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| June 6, 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: D-day + 62 Years It was 62 years ago today, that thousands of Allied forces, comprised of American, British, Canadian and Australian troops, landed on the shores of Normandy, France to begin the final assault against the murderous regime of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis. We should all take a moment to remember, with great reverence and gratitude, these brave men and women – the Rangers who assaulted the nearly vertical cliffs of Pont du Hoc, the brave paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions who jumped behind enemy lines to set the stage, the other Allied troops who participated, and, of course, those brave French citizens who were part of the resistance, who performed acts of sabotage to help rid the world of a most evil regime. Let us all remember those members of the “Greatest Generation” – both the living and the dead and strive to live up to the ideals, values and courage that these people not only stood for, but also fought and lost their lives for. We owe them that much. Lisa Johnson Subject: Orders for the Media????? Have you noticed, after all the falling poll reports, the major networks stopped reporting on polls? I guess the "talking orders" went out from Rove and the GOP to stop reporting them - it was embarrassing to Bush and the Repugs! Susan Carr Subject: Sending Troops Here and There Dear BuzzFlash; Lou-Lou Dobbs said something about US troops at the US-Mexican border doing 'construction' instead of 'security.' What is the likelihood that the reason why the GOP is sending American troops to the Mexican--but not Canadian border--has something to do with oil? While many are distracted by the GOP HATE ISSUE v11-06, few, if any, are discussing the proposed LNG plants, and proposed drilling in the Gulf of Mexico or off the Pacific coast of Mexico and the 'threat' from Venezuela, etc., etc., etc. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Desperation Tactics Dear BuzzFlash: While it would be foolhardy to treat lightly the arrest of 17 suspected terrorists in Toronto over the weekend, leave it to the media and the neocons to jump on this tidbit. While Republicans will not come out and blame Canada, they will happily imply that our neighbor to the north, which has a much better record of human rights than we do, could be a threat to our security because the Muslim terrorists were in Toronto. It'll be more than enough for the hardcore Limbaugh/Hannity/evangelical wing to get all flustered. I wouldn't bet we won't hear at least one psycho opine that invading Canada is the thing to do. If terrorism isn't a good enough excuse, then their tolerance of gay marriage is. So the only cards left are to keep the bottom of the barrel Bush supporters, mostly the extreme evangelicals and hate mongers in the camp. Of course, when it comes to the issue of gay marriage, it's pretty easy to put the evangelicals in the "hate" group. Like it or not, a certain percentage of the human population has been, is, and always will be homosexual and there's nothing James Dobson can do about it. Bush is sucking up to him and everybody else in that fringe element because he has almost nobody to run to anymore. If gays being married will cheapen heterosexual marriage, as these supporters of the anti-gay amendment claim, it seems to me that such a flimsy excuse indicates their marriage isn't on the most solid ground in the first place. So, hate and more terrorist warnings. How sad, predictable and pathetic. Can there be any more of a litmus test for anybody still supporting Bush today? Scott Subject: BuzzFlash's Shredding of the NYT The same thing can be said about the other newspapers of record, the LA Times and the Washington Post. But none of them serve in this conveyor belt capacity just to gain access to the high and the mighty. That's their raison d'etre. Their "all the news that's fit to print" BS statement should be changed to whatever the powers that be want us to print. Seems that the publishers and editors may be allowed a little independence, though. Not in what they write, but in the letters to the editor that they select for publication. Yesterday in the LA Times, for example, there was this letter, "A Voter's Expectations for his party in 2008." It's so good I'd like to share it with BuzzFlash Readers and then comment on it afterwards.
