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Holiday Note: BuzzFlash Mailbag will be on vacation until Tuesday, December 3, 2002

Dear BuzzFlash,

Talk about the MOST blatant act of hypocrisy I've ever seen!!! Read this little gem from Mr. Trashcroft!! How low can they go? They trashed Clinton for wanting to do something not nearly as bad as they want to do now....even under Clinton it was for National Security, the same reason they are using now.

http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/1097/ijge/gj-7.htm

Faron Thomason
Houston, TX

Re: Did the mainstream media

Dear BuzzFlash,

I have been reading the NYT for 27 years since I was 13 years old. Last week I finally had enough of Howell Raines thinking I want to see Brittany Spears on the front page, editorials about Laura Bush's book club, editorials about the environment that run too infrequently and endorsements for candidates that hide from the press. The anti-war protest coverage in the NYT was the tip of the iceberg and I emailed the Editorial Board of my decision. I accused them of being "pelosified" by the pResident and asked if their water coolers had been spiked by Karl Rove. Nothing like saving close to $500 a year and telling the head honcho why his product sucks. The only fools who consider the NYT liberal are those who compare it to Mein Kampf and think Rush Limbaugh is now creditable because he sat next to Tom Brokaw on Election night. IMHO, Brokaw embarrassed the hard working non mediawhores in journalism and we all know there aren't too many of them left.

FS
New Rochelle NY

Subj: Mainstream Media and Dissent

Dear BuzzFlash:

Your analysis of the mainstream "liberal" media's failure to cover the Oct. 26 antiwar protests was on point, with the exception of one very glaring omission: You focused entirely on the print media's failures, to the exclusion of the even more egregious failure of the TV network and cable news programs to devote any air time to these events. Given the increased importance of TV in our post-literate age, this failure was far more serious. Moreover, I think it may underscore a horrendous trend that promises to make it increasingly difficult for Democrats to recapture the Congress and the White House in 2004.

I am concerned that our political balance may have reached -- and passed -- a "tipping point." A confluence of factors has tipped the balance so far to the right that it will be tough to get back to the center, let alone left of center. Democrats, having lost both the executive and the legislative branches are doomed to be perennially under-funded compared to the GOP (worse than before). Meanwhile, the news media -- electronic especially -- has been totally captured by conservatives, who use their media power to propagandize for the GOP and squelch criticism/alternative views from the center/left. Democrats -- even if they have a coherent message -- can't get a hearing in the "free" press and can't afford to buy commercial time to air their positions widely. At the same time, the civic dumbing down of Americans has left us a nation of TV watchers -- relatively few people actually get their news from newspapers, magazines and Web sites like BuzzFlash, where a proactive reader can still find dissenting views. So most people don't have a viewpoint independent of whatever the networks/cable channels are feeding them. It would take a supremely talented center/left leader to break out of this box canyon by force of argument alone, and at the moment, I don't see anyone on the Democrats' side who is even remotely up to the task.

Democrats not only need a message and a messenger; they also need a medium. They better get cracking -- and fast -- on breaking through the right's iron media curtain. Otherwise, it may turn out that only events so catastrophic on their face that nobody can ignore them -- such as an economic catastrophe on the order of the Great Depression and more horrible domestic terrorist attacks that reveal the Bush crowd for the complete economic/national security bumblers that they are -- will cause the pendulum to swing back. But if that's what it has to come to, we all lose anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Steve Shender

Subj: Thanks, Senator Daschle!

Dear Senator Daschle,

I want to express my sincere appreciation for your vision, your courage and your leadership. I appreciate your stepping up to the plate to back every Bush proposal in his vision for the new America. I thank you for endorsing the Patriots Act, which has kept all those unnamed and uncharged (but very suspicious looking) dark-skinned people in a land far far away, so as not to disturb our Peace or cause Disquietude during the Holiday Season. Thanks to you, Americans can sleep much more soundly most nights, and Santa can make his rounds undisturbed, safe from threat of terrorist intervention.

I thank you as well for supporting unilateral US action in Iraq if the situation requires it (which we all know it does WMD or no!). By agreeing to take out Saddam willy-nilly and establish an American foothold in the Middle East, you have endorsed a bold vision for our protectionist expansion. I laud your leadership in helping establish the United States of the World, and the many governmental oil cartels might such an action will doubtless precipitate in the bargain.

