July 9, 2002

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Dear BuzzFlash,

Howie Kurtz asks if journalists were too dazzled by CEOs to dig into their corporate lives...yeah, of course they were. The totally obvious connection he misses is that the same sycophancy the American Press showed toward CEOs in the late-90s is now being applied to a self-proclaimed CEO just as corrupt: George W. Bush!

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0206/29/rs.00.html

AW

Dear BuzzFlash,

When asked about the recent upset in Bush's filings, this was the quote that came out of the White House:

"These types of late filings are not out of the ordinary," Bartlett told The Washington Post in Wednesday's editions. "It would be like doing a 60 in a 55" speed-limit zone, he said.

I would like to respectfully remind the Administration that speeding is speeding, and it's against the law. We normal folks get a ticket for speeding. I guess the next time I get pulled over, I have a ready-made excuse - the President says it's OK to speed.

Someone get that bozo out of office!

Christopher Wing

Dear BuzzFlash,

How about this pledge? I would not mind reciting this one:

I pledge allegiance to THE PEOPLE of the United States of America and to OUR republic for which I'll stand, to restore liberty and justice for ALL.

Just an idea.

Anon

Dear BuzzFlash,

George W Bush's Pledge of Allegiance (to satisfy Poppy):

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the Corporations of America And to fellow Republicans who make it stand for OUR Nation, Under OUR God, With Liberty through Deception for the rich.

Smiles, Suni:)))

Dear BuzzFlash,

So Bush thinks that insider trading, selling out his stock and leaving investors holding the bag is the equivalent of a speeding ticket. That just shows how corrupt Bush's morals are. He is so in tune with sleazy nasty Texas style wheeling and dealing that he doesn't even recognize that his own behavior was reprehensible. Junior has just announced himself to be unfit to lead the world's largest economy. Finally Bush admits he is just another sleazy Texas Businessman. Junior makes JR Ewing look good.

-bakho

Dear BuzzFlash,

my research challenges the reporting in Editorials this morning...in which GWB is "cleared" of insider trading charges by claiming it was "two months after selling his stock that the Harken price tanked." It was EIGHT DAYS !

Barbra Stickler
Birch Bay, WA

* * *

HELPED BY FATHER’S FRIENDS. Wall Street Journal: Bush’s Business "Success" Attributed to Family Name: "Mr. Bush’s career with the Rangers baseball team, for example, is likely to come under intense scrutiny in the next 12 months. In 1989, when Mr. Bush brought together his investment group to buy the Rangers, the seller was Eddie Chiles, a longtime friend and supporter of President Bush. Mr. Chiles let the president’s son and his group goes to the head of the line. But in a pattern repeated through his business career, Mr. Bush’s play did not quite make the grade. Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth stepped in, brokering a deal that brought Fort Worth financier Richard Rainwater together with the Bush group. Mr. Ueberroth’s pitch to Mr. Rainwater was that he joins the deal partly ‘out of respect’ for President Bush, a source close to the negotiations told the New York Times. "Prior to joining Harken [Energy], Mr. Bush’s business record was not good. He started his first firm, Arbusto Energy, in 1977, the headiest days of the oil patch, and was buffeted along with all the others by the high interest rates and collapsing oil prices of the next few years. Hoping to boost its fortunes, he changed Arbusto’s name to Bush Exploration, and then merged it with Spectrum 7 Energy Corp. in an effort to stay afloat. As the hard times continued, Spectrum merged with Harken Energy. Harken viewed Mr. Bush’s famous name as an important asset, oil industry executives close to the deal have said. Harken officials will not comment about Mr. Bush, but records show that the company’s stock began to climb right after the Spectrum merger was announced, hitting $6 a share within a year before falling back. Mr. Bush was philosophical about losing his management role in the oil business but retaining profit. ‘I try to talk up Harken whenever I can,’ he told Forbes magazine in June 1987, ‘and I’d feel a lot worse if the stock hadn’t tripled.’ In 1989, Harken’s stock was trading at between $4 and $5 a share. That’s when Mr. Bush put up his shares as collateral for the Rangers loan. In January 1990, with shares trading around $4.50, Harken announced that it had signed a potentially lucrative oil-exploration deal with the government of Bahrain. On June 20, 1990, Mr. Bush sold the bulk of his Harken stock for $848,000, at $4 a share, and paid off the Rangers loan. Eight days later, Harken finished the second quarter with losses of $23 million, and the stock went into a nosedive, losing nearly 75% of its value, finishing the year at a little over $1 a share. Critics of Mr. Bush cried foul, charging that as a Harken director he was in a position to trade illegally on insider information before the stock’s decline. The Securities and Exchange Commission ultimately cleared Mr. Bush. But suspicions of Mr. Bush’s lucky timing had heightened at first, when the SEC, discovering that he had not filed the proper disclosure form, opened an investigation into the president’s son. Mr. Bush claimed that he did file the correct form, but that it had been lost. He also said that he had cleared the stock sale with Harken’s general counsel. "Any president has to balance his public duties with his inevitable private associations. Mr. Bush has collected a rather rich assortment of connections in his career as the son of a man who was president, vice president and director of the Central Intelligence Agency. His personal financial position seems secure, thanks in no small way to friends of his father." [Morrison, Wall Street Journal, 9/28/99]

-- emphasis by BuzzFlash

Dear BuzzFlash,

I rarely watch TV but I happened to walk into the room while my husband was watching one of the network news stations and was horrified to see this report from Iowa. I wish I could remember the station it was on, but there a story about a dead infant found somewhere in a public place. The judge from that area subpoenaed all the records from hospitals and Planned Parenthood in the area, demanding to see all records pertaining to pregnancy related stuff. The hospitals turned over their records, but Planned Parenthood has refused to do so. This whole Bush/Ashcroft regime gets more frightening every day. Now a woman's pregnancy records are not private. This is truly horrifying. I cannot remember what station this was on. It might have been MSNBC or CNN. The judge claimed that records from a clinic are not private. Oh, really?

