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| June 9, 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: Zarqawi's Identifying "Scars" The President mentioned several distinctive Scars by which the body of Abu Mussab al Zarqawi (aka "Emmanuel Goldstein") was identified. I wonder: was one of these scars on the stump of an amputated leg? Remember way back in 2003 when links between Saddam and Al Qaeda were "proven" by the administration's stories that Zarqawi - not yet at that point a household name in the US - had sought medical attention in Baghdad in the previous year. Apparently, according to operatives of the Vice President, he was having his leg amputated. Strangely, this particular excuse for the war disappeared when the masked, two-legged figure who decapitated Nick Berg in a dreadful and widely distributed video was identified as Zarqawi. Now the bastard is dead, and we need a new object for our Two-minute Hates. It's a pity that our country has such a short, vapid attention span. Even if some intrepid reporter were to ask the president to explain the significance of this little inconsistency to the sequence of his rationales for this war, no one would care. Distorted Intelligence? (Newsweek/MSNBC) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Musab_Al-Zarqawi Ken Duerksen Subject: Dixie Chicks A quick note. My wife and I bought the Dixie Chick's latest the day it was released. We have been buying it ever since and sending it to friends and relatives. We hope they just become a bigger and bigger success in their new market. I had someone steal my guitars while they were in transit back to the United States from Vietnam. All I could do was hope that the person or persons that stole them got a real shock from them. If you know what I mean. Nothing I could do to fight back. For the Dixie Chicks however, they get to thank the closed minded people that tried to intimidate them and ruin their careers. You know that has to hurt! These same people, gave them the inspiration that has become what I will call their best work ever; for now that is. I'm sure this is just the beginning because inspiration has a way of building on itself. With the inspiration, their talent and list of friends, I believe the building is going to continue on for a long, long time. We can all take a lesson from this. GET INSPIRED, GET INVOLVED, SPEEK YOUR MIND, GET YOUR COUNTRY BACK; and keep buying the Dixie Chicks; "TAKING THE LONG WAY." HELP THEM THANK THOSE THAT INSPIRED THEM. Mike Andrews Subject: Zarqawi Does Not Make Sense Why, if the troops had him surrounded, did they not simply capture him? Would he not be more valuable as a captive? How come two 500Lb bombs reduced everything to rubble but left his body with less trauma then a traffic accident? This does not add up. Thom Timmermann Subject: Dead or Alive - Oh, Really? OK, so al-Zarqawi is dead. Or - is he really? They lied to us before about al-Zarqawi's death, didn't they? Every time they needed a boogeyman to divert our attention from what was REALLY going on, al-Zarqawi re-surfaced and haunted the media. Al-Zarqawi was (is?) a substitute Osama bin Laden. For some reason Mr. bin Laden is way too elusive for the bushmisadministration to catch. Even though we were promised Mr. bin Laden, dead or alive. Looks like Mr. bin Laden is too hard to kill, and bushmisadministration does NOT want to catch Mr. bin Laden alive. He may just say something that will send bushmisadministration as a whole to the International War Crimes Tribunal, or to some other equally unpleasant place. Bushmisadministration did everything in their power to forget and make us forget about Mr. bin Laden. I suppose they created this al-Zarqawi to substitute for absent Mr. bin Laden, who turned out to be[en] forgotten so easily. Mr. al-Zarqawi did a good job, and I believe he will be resurrected to come again and scare us with his living presence at an appropriate moment, and thrill us with his death at another dip in bushmisadministration polls. How useful it is, to have such a convenient Mr. al-Zarqawi, appearing magically every time bushmisadministration wades deeper in the pool of male bovine excrement. About the DNA analysis? Oh, no big deal. The analysts could have been wrong... Frankly, I do not believe in ANYTHING I hear on the news, especially on the Corporate News Network. I guess I will not believe that Mr. al-Zarqawi is really dead, until I read it in at least three independent non-American news sources. Oh, by the way: Where is Mr. bin Laden? Wasn’t he the REASON for starting this war? How funny, forget the reason for carnage and genocide and substitute it with a figment of imagination created by bushmisadministration. Am I being paranoid, or what? Peace, Malgoska. Subject: Immigration and Amnesty BuzzFlash is dead RIGHT when it comes to espousing a generous immigration policy. Hey, almost all of my ancestors came from Europe. Brown people deserve an equal chance to better their lives; do not blame the behavior of Corporate America on the unfortunate people from Latin America. Do not blame them for lowering your wages and taking your job. Unless you pick tomatoes for a living. It is "Corporate America" that encourages this type of thinking to serve as a way to divide working taxpayers. Corporate America is well exemplified by the arrogant pack of louts in the White House and most of the senate and congress. They ship entire industries overseas while hollering