BuzzFlash Mailbag for July 31, 2008

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Subject: Rand Group Report On Terrorism

The Rand Group Report on Terrorism came out the other day, and the findings were very interesting as it contradicts everything Bush has enacted all these years.

Their title alone jumps out at the reader;

"U.S. Should Rethink 'War On Terrorism' Strategy to Deal with Resurgent Al Qaida."

According to Rand, Bush's strategy has been greatly unsuccessful in weakening Al Qaida. If anything Al Qaida became stronger in Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa.

Rand concluded that terrorist groups in the past ended when they either entered the political process, or local police or intelligence agencies arrested or killed its leaders.

Police and Intelligence Agencies, but not the military have been more effective in stopping the terrorist groups in the past, and there's no reason to believe it couldn't have been done in the present according to Rand.

In the report it indicated that the military has been effective in only 7% of the cases studied. Perhaps the best way to describe it would be hitting a fly with a sledge hammer.

The irony is that the Rand Group is a Conservative Group. I'm sure you can draw your own conclusions on many things this report infers. Including saving a few billions of our taxes and loans from other countries.

Judy Walsh
Springfield, MA

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Subject: Mailbag 7/30/08

I loved reading this space today....I was thinking as I was reading....didn't we all know this would happen? Didn't this occur to all of us in 2000....it did to me...and I am not smart!

I am quite sure it was a thought in the minds of all the people at BuzzFlash...and especially the Mailbag persons...they are the quickest to catch on.

I remember when Bush came on TV with that little phoney crease in his eyes...telling us that we had started bombing Baghdad....to (let's see now) make the world safer..and free its people...those poor people...who were within a week burying their dead in mass graves....and Rummy was going on TV telling us all the such humanity was going into those hits....made me a little nauseous...still does. What a bunch of hypocrites...what a bunch of liars...and it is 2008...and everyone is just now admitting it...everyone knows it...but, Reps... will not admit it...they frustrate me to death. That is why I always ask....what again was the reason for the war in Iraq...and makes me wonder more about the bombing of the WTC..

Conspiratorial..yeah...I know...

Shirley ... St. Louis 

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Subject: Lou Dobbs' Bias

Buzz:

Is there another supposedly 'mainstream' reporter as biased as CNN's Lou Dobbs? His hatred of Barack Obama is more blatant than that of fellow right-wing CNN commentator Glenn Beck and that of Fox's Sean Hannity. And other than Jack McCafferty, the reporters and commentators on CNN apparently get their talking points from Fox/Faux 'News'. Fox will throw out an unsubstantiated comment, keep it going on all of their shows, and CNN will pick it up and run with it. It' s embarrassing enough to see CNN run commercials for rival Fox, but do they have to remain out-foxed by the Foxes?

Obama and Democrats must run campaigns against Republicans, conservative talk radio jocks, Fox, and much of CNN. Liberal news media? I don't think so. ( Many in the news media followed Obama to Europe and Iraq to see him fall on his face. To their chagin, it didn't happen).

Dee Turner
Atlanta

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Subject: Washington Post Calls Out 'Uppity' Obama

"What's this about?"

"MSM playing the race card."

"Why?"

"Obama wins, it's got everything to lose, nothing to gain."

"Lose power?"

"For sure."

"Wealth?"

"Depends."

"Upon what?"

"At their trial before the International Court of Criminal Justice, whether or not those individuals now running the WP are found to be guilty as charged?"

"The charge being?"

"Accessories to mass-murder and other crimes against humanity."

"Accessories how?"

"By having willfully and knowingly disseminated the lies that enabled President George Bush to trick us into the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars.

"En route to?"

"The abyss."

"Unless?"

"We elect someone president who'll end the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, negotiate with Iran, promote justice for the Palestinian people plus turning things around here at home."

"And then what sort of world?

"It'll be up to us."

A BuzzFlash Reader 

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Subject: Obama "Risky" 

Dear BuzzFlash:

Regarding the GOPer meme about Obama being risky - you know what you will get with McCain - more of the same.

Our country was founded on risk, our innovations, our creativity, our progress is all based on risk. The founding fathers took a risk when they chose to challenge English rule. Americans took a risk when they ventured westward. Orville and Wilbur Wright took a risk when they flew at Kittyhawk. We took a risk when we shot a man into space, when we first orbited the earth, when we landed a man on the moon.

If we played it "safe" like McCain wants to do - we'd still be 13 English colonies, and probably huddled safely in underground bunkers like rabbits.

When someone starts up a their own business - is this not a risk? When you try something new, think outside the box - is this not a risk?

McCain is trying to brand himself as something known and equate it with safe and comfortable like an old pair of shoes. Well, the shoes may be comfortable. If there is a big hole in that shoe, it's time to take a risk and try on a new pair.

Dory Hippauf
Lehman, PA 

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Subject: "So if Obama is being compared to Paris Hilton & Britney Spears then McCain could be compared to.......Boris Karloff.....and Cindy McCain then would be?"

C'mon. Who would she be?

"nietsneknarf fo edirb eht."

Hold up the answer to a mirror. : )

I can't take credit for that. I heard it on kgo talk radio San Francisco from a caller on the Karil show. [about 10 to 1 a.m. Thursday morning].

McManus/Los Angeles

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Subject: Ostriches

BuzzFlash alleges that the media is "falsifying" McCain's popularity and that any indication that likely voters are more apt to support McCain at this point is part of a nefarious plot to make the election "look close" and "steal" the election.

