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| April 26, 2006 |
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The BuzzFlash Mailbag The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. More reader opinion is at "Contributors." You can write to Mailbag at http://www.BuzzFlash.com/contact/mail.html. Guidelines for submissions are at BuzzFlash FAQ #18. Subject: Osama Message I wondered what was going on, when I heard of Osama's new message. Now I know, the polls went down again. Time for more fear! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: The Oilmen Cometh!! BuzzFlash, After watching this hue and cry over gas prices, I decided to do some googling (pardon the phrase) Price at the pumps, per gallon, worldwide UK: approx $6.25 Germany: approx $6.4 Australia: approx $4.2 India: approx $4 China: approx $1.60 The last one surprised me, but then I read that it is subsidized by the government. I have a few words on that matter. Is it now surprising, given the price of gas in China, manufacturing costs there are so low. Does it not strike anyone that this may be one of the factors in their growth? While here, in the US, oil companies are undermining our way of life, the Chinese government is subsidizing a key resource, and searching for new sources to get more oil and gas. I am not trying to say that the government here need subsidize it, but the least they can do is ensure that these corporations do not destroy our future. (With 2 oilmen in the office, the probability of that happening is about the same as Nader becoming president.) Other than the above, we are still paying a lot less than other countries, and just sometimes we should be grateful for that. Akhil Bharwdaj [BuzzFlash Note: Quite right. But ... gas prices, for many Americans, are a case of the straw that broke the camel's back, or at least made the camel complain. The bigger issue is this administration's policies that hurt all but their highest income constituents.] Subject: Bush's Air Force One Travels How much fuel would be saved and applied to public use if Bush stayed out of Air Force One a couple days a week? He wants us to conserve, but like all other matters, he could care less about his consumption. Wilma Calmes [BuzzFlash Note: Well, what you are suggesting would be leadership ... not Bush's strong suit.] Subject: FBI's Most Wanted Hey Buzzers, If you go to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list it is interesting to note that for "Usama's" write-up the FBI doesn't even mention 9/11 and the three thousand people that died. Don't you think that with the millions or billions in their budget they could get someone to update the more than four year old entry? Maybe the guys at the FBI don't think Osama actually had anything to do with 9/11. Hmmmmmmmm
Keep buzzin, Leslie Crabtree Subject: Bush orders gas price probe - Politics - MSNBC.com Man, what can you say to this but.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! SNORT. At moments like this in one's life, I find it best to keep one's sense of humor intact. Gee. Sure hope he has better luck finding these evil-doers. John L. Johnson Subject: NY Times quotes Rush Limbaugh as latest ploy to spread GOP talking points
A Buzzflash Reader Subject: BuzzFlash interview with Rabbi Lerner - Democracy does not need magic to make it work Rabbi Lerner claims in your interview that his book is not an attack on secular humanists - this may be the case, as I have not read his book. However, in a recent article written for The Nation he explicitly chastises the Left for adhering to what he calls “Scientism” - which he presents as a cold, secular belief system lacking any moral component or means to explore the unknowable. What the left needs, he asserts, is to pay more attention to bronze-age tribal histories and Medieval state mythology, thereby attaining the same moral authority that graces the neo-fascist snake-handlers on the Right. Ancient holy scriptures, however, are not the wellsprings of morality. The innate capacities for empathy and altruism made rudimentary social organization possible in the first place, and more specific codes of reciprocity followed. Holy books are merely literary reflections of this fortuitous situation, and to become fundamentally tied-down to one of these books is to willfully limit one’s access to wonder, awe, and learning. The Left grew with the social procession of Western Civilization: the Enlightenment; the Romantic period; and Postmodernism - to assert that the archaic magical epistemologies from which we have been distancing ourselves all this time represent our political salvation is to admit absolute defeat for a vibrant and positive world view. Now if consumers of Rabbi Lerner’s product are offended by what I have just written, they should consult the Golden Rule, and maybe we can all keep our personal fetishes about the “unknowable” out of the public square. Ken Duerksen Subject: Santorum and Affordable Education It boggles the mind that such high-minded hypocrites as Santorum are not even ashamed of haranguing what they consider ne er-do-wells, down on their luck, receiving public assistance; even as they feed at public expense by educating their children in Virginia with Pennsylvanians' tax money that was allocated for children residing and being educated in Pennsylvania. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: just perfect :):):) Re: Sources: Tony Snow likely to take White House post ... ... a while back we saw on that media matters web site a bunch of lies tony snow has been caught in. could you please refresh our memories on those with a list? working for fox and being a liar makes him the perfect mouthpiece for bush. http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/people/tonysnow shorty in memphis Subject: Our New Currency Just saw a morning news show interview with Bill Frist. Has some interesting tips for us on how to “conserve” fuel. Seems he really thinks that people, who are pawning things like wedding rings to get a tank of gas, can afford to have their cars tuned up to get better gas mileage and that will solve our gas problem! What is WRONG with these people? Are these representatives of We the People so wealthy that they can’t understand that if we don’t have money for a $30 or $40 fill up at the gas pump, we certainly don’t have the $100 - $200 to “tune up” our cars? After telling us that he MAY do another “interview” with oil company CEOs, IF NECESSARY, to find out why prices have risen again, he proceeded to tell the viewing public that those same executives - who were never sworn in - had given Congress assurances that their excessive (my word, not Frisk’s) 1,000% - 1,500% profits were necessary in order to keep the gas flowing. Well, it appears that more money is “flowing” than gas, and that mostly into the pockets of those CEOs. Most of us working Americans, who are being told that OUR pension fund (Social Security) won’t be there for us, were shocked to discover that the retiring CEO of EXXON would be receiving a “package” of almost 400 MILLION dollars, plus country club membership, use of the company jet and other unnamed perks. Seems that Senator Frisk, and our other elected representatives, have never heard of FREEZING prices in a crisis. And he certainly is short sighted as to the effect this gas crisis is going to have on everyone’s life. It isn’t just a matter of cutting down on vacations and pleasure driving or carpooling to work. We are going to start seeing empty shelves in our grocery stores; deliveries of other goods and services being cut, and higher prices for service calls or a “gas tax” on using taxis. Already we have seen reports that some medical services have been cut back because of the high cost of fuel. Although truckers aren’t threatening to park their trucks yet; it will be coming. Happened during the gas crisis under Nixon. President Nixon froze wages, but not prices. It was the beginning of the double digit inflation President Carter got the blame for. And before that crisis was under control, the Public was calling for price freezes and nationalization of the oil industry. We are right back where we started 35 years ago when alternate fuel sources were first talked about. There have been 5 Republican presidents and 2 Democratic presidents during those years, but “liberals,” who first talked about the need for alternative fuels, seem to be getting the blame for this latest gas crisis. We have had more than 40 years to prepare to this day. And greedy profiteers still hold us hostage to the new standard of currency - “black gold.” Carol Hagner Subject: Game Over, Turn Out the Lights! I am very afraid that we are not going to get out of this one. Anyone who believes that Bush and his minions are going to just hand over the keys and leave quietly is in for a rude awakening. We will not have to wait for the 2008 Presidential election to find out the fate of America because it will be determined by the midterms. There is no shortage of sycophants in the Republican party more than willing to betray their country but Bush's handlers know that they would be hard pressed to find another person as stupid and pliable as Bush so they are determined to see him stay in power as long as he is useful. If the Republicans lose both the House and the Senate or even one of