September 5, 2002
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Re: WHERE'S OSAMA?
Dear BuzzFlash,
"we'll be paying off those $300 tax cuts for the rest of our lives"
What I've said all along!
Jeff Gross
Dear BuzzFlash,
Well, wonders never cease!!! It took all of 2 years for someone to finally admit what most of us knew on election night 2000. That Al Gore won Florida. Mainstream media has been so busy with their heads up the rear end of the current resident in the White House, they won't report the truth. Used to be real journalists weren't afraid of the truth, or that they would lose their jobs for reporting it. Now, you can't get the truth from the talking heads on T.V. anymore. It's much easier for them to compromise their integrity and let someone else TELL them what to say, spin the news, than to actually report the truth.
Anita
Re: A Wake-Up Call to Democrats: The NRA is the GOP - A BuzzFlashGuest Commentary
Dear BuzzFlash,
Why aren't BuzzFlash readers being reminded that Daddy Bush withdrew his membership in the NRA sometime ago?
A BuzzFlash Reader
Dear BuzzFlash,
This administration has said a thousand times we trust the people. Ok, so why is the administration breaking their necks to keep everything a secret from us?
Sixty of us in Fl.
Subj: Where's Osama?
Dear BuzzFlash,
I have a coworker who swears he is hunkered down in a luxury hotel in some remote location, with all the luxuries to which he had become accustomed.
But, personally, I'm betting on the basement of the Whitehouse.
The Old Hag
Subj: Rat O'Reilly
Dear BuzzFlash,
By chance did anyone listen to the Michael Reagan show last night? I heard part of it, as I listen to what the other side has up their sleeve. Mike was interviewing a women who had her two daughters stolen and taken to Saudi Arabia. O'Reilly and Fox news did an interview with them, did not tell the mother he was going to see her daughters. This happened after he had pretended to be soooo nice to the mother and had her on his show. She is suing Fox and O'Reilly. She stated on the Reagan show that Bush was to blame also. I think this story is worth following.
Dorothy
Nethery
Millville,
CA
Subj: "You are REALLY pushing it!" -First hand accounts of First Amendment Zones
Dear BuzzFlash,
When Bush comes to your town, the protection of our freedoms will require the denial of your freedom of speech; the right to assemble will demand that you be corralled behind a chain-link fence.
His Chimperial Majesty The Lord of Darkness visited Pittsburgh -- again -- Labor Day, and a group of 70 protestors met him, although you'll never hear that on the news.
If you are interested in some first hand accounts of what is it like in First Amendment Zones, I would like to pass on the following:
From a great new e-zine "A New Deal"
-snip-
To say that security around the Free Speech Zone was tight would be an understatement. After interviewing a number of protestors, I walked outside the gate at the far end of the park into the adjacent parking lot. I wanted to get a few shots from the opposite side of the fence of the protestors with their signs. As I began shooting, a state policeman walked directly toward me from the fence. He asked me what I was doing outside the fence. When I told him I was a journalist covering the protest, the officer politely but firmly told me I had to return to the Free Speech Zone. He escorted me back to the entrance.
-snip-
Once Bush was at the picnic site, I suggested to my associate that we leave our offending posters--"Impeach Bush," "No War Against Iraq"--inside the Free Speech Zone and mosey on up the street. With Bush safely arrived, security concerns lessened because we were able to walk past all the Bush supporters and their signs as far as the yellow police tape would allow us to go.
Michael Rechtenwald, founder and chair of Citizens for Elected Government, who had called the Freedom Zone "pathetic and a violation of the Constitution of the United State," soon joined us. He carried a small sign bearing the logo of his organization. No inflammatory phrases. No insults. Just the title, "Citizens for Legitimate Government." Within minutes, an angry looking Secret Service agent in a blue suit and two uniformed police office bore down on him. Unlike the uniformed police I had dealt with thus far, this man was not polite.
