October 8, 2002

Important Note: Because we can't always determine your intentions, we need to ask a favor of you when you send us email. If you DO NOT WANT YOUR EMAIL PUBLISHED in the Mailbag or in the Contributors section, please write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the Subject line or at the top of your email. That way we'll know it's just a comment to BuzzFlash. Additionally, if you submit a mailbag item and DO NOT WANT YOUR NAME associated with your submission, sign your email, "A BuzzFlash Reader." If you send email unsigned, we will post your name with your submission, or, if that's not available, your email name (not the full address, just what's on the left side of the email address). Thank you.

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 BuzzFlash,

Absolutely, this man L. Freeh should be questioned fully. He used his attitude to keep him from doing his job, for which he was assigned, and that was to protect America. Should we say "oh well deep doo happens"? No!!!! Lives were lost, and we have to account for why that happened. If we don't do our best to pin this down, we are as bad as Louis Freeh, and those who kept silent.

BuzzFlash readers

Subj: The Democrats & The Battered Wife Syndrome

Dear Buzz,

Congress should NOT vote -- until after this super-charged pre-election season -- on any resolution that gives Mr. Bush broad power to wage war against whomever he chooses, whenever and wherever he chooses.

If Saddam Hussein was not threat enough to our nation's safety, in August, to deter our president from going on a month-long vacation in Texas, then Mr. Hussein's supposed threat to our safety can safely be dealt with in the serene period following the November election.

Congress has a Constitutional obligation to determine where, when and against whom we will wage war, and to what purpose we wage war. It is the Constitutional responsibility of the members of Congress, and theirs alone. Senators and House members must take such weighty decision-making seriously and debate the war issue on its merits -- and not according to some hysterical timetable of the president's creation.

A friend wrote to me that the Democrats in the senate and House are exhibiting symptoms of the battered wife syndrome. George W. Bush beats up on them one day and comes back the next day -- when he wants something from them -- and sweet-talks the Democrats with pledges of bipartisanship.

Perhaps Democratic senators and House Members should consult Charlie Brown and ask him about Lucy and the football -- it just isn't going to happen no matter how many times they try

Some of the Democrats in Congress surrender to Bush's promises of a "marriage" of interests, but Mr. Bush will never make them his partners -- unless they give him everything HE wants, when he wants it.

This the Democrats must not do.

Mr. Bush will sweet-talk them with promises he has no intention of keeping; I would think the members of the Legislative Branch of our government might have learned that hard lesson by now.

A BuzzFlash Reader

An open letter to Jeb Bush,

You finally told people you have devious plans to subvert the will of the voters. Well, how about that! Imagine you having devious plans. Oh, yeah, that's right. I almost forgot. Are your devious plans kind of like the plans you had to send your thugs to Miami to shut down the vote counting in 2002 or having your lap dog Katherine rub out the names of thousands of legitimate voters or setting up roadblocks in precincts in predominantly African-American neighborhoods or changing polling places on a moment's notice so African-American students can't vote? Are those the kind of devious plans you are talking about? Just asking.

~ Crystal Clear

Dear BuzzFlash,

I miss Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Hearing President Clinton's speech to the Labor Party on CSPAN last night made me realize how much. These two men were not perfect, but didn't we know that from day one. They belong to the human species, and that one small flaw will guarantee them a lifetime of challenges, temptations, and choices. These gentlemen were hired for a most specific job. To assist in keeping the people of the world from blowing themselves up, starving and torturing one another, and generally running rampant. They brought to the job an imagination and vision for a future that had hope. Hope for a globe that could communicate, share, and blend. Hope for an environment that could be healthy, and a gift to our children and grandchildren. Hope that homeless, hungry, abandoned, would be words not often used. Those visions are reminders of people of note from our proud American history. The founding fathers were quite often scalawags, but scalawags with imagination and vision. It was vision and imagination that came up with The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of The United States, The Gettysburg Address. Beautifully created ideas that we hold dear to this day.