Thank you also for your fearless support of the Homeland Security Act. I feel much better knowing that John Poindexter will be reprised as a household name, and that he will know our every move and credit card transaction. If you can't trust John with such information, whom can you trust?

Thank you, Senator Daschle, for protecting us from each other as well as from ourselves, and for watching out for us, each and every one. You have grasped the big picture much quicker than many of your fellow Democrats. Time will prove that it is only through giving up certain individual freedoms and individual privacy that we can better ensure our collective security.

Richard Mann

Subj: Information is power. Information is control.

Dear Buzz,

One of the ways the former Soviet Union was able to guarantee full employment for all its citizens was to pay one-third of its people to spy on the other two-thirds. We, in America, with the current Bush administration, are rapidly approaching that sort of governmental snooping into our lives. Make no mistake, every scrap of information on each of us will be collected, sorted, stored and used to control us. To control dissent. To control speech. To control assembly. Think of your most private secrets; then think of those secrets "leaked" by the government to right-wing TV commentators who would use that information to embarrass, humiliate and torment you if you don't sign an oath of allegiance to George W. Bush, and promise never, ever to vote against, write against, or speak against him ever again. That's control. Imagine that same tactic employed to control journalists and the dissemination of accurate news.

Information is power. Information is control.

And, do not make the mistake of thinking because you have nothing to hide that such information collection cannot harm you. What if the "collectors" don't "get it" right and mix your name and files with someone else's, and you become the target of hate and prejudice as a result?

After the Berlin Wall came down and Soviet control over East Germany evaporated, the files of the Stasi, the East German secret police, were open to public view. East Germans were stunned to see the amount of information that secret governmental organization had collected on them. Many who had thought themselves so innocent of wrongdoing that they would never be thought worthy of investigation were appalled to see how much information had been collected about them and put into the Stasi files

Think that could never happen here? Guess again.

We have now learned that the FBI has "lost control" of a "watch" list it created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Names on the list were inadvertently or deliberately leaked to parties not entitled to the information. The names have shown up on Internet websites, and some companies are using the information to check on employees and prospective employees. Unfortunately for Truth, many of the people whose names appeared on the FBI's "watch" list have subsequently been cleared of any wrongdoing, but their reputations have been destroyed. So much for: "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about"!

Lois Erwin

Re: Why Did Mainstream News Media Downplay the 100,000+ AntiwarProtestors in D.C. In October?

Dear BuzzFlash,

The answer to this question is quite simple.

It's because there are no Democrats to stand up, speak out and give the media hell for their bias.

WLC

Dear BuzzFlash,

The Eugene city council voted unanimously last night to make Eugene the 15th city in the United States an the first in Oregon to formally seek reform or repeal of the USA Patriot Act.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subj: Ironies

Dear BuzzFlash,

There are an enormous number of ironies in our present day situation. Bush&Co with Rush Limbaugh's help spun the nonsense that the reason we were attacked on September 11 is that other people are jealous of us, our freedoms. Now they are trampling all over our freedoms. The only "protected" freedom the Americans have that most of the outside world does not have is the freedom to own a private arsenal of weapons.

The "uniter not a divider" has put a division in this world that is unprecedented. Families are divided. Enemies to America are cropping up like mushrooms after an early fall rain. He shames us horribly while announcing to all the world that "America is the best country in the world" "The American people are the best people in the world" while he encourages his corporate fat cat friends to steal from us, while he encourages his ruthless foot soldiers to disenfranchise us. This is nasty stuff. He is a threat to freedom and civility and the outside world and 49 percent of the voters in America know this.

Kind regards,

Linda Deak
American Abroad
Wassenaar, the Netherlands

RE: The Pentagon's Total Information Awareness program, to be headed by John Poindexter of Iran/Contra infamy.

