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| May 31, 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: Lest We Forget I grew up with the specter of war; most of us squeezed into the baby boom generation have. We, probably more than any other generation, witnessed the ravage of the many forms of war either firsthand or by proximity. Many of us saw our fathers, the “greatest generation,” return from a second world war, or from the Korean police action that seemed to disappear from our history if not from the hearts of loved ones. Many of us were unwilling participants in a war to “end Communism” that only succeeded in ending almost 60,000 of our lives. And all of us witnessed the results of “their” war in our families; just as children today witness what Iraq has done to their families. World War II also had its amputees, its poison gasses, grieving mothers who never recovered from the loss of a son, the missing, the dead. And they had something else, MIAs neither dead or alive, lost in POW camps and lost forever among the Islands of the Pacific or the geography of Germany. And for many of us it was as if that period of time snatched from their lives never happened, a great void of two, three, or more years where they had disappeared and suddenly resurfaced; never to speak of it. For others, the returning vets could not stop talking; about their fallen buddies, the black imprint of people left on the buildings and streets they patrolled in Japan, or the unbelievable shock of liberating the death camps of Germany. But whichever way they chose to deal with war; the scars on their psyches, like the scars on their bodies, were still visible for us to see. Many of us came of age watching war with our evening dinner. A good portion of the group known as baby boomers grew up with that war. But no matter when that meal was served, whether your parents watched the news before or after dinner, a nation filled with television sets could bring the horrors of war into our living rooms and did. We saw village children running down dirt roads naked, their clothes burned off with napalm; we saw children caught in the collateral damage of war with wounded arms and legs and bodies, not even crying. We saw reporters shot and prisoners executed. Oh yes, we became very familiar with the “collateral damage” and “friendly fire” of war. No wonder an unidentified Pentagon official, explaining why the U. S. military censored graphic footage of the Gulf War, stated: “If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.” But we had seen, we did care, and we did try to stop the war that dominated our lives. And before that final withdrawal in 1975, after many false promises made by leaders seeking our votes, almost 60,000 of us were dead. And those returning did what their fathers had done to cope. They grieved in their own way; they remembered in their own way. Families and veterans, they all go to The Wall. But this was the largest generation; baby boomers, who had grown up differently from their depression era fathers and who weren’t fighting a war which threatened to come ashore on our beaches. They needed an answer to a question: “What are we fighting for?” And the answer given to them was “to fight Communism,” although our businesses now flock to those communist countries we were once sent to fight. Today we are in the middle of another war that promises to outlast “the war to end all wars” and the war against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. And the same question is still being asked: What “noble cause” are we fighting for? And while we ask it, another 3,000 young lives are being sacrificed to the god of war. Mr. Bush seems to think his war is unique among wars, but it is the same old war that we “aging baby boomers” were born into. Leaders change, causes change, but in the end young men die in old men’s wars. That’s the cynicism you get from a generation that was born in war and spent their youth in war and now expect to die in war. We sat aside one day a year to honor the lives sacrificed in war. It makes no difference who sent them, or what reason they were given to go to war. They are our loved ones, a member of our family that missed out on the milestones of life; the graduations, the marriages, the births and, yes, even the deaths. They are aunts and uncles, cousins and fathers, wives and husbands in fading photographs missing from every family gathering. It is not a day for politics, it is OUR day to remember them; these sacrifices who didn’t have much of a choice; their fate determined by men who have “never seen that kind of thing.” Carol Hagner Subject: A Way To Express the Money the USA Spends I was listening to the news today and heard that the US has pledged two million dollars to the rescue effort in the Indonesian earthquake. Funds like this should be expressed in days, hours, or perhaps MINUTES, of the "War on Terror" expenditure (money spent in Iraq and Afghanistan). Say that we spend $150 billion in the W on T per year. That's roughly 411 million dollars a day, or the $2M Indonesian earthquake pledge would be about 17.5 MINUTES of the War on Terror spending rate!! Running this calculation on things like education and other social expenditures will prove interesting, as well. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Staying in Iraq Is the intention to stay designed more to save face, or to keep Iraq's oil? Bob Gladstone Subject: Wanted! Henry Kissinger Damn it, he knew it all along. And he let how many of our best and brightest get blown to kingdom come? Vietnamese as well as Americans. Proof that when it comes to starting and perpetuating wars, it's the powers that be who make the calls, and they get away with it every time. What the heck, they've got nothing to lose. What'll it take to stop them? We the people changing the world, that's what. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: This Memorial Day Let us remember this Memorial Day as the one when the people of the world say NO to war and killing forever. Let us remember it as the day we begin to work for peace with our global neighbors. We are all on this planet together, and working together we can solve our hunger, energy, and environmental problems. We may have no other choice than to perish. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Republican Party Cover up on Polygamy Suzan Mazur: Most Wanted in Polygamy Cover up (scoop.co.nz) Suzan Mazur: Senator John McCain Passes the Buck on Polygamy (scoop.co.nz) Suzan Mazur: Reports Reconfirm Hatch Condones Polygamy (scoop.co.nz) A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: "Pro-life" License Plates On a Lakovian note, let me gently point out that the term "pro-life" is framed in favor of the anti-abortion agenda. (What's the alternative? Being "pro-death"? "Anti-life?" It's misleading and manipulative). "Anti-choice" is a better option. Keep up the good work. Your big-time fan, Nicole Subject: If the GOP keeps the house it will be because of this issue, alone It is a huge GOTV effort and will likely work because of all the anti-Hispanic liberals. You can be anti-Bush, but not in Spanish. English only, says Inhofe, and he can say it in Spanish. The only thing that could be more beneficial to the GOP's effort to keep the house would be to accuse democrats of smuggling gay Hispanics across the border for abortion or marriage. I thought we might win this election, but doubts are creeping in. This issue will win it for them and neither immigration bill is meant to slow anything down. The GOP still backs business and business still needs dirt cheap labor. Immigration Deal at Risk as House GOP Looks to Voters (Washington Post) Speak up or they assume you agree!!! ABB Karen Webb Subject: Help ... How Does Enron Compare? Dear Buzz, Someone sent me the following e-mail. I was wondering if you could direct me to information that will either refute the claims this person makes or at least contrast Enron's support of George W. Bush to other Presidents. The e-mail made these claims:
Regina Baker [BuzzFlash Note: You can waste a lot of time refuting nonsense, but here's a start. One of the best web sites for refuting Internet-spread lies is Snopes.com - worth bookmarking. And here's more: NewsMeat.com (Lay's donations - $1000 to Clinton in '95 out of $775,870 total); Bush Edges Away From 'Kenny Boy' (CBS News); Enron Bosses--Guilty; George Bush--Guilty (Alternet); and CampaignMoney.com.] Subject: Re: Haditha, etc. BuzzFlash, I am not slagging you in particular, but so often I see comments about "jailing," "indicting" and "impeaching" Bush Cheney Rumsfeld and Rice. I want to know why the FIRST name is not Wolfowitz! He is the architect and slimy soul of this whole endeavor! There is plenty of blame to go around, but I see this human slug slipping back into the shadows and getting away with it! George in PA Subject: Sinister Joe I noticed a startling tidbit at the end of a BuzzFlash linked story. Joe Lieberman recently accepted an award from the Committee on the Present Danger! There’s nothing present about the Committee. It’s been conspiring against real security for America since the seventies. Its campaign against President Carter seriously weakened America’s international standing. The Committee opposed Carter’s SALT II arms control treaty with the USSR, and fomented hysteria over a couple hundred Russian troops in Cuba that had been there since 1963. People closely associated with the Committee are alleged to have been involved in the “October Surprise” effort to keep the American hostages imprisoned in Iran in order to destroy Carter and usher in the Reagan Revolution. Committee leaders also figured prominently in the Iran Contra scandal. The roots of the current right-wing assault against American Democracy begins at the Committee’s doorstep, and Joe Lieberman is accepting their awards. Isn’t that special. Another good reason to support Ned Lamont! Joe Hill [BuzzFlash Note: Their mission statement indicates they first organized in the 1950s. Their home page lists Lieberman as honorary co-chairman.] Subject: Support the troops! I observe the decals and magnets on cars, in windows, in newspapers, on TV, everywhere in our society. I was as responsible as the next person - my yellow ribbon magnet said: “Support the Troops, Bring Them Home.” Perhaps it’s because so many of us have negative recollections of the 