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| May 5, 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. "Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I'll have an investigation." Porter Goss, on the Valerie Plame leak. October 3, 2003 http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/26557 Watergate Subpoenaed in Hooker Probe C.I.A. Director Porter Goss Resigns
A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Porter Goss Start checking whether he too was involved in the Duke Cunningham congressional sex scandal. The filth from this crew never stops. And they thought that Clinton was corrupt!!!! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Bush Poll Numbers Even if he were to fall to zero it wouldn't matter. Democrats remain mute and avoid impeachment or censure. MSM continue to support Bush. What can voters do? Reminder - the voting machines are rigged!! Selma Goldberg Subject: Stephen Colbert Obviously, there is a difference of opinion as to whether Stephen Colbert's caustic rhetoric at the recent Correspondents' dinner was funny. But one waits to see if those who felt the sting of Mr. Colbert's remarks will do any soul searching to determine if they have been as honest in their work as Mr. Colbert was in his. Pat Subject: Moussaoui So, Moussaoui gets life in prison. I know there are those who want him executed. There are probably those who want it televised for the world to see. My question to all of those who want this is this: How unbelievably naive are you? Do you not understand the culture of radical militant Islamists? They are fully prepared to die for what they believe in - the full expulsion of Westerners (i.e. the United States and others) and any western influences from what they perceive to be Islamic land. Obviously, their aims can be met by far more peaceful means but that threshold was crossed over a long time ago by both sides. If you execute Moussaoui, it becomes a victory for him, bin Laden and the extremists. He would become a martyr for the cause and his execution would serve to embolden those who share his radical views. So much so, they will claim yet another in a succession of victories since September 11, 2001. Yes, the extremists have been winning. The Patriot act was a victory. Bush being re-elected was a victory. We've been afraid since 091101 and have been made to be afraid by leaders who have nothing else to positively stand on. Leaving him in jail to rot, irregardless, would deny him martyrdom. Moussaoui in prison for life can be the first positive victory we will see in the war against terrorism. Living with resolve versus living with fear will be another victory. Having Bush out of office at the end of 2008 (or being impeached by what is hoped to be a return to a Democrat majority in the House and Senate) will be yet another. Sweeping aside and deliberately trashing the Bushite policies will be another. Actively and openly engaging in dialogue that will isolate the terrorist states will be yet another. We know this demonstration will not take these steps ... but we need to. Leave him alive. Let him suffer for the rest of his life. J. Peurala Subject: What We Do To Stop the Madness? Getting informed and getting the word out to your friends and your representative and the press is so important. That being said, you neglected to mention: Voting, register to vote, register other people to vote. Campaigning for good candidates, get someone into office who actually represents you, get someone into office who will take your calls, get someone into office who will really listen to your concerns, get involved with campaigns at all levels of government, throw a fundraiser, a party, a brunch. Organizing people into action from your circle of friends, your knitting club, your book club, your softball team, your bowling team, your tenant association Volunteer to become an election judge. Take a day off work to defend the democratic process. Watch for hanging chads or irregular voting practices. Running for office; someone's got to do it. Why not you? Sooz Kim Subject: Well, Maybe I see all these cable news people asking if we think Patrick Kennedy got special treatment ... Well, maybe, just like Bush did, his daughter did, and his wife did when she killed that guy in TX [car accident] ... not to mention Jeb's drug addict daughter and alcoholic son! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: The Real Reason for the Iraq War? Look Who's Next Door Could it be that simple? Could the real reason for the invasion of Iraq be to use it as a staging area in prepping for the next invasion of Iran? Your thoughts, fellow Buzzers? And could you all please help me in convincing BuzzFlash to start some kind of chatroom or message board so we can communicate with one another? Steven Subject: Funny Business That it's not permissible for us to sing our national anthem in Spanish, while folks are allowed (encouraged, even) to read the Bible in Spanish, Armenian, Vietnamese or whatever language. Apparently our self-acclaimed Christian-American so-called patriots don't mind our using these other languages to communicate with the pie-in-the-sky, but object vociferously when it's a matter of folks singing the star spangled banner in anything other than English. Which implies that what's good enough for heaven above is strictly off limits here on earth. How can that be? Who's in charge here, anyhow? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Rumsfeld Must Go Now! Hi BuzzFlash, Ray McGovern got his directions "out of order” today when he said "you knew where they were, near Tikrit near Baghdad and North, South, East and West of there, those are your words." http://audio.wegoted.com/dailyaudio/5306Rumsfeld.mp3 Sorry, Ray, you were "slightly incorrect" and the "Liberal Media" is going to take you to the woodshed about this "serious error." Rummy actually told Stephanopoulos:
Note the difference in directions. Big error folks. Then Rummy tells Ray McGovern that "I'm not in the Intelligence Business"!! Cough, Cough, Excuse Me? Hey Rummy, ever hear of The DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency"? What letter of DEFENSE don't you understand???? With a clown posing as a Defense Secretary who doesn't even know his job requirements, it's time for him to leave or get fired - NOW! They always say that the Cabinet is formed to mimic a President's"thinking." Well, I guess that hits the nail on the head with all the incompetence being displayed! Tom Wieliczka Subject: Who Does Congress Think They Are Kidding? Who Does Congress Think They Are Kidding? In May 4, 2006 San Antonio Express-News, "Gas gougers may have to pay a hefty price." The House has sent to the Senate a bill, if passed, will provide for fines up to $150 million for energy companies found guilty of price gouging. This means, if found guilty, Exxon Mobil could be fined that amount on a profit of over $36 billion in the pass year, This would amount to 4/10th of a percent of their profit, or in dollars, $15 for every $3600 of profit. "BIG DEAL." Colin J. N. Chauret Subject: New Web Forum for Immigrants MyImmigrationStory.com lets immigrants tell their own stories DAYTON, OHIO – April 20, 2006 A new website launched by Cuban-born author and marketing executive, Raul Ramos y Sanchez, enables U.S. immigrants from all nations to share their immigration stories in their own words.
Ramos is reaching out to civic groups, professional associations, immigrant organizations, and the media to spread the word about the site. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Verizon, Comcast, ATT, Oh My! Hey BuzzFlash, So looks like it's a fight for the government between the corporations and the people. Hmmm, since we the people give our money to the corporations, aren't we defeating ourselves? I wonder how much Verizon, Comcast, and ATT would push for internet control if millions of people temporarily or permanently disconnected from their services? A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Imagine It is axiomatic and undisputed by anyone over the age of nineteen that we learn from our mistakes. Imagine, for a moment, that your every indiscretion, your every impetuous misadventure, was somehow negated or actually rewarded. Imagine vast sums of money, influential friends in high places, and the ability to gain access to these by merely mentioning your name. Imagine powerful political movements willing to guarantee your success by one means or another, merely at the cost of ensuring their dubious ends. Now, imagine the level of your intellectual, emotional and spiritual development under these distorted conditions. Imagine the tortured version of reality with which your untempered psyche would be forced to deal. Deprived of the experience born of suffering the consequences of your own poor decisions, and enjoying the successes of your good ones, what could you possibly offer the world in terms of a valid life perspective? How could you be expected to assimilate information and reach a logical conclusion regarding any subject? The sage advice of Atticus Finch to “crawl inside another man’s skin and walk around in it” would be difficult indeed if you had never legitimately occupied your own. How could you understand the value of rules, of law, when none have applied to your own life? How could you be expected to recognize the necessity of government itself when that entity has represented nothing but an obstacle, a restraint to aforementioned powerful political movements? Imagine yourself a wise, effective world leader in possession of a personality and an intellect forged by these circumstances. Unimaginable isn’t it? David D Hirni