December 21, 2001

Note: The BuzzFlash Mailbag is updated on an ongoing basis, with the newest material and comments on top. Again, we can only post a small percentage of what is sent to us. Thanks again for your email and your patience.

two items:

1 - why doesn't "anyone" mention the anthrax targets were all limbag targets?

2 - all during the Clinton administration we heard how "slick willy" was decimating the military. now all of a sudden we have the greatest weapons, the greatest soldiers, etc. was all of this "might" created in dubya's first couple of months?

philip vaughn
reynoldsburg, ohio

Sent to CNN, 12/21/01:

My jaw actually dropped when I saw Anne Coulter on Sound Off with Paula Zahn this morning. Does your staff do ANY research on the credentials of the people you put on the air?

It's evident to me that if there ever was a "liberal" media bias, it's long gone now. Ratings are all, and conservatism rules. I continually hope that the pendulum has reached its farthest right-wing-nut swing and that news REPORTING will eventually go back to a more balanced presentation.

On the other hand, you could really ramp things up and "go for the gold". Why not Invite Ms. Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson to appear on a panel show?

You could call it "God and Patriots" (subtitle-"The Lord Hates Liberals"). Sounds like a winner to me.

It's back to C-Span and public broadcasting for me.

Massey Lambard
Foley, Alabama

From www.spinsanity.com (which most rational people consider to be the best critique on the web of the current crop of pundits, talking heads, and spinmeisters):

The irrational

Some pundits actually did take the time to present evidence in their analyses of last Tuesday's attacks, but failed to make rational arguments. Instead, they allowed overblown rhetoric and shaky reasoning to take them from the facts of the case to extreme conclusions or prescribed responses not at all supported by the evidence presented. Many of these illogical arguments could be found on the pages of National Review Online, by writers such as David Gelernter, William F. Buckley, and Michael Ledeen.

The worst, however, came from columnist Ann Coulter. Her column abruptly transitions from a remembrance of her friend, conservative writer Barbara Olson, who died in the plane that hit the Pentagon, to a call to "invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity." The "they" in this sentence is Muslim terrorists, a group that Coulter simply assumes throughout her piece is both culpable and easily identifiable.

Coulter's supposed logic for this extreme conclusion is that "Those responsible include anyone anywhere in the world who smiled in response to the annihilation of patriots like Barbara Olson." The only people Coulter could possibly mean here are the group of Palestinians shown on TV celebrating at news of the attack on the U.S. Coulter's logic implies that simply celebrating a death makes people responsible for it, regardless of whether they played any role in it. And it is extremely disturbing to advocate military action against an entire nation, or nations, based on the beliefs of some people on the streets.

Soon after, Coulter moves on to the topic of airport security, where her "Muslim hijackers" as "they" trope first rears its head:

Airports scrupulously apply the same laughably ineffective airport harassment to Suzy Chapstick as to Muslim hijackers. It is preposterous to assume every passenger is a potential crazed homicidal maniac. We know who the homicidal maniacs are. They are the ones cheering and dancing right now.

As I already stated above, however, it is not clear at all that the ones seen cheering and dancing are the homicidal maniacs. Also disturbing here is Coulter's assumption that "Muslim hijackers" are easily identifiable. Some people of Arab descent, likely to be Muslim, are identifiable, of course. And if Coulter simply means to promote racial profiling, she should state that explicitly. Instead, she absurdly assumes, with no evidence, that "Suzy Chapstick" (apparently everyone who is not a Muslim hijacker) is easy to separate from Muslims who intend to hijack airplanes.

Dear BuzzFlash,

I've just been informed that CNN had Ann Coulter on this morning and introduced her as a "constitutional law expert" instead of the bigot and anti-semite that she is.

In addition, on their website they have a link to the ridiculous Bush 2004 "100 Day Terrorism Report" and they don't identify it as the fluff piece it is.

In addition to notifying your readers, what do you suggest we do to start some sort of boycot of CNN until they agree never to have that bigot Coulter on again? We need to put the pressure on them that the right-wing would do in a similar situation. I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

Keep up the good work, and I am sending a $50 contribution.

Best regards,
Paul Griffin

Dear Buzz,

Re: FBI refuses to release cockpit tape from hijacked flight

Sorry, I just don't buy it. How many cockpit tapes have we heard that have captured the last, frightening moments of a plane & its crew? We heard the Egyptian Air tape of the captain fighting with the co-captain...This just raises more suspicion.