Now that's a letter much like what's in the Mailbag every day. Safely tucked away on the editorial page, of course, so as to be seen mostly by those whose minds are already made up. But still, why do the editors bother? Is this their sort of wink & nod to us, "Hey, there's nothing we can do about our rag being a conveyer belt when it comes to the actual news, but, look, in this here letter; the way it really is. See, we do put it out whenever we figure we can get away with it." Fine, but that won't be enough to get these newspapers of record honchos off the hook for the mass-murder and other crimes against humanity that they so willingly enable with their tell it the way the powers that be want it style of journalism. Actually, it'll more likely hurt them. The prosecutor's liable to say, "Your publishing this letter on the editorial page shows that you knew all along the way it really was. Yet you never allowed such information into your news coverage. This shows criminal neglect of your duty to the public. The time you are to serve is hereby doubled!" A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Mailbag 6/5/6 - Scott, Fayetteville, and Steven Roberts To Scott, Fayetteville, Ark. ... touche to you, too. I am proud that we Buzzers can discuss and not curse. I have lived with the other kind in my life, since Bush became president...and Yes, I do know that all is not right in Walmartianville....I noticed first...that they do not carry the CD's of many who have criticized the Prince of Bush! They will display many of Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire (philanderer) Vince Gill (double philanderer)...both were fooling around with number two...while still married to number one)...and in Vince's case...he was fooling with a member of the Christian music family. But, hey, it is okay if it is a republican...it really is. It does not really matter what they do...kill...lie...cheat, whatever. Check this out for me...all of you...if you can stand it (Re: Steven Roberts...and his hunt for the Dixie Chicks in Wal-Mart). If you come onto the country music scene...now, (not when the Dixie Chicks did) ... men can record a song about 'butts'...ergo...Trace Adkins, "honky tonk...badonkadonk"...what is a badonkadonk?...why it is a female butt, with high riders (shorts too short)...and a suggestive twist. This was one of the nominated videos of the year...really! I kid you not!...But, if you get a country singer who sings songs that have meaning...or are intelliigent...no go! Carrie Underwood is a big hit... a new woman singer, she is good, I would never criticize her, but, both of first singles have included Jesus, and or God, Bibles and Mama! And, they have gone straight to the top...passing all kinds of good songs...or just as good. Merle Haggard.....a one time beloved country singer....cannot get air play on country now, because his song...is entitled, "America First." It is an anti war song...blatantly! You are right...I did the same thing at Wal-Mart thinking I might find the CD a little cheaper...but, you have to hunt through everything because it is just not a thought right-wingers want to preach. Then, again, there are certain Wal-Marts who just hire un-helpful people. I was looking for something for Christmas for one of my grandkids...and I almost lost my mind at one...(the King Kong movie)... they are just lazy...they will tell you where you can find it if they have it...but, if they really like the job and want to make a sale...they will go and get the movie...or CD for you...the difference between a certain Wal-Mart in a supposedly high end store and one thought to be a low end store...just so happened, they were the friendlier and more helpful. And, at this last country music award show...it has not changed...except....and this is a big except...Reba made her usual remark about the Chicks....Keith Olbermann slammed her good for it...and I loved him for it...but, right after Reba did her little jab...a girl actor from LA (the awards were in Las Vegas) came out to help present an award...and likened the likelihood of winning...to safely going on a hunting trip with Cheney...it could not have come at a better time...thank you Ms. Rae! Shirley ... St. Louis Subject: It's Hitting the Fan Dear BuzzFlash, This crap that Rove is having Bush throw at us every day is obviously to get out the vote. It seems ridiculous, but these guys usually have it figured out by the numbers ahead of time. We the people need to really get out there and vote our asses off this fall! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: The Real Reason We Are in the Mess in Iraq Why are we in such a mess in Iraq? It's really a pretty simple answer. Is it true? I believe it is. Can I prove it, probably not. But here it is. It goes back to Gulf War I. And it goes back to the attempted assassination on the life of George H W Bush (the daddy) by Saddam Hussein in 1991-92. Let's never forget the history of G W Bush, as the director of the CIA before he moved into the Vice Presidency, and then the Presidency. A very, very cunning man, with a fantastic ability to operate in the most covert of manners. And, Mrs, Bush, an evil with of the highest degree, and very, very vindictive. And, of course Little Georgy, the simpleton. Time passes, but they have always kept their vendetta to get back at Saddam Hussein, no matter what. And for all intents and purposes, Little Georgy was their "Manchurian Candidate," a Simpleton who came off as very likeable, but more important, one that could be completely controlled. So, they prepared...they prepared to get Little Georgy the Presidency of the United States, again, no matter how they did it. Florida turned the key. No need to elaborate. Now the vendetta could be fulfilled. Of course daddy Bush needed the controls, the ones that would control and manipulate their Manchurian Candidate, the president of the United States. Dick Cheney was the first control put in place. Daddy sent him to little Georgy to go out and find the best candidate to be Vice President. Cheney came back from his hunt and told Georgy that he had found the perfect candidate ... HIMSELF. (All part of the master plan.) Then came the rest of the team, the elder Bush cronies, Rumsfeld, Rove, Perle, Wolfowitz, Armitage, and a few more ... all put there to control Georgy, with the nice guy out in front of the American people, and they would pull the strings. If we remember, one of the very first things discussed by the national security council was Iraq, and Saddam Hussein...Georgy even told Rummy...to go out and find a way to attack Iraq. (Documented by many witnesses.) The plan of vendetta was now put into motion. The big problem was how to get the American people, and the American congress to go along with it. They just couldn’t go and attack Iraq without justification. Along came 9/11 ... I can see them now toasting it in secret. So, they set up a camouflage first, going to Afghanistan, allegedly to find Osama Bin Laden, but they knew that, in time, they would divert all of their efforts to Iraq, and to Saddam Hussein. So, they built a case, over a period of time, of lies, deceit, misrepresentation, innuendo...and got the congress to say OK, and the American people agreed...and off they went...THEY WOULD FULFILL THIS LONG TIME VENDETTA THEY HAD CARRIED AGAINST SADDAM HUSSEIN, AND THEY THOUGT IT WOULD BE EASY, WITH VERY LITTLE LOSS OF LIFE. And they attacked. So, we attacked Iraq. Now, let's go back to the early days of the invasion. Do you all recall the "Shock and Awe" portion, where we literally bombed them into submission? Or, we thought we did. Well, do you remember that early in that Shock and Awe portion we got a tip, allegedly, as to the location of Saddam Hussein? Bush authorized the Bunker Buster bombs and went FOR THE KILL... And we thought we had him...BUT HE GOT AWAY ALIVE. And that is where it all began to go wrong for the administration, the administration of death and destruction. They figured, based on Gulf War I, that they could get Saddam EARLY, dead, or alive, and it would all end...quickly, and with very little loss of life... THEY KNEW THE IRAQI ARMY COULD NOT PUT UP A GOOD FIGHT... AND MOST OF ALL ... THEY KNEW THAT SADDAM DID NOT HAVE ANY WMD'S TO USE AGAINST THEM. THEY KNEW THIS BECAUSE THEY HAD THE EVIDENCE THAT THE CONGRESS NEVER SAW But, Saddam got away, and now they had to try to finish a job they were not prepared to finish, a job they never expected would happen. They were caught with their pants down. Not enough troops. Not enough equipment. Troops without proper armor and equipment...and they were in a muslim land as an invading infidel. THEY WERE THE NEW CRUSADES. But, they had conned the people, they had conned the congress, they had conned the UN, they had conned the world...and, for all intents and purposes ...THEY HAD TO STAY THE COURSE ... and hope for the best. But, there is no such thing as hoping for the best as an infidel in the muslim world. As we now know...the muslim world will join together, in one way or another, to rid their land of the infidel. Fighters began coming in to kill Americans. And our administration decided to call them "insurgents" because that word just sounded, BAD...it had a bad conotation...and they could sell it to the naive American public. Eventually that "insurgency" that was there to kill Americans began to expand and get bigger and bigger, but instead of killing Americans, they are now on the edge of an ALL OUT CIVL WAR, a CIVIL WAR that will spread throughout the mideast until