60’s and 70’s, when during another wrongheaded war of choice, many people seemed to place most of the blame on the soldier instead of the "leaders." Lately I have been contemplating my “support.” While I want to place the responsibility for our country's involvement in these hostilities on the right people, the “leaders,” I must also admit, that were it not for the people serving in, and joining the military, the “leaders” would not be able to engage in this or any other war. A phrase from a song popular in the 60’s entitled ‘Universal Soldier’ keeps repeating in my head. “But without him, how would Hitler have condemned him at Dachau? Without him Caesar would have stood alone. He’s the one who gives his body as a weapon of the war. And without him all this killing can’t go on.” Maybe in our passion to not blame the individual troop, we are giving the men and women in the military too much respect. Perhaps this is one of the reasons young men and women are still drawn to the military. Having spoken to many that enlisted, some are looking for excitement, for a job, money for school, some are looking for respect from family and friends, and unfortunately, some think it will be cool/enjoyable to kill and are upset when the opportunity isn’t presented them during their time in Iraq or some other foreign nation. I will continue to pray for our men and women in the military, but I can no longer in good conscience support the actions of people who willingly, or unwillingly, participate in the killing of people and the occupation of foreign lands. I have begun to feel that my desire to show compassion for the members of the military who have been placed in a difficult dilemma, has aided in the exploitation of these men and women, and the American public. Experiences during war change who we are as people! So, while I will not disrespect anyone who is a member of the military, I can no longer support their actions as universal soldiers. Phyllis Bergquist Subject: War Crimes? Bush’s recent expressions of regret for having once used such inflammatory cowboy-phraseologies as “bring ‘em on” and “wanted, dead or alive” caught me flat-footed. Up to that moment, any notion of regret deriving from this uniquely obtuse president was simply unthinkable for me. The whole thing made me wonder: who, within Bush’s inner circle, might have dreamed up a mea culpa? In particular, why was it deemed to be important just now? In pondering whether Mr. Bush’s linguistic indiscretions of the past might link directly to the “heinous and inhumane conduct” we have witnessed at Abu Ghraib and in Haditha, writer Tom Turnipseed (in an excellent article written for “Common Dreams,” dated May 29, 2006), appears to have nailed the answers to my questions. Or, at the very least, Mr. Bush and his inner circle appear to believe that Mr .Turnipseed nailed them. Admittedly, it would take a remarkably uncontrolled chain of events to bring Mr. Bush to account for his egregious crimes against humanity, but as he approaches the end of his reign it may just be that he is beginning to feel some heat. The Bush team may have thought it would be better for their case if the president were to plead “just kidding” now, rather than be compelled to explain later to a world court what “bring ‘em on” and “wanted, dead or alive” were supposed to mean to the grunts assigned to do the president’s dirty work in the Middle East. Tom Turnipseed: Did Bush’s "Bring it On" Bravado Bring On the Haditha Massacre: Iraq’s My Lai? Larry Norman Subject: Kenny-Boy's Pardon Will Kenny-Boy Lay get a presidential pardon in December '08 or January '09? Dave Subject: Haditha Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg I would agree....from what I have heard about Vietnam....Stan Goss in "Hijacking Catastrophe" said that the weirdest thing he heard when they all got back...was the pilots of helicopters who told him that they just loved "'Mowin' 'em down' or something to that effect...they just loved catching someone alone...along a road...and blowing them to bits! He said My Lai was not just one incident....he said that stuff happened every day. And if you watch the beginning of "Fahrenheit 911," when they young guys are getting ready for war...they talk about how 'you are pumped up and have a good song playing in the background and it really gets you pumped up!" It was both frightening and saddening to me. The 'good' song was...a rap song, 'we don't need no water, let the M+++++F+++++ burn...burn M_F ....burn!" These kids, young men...would get this vile, horrid look in their eyes...explaining that they wanted Baghdad to burn...to get the ENEMY out...so they could liberate the IRAQI people! So sad! I never, ever would have guessed that men felt that way about war...but, knowing that they had been told what they could do, by the likes of Donald Rumsfeld...they...these kids...19...20...21 are being given a right to kill....bloody murder. It is very sad. Shirley ... St. Louis Subject: Who is our President? The latest bit of news is that Cheney's people are in charge of deciding what the President should have to honor with any new law. Bush comes forward and pats everyone on the back for their work on the new law, and