June 26, 2002

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Dear Buzz:

OK. Let me get this straight. Ashcroft wouldn't allow the FBI to look at gun purchasing records because the NRA thinks there is an inalienable right to own weapons, and even political speech doesn't get this much protection; after all, owning a weapon is a God given right -- OK; I can follow that -- I think it's Constitutional madness, but Ashcroft is a madman; so all of this makes sense to me.

But now we find out the FBI is allowed to log all the books you're checking out -- make sure you're not trying to "learn" bad things. So now you have to turn over your "library card" to the FBI but I can go down the street and purchase a 45 caliber handgun with no worries. For the first time in my life, phrases like "...the cow jumped over the Moon...." are finally making a lot of sense.

If America isn't "Alice in Wonderland" then I must be having flashbacks. Hard to say these days. The only thing that is certain is that more Americans are going to die young; and future generations are going to look back at us and wonder how so much insanity could stand on its own. What a truly pitiful state we are in. How sad.

Albert R. Thomas
El Cajun, CA

hello buzz

what is with the spate of soldiers stealing or planting explosives??

there is probably a link here if someone would research it or make a stink about it...

just a month ago in florida

http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/051602/LOCsoldierarrest.shtml

then the new one in georgia

http://www.wtlv.com/news/2002-06-22/usw_ganews.asp

are these actual american soldiers? are they just playing? getting ready for the fourth of July maybe??

keep up the great work..

jk

Dear Buzz,

Incredulously, I've just read the NYT article by Diana Jean Schemo from inside a decrepit, roasting 100-plus year old building where I am teaching summer school in a "failing school district."

Let me get this straight, the latest weapon in the Bush Propaganda wars is some ditty extolling the glorification of the anointed-one, and it is actually "...written by Christopher Cerf and Sarah Bruce Durkee, whose children's show, "Between the Lions," receives a $4 million grant from the Education Department."

Bush can subsidize his Minions, but he can't put money in the hands of school districts to update century old buildings? He spends $4 million dollars on one pathetic TV show and only $100 million on decaying school houses across the land!!

If Bush wants to spend billions doling out tests that are biased toward upper-middle class suburbanites, then he should have spent $28,000 on a sign that proclaims loudly and honestly "No child left untested" because that's about all his harebrained policy amounts to.

Todd Erickson
Hamtramck, MI

Dear BuzzFlash:

In the middle today's Washington Post article "FBI Begins Visiting Libraries," the writer states: "First, the FBI must obtain a search warrant from a court that meets in secret to hear the agency's case. The FBI must show it has reason to suspect that a person is involved with a terrorist or a terrorist plot – far less difficult than meeting the tougher legal standards of probable cause, required for traditional search warrants or reasonable doubt, required for convictions." Note the 2nd sentence of that quote.

Now, I refer you back to a lame excuse given to the American citizens during the questioning of FBI agents for why Moussaoui's hard drive could not be searched prior to 9-11-01. An article I read said that a search of Moussaoui's hard drive had been blocked by high-level officials in Washington who claimed insufficient evidence to meet the requirements for a search warrant. Even though according to today's Washington Post article the evidence that must be presented for a search of library computer records is "far less difficult than meeting the tougher legal standards of probable cause, required for traditional search warrants or reasonable doubt, required for convictions."

Does this make sense to the American citizens? Ashcroft has given the go ahead for the FBI to search any library computer it deems MIGHT contain records of someone POSSIBLY connected to terrorism and yet they could not get a search warrant to search a KNOWN TERRORIST'S HARD DRIVE.

I do not believe anything the FBI, CIA or any agency of our government is telling us right now. And if it comes out of Bush's mouth or one of his cronies' mouths, I certainly don't believe it. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I mean yesterday it was reported that according to the Environmental unProtection Agency that it's okay to eat fish that swim in toxic sludge.

Heaven help us all.

Donna Woods

LETTER TO OHIO STATE STUDENTS

My dear young friends,

I am an 81 year-old American and have been living in France for the past 35 years. I was sent here by my university to direct their Junior Year Abroad program. Before that, in the sixties, I taught at Washington University in St. Louis.