the infidel leaves. Americans are being killed. Innocent Iraqis, women and children are being killed, and it will never stop, never... UNTIL THE INFIDEL IS GONE FROM THEIR LAND. George H W Bush had an agenda. Barbara Bush had an agenda...and he had the the cronies to be the controllers. ... all they needed was THEIR MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. Enter George W. Bush. The rest is history. And it will get worse, and worse ... UNTIL WE REMOVE OUR TROOPS WHICH MUST BE NOW, NOT LATER. Mike Allen Subject: Dana L. This is one of the saddest stories I have ever read. If anyone wonders if we are really at the mercy of this government....just read what this woman has gone through because of this right-wing government. I came very close to crying...out of frustration. I have had so many relatives who are just rabidly against abortion...and they do not even know why. They have never actually known anyone who has had one...nor any of the legitimate reasons for one. My sister....a democrat...but a Greene County democrat (that is an inside story of Missouri, a sad commentary of the state of Missouri, is Greene county). I am convinced that anyone who lives in Greene County is brainwashed....I can almost bet on it. I have never met a normal person...from Greene County. And, for all of those of you who don't know, it is the home of: the Blunts...the governor and the other one...the either congressman or senator...I do not even know. Both Bond and Blunt...divorced their Greene County wives upon going to Washington...and married younger, prettier...and more CONNECTED women on arrival. My sister thinks abortion...any kind is an immoral act...it is killing she tells me...she knows nothing about it. She hopes that the gov't. now...gets it overturned. I despise that about her...even though...she is my sister...and I care for her. My younger brother...tells me that he can see a reason for both Afghanistan war and Iraq war, but cannot see a reason for Vietnam...he's nuts! The other brother thinks that if you are not a Bush follower, you are not patriotic. I washed my hands of their beliefs a long time ago. I have one child that way...but he is still young, I hope someone shows him the way before it is too late. Dana L.'s story is so frustrating to those of us who despise this administration. Abortion is a moral choice...and is not killing...and those who say it is are doing the poor women of the country a great disservice! Bless you, Dana L. for what you had to do. I can understand that you would rather have taken the pill...but, you must remember the sins that have been committed by this president...the lies,the killing...this is the most immoral administration on history...you will be okay. What Happens When There Is No Plan B? (Washington Post) Shirley.......St. Louis Subject: Canadian 'Terrorism' Arrests So. It seems that a handful of days after the Canadian Security and Intelligence Services (CSIS) makes the pronouncement that Canada is a hotbed of potential domestic terrorist cells, there is a massive raid and series of arrests of seventeen suspects. And two days after the arrests, it is revealed in the Toronto Star that the very people who saved us from these so-called 'home-grown terrorists' were the ones who sold them the three tonnes of ammonium nitrate, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Not only does this bolster our quisling Prime Minister Stephen Harper's ratings, it also illustrates the little known Canadian police practice of committing crimes up to, but (hopefully) not including, murder in order to protect 'undercover' police operatives and informants. How do you define police state? Galen Wainwright [BuzzFlash Note: Related coverage: EDITORIAL: Fear and mistrust in terrorism case; Police chief urges calm; RCMP behind bomb material; "Investigators who had the group under surveillance for months learned of the alleged purchase and intervened, switching the fertilizer, which can be used to make a bomb, with a benign substance, sources told the Star. Police moved in for the arrests after the bogus substance had been delivered." Inside the bomb 'plot' (all articles/Toronto Star).] Subject: Goose Stepping to the Future? Obsessed Montana judge poses as terrorist on Web 6/5 When everyday Americans are helping the FBI and CIA to track down terrorists it's a wonder that anything is getting done at the top. At first read you realize that this woman is a bit obsessive and should probably find a better hobby. Then you realize that with the equivalent of a kindergarten education in Arabic she is taking down potential terrorists. It's a wonder this isn't being spread all over the US. Wouldn't