after everyone leaves, he picks it apart based on the script the VP has given him. Cheney is out to give the President more power than he was provided for in the constitution and mainstream media turns a near blind eye. Why would the VP work so hard to give a position more power if he is not in that position? There has always been the assumption that the VP was the one running things behind closed doors. People take to Bush as a good ole boy, someone you could go out and have a beer with on Saturday night. The VP's health alone makes him a risk for a Saturday night libation. Georgie boy was popular as the owner of a baseball team that he made a ton of money on without doing any real work. Cheney made a lot of money with Halliburton where the work he did ran the company into the ground till he became VP. So their success stems from how the public perceives the President and what the Vice President can do with that perception. If everyone goes after Bush for all the errors in judgment that have been made, then that leaves the VP to keep making those errors. That is why Cheney needs Bush and Bush has no idea what he needs. If Bush were ever to figure out what was going on, then he would be right upset. The lucky thing for Cheney is that Bush is used to having other people do everything for him. Bush is just a hand puppet to be wielded by the people who do have the power. So, we have a dual presidency. There is the happy-go-lucky Bush, who is just too dumb to be dangerous, and there is the evil Mr. Cheney, who hides behind a cloud of secrecy. The more power Cheney can get for Bush, the more power he attains for himself in the end. The President has become a vessel for the powers of the Vice President. Since neither Bush nor Cheney has the power to run a successful ship without a lot of help from a supporting cast of lackeys and cronies, we will need to weed them all out in the next few elections. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Drinking the Kool-Aid The idea that Republicans can’t think for themselves gave rise to the accusation they’re “Kool-Aid” drinkers like the followers of Jim Jones. This may be true for some, but it is a convenient little slur to marginalize anyone who doesn’t agree with you. The kind of tacky little Rovian technique we liberals pretend to abhor. “Kool-Aid” has many colors and we should find blue Kool-Aid no more palatable than red Kool-Aid. I prefer to think for myself. I base my decisions on what I see, read, information I gather hither and yon, and sometimes a “gut” feeling I can’t articulate. Democratic Party leaders want all good little liberals to vote for a Democrat no matter how many times they’ve let us down. After all “we” are not as bad as “them.” Such simplistic thinking is pure bovine excrement. Immigration is a complicated issue. There undoubtedly are some who are against immigrants because they are racist. But is everyone who disagrees with “illegal immigration” a racist? To pretend that this issue is simply a “racist” issue is foolish and dishonest. Liberals who are doing this should beware. They sound very like the “with us or against us” Republicans that they like to vilify. Hypocrisy comes in more than one color, too. I find the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rice/Gonzales bunch evil beyond description. I don’t think every Republican is like them. I don’t even think a majority of Republicans are like them. You have to get all the way down to that 29 or 30% of the base before you find real Kool-Aid drinkers. I don’t know what the percentage is for the liberal base. Probably about the same. Somewhere in between is the rational 40% of the country. Those bases, both blue and red scream in rage at any idea not their own. The thought that anyone could possibly disagree with them gives rise to more name-calling. Are there any adults in charge anywhere? Are we in the hands of 6th grade school yard mentalities? Republicans call those who don’t drink their Kool-Aid unpatriotic, ungodly and other vicious names. Democrats call those who don’t drink their Kool-Aid stupid, racist and other nasty names. Little blue bigots are no cuter than little red bigots. It also has become apparent that the “Decider” is not the only “Divider.” I used to think that we liberals were better than that. Marjorie Swanson Subject: Since he has already given permission I am going to call as soon as they open and suggest that sense Frist has already said he has no problem with searching congressmen's offices, that the FBI and the SEC search his. While they are at it, search his Tennessee offices and let's just see about that blind trust or the sale of his stock and his involvement in HMOs and such that he has voted on legislation for. I think it shows he is a stand-up guy on ethics if he is okaying the search of his office. The leader should always go first as an example. Speak up or they assume you agree!!! ABB Karen Webb Subject: Faith in the White House Buzz, not sure if you watched it last night on PAX TV, but the "Faith in the White House" video, dubbed as "investigative documentary" (yep), blew my mind: I don't know what its PR people's definitions of "investigative" or "documentary" are, but