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). Please try and keep your word count under 500. 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,

I am so turned off by Fox News that I make a point of boycotting their station as much as possible. Unfortunately, they have a lot of sports and programming I like, SF Giants, SF 49ers, Simpsons and syndicated Seinfeld are some of my favorites. The piece "Moyers on O'Reilly" really turned my stomach so much I have decided to totally boycott Fox. Please urge your readers to do the same.

Sincerely,

Charles Lemmon
San Francisco

Dear BuzzFlash,

I really enjoyed the Moyer's piece rebutting the lies of O'Reilly. But even more stunning to me was the comment, "his passion...is equaled 'only by his stubborn, ignorant denial of complexity." Herein lies one of the propaganda tools of the right which frustrates me and which I find is working well for them. They insist on framing every debate in the simplest of black-white oppositions. If anyone tries to discuss the complexities of the Middle East-America relationship, the right wingers claim that they are America-bashing. "You're with us or agin us." No situation ethics - moral clarity! Some extremists flew into the World Trade Center and that means America is right about everything they do and have ever done. We have to draw a line in the sand over every issue!! And as I say it seems to be working. Those who try for insightful nuanced analysis are obliged to preface every statement with things like, "Yes Saddam Hussein is a bad man" or "Of course we want to give homeland security a top priority" or "Of course we want to lessen the tax burden on hard-pressed Americans." How can we combat this "denial of complexity" tactic?

ja in la

Re: BuzzFlash Awarded "Gold Medal" in "Best Websites for 2003" List by Shift

Dear BuzzFlash,

Congratulations on your Award!

Glady Thacher
(a devoted fan of BuzzFlash, even if you fill up my inbox everyday)

Dear BuzzFlash,

Congratulations on the Gold Medal for the website, this remains my ultimate favorite. You all do an incredible job of reporting the news with a flavor of truthful humor! Well Done!

Ev
Canada

BuzzFlash,

Thank you for allowing Mr. Moyers guest commentary rebuttal to the always shrill, always misinformed O'Reilly. Bill Moyers is a modern day example of the journalistic ethics of Edward R. Murrow. O'Reilly, Limbaugh et al are simply boorish, right-wing whores. They lie, cheat and fool their way into a position that should be reserved for someone who can contribute something positive to society. They are so negative that they make a mockery out of constructive criticism.

BTW, I am an avid fan of BuzzFlash and BartCop and will become a contributor when I (hopefully) return to work. Meanwhile, I am content to spend my days trying to stir the pot and get people to think.

Steve Decaria
Bountiful, Utah

Re: BuzzFlash Awarded "Gold Medal" in "Best Websites for 2003" List by Shift

Way to go BuzzFlash.

Congratulations on this much deserved award. Of all the websites out there on the new, unimproved, hard right (as if) GOP, et al., yours has consistently been the one news source that I check daily, sometimes several times daily, for the past few years to keep with the real news. The fact that your site irritates the hell out of the GOP, and forces those brave enough to check it out, how brazenly biased, and irresponsible the media has been since bush lite was appointed, is just the icing on the cake. The honest, and unbiased news is the best reason to see it. What would a real reporter like Herbert Morrison have to say about today's flock of spineless journalist's? My guess would be that whatever it was, it would start out with "Oh the humanity," and continue to follow along the same line as his famous Hindenburg broadcast. Keep up your outstanding work. BuzzFlash does indeed live up to such an award, and stands head and shoulder's above the mediocre, misleading, and propagandized news this country is force fed every day. I couldn't be happier for you.

David R. Anselm, Jr.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Subj: Is this for real?

Dear BuzzFlash,

http://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/index.htm

Do you think they ever pray for Democrats? Maybe they don't, since it generally IS Republicans whose souls need saving. After all, Jesus was a liberal and he would have shown them what compassionate really means.

Abfabdem

Dear BuzzFlash,

Great commentary by Bill Moyers. Honest TV journalism is in short supply.

Now that John Kerry is running for president, they will criticize everything about his personal life and ignore what he has to say about the economy.

I watched Robert Reich debate Robert Bartlett on CNBC and he left Bartlett speechless.