indignantly about how they are over regulated. Jobs are outsourced, health care is unaffordable, our people are being sent overseas for slaughter in the attempt to hijack resources that do not belong to these corporate menaces. They have bought and paid for the three branches of "our government." Now these corporate tools have decided that you and I have too much freedom. It is not enough that they have destroyed the American Dream by grudgingly paying their workers a pittance. It is not enough for Corporate America that they have deregulated themselves to the point where the workplace is now a dangerous place, overtime is mandatory and uncompensated, and employees find it necessary to go on welfare. Now you need to surrender your privacy and your rights - so that the likes of Dick Cheney can feel secure in their regal status. I say, "open the floodgates and let them all in!" We will need all of the help that we can get in the struggle that must come. The Evil Michael J Fowler Subject: Ban on Gay Marriage - Why? Maybe dumbya is afraid that pickles will dump him and marry another woman? Imagine that. Peace - Malgoska Subject: The American Debate on Gayness ... What a Joke! With America, I've come to notice what the three branches of government truly are. There's MONEY, TELEVISION and BULLSHIT! That's American political process in a nutshell. H.L. Mencken said it best when he stated that "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." Remember the days of dope hysteria, when the occasional ownership of a Mary Jane cigarette threatened to turn all of us into sex fiends and car thieves? (Personally, I did become a sex fiend but the car thieving never happened.) When hysteria doesn't work, how about racism or bigotry? Try this on for size. CRACK IS ruining America's inner cities. CRACK IS killing policemen, overwhelming the court system and filling jails beyond capacity. GAYS ARE devastating thousands of American families. GAYS ARE putting the lives and well being of our children at risk. Now, delete the words "CRACK IS" and "GAYS ARE" and insert the words "NIGGERS ARE." Isn't that the secret message that your politicians are really sending to Americans. And you all fail to see it. I hate to be the one to point it out, but you're country hasn't moved any further ahead from where they were in the mid sixties. Hysteria is stupid, racism is wrong and both are useless. But if gross panic and finding a scapegoat-two of the most common political reactions to an intractable social problem-don't work, what CAN the government do? I'll tell you ... While the government is waiting for everyone to die, it can create MORE government agencies and organizations. They work so well in America. *languid sarcasm* Then there's American foreign policy which I have also finally figured out. It works like this: Whatever it is that the government does, "sensible Americans" would prefer that the government do it to somebody else. This I believe, is the idea behind America's "very foreign policy." I don't know anymore. I'm tired of watching Jon Stewart tell it like it is while the world around us is collapsing because of the rise of the American Nazi. I know it's harsh, but I can't take it any more. I've decided to become more proactive. From now on, when I pass an American on the highway I'll flip them the bird for no other reason than "you are an American." If an American sits at a table with me, I won't stay. I won't allow an American into my home. When I hear a southern drawl I'll be sure to call that person a bigot. When I see an American flag on a Canadian lawn and it's not flying below our truly great flag, I'll report it to the authorities. If I meet an American serviceman on Canadian soil, I'll refer to him as "baby killer." From this day forward I will engage in my own quiet little protest of Americans. I think it's only fair that you all be treated as badly as your own government wishes you to be. I know that it sounds like I'm being unfair but my actions-- while entirely peaceful in terms of protest-- are meant to engage in dialogue. When I call you a baby killer, trust me you'll wanna talk back. When I call you a racist scumbag American, trust me your sense of pride will be enough to engage me. When I won't acknowledge that you exist, you'll wanna know why and you'll ask. Dialogue. That's all I want is dialogue. As of today, my home is off limits to Americans. To the back of the bus with all of you! So sad that it's come to this. Under Clinton I would have defended America's right to be as American as you wanted, instead I have to insult you just to get it through your thick heads that your country is a more corrupt Republic than the USSR ever was. EVER! A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: California Election a Bad Omen? Dear BuzzFlash: Sounds like some of the Democrats are already getting ready to do the one thing we do so well - drop the ball and lose again. That is, if the headlines keep suggesting so. I refer to the link phrased "Narrow Victory by GOP Signals Fall Problems." Yes, the Cunningham replacement was a Republican, but as we look further into the article on the election, we find it was much closer than last time around and that the district itself is very solidly Republican to begin with. So could a headline not be just as accurate stating "Republicans Barely Win In A Normally Dependable District"? We must remember there are pockets out there that will vote