ho . . .here is another frash from Claudia:

This is from my friend Scott, in Beaverton, Oregon. It is n'sync with my
idea that Bush Admin is the POD PEOPLE and that Invasion of the Body
Snatchers is being done on us. Pretty soon people are going to start
pointing at us and doing that scream like in the move!
____________

Tariq Aziz article..."saddam alive"

reader comment:

Never was alive

Saddam was a US experimental robot installed by Reagan, they have had a
hell of a time trying to cover up the fact that he has been malfunctioning
for over a decade, and showing worrying Anti-American ideas. Now they can
relax of course because the problem is solved -> until the Tony Blair
Android starts to break down or any of the other myriad of Pro-American
Androids in foriegn governments. If you too are Anti-American, the CIA
will replace you with a robot too -> the only advantage will be that you
can watch American sit-coms and actually laugh!!!!! Now that will be a
first.

Whoa . . .Pod People . . .

also read:

http://www.iraqwar.ru/iraq-read_article.php?articleId=4288&lang=en

BTW >>>: this site is in Russia! Just look at how our American business icons are blasted, lol.

Just sent in by Claudia: Wow! if this story won't just heat up those loins, and make you want to eat a big pan of fried Mountain Oysters:

News for Women

Charges Dropped In Scrotum Biting Case

Story by John Pless on Mon, Apr 21st 2003 (3:16 PM)

The man from Whitwell Tennessee who had his scrotum chewed off by his so-called live-in housekeeper has decided to drop domestic assault charges.

On February 10 Marion County deputies were called to William Frank Reese's home for a domestic disturbance. When they got there they found Mr. Reese bleeding from the leg and Tommie Lorene Burnette bleeding from the face and ears.

Sheriff Bo Burnette, no relation to the woman involved with this case, said she was a girlfriend, but Mr. Reese told NewsChannel 9 she was a "live-in housekeeper."

The Sheriff said the couple got into a scuffle and the woman first bit Mr. Reese on the leg, then proceeded to bite his penis and scrotum. Ms. Burnette chewed off a large chunk of skin from Mr. Reese's scrotum, then ran out to the front porch where she spit the skin to the dogs in the front yard, and one of them ate it according to Sheriff Burnette.

Sheriff Burnette said Mr. Reese bit the woman on her face, neck and ears. Both were treated at Grandview Medical Center, and later booked in the Marion County Jail on domestic assault charges.

Marion County Criminal Court records show both parties dropped charges when the case went to a grand jury.

And then it seems that Mr. Reese decided to drop the charges, lol:

http://www.newschannel9.com/vnews/topstories/1050938592/
Charges Dropped In Scrotum Biting Case

What next guys?

From The New York Times Online TODAY'S EDITORIALS

`Little Bitty,' More's the Pity

Picture Courtesy of http://politicalhumor.about.com/

The Republicans controlling Congress return this week to anguish over how much more
of a tax cut the nation's wealthiest citizens have coming. The leaders and
President Bush would be wise to focus instead on the needs of the growing army
of unemployed Americans. A total of 2.6 million private sector jobs have been
lost across the past two years — a record for any modern presidency. Mr. Bush
should be jawboning on behalf of benefits for the jobless as heartily as he now
tours the land for still more relief for the affluent.

In lobbying for "at least" $550 billion more in tax reductions, Mr.
Bush is deriding the few resistant Senate Republicans for holding out for no
more than what he terms a "little bitty" package of $350 billion in
cuts over the decade. This sounds like a debate over whether to let the rich eat
cake or brioche. But $350 billion is the only option in play for opponents.
Meanwhile, the president firmly angles to cram in his beloved dividend tax cut.

Congressional leaders hope to settle the tax issue by Memorial Day and move
on to health care and appropriation debates. Talking about budgetary losers is
deemed impolitic while people are still debating how many hundred billions to
forgo via the tax cuts. But it's already clear that domestic programs are facing
a $168 billion cut across 10 years in such vital areas as education, homeland
security, veterans' care and transportation. House Republicans have already
tried to sidestep culpability by installing a legislative gimmick to
automatically authorize deficit borrowing. Instead of standing up and voting as
they were elected to do, lawmakers will have the $900 billion bill added on to
the current $6.4 trillion debt ceiling, neat as an after-dinner drink on the
people's credit card.