Subject: Illegal Immigration This issue is going to cost the democrats greatly. I think I'll just stay home election day or vote green. Lawton Watson Subject: Stand Down? "When they stand up, we'll stand down"-- one of the favorite Iraq comments of Bush. Now with a massive 5,000 plus worker "embassy" under construction in Baghdad, it is obviously no ordinary embassy. Rather, it is evidently intended to be the permanent headquarters for control of the entire region. The construction/hardening of large American military bases nearby are further indicators of the Neocon plans. RT Carpenter Subject: Town in Va The town in Virginia that voted the incumbents out because of the illegals is Herndon. It is just outside Washington, D.C. Since when was laura bush made a member of the bush cabinet. Seems she is always seen in meetings, always on the go, doling out the taxpayers' money to different organizations, and if you look closely, she is always rubbing her belly. I have arrived at the point that I cannot watch or listen to her. She made a boo boo early on about her dear mom-in-law taking things from the White House when they left (stealing, I believe they call it). I don't dare say when or where she said it because they will do away with it. Keep up the great work, BuzzFlash! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Wings of Justice Award Dear BuzzFlash, I would like to submit to you for the Wings of Justice Award Mr. Ray McGovern and to all the courageous people who challenged Rummy in Atlanta. Mr. McGovern is quite well know to this forum, but, for the average, every day people to stand up and confront the Massive Imperial Destruction Machine. Kudos are in order. Colbert is the boy who stripped the luster off of the lens of this so-called fantasy. The boy who told the Emperor that he had no clothes. Please consider Mr. McGovern as your next WOJ Award. He has been relentless, tireless, ceaseless, in voicing the hard truth about this corrupt administration. With Best Regards, A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Supply and Demand Oil company executives say that gas prices are up because of supply and demand. Those who have the supply can demand whatever they want. I'm Marc Perkel - And I approved this message! Marc Perkel Subject: No More Bushes/Clintons Article I read with interest Jeff Cohen's article. The idea of big business/corporate world having so much power in government does seem ominous and my "ignorance" in the subject may even be more ominous. However, in my simple opinion, experience might trump "fresh blood" in today's volatile world situation. I certainly do not wish another "on the job" training that we have had for the last 5 yrs....even if his name was Bush. I believe Sen. Clinton to be well qualified; particularly, with the expertise of partner, former President Clinton, and Clinton's pal, George Bush, Sr. If it appears I am being duped by the last few years of photo ops of Bill and George, I agree somewhat. But think of the combined experience of these people who know the world, CIA, etc. up and down. None would need a Rove-like puppeteer. I think Sen. Clinton is her own person, but would receive input from others without proclaiming "I am the decider!" I have admired Hillary Clinton for quite a while and, barring unforeseen, would look forward to her run for presidency. Ruth Ann Crocker Subject: Rep. Patrick Kennedy Hi Buzz, While you're rightfully exposing the outrageous PR for the GOP the press is engaged in, please look a little deeper into the Patrick Kennedy car crash story. Why in the world did the GOP led Congress hold a vote in the middle of the night??? What was it about??? Why are Congressmen forced to work in those hours??? The idiot press report emphasized all over the place Kennedy's former drug problems and made him out to look crazy for driving on prescribed medications a few blocks to fulfill his duty. Why should he have to? What kind of garbage was the GOP trying to hide from the public THIS time??? I wish I had time to look for answers myself but my local Dem group is in the middle of a major voter registration drive event and that's more important to me. Hope you have time to expose this major headline bogus focus while I can't. Thanks, Eva Adams [BuzzFlash Note: Here's the police report and statements from Kennedy and the Capitol Police. Kennedy says he was disoriented and thus thought there was business at that time at the Capitol.] Subject: Alcatraz of the Rockies This sounds like the perfect place for Abramoff, DeLay and the rest of this administration after they are convicted of killing thousands of US citizens and no one will ever know how many Iraqis for political and financial profit. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12636492/ Speak up or they assume you agree!!! ABB Karen Webb Subject: Wow!