Mike Dickenson
Richmond, VA

Dear BuzzFlash,

I watched the Phil Donahue show tonight and was floored by what I was hearing! By people like Pat Buchanan I was hearing things like "the white male is the most discriminated against in this country. It is the white males who are losing jobs to the less qualified," they said many more stupid things. But I must admit I was also amused. These white men must be very stupid, since they are the ones who make the laws. Seriously though, the white male is 34% of this country, but they are more than 98% of the million dollar CEOs. They still make more than woman and minorities and they are more than 90% of our government. Someone please make me one of those poor white men! And, by the way, how many black people own the big media companies? How many are anchors? How many are in the media's upper management? Just thought I would ask.

Sharon(shorty)
Swift TN

Subj: How about a story about Father Caughlin

Dear BuzzFlash,

In the middle and late 1930's a priest by the name of Father Coughlin had a radio show on Sunday nights...an audience bigger than Rush Limbaugh estimated at 40+ million. He was sympathetic to Mr. Hitler and Mussolini. He was as much a demagogue as the people we have today. The Pope, to his credit, found out about this loose cannon and had him go off the air, never to return. Yes, they say that deep inside ever Conservative is a Fascist screaming to get out. Sometimes they are good looking and friendly, like George W.; other times they are shrill like Rush Limbaugh. But, the outcome is the same.

O'Reilly, Hannity, North, Liddy, et al are following in the tradition of Father Coughlin.

Phil Weissburg,
Palm Harbor, Florida

Subj: Competing Visions

Dear BuzzFlash,

This article contains good old fashioned political common sense, from Mr. Robert Borosage, the likes of which I haven't heard from anyone in years. I agree with everything he has said in this article and I say, TO HELL with the DLC. They are responsible for this mess, and we ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT listen to them to get us out of it. Being "Republican Lite" don't cut it. Sorry Mr. Clinton, as much as I respect you, you and I part company over this one. The recipe for electoral success is not to "split the difference" with the Republican ideas as you have recently suggested. All that will do is drag our party further to the right since the Rethugs will move further and further rightward in order to approximate their intellectual godfather, Ghengis Khan. The fact is we have to, as Mr. Borosage suggests in this article, fight furiously for our ideals and our core beliefs and our core supporters. They are for whom this party stands. By fighting for them we are fighting for every American since every good governance idea, every program, and every law that we champion and enact will benefit ALL Americans, except for the very rich who wouldn't vote democrat if their lives depended on it So to win as Democrats we need to act like Democrats. Ask Tom Harkin, Dennis Kucinich, Julia Carson, Rush Holt, Dick Durbin and Jay Insleee about that. Those members of the "Democratic wing" of the Democratic Party won handily. Paul would have won as well had he not been killed. All of these people have shown us a successful electoral road map for the future. We need to follow that route and not listen to the siren song of those who would see us sell our party's soul to corporate America.

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20021223&s=borosage

Dan Delisio

Subj: a picture is worth 1000 words

Dear BuzzFlash,

Here you can see it in print. Sometimes people are reading BuzzFlash and they really don't believe that Schrub has attacked people with weapons of poverty. Believe me, he is even worse than Reagan and worse than his father. He is the WORST president we have ever had. If some readers don't believe he has cut off extended benefits for unemployment by a new regulation, just go to this site and read it. I mean in Arizona, they were only giving about $205 per week at the maximum and federal law has changed to deny any extension on this. Even during the Reagan administration, unemployed workers could still get benefits for up to a year. Now if you don't get a job within six months (which is very difficult, regardless of what the kiss-up media tells you), you are just out in the street. Go to this site http://www.de.state.az.us/esa/uibenefits/clmt.asp and read it and see for yourself. If you think things are not that bad under Der Schrub, then go to www.wesd.k12.az.us and look under job opportunities. The school district has created a new position, called "homeless liaison". Don't take my word for it. Do you think it is acceptable for Schrub to give our social security away to the wealthiest one percent of the nation while people are unemployed, homeless, and hungry? Do you think it is right to starve babies once they are born? Do you believe the Republicans when they say they are pro-life? I can't believe they are really so stupid as to believe that once a child comes out of the birth canal, then we have no more responsibility to that child, but that is what the GOP is saying. "Let babies be born and then starve to death" is the GOP motto. Two things encouraged me today. Borders Books was proudly displaying, "It's Still the Economy, Stupid", (I still would prefer people buy it from BuzzFlash.com though), and I saw a bumper sticker right smack in the middle of this highly GOPstaupo town, "Re-elect Gore in 2004". Don't you dare give up, people.

