's an intelligence failure. … This was a policy failure. … I think, over time, people will look back on this and see this is going to be one of the great, I think, policy mistakes of all time," Drumheller tells Bradley.

Tom Wieliczka
Windsor Locks, CT

Subject: U.S. better cast wary eye north (Published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Suppose for a moment the Canadians decided to invade the United States on the premise that we have weapons of mass destruction (which we really do) and that they suspect President Bush is ready to nuke Iran for refining nuclear fuel. Further, they want to bring democracy to what they perceive to be an ever-evolving fascist American oligarchy.

To further justify their invasion, the Canadians want to control our oil reserves in Alaska, which they believe to be part of Canada anyway. Oh, and the Canadians also believe they are justified because we started an unjust war, invaded another country without provocation (remember Kuwait), and have imprisoned and tortured others without a trial in violation of international laws and the Geneva Conventions.

Now using the same false logic, stupidity and arrogance Bush used to invade Iraq and is going to use to nuke Iran, the Canadians have every right to invade us, don't they?

http://www.ajc.com/search/content/auto/epaper...

Robert M. Thacker

Subject: What a Child Has to Look Forward to Depends ...

A child in Vietnam can look forward to having a leg blown off while working in a rice field, and/or to developing an agent orange induced cancer. If, that is, said child makes it through the first few years of life in a land where the average income is a dollar a day, jobs are scarce and health care and education are for the haves only, have-nots keep out!

A child in Haiti can look forward to being poor, hungry and malnourished, to life in a slum made out of cardboard boxes and tin cans, and to that nation's never ending struggle for freedom and independece

At the same time in America, a child can look forward to all the chickens coming home to roost.

Unless, of course, we the people change the world.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Leter Sent to WaPo: Krauthammer's Ironic Warnings re: "Generals' Revolt"

Charles Krauthammer in his latest column (The Generals’ Dangerous Whispers. April 21, 2006)) attempts to cast the recent denunciations of Bush’s war in Iraq by several retired generals as a "banana republic"-style military coup. Several salient details, however, strain this analogy beyond the breaking point. Most notably, the fact that these officers are RETIRED, and that they waited until they were RETIRED before voicing their objections publically. Furthermore, despite the many belabored historical and cinematic analogies presented in the column as ominous evidence that these former officers represent a threat of usurpation, I fail to find in Krauthammer’s list or in my own library any scenario in which a cabal of generals (active-duty or retired) hijacks its nation’s government in the interests of CURTAILING military engagement. Success in such an endeavor - particularly in a democracy - would self-destructively undermine the strongest source of power of an aspiring junta.

Now I would be the first to agree that active military personnel - due to the profound psychological conditioning they undergo during training; the wholly undemocratic nature of the command structure within which they exist; and their collective access to overwhelming arsenals of weaponry - should not play any role whatsoever in the setting of public policy. But it is preposterous and un-American to assert that this entirely appropriate subjugation of one’s political and intellectual will should persist beyond one’s term of enlistment or commission in the armed forces. Krauthammer argues, essentially, that voiceless second-class citizenship should be accepted as the lot of all retired military personnel...unless, of course, you agree with him - then every one of your words is a gem.

It is apparently not a "dangerous precedent" for other similarly-retired generals to voice unconditional support for this warlike administration; despite the diplomatic and economic damage its bizarre policies have clearly wrought on our nation. Krauthammer lays down the opinions of two such former officers as if these unequivocally and irrevocably trump certain criticisms from the maligned, "rebellious" half-dozen. But all these men are now private citizens - private citizens with professional experiences relevant to the issues under consideration - and they have every right to express their opinions in public. Why does Krauthammer insist on shouting one perspective down?

Ken Duerksen
Oxford, Ohio

Subject: "Why Mommy Is a Democrat"

BuzzFlash,

I have just two words for you- come on. While I agree that "Help! Mom! There are Liberals under my bed" is a horrible idea and, most likely, a horrible book, endorsing "Why Mommy is a Democrat" doesn't help anything. Look at yourselves! You're endorsing a book that brings party politics to children's books! Doesn't that seem wrong to you? Shouldn't our children be having fun instead of worrying about liberals or neo-cons? It just makes me feel ill, and gives me the impression that you want us (the loyal reader) to indoctrinate our children to become hardcore democrats- effectivly USING our children for political gains.