the Bush administration just love a bunch of overzealous citizens looking for the bad guys in every corner? The way I see it, this is just a precursor of things to come. We already have crazy Americans patrolling borders to keep out the Jews, er, I mean illegal aliens. We have people being disappeared in the night and tortured whether they did something wrong or not. Now, we have people on the Internet baiting other people out of the woodwork to stop them from doing what they might never have done. Then we give these same people a license to carry a concealed weapon. America is supposed to be the land of freedom. It is supposed to be a place where we can have dissent and debate. That is already being shelved for better ideas like state secrets. Each day grows more ridiculous then the last with this administration. Americans need to open their eyes and realize that more than lives have been lost since 9/11; we have lost our freedoms, and we lose more with each fanatic who tries to find another enemy in our midst. Chris Mullett Subject: Killing of Iraqis I found this quote in my scrapbook. As New York Times Baghdad Bureau Chief John Burns wrote in a March 6, 2005, dispatch after the Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was fired on by American troops while driving to the airport in an incident in which an Italian intelligence agent was killed: "American soldiers operate under rules of engagement that give them authority to open fire whenever they have reason to believe that they or others in their unit may be at risk of suicide bombings of other insurgent attacks." Burns added that while few of the incidents of such firing are ever formally investigated, "any Westerner working in Iraq comes across numerous accounts of apparently innocent deaths and injuries among drivers and passengers who drew American fire, often in circumstances that have left the Iraqis puzzled as to what, if anything, they did wrong." Andrew O'Donnell Subject: Impeachment Never, in history, has there EVER been a president who has harmed this country to the extent that Bush has, and he continues his objectively poor decisions and acts. Impeachment should be carried out immediately!! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: When Will Bush Be Punished? Bush has broken over 750 laws, so when will he be punished? "I am troubled by the initial news stories...If, in fact, laws were broken, there will be punishment." As the old saying goes, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, so why is he getting off scott free? I think it's time for a march on Washington, D.C. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Sunday Morning Bull If you watch the Sunday Talk Shows you will have something to talk about for days. How can you counter the bovine excrement you will encounter from your less enlightened co-workers without information? If you don’t have a job, like moi, you still must be prepared to argue intelligently with the next door neighbor who, in spite of having scraped off their Bush/Chaney 04 bumper sticker, still tries to defend their heroes. Hard for them to do, but they still try. This is why you must be knowledgeable. Think of it as intervention. Think of it as a progressive vote in utero. I know it is difficult to watch some of these people. My particular nauseum limits are reached within seconds of listening to Condoleezza Rice or Rumsfeld. I don’t care what they are saying. They have lied with such regularity that anyone with the I.Q. of a dust bunny no longer believes a word they spout. To be well informed you still have to know what they are saying or how can you refute it with any intelligence. You must be better informed than your conservative friends and neighbors to be able to enlighten them. You will come to love that part of the conversation when your opponent has reached the limit of their knowledge, such as it was, and is now sputtering “well yeah but …”. Usually followed by some reference to Bill Clinton. At this point, it is your sad duty to inform them that Bill Clinton is no longer in office and hasn’t been for 6 years. I have learned some things on Sunday morning television. I’ve learned that Tim Russert is a 3rd rate hack who likes to play “gotcha.” I’ve watched Chris Matthews froth at the mouth more than usual whenever he starts one of his rants about Hillary Clinton. (Why does he hate her so much?) I learned that watching "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" is easier than watching Howie Kurtz, because Howie’s superiority complex is too much. I’ve learned that you can not EVER believe anything that you see or hear on any of these shows. You can watch them, take notes and then do you own searches and verify that in many cases you were being supplied with manure. Good for the petunias, but not for the intellect. Marjorie Swanson Subject: Jeb Bush Says He'll Pass on Al Gore's Movie (The Ledger) The Bush family ignorance is never ending! He wants to be a movie critic? ... but will refuse to see movies he might not agree with? PLEASE deliver us from these people!!!!!! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: More reverse psychology - Deconstructing The New York Times Article It is interesting - and predictable - that The New York Times ran a very misleading article about the recent "9/11 truth" conference in Chicago. The mass media would rather ignore the accusations of complicity, but since that is no longer possible, they prefer to highlight the least credible claims (and hoaxes) and to redirect readers away from the most productive areas of inquiry. This article is another example of this official strategy, but it's likely that many "truth" activists will not see the underlying psychological trick in this story ... It is unlikely that The New York Times will ever cover the "Complete 9/11 Timeline" and its incredible documentation of suppressed warnings that 9/11 was about to happen or the multiple, overlapping war games underway during the attacks. Best books on 9/11 "truth" - http://www.oilempire.us/books.html Paul Thompson "The Terror Timeline" Mike Ruppert "Crossing the Rubicon" Nafeez Ahmed "The War on Truth" and just released (not yet reviewed by this writer), Wayne Madsen "Jaded Tasks" www.waynemadsenreport.com Best 9/11 truth websites http://www.911review.com (not org) http://www.cooperativeresearch.org http://www.fromthewilderness.com http://www.oilempire.us http://www.summeroftruth.org http://www.ratical.org http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com On a more positive note, oilempire is now pleased to be hosting "Peak Oil podcasts" -- audio recordings from the May 2006 "Peak Oil and the Environment" conference in Washington, D.C. Please visit http://www.oilempire.us/audio.html to download files. 500 Conspiracy Buffs Meet to Seek the Truth of 9/11 (NY Times) Mark R. Subject: Springsteen on Leno I never watch Leno--he went over to the dark side a long time ago and will never redeem himself in my book. BUT: I did turn on the last few minutes to see Bruce Springsteen perform one of his anti-bush songs. At the finish, he was loudly BOOED by much of the audience. This is the type of audience Leno has attracted since they all believed he went conservative. Leno was over to Springsteen, by the way, and was VERY effusive in his praise. Too little, too late. Liz Subject: Paul Krugman: SHAMELESS in the Senate (and LAME Dems have NO forceful response) Well, "THANKS!" to Paul Krugman's editorial in this week's New York Times. Krugman, of course, is the "Liberal" Princeton Economics professor that the New York Times chose to replace editorialist and editor A.M. Rosenthal when he was unwillingly packed off to retirement. During the Nixon administration's war on war-opponents and Democrats, Rosenthal was an outspoken advocate FOR Freedom Of The Press, and actively supported the Times' publishing of "The PENTAGON PAPERS," which was simply a compilation by the Department of Defense of their errors, mistakes, and miscalculations of the Vietnam war to date. Ironically, at the time that President Nixon was trying to arrest and imprison ANYONE for, A.) "leaking" government secrets such as The Pentagon Papers (that would be Daniel Ellsberg); and B.) ARRESTING ANYONE for opposing the war at all; one of the President's most vocal SUPPORTERS was WILLIAM SAFIRE, who in the future would join "Abe" A.M. Rosenthal as an editorialist (commentator) for the NEW YORK TIMES. During the Clinton administration, far from preaching "Executive Privilege" as he had while a Nixon speechwriter, Safire despised the Clintons, and went after them tooth-and-nail, relentlessly in every column, for years. His columns degenerated to black farce, as for example when he wrote in one column "INDICTMENTS [against the Clintons for some imagined pre-Monica 'crime'] COMING DOWN THIS WEEK." In another INFAMOUS editorial, Safire wrote, AND HIS NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS PUBLISHED IN BOLD HEADLINES, "Hillary Clinton IS A CONGENITAL LIAR." These slanderous, slurring, smearing, defaming headlines were, mind you, in the days long before Monica Lewinsky's extortion-dress ever hit the scene, back in the days of relative PEACE and PROSPERITY for the USA under the Clinton administration. Yet still the Times' farcical duo, SAFIRE and ROSENTHAL, jabbed their