that incredible piece of crass propaganda had not much to do with either. It was shocking, shocking, I tell you, in its kiss-Bush's-butt worshipful attitude. It was so laughable -- and so unexpected in its stupidity -- that even my under age kids kept checking the channel repeatedly, convinced we just stumbled upon some private broadcast directly from the White House to select evangelicals. If you have not seen it, Google it and prepare to be, well, amused, among other things. It would make a nice addition to your Lighter Side (good laughs guaranteed, but only to those with strong stomachs). Elizabeth Subject: How Come???? Day after day we hear about Jefferson {as well we should} the Democrat, yet all those corrupt Republicans get nary a mention! Cover-up is the name of the Bush Administration and the GOP! Susan Carr Subject: Congress Finally Wakes Up - Too Late Hi BuzzFlash, Congress is filled with so many hypocrites. They all say that it’s fine for Bush to do IT against American Citizens. Yet now they are having conniptions and suddenly need hearings when Bush does IT against one of their own members of Congress! What is IT? IT is when Congress allows the Bush Administration to spy on Americans by wiretapping your phone calls and reading your mail. IT is when Congress allows the Bush Administration to break into your house without a search warrant and without going through the FISA Courts to take your computer or rummage through your private materials in your house. IT is when Congress allows Bush to have “Signing Statements,” where he dictates which parts of the laws he signs that he will follow or ignore. This has been done over 700 times by Bush, who has thumbed his nose at Congress and told them how he will obey their laws as he sees fit. IT is when Congress allows the Bush Administration to get away with presenting so-called news with paid Administration “journalists” or using “selective facts” to get us into war. Excuse me, but where has Congress and the Media been during these past six years regarding all of these losses of our Constitutional Rights? Where has the Republican Majority in Congress been with their so-called Oversight and Ethics Committees? They’ve been asleep at the wheel and given Bush a free pass on everything he has done. One only needs to look at the Patriot Act and the recent news about the phone companies giving your private information to the NSA, to see what has been happening under their noses. For any of this snooping on citizens, Congress had no problem if the White House did IT to the little guy. Bush is more worried about getting Iraq their freedoms while he takes them away from us. Now we have a clown in Congress who takes a $100,000 bribe and stashes the money in his refrigerator. When the Administration breaks into the Representative’s office, all hell breaks loose in Congress! Suddenly Congress is worried about Bush breaking the laws and how the Constitution has been shredded. Congress finally woke-up from their long, six-year snooze. Gee, I wonder what Hastert is hiding in HIS refrigerator? I wonder how Frist's new "Flip-Flops" feel? Sorry, Congress, but you are way too late for the average citizen to take your “concerns” seriously! Tom Wieliczka Subject: Republicans in 2006 AP: Republicans are three steps from a November shellacking 5/30 Do you really think that Cheney/Bush won't declare martial law if they do not control enough voting machine software to ensure a Republican outcome? They are watching the swing counties/districts...remember, as I said in 2002, we went from King George to King George. Karen Subject: AG Gonzales If you get a chance to watch a rerun of Cspan covering the Sensenbrenner panel taking testimony from 4 experts on illegal raid of a congressman's office by the FBI, don't miss it. Gonzales got his ass reamed good by these experts on Congressional responsibility, and they flat out said he violated his own dept's rules, and should either resign or be fired. The Sensenbrenner hearing will continue. Tom Farley Subject: Afghan President Hamid Karzai This man was a good friend of the Bush's from way back. He was the money man for the Carlyle group...and the Bush's have always known him... I sincerely believe that he might be complicit in the murder of Pat Tillman....I do not and never have thought that was anything they said it was. It was not friendly fire....it was not hostile fire....it was not an accident....when Pat Tillman went into Afghanistan, finally...after being sent first to Iraq...and voicing his dissatisfaction about it...supposedly...he stood watching the Shock and Awe fireworks of Baghdad...and made the remark that this is so F-======= illegal. He was sent to Afghanistan to be taken out. Oh, I know...there are a million stories about it ... it is starting on TV shows now...but, likely none of us will ever really know. Tillman was a big name...he would have come home and told the truth to the world, you can bet. They have completely covered up this story. Why did they find it necessary after his death to burn his clothes? Why has this story been changed a dozen times? His mother and Dad...and brother, hopefully, can dig it up...but if not they...someone someday will