Here we are now. New century, new president, new war. I'm looking for a little vision and imagination. I can't fathom how we still find war a reasonable answer to a problem. Drive by the Veterans Cemetery in Los Angeles, a once beautiful green grassy field now scarred with the memories of those who died to young. There are matching cemeteries in every nation in the world. So many tears should have helped us find better answers for our troubles. We should be a World united in helping one another like brothers and sisters in a family. We must be united for we already know there is strength in numbers, and when we link as one we accomplish our most amazing achievements. We've seen a unified World, if only for a moment. The uncertainty of life became engraved in our minds on September 11, and for a short period of time the world stopped and cried. We found a moment in time that we understood one another with just a look. We proved that unity and understanding are possible.

Fear will be our obstacle. We must look deep within ourselves for that imagination and vision that makes history something you want to remember. If we dare to accomplish the seemingly impossible, we might surprise ourselves. Like a jury that has a troubling decision, like our children in a struggle, I encourage those who are making history to go back to the discussion table and find peace. If we can unite the world we can accomplish anything. War is such a waste, and we have so very many important matters to attend to concerning this dysfunctional family. Our founding fathers saw a vision of united colonies, maybe it's our time for a vision of a united world.

Julie Owen-Ferguson
Los Angeles

Subj: Pat Robertson's Grant

Hi BuzzFlash:

I don’t suppose the government will keep track of what Pat Robertson does with his $500,000 grant for Operation Blessing? He is well known as a man who uses charity for public relations purposes and also mixes it with his business concerns. The respected medical writer, Laurie Garrett, has seen some of his charity dealings first-hand in Africa and has written about the topic in a few places.

She describes his actions during an Ebola epidemic in Zaire in 1995 which fit his usual pattern. Pat took a group of media people to see a warehouse in which he said were supplies donated from his 700 Club viewers to help with the epidemic. There WERE some supplies, but they were of no help to fight Ebola; they were for treating malaria and bacterial dysentery. His very good friend and business partner in Zaire’s diamond and gold mines, the corrupt dictator at that time, Joseph Mobutu, arrived with great fanfare and thanked Pat profusely. No one mentioned that Mobutu himself was the reason that there were literally NO medical supplies at all for the hospital to use to fight the disease. He and his corrupt cronies had stolen so much money from the country that there was no infrastructure left at all.

The REAL medical supplies to fight the epidemic came from Medecins Sans Frontieres (known as Doctors Without Borders in America). The other real heroes were the local medical people, the local Red Cross volunteers, the Belgian nuns that ran the hospital and the teams of international health experts that came to fight the epidemic. As you know, public health experts are very important to us right now and this area is still under-funded in our country. What a shame that our money is going to con-men like Pat Robertson instead.

Connie

Subj: Good Government, w/o Delay

Dear BuzzFlash,

I do not know how good of a chance Tim Riley has to unseat Tom Delay. I think he would have a better chance if the race was nationalized. If you, through your web page, posted something along with a link perhaps collectively we could create an upset. It would be good for the 22nd district of Texas and it would be great for the country. Let the readers of BuzzFlash hammer back 5 bucks at a time! His campaign website is http://www.rileyforcongress.com.

I am a BuzzFlash reader and have no position in the Riley campaign.....just another small donor.

Dear BuzzFlash,

F.Y.I. After reading your article re Sen. Byrd and the need to respond I sent the following to him. I also sent a similar letter to Senators Nelson and Graham.

* * *

It's about time there is a Democrat that speaks up against the Bush Administration's usurpation of powers.

NO ONE brings up the fact that if we go to war against Iraq out of "boy George's" revenge that our country will be the target of terrorism, the likes of which we have never seen, from every terrorist group in the world! What will the American people say when we begin to experience the terrorism the Israeli's deal with on a daily basis?

And where is any proof that Saddam has all these weapons of "mass destruction." Perhaps "boy George" is thinking about all the biological weapons provided him during the Reagan years as well as the term of "father George".