those chambers in the midterm elections they will fully realize that their days in power are numbered. The Republicans will use Diebold again to try to hold on to their majority but if this somehow fails Bush will then attack Iran and wait to see if the American people will rally behind him, if they do not you will then see a major "terrorist" attack in the United States and Bush will declare martial law, suspend the U.S. Constitution, keep us in a state of war forever and never relinquish power. America has never been in such a disorganized state that the incompetent Bush has put us in. We are despised by almost every nation on the planet, our economy is in shambles, our borders are being overrun, energy prices are going through the roof, our military leaders are revolting, we are fighting wars on two fronts and trying to make it three, our fighting forces are demoralized by the lack of leadership and Bush is telling us that he is the "decider" and Rumsfeld is doing a fine job. I say this with almost 100% certainty that one of the above scenarios will take place soon but you will never see the Republicans turn over the reins of power to the Democrats and then just wait for the indictments to be handed down, never. May God help us! Royal in Maryland Subject: Bush, UCMJ Can Pres. Bush as Commander in Chief be held liable for violating rules in the Uniformed Code Of Military Justice, when acting as the CIC? If he is the top leader in the chain of command, doesn't he fall under the Code? Why can't he be charged under the Code for violations he may have committed, just asking? Any lawyers, military or not, or anybody out there give me a answer to my question? Frank Subject: What To Call the Republicans? Fascist! a "rigid one-party government dictatorship, forcible suppression of the opposition...centralized government control, belligerent nationalism and racism, glorification of war..." sound familiar?? It's a one party government and that's what we have while the Democrats sit on their hands and allow the Republican fascists to rule. A good example of "you're either part of the solution or part of the problem" and currently the Democrats are part of the problem. It's time for a strong third party! Paul Seidler Subject: Illinois - Land of Lincoln Hi, Buzz!! You go, Illinois Legislature!!!! Pass the impeachment resolution, and let's get this show on the road!!! It's GREAT to see that Lincoln still has political descendants in the legislature he once served. BTW, Buzz, thanks for running the "WWJD" video. It took forever to load on my dial-up connection, but it was worth the wait. I looked at the pictures, listened to the singing, and cried. The young woman who made it is a true artist, and thinks as Jesus thinks. I wish her long life and many more movies. Yes, Three Illinois Legislators Would Like to See Bush Impeached, But the Likelihood of Their Resolution Getting Out of the Illinois House This Session are Uncertain to Slim for a Variety of Political Reasons Relating to Illinois Statehouse Politics. 4/26 Jane Hawes Subject: Never Have So Many Been Manipulated So Much By So Few! The constant manipulation of facts, the cover-ups, the unseen machinations by invisible parties in the Bush Administration in collusion with the power hungry Republican Party has made America victims, subject to the whims and erratic decisions of those in control of the power of the present government and their corporation cronies. Aldous Huxley described the present situation to a tee when he said, "Never have so many been manipulated so much by so few!" Though George’s poll numbers have been tanking, the prolonged Rovian policy of indoctrination and conversion of the American public opinion is healthy and goes on daily, even though evidence of our eyes and ears tells us the opposite is true! I always wonder why the gullible accept what logic dictates is not reality, and wonder in amazement, how they still can be fooled after all this time. With all the appearances of cover-up and impropriety, especially in the Senate Intelligence Committee, you would expect more then silence from the Democrats, who should be speaking out in public! Though the Bush Administration has no qualms about going after journalists, retired generals and whistleblowers, “Phase Two” of the Senate Intelligence Report, from the days before the election, has been systematically stonewalled by Senator Pat Roberts and the wily Republican members of his committee. They are determined on covering up this report of accountability of Bush and the NeoCons failures! It seems Republicans have a full time job protecting the public from knowing about the many Presidential blunders!!!