Dear Buzz,

In case anyone thinks I am exaggerating about the FBI's "watch List" getting circulated onto the Internet and around various company offices, read Molly Ivins as she quotes from The Wall Street Journal (no less):

from Molly Ivins at: http://www.creators.com/opinion_show.cfm?columnsName=miv

<<And can we trust the government to keep all this information solely for the task of tracking terrorists? Funny you should ask. The Wall Street Journal reports this week that shortly after Sept. 11, the FBI circulated the names of hundreds of people it wanted to question to scores of corporations around the country, sharing the list with car rental companies, banks, travel firms, casinos, truckers, chemical companies and power plants. "A year later, the list has taken on a life of its own, with multiplying -- and error-filled -- versions being passed around like bootleg music. Some companies fed a version of the list into their databases and now use it to screen job applicants and customers." The list included people who were not suspects at all, just people the FBI wanted to talk to because they might have had some information. But, the Journal reports, a Venezuelan bank's security officer sent the list, headed "suspected terrorists sent by the FBI," to a website. >>

Lois Erwin

Subj: Unity

Dear BuzzFlash,

The point of this email is to suggest the reason why the Bush Cartel, an apparent minority of the population and certainly out of touch with "The American People", has come to be a force in politics and remains so, is because the Bush Cartel appears to be deeply united and almost singularly focused. Outside of the Bush Cartel is an array of special social interest groups, each individually, incapable of countering the administration on specific issues. I would dare say however, members of all groups collectively outnumber, outproduce, outthink, and have more resources than the Bush Cartel by a substantial ratio.

If I am Bush strategist, I plan to neutralize the multitude of interest groups that counter my agenda. They are numerous but mostly small. All I have to do is kick a feeble leg out from under each one of these groups by compromising a key figure or empowering a key adversary of the group and I no longer face resistance. They never work harder than they need and they can keep a force more massive, collectively, in check.

I am a frequent reader of your web page. I read stories pointed to by various hyperlinks and feel by piecing together the various stories and dismissing contradicting facts, I have the clearest view of the world I will ever get. Your readers have an invaluable information resource here and the world will be a poorer place in your absence. Yet, I cannot give to BuzzFlash, ACLU, AI, and all the other noble causes without quickly going broke.

If I am a strategist countering the Bush Cartel, I call for the individual efforts and resources to unite. Temporarily sacrifice causes that can be made whole again with lessor losses. Let them have some logging, oil on the shorelines, and pollution. Protests and litigation efforts should be collected and aimed beyond their frontline efforts of the corporations carrying out these selfish acts and at core support systems of their cartel such control of the political and media machinations that make it all possible. I would bet their are a few in the political machinery that would help if they saw some unified effort to counter what they saw as inherently immoral.

Jim Jeffords and others like him sacrificed much to help. Now, it is owed to them to unify, focus, strike back, and make believers of others who would emulate Mr. Jeffords. and neutralize a specialized agenda.

I would send a big check if I knew it was going to a unified constitutional effort to maintain democracy. I can view BuzzFlash as a participating member of this unified electorate.

Good Luck

A BuzzFlash Reader

RE: The CNN protest story they didn't want us to see...

Dear BuzzFlash,

Boy, I guess! Even the cached version has been obliterated off the internet. Fast work.

And congratulations to you, BuzzFlash, because you must be one dangerous man. Word must have gotten out FAST for someone to be able to contact Google and purge it from their site.

I hope your reader either saved it as "text" or used hypersnap to take a screen shot of it.

We all must begin to save those interesting websites and sensitive documents we come across because it looks like things are going to start disappearing from the Internet at an alarming rate. We can save things as a txt file. Or save it as an html. Or buy a screenshot utility called "hypersnap" and then "photograph" the webpage.

We'll all have to become e-information packrats.

Take care,

Mary Kim

[BuzzFlash Note: If you didn't see it, we saved a PDF of the article. Read it here.]

Quote of the Day:

"A country whose leader has the power to imprison any citizen, on his order alone, and hold them indefinitely, in military custody, without access to the courts, without a lawyer, without any charges, their fate determined solely by the leader's arbitrary whim -- that country is a tyranny, not a democracy, not a republic, not a union of free citizens." --- Chris Floyd, The Moscow Times

Chewgababy

Dear BuzzFlash,

Just curious..........if President Bush is so gung-ho on transparency of the citizens of America, would he not also wish to show those same said citizens that he will lead the way and offer up to open up the libraries of his own Governorship while in Texas as well as that of his father GHWB and Ronald Reagan? Why the hypocrisy?

Curious in Canada

Subj: To the United Nations and the Media

Dear BuzzFlash,

Are we the only ones to notice the lady in Canada resigned but she never said she was wrong and she never said she was sorry! That's because she knows she is right and has nothing to be sorry for!

Does she have an e-mail we can write and tell her how much we admire her?