"Boy George" went to war against Osama, albeit for a legitimate reason, who has yet to be captured or seen in over a year. (I, however, believe Osama has been killed and it's not to the administration's advantage to announce so.) We haven't succeeded in the first endeavor, now he wants to get involved in another. This "boy-in-charge" is creating his own agenda of vindictive rule because he CAN! After all, the Democrat leadership (?) seems to have acquiesced to the boy-in-charge.

Thank you for your efforts to filibuster and I sincerely hope you succeed.

BJ Russ

Subj: Next Target: Sudan

From a friend of mine in Washington:

While the world's focus is on Iraq and Enron, the Bush/Cheney magic military machine pulls the rabbit out of the hat..... Sudan (also look out for Yemen).

The "Sudan Peace Act" is being voted on the House floor today. In case you are like the rest of the country and haven't heard about this, the bill will appropriate $100 million per year for 3 years, with the funding remaining available until expended. That's $300 million to start an embargo and possible war against Sudan (remember, bin Laden had the "factory" there).

The bill says, "It is the sense of Congress that the President, acting through the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, should seek to take appropriate measures to end slavery and aerial bombardment of civilians by the Government of Sudan."

The legislation sets forth a detailed action plan for doing so: increasing sanctions, altering diplomatic relations, building international coalitions under the auspices of the UN to ensure relief is provided, and denying access to oil revenues and arms.

The legislation also calls for the development of a contingency plan should these measures fail.

The President is authorized, notwithstanding any other provisions of law and outside the auspices of the United Nations if necessary to expend up to 100% of the $300 million for the implementation of such a plan.

In effect, this very quiet bill provides authorization for major military action against Sudan in as short a time as 6 months from now.

The bill is at:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.5531

A BuzzFlash Reader

Interesting. Clinton lies once about sex, the media and republicans crucify him.

Bush lies all the time, gets caught as plain as the nose on your face. His lies can cost lives, and the media and republicans want to give him saint hood. Go figure.

Well, Jerry Springer is the most watched talk show. :):):):)

Shorty

Dear Buzzy,

Imagine the U.S. Supreme Court sitting still, knowing that Lautenberg will beat the pants off of Forrester. Of course they are going to hand New Jersey a dictator and tell the voters to forget voting. They couldn't even stand to see Bush's lead shrinking in Florida. I think the only way to correct this totalitarianism by the GOP is for every Democrat to refuse to have anything to do with Republicans. I am talking about friendships and businesses. I think boycotting businesses that are owned by a Republican and any social events hosted by a Republican. Don't even go to lunch with them. I would protest outside of their businesses as well. It is the only way to get democracy back. The GOP is absolutely dishonest.

mandy

A note to Trent Lott,

So, Trent, you think liberals are stupid?

Did you know that Einstein was one of the most unabashed liberals of the 20th century?

And which one of our previous six Presidents was a Rhodes Scholar?

And as for your chosen field of study, which party do you think Paul Krugman supports?

Oh wait, I get it, by "hard science" you must mean:

Creationism
Flat Earth Society
Eugenics
Holocaust Denial

Those fields are all indeed dominated by conservatives.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subj: A quote that many should read

"A nation in arms is virtually a communist state: the people must be paid wages and fed and protected and regimented behind the lines as much as on the front. Minds must be kept loyal and at the right pitch of hate, so that successive drafts of fighters are accepted without murmurings. Letters and newspapers must be censored while the propaganda mill grinds on. As for decisions of strategy and overall command, they must please many masters: dissenters in the cabinet, the heads of the allied states, and public opinion. Hence failures must be disguised or concealed".

-- Jacques Barzun "From Dawn To Decadence", p 710. Harper Collins, 2000

Submitted by Gustav A. Pohlig

Subj: NJ Reps Doomed and..

...they know it.

Lautenberg has beaucoup free media access and could probably win by refusing the Torricelli dough and just running his mouth every day about Social Security, etc.

Even that chump Charlie Cook admits that Forrester's only virtue is that he is not some guy who ain't on the ballot.

