September 7, 2005

The BuzzFlash Mailbag

The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. Read the BuzzFlash FAQ for info on submitting to the Mailbag.

Ok - if I see one more image of George Bush hugging/kissing/holding/fondling an African American infant/elderly/whellchair-bound/sobbing Katrina victim, I think I will puke. How gullible do they think we are - this image of our "compassionate" "caring" failure of a president just blows my mind. And the fact that the networks air that PR-crafted faux footage makes me cringe. And what's worse is that people actually believe its genuine! Its just another version of the Faux Turkey Thanksgiving stunt with the troops, or the Bush-as-GI-Joe "mission accomplished" photo op.

Where is the footage of Condi visiting a Broadway show and shoe shopping in NYC while New Orleans drowned, or Bush peering out of Air Force One window at the Gulf Coast carnage two days before someone told him he actually needed to go down there if he wanted to get some kudos….

I cant believe these people are running my country. God help us.

D.G.

Atlanta

Subject: Damage to Bush

The reason Bush keeps taking heavy damage on his failure to respond to Hurricane Katrina is not because the media became suddenly more bold or more inquisitive, as is argued in several op-ed pieces around the nation.

Rather, there are two reasons Bush gets hammered each night on the network news and in newspapers all over the world.  First, there are no DoD-controlled press pools similar to the ones covering the Iraq War.  This lack of government manipulation allows reporters to freely provide on-the-spot live and factual coverage exposing the lies and the incompetence of FEMA, the GOP, and Bush himself.  And, second, there is no massive Pentagon propaganda machine set up in New Orleans or other stricken areas to provide their flat-earth version of "balanced" reporting with dozens of press releases and subject matter experts readily available.

Therefore, I predict two things.  First, there will be a massive influx of public affairs con artists from military and FEMA-related government agencies into the region who will relentlessly pound home the message that all is OK.  And, second, this new propaganda presence will restrict the media with pool coverage or an outright ban on entry into New Orleans, thus allowing the government to dominate the press coverage of the recover with their message all the time.  Without coverage of screaming women and children demanding food, Bush's horrible and deadly failure may slowly recede from view as the water is pumped from the new "Lake New Orleans.'

Once this 24/7 Pentagon propaganda team fires up, they'll then confuse the people with a flood of dubious reports that place more blame on the locals with the clear intent to spread the mud and thus make the Federal response appear not as seriously flawed. The DoD press machine will switch the issue from incompetence (blame Bush) to unexpected and overwhelming (blame the locals).

But the bottom line stays the same: Bush Lies, New Orleans Dies.  Bush Fails, New Orleans Bails.  And to top it off, Al Queda captured a city in Iraq today, as reported by the Washington Post.  With catastrophic failures both at home and abroad, please tell me, how bad does it have to get, how many more thousands must die, before Bush is declared incompetent and removed?  And citizens we must also reject Bush's neo-con lunatic, John G. Roberts, Jr., from becoming Chief Justice and continuing lunacy for another two generations.

Give it a few days for the major hitters to come in and snuff the press coverage; meanwhile, wait for the press to lose interest and slowly pull out reporters.  Be warned that this is coming.  Thus, if we don't continuously pound home the message that Bush failed and up to ten thousand people needlessly died, then Bush may get away with yet another terrible crime against humanity.

Mark Crispin Miller

Subject: Renquist memorial service

Did you catch that the only scripture read was one of the ones the anti-abortionists use, from Psalms 139 where David is talking to God, "You knit me together in my mother's womb…"   

B.

Subject: Ranger P-rick

Ranger Rick Santorum strikes again. In a rabid display of his punish the victim mentality or should I say "mental disorder" Ranger Rick has proposed imposing stiff criminal penalties against those who remain behind in a disaster. This type of rabid loony suggestion is just so very typical of his mindset which is "Punish the poor since it's their own fault they are poor, if you are poor its a moral failing and thus you need punishment."

It is as if being deathly ill, infirm and destitute and threatened by dehydration, starvation, toxic sewage, and alligators is not punishment enough in his "mind"? Many of those who didn't leave New Orleans could not leave as they had no resources to do so and many were too sick to leave of their own volition to say nothing of the fear many had that they would be financially charged if they did leave.