If we look closely I am sure we’ll find the three sitting Monkeys, “Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil,” on the roster of the government’s employees list, probably hired by Karl Rove as department heads! Susan Carr Subject: Bush plan will do little to ease pain at the pump - Automotive - MSNBC.com I love how the mainstream “media” gives Bush this one every time: “For starters, there is little the White House or Congress can do to control the price of crude ...” Hey! Here’s one! How about not being an ever-present, imminent threat to every oil-producing nation in the region that doesn’t “play ball” by electing one of our famous hand-picked “govermints”? Just thought I’d throw a wild one out there ... I know. Too crazy. John L. Johnson Subject: Another Nazi - Bush comparison I was reading THE GREAT ESCAPE, the true story of how close to 100 Allied prisoners made an escape from a POW camp in WWII. In it, there is an account of when Hitler learned of the escape and had a conference with Goering. "They are all to be shot upon recapture!" he (Hitler) said flatly. As tactfully as he could, Goering protested - not, be it said, on grounds of humanity, but of practical politics. To shoot them all, he explained, would make it quite obvious that it was murder. Besides there might be reprisals on German prisoners in Allied hands. Hitler apparently saw the logic of this. Compare this to Rumsfeld authorizing torture of prisoners and Bush et al. turning a blind eye, even if torture of our prisoners might lead to torture of our captured soldiers. Of course, Goering and Hitler actually served in the military as opposed to Rumsfeld and Bush. Mike Curtis Subject: Santorum admits he doesn't live in PA (video) Rick Santorum recently told high school students, "I didn't go to Catholic high school when I was living in Pennsylvania." A clear admission that he no longer lives in the state he represents. Watch the video: http://santorumexposed.com/serendipity/archives... Brian Subject: Fighting Fake News Remember the kerfuffle last year about "fake" government news? Well, the folks at PRWatch/Center for Media and Democracy have recently finished a 10-month study that examines at how news stations across the country use fake videos produced by corporations without identifying the content as such. Whether the, um, nitwits who work at the stations actually realize they are acting as corporate mouthpieces or not remains unclear. The study provides a list of stations and the fake news they aired. My suggestion: if a station in your area is guilty, contact them to let them know you are aware they are doing this and you find the practice unacceptable. Ask them to clarify their policy about identifying the source of the material they air. Additionally, contact news sources you trust and alert them to what the station has been doing. When any news organization is so sloppy (or downright duplicitous) it erodes the credibility of all journalists, unfortunately. Here's the link: Shannon in Lexington Subject: Addiction Bush says we are addicted to oil. I say Bush and his repug cronies are addicted to war. Fran Kaye Subject: Fox House 1600 Yeah, can't wait for the daily press briefings with the Snow Job. They'll probably air it from Fox Studios with a live audience of hand-picked stooges...oh wait, we already have that (except for Helen Thomas). And doesn't Proverbs say that when a bush speaks with the tongue of a fox, ignorance fills the land? Then the people rise up and dance, and by their dancing the ignorance is dispelled and the people are set free! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: The Direct Line Between Corruption and Gas Prices Dear BuzzFlash; There is a direct line between the corrupt GOP (redundant, I know) and the high gas prices we are seeing now. The GOP Oil Corporations bought access to the GOP-controlled Congress from the GOP Lobbyists insuring tax breaks for the GOP Oil Corporations, which then donated funds to GOP candidates and lawmakers who keep the GOP Lobbyists in business, etc. While all that was going on, the GOP White House invited the GOP Oil Corporations to write up a wish-list of changes to existing law, which were then implemented by the GOP-controlled Congress. When the price of gas went up after Katrina, the GOP-controlled Congress staged A Show Hearing where the GOP Oil Corporations Executives were allowed to answer questions without taking an oath to be truthful. And then the gas prices went up, again. Of course, they will continue to go up. They will go up before Memorial Day. They will go up in time for the Fourth of July. They will go up throughout the summer. They will go up before Labor Day. Meanwhile Americans will wonder about celebrity babies, missing white girls, and any number of scare tactics or other non-stories the GOP Video Ministry can manufacture to distract voters from the upcoming election. But will anyone remember? After a summer filled with emotional roller coasters of vague Middle Eastern video-taped threats and pop culture trivia, will enough Americans remember the direct line between GOP lobbyists, GOP Oil Corporations and GOP lawmakers and how it hurts this country? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Kenneth Lay This is pretty humorous ... in the St. Louis paper today was a bio of Kenneth Lay ... and his connection to Missouri ... I never knew this. Ken Lay ... Skilling ... and Fastow have all blamed the other. Every one of them have said it was not their fault ... nothing surprising about that, it is what one would expect. Kenneth Lay was born and raised in a little bitty town about ten miles from the small town that I grew up in. Very funny, actually, the name of this town is "Tyrone." I think it only has a caution light, not even a stop light, right smack dab in the middle of the Bible belt! I can only imagine what those people are talking about now ... hee hee! Another little funny is that Tyrone ... as Cabool (my little town) is in "Texas" County, the largest county in Missouri ... and the county seat is "Houston." I must email him and call him neighbor ... nah ... I guess not! Shirley ... St. Louis Subject: There Is No Social Security Crises Over the lifespan of the Social Security program, Congress has borrowed money from the fund at 2%, and when Social Security no longer has the funds to meet its obligations, then the GENERAL funds should loan the necessary money to the Social Security programs at 2% for 50 years +. When "Social Security goes broke"... It's payback time ! So, you see, there is no Social Security crises. Radioguts Subject: John Kerry I agree with Ken Duerksen of Ohio: I will NEVER support another run for the presidency by John Kerry. I campaigned for him, sent money, went door to door, but when he should have stood up for me, he quickly threw in the towel! If he had protested for just one week about what happened in Ohio and the long lines around the country in Democratic precincts, I would have felt that he put up a fight. But he didn't. I won't vote for a Republican, but I will stay at home before I waste another vote for Kerry. He knew that he was up against a bunch of cheats and liars. I expected him to be prepared for this, but he wasn't. Why should we expect anything different from him!? Dee Turner Subject: Abandon all hope ye who enter here The diminishment of our lives is the agenda for the current administration. It is the mantra beneath every public entreaty by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the powerful interests they serve. It is particularly highlighted in today's quotation of the day in The New York Times (4/26/06). "Every little bit helps," says President Bush, on his short-term proposals to ease energy prices. This translates as, "You ordinary taxpayers, consumers, citizens will be happy with this little bit." We are told to "be reasonable" and be satisfied with moderate good wishes by an administration that has enabled Exxon/Mobil's profits to soar; a company whose officers make $190,000 per day. So, sure, we will be happy that a "little bit" will "help" us. What is strange is how our diminishment is coupled with grand schemes. The starving of our expectations for our own lives is conjoined with a global agenda of the grandest proportions: world "democracy." The Bush White House will be the world cop - even world savior. America cannot take care of its own cities (New Orleans, and every inner city). But Bush will wipe out the axis of evil. So a crusade rolls out of American foreign policy while we sacrifice, not only today's life, but our children's economic future. The White House encourages faith-based and community groups. Instead of the safety-net of Social Security we should be happy with church-run soup kitchens. We must also sacrifice America's wild places to the oil and gas economy that this administration has fortified. We sacrifice our young soldiers so the White House can avoid admitting it made a mistake invading Iraq. We sacrifice our privacy and freedom so SAIC and Halliburton can reap the profits of a never-ending war on terror. This is how a middle-class dies. By thinking itself into irrelevance. Vicky Perry Subject: Oh, for God's sake! All these Republicans pointing fingers at Democrats for everything. All the Democrats need to do is say this and only this: The Republicans have had total control of our country for almost 6 years now. Bush has amassed more power than any other president in history. Next to Nixon's people, this is the most secretive administration ever. (God only knows what we don't know about!) Do you like the way the country is going right now? If you do, then vote Republican, if not, then vote Democratic! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: No need to invite the Democrats