Patricia Rich-Turner

[BuzzFlash Note: Here's the AP story - Iowa Judge Subpoenas Pregnancy Tests, http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&
u=/ap/20020703/ap_on_re_us/recycling_baby_1]

Dear BuzzFlash,

Just how low will Bush and Gang go to divert the attention from his crooked administration. Unbelievable what Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfwitz said on national television (NBC-Today) this morning. He point blank said that there was an al-Queda terrorist cell working in Jacksonville, Florida. This sure came as a surprise to the Mayor and Law Enforcement officials in the city, so they called Washington and spoke with every agency they could...and guess what? No one had any idea what Wolfwitz was talking about. They knew nothing about any terrorist cell operating in Jacksonville....Talk about crying wolf to divert attention from the growing heat about Bush's illegal stock trading deals.

Cary Lindsey

From the Jacksonville Florida newspaper:

Friday, July 5, 2002
Last modified at 9:16 p.m. on Thursday, July 4, 2002

Terror cell not active in Duval Defense official misspoke trouble

By Tia Mitchell Times-Union staff writer

Law enforcement officials say a nationally televised statement yesterday by the deputy secretary of defense about an al-Qaida terrorist cell in Jacksonville was off-base.

Responding to a question about al-Qaida on NBC's Today show yesterday morning, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said Osama bin Laden's terrorist group had a headquarters in Jacksonville.

"They're [al-Qaida cells] burrowed into some 60 countries around the world," Wolfowitz said. "They have headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, and in Jacksonville, Fla., not just in Afghanistan, and its going to take a long time to root them out."

Hey BuzzFlash:

Remember the story of the Saudi princess who pushed her maid down the stairs in Florida?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&
u=/AP/20020702/ap_wo_en_po/us_sa udi_princess_2

The maid was denied a visa to return to the U.S. and testify:

Russell Troutman, Suryono's attorney, said he was satisfied with the no contest plea but would have preferred a plea of guilty. He questioned the motive behind the denial of Suryono's visa application.

"Why in the world wouldn't they give her a visa?" Troutman said. "I'm speculating that it was an attempt on the part of the administration to do a favor for the royal family."

And here's the New York Times' account:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/02/national/02SAUD.html

-CR

Dear BuzzFlash,

George W. Bush's attempt to explain away his failure to timely file the legally-required Form 4 regarding his insider sale of Harken stock -- and place the blame on "the lawyers" --- fails to deal with the fact that the law says such filing is the legal obligation of the individual director, not the corporation or its lawyers.

Mr. Bush was a member of the Harken board of directors' AUDIT committee. I think assignment to such a post implies at least SOME responsibility on the part of the director so appointed.

Mr. Bush's constant lamentations that nothing is his fault are signs of a serious character flaw. That Mr. Bush has been able to slide through life without ever having to pay the penalty for any of his many misdeeds and/or lawbreaking episodes has led him to the point where the word "responsibility" is a sad joke in his quite limited vocabulary.

On the campaign trail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 26, 2000, George W. Bush gave his "An Era of Responsibility" speech in which he said, "From the first day of this campaign I have talked about the goal of a responsibility era for America…. For too long our culture has sent this message: …if you've got a problem, just go ahead and blame somebody else. Each of us must understand that's not right."

Do you suppose the day will ever come when we will hear George W. Bush say, "Yes, it was my fault"? Don't hold your breath: Mr. Bush has a sorry history of thinking no blame should, or will, ever stick to him.

Lois Erwin

Dear BuzzFlash,

I have been surfing through countless web sites seeking news and other info. The amount of information available is mind-boggling. I just wish more people would seek access to more info rather than getting their news from one source. I posted a reply to a comment on a conservative site concerning an article that basically said all liberals were terrorists (by Ann Coulter, you know, the woman who legitimizes every dumb blonde joke you've ever heard). I pointed out that rights guaranteed by the Constitution HAVE been violated. Specifically, I mentioned the events in Tampa and at Ohio State where peaceful protesters were removed or arrested. One person replied to my comment that he found "laughable" the idea something like this would be done by the right. Another person said the protests were not peaceful, "just ask the police in those cities". Really? Just ask the 80 year-olds in Tampa that were knocked down by the police. One guy said I proved Ann Coulter right about liberals' name calling when I referred to George W as the "boy king". I posted back and said, yes I was guilty of that, but, what do you have to say about the FACTS I stated. I got no reply.

It blows my mind that these people can be so one-dimensional in their thinking. There is no room for debate. Rush Limbaugh tells his sheep they don't need to go anywhere else for their news. And they believe him! What intelligent human being would limit themselves so? I guess I answered my own question. I have been so immersed in what has happened since November 2000 that my blood pressure is up and my doctor keeps yelling at me to take a break from all the chaos. I can't. Our very existence is at stake. Maybe I should stop reading what the right is writing, but then, I would be as one-dimensional as them. And besides, how do I know I'm right if I don't see what they have to say so I can compare?

Peter Kallash

Buzz,

Here is another story on George and his shady deals. Where is Ken Starr when we really need him? He hounds Bill Clinton for 8 yrs. over sex and no money and Hillary over 200k. Bush makes millions on insider trading and he gets an "atta boy." It is time for George and Dick to feel some heat, both need independent counsels looking into their business deals.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/07/05/BULAZ.DTL

Karen

Dear BuzzFlash,

Quote of the Day

"America is a nation that values our relationship with an Almighty," Bush said. "Declaration of God in the Pledge of Allegiance doesn't violate rights. As a matter of fact, it's a confirmation of the fact that we received our rights from God, as proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence." That document, in which American colonists declared their independence from Britain in 1776, said the colonists had been "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." Bush said the ruling "points up the fact that we need commonsense judges who understand that our rights were derived from God. And those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench."