Since I respect you so much BuzzFlash, I can only reccomend this - stop endorsing "Why Mommy is a Democrat," and write a blistering article blasting the repugnant mutants (on both the right and left) who try to force political ideas onto children through bedtime stories.

Oh well, keep up the great work BuzzFlash. Aside from the above issue, I always look forward to reading your publication.

Sam
Pittsburgh, PA

Subject: Bush at Stanford - I live on Stanford campus

BuzzFlash-

Bush was at Stanford University on Friday at 4PM, and then at Cisco, hosted by its CEO, who apparently has no problem welcoming the world's foremost mass-murderering terrorist, liar, coward and thief.

I live on Stanford Campus, a sprawling physically beautiful spot ringed by Campus Drive. The main one mile drive from downtown Palo Alto and the Caltrain station into campus, Palm Drive, is lined by Canary Island palm trees and leads into the main quad. Directly to the east is Hoover Institute, a phallic landmark that shoots out of the ground like a missle. This was Bush's destination.

His helicopter landed on the West side of campus on Stockfarm Road during rush-hour and the weekend of visits for prospective students and their parents. The campus was in virtual lockdown for his visit, with traffic closed on the main roads, thus snarling commute time on other roads throughout Palo Alto.

I walked through the center where the event was staged. There were long lines of police presence and numbers of official plain white vans led by the California Highway Patrol, the Palo Alto Police, other local agencies, and the Stanford Sherriff flashing red and blue lights.

I was surprised that there were about 1,000 protestors with all the security. Bush came onto a patriarchal right-leaning campus, with a student body not given to protests, with an enormous police presence everywhere, and yet protestors forced the world's most hated terrorist to sneak in and out, and abort his plans.

When JFK visted places like Rice and Amherst his appearances were held in stadiums overflowing with enthusiastic masses.

I didn't see the Weasel-in-Chief but would have liked to ask him "How does it feel for an ex-college cheerleader to be the most hated man on Earth? How does it feel to have destroyed America and caused the death of over 100,000 innocent people for your lies? How does it feel to be one of history's most vile lying cowards who paved the road to hell for countless millions? How does it feel to be such a jerk?"

Suzanne McIntosh
Stanford Campus

Subject: Yet Another "White House Knew There Were No WMD" Article

I suppose there's some grim satisfaction in seeing this endless parade of "Bush knew there were no WMD in Iraq..." articles, but why does everyone ignore the big one? Newsweek published this stuff WELL BEFORE the invasion in an article entitled "The Defector's Secrets," published on 2/24/2003.

Jim Meyer
El Dorado Hills, CA

Subject: Agreement on a New Iraqi Premier

Shades of Vietnam. How many puppet premiers did we go through there before the Vietnamese people kicked us out? While this latest change of puppets in Iraq may be a big deal to our mainstream media, embedded as it is with the powers that be, as far as the Iraqi people are concerned, a puppet is a puppet is puppet; no more, nothing less. So now, just when matters seem settled, what can we expect? A "Battle of Algiers" type uprising with video clips of the last helicopter out of Hanoi, er, make that Baghdad, that's what.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: Bush Recognizes Global Warming?

Today Bush was talking about hydrogen fuels. He specifically said that one of the benefits of hydrogen fuels is they "produce no greeenhouse gasses." What???? Why would Bush say that if he does not believe global warming is real? I could not believe it. The guy who refuses to acknowledge global warming is a concern to our planet, uses the no-greenhouse-gasses arguement to position himself as a proponent of hydrogen fuels. I read this as a conflict. He believes we should not produce greenhouse gasses when he positions himself as a thought leader on energy, but he does not recognize the legitimacy of global warming because of the impact on business. So what does he really believe?

Bush = Waffler-in-Chief

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: It's a Shame

Hello,

As a neighbour and all round piece of this absolutely tiny bit of an infinite concept, I would like to say that I have met and worked with friends in the USA that are sheepish about discussing what the USA "looks" like it is doing.

