June 7, 2002
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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. The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are the not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. Thanks again for your email and your patience.
Dear Buzz,
I am a faithful reader -- at least twice a day -- and must bring to your attention an increasingly strange disappearance. On Wed., June 5, I was exploring your archives for information regarding "who knew what" before Sept. 11. I was directed by one of your links to check an Executive Order (Number 01-261) signed by Gov. Jeb Bush on Sept. 7, 2001, activating the Florida Nat'l. Guard. I found the site and the document, printed it, and added it to my dossier. Today, Thursday, June 6, while revisiting the site to send a link to a friend, the impossible has happened. The document is gone, scrubbed, no longer available. Is it a coincidence that Jeb is running again? Was there a sudden spike in hits for the document? One thing is certain -- unless someone in power asks, the document will no longer exist for one to question the coincidence of Bush's brother felling the necessity to issue this order. The site now shows only executive orders from the latter part of Sept. 2001. Coincidence? I think not! More likely a quiet little operation by the Bush family, as more information becomes public regarding advance knowledge of Sept. 11. Thanks for all you do...a thread of sanity in a once sane world. Keep up your noble work.
Sincerely,
R. Humphreys
[BuzzFlash Note: We don't know why that Exec. Order would disappear from where you previously found it (if you read "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy," you'd learn how Jeb Bush gets rid of other documents), but we have our suspicions. Recently we were forwarded this link to the same Executive Order: http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/eog_new/eog/orders/2001/september/eo2001-261-09-07-01.html. And there's a link to it at the bottom of the "Bush Knew" page on BuzzFlash: http://www.buzzflash.com/perspectives/2002/Bush_Knew.html.]
Dear Buzz:
Ari says this government reorganization plan is bigger than any that has transpired since 1947. Well that's just great. But I think what we really need is an even larger government reorganization, where Bush and Cheney are impeached for A) gross incompetence or B) looking the other way while the terrorists made their attack. I don't care which, although I believe the signs point towards the latter.
With this top-down approach, we can also remove:
The entire, dishonest, ineffectual, and dangerous Ashcroft-Mueller team.
The Enron crook White, head of the Army who has shown how much he cares about Americans by price gouging them on electricity.
Rumsfeld who was too busy pushing star wars schemes to protect his own building.
The new head of the Air National Guard, Major General Daniel James, who is probably more adept at expunging former Lt. Col. George W. Bush's military records than he is at defending our nation's skies.
The list goes on . . .
I think the ship is beginning to take on water.
RA in LA
Dear BuzzFlash,
What's new you ask?
Today's testimony of Mueller and the whistleblower mom are nothing more than windowdressing for more "gee, we sure need to reform the FBI...here's what we can do - just give us more money and agents" routine.
I didn't hear one question addressing her main point of her letter that the FBI seemed to be going out of their way to not look at the terrorist threats. Must have gone down in closed door session, huh? Well, the American public will never know the truth on this one, don't even think for a moment. This is whitewashing to cover their asses, both Congress and the FBI, CIA and other alphabet incompetents/criminals, etc.
The American public's not buying this dog and pony show. At least those with any one of their two ears open. This show today is just hideous. I couldn't watch it. Every time they came near something somewhat controversial or about what her memo was all about, they immediately ran for the "national security" blanket and said, oooooh, no we can't talk about Moussoui case...can we?
What a joke. The Senate's a joke. As long as there is no independent commission on this, there will never be an American public willing to take the word of anyone in the government. The jig is up. Time for revolution. We must march on Washington, take back the government. Throw out the alphabet agencies and make a government that truly is accountable to the American people.
Touche.
D. Frederick, San Rafael, CA
Dear Buzz,
While it is true that I often feel I have -finally- figured it all out, this time I have figured out how they plan to get away with it all.
It is a simple and brilliant plan. In fact it is a masterful touch because for it to work it requires that they keep up the pace of new scandals, if not continue to increase it.
The plan is thus.... get away with it all by exhausting the energy of the opposition. It might be possible to pursue one, maybe two scandals, but 10 or 15? 20? 30? No, it is just too exhausting for mere mortals to keep up with....
But you probably already know that.
cheers,
bayard
[BuzzFlash Note: We do get overwhelmed with the exasperating onslaught of pure hypocrisy and the never-ending destructive agendas that pour from this administration like sewage from a pre-Superfund site. However, fighting for an honest, useful, and accountable government can be a better energizer than a Clif bar covered in sugar and coffee beans!]