I have always loved young people, and I think of them not just as my students, but as the future of this world. The thought that they might be taken in by this deceptive administration has saddened me. So you can imagine how delighted and encouraged I was to read your website and to know that there are so many of you who realize the truth and oppose the deceptive, greedy and dangerous ways of this illegal presidency.

Our last presidential election was an American tragedy.....not so much by its dishonest results, as by the fact that there were not millions of Americans marching to protest them. This could never have happened in France!!

The issues debated in the 2000 election seemed not to have many issues that directly concerned the people of your generation; so I can understand the small voter turnout of our college students. But today, with George Bush's threat of preventive war against over a third of this world, you are directly concerned. You are what he is planning to use as cannon fodder. We must not let this happen!!!!!

I urge you to do whatever it takes to organize your groups to help get out the vote this fall. You are the ones who can distribute flyers, make speeches, go door-to-door, organize town meetings....and you can provide transportation to the polls for people who have no other means of getting there.

Turning your backs on George Bush is a splendid way to show your disapproval, and I laud you for it. But unless we can win back our Congress this fall, nothing else will make much difference!!

I implore you to do your best, your very best, to get people to vote in the coming legislative elections. Tell them you don't care HOW they vote.....but they MUST exercise their sacred duty to make their voices heard. Many people all over the world have fought, bled and died for the right to vote. Americans take this privilege too lightly.

And contact your peers in other universities whenever possible. There must be other websites like yours. Use this magic medium of the internet to make yourselves known and stir others to action.

I am an old lady, and no longer have the energy to stand on soapboxes and campaign as I used to. But I have an indestructible faith in our young people. This is your world, never forget it!! Don't let it be destroyed by this greedy, oil-soaked, war-mongering administration. Make your voices heard..........loud and clear..........and do whatever it takes to help others to do it too.

God bless you all.

Matilda Lipscomb
www.letstalksense.com

"Tie A Yellow Ribbon"

Dear BuzzFlash,

The Bush administration is shameless!!! I can only take Bush in small doses, so I listened to a small portion of a speech he gave in Arizona concerning the fire. He compared the fire to 9/11, in that the fire is an evil, but we will fight it and good will come out of it. Can you believe how Bush, under the edict of Karl Rove, has exploited the deaths of 3000 people? He does it time and time again. He finds ways to tie everything to 9/11. Bush's poll numbers were the lowest of any president at that point into their term when 9/11 happened. Along comes bin Laden and his poll numbers soar. With all of the ties the Bush family have with the bin Ladens, it makes a person wonder.

Gigi

Dear BuzzFlash,

Bush spoke to the people in the White Mountains this morning. They allowed 300 of the fire evacuees on a first come first serve basis to hear him. They did not allow the speech to be carried live. It was taped and then in a few minutes released to the media to be carried on TV. I do not know how many times he said "compassionate" but it seemed like it was every other word. Then he ended his ten minute speech approximately with, "I believe in a Gracious and All Mighty God, don't you! God Bless!" I may not have this part of the speech exact but it pretty close.

Of course, before he spoke he went to the firemen and had plenty of photos taken with them. He declared AZ a major disaster and then he took off about noon out of Phoenix. He had arrived in Phoenix about 9 this morning so he was not here very long. He flew in in Air Force One, then a smaller plane to the White Mountains, flew over the fire, spoke and returned to Phoenix so he was not there very long.

Mueller in Keynote Controversy (washingtonpost.com)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39204-2002Jun24.html

A BuzzFlash Reader

q u o t e s . o f . t h e . d a y

"Baylor University in Texas has announced that they would like to be the home of the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Baylor officials said all they need is President Bush to donate both books he's read."

-Conan O'Brien

"U.S News and World Report" says that Baylor University in Texas wants to be the new home of the George Bush Presidential Library. They say that they plan to have a complete collection of all the memos and FBI warnings that Bush didn't read."

-Jay Leno

Dear BuzzFlash,

I partially agree with the view you express in one of your headlines today, regarding the fact that Bush et al. are quiet about the anthrax threat and other internal U.S. terrorist threats. I certainly agree that they're being quiet about it, and that this is for political reasons, but I think the political reasons are different from the view you express (that the silence is due to the administration's wanting to scapegoat Arabs for everything).