© 2002 The Washington Post Company

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55614-2002Jun27.html

Chewgababy

Dear BuzzFlash,

Chicago Tribune Sat story on LA killings Saturday Morning, July 6th. Is it "weapons" or is it "guns". It is interesting how words such as "guns" and "weapons" are used to convey meaning.

The Tribune says it was "weapons" that were used to kill in LA.

Someone should review the headlines of various papers on Saturday and Sunday and report the percents and thus the bias: how often "weapons" are mentioned as opposed "gun'" in the LAX killings. I'll bet a dollar that "weapons" is the term used more often when the article is written in a "conservative" paper.

Will Ashcroft tell us where they "weapons" were obtained and how?

Just a suggestion for someone to do a revealing piece of detective work.

Just a thought

ZHarry Piotrowski

hi buzz,

you've got to have a side-bar headline EVERY DAY that goes: political crooks=economic crooks. we've got to send out the drumbeat every day that the political crooks: bush, cheney,delay and armey colluded with the corporate crooks: lay, dynegy's ceo, old el paso's CEO,etc and CREATED OUR FREAKING ENERGY POLICY. its got to be drummed into the head of every american every day, over and over.

much thanks for your good works,

paul christie

Dear BuzzFlash,

RE: Bush to Resume Ill-Advised Shoot Downs of Small Planes in South America. When Will They Ever Learn, Oh, When Will They Ever Learn? 7/5

"Bush to Resume U.S. Participation Extra-Judicial Executions by American Made War Planes in South America. Actions Violate International Law, Treaties and Conventions." "Open Season on Madonna and Child Again!"

You have my permission to use the above headline.

Mike Adams, Atlanta

Dear BuzzFlash,

I just listened to Sen. Sarbanes pass on the Bush Harken deal. On "This Week" Donaldson asked him about Bush and Harken. Sarbanes said he only knew what he had read (in the papers) and was prepared to accept the SEC determination that it was ok.

First of all this is either cowardly or an amazing lack of knowledge for someone writing a bill on corporate accounting controls and penalties.

Unless the Democrats are prepared to stand up and speak up, this bad guy in the White House is just going to go on and on with his extremist agenda.

Eight years of Whitewater and an impeachment and the Democrats still feel no need to attack real misconduct on the part of Bush. Not made up misconduct ala Whitewater, but real misconduct ALA ENRON and World.com.

I don't have a clue as to where the Democrats are coming from and where they are going. How do they expect to win in November? Do they think people will vote for them because they were kind to GW?

Hitler got the same kid gloves treatment and look what happened. Those that refused to stand up and be counted ended up standing up in lines and being counted.

rereynolds, orangepk, fl

Buzz:

I pledge allegiance to Jehovah...Serena Williams gave all praises and honor to Jehovah (Jehova Witness) as the source of the domination in tennis. Take that George W. Bush! and Congress for that matter. She wasn't getting a call from the President anyway.

PJOnes Texas

Dear BuzzFlash,

I seem to recall that there was a story about the Town of Arlington using the right of eminent domain to take over land surrounding the stadium for the benefit of Bush and his backers. This came out in a lawsuit of a ranch owner and his family and their successful fight in the courts.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Dear BuzzFlash,

I am a Korea war veteran. The democrats need to believe in the people who support them and have more faith in them. They should quit all of this agreeing with Bush on anything he says or does and it would be to their benefit to attack Bush on anything he wants to say or do because what Bush does is going to be against the people of this nation who work for a living to support their family and their country. The news media needs to get their nose out George W Bush's hind end and start exposing this idiot that those five corrupt judges appointed president. We need an Independent Counsel to investigate George W Bush from the day he was born because his entire family has had run-ins with the law and who knows how many cover-ups out there that needs to be uncovered. By the way George W Bush has cut the budget for the veterans administration so much that medical care is being denied thousands and thousands of veterans across the country and there are many who can't even get in to see a primary doctor and I am one whose services has been cut. This was an associated press story that was printed on 5-14-02, but of course the news media did not report it and the veterans administration knows that the media did not report it but look who the chairman is. He is Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn.

Sincerely

Thomas Jelf
Lexington, Ky

A letter to Reuters:

The article in question, which you link to (please cut'n'paste) at:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&
u=/nm/20020708/pl_nm/financial_congress_pitt_dc_4

contains a factual error which I'm sure you'll want to explore.

Near the end, one reads:

> The SEC investigated Bush in 1991 for being up to 34 weeks late in
> reporting stock sales worth more than $1 million but concluded he
> did not engage in illegal insider trading.

The SEC made no such conclusion, as many other reports have clearly shown.

Charles Stanley

Dear BuzzFlash,

To my Fellow Americans...specifically to my Fellow Americans charged with the responsibility of overseeing what's in the best interest of the people, my Fellow Americans who have been VOTED into the Legislative Branch of this Government.

This is all too amusing and right on the heels of the Pledge of Allegiance and "under God." Perhaps we could revisit that Pledge for just a moment, the part that says "with liberty and justice for all." Justice, that is an interesting word. We have literally millions in prisons in this country contemplating the word "justice." I've been thinking a lot about that word myself. JUSTICE FOR ALL.

Senator Hagel R-Neb. said that "we don't want to over react" regarding the recent surge in crime in the corporate sector. I believe he said "you can't legislate character and integrity." Really, now that's a "wow" statement. I would disagree with the Senator. We've been trying to build character and integrity through our prison system with every petty crook and thief (much like the CEO's of today) for quite some time. Does this mean that our lawmakers believe crooks should go to jail and we throw away the key because they cannot be rehabilitated. Or does it mean that our criminally ridden corporate CEO's, Accountants, Bankers, Lawyers, and Wall Street Analysts are beyond rehabilitation so they should just go free, but hey we'll make "future" laws just in case this happens again. And you want us to trust you that the market is now safe? You want us, as investors, to trust this mess is all being taken care of, in spite of the fact that we have an administration full of these corporate type lowlife criminals running this country?