This type of suggestion will certainly do wonders of course for those fears next time a situation like this happens won't it? It is little wonder with momentously callous, inhuman attitudes like this that it is said in the Bible, a book which Ranger Rick goes out of his way to claim his utmost adherence, those who harm the poor are grievously offensive to God.

I was sickened by watching the porcine pundits on the Sunday shows talking about whether or not we had enough National Guard or equipment to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I'm positive efforts were hampered by these shortfalls.

But the pundits are so removed from the everday reality that they haven't realized how personal it is going to be when these National Guard and Reservists from Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi - many who joined to help out in such emergencies - learn what happened to their loved ones.

Just wait till they get home and say, "You mean to tell me, while I was in Iraq in an unarmored humvee, you let my grandmother die in her wheelchair? You let my wife sit on the roof for seven days? You let my brother go without insulin for a week? You let my baby die for lack of formula in the middle of the richest country in the world?

Oh yes. There will be hell to pay.

Jeanne LaPorta Clark
Staten Island, NY

Subject: Bush family silver-foot-in-mouth on display

One need look no further than Babs Bush to see where W. gets his penchant for sticking his silver-plated foot in his mouth, and where he gets his total disconnect from everyday Americans.

Suggesting that losing their homes, every earthly possession, animal companions, and, in many cases, loved ones and friends was "working out rather well for them" since they were poor to begin with, Babs confirmed that "not worrying her pretty mind" about returning flag-draped coffins from Iraq was not a slip of the tongue or "senior moment". How anyone in this family can claim to have a handle on "family values" is beyond me. They are cold, callous, and calculating, but far from compassionate.

I suppose the one good thing to come out of the Katrina tragedy is that the American people are getting a glimpse of the "real" GWB, and they aren't impressed. So, I hope Babs keeps up her "let them eat cake" moments…it shows the Bush Dynasty for what it is…scoundrels so consumed by their greed for money and power that nothing and no one outside their little circle matters.

If that were rich white women or large Republican campaign contributors clinging to those rooftops in New Orleans, how long do you think it would have taken us to respond?

Now Rove & Co. are trying to blame the LA governor for the inadequate response, even though she requested emergency existence on Aug. 27, and report after report over the years warned of the devastating effects we've witnessed. Just like the alerts prior to 9/11, they were ignored.

Bush apparently likes to read books about salt and former presidents but not national security/intelligence briefings, written warnings from the National Hurricane Center, or anything having to do with requests for emergency/disaster aid from one of our poorest states.

Even Leavenworth is too good for these clueless people.

I suggest we send the detainees at Gitmo back home, and reserve the whole place for the Bush/Cheney cabal, the real enemies of our way of life and values.

Donna Wade
Crestline, CA

Subject: Morning Edition

Dear Buzz:

I was listening (about 2 minutes ago) to NPR's "Morning Edition."  Suddenly Barbara Bush -- she of the "beautiful mind" that must not be violated by realities we peasants have to deal with every day -- actually said (and I paraphrase here; I was away from my computer at the time) "Well, these people (meaning the victims of Katrina) were living in squalid conditions to begin with, so the Community Center and Superdome couldn't have been much worse than what they were used to." 

Can you believe that the country (ours!) that people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson (members of the upper class themselves) fought to frame our Constitution to PREVENT turning the U.S. into a permanent aristocracy/peasant divide via institutionalized funneling of wealth to the upper classes and marginalizing the rest of the population?

I read (years ago) Barbara Bush's book about Millie, the dog.  I actually liked her back then (at least better than I liked her husband).  But now -- from several statements she's made recently -- I see exactly where the Chimp in Chief acquired his "values":  Mommy Dearest.

Even SUGGESTING that the unsanitary conditions, the lack of air conditioning -- it's hot enough in my GA apartment these days; imagine an unventilated mega-building in New Orleans -- plus the absence of food, water, medications left behind…need I go on? -- is disgusting beyond belief. 

Just as the Chimp announced jokingly (as the saying goes, "Many a true word is oft spoken in jest") to the attendees at one of his pre-election fundraising events, "My constituency:  the haves and the have mores," (which proved all too true), his Momma shrugs off the plight of the poor and desperate by saying (explicitly) that (I'm rephasing her statement for us peasants here) "They're used to living like that anyway.  So what's the big deal?"  (Yeah, I know:  the Chimp's sainted mother would never stoop to slang.  But I'm sure you get the point.)