Here's an interesting tidbit I read in a recent Vanity Fair. Deena Burnett called the FBI after her husband called her. During that call, she apprised him of what had happened with the other three hijacked planes. The FBI put her on hold...apparently for sometime. Something sounds so wrong about that. A woman calling in with a report of a first hand account and they keep her waiting????

Dec. 20, 2001, 8:26PM
FBI refuses to release cockpit tape from hijacked flight
Reuters News Service
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/special/terror/front/1181993

Liz

Dear Buzz,

BuzzFlash is now writing FAR, FAR better than NYT or WP..... on an issue that is of REAL CONCERN to Americans, unlike the "Clinton sleepovers" or "white house trashing," "scandals" that the "major media" milked until they were breathless.

http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/

A BuzzFlash News Analysis

December 19, 2001

What Has the Bush Administration Been Covering Up About Terrorism Made in the
U.S.A?

BuzzFlash.com is not big on conspiracy theories unless they can be proven.
After all, without a smoking gun, they remain just hunches, rants and wishful
thinking.

But the bizarre Bush administration handling of the anthrax terrorist letters
has forced us to reconsider our caution.

LJBK

Hey BuzzFlash-

Can we organize a boycott of ABC, citing Stossel's horrendous conduct? It might also be a means to build an important bridge between us and the Greens, who are concerned with environmental causes. If we could build a nationwide campaign and leak it to competitors that the boycott will occur, maybe we can actually accomplish something. Scalia's nomination is another area where we need to contact our senators en masse!!!

Keep up the good work.

Ellen D.

Hello

I support the military and the war against Terrorists but I do not support Republican domestic policies nor do I recognize George W Bush as my president. I consider George W Bush an illegitimate pResident.

"Would George W Bush consider the creation of America by General George Washington, the original George W, unnecessary Nation Building?"

"Have US soldiers fought to defend America for over 200 years so Republicans can mistreat the poor, the elderly, the disabled, to ruin the economy, to bust unions, to ruin the environment and to create a theocratic police state?"

"Did soldiers fight wars and defend this country so the Republican Party can destroy democracy in the form of stealing the 2000 presidential election by disenfranchising millions of voters, then enlisting the Supreme Court to install him as president?"

More people in this country voted for Al Gore in 2000 as well as in Florida but the Republicans tampered with the voting and counting process.

The Republican Party leaders remain stuck somewhere between the 19th century and 1929.

George W Bush lost domestic prosperity and has no domestic purpose. His administration got caught by surprise and lost the Twin Towers and part of the Pentagon.

No amount of flag waving will change the facts about this illegitimate president. I love America but not the domestic policies of the Republican Party.

The Emperor has no clothes.

www.boycott-republicans.com

Dennis Baer

Dear Buzz,

RE: Enron and the Bushites

Gee, do you think the rabid Republicans who harassed and besieged President Clinton for eight years over Whitewater -- a $200,000 land deal on which the Clintons LOST their investment -- will go after GWBush and his minions concerning their involvement with Enron? Don't hold your breath; the rabid Republicans are NOT equal opportunity badgerers.

What was that quaint phrase about "restoring integrity to the White House"? Hmm.

Lois Erwin

Buzz,

Who is this guy, Richard L. Berke with the NY Times?

I read his account of Clinton gathering former White House people to help restore his image and found a blatant snow job. [Clinton and Aides Lay Plans to Repair a Battered Image] courtesy of BuzzFlash.

Following is the clear misrepresentation in the Berke article: "No modern president has ever mounted such an aggressive and organized drive to affect the agenda after leaving the White House."

Can he spell Nixon? That clown exited the White House in justifiable disgrace, yet he mounted the most monumental image restoration campaigns of all times in his post presidency. I remember him consulting with Regan and running around the globe on behalf of the US. Every time I turned on my TV, there was Nixon doing PR for his image and shattered legacy. Nixon was clearly obsessed with how History would portray him and set out to change that portrayal. Carter also mounted his own campaign with Shelters for Humanity, writing poetry, advising, and acting as an arbitrator for the US in many incidences. Carter was also worried that History would portray him as a weak, one term president.

Clinton has been made a scapegoat for most of the Bush Administration's errors and shenanigans. The republicans have been painting Clinton's legacy for Clinton. And until now, they've been able to get away with it. After taking it on the chin from the republicans over a year and remaining fairly silent about it, Clinton has decided to use his own paint brush. If he doesn't, the republicans and the Bush administration will continue to paint Clinton's legacy in questionable colors.

Evidently, Berke (NYT) hasn't a clue.