How many thieves do you think we have in our prisons because they stole a couple hundred bucks or less. Some of those crooks didn't even get anything, they just tried, but they are sitting there in prison thinking about justice. I would bet you could take a couple of million of these "crooks" in our jails and prisons and the sum total of everything they stole wouldn't add up to what even one of the CEO's, say Ken Lay or Jeff Skilling got and I expect all our prisoners put together haven't stolen from as many people as the entire group mentioned above. Has anyone added up how much they all got away with, quite a bit I expect considering most of these men constitute a big part of the top 1% of wealth in this country.

Wonder what you all are going to do, up there on the Hill. Will big houses, fancy cars, the designer haircuts and handmade suits fool you into thinking these men are anything but your ordinary garden variety thief? All of their victims, all the crooks and cheats, all the Americans in this country who are contemplating the phrase "justice for all," would like to know. It's not just our investments and retirements they stole from us, there is the little matter of our tax dollars that have gone to them and it adds up to quite a bit. Another fact worth mentioning is the extra taxes we've had to pay in order to cover their lack of payment with their "offshore investments."

All of you ran out on our Nation's Capital the other day to make sure "the people" knew what you stood for, and you all loudly made your Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. I would like to suggest you gather again for the same purpose and go over each and every word carefully, make sure you understand the complete meaning of that pledge.

Most of us, as Americans, will never blame you for turning a blind eye to what has been going on for years in corporations, Wall Street, Accounting, Lobbies, etc., but if you do nothing now believe me, we won't forget.

Drip...Drip...Drip

Sally McDonald

Dear BuzzFlash,

Excellent article from 92 that you posted.... http://www.motherjones.com/news_wire/bushboys.html You are doing an outstanding job of reminding people of what was already published about these Bush Boys. I found the following quote (referring to Poppy Bush) amazingly applicable to our current pResident:

"When President Bush speaks of the lack of family values he, of course, is referring to broken marriages, single mothers, and inner-city kids who join gangs and sell dope. But are these the only villains -- or the most important ones -- responsible for the shredded social fabric? What about well-to-do white boys who trade on family connections, welsh on loans, run with con men, and leave financial ruin in their wake as they line their own pockets? What about grown men, with access to the most powerful public office in the land, who participate in scandal but show no remorse for any of it -- and who take no responsibility for the consequences of their own actions?"

A BuzzFlash Reader

Dear BuzzFlash,

My husband thinks someone should make a list of the board members of all 'scandal' companies and their political affiliations. What do you think?

Suzanne

[BuzzFlash Note: We think it's a good idea. If someone has the time to do it, we'd love to post it.]

Dear BuzzFlash,

"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini

Monica Finch

July 8, 2002

To my representatives, Senator Hutchison and Congressman Paul of Texas

Concerning: Dick Cheney Resignation

Senator and Congressman,

Our Vice President, while serving as CEO of Halliburton, made shady deals to do business with Iraq circumventing US trade sanctions. This fact is clearly documented in numerous press reports and acknowledged by the company itself. Though it may have been 'technically' legal, it is no less abhorrent, hypocritical and anti-American.

Under Cheney's watch, Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root was fined $3.8 million for violating US sanctions in business dealings with Libya. The company also paid a fine for defrauding the US Military by submitting false claims for delivery orders between 1994 and 1998.

As CEO of Halliburton, he allowed his company to engage in accounting practices that inflated the company stock and enriched himself personally at the expense of investors.

As Vice President, his secret energy meetings, included several with Ken Lay, lead to the government refusing to impose price caps on electricity during the California energy crises, even as citizens of that state shuddered as electricity prices ballooned over 700% in a few short months. We now know that Enron was rigging the system and we know how they were doing it. And we know that Dick Cheney knew and did nothing. It is clear that our Vice President was a participant in this scam.

This is evidence of Dick Cheney's involvement in serial fraud and personal dishonesty. This man is a heartbeat away from the presidency and it is quite clear he is unqualified for either job.

I remind you that this administration promised that it would not tolerate "even the appearance of impropriety." Your service and duty to America is more important than party loyalties and I ask for you to call for his resignation immediately.

Thank you

Steve Warren

Dear BuzzFlash -

Enough is enough. This administration has continually tried to justify every new outrage as "necessary in a time of war." Here's the news, folks: we are not at war. Whatever you may choose to call the president-select's current militaristic orgy, it is not "war." The last war that this country fought was World War II. The precedent set in Korea (aka, "police action") has now reached its logical and nightmarish end game. Continuous military action and erosion of constitutional rights with no oversight whatsoever.

Congress, and Congress alone, has the power to declare war under our constitution. They have not done so. The fact that Congress has allowed the massive military of the United States of America to become a personal police force -- of ANY president, not just this corrupt, lazy and stupid frat boy -- is an act of malfeasance and a dereliction of a solemn duty bordering on treason.

So, the next time someone talks about the "war on terror," look them straight in the eye and ask them "what war?" Ask them to define war for you. Ask them if their elected representatives in Congress have declared war. And ask them who has the power to stop this so-called war as it oscillates out of control. Finally, ask them how they will feel when their son is shipped off to die in Iraq because the narcissistic and illegitimate commander-in-chief of an unregulated military thinks that his family name has been besmirched.

Sadly, in these times, as a citizen and a father, I must sign this,

Anonymous

Dear BuzzFlash,

There is a man in jail for life for stealing a pizza in California.

NO ONE IS IN JAIL OR OUT ON BOND FOR THE TENS OF BILLIONS STOLEN BY CORPORATE AMERICANS.

There is a man in jail for life for stealing a pizza in California.

NO ONE IS IN JAIL OR OUT ON BOND FOR THE TENS OF BILLIONS STOLEN BY CORPORATE AMERICANS.

Repeat until anger grows.