[b]"You know where the protest area is," he told Rechtenwald. "You know where you're supposed to be." When Rechtenwald quietly said he was merely exercising his First Amendment rights, the Secret Service agent replied, "Now you REALLY are pushing it." The agent warned Rechtenwald in no uncertain terms that, unless he left the area, he was "this close" to being arrested for violating a federal protection order, a felony offense.[/b] The agent then told Rechtenwald that two state troopers would escort him back to "the pen" and that if he said a single word, he would be arrested on a felony charge. [b] "If I so much as say a thing, these guys will arrest me?" Rechtenwald asked. "Yes!" declared the agent with serious conviction. Rechtenwald wisely left the area. [/b]
Throughout this entire confrontation, we could hear Bush's audience cheer and applaud as he used the all too familiar phrases, "homeland security," and "our enemies wish to take away our freedoms." I wondered who had just taken away Michael Rechtenwald's freedom of speech."
more at http://www.anewdeale-zine.com/free_speech.htm
My account, posted at Democratic Underground
Warmest regards -- chookie
Hi Buzz and readers,
Today I found out that the City Council of Fremont, California has voted to restore all the civil rights to it's population that the Patriot Act takes away. This really happened.
Fremont is in the San Francisco Bay Area and is relatively unknown by the rest of the world because of it's famous neighbor. The Bay Area is entirely populated along it's shores with one city running into another without any kind of physical separation, so you have to live here for a while to know the location of each city. Fremont is somewhere between Oakland and San Jose along with a few other cities like San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Newark, Milpitas and other small cities and is mostly known as by the rest of the Bay Area residents as a big manufacturer of cars in a joint business venture between Japan and the US.
There's much more to Fremont, of course, but it isn't known as a bastion of rabid liberalism or a center of culture and learning or the home of high brow intellectualism. A great number of it's citizens are factory laborers in the car company.
Could this be a sign of people waking up to the Bush Administration's Dictatorship in the making? I can't think that it could possibly be anything else.
There is hope, because middle Americans are beginning to fight back.
Judith
Foster,
Berkeley
Subj: Why isn't Powell Upset?
Buzz,
NPR noted that Colin Powell said he "isn’t upset" because demonstrators heckled his speech at the World Summit in South Africa.
The question is, why isn’t he "upset"?
Why isn’t he "upset" that he represented ‘the only superpower’ which, instead of using its power and might to lead the world into peace and prosperity in a sustainable and healthy environment, is allowing its corrupt, crony corporate capitalism to drive the world into perpetual world war, hatred, devastation, depression and despair?
Why isn’t he "upset" that he has to stand up there and repeat Dubya’s lies?
Why isn’t he "upset" that he’s the one taking flack from the world for Dubya’s tyrannical and destructive policies? for Dubya who’s too chickenshit and too busy on vacation to show his face?
Why isn’t he "upset" that instead of being able to discuss vital issues with the protestors he’s reduced to talking down to them as though they're merely bold children acting up in school? while they're silenced and hauled off by the cops?
People credit Powell for his sense and integrity. But with every lie Powell tells to cover up for DimSon, the less self-respect he shows and the less the world will respect him.
T Quigly
Dear Sir/Madam:
I wanted to say something out there to some Conservatives who are reading this. Let me say first that you might find it odd that a person like myself votes Democratic. I am a Christian and I do not fit in with most circles. You will see why. I oppose capital punishment, no matter what. I oppose abortion except in certain circumstances and I especially oppose partial birth abortion. Let me say something else. I support national healthcare. I do not support gay marriages, but I certainly think we should welcome a child into the world and not exclude him/her just because his/her parents choose a different lifestyle. So you are probably wondering why in the world I would vote Democratic. The reason is simple. Republicans don't mind killing people with the weapon of poverty. They don't care how many innocent people are killed by lethal injection. Their main goal is to have a wider division of classes and to have enough poor people to serve the very few super rich. That is their goal. If they have to sacrifice lives through poverty or war, they will do it. I apologize if I offended anyone by writing this. I know I am odd and don't fit into any group but my reason for writing this it to show you that not every conservative Christian is snowed by the GOP. They are deceitful and you need to watch out for them. I vote Democratic all the time, even though most candidates don't embrace all of my views. There is no need to continue punishing the poor and hurting the elderly, while raising some convenient banner like Bush did in the last sElection. His campaign sent cute little postcards out with a darling baby on it, saying, "The little guy wants you to help stop partial birth abortion." Of course the post card didn't say, and Bush also wants to starve the little guy to death, ruin his classrooms, and make sure that his teachers get blamed for it. Bush also wants to deny the little guy healthcare and other important programs that any good democracy ought to have. I know I don't make sense, but my point is. EVEN I DON'T TRUST THE GOP.
lone wolf
to:
Tim Russert
about: Meet The Press
Last Sunday on your Meet The Press, you allowed Tom Davis R-VA, the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee to lie through his teeth without so much as a hint of rebuttal, correction or factual follow up. He and you were discussing the now discredited, hair-brained plan to put Social Security funds into the hands of the money managers on Wall Street. He said privatizing Social Security was "...not the Republican position." Lie. It was specifically worded in the 2000 Republican Party Platform.