Dear BuzzFlash,
Oh my God!!! Bush is turning the USA into a police state . . .and we're sitting back and doing NOTHING!!!! Billions of dollars are to be spent to provide 170,000 additional "eyes" to watch all of us. I'm going to assume that the funding is coming from cuts to Medicare, Social Security, Education, Transportation and Road repair . . . I don't really want my tax dollars to be supporting this insanity!!! But, it seems that there is nothing I can do . . . Bush's ratings are still high, and most uneducated Americans think he's doing a great job. (I truly don't understand where they are coming from . . .) Where I live, in Ohio, I have NO ONE representing me, nor my views . . . Senators and Congressmen in my district are all Conservative Fundamentalists. Seriously wondering if the USA is the place to be these days . . .
--- R. Telaak
Dear BuzzFlash,
"Post Staffers Hold 'Byline Strike' Protest"
While I can endorse and empathize with Washington Post writers' demonstrative efforts to receive adequate wages and vacation compensation, I had hoped for more from this headline, and from them. I had hoped that finally one major newspaper group had grown a spine, that it's editors, columnists, and contributing writers were pulling their bylines to protest the insanity of the Republican right wing machine, to protest one simpleton's paranoia about how the rest of the world works and his quick and dangerous fixes to attempt to make it work just like he thinks it should, to protest a group for masking their selfish ambitions as actions to benefit those they were empowered to serve, and to finally give major voice to their growing frustration at high crimes in the hands of charlatans who rule by stealth, having stolen an election, rewritten the constitution and reduced the integrity of our country, promoting instead one nation under one preferred God, irreparable, with liberty and justice stripped from us all. I understand. This is another type of protest, and another kind of strike. I understand completely.
Richard Mann, Seattle
Dear BuzzFlash,
Like our President, I am a United Methodist. In preparing for a church meeting, I came across the following at the official website of our church:
We claim all economic systems to be under the judgment of God no less than other facets of the created order. Therefore, we recognize the responsibility of governments to develop and implement sound fiscal and monetary policies that provide for the economic life of individuals and corporate entities and that ensure full employment and adequate incomes with a minimum of inflation. We believe private and public economic enterprises are responsible for the social costs of doing business, such as employment and environmental pollution, and that they should be held accountable for these costs. We support measures that would reduce the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. We further support efforts to revise tax structures and to eliminate governmental support programs that now benefit the wealthy at the expense of other persons.
The above words (without emphasis) and related links are found at: http://umc.org/abouttheumc/policy/economic/
How do you think he measures up? Just asking.
Pamela of the Poconos
[BuzzFlash Note: Bush gets religion like he gets education funding, he'll say what he needs to say to get your vote, than do just the opposite to get a campaign contribution.]
Dear BuzzFlash,
While reading Barbara's daily comments, along with other contributions in the Mailbag, I can detect (even from this distance) an overwhelming sense of frustration. Frustration at watching George slowly but surely wiggling off the hook! For the thinking American it must surely be a most difficult time. While talking to my lovely friend in Pittsburgh the other night the conversation inevitably turned to politics. After about 10 minutes of flirting with the hot topics I took the plunge and asked "Why the .... aren't you all out on the streets and kicking up hell over there?!" My friend then politely pointed out to me that "We're not like you, we trust our politicians to get on with the job while we get on with our lives, we all believe they're doing their very best for the American people."
Sighhhhh, as they say, there is none so blind as those who do not wish to see.
Keep the faith BuzzFlash, your country really REALLY needs you!
D.M.Reid(NZ)
BuzzFlash,
We need to make an issue of the Bush spin on Senator Kennedy's statement. On the morning of June 6 I read an AP article that was published in the NY Times and on MSNBC. This article announced Bush's speech for the evening and his announcement of a Homeland Security department. Senator Edward Kennedy was quoted as saying that this was a surprise to congress because no one had told them about this announcement. Kennedy went on to say that it was "like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic."
Now, did Kennedy's statement imply the Bush administration was the Titanic? I think so. However, by the evening Bush had spun the story himself and inserted a soundbyte using the word, "titanic." By late this evening an AP story by Ron Fournier, a White House correspondent, implied Kennedy's comment was in response to Bush's comment. In reality, it was the other way around.
Nail 'em.
Jennifer Lee
Dear BuzzFlash,
I listened to Bush last night and he essentially said nothing. The meat was a new agency already announced earlier in the day and certainly not worth preempting air time. The rest was padding and bs.
But it worked! NPR morning edition had extensive coverage of nothing interspersed with analysis that made the Bush proposal seem like hot news.
By 5:36 one line on Rowley. Followed a couple of minutes later by Rowley commentary mostly about whistle blower protection and the pecking order at the FBI. And then a switch to "Mueller" speaking. As to Rowley and her accusations of a deliberate blocking, not a word.
So, with a little cooperation from the liberal media, it worked.
Is this a great country, or what?
Robert Reynolds
Dear BuzzFlash,
Subj: Senate should vote down the latest tax break for the rich
To the editorial board of the San Jose Mercury News:
In yet another tax-giveaway to the rich, the Senate will soon be voting on a repeal of the Estate Tax -- a measure that will benefit only a tiny percentage of the wealthiest Americans.