Republican no matter what - Utah, for example, and usually most of the Great Plains. While spin is not a good thing most of the time, when it comes to rallying the troops and getting enough people out to vote this fall, that is, enough to make it harder for the Republicans to steal, we can only help our cause by being careful how we present ourselves to ourselves. Sounding the bell of defeatism is inexcusable at this time. Winners must act and sound like winners. Let's hope those running this fall remember that. Scott Subject: One Last Word on Crazy Annie The fact that Ms. Coulter realized some time ago that establishing herself as the Great American Bitch would be an easy way to turn a meretricious buck indicates that she is not without a certain amount of savvy. However, her obvious cluelessness as to the effect of the Surfer Girl look on a woman whose narcissism is now immeasurably outdistancing her estrogen output proves that, above all, she is merely an utterly ridiculous, g**d*** fool. Ellie Remore Subject: DNA Results So Fast? Am I the only one that can look at a bombed out "safe house" that was totally and completely destroyed and wonder how they can fish out a dead guy (Zarqawi) with barely any scratches on him and his fingers so neat and unharmed that they can get finger prints off them? Am I the only one that thinks DNA results this fast (and I wonder how they have anything to match it to - unless the terra-ists have to donate one before getting a gun) is a little suspicious? What about Osama BEEN-FORGOTTEN? He was the big bad boogeyman that dumbya said he wanted "dead or alive." Where is he, and why isn't he a target any longer? It just reeks of staged bushyness. And the timing reeks of staged bushyness. As does the loss of interest in Osama BEEN-FORGOTTEN. And just like good toadies, the MSM just eats this sh** up and spews it wide and far. Why won't they cover the American people and our call for accountability from this so-called administration? Show me Dumbya getting frog marched out of the WWH (white whore house). THAT WILL BE NEWS WORTH WATCHING. KJ Lovell Subject: Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi For someone who had a total of 1,000 lbs of explosives dropped on him, his face does not have a lot of damage to it. Something seems very wrong to me. Does it to you? How many times has this guy died? Red-faced-in-Texas Subject: How To Handle Ann Coulter Ignore her. She says outrageous, hateful things just to get noticed. And what does everyone on the web do? They plaster her name and comments all over the place. Just ignore her...she's really not all that newsworthy. Joe R. Subject: Re the Killing Of Zarqawi The important fact to bear in mind about this success is it comes despite the inept, corrupt leadership of Bush and Rumsfeld, not because of it. Alternatively, we should compare the chimp and his cronies finally hitting the right target after 20,000 American deaths and many 10's of thousands Iraqi deaths to the hypothetical infinite number of monkeys banging away on typewriters eventually producing the full text for HAMLET--with the addition that the monkeys deliberately delay successful completion by years for political expediency. Cory Hinman Subject: So, what's important? Hello, All. Emy de la Fuente wrote a letter published in the June 5 Mailbag, pointing out that both Russia and Iran are making moves away from the petrodollar as world reserve currency for trading in petroleum. I wrote a note recognizing her contribution on June 6th, which didn't make the cut. The Republicans do have a wonderful way of distracting us with homosexuals and with off the wall remarks from Ms. Coulter. BuzzFlash and its readership dash after the "story" of the day, spun out originally by the Rovian strategists who (apparently correctly) presume we are all nitwits. The move away from the U.S. dollar as the world reserve currency is going to be a painful one. As I pointed out in my unpublished letter, we cannot drive all the heads of state of key oil nations into a spider hole, as we did with Mr. Saddam when he planned to switch oil sales to Euros. Is the matter of collapse of the petrodollar important? Here are two links. You decide. Collapse of the Petrodollar Looming (austarnet) Vladimir Putin and the rise of the petro-ruble (Mike Whitney/Information Clearinghouse) It is not entirely clear what can be done about this situation, since we clearly can't just kill everybody and let God sort it out. However, it is pretty clear that it might be helpful to stop saber-rattling and an unrelenting series of insults to Iran, Russia, Venezuela et al. Or, perhaps we can just introduce a Constitutional Amendment to prevent flag burning, so we can talk about something else. John F. Williford Subject: Lou Dobbs, You Let Me Down I watch Lou Dobbs nearly every night. I also watch Keith Olbermann, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert. I am a moderate Independent and I don’t expect any program to represent my views 100% of the time. KO does come pretty close. Ditto Jon Stewart. I am far from in agreement with Mr. Dobbs on many issues but think that he is the only one who regularly sticks up for the working man and woman. I am of his beliefs on border security. But on Thursday, June 08, 2006 Mr. Dobbs not only dropped the ball, he allowed it to be stomped into the mud. I felt Lou Dobbs was wrong to lower himself to sit at the same table as Ann Coulter. It soon became apparent