Simon in CA, Cornyn in TX, Forrester in NJ, LOOZERs, from sea-to-shining sea, babe-beee!

But of all possible early XMAS presents, could you believe...Jeb the Maggot loses in Fla?

Can you imagine the CASH they need to spend in TX and FL and ESPECIALLY NJ just to get competitive in seats they should have in the bank?

Ho, Ho, Ho.

steve

Hi Buzz,

I went to the anti-war protest in San Francisco yesterday (Oct. 6) organized by http://www.notinourname.net

Because I think not too much will be said about it (I've only seen coverage of the New York City protest) I thought all of you would like to have some information. Union Square is the size of a city block and it was packed with people who stood shoulder to shoulder. Some estimates say there were 7,000 people there. I saw plenty of cameras but I didn't see any TV news trucks, so I don't know if any showed up. There were a few cops on motorcycles, but the San Francisco cops are used to demonstrations and they didn't wear full riot gear.

It was fabulous! It was exciting to be with like minded people and be able to speak to each other freely. Everyone I spoke to was informed and eloquent in their protest of Bush and his war and his cronies. Among the usual protest signs there were signs that demanded our Constitution be given back, demanding that Bush step down, saying that he was not elected.

There were scores of organizations carrying their banners. There were people of all classes and cultures and races there. People brought their children and even their dogs. Whole families were there. They came from all over the Bay Area. People kept arriving in a constant stream all afternoon long. Thousands stood in the unaccustomed heat for hours. And they stayed till nightfall because no one wanted to leave,

Veterans (some in wheelchairs), dockworkers (the same ones that are protesting the lockout by the Maritime Association), lesbians, Palestinians, Jews, and Latinos brought their signs and their organization banners. I saw Muslim women with their children, as well as Native Americans, Asian Americans, Black Americans, and white Americans. The San Francisco Bay Area is rich in diversity, all nations are represented here and they were all there. Among the nationalities that I saw were Filipinos, Hindi, Arabs, Persians, Chinese, Vietnamese, Haitians and more. They are all at home here. Many of them are American born, some having roots that go as far back as the 19th Century. It's a great wonderful place to live.

And the ages ranged from tiny babies to senior citizens. The sixties generation was represented by large numbers, as well as hundreds and hundreds of young people, and everyone was glad to speak out against Bush's insane rush to dominate the world.

So, for those of you who haven't had a chance to go to an anti-war protest, don't believe for a second that there aren't Americans who aren't speaking out against the Bush Cabal. The mainstream media may ignore us, but they can't silence us. We are making a difference. Even if all our representatives give in to Stupid this won't be the end of anti war protesting. They ain't seen nothing yet if they think going to war will silence us.

Thanks for all the reader commentaries, and thanks again and again to BuzzFlash!

Judith Foster,
Berkeley

Dear BuzzFlash,

Iraq has, in the last 10 years, killed less Americans than that brain-damaged sniper in MD.

Josh Narins

Dear BuzzFlash,

Just as an FYI,

Just thought you'd like to know that we keep getting busy signals and all circuits are busy messages for the last couple days when attempting to call our congress people and the white house. I think this may be some anecdotal evidence that people are flooding our representatives with the message of no unilateral war!

I have never seen this level of traffic before and we have called on many issues in the past.

Dave
Pleasant Hill, CA

A BuzzFlash Reader Letter to the NY Times:

Dear Editors,

Although I read your paper from front to back today (Monday) I saw no reporting of the HUGE anti-war protest in Central Park on Sunday (12,000 plus peaceful protestors). However, I did read about this protest in other responsible news outlets outside of the City.

What's going on here? Americans are angry. There were dozens of well-attended protests across the country on Sunday. Why don't those who oppose Bush's war get any coverage? You are discrediting your masthead claim, "All the News that's Fit to Print," by refusing to give coverage to those Americans who don't agree with Bush Administration policies. You are abrogating your duty as a responsible newspaper.

I hope I'll see some coverage of the protest in tomorrow's print edition, though I'm not optimistic.

