Reader Contribution

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by John F. Williford

On an episode of her sitcom some years ago, Roseanne said, "I don't want you kids watching sex and violence. So just pick one."
 
There is such a plethora of alleged criminality in the G.W. Bush Administration that the mind boggles. The most repeated and obvious charge is responsibility for torture, both in U.S.-controlled prisons and in sites where captives were sent in extraordinary rendition. The images of indignities at Abu Ghraib briefly stirred the American public's interest, partly on salacious grounds.
 
Such outcomes from violations of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 are capital offenses under the War Crimes Act of 1996 (passed by a Republican Congress).
 
The GWB lawyered up on this one by creating an entirely fictitious category they called "enemy combatants," which means that substantial numbers of prisoners held without charge are neither prisoners of war (thus not protected by the Geneva Conventions) nor criminals, which would allow due process under U.S. law. Unraveling this legal rats nest will be a bit like trying to untie the gordian knot. (This is not to say it doesn't need to be done).
 

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A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by David Calamoneri

After reports of 651,000 more jobs being lost in February, the national unemployment rate is now officially 8.1% and climbing. Unemployment is over 10% in California. Michigan's is at 11.6%. Seeing lines of suits going around the block at "job fairs" make one realize that the Obama Administration, and the 111th Congress, extension of unemployment benefits was a good idea, as was increasing funding for food stamps. A record 31.8 million are now in need of them (an increase in 700,000 last month). Helping millions of children get health care through SCHIP helps American people, who have children in need of medical attention, while they face the recent economic downturn. Spending billions in "stimulus" on health care may also help in curbing government costs. If health care was either provided for or really made affordable by the end of a year or two (a dream of President Obama's), it would not only help families, hit hard by lay offs, foreclosures, et al. to not have to choose between medicine or food, but also dramatically lower spending by state and local governments, and businesses who provide insurance. Not to mention the whole easing of the strain on the majority of the American people who are paying in some fashion for their own health care or don't have any at all (emergency room visits of the uninsured cost of all taxpayers money).

Technorati Tags: Reader Contribution David Calamoneri

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Karen Webb

I came in just in time to hear Michael Steele, the figurehead chairman of the RNC, tell Matt Lauer that the only thing the GOP needed to do was to get the Democrats to be bi-partisan. He probably had just said that President Obama promised bi-partisanship.

This is the “You be da Man” man, as Rep. Michelle Bachmann referred to him at C-PAC who has been set-up for abuse by the GOP. The first African-American to be elected chairman of the RNC was elected so he could go up against the first African American President because a white man might be accused of being racist, no matter what he says. Then they tell this fine well-educated Black man that he has to apologize to the biggest, white, college-dropout bully on the planet for saying the bully is an “entertainer," with an “incendiary” talk radio program. There has never been a truer statement come out of the mouth of an RNC chairman. There are reasons Limbaugh is not on TV any more, but that could change.

Technorati Tags: Reader Contribution CPAC Limbaugh Gingrich Sally Kern Michael Steele

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Richard A. Stitt

Albert Einstein once described insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
 
It is stunning to think with our country in a deep recession, the GOP is taking a political path to self-incineration grounded forever in tax cuts, mainly for the richest Americans. Yet, this is the path they continue to follow. However, they have become wackier and wackier now that we have seen the new leaders of the GOP, which include Joe The Plumber, Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, and crazier-than-a-loon Eric Cantor. These folks are their rising stars?
 
Clearly, eight years of Bush pronouncements of no new taxes, six of which were during a virtually veto-free Republican-controlled U.S. Congress, the Bush-GOP policies not only failed to create jobs and income but also in fact caused the loss of both income and jobs for average American workers in each year of Bush's tenure in the White House.
 
Yet astonishingly, after the November 4 election in which Republicans lost the presidency and seats in both houses of Congress, the Republican response to the gargantuan economic collapse that they created is to repeat over and over the bromide that tax cuts are the answer to the economic catastrophe.
 
After Bush left office, he bequeathed to Barack Obama a $1.2 trillion budget deficit, two wars, soaring unemployment, near-total collapse of our banking system, escalating bankruptcies and home foreclosures, and Wall Street Ponzi scheme swindlers who had free run of investors' money that they squandered on get-rich financial contrivances such as derivatives, junk bonds, hedge funds, and credit default swaps (even the name sounds dishonest).

Technorati Tags: Reader Contribution Richard A. Stitt George W. Bush Barack Obama economic stimulus Bobby Jindal

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Chuck Muziani

President Obama and his administration are cruising at the moment, enjoying the high of a major landslide win last November. The stimulus package legislation is somewhat of a minor battle won, but a win nonetheless.
 
Congressional Republicans are angry, or at least, they're not smiling. But the right wing radio talkies are not "angry." Not really. In fact, if you've seen them lately, they are smiling more than ever. Oh, for a while during the tail end of 2008 and especially in November, they bowed their heads a little, and now and then they'd tilt their head back and growl or nip at a Democrat guest or vociferously sympathize with a Republican guest. But now, it's all just more bread and butter content to fuel their on-air hours. It will be a great four years. After all, hate radio sells, right?
 