that he was willing to do more than that. He was perfectly willing to sit there and let the Coulter fright say, more than once, that liberals are Godless. Mr. Dobbs, I have watched you for years. I had one of my comments read on your program and got one of your books in return. Why would you let this woman call me and my family Godless? Why would you allow her to portray hard-working men and women all over this country as Godless? Why would you desert the fairness you usually exhibit and let this horrible woman insult 40% of the American public? You then sat there and let Little Orphan Annie play the victim. Evil liberals threaten her very life. Unlike the evil Conservatives who threaten the lives of the Dixie Chicks, blow up abortion clinics and kill doctors who perform abortions. Nope the bad guys all wear blue and are Godless Liberals. I waited for you to say “Nonsense” or to refute her rhetoric. You did not. Lou Dobbs, you disappointed me but you did more than that to yourself. You looked a little less like the champion of the working people and more like the champion of money people like Ann Coulter on the night of Thursday, June 08, 2006. We have no voice, while she has a national podium every time she opens her hate-filled mouth. Marjorie Swanson Subject: In Germany, fear that the Zarqawi death will backfire and end in European terror After Blair and Bush's joy this morning at Zarqawi's death, and the continuous showing of his dead body and joy of BBC and CNN of having a real "breaking story" to bore us to tears with (CNN even took Christiane Amanpour out of mothballs for the occasion), German TV is reporting that Zarqawi's supporters are all over the Internet, also joyful, because he is now a martyr!, and saying WE are Zarqawi, and will continue his "work." Though no one appears to believe that his death will make much difference in the amount of terror attacks that will occur in Iraq - today over 40 persons were killed, and almost a hundred wounded by bombs all over Iraq - there seems to be fear that his supporters will retaliate for this death in Europe. And as Germany is the host of the World Cup, it could be a prime target. According to one station, there are many supporters in Europe, and a situation that is supposed to decrease terror may just backfire and result in more - and less localized - terror attacks. One of the persons who expressed this opinion was the Bavarian Defense Minister Gunther Beckman. The World Cup games include extremely strict security measures and police from a number of European countries. But Europe is a big place, and apparently Al Zarqawi has supporters all over it. So TV journalists are saying. Hopefully web sites like Juan Cole's will keep us informed as to the news on these web sites, which most of us are totally unaware of, and couldn't read even if we knew where they were. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Ann Coulter I think comparing Ann Coulter to Goebbels is extreme. She has no power except that which the media gives her. I say ignore her. It's the only reasonable treatment for an entity devised by the right-wing media and fed by the attention she receives. In my personal life, I ignore her - don't watch her on TV, don't read her books even to know what the 'enemy' is thinking. She's too far out to be considered an actual enemy. I doubt she believes her own b***s***. She's seeking attention only. She's a parody. Like a tick, she will only become engorged on the attention, however negative, she is given. She wants the left to engage with her. Cut off her supply. Don't contribute to the buzz. Ignore her and she may wither. Even if she doesn't, on our lefty sites, we will be spared mention of her incredible ignorance. Nancy Griffin Subject: Bilbray Victory He won because he was against amnesty, as are the majority of Americans. If the Dems don't get this, then they lose big time in Nov. Do you at BF get it? Douglas Schooler Subject: Zarqawi Could someone please explain to me how the house Zarqawi was in was blown into tiny pieces by two 500-lb bombs ... yet in the photos of him, he doesn't have even a single flash burn on his face nor hair on his head singed? I thought bombs created giant fire balls. US Soldiers that get hit by IEDs suffer terrible burns ... yet Zarqawi doesn't even have a sun burn. Would love an answer to my ponderance if you might have one. Monica S. Subject: The Death of Net Neutrality So the telecoms and ISPs want to run the net for profit? It should be noted that this technology was developed at taxpayer expense and handed to them for free. If they want to profit from it, then they should start paying royalties for it. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Fall Elections Hi Buzzers! I received a recent e-mail from the Impeach Bush Org. and I wanted to share an important realization. This is the realization, that if Bush, Cheney and gang are not going through the impeachment process real soon the fall elections will be totally irrelevant. This is the central core issue of the summer besides getting those senators and representatives ousted who have become too comfy with their jobs that they have held for years, and do not think anymore of the American people's interests. I know that many of you out there are concerned about these elections coming up and if you can devote yourself fervently and single-heartedly to this issue that I have just mentioned we may just end up getting our country back if it is not too late by now. Go to Impeach Bush Org. to find out what you can do this summer to help. I don't know about you, but 900 some more days of our current administration is too long to keep these people in office any longer while they continue to do even more destruction. A BuzzFlash Reader Subject: Zarqawi Story Gets More Unbelievable Daily OK, it took how long to dig Saddam's sons out of the rubble of that building? It took how long to get the DNA back? I don't recall them being able to identify Uday and Qusae from finger prints. Their corpses that were paraded on the news looked a little worse for wear. Fast forward to 6/8/06- Large boom, and out pops this lovely pristine corpse. And thankfully before the boom went off this guy had his head and hands in a bomb bunker. In little more than a FAUX news presto chango- we have not only finger prints identifying him, but record speed DNA tests that PROVE who this guy is. Don't worry that the other people (woman and child) that they spoke of haven't been identified nor shown on television. (The bomb bunker was full of Zak's head and hands so these casualties didn't come out quite as pristine). NOW, I would assume because of all the people not dependent on the MSM calling BUSH-it on this story, it has morphed..... Now, they are showing pictures of a not-so-perfect face shot of dead-Zak. If that change wasn't noticeable enough, they are saying he was still alive and mumbling when found. Not only that he was lucid enough to turn his head to avoid being identified. So, on top of all the other unbelievable record speed items on this story we are to believe that an Iraqi priest can dig through rubble faster than the Clint-Eastwoodesk U.S. soldiers. Perhaps technology has improved since they were digging for Uday and Qusay. This just reeks of BUSH-IT. KJ Lovell Subject: Nuremberg Charter Buzz and Buzzies, I read this article the other day on "Consortium News." Haditha, Bush & Nuremberg's Law Peter Dyer has put together a great essay on war criminals and those responsible for war crimes. He cites Chief American Prosecutor, Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson. Jackson lays down the reasons for the Nuremberg trials and why those who instigated the war of aggression were responsible for the war crimes of those they sent off to war. Jackson: "We must make clear to the Germans that the wrong for which their fallen leaders are on trial is not that they lost the war, but that they started it.” Jackson: “These defendants were men of a station and rank which does not soil its own hands with blood. They were men who knew how to use lesser folk as tools. We want to reach the planners and designers, the inciters and leaders without whose evil architecture the world would not have been for so long scourged with the violence and lawlessness, and wracked with the agonies and convulsions, of this terrible war. ... We have here the surviving top politicians, militarists, financiers, diplomats, administrators, and propagandists, of the Nazi movement. Who was responsible for these crimes if they were not?” Jackson: “The gist of the offense is participation in the formulation or execution of the plan. These are rules which every society has found necessary in order to reach men, like these defendants, who never get blood on their own hands but who lay plans that result in the shedding of blood. All over Germany today, in every zone of occupation, little men who carried out these criminal policies under orders are being convicted and punished. It would present a vast and unforgivable caricature of justice if the men who planned these policies and directed these little men should escape all penalty.” Jackson's words ring true today. It's not the little people at Abu Ghraib, not the little people at Haditha, it's the war wagers who need to be punished. Is there not one reporter in the mainstream press with the mettle to ask Bush about the Nuremberg Charter? This was an American Supreme Court Justice laying down guidelines to put an end to wars of aggression and their subsequent wars against humanity. Where is the incredulity? Tom Coombs Subject: Proof that Zarqawi death was staged I want to point out that I don't believe that Zarqawi was actually killed recently. The most blatant proof is the video that was released by the military, of the bombing of the house itself. U.S. shows video of Zarqawi killing (Reuters) Look at how close all the other houses are to his safe-house. It appears to be in a heavily populated area. Now compare it to the photo that they claim is the resulting pile of rubble that was once the house. Do you see any houses around? It almost looks like it's in the desert. Al-Zarqawi 'still alive after US bombing raid' (AP Photo/Times Online) The article also claims he survived the attack. How could you survive an attack like that? look at the house, it is totally flattened. They even claim that he was strong enough to try and roll off the stretcher. Other questionable evidence are that they submit only a picture of him with his eyes closed in most instances videos is most commonly given. The video could have shown us the surrounding area and perhaps evidence that the date was June 7th 2006? with a newspaper etc. It's obvious he was captured quite a while ago and they took a photo back then so that they could use it at an opportune time (Sagging polls for Bush and the war in Iraq). But the funniest piece of evidence is the video of a man arriving in Washington DC with a military looking duffel bag with apparently the DNA evidence to prove that it really was him. What are they going to compare the DNA to? Did they get DNA samples from his relatives in Jordan? Or did they manage to get a hold of that famous missing leg of his? Richard Subject: Re: Matt Lauer Is Buzzflash.com's GOP Hypocrite of the Week He's made a big name for himself with his ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION theme (some of which I agree with him on) but I know he is not on the side of ordinary Americans. I just haven't been able to figure out who exactly (which slice of the GOP?) he is now shilling for? I don't know if anyone has any answers but I had to vent. Thanks for listening. Susan in Florida Subject: Master Minds Dear Buzz,