Yours sincerely,

Jo Ann Simon
Camden, Me

Dear Buzz, and all you folks who are as concerned as I am;

Below is a copy of a letter I sent my Senators (Cantwell and Murray). I realize my capacity for eloquence is considerably less than the gifted writers whose words appear on these pages and keeps us informed.

I offer the following only to show that all of us can, and should, express our feelings to the people WE elected to speak in our name.

Roy De Hart

* * *

Senator;

Thank you for your response to my e-mail concerning the Iraq question. I am still worried and concerned about the situation and the cavalier attitude shown by the saber rattlers in and around the White House. To be absolutely honest, I view everything coming from that area with a great deal of skepticism.

I have not come by this attitude through ignorance or by accident; I was born a couple of years before another Republican (Hoover) who thought he was king presided during the beginning of another business downturn. One who dispatched future heroes (including a future president Eisenhower, also MacArthur and Patton) to forcefully disperse, at bayonet point, starving WW1 veterans and their families who had gathered in Washington to try and collect a pitiful bonus that had been promised them by Congress.

When the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor I was four months past my fourteenth birthday. Four months prior to my sixteenth birthday I was sworn to "Protect, Preserve and Defend the Constitution of the United States". I remained on active duty and proudly served (Navy, Pacific theatre) until the war was over. After discharge I relocated in our state of Washington where I have lived, worked and voted since. As a person who has earned my living by working with my hands I have been in a position to physically,financially and emotionally feel the results of various political forces and the actions (depressions, recessions, police actions in foreign lands etc.) created by them.

While I am not adverse to the defense of our country; I am adamantly opposed to giving any one individual the ability to place us in a position of harm for the political and/or financial gain of any person, group, or entity.

While I appreciate the effort you have put into the Iraq question I believe you may have missed the point I (and countless others) have tried to make.

That point is the fact that an un-elected administration has continually reduced the rights of the American people as guaranteed, not by the Constitution alone, but also, by various legislative acts by legislators who were duly elected by a majority of the voting populace. There have been continuing scandals and threats of scandals in and about this administration each of which has been averted by a new and major threat to the homeland - according to this unelected president.

It is extremely odd that the Iraqi question should grow so suddenly and expansively just before an election where the Republicans were sure to take a beating "if such a conveniently timed and enormous threat to the country did not show up".

While Iraq may constitute a threat I fail to see how, or why, we have to consider war and such a massive loss of life, destruction of property, and the major expense to our tax paying population (and huge, obscene profits for some of the major hawks now so persistently calling for the conflict) this would entail. Soviet Russia was (and may still be, along with China) a much bigger threat yet we managed to survive and co-exist without killing thousands of people -- or building more pipelines for the oil consortiums.

I again, strongly urge you to join with the Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, as well as our Representative from Washington, Jim McDermott, in firm opposition to any further usurpation of the powers that rightly belong to Congress alone. Please, please, do not give Bush the ability to move as, when, and where he decides is favorable to his own interests, which is clearly the direction and power he wants. If you give him this power I am afraid you will soon find that, like Hitler, he will continue to grasp for more until Congress will effectively cease to exist.

Whatever you do; PLEASE INSIST THAT THE POWER TO DECLARE WAR REMAIN EXCLUSIVELY WITHIN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.

Sincerely

Roy G. De Hart
Pasco, WA

Dear BuzzFlash,

The WAR NUTS have seized control of our government. These right-wing zealots have managed to install an inept, inarticulate, shallow individual into the presidency. They can manipulate and control this poor excuse for a president, to force their twisted agenda onto the American public. These right-wing zealots have seized on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 as an excuse to start a war against Iraq, and damn the consequences. This twisted agenda is one that I am familiar with, as I have seen it exhibited on numerous occasions, during my sixty-nine years on this earth.