A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Paul Begala Is a Dweeb On Wolf Blitzer's show last night (Thurs), Paul Begala said that "There's a few on the left who want to impeach him (Bush). I think that's unwise." i am furious. i always seem to split my voting ticket, therefore i don't consider myself one of the few on the left, and yet i totally support impeachment. begala is one of those guys in love being part of the "establishment." buzz, you should really consider dropping his books from your premiums list. you can't call yourself a democrat if you're embarrassed by the party's objectives. it's time democrats start being proud of what their party believes in, not apologetic. Beth Subject: Colbert's Soothsaying In England and in countries which enjoy her parliamentary system, skits like Stephen Colbert's are considered normal. As an outsider looking in from Canada I find the Gee Whiz reaction on the blogs, and the studied silence of the mainstream press, most worrying. Such "impertinent" behaviour toward high officials and politicians is normal. Public figures develop thick skins, and accept being the butt of unfair, hurtful and insulting jokes as part of the job. The very idea of well-dressed, heavy-set men wearing curly wires in their ears strong-arming hecklers out of the room is appalling to us. Healthy regimes worry when raucous heckling is absent. Geoff Bennett Subject: GOP Offensive The new "Bolten strategy" seems to be to push the things that limped Bush through his 1st 4 yrs. Note, yesterday's (5/4) little noticed news items, GOP "renominating" a couple of re-tread right wing judicial nominees, also "new" legislation the same old probably re-named tort reform to "lower" insurance rates for doctors. This is the kind of bull**it that stirs up their ignorant base. The cries of "activist judges" and "frivolous lawsuits." I believe that the thinking is these (and maybe a couple more they might come up with) will take the heat off of gas prices and immigration. The Republicans are uncanny at this type of thing. Meanwhile the Dems are still sitting on their hands waiting for the GOP to implode. I hope that this doesn't work, but in the past it seems to. Let's face it, this election I firmly believe is IT for Democracy in the US. If the GOP retains power in both houses of congress, it's bend over and drop your drawers for the rest of America. Marty Subject: Illegal Immigrants I am a progressive, I vote democratic, I am not a racist, but I am totally for enforcing the law against illegal immigrants. I also believe that illegal immigration is devaluing wages for American workers and dividing the country along cultural and language lines. I do not see how this divide or the devaluing of wages can be good for the country. There are a lot of Americans who have lost jobs or can no longer make a living because of the influx of illegals. That fact makes the issue anti labor. I think you will find that a fair amount of the progressive visitors to your site feel this way. Please don't delude yourselves into thinking all progressives are pro illegal immigration, we aren't. I think you should provide a more objective view. I enjoy your site and visit it daily. But it irritates me that you seem to have a pro illegal stance. Just an observation. Carl [BuzzFlash Note: Americans are out of work and hurting economically for many reasons, and many current policies are anti-labor. We think the "Decider" has been a very successful "Divider" and that immigration is an issue that some in the GOP decided is good to exploit right now ... kind of like gay marriage in 2004.] Subject: Progressive Website Joins Slander of Chavez/Morales The Big Question: Should We Be Worried by the Rise of the Populist Left in South America? By David Usborne The Independent UK Thursday 04 May 2006 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050406E.shtml
Ken Duerksen Subject: Truth on CBS News in THE MORNING! Go to CBSNEWS.com, Morning News and THANK THEM! I wonder if any other news stations will report this - it was done at a news conference with Rumsfeld. Is CBS News only going to show it at six in the morning, or will they continue to show it all day? I hope that this unusual happening is talked about all over the air waves - I can't believe that they actually let a heckler be heard on TV and Rumsfeld didn't have him arrested!