If Al-Zarqawi is the mastermind behind terror and the resistant violence in Iraq, as the Bush Regime states, then why didn't the Pentagon conduct the intense two-week hunt two years ago? And why not the same type of hunt for Bin-Laden? Wouldn't killing the terrorists save thousands of lives, including our own troops? But of course, if they did they couldn't have their war and timed captures for a political ruse! Nancy Lynn Nagy Subject: Head on a Pike Yesterday we learned that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, aligned with one of Iraq’s two major religious groups (Sunnis), was killed. Now, everyone knows that when countries go to war with each other leaders sometimes die. Big ones and small ones. But Zarqawi isn’t even an Iraqi; he’s a Jordanian who’s said to have ties with al Qaeda. He wasn’t even in Iraq when the United States invaded. But, yesterday, he seemed to have become a symbol of success for the Bush administration. How improbable is it that, even though Saddam Hussein is sitting in a jail cell, on trial, we’re still sending more troops to Iraq to fight in a war that was declared “mission accomplished” three months after the first U.S. soldier touched Iraqi soil? And how improbable is it that Osama bin Laden is sitting somewhere in Afghanistan or Pakistan, or perhaps even Saudi Arabia, untouched, uncaught, while we celebrate the death of Zarqawi? Since the year 2000, this country has experienced terrible things; from the devastation in the city of New York to the devastation of the city of New Orleans. The change this country has gone through is not a pretty one; we are leaner and meaner in the worst possible way. Yesterday, it was brought home to us in a new way. The lethargy that we thought was prevalent in the Bush administration was cast aside and energized by the death of one man in a country we control. And it was energized in a way it has not been over the deaths of almost ten thousand of our citizens. Our “media” is comparing the presentation of Zarqawi’s death to a “war trophy.” There are questions as to how the rubble of that air raid produced such a pristine photograph of Zarqawi’s head when we have all seen the un-pristine results of other air raids in other Iraqi locations. And our government went to a lot of trouble to convince us that Zarqawi was dead. They neatly framed the head for us to see. The same government that won’t even allow photographs or ceremonies of our returning war dead went to great detail to present this “trophy” to as many citizens as possible. The reticent “commander-in-chief” Bush took time from his “busy” schedule to inform us. Zarqawi’s dead face was not too graphic for us to see; not “too graphic” for our children to see. So what happened to the government policy of shielding the sensibilities of We citizens? Is this the same government that censors the horrifying photos that came out of Abu Ghraib of prisoners being tortured by American soldiers, who shielded us from the photos of the tiny victims of our bombs being dropped on Iraq? And now they hand us the head of Zarqawi. I do not understand Bush’s strange obsession with the dead when he considers them his enemy. He shows us autopsy photos of Saddam’s dead sons, and other Iraqi leaders he has disposed of, but he doesn’t show us the photo of the general tortured to death while in our custody. Before we became a “civilized” planet and ruthless conquest ruled the day; the winners would go through the towns and kill all the leaders (along with their offspring) and mount their heads on pikes. The obsession with convincing us that Zarqawi is dead by mounting a photo of his head and displaying it reminds me of those savage days and quite frankly, it didn’t have the desired effect because it turned my stomach. Carol Hagner Subject: Zarqawi's Dead. So What? With the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi the U.S. and the Iraqis are left with some important questions. What does this mean for peace in Iraq? What does this mean for the U.S. occupation of Iraq? Will there be any effect on the level of violence in Iraq? What does the future hold? The answers to these questions depend upon your perspective. The first thing that we need to do in order to adequately answer these questions is ask who was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The answer is important so that we not only "know our enemy" but so that we can head off future Zarqawis. Finding an answer to this question is not that easy as there are many contradictory sources but one source that gives good background information is "Who is Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi?" (globalresearch.ca/) Basically, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was a terrorist whose effect in Iraq has been incredibly exaggerated by the Bush administration, and the right-wing, for-profit media. Al-Zarqawi was the leader of a small faction of Islamist extremists who, after the invasion and occupation of Iraq by U.S. forces, was elevated to a position of increased credibility in the previously isolated minority Muslim extremists. Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi elevation to the point of ineffectual figure-head was cemented when President George W. Bush gave Islamist extremist the wet dream they've not only prophesied but needed to sustain their cause. In the post-invasion occupation men like Zarqawi moved into Iraq to fight Americans face-to-face. When Bush convinced U.S. citizens that Iraq was involved with the attack on 9/11, that they represented a direct and imminent threat to the U.S., and that Iraq was a part of the ambiguous "war on terror" which is without duration, without a defined goal or enemy and can be used to subjectively justify the attack of a country that did not pose a threat to their direct neighbors, no less the U.S., he opened up a Pandora's box, which if you're a Muslim sitting in an oil-rich Muslim country is reminiscent of the crusades. Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi moved into Iraq and made it his new hunting ground with his sole purpose to foment sectarian violence between the Sunnis (Zarqawi was a Sunni) and Shia Muslims so that the occupying U.S. forces would not succeed in their mission of securing Iraqi natural resource assets. The problem with his policy and tactics is that many native Iraqi Sunnis, who were already fighting against U.S. forces prior to Zarqawi's arrival and prominence in Iraq, did not want to fight with other Iraqi Muslims (Shia) but rather seek to work together in violently removing U.S. occupying forces from their sovereign land. Zarqawi represented such a small minority presence in Iraq of foreign born fighters that without tacit Bush administration and right-wing media support in elevating his prominence, he surely would have faded into obscurity brought upon by the overwhelming occurrence of murdered civilians, maimed soldiers and general chaos in which he did not direct or inspire. It should also be said that U.S. ignorance of Iraqi culture has played a huge part in perpetuating Zarqawi's small role in Iraq. Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was, from the perspective of the Bush administration's power people who exploited our widespread Iraqi cultural ignorance, the much needed figure-head and more importantly, foreign-born terrorist, to justify the existence of the flawed policy of preemptive action against weak Muslim countries; to give Americans something to soothe their need for vengeance. The problem is that we are imposing American values on an Iraqi problem. Zarqawi was not the head of the Iraqi insurgency which even if he was, doesn't need a head to continue, as it will indefinitely, well after Zarqawi's death. The irony of the situation is that the Bush administration's explicit reason for invading Iraq was to fight the "war on terror" to do away with men like Zarqawi who didn't previously exist in Iraq, but with the U.S. invasion and the fallaciously created image of his preeminence, his death will certainly inspire more just like him. The Indy Voice Subject: As the Dust Settles Remember Bush was going to run the government as a 'business'? I always wondered what that meant when it came to the natural built-ins of unemployment, firings, lay-offs, natural disasters ... insurance, equality of burden and reward ... Freedom of thought and religion. Health. Health Care. Public Health. Pursuit of life, liberty, happiness ... Who thought this was a good thing, the business model? Our government is defined as We The People, and a business defines its own interests above those of individuals, though it's the 'owners' who may take profits without regard for the workers that they depend upon to make it. So who are the owners? And - rewards going to the fittest? Bush belies that farce throughout his life. May I ask -- you, whose vote was equal to any -- if you voted for him, what did you think you were electing? Business is the Religion of America, the motto goes. And all the more fallacious when that's turned around into the current Emperor Cult. I think what people thought might be good about applying a business model to government was that there would accountability. Waste would be cut. Well? Do I need to convince you of the mess we're in? All I ask is that you who imagined all this in Bush (with the very best of intentions) might now actually apply those same principles. Hold him accountable. Looking around as the dust from 9/11 settles, we see that the danger isn't some far-flung invisible global network of swarthy Terrorists, as much as it is the erosion of health, safety, sanity, freedom, and basic resources in our own backyard. Health shows up on poll after poll as Americans' biggest concern. As we hear the rumblings of bird flu closing in from over the ridge, I'm looking back at the track records of recent emergencies, the sort of basic thing we look to government to handle. Who will handle such a threat? Who do we (who will we) trust to handle it? Who will we believe? The state of Public Health ... another planetary emergency ... Deborah