I was twelve years old when WW2 ended in 1945. Since the end of WW2, up until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States was involved in the Cold War. I grew up in the atomic age, with the fear of global destruction a constant in my life. The USA strategy, to fight the Cold War, was to maintain a strong military and to contain the USSR without provoking a war. This containment was accomplished over the objections of a vocal minority of WAR NUTS that constantly wanted the USA to abandon our efforts of containment and to be more assertive. These were people such as MacArthur, Curtis LeMay and Barry Goldwater, who wanted to take on the USSR and damn the consequences. These people are, and were irresponsible, and could have brought on a global nuclear conflict. Responsible leadership, at that time, in both the Democratic and Republican parties, would not allow the American public to be jeopardized by these WAR NUTS. The Republican leadership, unfortunately today, has been taken over by right-wing zealots and have abdicated the responsibility that they exhibited in the past.

The use of containment during the Cold War was a sound policy and should be applied today. Iraq cannot be compared to the USSR in any respect and a strong case for attacking them has not been made. The only evidence I have witnessed is the video clips from a complicit news media that constantly shows that evil demon Saddam Hussein pointing a loaded rifle and firing it into the air. I have also seen this monster pull a sword from a scabbard and brandish it at the cameras. I shudder to think of the mass destruction that this evildoer could accomplish if he were unleashed on an American school ground.

As a footnote we should thank our hard working and ever diligent media for exposing these monstrous acts of aggression. In the event that any WAR NUT brat should question my patriotism, I served my country, in the USAF, actively from 1952 to 1956 and inactive reserve until 1960.

Ken and Suzi Evanger

Subj: 1700 ballots

Hi,

BuzzFlash "recommends" an article by AP writer Anne Gearan (mon.oct 7,2:33pm et) entitled HIGH COURT WON'T TAKE N.J. SEN.CASE.

Gearan provides the apparent detail, that "1700 absentee and overseas military ballots" had already been sent out. We're grateful for that information. But why didn't Gearan tell us that only 107 of those that received 1700 ballots, have already returned them with actual votes? The 107 figure was repeatedly mentioned in the pre-High Court disputes between lawyers arguing, before the NJ Sup.Court, against, and those defending the legitimacy of the Lautenberg installment. I can't imagine that Gearan is not aware of it.

Why did she mention the 1700 figure, of ballots sent out, but failed to mention the more substantive concern that 107 of the ballot-receivers actually went on to vote, and returned those 107 ballots to NJ?

Republicans used the "overseas military ballots," issues in 2000, to argue that Dems were systematically denying these military personnel, the opportunity to have their votes counted. Lawyers for the Forrester, also made this, argument, repeatedly, with the NJ court; and Gearan knows it.

John P.
Los Angeles

Subj: My coworker thought this was funny

Dear BuzzFlash,

He told me about the poll that said 60% of Americans think Smush is worrying too much about Iraq, and not paying enough attention to the economy.

I said "I thought we had this downturn BECAUSE he was paying attention to the economy."

Josh Narins

Subj: Has Bush Become a Liability?

Hi, Buzz:

It is only a few short weeks before the election and Ohio's repug candidates are "Too Busy for Bush"? Since when don't candidates want photo ops with, as the bushies are so fond of saying, a very popular pResident? What do they know that the media is not reporting? I think we can make some educated guesses.

Despite the bushites' insisting the opposite, Americans are NOT united behind jr.'s bloodthirsty vendetta against Iraq. We have not been convinced. This past weekend brought out hundreds of thousands of citizens across the nation protesting the bush-league policy. On top of that comes the poll that states Americans are far more concerned (read: not distracted by war talk) with the economy.

Sorry, I don't buy that every single ghp candidate in Ohio could not clear his or her calendar to bask in the alleged (albeit staged) glow of george II. Something is not right when a candidate--ANY candidate--does not want to take advantage of free advertising. This speech was in a room full of invited guests. Talk about crowd control. There could not be a less hostile gathering for a candidate.

For comparison sake: Remember dubya's swing through California and how the media focused on how popular george snubbed simon? Simon's need to be acknowledged by jr. was palpable. It's all about trying to ride those coattails. The California contingent of ghp candidates could not get enough of camera time with georgie.