~ Cathy

Dear Buzz,

Oh, duh. I said this as soon as the head dope suggested this asinine email scheme. I have a better tip: ignore the moron; find the U. S. military's site and use the email system they have set up to correspond with those serving their country.

Dec. 20, 2001, 8:42PM
FBI warns kids: 'Trust but verify'
Associated Press
http://www.chron.com/Cs/CDA/story.hts/special/terror/front/1182013

Liz

Hi, Buzz:

I watched the Noonan appearance on 'The Daily Show' and, in defense of Jon Stewart, he did get his gibes in at both Noonan and Reagan.

One point he brought up was Noonan's preference for Bush I and Reagan and attributing it to the fact that she worked for both. He then asked wouldn't she be inclined to defend Clinton had she worked in his administration. He looked rather unconvinced as she spouted her usual "oh, but SO many who worked for him hate him", especially when no names were
revealed or at least clues to how closely these people were to Clinton. Hell, Lie-dna Tripp worked for his administration...

Then, when Noonan blathered about Clinton's "493 scandals vs. Reagan's 1", Stewart said, "Yeah, but that one was a doozy." He then proceeded to poke more fun at Reagan by referring the "Teflon President" title and saying that it was like Ronnie was rubber, Clinton glue...

On his part, the sarcasm was fairly dripping and the facial expressions were telling. Noonan was, at least a few times, visibly uncomfortable. Other time--being a conservative and, thereby, totally devoid of a sense of humor--his remarks went right over her head.

Stewart may be polite and appear that he is cutting someone some slack, but he has a very sly way of getting his point across.

Liz
Houston

[BuzzFlash Note: We agree that Stewart is a master of wit and sarcasm, and, with correspondents Colbert and Carrell (both Second City veterans), the show, by far, offers some of the best satire on TV. However, we think Stewart pulled his punches with Noonan.]

Dear BuzzFlash,

I could have written this piece word for word. Thanks, Gloria, for articulating what must be for many of us a new way of life. I, too, was a news junkie - now I, too, watch re-runs and old movies! I escape the unreality of cable news & my disgust of Bush's half-ass war; the ugliness of the Afghan bombed out terrain....ad nauseum, ad infinitum. I loathe Bush's mediocrity, Rumsfeld's cockiness, & their complete oblivion to the majority of Americans who voted against them. I see their bravado in this "war." I see their comfort in war talk. I see an administration grooving on this 'crisis' seemingly just coming into their own now that we are bombing people's brains out, many thousands of innocent people whom we never hear about (foreign news reports are that about 4,000 innocent Afghans have been wiped out by our bombs). I am sickened by a country that used to be mine. I await its return.....

AnnRose
Chicago

Dear BuzzFlash,

It's too bad w does not want gifts sent to him. I was going to send him a dictionary. With that tool he could look up words he does not understand, like;

compassion
fair election
lies
promises
dictator
constitution (as in U.S.)
fascist
freedom
ass kissing

The list goes on and on.

Every freedom loving person, spread the word. Wear your BUZZFLASH t-shirts.

Thank you BUZZ for real news not (Giraldo style),

Al Hartkorn

Dear Buzz,

It seems painfully apparent to me that the only reasonable and moderate Republicans
remaining in national office are in what used to be the Democratic Party. Political
discourse in this country has moved so far to the right that it has become in effect
unipolar. The major Repuglican mouthpieces and their media lackeys are, at best,
reactionaries. It does not test credibility to label most of them simply fascists.
Whether we think we can ultimately salvage the Democratic Party and the progressive
sociopolitical agenda that, at least hypothetically, once formed the foundation of the
party or whether we transfer our energies and allegiances to something newer we
should take a lesson from the Clinton campaign of '92. No Repuglican lie, spin or twist
should go unchallenged. Every issue ad purchased by the RNC should be followed as
soon as possible by an even harder hitting ad purchased by the DNC or its equivalent.
There should be a small, relatively centralized "think tank" staffed by full-time
professionals whose sole responsibility is to counter every instance of of Repuglican
newspeak with facts, logic, and skill. This would obviously be easier to accomplish
within the existing Democratic Party framework. It would be somewhat more difficult
for the media to ignore "the loyal opposition" than an upstart third party.

Start Where You Are
Do What You Can

A BuzzFlash Reader

Dear Buzz,

<< No more digging through your old email for that story about Bush's latest transgression -- if you got it from BuzzFlash, it can be found somewhere on or through the site. >>

****EXCELLENT!!! I do send a lot of articles found on your site, and when I reply to the occasional right-wing lugnut, I need to verify my facts. This will make things soooo much easier!!!