Some lawmakers, at least, try to remind us of creative might-have-beens.
Representative Richard Gephardt, a Democrat obviously, even egregiously running
for the presidency, has dared to suggest another go at the issue of universal
health care. If nothing else, we can salute his sense of irony in proposing to
pay for this much needed but costly social program by flatly rolling back the
Bush tax cuts. Remember those days? When governments did more than cut taxes and
shrink government?

April 27, 2003

Fuzzy Math on Iraq

"There has been a lot of talk in Washington about refashioning Iraq into a prosperous, tolerant democracy that can serve as a model for the Middle East. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much plain speaking about how much that is going to cost. That's because the honest answer isn't something American taxpayers want to hear. The hard numbers just don't support the White House's rosy claim that once this year's American aid package of $2.5 billion is paid out, Iraq's oil sales will pay all the bills." New York Times

Jobless and Hopeless, Many Quit the Labor Force

"PITTSBURGH, April 26 — Worn down by job searches that have stretched on for months, demoralized by disappointing offers or outright rejections, some unemployed people have simply stopped the search. As the nation enters a third year of difficult economic times, these unemployed — from factory workers to investment bankers — have dropped out of the labor force and entered the invisible ranks of people not counted in the unemployment rate." New York Times

[Cartoon courtesy of Bartcop]

Sent by Claudia

From Poynter Online:

Posted, April 23, 2003
Rummy Needs A Throw-Down

By Dr. Ink (more by author)





Dear Readers:

One of the oldest tricks in the book of corrupt cops is to carry a "throw-down." That's the name for a loose weapon used to justify a police shooting. The bad guy makes a threatening move, the cops shoot to kill and then check the body to find a gun. If the supposed weapon turns out to be, say, a cell phone, the cops take a spare gun and throw it down.

As the machinery of war in Iraq grinds down to a lower gear, it has become clear what Donald Rumsfeld needs: A Throw-Down of Mass Destruction.

Dr. Ink has a fantasy in which he picks up his newspaper to read this story:

Indisputable evidence of Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction was discovered Tuesday in a tunnel outside of Baghdad. Allied Forces found dozens of barrels of toxic material marked with skulls and crossbones. A large banner carried the following message in Arabic and English: "Here they are! Weapons of Mass Destruction!"

Taped to one of the barrels was a hand-written message signed by Saddam Hussein himself:

My loyal followers,

Please be careful. This is the real stuff. My Weapons of Mass Destruction. If you ever have any reason to mass destroy our enemies, foreign or domestic, you can use the stuff in these barrels. It really works! I used it against the Kurds and against the Iranians, so I, Saddam Hussein, not one of my many look-alikes that you see on TV, can vouch for this stuff. This is the stuff we’ve been hiding from the U.N. and Hans Blix. By the way, here’s a joke:

Q. How many weapons inspectors does it take to change a lightbulb?
A. What lightbulb?

Ha. Ha. Ha. I am one funny dictator. OK, that's all for now. And remember, the American dogs did not plant these Weapons of Mass Destruction here. They are MY Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Your leader,
Saddam Hussein

I hope we can scrape mold off bread and save it. With Bush in the White
House, bread mold is likely to be the only pencillin we can afford. --
Claudia D. Dikinis, April 24, 2003

". . . Democrats . . . fear - with good reason - that President Bush will be
empowered by this war victory, that he and Karl Rove will use that power to
drive through a radical conservative agenda that Democrats fear is erasing
separations between church and state, depriving government of the tax funds
it needs to maintain decent social and educational programs, and despoiling
the environment. Sure, Democrats argue, we did right in Iraq, but if it will
only lead to more wrong at home, how good can you feel?" -- Thomas Friedman,
New York Times

Hey folks, put this in your schedule immediately!

Time for the annual ice cream giveaway. Here you go...

BEN AND JERRY FREE CONE DAY
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2003 NOON-8PM

http://www.benjerry.com/


FREE BASKIN ROBBINS ICE CREAM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2003 6-10PM

http://www.baskinrobbins.com/new

Claudia D. Dikinis
http://starcats.com
Political & Personal Astrology for a New Millennium

This cartoon has to be the bomb!
Go to Political Cartoons.com for more!