He said, "President Clinton embraced it at one point as you recall." Lie. You know the truth about this.
He said "205 Democrats voted to praise it (privatizing)..." Lie. You know it.
He specifically MIS-QUOTED several Democrats as supporting privatization. If you don't have the factual statements from those Democrats, I'll be happy to refer you to the public documents Mr. Davis was lying about.
Sir, you are most certainly an informed individual. Indeed your position requires you to be one of the top 1% of "most informed" individuals in Washington, so by allowing blatant lies to pass you are participating in the lie.
This coming Sunday morning, your neighbor Dick Cheney is due to come out of hiding and sit down with you again. This is a man who lead his company to cook the books and rip off investors. This is a man who lead Halliburton in numerous scam transactions to violate US trade sanctions and do illegal deals with Iraq through the 1990's. This is the man who last month refused to accept a complaint in a suit filed against him regarding his actions at his former company and ordered his guards to threaten the process server with arrest. As you well know, interfering with a process server is obstruction of justice and a violation of federal law.
Under CEO Dick Cheney, Halliburton paid an undisclosed fine for defrauding the US Military by submitting false claims for products it did not deliver between 1994 and 1997. His company was also fined for dealing with Libya in violation of US law.
In early 2001, Dick Cheney met with Ken Lay in the vice president's office. The next day Junior announced the government would not be putting price controls on skyrocketing energy prices in California, which allowed Enron to continue gouging, cheating and defrauding millions of citizens. Has there ever been a more obvious smoking gun of collusion in fraud?
Are you going to kiss his ass again, sir, as you did in his last appearance on your "show"? Or are you going to be of service to America and a credit to the higher ideals of your profession? I am almost afraid to watch. I may have to throw a baseball through my television.
Steve
Warren
San
Marcos TX
Subj: Inalienable Rights
Dear BuzzFlash,
This article details how a protester who dared to carry an anti-Bush sign to Mr. Bush's faux, hand-picked "friend of labor" rally in Pittsburgh on Labor Day was arrested, detained for two hours and charged with the catch-all, Stalinistically-titled offense known as "disorderly conduct." This 65 year old patriot committed the now apparently criminal act of stepping outside the fenced in designated "first amendment zone," set up to separate Mr. Bush from the many demonstrators who wished to peacefully voice their displeasure at his policies. The arrested gentleman correctly pointed out that such a fenced in area was more worthy of a "Nazi concentration camp" than a democracy and courageously refused to submit to being forcibly segregated. Interestingly, however, it was observed by the reporter that those carrying signs praising the President were not herded into first amendment zones, but rather allowed to freely stand in full view along the parade route.
See: http://www.post-gazette.com/nation/20020904arrest0904p3.asp
This is yet another example of an egregious assault on the Constitution by the Bush Administration. Indeed, it would appear that no Constitutional article or amendment is safe from obliteration by their non-stop barrage of twisted neo-fascistic legal interpretations and policies. The idea that the First Amendment to the Constitution, which embodies the very core ideals and fundamental historical traditions upon which this nation was founded, could be reduced to the legal equivalent of a cheap, tawdry, small town zoning regulation governing the location of bowling alleys and pool halls is appalling beyond words. Herding political protesters into fenced in, chain-linked areas, known by their Orwellian designations as "First Amendment Zones" is repellent and worthy of a tinhorn, third world, "banana republic," not the world's oldest functioning democracy. Speeches and mass meetings in the public common are our country's oldest tradition, and such activities were integral to the birth of our nation.