Mama "Hey Repugs, we got a Democratic governor in Arizona, so just put that in your pipe and smoke it" Mimi

Subj: Mysterious Recants

Dear BuzzFlash,

Reading Joe Conason's article about John DiIulio's retraction of commentary made in Esquire magazine incites much suspicion.

Just what kind of power does this administration have over others? Quite frankly, I'm beginning to wonder if their power is likened to Mafia style attics. We have seen so many congressional representatives cower and give in to Bush's agendas following their crusades against the them. What takes place between their crusades and the final outcome? We've seen Daschle, Gephardt and other democrats tell us everything that is wrong with the Bush idea, only to cave in and go Bush's way. That makes as much sense as all of us who frequent BuzzFlash, complaining about republicans, then voting republican! What happens to these representatives between their voiced oppositions and caving in to Bush? It appears that DiIulio caved in too? Was he strong-armed or threatened in some fashion?

We see editorial boards on our newspapers publish Bush's way. Our electronic media talks Bush talk. Are these editorial boards and producers leaned on like the mafia once did? Could they be threatened with ruin or outright physical harm? It sure is a mystery. How else does one explain the resistors doing about faces in hundreds of incidents? Somebody needs to solve the mystery and when they do, refuse to recant.

~ Cathy

Subj: Rush threatens to quit if Randi Rhodes is syndicated on clear channel

Dear BuzzFlash,

Why Aren't Progressive Making Inroads In Syndicated Talk Radio? The Right Is Gaming the System.
Randi Rhodes, a popular talk radio host on the left (she's ranked as number two in her market), was refused syndication by Clear Channel, because a certain talk radio host with a polynoidal cyst said that if Clear Channel syndicated her, he would go elsewhere. Why is El Rushbo and the right afraid of Rhodes? Because she puts righteous foot to right-wing ass. Here is a sample of her work; Rhodes puts wingnut Oliver North in his place.

http://scoobiedavis.blogspot.com/

A BuzzFlash Reader

Dear BuzzFlash,

I'd like to see them reconcile their article on 'Clinton's Broken Promise To Veterans' at:

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=4935

with this article found in Air Force Assn. magazine at:

http://www.afa.org/magazine/June1996/0696hospital.html

In the early 70's, while Bud Day was still a POW in VN, I rent managed some apt's for him and his wife, here in Sioux City, IA.

Just recently we named our airport, which was designated SUX, after Col. Bud. I completely understand what Bud is trying to do in his suit against the DoD and the VA. A promise made should be a promise kept at all costs, unless death intervenes.

A BuzzFlash Reader

Subj: Repealing the Family Leave Act

Dear BuzzFlash:

Wait a minute, I'm confused. I thought that W and his cronies have been telling us that the economy is "not THAT bad." But it’s bad enough to take money away from sick children and families? Or should we be blaming the small, insignificant, not to be worried about economical speedbump on Clinton again? I just can’t keep the Republican lies straight anymore. (Of course, neither can they.)

-- Erin R. Lawrence

Thank You Bill Moyers.

You're a great American who influenced my life profoundly with your work.

I'm sorry the swamp flies are attacking you. Thanks for setting the record straight.

Keep on keepin' on

Best wishes,

Tony

Subj: Dennis Miller

Hi, Buzzards.

In two recent appearances on the Tonight Show, Dennis Miller has seemed to be pushing GOP talking points -- first with nincompoopery about attacking Iraq because "they want to kill us," and then, more recently, with "clever" jibes about Democratic leaders (Pelosi, Gore, er, Streisand), and of course John Kerry's haircut.

Miller is a guy who made his career skewering Reagan and Bush I -- NBC is currently showing reruns of the Saturday Night Live shows from the run-up to the last Gulf War -- and who fancied himself enough of a countercultural hipster that he named his kids "Holden" and "Marlon."

Since a lot of people get their news from late-night comedy shows, I'm thinking that someone, maybe Miller himself, decided that a political comedian flogging the party line would help get the Republican word out. Kind of like Tim Robbins' right-wing protest singer-songwriter, Bob Roberts. Or like Ann Coulter, only *trying* to be funny.

Yr

Dear BuzzFlash:

I am a fan of Bill Moyers and have the utmost respect for him.

My question is this: If the things he says about O'Reilly's accusations are true, and if the things he says about the Weekly Standard article are true, has he considered legal action for defamation against the authors of these inaccurate and dishonest pieces?