Sixty of us in FL.

Dear Buzz:

I am outraged at the slur "moron" being used to describe shrub's intellect! It is false and inaccurate!

According to Merriam-Webster a "moron" is: 1 : a mentally retarded person who has a potential mental age of between 8 and 12 years and is capable of doing routine work under supervision 2 : a very stupid person

How could anyone term george II as a "moron"? No, he is actually an "imbecile": 1 : a mentally deficient person; especially : a feebleminded person having a mental age of three to seven years and requiring supervision in the performance of routine daily tasks of self-care 2 : FOOL, IDIOT

If Francoise Ducros had been accurate in her description of the chimp-in-chief, perhaps she would still have a job. No one should be fired for telling the truth--no matter how painful it is to your so-called friends.

Liz Taylor
Houston

Subj: A Star

Dear BuzzFlash,

I've read that it's always darkest before it's pitch black. Strange happenings around the world these days. China is killing people for language they have used on the Internet and the people they contacted.

The US has been given the power and right to roll right on over our Civil Rights and Constitution with the creepy "eye" in a pyramid watching our every move. A blown up version of the dollar bill, the blown up version is enough to drive a person away from the dollar bill. And the "eye" turns out to be a felon we know as Poindexter.

And Russia! After all that hoopla of bringing down the wall and trying their hand at democracy, has decided to bring back the communist Red Star. I suspect this is just a reminder to the west that the "red peril" lives.

At the rate the world is spinning and turning upside down, I would not be surprised to see Arafat or Hussein as candidates for the Nobel Peace prize before the year is out and the Confederate Flag flying over the White House.

We aren't moving toward a fascist world we are living it right here on Main Street. And we can console ourselves that our worst fears are true until they cut off our Internet use and we are arrested for pointing out the truth. We have kept telling ourselves that the unthinkable wouldn't happen.

The people and Democrats would not let the Supreme Court decide an election, they wouldn't let a tax-cut that would obviously buckle the economy of this nation; they wouldn't let Enron etc. get away with fraud, they wouldn't let a dangerous war be started where we were the aggressor; they would take back the house and senate, they wouldn't vote for a bill that took away the rights of Americans. They would demand an investigation into 9/11, they would demand that the "Sunshine Laws" be upheld. They did agree on one thing, they all deserved a raise. We have been taken over by a force that we don't know and didn't see coming. Only "the shadow" knows, the shadow government that is.

The Republicans have certainly won this battle, they will have to watch the painful unfolding of what they've won and so will we. And a new revolution has begun, I hope there is enough of us to see it through. For sure there is more of us than what the early American rebels had to take this country into a new day.

Sally McDonald

Subj: The Truth

Dear BuzzFlash,

Since the "election", I've heard a number of people say that they think a large majority of the American public is "stupid" for voting control of the House and Senate to the GOPers. I think they are they are wrong. The American public is far from stupid, in fact, most Americans are smart as Hell. But I do think, in the aftermath of 9/11, they are scared. And that's understandable. I also think the American public is being lied to every time Bush or one of his cronies opens their mouth. The more times a lie is told, the more apt people, even smart people, will start to believe it's the truth. Bush and his cronies say the economy is "fine", jobs are out there, the new department of "Homeland Security" will make us safe, Saddam has every kind of weapon of mass destruction known to man, and the Saudis are our "friends", and we have nothing to worry about. The truth? We're being lied to about the economy, jobs, this new "Homeland Security" department, the true situation in Iraq, Saudi involvement and monetary support of terrorism, and the list can go on and on. But they are still lies. Everybody and their brother have suggested ways the Democrats can re-take the country from the Bush Junta. But the most simple way is with the truth. The bottom line is always gonna be the fact that the only cure for lies is always the truth. Every time a GOPer or one of Bush's cronies lies to us, we counter with the truth. Calmly, cooly, and rationally. With the mainstream press giving Bush a free ride, it's not gonna be easy. The GOPers seem to have the media eating out of their hands. But we need to get our message out anyway we can. Let THEM scream. Let "Anal-Cyst" Limbaugh, Tim Russert, Bill "I'm-spinning-so-hard-my-heads-gonna-fly-off" O'Reilly, and the whole White House propaganda team at the Fox network rant and rave, and act like the assholes they are. Counter their lies with the truth. Smart people that have been fooled are slow to admit they were duped once the truth hits them in the face. But if we counter the lies with the truth, when they do realize how badly they've been had, then Bush and the rest of the liars are gonna be out on their ass.