Isn't it funny how -- in a country facing a growing gap between the rich and the poor, and requiring tax revenue for unemployment aid, education, and the war on international terrorism -- it's issues like the estate tax, upper income tax cuts, and favorable regulations for corporate interests that take legislative priority?
This isn't about "class warfare." That term is a tired and desperate attempt to change the subject by those who curry the favor of the rich by serving almost exclusively their interests. No, I'm merely advocating that the rich should stay exactly as rich as they are now -- and no more. That's hardly a call to drag them through the streets from their mansions.
So please join me in urging the Senate to vote down the Estate Tax repeal. Rather than giving the rich a handout, let's give the them the same gift we've given the poor in this country. Let's curtail their government assistance and give them the dignity and pride that come from knowing that they've made it all by themselves.
Kevin Kraft, Menlo Park, CA
BuzzFlash (Letters),
This is June. Why did it take until June to put together this Department of Homeland Security? Shouldn't this have happened in December? Is Bush saying he left us unprotected for 10 months since Sept. 11?
And why was it "Democrats Not Invited?"
- Dave Johnson
Dear BuzzFlash,
Subj: The President's Speech Last Night
The Imperial Dunce had this to say last night during his speech to the nation (emphasis added):
<<So tonight, I ask the Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent department with an overriding and urgent mission: securing the homeland of America and protecting the American people. Right now, as many as a hundred different government agencies have some responsibilities for homeland security, and NO ONE HAS FINAL ACCOUNTABILITY.>>
Gee, the Unelected Presidunce doesn't realize that HE has "final accountability" for the failures of the administrative agencies that operate under the executive branch.
Even the crash-test-dummy Reagan took responsibility when terrorists in Lebanon killed 245 or so of our finest marines in Beirut.
Yet, things have changed.
In the new universe of Illegal Bush Junta, no one has responsibility for anything!
A President doesn't have responsibility for the agencies that operate in his name and on his behalf, such as the FBI and the CIA.
The CEO of the GOP slush-fund known as Enron doesn't have responsibility for the massive fraud perpetrated by that company during his tenure, which ended in the largest bankruptcy in U.S. History.
The CEO of Halliburton, our current Unelected Vice President, couldn't possibly, in exchange for his $60 million per annum in salary and bonus, have known about Halliburton booking disputed amounts as revenue on its balance sheets.
What was that REALLY FUNNY JOKE about the GOP being the party of "personal responsibility"?
Soopadoopa
Dear BuzzFlash,
Homeland Security Advisor?!?!??!! What the Hell?!? Isn't that Ms. Rice's position as NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR? What is the difference? Or did Mr. Bush have to create a position (or thousands of positions) for a contributor? What a joke! Oh, and it is not going to cost us a thing....HA...woo..stop...you're killing me. It is only going to cost us Social Security, Welfare, Children Services, Veteran Benefits, non-military research, education, our souls, etc. What a laughing stock. We are the worldwide butt of jokes. It makes me sick.
Peter J. Murphy, Orlando, FL
Dear BuzzFlash,
Subj: Dubyah passes the buck!
From his speech last night:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8701-2002Jun6.html
"Right now, as many as a hundred different government agencies have some responsibilities for homeland security, and NO ONE HAS FINAL ACCOUNTABILITY." [Emphasis added] **************
"NO ONE?"
Harry S. Truman must be rolling over in his grave.
--Hesiod
[BuzzFlash Note: Harry S. Truman (1884–1972), U.S. Democratic politician and (real) president, had this motto on his desk: "The Buck Stops Here".]
Dear BuzzFlash,
To those who still want to blame the Clinton Administration here are the facts:
October 25, 1999 Payne Stewart's plane de-pressurizes and drifts off course, within minutes it had an escort of two f-15 fighter jets.
September 11, 2001, forty minutes after we knew the planes were hijacked, the first plane slammed in the North Tower with no fighter escort. If there had been an escort, they may not have shot down the first plane because the intentions may not have been known, but the second plane could have been splashed in the Hudson instead of being crashed into the South Tower. The Clinton administration was ready, the Bush administration was negligent.
Jeff Lounsbury, Hellertown, PA
Dear BuzzFlash,
I went to the website of the EPA and could not download the report, only the cover. At the bottom of one page was posted a website from which to download the report. When I tried to do that I got the cyberspace run-around. I also tried the bookstore.gpo.gov site and got the "cannot be displayed" message. Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the U.S. Climate Action Report 2002? I appreciate any help. Thank you.
Sincerely, Stephen M. Potopa
[BuzzFlash Note: We found it here: http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/publications/car/. There's a great quote on the front of Chapter 1 that should be juxtaposed with Dubya's ridiculous comments from yesterday: "President Bush dismissed on Tuesday a report put out by his administration . . ."]