It was no accident, then, that the framers deliberately set out to protect such activities in the First Amendment to the newly passed Constitution. As their legacy, they wished to ensure that future generations could do as they had done and speak out freely all throughout the land in order to mobilize public opinion. Free and unfettered expression of political speech, they recognized to be the integral lifeblood of a democracy, and the single best safeguard against the rebirth of tyranny. They clearly intended to ensure that people everywhere in America would be completely free to speak fully and completely on matters of their governance, without fear of imprisonment or death. The text of the First Amendment is therefore broad and powerfully clear in its universal application:
Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, . . . or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (Indeed, it is worthy to note that the Founders saw fit to mention only Congress in this Amendment since that body was the only one of the three branches of government with lawmaking authority. The idea that the executive or the judiciary would possibly act to suspend such basic rights was not even considered since those branches had no inherent authority to make laws which could possibly deny the rights of the people)
To see this sacred guarantee shredded simply so that a reelection obsessed President can screen those of unpopular views from his sight, and the sight of cameras, so as to ensure a Norman Rockwell style photo-op, is not just antithetical to our nation's bedrock principles, but it borders on outright criminality. I cannot imagine a more constitutionally repugnant act than using agents of the government to deny the most basic right of peaceable assembly to those who would speak badly of the President's policies, while, at the same time, aiding and assisting those who would lavish and heap public praise upon him. Not even the five justices on the Rehnquist Court, who have shown as much respect for civil liberties as Al Capone did for the Volstead Act, can even begin to credibly attempt to construct a byzantine legal hypothesis to defend such a naked abuse of political power and our democratic traditions as this. As Clarence Darrow observed:
"The constitution is a delusion and a snare if the weakest and humblest man in the land cannot be defended in his right to speak and his right to think as much as the strongest in the land."
Dan
Dear BuzzFlash,
I still don't understand how Cheney can get away with withholding information regarding energy policy meetings. When does this become a criminal offense?
Rob
Moitoza
Seattle
Dear BuzzFlash,
The Courier Mail - Australia
http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/common/
story_page/0,5936,5035765%255E952,00.html
… IT IS 9.25am. The twin towers are in flames and President George W. Bush sits in a school classroom trying to decide what to do.
The Sidney Morning Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/04/1031115886139.html
… the Bush Administration is exploring proposals for "extremely aggressive" inspections that would force Baghdad to cede its deadliest weapons quickly or face immediate punitive action.
The Independent (UK)
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=330578
US sends heavy armour to Gulf as campaign grows
A BuzzFlash Reader
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/246/wash/President_Bush_gifted_with_boo:.shtml
How ironic, jr. has received gifts of saddles from foreign dignitaries. For all his phony Texas, he-man bravado, shrub doesn't ride.
He's afraid of horses.
Liz
Taylor
Houston
Dear BuzzFlash,
As you know, 60 Minutes II negotiated an exclusive interview with GW for Scott Palley (sp?). They ran the promo last night. It appears that it will be another "10 Days in September", with an emphasis on the White House under attack, and GW taking command from Air Force One. Part of the interview is on Air Force One, where, I guess, it all happened.
We are losing the battle to bring out the truth. These celebrations of the Dictator that will be on every channel will forever enshrine him as the brave and decisive leader who at great danger to himself directed our armed forces in protecting the country. It will do us no good to sit in front of the TV and yell "Bull Skat!"
I think we have to realize that our democracy is gone. What we think we still have is like the last remnants of a dream. We try to hang on to it as it slips away into nothingness.
Robert Reynolds
Buzz,
I listen to Bernie Ward every night on KGO in San Francisco. I can tell he is reading your web page. He talks about stories that you have and tonight he lead with the story wondering if Bush has compromising pictures of Tony Blair, he just carried it a little bit further and wondered if there were pictures of Tony with a goat or something. Ray, he comes on after Bernie, reads your page also and mentions it. So that just reaffirms what a great job you are doing.
Karen
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020904/wl_nm/iraq_britai n_dc_6
Blair's Iraq Dossier Promises Few Surprises
Wed Sep 4,12:21 PM ET
By Kate KellandLONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair ( news - web sites) has promised a dossier of evidence against Iraq but government comments Wednesday suggested it would offer few, if any, revelations.
Dear BuzzFlash,
Republican Indicted for 15 Felony Counts
I knew the GOP was crooked, and they are doing terrible in the polls, but it looks like there could be a Republican serving prison time in every single state by election day!
Wire-tapping of Democratic headquarters, bribery, kick-backs, campaign fraud, hookers, slush funds, voter fraud, forged petitions, fake voter registrations.. on and on, its too much to list.
Listing the states where Republican have been indicted for felonies is too long now too.. Republican crime is nationwide!
Have you noticed that the GOP party line is no longer the 'tough on crime' party.. Go figure!
Vote Democratic Nov 5 !! (and keep you hand on your wallet, just in case!)