A BuzzFlash Reader

"Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed..."

Inaugural Address
President John F. Kennedy
Washington, D.C.
January 20, 1961

Dear BuzzFlash,

You probably have this but I saved the Google page with the scrubbed CNN story. THIS SHOWS HOW INTENT CNN IS IN NOT REPORTING DISSENT.

I think you should post some type of article or BuzzFlash editorial calling for more actions of this type. I've been calling for a mass protest of the media for a long time.

Carolyn Gray

Subj: A Day Late and a Dollar Short

Dear BuzzFlash,

That's Gore's take on the Media.....while I agree with him wholeheartedly if he had been so vocal prior to the Dunce taking up residence in the WH, we wouldn't be in this fascist mess today. Will someone kick him in the Butt for me because he let W away with murder during the debates-worse still at each debate he was a different Al Gore......My money is on Welsely Clark for 2004...a fresh face in the crowd, no old baggage and NOT programed and JADED.

Thank you

Colette Miller
Wellington
Florida

Hey BuzzFlash,

Perhaps you should start a running "thread": "Questions the 9/11 Commission Should Ask George W. Bush Under Oath"

Here are some:

"At what time on the morning of 9/11 were you made aware of a likely hijacking?"

"When were you made aware of likely multiple hijackings?"

"What orders did you issue after you saw the first tower on fire?"

"When were you made aware of Moussaoui's detention?"

"Were hijacking scenarios discussed in Genoa, Italy at the G8?"

"Can you cite any Executive actions taken to head off possible hijackings here in the U.S.?"

"Did the White House discuss the bin Ladens with counter-terrorism and bin Laden expert, John O'Neill?"

"Have you or any relative ever had financial or business relations with any member of the bin Laden family or its companies?"

Too hot? Just a suggestion.

There should be a public groundswell of pressure for Bush to go before the Commission.

But, of course, that will never happen.

A Reader

Subj: CNN to the Rescue

Dear BuzzFlash,

Francoise Ducros, Canadian Communications Director and top aide to Prime Minister Jean Chretien resigned after calling Bush a moron.

In reference to the remark:

-In essence, Prime Minister Jean Chretien said no problem.

-In essence, Ari Fleicher said no problem.

We know there was no problem because Bush is a moron!

If their was no problem, why did Bob Novak and CNN take up the crusade to martyr Ducrose? Because it is their job, that's why. CNN is the official PBM for the administration. PBM? That's the Pro Bush Megaphone. No negative official comment came out of D.C. But please understand, when they have the CNN PBM doing the dirty work, the administration gets their dirty work done successfully every time! It's called the "Clean Hands" approach. Nobody gets away with calling Bush a moron. Mindful of the "Clean Hands" approach, we saw it when the thugs pounded on the door at the 2000 Florida recount. CNN PBM was there with their so called "Breaking News!" When they are showing someone criticizing Bush, we are switched immediately to "CNN Breaking News" -- the Moron landing or taking off in his helicopter! And if that event is not available, we're switched to a car chase in CA., to censor the critic. CNN should be called the Censoring National Network.

Clearly, CNN to the administration is like having a 12th player on the field in a football game. There is a real problem with a 12th man on the field when there are no referees to blow the whistle!

~ Cathy

Subj: Women Speaking Up and Out

Dear BuzzFlash,

I find it interesting that first a German woman called Bush a nazi, than a Canadian woman called him a moron. Of course they both quit their jobs afterwards. My conclusion about this issue is that women have a much more affective, accurate and efficient b.s. detector

C. Moran, IL

Subj: Feds Tighten Demand on Failing Schools

Dear BuzzFlash,

This new regulation would seem to be paving the way for vouchers for private schools. I wonder if this federal legislation was one of Jeb's "devious plans" to get around the Class Size Amendment in Florida? The law does not address funding - with state and federal education budgets being slashed as the child population grows - how can public schools expect to keep up qualitatively? Who is writing the curriculum for the FCAT anyhow, I've been wondering. Non-public schools are not subject to the FCAT.