Is the honeymoon over? Is this mass snub indicative of the party as a whole? Has bush become a liability?

Something tells me the ghp as a whole would be much happier if jr. went back to his strong points: master of ceremonies for tee-ball and reading to the elementary school set.

Liz
Houston

Subj: 5000 to 8000 antiwar/antiBush protesters in Cincinnati

Dear Buzz,

What a great event in Cincinnati tonight (October 7, 2002). I asked an organizer for a protest crowd estimate, she said "5000 to 8000". I'd have said at least 10,000 with just a sprinkling of Bushies. It was huge.

The radical cheerleaders had a ball, running back and forth between the few scattered clusters of Bushies, with a radical drummer and, well, that rhythm that only the young can muster. Such excitement every time they started up again, "This is what Democracy LOOKS like, This is what Democracy FEELS like." New Black Panthers, stopping to scold (through a megaphone) mini-flag waving BushCheney sheeples, "Where's your tickets? You should be INSIDE! Why you so FOR him and he ain't give a SHIT for you and yours? If you ain't on the inside now, you ain't never gonna count to NO BUSH." Off to the side, white haired seventy-something liberals sing, an impromptu choir of a thousand or so. "This Land is My Land," lit by candles and hearts of fire.

The people of Cincinnati came alive tonight. We started to show each other some truth. Even the talking heads on local TV tonight had that quizzical puzzled look, that "light bulb moment" look. As the channel 5 newsreader delivered her scripted lies tonight, her thought bubble read another version of the story, "But wait, if we're the majority, how come there are so few of us and so MANY of them?" There's a reason republicans restrict access to ballots and refuse to count votes.

We saw so many old friends who've moved on to other causes since we started all this after the December 2000 coup. We saw the light at the end of the tunnel tonight too.

If this is all the support Bush has here, in the f#*king womb neoconservative Republicanism, he's done.

Sam Robinson

NOTE: Local news covered protests. Online reports are not reflective of broadcasts that I saw nor of the scene on the ground.
AND
The cincydemo web page got more than 600 hits from the link on BuzzFlash.com Thanks for helping us. -Sam R

Dear Buzz,

As an addition to the previous email about Ron Paul's interview on TV, let me say (I forgot to mention it the first time) the he also stated that members of congress were instructed to put on the impression that there was a debate about the Iraqi war resolution and allow everyone the chance to think that they were being heard and listened to, but he said that congress was given a clear message that there would, in reality, be no debate. "Don't mess with the language of the resolution" is what he said they were told.

So, now the people are being conned into thinking they are being listened to, while they are really being ignored? Congress is now play acting for the cameras? What a farce!

Democracy is dying, folks. Better speak up now and demand to be heard before you're silenced for good. Pretty soon, congress will have nothing to do but get together for lunch and reminisce about the power they used to have in the good old days...

Too bad we can't clone Senator Byrd and elect his copies to all the seats in both houses of Congress! The USA is crying out for a true, patriotic leader right now. Will the true American hero please step forward. Uh, not you Congressman, you traded American and Iraqi civilian blood for votes and oil. Step back, please.

A BuzzFlash reader

Dear BuzzFlash,

I appreciated the article by David Hunter,

I understand what he means by it being important to speak out and take action against something we truly don't believe in. I know that there is a cost, but it is worth it. I even had a friend of many years decide she never wanted to hear from me again because I told her how I felt about this current administration. Since she believes Bush when he says God put him in this job, she said she wanted his entire party to be in control. I explained to her why I disagreed, and she wrote me a nice terse letter saying she was very surprised that I would write such a negative letter to her about the GOP. She knew how I felt. She was just amazed that I would actually write that to her. You see it is ok for her to demonstrate that she is not quite spiritually mature, as evidenced by her continual Clinton bashing, and her confusion of Bush with God, but when I speak my peace, that is not ok. I am tired of not being able to speak out. Hunter is right. Even if I lose a "friend," it feels good, because a true friend would value your opposing view. Losing a "friend" who bashed Clinton but does not permit Bush bashing is like losing weight or some other burden. You didn't lose a friend. I suppose Ashcroft will have me hauled off for speaking the truth, but as a Christian, I don't confuse Bush with God. I know he is an spiteful man, full of self interest, lies, and greed. I tried to bend over backwards to give him a chance to, but he has done a fabulous job of earning my disrespect as a phony, manipulator, deceiver, and mass murderer, and madman.