Mary Jacobs Subject: Re Phoenix I just sent in a contribution. Please do not use my name, as I like living here! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: It's Election Summer ... Prepare for Division It's Election Summer. Prepare for DIVISION Ever since the summer of 2004, the Congress has been as silent on the issues of Gay Marriage, Abortion, and Flag Burning, as the perennial plants in the ground over the passed dormant winter months. Oh, but just like the beautiful flowers that spring forth from their winter slumber, so has our Republican controlled congress on the aforementioned issues. Their issues will come at us like weeds and plant eating bugs and the "deadly" measures so many use to combat them. This being an election year and all. Just like in 2004, the Republicans, only now trying so desperately to hold on to their positions of power and influence at our expense, due to their dismal record over the last two years, will set forth to divide any past differences now agreed upon (budget deficits, Iraq, corruption, pork, you name it) by the American people with their beloved ace in the hole, "Christian Values." Right before Congress breaks for the summer campaign trail this year, their last bit of business will be to bring forth Constitutional Amendments to ban gay marriage, abortion, and flag burning. Now I don't expect for one second that any of these three "tools" will be passed in Congress at the time, but they will set up the Republican "planned" talking points in their home states and Fox News and right-wing hate radio, the evening news and morning headlines all across America. Yes, the 32% will "rejoice"! However, I believe that despite the media blitz on the Republican chosen issues, the American people will soundly reject their ploy and force the real issues into the debate in every town hall meeting that takes place. Sadly though, only to be ignored by the media (I use the term lightly,) and it will be as if all anyone in America IS talking about is what they want you to believe is being talked about. Gay marriage, banning abortion and flag burning. So, when the talk around America's water coolers becomes, there's not a single mention of last night's events at the debates or townhall, and their issues absent from the morning headlines and morning news shows, Americans will become further incensed and realize NO ONE is LISTENING to the People! Oh sure, the current 32% may grow to 42%, but that is hardly a majority, and unlike bush (yeah right), I believe Americans DO pay attention to polls. And this will just further piss em off that the People aren't being heard. Oh, and the media will really push the "success" of the Republican issues by repeatedly pointing out over and over that 42% IS a majority, because it only takes 37% to amend the Constitution, as we are bombarded with footage of gay weddings and flag burners and abortion protests. While not telling you only 24% of the States approve. You get it? I am confident however, that the Republicans will fail miserably at the ballot box in November, because Americans are out here every day living the reality of how things really are in America, and know now that gay marriage doesn't cause high gas prices, rising healthcare premiums, increased interest rates on college loans, outsourcing, global warming, no end in sight budget deficits, lobbyist corruption, illegal immigration, the failure in New Orleans, and wars based on false pretenses. Yep, it's gonna take a miracle for the press to redeem itself from this summer of division. The Republicans, well they'll just be OUT! Monica S Subject: Common Sense and Common Ground An amazing thing happened yesterday. We agreed with our next-door neighbors about something. We found that we both watched Lou Dobbs on CNN and that we agreed with him about ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. Personally, except for illegal immigration and the plight of the working people I find little common ground with Lou Dobbs. However it is one of the few things that my neighbors and I have ever agreed about. My neighbors are Republicans and we are liberal Independents. We were never friendly but exchanged pleasantries whenever we happened to come face to face. My husband would discuss lawn care with the husband and the wife and I agreed we both liked Gerbera Daisies. The only common ground we ever found was in our flower beds. Til now. My husband is laid off from a factory that now has a large contingent of Spanish speaking folks who get dropped off by a Temp Service van. Does he care that they are Hispanic rather than Swedes or whatever? Don’t be stupid. It isn’t about race, it’s about having a damn job. An illegal will work for less, complain about nothing and has no qualms about taking jobs from American citizens. This constant barrage of talking points that they just want a better life for their family seems to totally ignore the fact that when they take these jobs for less they are putting American citizens out of work. What the hell is racist about that? As for guest worker programs, employers in high tech are using temporary visa programs to hire hundreds of thousands of guest workers. American citizens who would do those jobs are unemployed and being laid off to increase corporate America's bottom line. There are now more than a million of these workers in the United States under the two largest guest worker programs, H-1B and L-1. So much for getting