Josh Narins

Dear BuzzFlash,

In a message dated 7/8/02 9:07:20 AM, buzzflash@buzzflash.com writes:

>A BuzzFlash Reader Commentary
>
>July 8, 2002
>
>"Cokie is WRONG: Bush Was Never 'Cleared' by SEC"
>
>by Joe Strike
>
>Why is Cokie Roberts repeating the not-quite-true White House line that
>Bush's suspicious Harken Oil dealings (which cover far more territory than
>just the failure to report an insider stock transaction, by the way) were
>'cleared' by the SEC?

I've used to wonder about that -- well not about Bush specifically, but why Cokie, more often than not, repeats untruthful GOP propaganda. I pondered and pondered if it was because she was stupid and/or lazy or because she is a partisan Republican hack propagandist. I never did figure it out for certain but then I decided it didn't really matter to me and I stopped watching her show.

A BuzzFlash Reader

A Letter to NPR:

Subj: NPR's Right Wing Shift & Roberts' howler this AM.

I know that politics makes you pander increasingly to the right, but fairness demands that every time you feature Cokie Roberts, you need to balance it w/ someone unwilling to lie for Bush.

Having editorial comments from the Cato, Heritage, Hudson, etc. Institutes is fine, because you back-announce the speaker affiliation. No such announcements follow Roberts' reports.

It would have been nice to hear someone intelligent & neutral (Dan Shore?) or even intelligent & partisan (Carville? Begala?) respond to Roberts' howling lie that Bush was innocent of the insider trading & fraud charges. Roberts probably even thinks that Bush doesn't know Ken Lay!

I have been a NPR contributor both here and in Florida, because you are open to many different opinions. If you don't start balancing the Robert's reports, I might as well send my money directly to the GOP.

Tom Durkin
Columbia, SC

Dear BuzzFlash,

Thank you, Joe Strike, for pointing out once again why Cokie Roberts is such a media whore. I was hoping I wasn't the only one who noticed this morning her outrageous statement that Bush was cleared by the SEC. Here's a copy of the email I sent to Morning Edition:

To: morning@npr.org

This morning on Morning Edition, Cokie Roberts stated that President Bush was cleared by the SEC for his suspicious insider trading activity while he was at Harken Oil. Nothing is further from the truth. I suggest Cokie refer to the following article from the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15500-2002Jul2.html

This lack of correctly reporting facts is simply another example of why so many are distrustful of the mainstream media. Cokie Roberts is one journalist I lost all respect for during the height of the Clinton witch trials. Shame on you, NPR, for featuring such a non-journalist who takes dictation from the PR machine of the right.

Josh Murphy
Shawnee Mission, Kansas

Dear BuzzFlash,

I have been labeled a "bleeding heart liberal" several times. It has been thrown at me, around me, broadcast at me and printed about me. This label raises in me two questions. First, from where did such a visual, social label come into existence; and second, what equally visual label can be fairly applied to those who attach the "bleeding heart liberal" status to others?

Just how did this phrase, which groups me, along with millions of other Americans, come into existence? It is incredibly intuitive, if you have spent 15 minutes in any Christian church anywhere. The symbolism in it is so appropriate. It obviously refers to what happened to Christ. He so loved the world that He gave His only Son to be the recipient of a state sponsored lynching. He was lynched because He was WAY too liberal for the ruling class. Of course the people loved Him, but that just made the problem worse. The social behavior that caused the lynching was His liberalism. He fed the poor, clothed the poor, healed the poor and loved the poor. And He told others to do the same. In those days when there's a problem like that, the powerful ruling class can make the problem go away, i.e. lynching. So the entire visual picture of a "bleeding heart liberal" originates with a person who was way too liberal for the social culture, being bled on a cross by the ruling class. If He hadn't been so idealistic, so compassionate, so forgiving, so independent, it wouldn't have happened. The rationalization of those who killed Him was, 'He got what He deserves. What did He think would happen to someone who acted like He did? The idiot!' Thus was created the label to marginalize those people with similar views, "bleeding heart liberal." It's modern meaning is that of someone who's values are so confused they inappropriately care. It means they find your beliefs, behavior and statements are not worthy of attention. They want you to go away and be quiet.

So what label can be applied that is the opposite equal to "bleeding heart liberal?" In physics there is a reaction to every action, and in the social arena there must be a compelling opposite behavior that is equal in effect and which counter-balances the behaviors of a "bleeding heart liberal." The opposite label must have attached to it social behaviors that are broad in concept, easily understood and vague enough to be applied in nearly every situation. The associated label for this opposing behavior must have the same visual nature, whether it is read or heard. Most important, it should have a valid reasoning behind it's application. It shouldn't be a new phrase. It should be one which is in general use but not currently broadly applied to groups of people. And it can't be a label picked by the recipient. That means the oxymoron "compassionate conservative" should never be uttered by a "bleeding heart liberal" unless it is to expose the obvious defective logic in the term.

To keep the "new" label relevant, it should have application to current events. Those events are: - an administration that sued it's way into office - an administration that filled the governing positions with corporate donors - an administration that has reduced the liberties, freedoms and protections to it's citizens - an administration that has caused more debt, less aid and more pollution for it's citizens - corporate theft of America's future retirement - a two tiered justice system between third time offenders and billionaire swindlers - a greater distance between the economies of the poor and the rich

I see the answer of how to label this behavior as most appropriately being "back stabbing conservative."

This label is not only modern, but has historical truth to it. The monarchy of England did not ultimately advance the British society. The Nazis did not ultimately improve the culture of the Germans. The conservatives in America did not "win" the cold war. Their actions delayed it's collapse. The focus should have been on economic advancement for it's citizens and not bigger and better bombs.

The modern truths to the label are easy. The conservatives haven't won the "War on Drugs" because they have no compassion for it's victims or the conditions that drugs offer an escape from. And now, there has yet been any sign of a victory on the "War on Terrorism." The signs I see are the secret trials, detentions, searches and seizures. I see the secret right of the government to investigate a person who is trying to effect current government policy as a reduction in my rights. The very fact that I am writing this article makes me a target on their radar screen. From the time I e-mail this, I qualify for secret probes into my home computer, my office computer, my library records. More troublesome is I would qualify for a "sneak and peek" in my house. This is where the secret court would grant a secret warrant to allow the secret police to break into my home, remove or record items, and I would never be allowed to find out.