come out and tell! Shirley ... St. Louis Subject: The Finger on the Trigger Iraq has been a colossal screw-up since Rumsfeld sent too few troops to win the peace. If you look up the military acronym “F.U.B.A.R.” you would find a picture of our incompetent and arrogant Secretary of Defense. From the White House on down, the war in Iraq has been a disaster. Hopefully the Iraqis will stop killing each other long enough to form a country that benefits its citizens. If they do we might ask them to teach our government how they did it. (Minus the torture rooms and death squads, please.) The killing of innocent civilians in the town of Haditha only serves to highlight an army overstretched and broken. These men and women have been deployed multiple times to a place where they can’t tell friend from foe and are asked to do jobs they weren’t trained to do. They are tired. They are stressed. They and their families alone are paying the price for Mr. Bush’s little adventure. While the rest of America goes on its merry way without sacrifice. We may withdraw in horror as the details surface about a massacre of innocent Iraqi men, women and children. We are Americans, we don’t do things like that. The truth is, sometimes, to our everlasting shame, we do. We said the same things when the disgusting behavior at Abu Ghraib was revealed. Then quickly forgot about it and a few low ranking scapegoats were sacrificed. The Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney/Gonzales/Rice horror show continued on. How many have died since then? Ultimately the finger on the trigger is the killer. If our marines really did these things they need to be held accountable. This behavior - can it ever be excused? But the Commander-In-Chief who likes to play dress-up as a military man needs to be held to account for the things that were done under his leadership. As should the so-called leaders in the chain of command. What is done under that leadership, or lack thereof, is the responsibility of more than a few enlisted men or non-coms. If these marines, who are said to have done this horrible thing, are tried for murder, they had plenty of accomplices. Start with the arrogant fools who are responsible for the whole debacle. The Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney/Gonzales/Rice horror show. In Haditha, Memories of a Massacre (Washington Post) Marjorie Swanson Dear Buzz and Buzzers,
Extraordinary circumstances? Being the pResident's go-fer!!! This is unbelievable. No undergraduate degree??!! How many qualified students out there can't go to Harvard Business School because they are too poor, too black, too whatever? I can't stand this anymore. But then again if they let Bush in, what exactly are their standards? Talk about lowering the bar. And now I read that Bushco is going to raise taxes on Americans living abroad. Unbelievable. You cannot escape them no matter where you go. Yes, let's punish these people because they don't live in the US. (I think I might be one of them someday). It's getting really creepy to live here. Perhaps the tax hike is worth it. Americans Living Abroad Get a Nasty Tax Surprise (NY Times) So, no more whistle-blowing; Jeb might be president; more troops being sent to Iraq; we're at the mercy of Gonzales; and much much more. I love ya BuzzFlash, but the news is killing me. Not happy, not happy at all. It's getting really scary. But on a positive note, I saw "An Inconvenient Truth" over the weekend. I was mesmerized. I'm going to see it again. I learned more from that movie than from all the science classes I've ever taken in my life combined. (Of course, I wasn't the most attentive student - but I didn't have Gore for a teacher). Gore is awesome. He explains everything so clearly and the photography is amazing. He shows you what is actually happening right now. But according to the Bush clowns, there's no point in worrying about global warming. Oh, god help us. I'm scared we'll all be under water in about 10 years. Go see it if you haven't. It's mandatory! Barbara in NYC Subject: Sebelius' Running Mate You have completely the wrong slant on the news story about Gov. Sebelius picking another "Republican" (?) to be her running-mate. The current Lt. Governor John Moore was also a Republican. We have two parties in Kansas: Republican and Fascist (ne. "Republican"). The Democratic candidate for Attorney General is a Republican. The "Democratic" candidate for second district Congress is a Republican. And so it goes. There are very few real Democrats in Kansas! But then that's true of the country. The last Democratic President was John F. Kennedy. Clinton, Gore, Carter, Johnson, etc. - all Eisenhower Republicans. We had the best candidate we've had since Kennedy in 2004, but he made the same mistake in choosing his running mate. Also the so-called "liberals" began trashing Kerry even before the convention and kept it up through the election. I will not vote for Republicans masquerading as Democrats ever again!! Phillip Crown Subject: Haditha, Iraq Incident Dear Buzz: I believe CNN's Jamie McIntyre reported that the Marines involved were on their 3rd tour. What I found to be even less predictable is that Rummy is sending troops