April 30, 2002

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Legislators poised to give $262 million tax break to big businesses

By Linda Kleindienst And John Kennedy
Tallahassee Bureau
Posted April 29 2002

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida legislators appear eager to approve a lucrative tax break sought by the state’s biggest corporations but are less likely to relieve crowded classrooms when they return to the Capitol today for a two-week special session.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0429legislators.story?coll=sfla%2Dhome%2Dheadlines

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Report: Almost 40 percent of Florida freshmen not prepared for college

By Toni Marshall
Education Writer

April 29, 2002

Almost 40 percent of Florida students must take refresher courses in reading, writing or math when they enroll in the state’s college and university system because they are not prepared for college-level work in those subjects, according to the state’s Readiness for College report.

These freshmen coming from Florida public schools who were not considered ready for college had to take remedial courses in one or more of the three core subjects.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0428freshmen.story?coll=sfla%2Dhome%2Dheadlines

Hello,

Nancy raises some valid points in her defense of Al Gore during the 2000 election. But I would add that I don't think Clinton would have stood by the way Gore did in Florida and that Gore damaged himself in the debates, where he seemed to be three different people. Gore simply didn't inspire passion and was more comfortable playing defense.

Now it's time to stop going over this old ground and move on to reclaim what was illegally stolen, whether you think Gore shares some responsibility or not. Let's get the House back this year and let's lay off Al Gore.

Nancy Kelly

Dear Darci at Rolling Thunder and all other Rolling Thunder organizers,

This is a message I posted on Salon's Table Talk White House Thread today regarding the main agenda of the next Rolling Thunder tour in Chicago. Rolling Thunder just had a highly successful gathering in Texas, with speakers like Jim Hightower, concentrated on getting back our democracy after the Bush coup. The Chicago event seems to be centered on organic farming, a good cause, but not one to rally huge democratic troops. My message, quoting and addressing an earlier poster on TT:

"Waide, quoting your earlier comment, which read: "Wresting control of our government away from the usurpers has to be top priority or nothing else can be accomplished. I also think the 'Rebirth of Democracy' theme will attract bigger crowds who will then hear about issues that other issues."

I couldn't agree more, Waide! Yes, organics and responsible agriculture is a VERY important topic. I'm an organic gardener myself and NO chemical ever enters into my garden by my hand--I also have one of the prettiest gardens around.

BUT the much broader issue here, and one that will draw FAR more attendees to the next Rolling Thunder event is that our Democracy was STOLEN FROM US in the last election, and until we address that theft and bring the usurpers' administration down to its knees, we cannot accomplish our other worthy goals.

The theme for the Chicago event has to be more on the lines of, "Getting Our Democracy Back! A grass-roots, all America Effort to wrest Our Country back from the Rule of Corporate Conglomerates." Unless we show a huge national outrage and our total dissatisfaction about the Supreme Court determined results of the last presidential election, we won't have a starting point and platform to enlist and energize supporters for our other battles against factory farms and for organic farming principles.

If you want to give input into the themes of the next Rolling Thunder event in Chicago, I suggest you contact darci@rollingthundertour.org or other Rolling Thunder websites. Organic farming, as worthy a cause as it is, is not going to attract the crowds that TAKING BACK OUR DEMOCRACY will.

Sincerely, Jo Ann Simon

Dear BuzzFlash,

Preface: I'm a novice when it comes to understanding politics. Never paid much attention until the advent of Bill Clinton; he's one of few who make sense, and that caught my attention. Anyway ...

1. With all the mention of our current President's future plans to remove Saddam Hussein, any element of surprise has early on been eliminated. Has this tactic (advertising an attack well ahead of schedule) been used in the past? Successfully?

2. I'm just beginning to notice reporting of this type: Publicly, Sharon said "Blah blah blah," but privately the message was "something else." Is this a new form of spin? Or was I just not paying attention earlier?

Pam Clifford, Gouldsboro PA

dear buzz,

you got that right

can you run on your site a continuous streaming video clip of Heep wimpering 'ey am a umble man'....????????????