Mike Lane, Baltimore, Maryland, The Baltimore Sun
Visit Mike's archives at the Sun.Visit an archive of the artist's most recent
cartoons in the drop menu at the right. Click on the cartoon to send it as an e-greeting card.
Want Mike's cartoons in your publication? E-mail cari@cagle.com.

Hi Claudia!

From Starcats Astrology 2003: Starcats' Table of Contents

April 25, 2003

U.S. Restarts Its Nuclear Machine

"The United States has restarted production of plutonium parts for nuclear bombs at its Los Alamos National Laboratory for the first time in 14 years.
"Under the headline "After 'Decline,' U.S. Again Capable of Making Nuclear Arms," the Los Angeles Times, which broke the story Wednesday, called the move "an important symbolic and operational milestone in rebuilding the nation's nuclear weapons complex."

"Specifically, American scientists working for the National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, have started producing the plutonium "pits" that are at the core of nuclear weaponry. (Conventional explosives encase a hollow plutonium sphere, or pit, and trigger a chain reaction when detonated.) Under a program put forward by the White House, the United States is also working on a new factory to supply components for hundreds of weapons each year, according to the report." Moscow Times quotes L.A. Times

[Cartoon courtesy of Bartcop]

Thanks Claudia!

Thursday, April 24, 2003

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2003/04/24/001.html

U.S. Restarts Its Nuclear Machine

By Yevgenia Borisova
Staff Writer The United States has restarted production of plutonium parts
for nuclear bombs at its Los Alamos National Laboratory for the first time
in 14 years.

Under the headline "After 'Decline,' U.S. Again Capable of Making
Nuclear Arms," the Los Angeles Times, which broke the story Wednesday,
called the move "an important symbolic and operational milestone in
rebuilding the nation's nuclear weapons complex."

Specifically, American scientists working for the National Nuclear
Security Administration, or NNSA, have started producing the plutonium
"pits" that are at the core of nuclear weaponry. (Conventional explosives
encase a hollow plutonium sphere, or pit, and trigger a chain reaction when
detonated.)

Under a program put forward by the White House, the United States is
also working on a new factory to supply components for hundreds of weapons
each year, according to the report.

The U.S. Department of Energy, which oversees the NNSA and runs
America's weapons program, could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.
But the Times quoted unnamed department officials as denying that they are
actually producing nuclear weapons -- only ensuring the reliability of
exiting weapons.

But nuclear scientists in both Russia and the United States disputed
this claim.

"Pits are empty spheres of plutonium, they cannot age," said a senior
nuclear expert at one of Russia's leading institutes, who spoke on condition
of anonymity.

"Such production cannot be justified by the need to maintain the
safety of the existing stockpile of U.S. weapons. First of all, it could
mean that America has restarted the production of nuclear warheads and that
it is supporting the industry," the expert said.

"In Russia, such workshops are being closed down."

Arjun Makhijani, an acclaimed nuclear scientist who runs the Institute
for Energy and Environmental Research in Tacoma, Washington, agreed: "There
is absolutely no need in my opinion to do this. On the contrary, it is very
dangerous," Makhijani said by telephone.

"This is just the beginning of pit manufacturing. The U.S. has a
capacity to eventually make 50 to 80 pits a year, but the Department of
Energy has proposed to build a new pit facility where they will be able to
make up to 500 pits per year. The United States does not need any more
nuclear warheads."

Igor Ostretsov, the deputy director for science of the All-Russia
Research Center of Nuclear Machine-Building, said that while the United
States may need new parts to maintain the efficiency of its warheads, it
looks as if it is also moving to improve its nuclear arsenal.

"If they are making pits, it may be linked to making new [nuclear
warhead] models," he said.

The move may also violate the Nonproliferation Treaty that the United
States, Russia and other nuclear nations signed in 2000, in which they
pledged to undertake an "irreversible reduction" of their nuclear arsenals.

Under Article 2 of the treaty, signatories are forbidden from
manufacturing or otherwise acquiring nuclear weapons or other nuclear
explosive devices.

"I don't know whether it will reignite the arms race, but it is
certainly in line with the U.S. strategy of continuing to use nuclear
weapons as a central part of its military strategy," Makhijani said.

Some military experts also said that the real aim of the program
appears to be boosting the United States' nuclear complex -- a costly move
that makes no strategic sense.

"It is a sign that after a long period of decline, the weapons complex
is back and growing," Jon Wolfsthal, deputy director of the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace and a former Energy Department weapons
expert, told the Times.