Thanks
Kelley Kramer
---------
Spin Resistance
http://www.kelleykramer.blogspot.com/
==========================================================
Legislator Davis indicted on federal charges
State Rep. Ronnie Davis was indicted today on 15 felony counts in federal court, including allegations that he and a Murfreesboro woman tried to sell fake diplomatic passports to two Texas men and tried to defraud First Tennessee Bank.
Davis, a Republican from Newport in East Tennessee, is charged along with Diana D. Burton of Murfreesboro, federal prosecutors said in a statement this morning.
-snip-
''The indictment alleges that the pair falsely stated that they were married and provided the bank with false and fraudulent federal income tax returns in support of the loan applications,'' the statement said.
More here:
http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/02/08/21690547.shtml
Dear BuzzFlash,
Money for Nothing, Bush Government Waste
There was a report from a congressional committee a couple years ago, they were very upset about a government grant to study animal activity. It was a scientific study of chimpanzees, and determined that a lack of activity or purpose made the chimps prone to violent attacks.
The study cost over 50 thousand dollars and was attacked by Tom Delay and the Republican leadership as a perfect example of government waste.
Low and behold, there was a report the other day that George W Bush has spent over 40% of his time as president on vacation. Never mind that comes to an average of a 2-3 day work week for the last year and a half straight.
In reality it means you paid George Bush $273,972.60 out of your paycheck to Do NOTHING!
Now I know the Republicans in congress were upset about the 50k study on inactive Chimps, but Dubya's vacations are almost SIX times that?
And now after all that inactivity the Chimp becomes violent and wants to attack someone?!
Hell, maybe Tom Delay was right, we should have stopped after the first 50k Chimp study.. we would have saved the extra 273k spent on the vacationing, idle George Bush..
Not to mention the millions of jobs, retirement funds, and lives lost in bloody wars.
Do you miss Bill Clinton yet?
Thanks
Kelley Kramer
---------
Spin Resistance
http://www.kelleykramer.blogspot.com/
---------
Bush by the Numbers, as Told by a Diligent Scorekeeper
President Bush's trip to Pittsburgh yesterday was his 13th to Pennsylvania since taking office, his third to the Pittsburgh area, his second Labor Day appearance with the carpenters union and his 72nd domestic trip overall.
How do we know this? There is only one source: Mark Knoller, the leading collector of modern presidential arcana.
-snip-
During the Bush administration, which practices the none-of-your-business theory of public disclosure, the logs have become even more valuable. "They don't want to talk about their strategy themselves, but they reveal it by what they do," says the keeper of the stats.
Consider, for example, the seven states Bush has not visited. His absence from Washington, Vermont, Rhode Island and Hawaii might indicate Republicans have written off those states. His absence in Idaho and Kansas suggests those safely GOP states don't require his presence. And his absence from Nevada might indicate concern about local anger over his plan to ship nuclear waste there.
More here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27592-2002Sep2.html
Buzz,
I attended this Chamber of Commerce meeting yesterday. I couldn't believe it when Romney told us what Bush said. There was loud laughter in response - Romney wanted the laughter (he likes to be "funny") - and I couldn't determine whether he wasn't smart enough to realize what he was revealing, or that he knew what he was revealing but didn't care because he wanted the laugh anyway. Romney, like Bush, comes from money, and is something of a lightweight intellectually.
Thanks.
K.M.
Boston
A president's insecurity detail
In their Olympic moment, Romney recalls Bush's worry
By Chris Tangney, 9/5/2002
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney, speaking before business leaders yesterday, recalling the Olympic opening ceremony last winter:
''The television audience was estimated at 3.5 billion, more than half the population of the planet. And I'm standing next to the president of the United States, and what I thought to myself is, when we go out there, what does he think? You know what, the president of the United States, as he goes out to an audience like that, with three and a half billion people looking at him, he turned to me and he said, `Do I look fat?'''
CHRIS TANGNEY
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/248/metro/A_president_s_insecurity_detail+.shtml
This story ran on page B1 of the Boston Globe on 9/5/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
Quote of the Day
"We've got some challenges that face our economy, there's no question about it. I mean, the first three quarters of my presidency we were in recession. That means the economy was going backwards, it was negative growth. The next three quarters we've had positive growth. But about halfway through that time, the enemy hit us, and it affected our economy."
-- Dubya, Central Point, Oregon, Aug. 22, 2002
http://thepoliticaljunkie.com/
Chewgababy