Rather, I think that the administration realizes that the internal U.S. terrorists (or potential terrorists) are mostly right-wingers, and I think that Ashcroft and his ilk are afraid that exposing these people would upset their buddies who, like themselves, are barely above the right wing militia stage of political consciousness. Moreover, Ashcroft, et al. wouldn't want the media to focus on the right wing as a threat to our nation; after all, much of their own public persona depends on a false image that identifies themselves and people like them as real patriots (rather than the anti-democratic traitors or near-traitors that they so often are).

Keep up the good work.

Daniel Burnstein

Dear BuzzFlash,

With only the fourth edition of Capitol Buzz, we have to bid adieu to the person "Roll Call" termed BuzzFlash's "Deep Throat."

How can he do that to us?? is it really that easy to ferret out his identity?

Please let Capitol Buzz know that he has just relinquished his power to really make a difference -- I fear that he has become yet another victim of the fascist juggernaut that is attacking our jugular ...

He will be sorely missed, as he was sorely needed.

-- Faith

Dear BuzzFlash,

Big news tonight, whoops, World Com "accidentally" misled their shareholders, Wall Street, and the 17,000 being laid off by more than, gosh can it be true, $3 Billion. We can now add their name to a very very long list of greedy, fraud ridden, lying, cheating, stealing CEO's. Now let's see, didn't George Bush tell us that he was going to "run" the government like a business and he's the CEO. I would say he is suited for the job since all the CEO's to date have stated they didn't know anything. Most of these businesses gave whopping donations to the GOP and they are getting their monies worth. This has become sickening and disgusting, and those lying CEO's are walking away with millions for their ability to steal from the American public.

Let me turn to some other stories, Firefighters. The ever etched picture of Firefighters pouring into the World Trade Center, some to their own death to protect and try and save. Firefighters exhausted, worked day and night to clear the rubble and at the same time try and preserve the dignity and sacredness of that giant grave.

Firefighters from all over this country, working 24/7 to save towns, homes, lives in the inferno that has become the West. Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming. I live in Denver 40 miles from the Hayman fire and the smoke and ash in this city leaves us choking, I cannot imagine what it must be on the fire line and another fire started tonight, and raging out of control up by Durango. But they go, the Firefighters go. They are drawing straws all over the West, who has the greatest need, who needs the most. And so they crisis cross these states, barely sleeping, no time to get the dust and smoke and ash out of their lungs.

Our leader GWB went to Arizona today to fly over their fire, and shake hands with the few who could take time to come and shake his hand. You assured everyone that all in America cared, but you had to hustle back to Washington, make plans for your latest war, or missile system, or a corporate welfare package, or more tax cuts for the wealthy, or another lobbyists to meet.

Do you want to do something George? Freeze all the ill-gotten gains from those who have stolen from the people and make sure every single fireman in this country gets a raise, a big raise. You know, all those guys who don't have a MBA from Yale. Those guys who are protecting our fannies day and night.

You should have spent a few days here with us in the West George, maybe you could have learned a little something about humanity. Your friends are such lowlifes, such scum it's hard to learn about humanity with those kind of people surrounding you.

Well George, while your friends are living it up through their disasters, say a prayer, a sincere prayer, for the firefighters in this country who are not living it up through their disasters and think about what we owe them beyond a few pathetic words of praise while you are on your way outta town.

You know what is amazing to me, I've heard you say you sleep like a baby.

Sally McDonald

Dear BuzzFlash,

Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, 48, has not been charged or identified by the FBI as a suspect. He worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, the top military bioterrorism research facility, for about two years in the late 1990s.

Hatfill, who has an M.D. and a Ph.D. in molecular cell biology, has conducted scientific research and training in the field of bioterrorism, including training for emergency personnel and U.S. special forces troops.

Hatfill has worked in recent years for the McLean, Va., office of Science Applications International Corp., a large defense contractor. But the government lifted his security clearance in July 2001, according to SAIC officials.

From: vgd

* * *

Frederick scientist's home searched in anthrax probe

Investigators remove property from apartment; man not called a suspect

By Scott Shane Sun Staff

June 26, 2002

The FBI searched the apartment yesterday of a biological weapons scientist in Frederick as part of the continuing investigation into the mailing of anthrax-laced letters that killed five people last fall.