Heep was a 'umble man' we have so many false images of our chief in thief in our heads it would be useful to have a place that runs the correct image.. if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it ..is there a sound.. yes there is... because there is collective unified consciousness.. even the birds bees and butterflies registered the collision of tree to earth... and the rest of us[a] get the subtle change in atmospheric gravity effected by the wave front force and pressure from the fall..even without audible sound the wave pressure gets picked up by the human nervous system ...it happened therefore it happened

Alex

Hi, Buzz:

I read the following Reuters article in the last hour or so, rolling my eyes the whole time. It is truly nauseating. About fifteen minutes ago, I caught a report on KTLA's evening news about the same events. I had to come back to the computer to see if they were indeed reporting on the same thing. Unbelievably, they were! The difference? For one thing, while the account by Reuters states that jr. was met by "four dozen protesters," KTLA reported--with accompanying video--that there were "hundreds" of protesters. That was not an overestimation.

Additionally, according to the article jr's comments at the Church were met with murmurs of "Amen" and "Yes." Again, the video from that talk showed him being met with stoney silence. If there were murmurs, whoever heard them has incredible hearing! The atmosphere was decidedly subdued. When he was introduced, the applause was barely audible.

Note, too, in the part of this report that recounts how poppy's little boy was going on about how he is a "humble sinner who saw redemption," he stopped himself. The author makes a (big) assumption in the first sentence that this was in reference to jr.'s alcohol abuse. How about the drug abuse and general debauchery? Was he in danger of spilling far more than he intended, being caught up in the moment and trying to pretend to be preacher-like?

So, which account are we to believe: the written account or the one from KTLA with video and, thankfully, sound? And, does anyone still doubt that the media marches to the tune dictated by the bushies?

Liz
Houston

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April 29, 2002 10:56 pm EST
http://news1.iwon.com/article/id/82316|top|04-29-2002::23:00|reuters.html
By Patricia Wilson

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Declaring "I am just a humble sinner," President Bush on Monday drew on his personal experience with alcohol abuse to illustrate how faith can help turn lives around.

In the South Central Los Angeles neighborhood ravaged by race riots a decade ago, Bush called on Congress to act on his controversial plan to allow religious groups to share in the federal funds available to deliver social services to the less fortunate, from the homeless to unwed mothers.

"Now, I don't want government to be the church and I don't want the church to be the government, but the government should not fear faith and faith-based programs," he said to murmured affirmations of "Amen" and "Yes."

Dear BuzzFlash,

We all know about the annoying tactic by the GOP misstating the correct name of the Democratic party by using the term "Democrat party," etc.

And I noticed that Mediawhores Online has started referring to the Republicans, as "Republics."

The problem is, it actually implies that the GOP believe in the Republic.

I suggest a more apt term: "Publicans."

Here's the definition from Dictionary.com:

http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=Publican

"\Pub"li*can\, n. [L. publicanus: cf. F. publicain. See Public.] 1. (Rom. Antiq.) A farmer of the taxes and public revenues; hence, a collector of toll or tribute. The inferior officers of this class were often oppressive in their exactions, and were regarded with great detestation."

The best part about it is...the GOP won't even realize they are being insulted!

--Hesiod

Dear Buzz,

To advance the war plans of Bush/Cheney in Iraq, the administration attempted to secure an alternate oil source by supporting the coup in Venezuela as Saudi Arabia, once the attack is made on Iraq, will cut off oil to us. Is this a valid theory?

Karen Boerboom/Platteville, WI

Dear BuzzFlash,

Regarding the Alabama GOP hopeful who wants to tax science fiction books to
fund NASA, why stop there? Let's go further:

Tax Mysteries & Crime Fiction to pay for more cops on the streets
Tax Romance Novels to pay for women's clinics
Tax Medical Thrillers to pay for health care
Tax Children's Books to pay for child care or children's health insurance
Tax Computer Books to pay for technology infrastructure in our schools
Tax Religious Books to pay for Bush's Faith-Based Initiative
Tax History Books to pay for education
Tax Western Novels to pay for the preservation of national parks
Tax Self-Help Books to pay for welfare
Tax Financial Advice Books to pay for unemployment benefits and Social Security
Tax books written by angry and self-righteous right-wingers to pay for cable/satellite access
Tax Fantasy Novels to pay for Bush's Missile Defense System :)

I could go on, but I'll leave it there.

JL