an education to make a better life. The only voice I hear now, protesting the loss of jobs for whatever reason is Lou Dobbs. Not the Republican Party. Not the Democratic Party. Not the Republican pundits and talk radio loudmouths and not the liberal Radio folks who care little about anything except bashing all things Republican. Meanwhile those of us who live in the real world are scared, alone and unrepresented by anyone. But at least we now have something to chat with our neighbors about other than fertilizers and Gerbera Daisies. Marjorie L. Swanson Subject: Ray McGovern Tells Amy Goodman About Q&A Rules Hi BuzzFlash, I just watched Amy Goodman. In the piece, she shows McGovern taking Rumsfeld to the woodshed with very good questions. Ray nailed him, unlike the rest of the news media which has treated him gently with kid gloves! Retired CIA Analyst Ray McGovern Takes on Rumsfeld Over Justification for Iraq Invasion (Democracy Now) Amy then interviews McGovern about his questioning of Rumsfeld. Towards the end of the interview, Ray discloses how the people were given a pamphlet when they entered the hall. The Questioning Rules (sound familiar?) stated: "There will be a Question and Answer Period but please adhere to these guidelines." "Refrain from using the word "lie" in relations to the war in Iraq." "Do not question the Secretary's personal responsibility for torture." "Please don't discuss first use of Nuclear Weapons against Iran." "If you violate these guidelines, you will be immediately removed from the auditorium and flown to a undesignated prison location somewhere in Eastern Europe and tortured." "Thank-you for your cooperation." Tom Wieliczka Subject: Citizen as "Heckler" - "Terrorist" Is Just One Chimeric Imperial Idiom Away (Letter sent to Diane Rehm, WaPo, and Time) Today on the Diane Rehm Show’s "News Roundup," Time reporter Karen Tumulty echoed the day's standard spin that Ray McGovern - who had waited respectfully in line at yesterday's press conference to ask a reasonable and valid question of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld - was a "heckler." Of course the questions asked by Mr. McGovern, who has been a harsh and determined critic of the administration's policies in Iraq, were uncomfortable for the secretary, but that does not justify his classification as a "heckler" or a "protester." Interestingly, I have heard no one in the media refer to certain members of the press conference audience as having been "hecklers" when they booed and hissed Mr. McGovern's questions; they certainly showed far less decorum than did Mr. McGovern, and explicitly engaged in categorical "heckling" whereas he did not. But the issue, of course, is not about appropriate behavior or attention to protocol: it's about the expression of a negative opinion in regard to the Bush administration and pointing out publically its lies, failures, and inconsistencies. Ms. Tumulty went so far as to suggest that Mr. McGovern should count himself lucky that Rumsfeld saw fit to curtail the former CIA officer’s forcible removal from the event by the secretary's security detail. Sadly, the fact that McGovern's removal was actually underway at the time did not shock the Time reporter at all - nor apparently anyone else on the "News Roundup" panel (E.J Dionne/Bill Kristol/Susan Page). When the Fourth Estate can so glibly countenance such an explicit, systematic threat to our 1st Amendment rights in the interest of protecting the tattered image of this rogue administration, then we are truly well on the way to a fascist America. Ken Duerksen Subject: Pathological or Delusional? After watching the news clips of Rumsfeld's confrontation with retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern the other day, and Rumsfeld's denial of having lied. What is wrong mentally with these Bushistas? Are they so isolated and delusional that they totally ignore what they have said previously? After we invaded Iraq, I remember Bush in the Rose Garden with Kofi Annan. Bush came right out and stated that we had to invade Iraq because Saddam wouldn't let the inspectors in. This is simply a flat-out lie. The inspectors were there and were taking "requests" from the administration as to where Iraq's alleged WMD were. As it turned out, there were no WMD in those places. It also turns out that before we invaded Iraq, Rumsfeld also said "We know exactly where the WMD are." Rummy further stated that they were in an area between Tikrit and Baghdad. Now, Rummy denies he ever said it. I just don't get it. I have tried for five years to try and find just a modicum of common sense and/or logic in the methods of madness and the madness of methods that the Bushistas employ. I just don't get it. Am I the only BFer who keeps adding two and two and coming up with four, not three or five? What is the proper psychological terminology for people who not only tell easily verifiable whoppers, but also believe the lies they tell? I would really appreciate any insight from other BFers. Lisa J. Subject: Well-measured Call For Impeachment From Tennessee In The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Friday, May 5, 2006. It's also available at http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/opinion, where I'd appreciate your vote, and at www.newmillenniumwritings.com, where you may find out more about my activities and interests.
Bruce Young
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