knives and skewers into the Clintons and Democrats EVERY DAY, with EVERY ARTICLE. The atrocious Times JOINED IN the fun, sending out other writers to imply that Clinton was guilty of trading missile and nuclear secrets to China, and convicting WEN HO LEE of TREASON without any actual conviction. This past week, Lee "won" about $1.85 million from the Times, the WASHINGTON POST, and other major media corporations for their DEFAMING his character with their INACCURATE, BIASED, MISLEADING, and DEFAMATORY reporting, But in a TYPICAL example of how the corrupt and savage US judicial system works, the media's fine for defaming Lee was ONLY $1.85 million. This is probably less than they paid defending against Lee's case, and is certainly CHUMP CHANGE for any one of those corporations (TimesCo, PostCo, ABC, etc).; much less all of them together. Which brings us back to Krugman. The Safire-Rosenthal duo were SO FARCICAL, SO DEFAMATORY, so Brown-Shirt thuggish, that having accomplished their newspaper JIHAD against the Clinton administration, they both had to be packed off to the farm. Casting about for a replacement with at least SOME "liberal" qualifications, the Times settled on Princeton Economics Professor Paul Krugman. Krugman's articles on monetary policy and the bankruptcies of Latin American and overseas nations was, the Times' editors and publishers thought, "JUST THE TICKET!" to replace Safire or Rosenthal: a token liberal, but as someone well within "The Belly of the Beast" US economic-finance system, Krugman would be presentable and predictable. NOT! Just how surprised the NYT's editors were at Krugman's OUTSPOKENESS vs. the atrocious agenda and economic follies of the Bush Republicans we will never know, but one thing is for sure: any editor at the Times who actually READS one of Krugman's articles CAN BE UNDER NO DELUSION that the Bush-Republican agenda is actually extremely HARMFUL to American society. To put it in a nutshell, Bush-Republican ECONOMIC POLICY is to TAKE AMERICA AS FAR BACK TOWARDS THE DAYS OF CHATTEL SLAVERY as possible; just as Bush-Republican "MORAL POLICY" (such as the Sen. Frist-Bush 'Marriage Amendment') is to take America as far back to the days of BIBLE THUMPING PREACHERS DEFENDING CHATTEL SLAVERY as possible. Paul Krugman lends an academic, literate, and economic context to this discussion, that, scratch Mr. Bush and his supporters, and you see those who long for the days of chattel slavery, both as a means of cheap labor, and as a means of "social values", with a hard-core minority of wealthy and powerful lording it over the peons and public, using themes and memes of "Moral Values" to maintain such a system. Well, enough from us! Below is Mr. Krugman's latest, "SHAMELESS in the Senate," aka "Seeing African-American Katrina Victims FLEE New Orleans is not a MISTAKE. From the view of the Bush-Republican Party and the US Senate ... IT IS A DESIRABLE OUTCOME that effectively DISENFRANCHISES a strong Black voting constituency!" Of course, the murderous Bush-GOP can only push such atrocious policies WITH THE COMPLICITY of "the major media" such as the WASHINGTON POST and the NEW YORK TIMES. So, as you read Krugman's article, just ask yourself: "If any of Mr. Krugman's assertions are true, WHY AREN"T THEY IN BOLD HEADLINES, supported by other reporter's by-lines, on the front-pages of the New York Times EVERY SINGLE DAY?" Paul Krugman: Shameless in the Senate 6/6 Lawrence Subject: Buzzing The NY Times Thanks, Buzz, for your thorough critique of the Times' ridiculous spin job on this week's Bush-Rice Iran "policy." Thought I'd share my letter to the Times on the subject:
Jimmy Lohman Subject: New York! Settle Down! Hey now, settle down New Yorkers! There is no need to call us hicks and yokels out here in the sticks.We didn't ask for the money. We assume that the 29% of Americans-some presumably from Wisconsin-who think King George is all that is keeping Osama from cutting our throats in our beds (TONIGHT! OMIGOD!) did. Honestly, our fear of terrorists is practically non-existent and most of us wish Homeland Security would just go away since they aren't addressing real dangers in any meaningful way. Peggy Z Subject: Isn't 6/06/2006 when the Evangelicals think the world will end? I have had a very low grade giggle inside for quite a few months. At least since I read a bible thumper's claim that the world is going to end June 6, 2006. That rapture freak said don't worry about all the corruption in our government, high gas prices, war, etc. because the world is ending June 6, 2006. It went further to state that "der leader" knew the end is near, and he is just coasting into Armageddon. I spoke