They ask, "Does everyone in Canada hate or fear us? I say, not at all, in fact, the ones I deal with would make out like bandits up here - especially in Montreal. Besides, we can wup you most of the time in everything we do compared to you."

Again, from my perspective, there is a very bad business plan being followed. As most of us in the small business race know, business plans are alive and match the initiators' roll-out. What is so surprising is that when I meet my own politicians whom I regularly spill against, their three dimensional carriage doesn't give me the same anger. In other words, it's easier to spit than to write or shake a hand with a smile.

I think that the business plan and management are not paying attention to the shareholders that really make the difference - the owners of the vote; they call it a franchise up here.

We're not any better believe me. The little travelling I've done recently indicates a tippy-toe world. One of the most valuable lessons I learned was in Manchester, UK a couple years ago. " If you don't like what I'm saying, you don't have to listen - piss off."

I get the sense the USA is not listening or saying enough. My friends are talking, though, and I/we are listening.

All the best, you have a cycle of bad apples in the crush, time is what friends have and give. I wish the country would become what my friends are instead of what we see.

We just lost 4 today. No thanks will they ever hear.

On your side, don't take it for granted,

Paul Leitch
Toronto, Ontario

Subject: Gas Price Gouging

"I'm concerned about higher gasoline prices," Bush says. "The government has the responsibility to make sure that we watch very carefully and investigate possible price-gouging, and we will do just that."

Do I believe that? I still remember how he said he was going to investigate the leaks related to the outing of the CIA agent. Bush called for a criminal investigation to "get to the bottom" of it just to find out that he was the one behind it.

They can pretend that the high price of gas is because of "world demand" and "political uncertainty" and "converting to ethanol," but when I see the president of Exxon getting a retirement bonus of close to half a BILLION dollars it's pretty clear that it's greedy oil companies raping the public again. These are the guys who met in secret with vice president Cheney to create the energy policies that make them rich and us poor. When the oil companies are showing record profits it doesn't take a genius to figure out that if they made a little less then we would be paying less at the pumps. The quickest way to bring down gas prices is to impeach Bush and Cheney.

I'm Marc Perkel - And I approved this message!

Marc Perkel
San Francisco, CA

Subject: London Times on Republicans telling Bush to dump Cheney/Rumsfeld

And the improvement is putting Rice in to replace Cheney? Geeze, she was ineffective Provost at Stanford ... intensely disliked for being a do nothing who just kissed political ass. So put her in the VP slot ... yeah, major improvement.  Trying to pick up the slack on New Orleans.
I know two very powerful Black women, one a former law professor/senior partner with a big firm, and a CFO of a major corporation who was profiled in Fortune's 50 most powerful African Americans. Both know Rice, can't stand her .. and rip her to shreds in private. 

Any woman who is for the mass murder of innocent people over lies, and can get behind a psychotic idea like "Shock and Awe," is just as bad as Cheney ... just a matter of degrees, give her time.

And as far as him being 'gone,' the only way he will be gone is if he's in a 6 ft. cell or 6 ft under, he's going to bleed this puppy til it's truly over and done.

Suzanne
San Francisco

Subject: Bush: "Sigh. Dearie me, I don't think I'm going to be able to do anything about your high gas prices." 4/23

Greg Palast found a State Dept. memo about 170 pages in length that clearly states the idea was to occupy Iraq and then produce as little oil as possible in order to drive up prices. It was a Guardian story awhile back.

Bush Didn't Bungle Iraq, You Fools: THE MISSION WAS INDEED ACCOMPLISHED (countercurrents)

Iraq's oil and the Saudi welfare state (Energy Bulletin)

Rosamond

Subject: Hillary Clinton on Immigration

Somebody --- Please shut her up. If the Republicans want to "write off" the Latino vote --- Fine.

The Democrats cannot afford to do that.

Ms. Clinton's remarks, quoted in the NY Daily News, will only alienate Latinos.

Somebody please tell her to just shut up.

Hil has a holy cow over immigrant bill (NY Daily News)

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: They're at It Again...