Thank you BuzzFlash!!!

Sincerely, Jimmy Smarjeff
Mansfield, OH

Dear BuzzFlash,

Got your email about your new archive links. And just when I thought you couldn't get any better. Thanks for a fantastic site. Hope you can use my donation -- and thanks for the T-shirt. Keep buzzin'!

Rhonda Smith

Buzz,

Just wanted to let you know that Ray Taliaferro just talked about your web page. He talked about how he goes to your web page for all your great links, and stories. He said he wanted to thank you for the great links. He was talking about "What is Bush covering Up..." in particular tonight. Ray is on KGO 810 in San Francisco, 1am- 5am, Mon-Fri. He came on at 1:08 and you were his first topic. He loves your links and thinks you do a great
job. Of course he is right. If you haven't listened to him and you can stay up late enough they are back to streaming audio, so he can be heard on the computer again. Fortunately I can hear KGO even down here on the radio, I would have gone bananas without my liberal fix from him and Bernie Ward,(from 10pm-1am), when KGO quit streaming their audio last summer.

Karen
Bakersfield CA

Dear BuzzFlash,

I'm so glad you posted the commentary about Ms. Janis Besler Heaphy, the publisher of the Sacramento Bee, who was heckled off the stage at Cal State University Sacramento's commencement just as she began to talk about civil liberties.

When I first saw this story on Sunday, I looked up Ms. Heaphy's email and sent her a supportive note. If any of your other readers want to email her, her email is: jheaphy@sacbee.com.

I've made a personal to commitment to be more active in sending supportive notes to the more and more people that we see coming under siege and repression for simply trying to remind others we have a Bill of Rights in our Constitution. A fact that can never be re-affirmed enough.

This is a text-book case for the old adage: "Use it or lose it... " ...our First Amendment, that is...

Thanks,
Karen Sisco
Spring, TX

[BuzzFlash Note: If any of our readers knows of a journalist or political cartoonist who gets fired for expressing opinions not on the GOP/Bush PR talking points, tell them to contact BuzzFlash about getting their work online again.]

Dear BuzzFlash,

The case that deregulation was the dumbest idea ever proposed by conservatives continues to mount. Keep in mind the article below is from a trade group that is mildly in favor of dereg.

Democrats should be making this more of an issue. Unlike macro economic policy, where cause and effect of public fiscal policy are latent and hard to connect, here we have a specific cause and effect.

Conservatives sold dereg because it would: provide customer choice, lower power bills, make the market healthier and more reliable, and the cheaper power would be a boost to business.

Here's the reality: power is now more expensive and less reliable then at any time since before the TVA. Power price spikes have caused some businesses to shut, and others to curtail operations and layoff people. We are less competitive because our production costs are higher. Consumers on low and fixed incomes are riding out a winter with less heat and less light to save money. All of this because of a policy that benefited almost no one, not even shareholders in utilities. A small cadre of power executives made tidy fortunes along with some market timing investors. The rest -- long term investors, consumers, workers, pensioners, state and local government -- are all big losers.

Douglas Green

Hi:

I just don't get it. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is on the Bush bandwagon when it comes to his leadership in handling the war. Democrats and Republicans praise him to the hilt and so many feel he should be Time Magazine's person of the year. Yes, they have managed to form a strong coalition -- after 9/11 would we expect less even though the Bush Administration had previously thumbed their noses at the rest of the World?

If my memory serves me correctly Osama Bin Laden was going to be smoked out of his hole. Bush has a thing about that -- the other day he mentioned how the governor of Louisiana hunts rabbits and smokes those little bunnies right out of their holes. The bravery of those gun-toting animal hunters is indeed impressive & so are Bush's way with words.

Osama has escaped and according to the New York Times, virtually the entire top leadership of the Taliban has survived the American bombings and eluded capture by the American-backed Afghan forces. Now, being a woman, I know little to nothing about war tactics but common sense would tell me when the bombing could not produce any further productivity, who did we send to get those evil doers out of the caves? The Afghans. We all know these guys switch sides all the time. How easy it would be for these afghans to be bought off or perhaps feel sympathy or stand in awe of OBL and his top men, thus allowing escape. It would be very risky for our guys to have done that job -- nevertheless to let OBL & his top guns get away is failure. Our reliance on the Afghans from the onset of this war was not too smart considering their history has been less than admirable.