"To the average U.S. citizen, it would be accurate to say we have
restarted the production of nuclear weapons."

Ivan Safranchuk, a Moscow-based researcher for the Center for Defense
Information in Washington, said by telephone that it would be senseless
militarily for the United States to improve its nuclear warhead arsenal,
"which is excessive anyway and is supposed to be reduced."

Makhijani said "U.S. policy is a provocation to proliferation because
it raises the question that if the most powerful country in the world by
far, in conventional, or non-nuclear terms, still needs to build more
nuclear weapons, what about everybody else?

"It is a dangerous policy because the United States and Russia
continue to have between them about 4,000 nuclear weapons that can be fired
in a few minutes."


Claudia D. Dikinis
http://starcats.com
Political & Personal Astrology for a New Millennium


I hope we can scrape mold off bread and save it. With Bush in the White
House, bread mold is likely to be the only pencillin we can afford. --
Claudia D. Dikinis, April 24, 2003

Good 'ol Alternet, lol. Claudia just checked in:

IVINS: Workplace Flexibility

By Molly Ivins, AlterNet
April 24, 2003

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15731

AUSTIN, Texas - Boy, there is no shortage of creatively terrible ideas from
the Republican Party these days. Those folks are just full of notions about
how to make people's lives worse - one horrible idea after another bursting
out like popcorn - and all of them with these sickeningly cute names
attached to them.


Consider the Family Time and Workplace Flexibility Act (Senate version) and
the Family Time Flexibility Act (House version). The Bush administration is
leading the charge with proposed new rules that will erode the 40-hour
workweek and affect more than 80 million workers now protected by the Fair
Labor Standards Act.


To hear the Republicans tell it, you'd think these were family-friendly
bills, something like Clinton's Family Leave Act, designed to help you
balance the difficult combined demands of work and family. With such a smarm
of butter over their visages do the Republicans go on about the joys of
"flexibility" and "freedom of choice" that you would have to read the bills
for maybe 30 seconds before figuring out they're about repealing the 40-hour
workweek and ending overtime.


As The American Prospect magazine notes, when Republicans talk about
"flexibility," it means letting business do whatever it wants without
standards, mandates or worker and consumer rights. Ever since FDR's New
Deal, working overtime gets you time-and-a-half in money, which has the
happy effect of holding the work week down to 40 hours - or at least
preventing it from ballooning grossly.


The proposed Bush rules, which the two Republican bills codify and expand,
would:



a.. Exclude previously protected workers who were entitled to overtime by
reclassifying them as managers. Companies are already using this ploy where
they can get away with it. Say you're frying burgers on the night shift at
McDonald's, making overtime, and suddenly - congratulations - you're the
assistant night manager, with no raise and no overtime.



b.. Eliminate certain middle-income workers from overtime protections by
adding an income limit, above which workers no longer qualify for overtime.
You like that? You make too much to earn overtime.



c.. Remove overtime protection from large numbers of workers in aerospace,
defense, health care, high tech and other industries.


Pay attention, this one is coming right out of your paycheck.


Big Bidness is lobbying hard on these bills. If you work overtime to pay
your bills, look out. The trick is, employers get to substitute comp time
for overtime, and the employers get the right to decide when - or even if -
a worker gets to take his or her comp time. The legislation provides no
meaningful protection against employers requiring workers to take time off
instead of cash and no protection against employers assigning overtime only
to workers who agree to take time instead of cash. Everybody gets screwed on
this one, except the bosses. Isn't it lovely?


The proposed rules changes and the Republican bills provide a strong
financial incentive for employers to lengthen the workweek, on top of an
already staggering load. By 1999, in one decade, the average work year had
expanded by 184 hours, according to Kevin Phillips' book "Wealth and
Democracy."


He writes, "The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the typical American
works 350 hours more per year than the typical European, the equivalent of
nine work weeks."


The bills give employers a new right to delay paying any wages for overtime
work for as long as 13 months. According to an analysis by the Economic
Policy Institute, under the new bills an employee who works overtime hours
in a given week might not receive any pay or time off for that work until
more than a year later, at the employer's discretion.


"Without receiving interest or security, the employees in essence lend their
overtime pay to the employers in the hope of getting back some time later as
paid time off," the report states. "Employees' overtime compensation is put
at risk of loss in the event of business failure and closure, bankruptcy or
fraud. Furthermore, employees get no guarantee of time off when they want or
need it."