Why was it necessary to mention, TWICE, in the article about the CIA person recently fired for leaking information to a reporter, that she donated money to John Kerry's presidential campaign? I don't see it similarly emphasized in articles about Republicans hauled off to jail that they contributed to Bush's campaign. Is this a subtle way to create the impression, in the mind of the public, that Democrats are traitors?

Colleagues Say C.I.A. Analyst Played by the Rules (NY Times)

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subject: How many more smoking guns?

It doesn't seem to matter--we have one smoking gun after another that gets played a few days in the press, then disappears and it's business as usual. People keep asking, "What does it take?"

I have an idea what the answer is. One day Bush stumbles out to the podium to speak, drunk and disoriented or a TV camera catches him spouting obscenities and declaring he doesn't give a DAMN about what the American people think, he's the president and he can damn well do what he pleases. It gets played over and over and over again in the media. That, my dear friends, is what it would take.

Goodbye, George, it's all over. Impeachment time.

A Buzzer

Subject: Kerry would beat Bush in new election IF votes counted 

Dear Buzz,

I like the article on BuzzFlash about Kerry and how he would beat Bush if the election were held today. He did beat Bush and so did Gore, and everyone knows deep down that this man in the White House was never elected. Nevertheless, we will never have a Democrat in the White House or in any new Senate or House seats until the consciousness is raised about the fact that votes are stolen. I bet Katherine Harris "beats" Bill Nelson in Florida with the help of the voting machines, even though she is being wolloped in the polls. No way in Hades that Elizabeth Dole won that Senate seat fair and square if you talk to people from her state. There are many strange things. Mickey Cleland was defeated by Chambliss by fraud, too. No way that Chambliss won fair and square. It will happen again if Dems let it. I will vote Democratic no matter what, but will my vote count? For now, with Arizona's systems, it will. If we get a Republican governor and they change the voting machines, it will not. Delaware has some German machines (and a Democratic governor who refused Diebold). The German machines have a papertrail and they are well made. I would prefer most things be made in the USA but NOT voting machines. It is too likely that the CEO of the company will be Republican. Forget it. Our votes are not going to count if that happens.

mev
Arizona Independent

Subject: Bob Schieffer--CBS

THANK GOODNESS!

I watched Bob this morning on "Face the Nation" and his ending commentary was good (despite the lack of time to combat Pat Buchanan's BS) when he declared that a Democracy deserves leaks when 'secret prisons' are revealed. Enough.

Ken
Essex, CT

Subject: Defense Tech: "A Mushroom Cloud Over Las Vegas"

BuzzFlash,

This article is in reference to the upcoming Nevada test site test to determine the efficacy of their nuclear bunker-busting bombs to be used against Iran.

"By the way – a "strake" is "a straightedge used for leveling a bed of sand " !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"John Fleck, from the Albuquerque Journal, has the answer to whether Divine Strake is nuke-related. "A Pentagon budget request is explicit about its purpose: to "improve the warfighter's confidence in selecting the smallest nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage." Meanwhile, Globalsecurity.org decodes the media gobbledygook surrounding the Divine Strake test.

UPDATE 04/03/06 5:15 PM: "In response to an email earlier today, a DTRA spokesperson confirmed that Divine Strake is the same event that is described in DTRA budget documents as being a low-yield nuclear weapons shock simulation," the FAS Strategic Security Blog notes."

"Here is an excellent detailed analysis by a member of the FAS. The US already has over 1000 of these nuclear bunker busters, with 400 of them in active service:

http://www.nukestrat.com/us/stratcom/gs-divinestrake.htm

While Iran stands accused of pursuing nuclear weapons, the US is overtly developing the next generation of nukes. The above article shows a Chinese airbase with underground facilities, one potential target for U.S. warlovers.

