LOL!

I scrolled down and found that there were two more things that I submitted to BuzzFlash that day.

The funny thing is that I don't even visit the BuzzFlash site and never did except to beg them to post my crap. LOL!

A bastardization of the quote from Groucho Marx - about not wanting to be a member of any club that would include him - comes to mind.

I apologize to those veteran LTTE-ers who remember this stuff (well.)

Dear BuzzFlash,

Rush Limbaugh the Science Nut-Ball.

I listened to most of Rush's 8-20-2002 show and just recently stopped laughing for long enough to write this little note. Rush had the following "scientific" theories:

* The fact that scientists have discovered atmospheric warming on MARS means that humans DO NOT cause warming on earth. Simple. (He said that there were no SUVs or BBQ grills on Pluto. (I'll definitely take his word for THAT. Especially given my doubts about the origin of a creature such as Rush.) Did the OTHER 7 planets warm as well?

* That because the "brown cloud" appeared over Asia, that that means that America doesn't make that much of the worlds pollution. Apparently he believes that our pollution stays right here above the U.S. of A.

* He also wondered why we haven't heard anything about the "ozone hole" lately, the implication being that it was tree-hugger BS. He said that we couldn't destroy the ozone layer if we tried, because "the SUN makes ozone" and "we can't extinguish the sun." Uh huh...I see...lay back on the couch and tell us more Mr. Limbaugh.

* On a show a couple of weeks ago he said something about "why is there so much oil in the middle-east when there weren't even any dinosaurs there?" I kid you NOT!

Are his listeners REALLY this ignorant of science? Pathetic!

** P.S. - A QUESTION: Is there any chance that he doesn't believe A WORD of this shit that he spews, and that they all just sit back and LAUGH at their ignorant listeners at the end of every "SHOW?"

John E. Haag
Columbus, Ohio

[BuzzFlash Note: We're sure he's laughing at them . . . all the way to the bank.]


Dear BuzzFlash,

A Sleeping Giant: The Bush White House in 2001

President Bush has said, on a number of occasions, that the terrorists on 9-11 "awakened a sleeping giant." This is, perhaps, one of the most accurate and forthright comments he has yet made on the subject. America did indeed sleep prior to 9-11 and the administration slept as soundly as anyone.

Let me take you back to the summer of the year 2001. A lot has happened since then but I'm sure that you can remember if you try. We, and the press, were spending a lot of time talking about Chandra Levy. Other than that bothersome (and until recently covered up) CIA briefing on August 6th about bin Laden attacking America and hijacking planes --- what else was going on? What was our government doing in the months before September 11th, 2001?

A search of the White House web site can be most revealing. Where was terrorism on the list of priorities for the president, his advisors and members of his cabinet? What was the press focused on last summer? What was capturing the imagination of the American people?

The National Security Council is headed by the National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice, and has been responsible for coordinating the activities of agencies including the FBI and CIA since the Truman administration. On July 22, 2001 Ms. Rice, when asked about terrorism, focused on National Missile Defense and "rogue nations." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/07/20010722-7.html

On June 22, 2001 the president mentioned "terrorism" in a speech but, like Ms. Rice, only references it to support his National Missile Defense policy:

Bush: It's time to come together and to think about a new security arrangement that addresses the threats of the 21st century. (Applause.) And the threats of the 21st century will be terrorist in nature, terror when it comes to weaponry. What we must do -- freedom-loving people must be willing to think differently and develop anti-ballistic missile systems that will say to rogue nations and leaders who cannot stand America, or what we stand for: you will not blackmail us, nor will you blackmail our allies. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/06/20010622.html

The president spent the month of August on the ranch in Crawford. We were told he was reading about John Adams and thinking long and hard about stem cells. He gave a prime-time speech on August 9th (3 days after the CIA briefing) assuring us that the American Zygote population would be protected from terrorists in white lab coats. Thank GOD. The press was keeping themselves busy in Texas investigating the president's golf swing. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010807-2.html

The rest of the month was spent clearing brush on the ranch until, on August 29th, the president gave a speech on "National Defense Priorities" where the subject of terrorism never came up. Instead he was selling National MISSILE Defense by talking about "rogue nations." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010829-2.html

On August 31, according to the White House, "Security" was FOURTH on the list of the "president's priorities for the fall:" Economy, education, opportunity and FINALLY SECURITY. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010831-3.html

Security was further defined as "job security, health security, and of course national security." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010831-15.html

As icing on the cake, on September 10th, 2001 John Ashcroft denied additional anti-terrorism funding for the FBI for agents, translators and analysts. "Traditional" terrorism didn't make it into his top 10 priorities. He was concerned about sex and drugs instead.

The American giant slept indeed in 2001.

John E. Haag
Columbus, Ohio