back to Iraq even though they have been diagnosed with PTSD. A two-part Special report called "A Soldier's Heart," produced by Frontline for PBS, aired last week. It is the Pentagon's policy to return mentally ill, homicidal/suicidal marines (in the case of this story) to Iraq. Rumsfeld might as well have aimed the automatic rifle and pulled the trigger. I called Douglass K. Daniel at the AP and Dana Priest at Wapo. The few bad apples are sitting in Washington at the top. Judy Harmon Subject: "I Think They Are in the Last Throes" Anniversary Hi BuzzFlash, Hope everybody realizes that May 31st is the one-year anniversary of Cheney's Infamous Prediction when he said: "I think they are in the last throes" to Russert. I wonder if Five-Deferment-Cheney would like to look into his amazing crystal ball and make yet another stupid prediction for us? I'm sure it would be another real doozie from that dimwit. And to Russert, Matthews and the remainder of the spineless media, don't forget to believe - hook, line and sinker - every word these clowns say and don't challenge their words. Here are some of this Inept Administration's Quotes from a blogger.
Tom Wieliczka Subject: Religious Right and the Book It is perplexing that literal imposition of the Bible is accepted, believing in the inerrancy and infallibility of a book written by errant and fallible man and designated by those to be God’s word. A book written in an era when the earth was considered flat. The sky, a firmament with holes so that one could see the lights from a world beyond shine through. A book that that has split Christianity in many factions of interpretations, Lutheran, Catholic, Presbyterian and more. A book that has Reverend Hagee proclaim that the Jews should have exclusive possession of the Holy Land and Pat Robertson suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke might be divine retribution for dividing the land of Israel by returning Gaza to the Palestinians. A book that has given us the neocon, the religious right and their Iraqi war (PNAC). Constantine called the famous Council of Nicaea, which decided the definition of the Christian deity as the Holy Trinity, God the father, God the son and God, the Holy Spirit. The Council of Nicaea and the council at Constantinople in 381 AD, created a clearly defined core belief. However, a council and diplomatic manner in defining the formula, suggests the creed of the Holy Trinity to be a political construct between theologians and politicians. Political, not divine inspiration, council after council, has been the core of church doctrine and to that end doctrine (Bible) - revised. Sadly, the book is excellent spiritual guidance but it is the unthinking, hell bent on literal understanding that makes for a dangerous and mean world. Edmond Subject: We Must Pull Them All Out Now....No Ands, Ifs Or Doubts About It None of us, including me, knows the complete circumstances of this latest shooting by Marines. Two women, one pregnant..... However, we can expect to see much more of it. And, it is yet another reason why we need to get ALL of our troops out of there NOW. These people do not think of human life as we do. They never have, they never will. While they mourn the death of friends, family, etc....their mind thought is totally different than ours. This may, or may not have been, a set up to further make our marines, and soldiers, look like killers....and they are taking advantage of the Haditha story. The more and more they can report civilians, namely women and children, being killed by Americans, more and more of the muslim world will rally behind them, be on their side, and behind them, and in Iraq to strengthen the so called Insurgency. Our presence in Iraq will only make them stronger, and make our men, and women, in a very unsafe situation, and climate...one that will get worse with each passing day. WE MUST PULL ALL OF OUR TROOPS NOW...they will not serve any purpose in Iraq, none whatsoever. Any intelligent, decent leader would see it that way....but Bush does not fit into that category....he will "stay the course" no matter how many more Americans, or Iraqi Citizens, die....after all..NONE ARE RELATED TO HIM.... ARE THEY???? Mike Allen Subject: Bush 'Solutions' to Complex Problems When attacked by terrorists, read kiddie stories to black kids. Then invade a country which had nothing to do with it. Claim Al-Qaeda was going to ram Air Force 1 then jump on board and vanish for 7 hours (Here I am, nya nya nya.) Ignore the threat of bird flue. The money you save on vaccine can be given to the Rich and used to kill more Iraqis. Tell everyone to keep three feet apart. There, that should do it. We are all subject to phone calls from Al Qaeda which stopped using cell phones and e-mail months ago. Millions of Americans have their phones tapped. There must be millions of Al Qaeda operatives here. They are going to call us up and try to get us to help them blow up America. Yet, we have had no advice as to what to do when they call. If such a scenario should happen, don't you think he would come up with one of his famous 'solutions' like keep 3 feet apart? Charles Karafotias |
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