The EPI explains why Big Bidness loves these bills: "A company with 200,000
FLSA-covered employees might get 160 free hours at $7 an hour from each of
them (160 hours is the maximum allowed under the bills). That's the
equivalent of $224 million that the company wouldn't have to pay its workers
for up to a year after the worker has earned it. Considering that, under
normal circumstances, the employer might have to pay 6 percent interest for
a commercial loan of this magnitude, it could save $13 million by relying on
comp time to 'borrow' from its employees instead."


The slick marketing and smoke on this one are a wonder to behold. We're
being told that private sector workers will get the same "benefit" of comp
time as public employees. Wow, keen, except the government has no profit
motive for pushing comp time instead of overtime. Boy, does this stink.


Molly Ivins is a best-selling author and columnist who writes about
politics, Texas and other bizarre happenings.

Claudia D. Dikinis
http://starcats.com
Political & Personal Astrology for a New Millennium


I hope we can scrape mold off bread and save it. With Bush in the White
House, bread mold is likely to be the only pencillin we can afford. --
Claudia D. Dikinis, April 24, 2003

Read -- http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/22/opinion/22KRUG.html -- Paul
Krugman, on Bush's mendacious assertion that tax cuts for the rich will
create 1.4 million new jobs. -- Listen, Ronald Reagan did all this to the
Golden State when Govenor of California, then to the country when he was
president. There was no 9-Eleven in America during those years to hide
behind. Bush gutted Texas and is now hellbent on gutting America. The point
is, there is no such thing as a "compassionate conservative." It's an
oxymoron. Until the American people wake up and realize that "compassionate
conservatism" is a euphemism for fascism, for just that long will we be held
in bondage.. -- Claudia D. Dikinis, April 23, 2003.

April 23, 2003

Bill Moyers on Privatizing Democracy

"In his book Why Economies Grow economist Jeff Madrick talked about how inequality is changing the country. Politics determines economic outcomes - campaign contributions give the edge to those who can afford the entrée. It goes even deeper. What's emerged full-blown is the military-industrial complex famously predicted and feared by President Eisenhower fifty years ago. It's no longer possible to tell where the corporate world ends and government begins.

"The poster boy for this new elite is Richard Cheney. As the head of Halliburton, he made a fortune from the influence and access gained through his earlier service in government. Then Halliburton corporation gets favored and confidential treatment soon after Mr. Cheney becomes George Bush's vice president. This week the big construction company Bechtel receives a contract that could pay three quarters of a billion dollars for work in post-war Iraq. Bechtel gives lots of money to politicians, mostly to Republicans. On its board is George Schultz, who ran Bechtel before he became President Reagan's Secretary of state. One of Bechtel's senior vice presidents is a former general who serves on the Defense Policy Board along with other hawks like Richard Perle and James Woolsey who wanted war with Iraq and got it. They advise the Pentagon and then turn around and make money out of their defense contacts.

"These fellows are all honorable men, I am sure [I think Bill Moyers was suffering a minor stroke when he said this. -- Starcats] - but they call for war with all the ferocity of non-combatants and then turn around and feed on the corpse of war. Illegal? Not in our system. Unsavory? No matter how you slice it. But the main point is this: America's corporate and political elites now form a regime of their own, and they are privatizing democracy. All the benefits - the tax cuts, policies, and rewards - flow in one direction - up. And the people Jeff Madrick talked about - whose faith in the fairness of the American way of life is the bulwark of our country - are left outside, looking in." Truthout.org [Cartoon courtesy of Bartcop]

[War] is instinctive. But the instinct can be fought. We're human
beings with the blood of a million savage years on our hands! But we
can stop it. We can admit that we're killers ... but we're not going
to kill today. That's all it takes! Knowing that we're not going to
kill today!
-- Kirk, "A Taste of Armageddon", stardate 3193.0

April 19, 2003

Photo of Ari Fleischer's counterpart -- the infamous and hilarious Iraqi Information Minister. It is astounding that the public isn't laughing as wildly at what the Gobbels Rove and the Airhead Fleischer p.r. machine shits daily onto the White House Press Corps. -- Starcats.