to one of these evangelical end times freaks yesterday and asked the dreaded question. No, not that one, this one: If you are wrong, and the world doesn't end, are you going to change your beliefs, or at the least find another less hardline approach to the so-called end times? I guess it was difficult for me to keep a grin off my face during this exchange. The reply was a little of a whimper, then a "no." Wow, and they think the Muslims are hardliners. Well, if the world does end today I just imagine we won't be seeing many of those evangelical/born again types that have been wrecking the world lately. Either way, see you on the other side. KJ Lovell Subject: Debate Over the Meaning of Fascism On "America: Freedom to Fascism." The Left is missing out on a major debate about the meaning of Fascism. Historical revisionists are engaged in a campaign to redefine the word. References to corporatism in relation to Fascism are being removed from dictionaries both online and off. Check out the debate over the definition of Fascism at Wikipedia. To ignore this challenge is to cede a major battle in the effort against the re-emergence of Fascism under a different name: Libertarianism. Libertarianism is corporatism and as such is just a friendly decentralized reconstruction of Fascism. Libertarian corporate power apologists are given a free ride by the Left because they oppose the war in Iraq (but just try and get them to admit it's about oil and the Military Industrial Complex) and appear to support civil liberties (but for who?). In a Libertarian world, civil liberties are the privilege of corporations and an economic elite. It is not meant for working, poor and middle class majorities. Do Libertarians express concern over the increasing invasiveness of corporations into your private life and information? No, in fact they are prime supporters for corporations having such access so they can more efficiently market to you. Libertarians maintain that corporations do not engage in censorship as only a government can do that, but when powerful corporate interests control the avenues of communication, what freedom of speech do we really have? Just look at our current corporate media, do you ever see labor economists or leaders on talk and news shows? No, Libertarians claim that is due to the "marketplace of ideas" but they deliberately confuse the metaphor with a literal interpretation of that concept. Libertarians also seek to strip us of our democratic rights and the ability of workers to form effective unions. They do not acknowledge the rights of citizens to regulate corporations or trade in the public interest through democratic institutions of government. This film, by Aaron Russo, is nothing but corporatist Libertarian historical revisionism. It is the latest salvo in a sophisticated psy-ops propaganda campaign, funded by corporate interests with the intent of controlling the debate by redefining Fascism in an Orwellian fashion. A concerted effort by right-wing Libertarian corporate apologists has been underway for years to redefine Fascism as a Left wing or Liberal ideology. A graduated income tax is no sign of creeping Fascism, in fact it is the exact opposite. A graduated income tax, along with the estate tax, is a safeguard against the growth of an American aristocracy. These are hallmarks and essential protections of liberal democratic government. Just because it is not in the Constitution does not mean it is un-constitutional. Fascism is, and always was, a right-wing ideology. Fascism is a reaction against Liberalism and Socialism as is Libertarianism. It is a system of totalitarian government that protects the interests of elite oligarchs and corporations against democratic action by majority working, poor, and middle classes. The American Heritage Dictionary describes Fascism as "A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism." Given that definition, it should be of no surprise that corporate-funded Right-wing Libertarian think tanks, such as the Cato Institute and the Ayn Rand Institute, among others, are engaged in an effort to redefine the word. At a time in our history when an unprecedented merging of corporate and state power is bringing us closer to the abyss of Fascism, corporate powers are attempting to control the pejorative term to deflect criticism and control the debate. Do not be fooled! Russo conflates real concerns over civil liberties with legitimate democratic controls on corporate power and oligarchy.
Sincerely, Ian F. Brewer P.S. I hope you will give some attention to this issue, it is a critical debate that is for now, one sided.
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