Kathy in Boynton Beach

New Federal Rule Tightens Demands on Failing Schools (Excerpts below)

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/27/education/27EDUC.html

New York Times 11/27/02: The new regulations, which are more stringent than expected, could leave hundreds of districts scrambling for alternative places for children who want to transfer out of poorly functioning schools. The new regulations do not oblige school districts to adopt specific solutions. At a news conference here today, Education Department officials said that schools might consider signing contracts with neighboring districts to accept students from failing schools, hiring more teachers or building new classrooms at more successful schools.

But critics suggested the administration was quietly paving the way for vouchers to private schools as the answer when districts could come up with nothing else. In earlier discussions of the new law, known as No Child Left Behind, officials had said there would be one acceptable reason for denying children transfers: lack of capacity in good schools. But in today's regulations, federal officials eliminated that excuse.

Local initiatives to limit class sizes, as well as federal desegregation orders, would have to take a back seat to the new education law, officials said.

With time, the law is expected to result in vast numbers of schools being designated as failing. In a recent interview, Sandy Kress, a lawyer who represented the White House in drafting the law and who now advises states on carrying it out, predicted that 50 to 90 percent of the schools in some states might be found inadequate. That is because schools must show that all kinds of students, including those in special education or with little English, have improved on standardized tests. The law also requires that schools make substantial progress toward closing the gap between racial minorities and white students to avoid failure.

Dear BuzzFlash,

Ohmagawd! W chooses Henry K, who should be standing trial for war crimes, to "lead" 9/11 probe!

http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/11/
27/intelligence.probe.signing.ap/index.html

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subj: Paper Trails and the next Presidential Election

Dear BuzzFlash,

I have to laugh at all the anti-bush sites saying that they need to get busy and get tough to win the next election for president via issues etc.

Frankly, the ONLY thing we have to do .. and we have to start doing it now before its too late, is to DEMAND PRINTED RECEIPTS from every electronic voting machine and for every voter to confirm their selection. Or better yet, get rid of the electronic voting machines.

There is no way in hell that the democrats will ever win another election as long as electronic voting machines are used without some kind of backup. Do you honestly think the republicans will give up power so easily in the next election? Don't you recall all of the reports across the country about machines that cast a vote for the republicans even though the voter push the democrat side? Don't you recall the suspicious instances where 3 candidates got the exact same number of votes? Don't you remember that exit polling results were all of a sudden dropped?

Everyone agrees that we are in very serious trouble here folks. Especially when the media is so obviously controlled by the republicans.

We have less than 2 years now to address this issue .. it is going to take 2 years to get enough groundswell going to demand that these electronic voting machines be monitored in such a way that is beyond reproach.

You must .. you absolutely must keep this issue in the forefront. We all must start right now .. today to demand some kind unimpeachable monitoring of the next presidential election. The very survival of the people and the planet depend on it. If we wait, we will be told that it is too late to do anything concerning the upcoming election. We must start now. We absolutely MUST.

Larla Marti

Dear BuzzFlash,

I can't believe the American people, the Democrats and the survivors of the September event will stand for this whitewash. How miserably stupid are we that we will stand by for this - a Nobel Peace Prize Winner! So what! Name Jimmy Carter! A total crook in charge of something like this. A TOTAL WHITEWASH!

Sharon

Dear BuzzFlash,

Interesting note: During the election campaign, I emailed the RNC and asked them to tell me how much of my tax money is being used to finance Bush's campaign binge. I got an answer from them today referring me to the website www.fec.gov for information about how Bush's expenses were privately funded. Stupid me, I forgot how "privately funded" the republicans are. I haven't had a chance to really peruse it yet, but if anyone's interested you can go to the website. I don't believe much that they say anyway so I don't know why I bother asking. I guess it's just a good way to ensure I'm in Poindexter's database.

Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Barbara in NYC

Re: Why Did Mainstream News Media Downplay the 100,000+ Antiwar Protestors in D.

The new media is guilty of journalistic malpractice or better yet journalistic fraud.