[Senate Minority Leader] Reid assured 'Divine Strake' will be safe

http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=OPINIONS-LETTERS&ID=564713042060247083

This event seems highly ignored given all the propaganda aimed at Iran's nuclear enrichment program. There is no way to deliver a 700 ton ANFO bomb, much less deliver it 36 feet below ground to target underground facilities. It will take 4 to 5 days of trucks running around the clock to deliver the 700 tons of ANFO slurry to the site (page 24):

http://budget.state.nv.us/clearinghouse/Notice/2006/E2006-222.pdf

This Washington Post article states "The blast is not likely to be felt or heard outside the 1,375-square-mile test site":

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/30/AR2006033001735.html

This statement is absolute garbage: the budget.state.nv.us document (pages 74-75) states that North Las Vegas can expect up to a 126 decibel sound level from the blast 67 miles away--louder than a commercial jet taking off, almost as loud as a civil defense siren (page 38). The table 4.2-2 at the top of page 74 states that while home walls and plaster may experience cracking at 7 miles away, a footnote indicates that certain atmospheric conditions may increase this distance by 7 times, or 49 miles away (another study cited on page 101 indicates that atmospheric conditions may increase damage and environmental impact by up to ten times the distances given). Similarly, while one cracked window per 1000 person population can be expected at 7 miles away, certain atmospheric conditions may increase this to 49 miles away. Wildlife within 1.4 miles will experience permanent hearing damage at 163 decibels (louder than a large caliber handgun, e.g. .357 magnum), and under certain atmospheric conditions this range may extend as far as 10 miles; wildlife within 13.6 miles and 95 miles will experience painful levels of noise from the blast at 140 decibels (military jet takeoff) depending on atmospheric conditions (table 4.2-1, page 73, see footnotes, also see page 103). All wildlife within the NTS boundary will experience painful noise levels of 140 decibels. A sound like thunder may be heard between 25 and 175 miles away, depending on atmospheric conditions. The document deceptively calls this "no significant impact."

This AP article states:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060331/D8GMGPLG8.html

"The test, named 'Divine Strake,' will involve nearly 40 times the amount of commercial ammonium nitrate and fuel oil explosive set off in the largest open-air, non-nuclear blast at the site to date. In 2002, 18 tons of explosives were set off at the Nevada Test Site." While technically true, it is a fairly misleading statement. Pages 15-16 list 10 different ANFO detonations at a different site--the White Sands Missile Base in New Mexico--varying from 24 tons to 4744 tons, between 1977 and 1991. This June 2 test is occurring on Western Shoshone lands, and is in violation of a recent decision by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD):

http://www.shundahai.org/pr_4-4-06_wsdp_shun_divine_strake.htm"

Ken

Subject: Happy Earth Day 2006 pResidential style

When I saw this photo, I thought about the absolute paradox of the pResident having his bicycle being loaded onto AirForce1 (the training wheels are already on board) so that he could be flown hundreds of miles (using who knows how much petrol) to be seen biking in celebration of Earth Day 2006. Thus setting up the picture of the pResident being mindful of our current gas crisis and the need to conserve.

Have I said lately how much I want these b*****ds to be impeached and then imprisoned in order to be tried for crimes against humanity?  

Thanks, BuzzFlash. 

Leslie
Evanston

Subject: Bush screws Arnold - Again!

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger strongly criticized Bush Saturday because he refused to declare a federal disaster for California's fragile levees. And Arnold is surprised by this? In 2004 Arnold could have fixed the levee problem and most all other California problems by opposing Bush for president so that the "dicider" wouldn't continue to ruin America. But instead Arnold made a last minute run to Ohio to help put Bush over the top. Had Arnold declared Bush to be the worst president ever then, Bush would have lost and Arnold would get his levee money from a new president.

Now it's election year for Arnold, and his karma has returned to haunt him. He put politics ahead of the people. It was more important to be loyal to Republicans than to act for the good of the people. So if there is any silver lining to this it is a lesson for people in both parties that if you don't put the people first, then you will suffer the consequences. Unfortunately the people have to suffer the consequences, too.

I'm Marc Perkel - And I approved this message!

Marc Perkel
San Francisco, CA

Subject: The Power of One

Dear BuzzFlash,

As I approached a 4-way intersection in a neighborhood near my home I kept hearing car horns going off. I couldn't figure out why til I got to the intersection. There on the corner was ONE GUY waving a "No Iran War" sign. The cacophony of agreement was louder than I've ever heard before, and all it took was one guy and a sign! Ah, the sounds of America waking up! Let's get out there and keep the momentum going!

A BuzzFlash Reader