An FBI car and Ryder rental truck were parked yesterday evening outside Detrick Plaza apartments, and agents were carrying out large trash bags filled with unknown materials collected inside, a witness said. The low-rise apartments are just outside the main gate to Fort Detrick.

The scientist agreed to the search in the hope that it would remove his name from the list of possible suspects in the investigation, one law enforcement official said.

Link to the article: http://www.sunspot.net/bal-te.anthrax26jun26.story

Dear BuzzFlash,

Here's the other shoe falling on the story about the Ft Stewart soldier caught planting explosives at the power plant in Jacksonville. He got his day in court less than ONE month later, and got 18-months probation! Bet you'll love this line in the story: "Peterson's attorney, Hank Coxe, said yesterday his client's case had been blown out of proportion because police initially suspected Peterson's actions were related to terrorism." Jeeez, really? Just because he planted C4 explosives at a public utility? When brain-dead red-necked GI Joes do it, it's called 'youthful indiscretion,' I suppose.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/060802/met_9616747.html

Clay Roach

Dear Buzz:

Despite the small fortune I've personally lost in our "efficient" stock market, I feel it will be ironically appropriate for Bush & Company to finally have been brought down by the many corporate thieves and liars who have been his closest personal and political friends and benefactors.

The mind-boggling chutzpah for Bush to lecture on corporate responsibility is beyond belief! I can't wait to hear how the TV spinmeisters will try, once again, to separate Bush and his team of zillionaires (former corporate honchos) from the rest of the corporate criminals now being exposed.

If the monumental financial losses don't wake the Bush groupies up, I can't imagine what will! Maybe, once again, they'll find a way to blame it all on Bill Clinton.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Dear BuzzFlash,

Tuesday's search came a week after Hatfill's name came up during a meeting between Barbara Hatch Rosenberg, a biological weapons expert from the Federation of American Scientists, and staff members of Sens. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., and Thomas A. Daschle, D-S.D., both of whom were sent anthrax-contaminated letters. FBI agents were present at the meeting, sources said.

For months, Rosenberg has been publicly prodding the FBI to take a closer look at Hatfill.

From: vgd

* * *

FBI Searches Home In Anthrax Case

Agents Take Bags Of Evidence From Researcher's Maryland Apartment

By DAVE ALTIMARI And JACK DOLAN Courant Staff Writers

June 26, 2002

FREDERICK. Md. -- Federal agents searched a former Army microbiologist's apartment for a second time Tuesday - one week after he was discussed at a meeting between the FBI's most prominent critic and staff members of two senators who received anthrax-laced letters.

Agents cordoned off the street in front of the Detrick Plaza Apartments abutting the U.S. Army's premier biological warfare research laboratory, where Dr. Steven J. Hatfill worked for several years. Late in the afternoon, agents packed evidence into garbage bags and placed them into a Ryder rental truck backed up near the door of Hatfill's apartment.

http://www.ctnow.com/news/nationworld/hc-2anthrax0626.artjun26.story?coll=hc%2Dheadlines%2Dhome

Dear BuzzFlash,

Oh, man, what would I do without BuzzFlash? Your site keeps me somewhat sane in these trying times with Georgie Poo. When I read the columns of Rebecca Knight, Barbara, Gloria Lalumia and the mailbag, I am reassured that there are many others out there who confirm my feelings about the Bushites.

Speaking of poo, the Dumbya was spreading it in Arizona. While Arizona and Colorado burn, Smirky is there to "spread compassion." Give me a break -- he wouldn't know what real compassion is if it bit him.

Lastly, would you please, please, please provide this link to BuzzFlash readers?:

http://www.visiontv.ca/programs/insight/insight.htm

At the site, there are transcripts of a TV broadcast by Barrie Zwicker, a Canadian media critic. Like him, I have come to believe that there was a "stand down order" on Sept 11th. I would be interested in people's opinions especially Air Force and/or military veterans of such an order.

Keep on buzzing.

Irma

Irma Sarata
Lincoln, NE

"A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side."

- Aristotle

Allen Walden