Conner Subject: What Do the Troops Think? Now that they've killed al-Zarqawi, let's see what the troops think: [cartoon] http://cagle.msnbc.com/working/060605/wolverton.gif Douglas Miller Subject: The Dems It's so annoying to see yet another election was stolen, WHEN are the DEMS going to get off their duff and put a stop to this insanity? They know the M/O of the GOP, yet they do nothing. Kerry was fully aware of this theft but it was business as usual for him and he, too, looked the other way. If this happened in a third world country they would be screaming bloody murder with Jimmy Carter going there to sort it out. WE NEED A NEW UNBRIBED PARTY. Margaret Miller Subject: Framed in Death? Al-Zarqawi This is a letter that I sent to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution regarding the photos of Al-Zarqawi. It's rather convenient that he survived, isn't it ? The Editor: Of course there is relief that Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi has been killed. But was it absolutely necessary for the AJC to place Al-Zarqawi's dead, framed, and matted photo on the front page in living color? It's amazing enough that the effects of two five-hundred pound bombs didn't pulverize the guy. Instead, he conveniently survived long enough for the US to take photos and provide them to the "liberal news" media to flash on front pages around the US. President Bush has referred to Al-Zarqawi as " Al-Qaida in Iraq." The point that many US citizens have missed is that al-Qaida was not in Iraq until Bush invaded that country. Osama bin Laden was the culprit behind the terrible events of 9-11. When he was last asked about bin-Laden's whereabouts, President Bush stated that he just doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about the guy! When and if bin-Laden is finally hauled in, perhaps I won't object as much to seeing his photo neatly framed and placed strategically in our "liberal" local paper! Dee Turner Subject: Progressive Slogans I suggest we progressives/liberals start looking for new, catchy slogans to repeat, repeat, repeat. A possible, as a follow-up to "Bring our troops home": I'm not a pacifist - I'm a moral realist. followed by, War in Iraq is Immoral Real People are Really Dying War is Worse than Abortion The evangelical right-wing nuts are full of the "morality" of things, and we need to hit them in their own homes. Remember, Clinton fouled up the Republicans when he supposedly "hijacked" their causes and positions. Took the wind right out of their sails. That is precisely what we must do on the moral, ethical, "what's right" front. We're better than they are and must take their words, take their claimed positions, and take their fire. Leaves them sputtering "no fair." Oh well! Does anyone else have a similar, follow-up, or complimentary suggestion? We must do something!! Maybe start an inter-active blog for getting ideas (CLEAN, not profane - that will just shoot the idea in the foot FAST and lose a lot of religious progressives.) Margaret King Subject: Threats If your wife is planning to go to a weeklong convention and can either be accompanied by a gay man or by a gorgeous straight hunk, which of them would be the greatest 'threat' to your marriage? Sigrid Subject: Why Do They Care? Here we go again with the gay marriage scam. Even the Bushies are smart enough, just barely, to realize that their party is in deep doo-doo. So instead of trying to solve any of the many problems they have dropped on our undeserving heads, they are back to bashing gays. I have never understood why this is an issue. Who the hell cares? Someone wants to get married? Are they of legal age? Are they in their right minds as much as anyone else who wants to get married? Then go for it. Everyone with a functioning brain knows that the only real threat to heterosexual marriage is divorce. More divorces are caused by financial problems than any other single reason. So actually the threat to marriage is corporate America. The real issue here should be that an American President is willing to add his voice to a bunch of bigots. The President of the United States as a gay basher. Mr. Bush just can’t seem to stop making his country look bad. All bigoted pinheads can cheer. All crap-for-brains religious nuts can fall to their calloused knees in the joy of finding their president has seen the light. The rest of us, can sigh with sadness. I have a very low opinion of politicians. I find them for the most part to have the moral fiber of the stuff they clean out from behind cows in a dairy barn. Farmers spread it on the fields. Politicians spread it all over cable news. But when they want to put their filthy hands on the Constitution to pander for votes they quit being just fools. Mr. President, if there was ever any uncertainty that you were unfit for the great office that you hold you have just removed it. As for you Senator Frist, were there any lingering doubts you are an incompetent nincompoop it has been removed. Marjorie Swanson Subject: Iraq Like Vietnam Words to my original song - E-mail me for a cd. MUZIQUE@webtv.net "VIETNAM ALL OVER AGAIN" Woke up the other morning We sent out Troops to Battle There was a time long ago It was a mistake to fight that
War The Chicken Hawks in Washington Fossilized hypocrites (Repeat Chorus) They fudged and massaged the message They live in a Parallel Universe (Repeat Chorus) Barry David Butler
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