Wilma

Subj: Terrell the Terrible

If you are in Louisiana, don't believe Terrell the Terrible, vote for Mary Landrieu.

a BuzzFlash reader

Subj: Ashcroft, Secrecy, Internet and The Muslim Endorsements for the Bush Cartel

I read your posting of John Asscroft's "Big Brother" article and I remembered that just about a year ago I sent in a piece which you published, and which also referenced his op-ed piece in the Washington Times. My article is archived at:

http://www.BuzzFlash.com/contributors/2001/
12/120801_Bush_Antiterrorism_Hypocrisy.html

It is mainly about how the American Muslim Community endorsed and probably elected Bush/Asscroft in Florida primarily for Bush/Asscroft's stand against "secret evidence" and their protection of citizens' rights to privacy, especially on the Internet. I just re-read my piece and, although the "endorsement" from the Islamic Institute has been scrubbed from their site (Who do they think they are, CNN??) it brings to mind how much of a democracy we live in -- everybody seems to be equally stupid, Muslims no exception. Alas, we are again seeing, as Mr. Mencken described it, the great Boob-ocracy!

I also wholeheartedly recommend that everybody look again at the video of Bush's reaction to the WTC catastrophe, while he sat in the classroom in Florida, and put that together with his sabre-rattling on Iraq.

Regards,

BC

Subj: Are you better off now than two years ago?

For these unfortunate souls, who are going bankrupt in record numbers, and for those who will be losing their unemployment and health insurance, most certainly not. See if I were a Democratic strategist (an evident oxymoron) I would be crafting a broad based package to address these pressing issues i.e. extended unemployment, home mortgage assistance, health care assistance to help all of those who are suffering under the Bush recession, I would then introduce it on the first day of the new Congressional session. I would also craft a package to help the newly bankrupt cities and states by increasing federal revenue sharing dramatically and introduce it as well with great fanfare. Then I would trumpet both packages to the high heavens anywhere and everywhere.

I would propose paying for both packages by postponing the next phase of Junior's tax cut. The Rethugs would never go for these proposals, obviously, since they make too much sense and are truly compassionate. However it would remind the general public that all is not well in this country and these needs are pressing. This would also allow Dems to go on offense for a change and reframe the debate. Let the Rethugs be the ones forced to explain how, with all these pressing needs, they can justify raiding the treasury for their corporate fatcat buddies and taking money from the very poorest among us to do it. It would remind people that the Democrats are still the party which cares about ordinary people, and it would offer a clear alternative to the regressive garbage that the Rethugs will be pushing. However, such a plan requires boldness, daring and courage. Those are three adjectives which have not been associated with the party leadership in quite a while. Nevertheless I think we should try it. What exactly do we have to lose, except our newfound irrelevance in the national debate. Timidity at this point is a ticket to oblivion.

Dan

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38000-2002Nov25.html

Subj: The Moron Strikes Again

Dear BuzzFlash,

The moron names Henry Kissinger to head the 9/11 failures? What next -- Kenneth Lay heading the Enron investigations?

~ Cathy

Dear BuzzFlash,

Recently, Rich wrote a nasty column about Gore in which Rich said that people do not change and thus Gore's new attitude on campaigning was a charade.

Hmmm... let's take that to its logical conclusion. That means Bush is still AWOL, still boozing it up (or more), still failing at his job while Daddy's rich friends bail him out, and Bush never actually "found Jesus" at age 40. Hmmmm.....

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subj: Kissinger Lied About East Timor

Dear BuzzFlash,

To remind everyone of just one reason why Kissinger's appointment to head the 9/11 probe is such a cruel, hideous joke, we're posting this excerpt from Appendix A of Everything You Know Is Wrong. It presents the smoking-gun memo that proves Kissinger and Ford greenlighted Indonesia's genocidal invasion of East Timor, something that Kissinger has always denied.

http://www.disinfo.com/pages/article/id2934/pg1/

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subj: Disclaimer for Wingnuts to Use on Their Talkshows

Dear BuzzFlash,

The Faux 3 Twits in the Morning were just having a ball at President GORE's pointing out the dominance of wingnutism in the media, with emphasis on the Faux Propaganda Network. Ah, yes, their standard line is the same as what Howard KURTZ and LIMBOsevic have been using, to the effect that "Nobody calls us in the morning to dictate what we're supposed to say this day."

No, nobody does that, but as Bernard GOLDBERG put it in HIS construct regarding LIBERAL bias, there is a CULTURE, an ATMOSPHERE, a FEEDING OFF one another. You BREATHE it, nepotize it, intermarry it, send your kids to the SAME SCHOOLS. It's like the VAST RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY----no formal MEETINGS (well, not MANY).