When I garden and go after a weed, I fully understand if I do not get the entire root that weed will come back and flourish. OBL and his top leadership are the roots of the Al Queda organization. If they are not captured or proven dead, I would consider what has been accomplished to date far from successful.

On the home front, the anthrax terrorist -- no arrest. I agree wholeheartedly with BuzzFlash's analysis of this situation, so there's no need to say more. Now the assault on our civil liberties -- we all know the Bush Administration has been very successful in that area. Other areas?

Yes, I expect our President will be Time's person of the year because of his handling of this war. Isn't Time magazine part of a corporate conglomerate? I think the odds are very much in his favor.

Regards,
Marlene W.

Dear Buzz,

RE: Funeral Operator Accused of Dumping Corpses in Woods

Bush affidavit re the funeral home:

http://www.realchange.org/bushaffi.pdf

April Morgan

Dear BuzzFlash,

Hooray For Sen. Daschle and Sen. Harry Reid! If Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and other rw Chickenhawk cowardly commentators complain, remind them that Daschle received a cowardly Anthrax Letter from other RW terrorists... which Makes Sen. Daschle a survivor of a terror attack. And While Bush, Cheney, Armey, and DeLay all RAN FOR THE HILLS, Sen. Daschle vowed to Keep the US Senate working for the American people in the days immediately after the terror attacks.

LJBK

Dear Buzz,

Last night I saw an interesting story on NBC News [BF Note: See two letters above]. It seems a Florida funeral business is in hot water for doing some pretty disgusting things with bodies. It has a history of misplacing them and of digging them up and throwing them out to make room for others. There appears to be a large investigation going on now. Interestingly, the funeral company is non other than SCI, the same outfit which bought its way out of being investigated in Texas and got the funeral commission here effectively closed down by making hefty political contributions to a Governor named "Bush." There is a governor by the same name in Florida. I wonder if he can protect SCI the way his brother did. Or, is it possible the media will wake up to what happened in Texas?

By the way, you do a great job.

Norman Gutzmer

Dear BuzzFlash,

I am the webmaster of www.oreilly-sucks.com, I have wrote you guys before. BTW Thanks for putting my link up a while back, I got 4000 hits the first day and 3000 hits the 2nd day.

Thought you guys might like to see this, www.townhall.com has a web page listing 60
conservative writers on their site. As you know bill o'reilly denies he is a conservative almost nightly, how come he is on their list of 60 conservative writers and even has his own personal web page there listing him as a conservative columnist? If he has the so-called "no spin zone" how is it not spin to lie about being a conservative when you are listed on a conservative web site as a conservative columnist?

Here are a couple examples:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/billoreilly/archive.shtml

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/billoreilly/bo20011215.shtml

In the source code html of the above web pages it has this for the title of the page:

[title] TownHall.com: Conservative Columnists: Bill O'Reilly [/title]

I made a web page documenting it and did screen captures with paint shop pro of the web pages at townhall.com just in case they try to cover it up and change it to columnist instead of conservative columnist.

You can post it on BuzzFlash.com if you want to, here is the url, check it out:

http://www.oreilly-sucks.com/News/oreillyproof.htm

How can he deny being a conservative when he is listed as a conservative columnist?

His name is 2 spots above Robert Novak on the list.

Later....

Steve

Buzzflash:

This morning I read the story you posted about the riots that have broken out in Argentina.

After reading the article, I immediately brought up the Google search engine: Bush & Argentina. I just knew that somehow the Bush Family Evil Empire was involved, even though their name is never mentioned in this article. Had to be. (Excerpt: "This is happening because of this savage economic model.") Here's what Google gave me:

http://www.motherjones.com/mother_jones/MA00/argentina.html

Excerpt:

(March/April 2000 article) "At the time, the Houston-based Enron had no experience in Argentina....a few weeks after the US presidential election in 1988, Terragno received a phone call from a failed Texas oilman named George W. Bush...the purpose of the call was clear: to push Terragno to accept the bid from Enron."

I think it's funny (not really) that just about any tortured country's name you put into a search engine, add a '& Bush', you come up with yet another example of the Bush Family Evil Empire's sticky, nasty, dirty, puppet-controlling fingers stuck in something that reeks. Like Iran & Bush, Iraq & Bush, Somalia & Bush, Gorazzafoo, Ohio & Bush.....doesn't matter. Anywhere the economy is tanking, the people are getting screwed, the oil is flowing, and the fundamentalists all eventually look the same, you find the name of BUSH.

-April