Several years ago Moyers did a special on John Henry Faulk. In fact, when I was living in Mississippi, I had a chance to briefly speak with Mr. Moyers while he was doing his series on the book of Genesis.

One of the things that I remember distinctly about my brief conversation with Mr. Moyers concerned the manner in which Faulk sued his McCarthyite defamers---and won.

I am an attorney by profession. While I am no expert on the law of libel and slander, I know enough about it to encourage Mr. Moyers to look into a possible law suit against both O'Reilly and the other Murdoch-owned henchman.

At the very least, perhaps he will be able to get official retractions from the respective inaccurate/dishonest sources.

Please pass this note on to Mr. Moyers . . . . .

Phillip Giannikas
Nashville, TN

Subj: A Testimony on Behalf of the Presumption of Innocence (NY Times - A Test the New York Justice System Failed)

There's a lesson here as to why the "chief executive" shouldn't be allowed to simply declare suspects guilty and have them killed. Even the courts, after full hearings and trials, can be wrong. The Magna Carta came to be for a reason.

Alan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

December 6, 2002

A Test the New York Justice System Failed

By JIM DWYER

On the day in 1989 that his city was first hearing the details of what seemed to have been a gang rape in Central Park by teenagers, Mayor Edward I. Koch said the crime would be a test.

"I think that everybody here — maybe across the nation — will look at this case to see how the criminal justice system works," Mr. Koch had said. "How will this be handled? This is, I think, putting the criminal justice system on trial."

And 13 years later, the verdict is in: The system failed, and in ways that cannot be made right. The man responsible for the rape of the Central Park jogger eluded police attention and continued a sporadic siege of violence on the Upper East Side for the next four months that included rapes, slashings and one murder.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/06/nyregion/06ASSE.html

Dear BuzzFlash,

In our local paper, 12/05/02, there is an article on perhaps page 3, regarding Pres. Bush reinstating the large bonuses that Mr. Clinton did away with during his administration...they were for cabinet member who already made huge salaries.

Pres. Clinton thought they were not needed, so he canceled them with an amendment. Now, George Bush has now reinstated those large bonuses to his members of the cabinet. They, who already make salaries over and above $100.000 will now get large bonuses, too! While the surplus has vanished, the needy are still needy, poor folks have no insurance, the elderly will not get their prescription benefits...and, this is a small part, but my own husband who makes well under $100,000, got a bonus when Clinton was in office, that increased $1000 every year...it had grown into about $8000 annually. It was cut in less than half this year, for the first time in all the time we had gotten it. It was a major disappointment, I can tell you, coming from one of the middle income folks who pay all the bills and will provide those huge Bonuses that the likes of Karl Rove, etc. will get this year!

Just another disgusting thing about George Bush!!!!!

Shirley......St.Louis

Sent to Howard Kurtz:

Subj: Your favorite sport is Disparaging Clinton

Mr. Kurtz, can you ever write an article without mentioning Clinton in a derogatory manner. You are so intellectually dishonest. But, you work for Washington post, what would one expect. Just as Bob Woodworth is there with his kneecaps licking the Shrub's behind. For your information Mary is going to win, but I hope she and other democrats have learned their lessons. It does not pay to support the Bushies. They are snakes and weasels. They have no morals; they will lie and cheat as long as they can get away with it. Quoting you, "It's not much of a stretch to suggest that her fate is tied to the African-American turnout on a day when there's no other reason to go to the polls." Yes there is, George Bush. We know him well.

I also know that you are no mathematician, so you don’t know how to analyze polls. But click on the attached link you will learn better. I don't believe polls are valid here anyway. But, for whatever it's worth, Mason-Dixon's Coker is credibile and fair to Democrats, unlike your mainstream buddy, Rush Limbaugh. Good Luck.

http://www.mydd.com/

Diogu

Re: Bush's Suits Cost Thousands of Dollars. Hey, Rush, Are You Listening?

Dear BuzzFlash,

You could call this:

"THE EMPEROR BUYS NEW CLOTHES BUT WE CAN STILL SEE RIGHT THROUGH HIM"

Cyndi Lenz

Click Here: Check out "9/11 Relatives Accuse G.O.P. of Blocking Panel Member"

Buzz,

The fix is in. The White House is so guilty of 9/11 that they cannot afford any light to be shown on it. If they weren't, they would just let all of the facts be vetted.

Gigi