Thank You "Back Stabbing Conservatives!" I'll remember you at the polls and in any future articles.

Paul R. Maxwell, B.H.L.
Choctaw, OK

BuzzFlash -

Why are there no Democratic leaders calling for investigations of Bush and Cheney's role in corporate corruption at their companies, and the associated corporate corruption scandals?

I am afraid that the public is going to have to come to the conclusion that Republicans care much more than Democrats about corruption. What other conclusion can be reached? Just look at the way the Democrats are responding to the evidence of Bush and Cheney's wrongdoing! There has not been even a single call for investigations! The Democrats appear to be willing to overlook corruption. Perhaps the Republicans are right - perhaps the Democrats really do not have the character to get in there and do something about problems like corruption.

Democratic members of Congress, it is your JOB to provide oversight of the Administration and investigate corruption. Look how the Republicans handled their oversight job during the Clinton administration. Republicans were all over President Clinton for the smallest appearance of even the smallest infractions. But now, in the face of clear evidence of widespread corruption in the Bush Administration, Democrats are doing nothing.

The Democratic leadership is letting us down again.

Dave Johnson

Dear BuzzFlash,

I see that Duh?bya is proposing stiffer jail sentences for corporate fraud. I suggest that he and Unka Dick set a good example for the nation and be the first ones sentenced. Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling could be next. Then Thomas White. Boy, the list could go on forever.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Dear BuzzFlash,

Every day brings new evidence of the absolute hypocrisy of the republican party, the total corruption of the Bush Administration, and the absolute gutlessness of the Democrats, What the hell is a progressive voter to do. Ralph Nader? Please! Am I the only one who noticed that the "Greens" had fewer people of color at their convention than the Republicans had at theirs? This Country is sliding into social, economic and political chaos, and the Democrats are clearly incapable or unwilling to define the issues or to take a stand against the "fascists" who, among other things, are desecrating our constitution. Do they even know what the word "opposition" means?

As I was driving home tonight, I noticed the yard signs for Rick Larsen, the US representative for my district, whom I thought to be a Democrat. I say that I thought he was a Democrat, because his signs are totally devoid of any mention of party affiliation. Sorry Rick, I only vote for Democrats.

Liberal Democrats, created the most dynamic society in history over the strenuous opposition of the entrenched Republicans and Dixiecrats who opposed SSA, FHA, TVA, REA, and countless other Liberal initiatives that launched this country into the twentieth Century. And Yet when the Republicans began the policy of smearing liberals (does anyone doubt that the L word was just a euphemism for the N word) most Democrats quickly separated themselves from, or denied outright, their Liberal roots.

Unless, and until, the Democrats become the open, aggressive opposition, to the raging epidemic of corruption, and all the attendant ills that are destroying this Country, why should progressives even bother?

Yours truly

Joe Lamantia
Mt. Vernon, WA

Dear BuzzFlash,

Bush, Sr. must have decided Junior had to have a press conference for damage control. He and Rove must have tutored him all weekend, but it was an absolute disaster. It was filled with lots of hems and haws and pauses because Bush is not quick witted enough to think on his feet. Maybe there was a mike in his ear and he was waiting for Karl or Karen to tell him what to say in answer to the questions. You could tell he was trying his best to control his famous temper that was on the edge of exploding. He got in a fair amount of smirks and what he thought were witty asides, but were just sarcasm. Kennedy had wit and Bush is no Kennedy. He denied there was any wrongdoing with his Harken insider trading deal and kept saying the SEC found nothing wrong, which was a lie. In the SEC's letter to Bush's atty., they said, "It must in no way be construed as indicating that the party (Bush) has been exonerated or that no action may ultimately result." Of course, it always helps when your daddy is president and the head of the SEC was appointed by him. You or me---jail or a hefty fine. It's something known in the privileged world of Dubya as the double standard------one set of rules for you and a different set for me.

He made a statement in his rambling that may come back to haunt him. Something like, "accounting procedures in corporate matters not being black and white". Are there gray areas? If so, somebody is cooking the books and therein lie the problems of Enron, World Com, Global Crossing, etc. Accounting is math and there are no "gray areas" in math. Two plus two will always be four.

There was nothing statesmanlike or presidential in Bush's press conference, but I never expect a dignified performance from him. He continues to be "our great national embarrassment". It's been a long 18 months. Will the nightmare ever end?

Gigi

Dear Buzz:

Thanks once again for the service you provide for all of us who think this administration is taking us to the toilet... Please, if you can, and of course, I think you can do anything!...Pull up the article in the St. Louis Post dispatch, editorial page, on Sunday July 7th...entitled "Corporate ethics"....(All the Presidents deals).

The readers of this column would like to read this..! Not that we do not already know what crooks are up there...this just solidifies it a little more! I loved the article on "How to be a right wing pundit in 12 easy lessons". It is so true, I wish I could have put it into those words. I have hope...hope, and I am high tonight! Today, just a block away from my house, on my way to work, I saw my first "BUSH KNEW'' sign in the window of a neighbors car...we are finally coming to our senses...I floated all day. Isn't it funny how something like that can give you hope?! Then tonight, on our way out to meet relatives for dinner, we passed this house, and it was true, right there in the next block. I would love to have one...let me know the price...now that we are all getting a back bone, not afraid anymore of getting shot from the idiotic right wing! I would proudly display one in my back window. They are yellow, bright and eye- catching! I wear my buzzflash t-shirt all the time ...but the weather here in the midwest has been brutal and I haven't been out as much...so the BIG YELLOW 'BUSH KNEW' Dohicky would be great.. The people at my work will have cats! My kids will have cows...and my husband will leave me be, because he knows, even though he will never admit it....that I am right!!!