mri

Subj: My Thoughts on Bush Speech in Ohio

Dear BuzzFlash,

After watching "that man" give his 30 minutes of spew last night, I noticed the focus on the five hundred specially invited guests to see and hear him live. I can't help but wonder after all the "thunderous" applause, how many of the "guests," have volunteered, themselves or their children or their grandchildren to go off and fight that mean bad man in Iraq, for their "illustrious first fool". I would love to see a pollster out there polling each and every one of them after they left the building.

Anyone care to guess the numbers? I bet each of them would have an excuse.

Ev
Canada

Subj: Courage and the unlearned lessons of history

Good man Congressman McDermott from Washington. He speaks a powerful truth that many people would prefer not to hear. In describing the actions of this administration, to borrow a pop culture phrase, "its all about the benjamins," in this case the benjamins which can be made from OIL, OIL, OIL, OIL and more OIL. Twenty years ago Jimmy Carter tried to warn this nation that if we did not wean ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil that would be our path to ruin. No one listened then and, instead, decided to vote him out in favor of Bonzo's favorite actor, Ron Raygun. Never mind that Carter's conservation measures led to a sharp reduction in U.S. energy consumption, so much so that it helped fuel the collapse of world oil prices. Remember gas collapsing from 1.45 to 69 cents a gallon in the eighties? Also remember Bush I saying "Low oil prices are bad for Americans?" Translation: When ordinary Americans pay less for gas that was bad for the rapacious profits of his oil business buddies. So here we are today, in the precise situation that Carter tried to steer us away from. We have an administration doing grievous damage to our democracy with their repressive domestic policies and belligerent foreign policies, stopping at nothing to further a small cadre of individuals' insatiable thirst for oil and the money which flows from it.

Dan

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134549992_mcdermott07m.html

Quote of the Day

"You need to listen carefully to the debates that goes on in our nation's capital. You see, some of them are -- goes on with people trying to get to the nation's capital. Some of them, they talk about the government's money."

-- The "Great Explainer" strikes again, Manchester, New Hampshire, Oct. 5, 2002 --

From: http://thepoliticaljunkie.com/

Chewgababy

Subj: Is the Democratic Press Dead?

OK let me see if I understand this correctly. According to William Saletan's article in Slate (http://slate.msn.com/?id=2072061), the Senate floor is basically EMPTY of Senators as they individually take the podium to "debate" the Iraq war resolution? NO ONE is listening to the debate? CSPAN is broadcasting it, I'm listening to it all damn day, worrying and praying about it all damn night, but the chamber is EMPTY of Senators who are going to make this life and death decision? Can this be true? This would mean that, yes, the war has begun. It began long ago, they all know it, they all know that NOTHING they do will stop it, and they are just going through the motions. This would explain why several Senators have stated that phone calls to their offices are 10-to-1 AGAINST war, but they will vote for it anyway. They are not listening? I am having a lot of trouble accepting this. Anybody else?

I called Senator Byrd's office and spoke at length with the woman who answered the phone. I left my name and number and insisted the Senator call me!! Of course he will not, but she did say that "he can't MAKE the other Senators stay in the chamber and listen. They have other committee meeting, etc. etc..." I asked her whether he was going to filibuster the resolution. She said he was "trying to get more support from other Senators." I reminded her that Byrd had said that he wanted to hear from the AMERICAN PEOPLE. I asked her if he was aware of the hundreds of thousands who have protested against this war, just this past weekend. How many more people did he need to hear from??? She promised to pass along my concerns.

Is our Democracy dead after all?

elaine in Petaluma