It is in full swing. The right-wing media machine is stepping up their attack. Their mission: to moralize a faltering Republican base electorate and to convince Obama devotees that their devotions are misguided.
 
The right-wing talkies bolster the base by preaching their same 'ol, same 'ol. "Democrats are socialists!" "Liberal!" Liberal!" "They want to destroy America as *we* know it!" For right-wing talking heads, this is easy rhetoric and practically second nature. But difficulties lie ahead.

Technorati Tags: Reader Contribution Chuck Muziani right-wing talk radio

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by A BuzzFlash Reader

The slaughter of horses for human consumption is no longer legal in the U.S. Sadly more than 100,000 horses each year are shipped to Canada and Mexico to satisfy the palates of "gourmands" overseas. Upwards of 90 percent of the horses sold for slaughter are healthy, sound animals, according to USDA statistics. Of that 90 percent, some are bred solely for the slaughter market, others come from farms providing horse urine to pharmaceutical companies and others are horses with cosmetic or minor conformation issues which make them valueless to the breeders, many of whom are producing a hundred or more foals yearly.

Technorati Tags: Reader Contribution Horse Slaughter Horsemeat North Dakota Humane

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Joan Wile

At the tender age of 22 in June 1961, Joan Pleune left the University of California at Berkeley and embarked on an extremely dangerous venture on behalf of the civil rights movement. Riding on integrated buses and trains throughout the racist South exposed one to the potential for beatings, jail, and even death. Yet Pleune, with her sister Kathy, risked all that because of the strength of her principles. Honestly, how many of us then would have done the same?
 
Luckily, she was neither beaten nor killed, but she did spend a number of weeks in jail. After riding the rails from California to New Orleans, she took another train to Jackson, Mississippi, where she was arrested in the station waiting room. Pleune doesn't remember the details of the arrest but recalls that she wasn't frightened. "I don't know why I wasn't scared. I still don't know. I knew about the bus bombings in late May in Anniston, Alabama, and I should have been frightened, but somehow I wasn't."
 
Joan was sentenced to six months in prison and taken to the Hines County jail where she, very tanned at the time and thought to be African-American by the arresting authorities, was separated from her sister and herded with three black women into a windowless storeroom. Anticipating a long incarceration in this cramped and airless space, Joan finally felt the cold stab of fear. But she was soon moved into a big cell with 41 other women. There was one toilet. Mattresses on the floor were the sleeping accommodations. They were actually ensconced in an area in Death Row, and could hear the doomed inmates from behind a wall. They attempted to communicate with them and even tried to share their food (an inedible blend of lima beans and lima beans) after they learned that Death Row prisoners were barely fed.

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A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Richard A. Stitt

I suppose half a loaf is better than none, but the stimulus package that passed but not yet signed into law is so watered down that it's a farce. You might call it a pyrrhic victory for Barack Obama because at least he's getting something started. But thanks to the obstructionist GOP, Obama's start will receive no cooperation from them.
 
As far as helping ordinary working folks, the bill has a pittance of a tax cut that will do little to create jobs quickly. For example, last year, Bush and Congress passed a stimulus bill that allowed $1,200 tax rebate checks for married couples and $500 for individuals. After the distribution, the Bureau of Labor Statistics hyped up the income "boost" with a chart showing personal incomes went up more than at any time in 25 years. The kicker of course, was that it was only for one month. But the income increase quickly dissipated and the economy continued to sink further while job losses escalated.
 
The $800 and $400 tax cuts in the Obama Administration's bill are not tax rebate checks, however. They are incremental, resulting in about $17 per week for Americans, starting in June, and will phase out early next year. A $17 per week increase will not trigger consumer spending and increase the gross domestic product (GDP) nor will it stop the deficits. More, much more, will still be needed to turn things around.  
 
Though $789 billion is only a start, there have been some promising trends: retail sales are up slightly; home foreclosures have abated, especially in hard-hit California; government may step in and subsidize troubled homeowners' mortgages; fewer people filed for unemployment benefits last week. Looking at the long-term effects, most economists believe another $1 trillion may be needed to reverse the job losses and allow banks to begin lending to small businesses.
 

Technorati Tags: Reader Contribution Richard A. Stitt George W. Bush Barack Obama economic stimulus

It would be nice to look into the window of politics and see Democrats and Republicans walking the halls with their clothes on. However, since Barack Obama has taken office it appears the Republicans can be seen walking the halls naked. It is not a particularly pretty sight but it does make it easy to see their true colors once stripped of their clothing woven of lies and liars.

I applaud President Obama for making the attempt to bring back some degree of bipartisanship and civility to Congress. However, it seems clear now after a 214 to 0 vote on the stimulus package, that his attempts will not be fruitful and could, if they continue too long, slow the pulse of an otherwise brilliant leader who brought hope to the electorate. Even if Republicans have some legitimate criticisms, it boggles the mind to believe all 214 congressmen and women are committed to a “no” vote. But the evidence is there for all to see that some of their complaints may be justified but their motives are corrupt.

Technorati Tags: Reader Contribution Bipartisan Change Stimulus