Thank you ever more..you are my touch with civility. I found out another thing at dinner with the relatives...my sister and her husband...he is a strong democrat (and folks, he is from Washington, D.C.). Things have definitely been going my way for a change. After being told that My President (just last week) should have been hung (you know, our last legally elected president)......I was so crushed, I cannot believe that today has so improved.....Thank you, Again....

Shirley, St.Louis

[BuzzFlash Note: Links to the article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, All The President's Deals and the "Bush Knew" bumperstickers.]

Dear BuzzFlash,

Subj: Must Have Quote

"All I can tell you is that in the corporate world, sometimes things aren't exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures . . ."

- George W. Bush, July 8, 2002

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41667-2002Jul8.html

George J. Papanicolaou

Dear Buzz,

Usually before Bush invades my television air space, the terror alert warning system I have hooked up to my TV remote control begins to vibrate and glow a bright red, thus giving me ample time to switch channels.

Tonight, however, I waited with great anticipation for the one time only engagement of "Shecky (I hit the trifecta) Bush Live and Uncensored at the Brady." Too bad there were so many hecklers in the audience, they really spoiled it for everyone. At one point Shecky managed to slip in one of his inane jokes, then proceeded to maneuver his lips into the smirky "laugh now" pause. As he waited, with frozen smirk, for the White House lapdog press to join in the revelry, a funny thing happened, I heard a pin drop. I couldn't believe my ears, and from the look on Bush's face, he couldn't believe it either, he just stood there with that pathetic smirk, looking a tad uncomfortable, waiting for the laugh that never came. Folks, the Sheckster bombed! From his tightrope walk between Harken truth and fiction, his babble about a few evil apples, his blurting out that people shouldn't speculate on the desire of one regime to oust another, right down to his "look black people, I have a few black people too" routine. He totally bombed.

After the show I tuned in to the Tweety Matthews Hardball critics review (which set my terror alert system on fire as soon as it detected Bush cheerleader Howard Fineman). Looks like old Howie ran out of cheers tonight, I almost fell over when I heard him use the SMIRK word.

Will this criticism fizzle out? Will the press finally take this story and run with it? Will Boy (MBA) Wonder get over his Harken induced amnesia? Will the Penguin (Halliburton) Cheney, escape from the Bat Cave once again to strike terror in the hearts of patriotic Americans via the Sunday morning talk show circuit? Will I ever learn to control my gag reflex when forcing myself to watch Bush try to slither out of his corporation owned skin and into his new concerned for the Merkin people one?

These questions answered and more, next time, same bat time, same bat channel.

~Antonia

Dear BuzzFlash,

One reason Barbara Boxer is running again is that Arnold Schwartzenegger was going to run if she didn't. He might run anyway, but he'll probably get his clock cleaned if Barbara is still in the picture. If she was going to retire, Rep. Jane Harman was going to try for her seat.

Oh, the theory... I wrote you all about my thinking the anthrax mailings likely had a profound effect on the Democrats and might be part of the reason they've wimped out on so many issues. The media were also mailed anthrax, and in addition, it was raining subpoenas from the DOJ, remember? Newspapers aren't enjoying the circulation they once did, and between anthrax and Ashcroft/Bush/Cheney bullying them, they've sort of capitulated, too.

Last, thank goodness for outfits like yours... feisty, honest and putting it out there. Good for you.

Rosamond

Dear BuzzFlash,

I only posted this opinion with you. Who else cares? The television media doesn't. The print news may, but it is read by so few. It is rare that an opinion like mine would be printed. I am the everyday Joe that the media forgets or doesn't bother to ask for their opinion. No, we have the hired $pokesman, who rarely ever mangle or talk with us average Joe's. They report how we feel, and it is usually wrong. An example is how average Democrats feel about Al Gore running in 2004, yes!!! I haven't met one yet who thinks differently, but people like Tucker Carlson say Democrats are appalled at the prospect. I doubt if Tucker ever leaves the safety of Washington to find out how the average Democrat feels or is he scared of what is real?

That's why I laugh every time I hear liberal press. All the stories tonight (television) were how Democrat, Martha Stewart, was an insider trader, how the Democrats want to play party politics; like we didn't see that from the Republican for eight years. We will never hear about how the investigation of Bush's insider trading was a sham or how he committed this crime four times. No, I am afraid that nothing will ever come of this, just like nothing ever came of Reagan/Bush Sr's Iran-contra scandal.

No, Al Gore will always be referred to as a liar, an exaggerator. Bill Clinton will be the corrupt leader who perjured himself over consensual sex, not the man who gave us peace and prosperity, who also tried to enact SEC reforms. No, the Republicans will once again get away with their crimes of corporate rape, and robbing, cheating, lying to the American public. Bush will emerge like Reagan did, a Republican deity.

I wrote my opinion after reading so many articles on Bush's corporate misdeeds. When Bush ran for Governor here in Texas we could not get anyone to report on Harken, nor could we in 2000, so I could no longer contain myself. I needed to express my opinion on the all that I have learned about Bush's Harken transactions.

Can you answer this for me please; why isn't the sham investigation apparent to the television media and a story? Do we no longer have investigative reporters? Is the television media just the hired guns of the Republican party? Please ask the people who read BuzzFlash for me, I need to know!

I am giving up hope of ever seeing justice done. A Democratic President is hunted down, every rock is turned, but Republican are given a pass when their crimes are so blatant. I just can't understand it. I am so.................. angry, what are we to do??????

I am sorry I rambled on.

Cheryl Taylor
Frost, Texas

Hello,

Am I the only one who heard Bush say business accounting is not black and white... it's GREY. Then he looked to his right for a long time. Someone was flagging him. Can you find out the rest of the story. Whomever he was looking at was not happy about what he had just said. And the spineless media did not jump on him for that.

Thanks for being here...