A poster to a Democratic discussion board (thanks, "CO Lib") said all the wingnut commentators should spout this disclaimer at the start of their shows:

"This program is broadcast for entertainment only. It is not a news program. The opinions expressed by the host, guests and/or callers may or may not be true. Listeners are urged not to rely on this program as a reliable source for accurate news."

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subj: A cynical appointment- Kissinger and the 9-11 Committee

Dear BuzzFlash,

Bush in his arrogance and cynicism does not hesitate to take an "in your face" approach with his opponents. One way he does this is through his appointments. The list is long, starting with Ashcroft and Olson.

Now you have perhaps the most cynical of all his appointments, that of Henry Kissinger to head the 9-11 Committee.

..A war criminal for his acts in Chile, Indonesia, Viet Nam and elsewhere

..A man who brings multiple conflicts of interest to the table, including his business relations in the Middle East where Bush and his family also have interests.

..A completely amoral man who will do exactly as the President desires since he has long been an "informal" advisor to and a strong supporter of the President.

..A man who can not be described as impartial or objective because of his relations with Bush, Cheney, and the whole cabal.

So all the hopes of the victims and survivors of 9-11 will depend on the appointee of Sen. John McCain and the 5 Democrat appointees. Hardly a realistic hope. We don't even know how reliable the Democrat appointees will be. All it will take is one of them to shoot down any real investigation. How often will the 5 Democrats be able to get 6 votes for a subpoena?

Not only that, as reported, Bush is attempting to define the functions of the Committee so that they are looking for "ways to avoid future attacks".

Certainly we don't want to investigate the pre attack knowledge of Bush and his administration (they have already refused to release the details of the intelligence briefings).

Certainly we don't want to investigate the conduct of Bush on that day.

Certainly we don't want to raise any embarrassing questions about whether Bush's failure to act immediately when told of the acts cost the lives of the victims at the Pentagon.

Certainly we don't want to rehash why no planes were intercepted.

Certainly we don't want to investigate the failure (if such is the way to describe it) of the FAA, the National Command Center, and NORAD and the General who was rewarded for his failures by being promoted to Commander of the Northern Command, to act promptly to intercept and bring down at least one or two of the hijacked planes.

This is going to produce another Warren Commission Report. One that even Nixon characterized as a "joke" and one in which very few of the American people have any faith.

It is not unlike the October Surprise investigation where Lee Hamilton, a Democrat, gave into every request of the Republicans and so set a time limit that was unrealistic, and a procedure that allowed the Republicans to obstruct the investigation until time ran out. But then Hamilton was on record as saying something to the effect of "So what if they did it. Its over". Clearly no understanding of treason there.

So once again we have an investigation that seems rigged to produce nothing of value. One that will not point any fingers because to do so might show what really happened on that day and show how we were and are being lied to by this administration.

Who will dare to stand up and attack Kissinger?

Bush is counting on this and that the media will never question why someone accused of crimes against humanity is investigating a crime against humanity.

Robert E. Reynolds, Orange Park Fl

Dear BuzzFlash,

Add today's DailyHowler near the "Al Gore Nails the Media...? http://www2.observer.com/observer/pages/frontpage1.asp

Fox is calling Gore a liar, while hiding embarrassing news re: Bush's performance.

Gore has been repeating important news from the current head of the CIA (al Qaeda) and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Afghanistan)

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh112702.shtml

Neat line...

"But over at Fox, they're spinning you blue."

Loyal BuzzFlash Reader

Subj: Kissinger Appointment

Dear BuzzFlash:

The Bushmaster's appointment of Henry Kissinger to investigate the 9/11 tragedy is an insurance policy that Bush will never appear before a Congressional Committee.

The cover-up is just starting. Bush and Cheney are under public indictment whether they like it or not. Tyco's Dennis Koslowski is a rank amateur compared to these thugs.

Thanks,

Terry

Dear Buzz,

Congratulations on saving the article from CNN on the protest! Well done! It certainly does prove the very point the protesters were making, that CNN is far from balanced, it is SO unbalanced it can't even take criticism and scrubs it's OWN site of the truth, unbelievable. I think we should all cut and paste the article Buzz so wisely rescued, insert the article in an e-mail to CNN and ask why they removed the original from the site! The least it can do is let them know that their attempt to hid the truth failed miserably!

Again, well done, BuzzFlash, you do a GREAT job!

Bev Dendys