Why no evidence? I find the figs. completely credible and predictable and I've voted in every election my entire adult life. I've never voted Republican and never will. Sadly, our party nominated the wrong person.

Maezeppa
Hermosa Beach CA

[BuzzFlash Note: Huffington Post has a detailed piece on "likely voters" and on this year's dicey polling overall. One problem is that polling "likely voters" tends to under count new and younger registered voters, who seem likely to trend toward Obama and the Democrats, and who seem highly energized.]

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Subject: VP Selection

It really is Barack's decision. He is amazingly good at running his own campaign. Tim Kaine is fine with me. But when I heard Ed Schultz take a strong position, riling up Clinton supporters, I was motivated to write up my case for Bill Richardson, which I offer here:

Bill Richardson is by far the strongest VP candidate. Obama would thoroughly enjoy working with him for the next eight years. He is a team player and has been working hard, stumping for Barack.

He is more than qualified to become President if called upon. Last fall, he struck me as more qualified than the rest of the field put together.

He firms up Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico which together have 19 electoral votes. He helps put Texas and Arizona, with a combined 44 electoral votes, into play. The combined effect of Richardson on the ticket and libertarian Bob Barr, could put Barack Obama over the top in either of these two states. In any case, McCain will have to spend time and money in Texas and Arizona. If you add in Florida where Richardson might produce the little boost that is needed, that brings the total to a potential 90 electoral votes. No other candidate is in a position to influence that many electoral college votes.

Recently, Richardson has dogged McCain, speaking to some of the very same communities, and exhorting McCain to stop whining, showing toughness on Fox News. His efforts include Florida as well as the Southwest. He has worked hard to retire Clinton's campaign debt and may be in a position to help patch things up with that wing of the party.

At the same time, he manages to keep on top of his executive responsibilities in New Mexico, speaking about the strength of their banking system and working with New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on hurricane related floods in Ruidoso.

While assuring Hispanic voters, that Obama is "one of us, he is more like us than you think," Richardson will bring credibility to the Obama national campaign in the areas of health care, energy policy, and foreign policy. He has recently appeared in Forbes Magazine, and was featured on the Obama campaign weekly radio address.

Bill Richardson will be in Springfield, Illinois August 13 as keynote speaker for the Democratic County Chairmen's Association. Look for an anouncement.

Larry Allen
Oakland, CA

P.S. Richardson holds the Guinness World Record for most hands shook in a single day, beating out Teddy Roosevelt. A real tireless dude.

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Subject: Bush Declares Progress In Iraq War

Jennifer Loven of the AP:

"Some 147,000 troops remain on the ground in Iraq, now that all the combat brigades sent last year as part of the so-called surge have returned home as of this month."

There were 130,000 troops in Iraq pre-surge. The surge consisted of 28,000 additional troops, all of which are now home. So how many troops are in Iraq? Why 147,000 of course. Apparently being capable of doing third grade arithmetic is not a requirement for employment with the Associated Press.

Albert Clark
NY, NY

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Subject: McCain The Misogynist?

More and more I'm thinking that McCain is a closet, or perhaps uncloseted, misogynist. In the past couple of days he's done it yet again.

Remember several years ago when the Clintons resided in the White House? McCain told a "joke" about Chelsea Clinton (who was then a minor) looking like a dog and further intimated that she was the love child of Hillary Clinton and Janet Reno.

Now, in the past couple of days, McCain's campaign has begun airing an ad trying to compare Obama's public appeal to the "celebrity" of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. I'm not about to defend either Ms. Spears or Ms. Hilton, but he once again targets females with his misogynistic and repulsive insinuations.

What makes this story even better, though, this time, is the fact that Ms. Hilton's parents, Rick and Kathy, have contributed to McCain's political campaign. Real nice guy, that McCain, isn't he?

I don't know about the Spears family, but I'm making a SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess) that the Spears are probably Republican. This is based on the fact that a Christian publishing house contracted with Lynn Spears to write a book about how to raise children. This was before daughter Jamie revealed she was pregnant.

McCain sure is a winner and a prize, isn't he? Personally, I wouldn't vote for him to be Commissioner of Porta-Potties.

Helluva job John!

Lisa Johnson
Tacoma, WA

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Subject: Off Shore Oil Drilling

The latest poll of Americans has a majority supporting Off Shore Drilling - CNN has it at 48% Strongly support it; 25% mildly favor; 15% mildly oppose; 12% strongly oppose. The question seems benign, yet recent news has it (mainly Fox) that during the late summer of 2005 when Katrina and Rita, two category 5 hurricanes, hit the Gulf Coast caused "not a drop of oil" to be spilled or leaked. Any fifteen-year-old kid with a laptop and broadband access could find out otherwise; millions of gallons of oil had been spilled during the storms' passing. Are Americans too apathetic or just totally uninformed? I've seen no rebuke of the right wing's lying about the possible environmental impact such drilling would cause, lies that are reinforced by the media's one-eyed approach to reporting.

Brendan WP Dunwoody
West Chester, PA

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Subject: Zionists Express Trust In Obama - "Does Pro-Israel Mean Anything", M.J. Rosenberg, Huffington Post, July 28

Seems that opportunity could be knocking, what with Zionists having so much confidence in the rightness of their cause, and believing, as some of them apparently do, that a President Barack Obama who's well informed on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will not automatically oppose them. Not automatically, more like he'll just sense the rightness in the Palestinian cause and act accordingly.

A BuzzFlash Reader

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