JJC

Dear BuzzFlash,

Re: "Why are they shooting our women and children?" A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL

Your lead editorial today was right on! Hit them some more and then some more again! Maybe we still are the home of the brave.

B. Noble

Dear Buzz,

Well, I've finally had it. I pulled my money out of the market after being talked out of it twice before. The stock broker told me that I should have more faith because the SEC is going to indict these people. PLEASE!!! It's been how many months and nobody but the Senate has looked into the Enron mess and they don't have the power to indict anyone! If George Bush was serious about going after these people he would fire Harvey Pitt!! All his speech today, I'm sure, is going to be a wink and a nod toward doing something.

Yours truly, MAD AS HELL

Reader in GA

Dear BuzzFlash,

Subj: Was Harken a Bribe?

One interesting thing that emerged from Bush's press conference was that although he was a "Director" at Harken, he says he was not familiar with Harken's business activities, and gets evasive when asked for details. He says to look at the minutes of Harken's Board meetings -- was he even there?

What was he paid for? Was the money actually a bribe from Harken to his father? KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!

According to today's NY Times Bush was given 200,000 shares of stock and paid $120,000 per year. But he immediately left for Washington to work on his father's presidential campaign.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/09/business/09HARK.html

"Mr. Bush never worked full time for Harken, though in addition to serving as a director he had a consulting contract that paid him $42,000 to $120,000 a year for five years. Not long after the merger with Harken, he moved to Washington to help his father's presidential campaign. "

Dave Johnson

Dear BuzzFlash,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41779-2002Jul8.html

Preview:

"...A centerpiece of Gingrich's Contract With America was "securities reform." Passed in 1995 over President Clinton's veto, the bill shielded outside accountants and law firms from liability for false corporate reporting, and made it more difficult for shareholders to bring suit against fraudulent reporting. A flood of corporate misstatements has followed, with nearly 1,000 companies restating misleading reports in the past five years..."

A BuzzFlash Reader

Dear BuzzFlash,

Listening to Bush is getting more and more painful. He sounds like what he is, a not so bright child of privilege who is lying to cover his butt.

I went to school with several of his type. They never studied, yet somehow managed to get "the gentleman's C" grades. And if they got caught in a lie or got caught cheating, they did not hesitate to shift the blame or get Papa to buy them out of trouble.

How many times did he say "malfeance" during Monday's hastily set up diversion?

Robert Campbell

Dear BuzzFlash,

Does anyone in the media know this? That the Harken loan that was "forgiven" was not included as income? Isn't this what got Al Capone??? Tax Evasion? Don't you think today....the day that GW is giving his speech on Business Ethics...would be a good day to ask about this "forgiven" loan?

A BuzzFlash Reader

Dear BuzzFlash,

Click here: Yahoo! News - CORRECTED: McCain Says SEC's Pitt Should Resign

Dear Senator McCain:

Thank you for publicly calling for the resignation of SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt. He is just one of the many corporate lobbyists (shills) that Bush has brazenly appointed to run all government regulatory agencies. These appointments will insure that very little will change in the ongoing march toward complete deregulation to benefit the many corporate cash-cows who have been permitted to corrupt our entire political system. Pitt prefers to call it "self-regulation" with the usual wink and nod.

Why has there been no outrage heard, or challenge to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who has abused his huge power in allowing just a select few corporations to dominate and control our entire mainstream media, completely eliminating any and all independent news coverage? Will he be permitted to do the same to the Internet?

These government "regulators" will undoubtedly continue their non-enforcement and/or elimination of the few laws already on the books, will continue limiting the public's knowledge of pending legislation, will continue fighting tooth-and-nail in the back-rooms of Congress, or wherever they do their arm-twisting, to dilute and make meaningless any new legislation being proposed to clean up the mind-boggling fraud and collusion that has devastated so many Americans.

I just can't wait to hear Bush's widely hyped speech where he will once again express his phony outrage at the "few bad apples" and assure us that he, and Emperor Cheney, both clear examples of corporate honesty and integrity, will clean up the mess and put the "evildoers" in jail. I wonder if Bush or Cheney will ever be forced to acknowledge using the EXACT same sleazy methods of fraud now being exposed in others... in amassing their fortunes? I'm not talking about mere insider-trading at Harken; I'm talking about outright FRAUD (Cooking the Books), which Bush now defends as "merely an accounting disagreement or misunderstanding" without which, there would have been no point in selling his Harken stock as it would have been worth close to zero.

And of course Emperor Cheney doesn't have to answer any questions at all regarding Halliburton's accounting "irregularities" when he was CEO, or the clever loopholes exploited to do business with Iraq when it was clearly against US law, because he's conveniently nowhere to be found. And if he were suddenly to appear, who would dare risk his Imperial Sneer? Bush talks about "excessive compensation" for CEOs, but who will dare point to the obscene wealth Cheney, O'Neil, and other administration officials received in their former lives?

The timidity and silence we're hearing from most of our congressional leaders regarding this monumental disgrace is understandable, considering their fear of being exposed as complicit in these scandals. However, if they don't get over that fear, and begin publicly demanding true reform, and demanding honest and independent government regulators (with the necessary funds and authority) then it will NEVER happen! The enormous dishonesty now clearly on display, will always find a way to creep back in, will continue to hold all elected officials hostage to their corporate donors, and will seriously hurt all Americans and eventually jeopardize our entire democratic system of government unless something is done now!

I thank you for being one of the few willing to publicly challenge the current state of affairs. I truly hope others will follow your lead. Harvey Pitt, as I understand it, will shortly be in complete control of the SEC (no longer forced to recuse himself from directing investigations into his longtime lobbying clients and benefactors) and free to decide which crooks will be investigated, and which ones given a free pass. If there is to be any faith in our regulatory agencies or in our financial markets, Harvey Pitt should be first of the many former corporate lobbyists forced to resign!

Sincerely,

A BuzzFlash Reader