Was this an informational session -- or a strong-arm session? And why are Democrats consistently left out of administration "discussions" involving such important matters as the budget? A Buzzer Subject: The Great Dictator Oilman As I was watching an old Charlie Chaplin movie last night, I closed my eyes and fantasy seemed to fade into reality. The Great Dictator Oilman finds that his people are upset about rising oil prices and record oil profits. Some people have even evaded the babble of the mass media to learn that Mobil Oil broke the corporate record in profits last year, making 34 billion dollars. What does the Great Dictator Oilman do? 1) He releases oil companies from environmental controls which, a) increases oil profits further and b) increases global warming which will kill more millions of people faster. 2) Sets up his own commission to investigate the problem. This way, he can a) absolve both himself and his oil company friends from any blame, b) blame the people of the Middle East, so he can continue and expand his war/s, and c) claim to have fairly investigated complaints. 3) Babbles about driving cars on hydrogen which a) allows him to give more money to oil and car companies for research into a fuel that won't replace oil for 50 years, if ever (unlike solar energy which could do it in 15 years), and b) proclaim himself a great environmentalist visionary. The Great Dictator Oilman has responded to the complaints of his people by generously giving them a great big slap in the face. All hail the Great Dictator Oilman. And then I woke up from my dream, sort of. Jay Raskin Subject: Insult of the Day - Rumsfeld in Iraq on a Diplomacy Mission Hello BuzzFlash: Just the thought of Don Rumsfeld going to Iraq to help the Iraqis solve their political problems is an insult not only to Iraqis but to American citizens as well. Dumb Old Don even had the nerve to say, “This is a sovereign country and they are making impressive progress.” IMPRESSIVE PROGRESS? What has Rumsfeld seen in Baghdad, outside of the green zone, that he finds impressive? Maybe the smell of depleted uranium wafting slowly in the stagnant evening Baghdad air has served to further dull his limited mental capacities. Mr. Unknown Unknowns probably doesn't even know his entire trip to Baghdad will be spent inside of a fortress. And how dare George W. Bush send Dumb Don Rumsfeld, the architect of the Iraq disaster, to Baghdad on a diplomatic mission! This is the equivalent of Bush flipping every US citizen the bird and this bird is not being flipped as he walks away from a press gaggle, he's flipping us off right to our faces. What level of depravity will George W. Bush have to reach to face impeachment? Clinton lied about having sex "with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky." Bush lied about Saddam's attempt to acquire WMD: "The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Let's see, Clinton's lie cost US citizens "0", "ZERO", "nada". Bush's lies, used to start an unnecessary, unjustified pre-emptive war in Iraq has cost US citizens nearly 3,000 American lives, 10's of thousands of Americans injured, and according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, $48 billion in 2003, $59 billion in 2004, $81 billion in 2005 and an anticipated $94 billion in 2006. Today I call on all Americans, of every political persuasion, even that 32% who are still drinking the Bush kool-aid, to contact your elected Federal representatives and ask them to begin impeachment proceedings against George W. Bush. If we don't act hastily Bush Lightyear will soon bite down on the Iran bullet and send us all to infinity and beyond. We must all speak up and speak out before it's too late. Carolyn in Tennessee Subject: Iraq is not like Vietnam The United States of America invaded both countries with no provocation, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. We fought both wars to suppress "evil regimes" and "bring democracy" to the people, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. The citizens of both countries rose up in armed insurrection against our occupation, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. U.S. corporations profited enormously from our invasion and occupation, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. Both countries sit near, or upon, huge oil deposits, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. Our soldiers could not understand who they were fighting, or what they were doing there, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. An army trained to engage the enemy on Fields of Battle, was relegated to performing police actions against civilians, in streets and alleys, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. After years of being bogged down we were looking for any excuse at all to GET the heck out of there, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. Finally, we just declared victory and left, leaving behind a civil war, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. (whoops, that's a prophesy) 60% to 70% of Americans wanted us to "get out right now!", yet we stayed and stayed, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. Toward the end of it all, tens of millions of Americans were clamoring for the impeachment of the president, but Iraq is not like Vietnam. Methinks you do protest too much, when you tell me Iraq is not like Vietnam. Rich Zubaty |
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