Another rhetorical question coming up:  Did it ever occur to ANYONE (still) in this administration that it might be a good idea NOT to accept the permanent presence of a constantly growing underclass.  NAH.  They're much more concerned with creating their own reality, chopping brush, buying more pearls, planning their next vacation at Kennebunkport and the next country to invade on a pretext.  (Maybe, if the situation gets REALLY desperate, they'll start sending envelopes full of confectioner's sugar labeled "anthrax".  Or -- if worse comes to worst -- facilitate another terrorist attack -- how about on those unprotected ports in NJ?  Now, THAT would distract attention away from the fiasco in New Orleans/Gulf region….) 

OK, I've become cynical.  I'm tired of being lied to.  But -- as I keep saying -- I'd put NOTHING past this administration and its ghosts that control the power behind the scenes. 

Meanwhile, one last word to Barbara Bush:  I hope you choke on a pretzel...or at least develop laryngitis.  Maybe you loved Millie the springer spaniel, but you don't give a flying **** about anyone poorer than you.  I'm glad that you got the son you did; you deserve each other.

Barb (I'm ashamed that I'm a "Barbara" too)in Athens, GA

Blue soul in Red state

Subject: FEMA Wants No Photos of Dead 9/7

Just like Operation Iraq Freedom. No photos of the dead.  

I went to the Bring the Troops Home Tour in Evanston, IL last night. I heard many heartbreaking and breathtaking speakers. Many were Gold Star Parents. Some were anti-war and Peace activists. There was a Blue Star wife - her husband is awaiting deployment to Iraq in November.   One of the most heartbreaking story I heard was that told by the father of a soldier who - if I have the timeline correct,  was scheduled to return from Iraq, and was killed reportedly by his own hand, just hours before his return.  The family wanted to attend his return in Dover. They were denied. They were told that this soldier had committed suicide (only minutes after a phone conversation with his family) but were not allowed to see his body.

They requested an open casket funeral. They were denied and discovered the casket had been locked shut. They finally convinced a person at the funeral home to open the casket in order to see their son before he was to be buried.  They discovered he had been shot in the back of his head. They were told by his fellow soldiers that this happened when he was showering following his phone call. Upon further investigation, they also learned (from his friends in the military) that his own firearm had not been used. Days later, when they went to the funeral home they learned that the worker who had opened the casket for them to see their beloved son had been fired from her job.  

No photos. No viewings. Not at Dover, nor at the funeral home. If they don't see their beloved family members, then this government can say whatever it wants. The stories are just that - stories. They don't have to make sense. They don't have to be true.  

Now no photos. No viewings. Not in New Orleans. Not in the Superdome. Not in the nursing homes. Not in the streets. The stories will be just that - stories. They won't have to make sense. They won't have to be true.  

We must keep the lies of being safe at home alive. No matter how many dead we have.  

We must have accountability and we will never get it from this government. We will have more lies, more tax breaks for the rich, more moneys for Halliburton.  This government must be impeached! (can we impeach a government?)  

There is a march and rally at the White House on September 24. People are coming from all over the nation.

We must show our disgust and anger toward this administration's lack of humanity. Please join the thousands already committed to demand accountability and change.

Leslie Evanston, IL

Subject: Chertoff - New Orleans Dodged the Bullet

This guy needs to be fired on the spot just for starts of a long list of incompetent fools in all levels of government that weren't prepared for the natural disaster that is unfolding in New Orleans.

Why in heck didn't Homeland Security and FEMA and state and local governments coordinate or implement an emergency preparedness plan when Katrina was bearing down on the Gulf Coast as a Level 4 hurricane?

Maybe someone should have looked at the super sensitive close-up satellite photos of LA, MS, and AL to determine the extent of the damage.

9/11 was shame on the terrorists. New Orleans is shame on the US government for lack of preparation and response to a tragic event that might have been minimized had federal money been available years ago to improve the levee system that failed.

Brown or FEMA, Chertoff of HSD, and perhaps some other cabinet members should be dismissed for dereliction of duty resulting in the death and injuries to hundreds of thousands of people. That is American people.

It happened, it will happen again, and again and nobody will be held accountable in the governmental systems we have in place in this country.

Perhaps this is why so many have given up on politics and voting because the system is so flawed and the politicians are corrupted by power and money.

Nothing changes. The rich get richer at the expense of the rest of us.

God Bless America!

Jeff Morgan
Rochester, Mn.