"The invasion has proved wildly successful in one other regard: It has unified most of the world -- especially the Arab world -- against us. "

"From the moment that statue of Saddam hit the ground, the mood around the Rumsfeld campfire has been all high-fives, I-told-you-sos, and endless smug prattling about how the speedy fall of Baghdad is proof positive that those who opposed the invasion of Iraq were dead wrong.

"What utter nonsense. In fact, the speedy fall of Baghdad proves the anti-war movement was dead right. The whole pretext for our unilateral charge into Iraq was that the American people were in imminent danger from Saddam and his mighty war machine. The threat was so clear and present that we couldn't even give inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction -- hey, remember those? -- another 30 days, as France had wanted.
"Well, it turns out that, far from being on the verge of destroying Western civilization, Saddam and his 21st century Gestapo couldn't even muster a half-hearted defense of their own capital. The hawks' cakewalk disproves their own dire warnings. They can't have it both ways. The invasion has proved wildly successful in one other regard: It has unified most of the world -- especially the Arab world -- against us."
Arianna Huffington

----- Original Message -----
From: Claudia D. Dikinis
To: jammy
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 9:52 AM
Subject: Re: for your Blog: "BUSH CAN'T EVEN DO BASEBALL HONESTLY"


Bush's p.r. man and political strategist, Karl Rove, deserves the "Lifetime Gobbels" award for the most cynical manipulation of the American people possibly in our history. Rove's diabolical schemes top Nixon and Reagan's secret dealings preventing the close of the Vietnam War and a delay in the release of U.S. hostages in Iran so that Jimmy Carter wouldn't have that victory, Reagan would have it at the time he was inaugurated. I hate to say it, but it seems to be that in my lifetime, the most heinous high crimes and impeachable misdemeanors were committed during Republican administrations.

That being said, Rove's polling was used to introduce Iraq just before the midterm elections so that the GOP could sweep it and gain control over all three branches of government, a thing Rove wants to set in place for elections over the next 12-16 years so that a generation of Americans can be indoctrinated to "think like the right wing." The Iraq war was a gamble Bush took because winning it, according to Rove, means a pretty safe road to re-election victory in 2004. However, the problem here is that Bush wasn't elected in the first place, so maybe I should say that Bush can steal it a second time with Prince JEB's help in the Cuban Hoodlumn-Assassination of Kennedy Annex, known commonly as the State of Florida.

The evidence on Iraq was fabricated via plagiarism of a college student's paper (no kidding!) written in the 1990's and also falsified information from Niger which purports to show that Saddam had made substantial advances on making nukes. If you notice, Rumsfeld is already bloviating on TV that he knows people hostile to the USA will accuse the USA of planting WMD's in Iraq. It is too funny, because the first thing I thought of last November when the U.N. signed Resolution 1441, was that it was all a lie; no WMD's would be found; and the Bush Administration would plant them -- a thing tantamount to a bad police bust where you shove a bag of dope down some poor guy's pants and say he's a member of the Medellen Drug Cartel.

----- Original Message -----
From: BuzzFlash
To: Claudia
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2003 8:29 AM
Subject: The Bush/GOP Cash Connection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Board of Directors


April 17, 2003

The Bush/GOP Cash Connection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Board of Directors

(Before reading this sixth expose on the partisan politics of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, read
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/03/04/10_baseball.html
http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/04/12_baseball.html,
http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/04/13_baseball.html,
http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/04/15_baseball.html,
http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/04/15-2_baseball.html)

We encourage you to send this BuzzFlash series exposing the partisan Republican politics of the National Baseball Hall of Fame to your local sportswriters. Keep writing and calling the National Baseball Hall of Fame. They aren't planning to reschedule the "Bull Durham" celebration -- and the Board of Directors is standing by the partisan political decision of Dale Petroskey, the Hall of Fame President and GOP shill. Tell the National Baseball Hall of Fame that baseball belongs to all Americans, not just Republicans. You can find contact information at: http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/contact/email_info.htm.

A BUZZFLASH BREAKING NEWS ANALYSIS

Sixth in a Series on the Partisan Scandal at the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Some readers ask why we continue to write editorials exposing the partisan political bias of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, while the lying and plundering of Iraq continue on.

Our answer: The opinion of the American public, in this day of omnipresent television and advertising, is swayed heavily by the manipulation of symbols. Karl Rove understands this and masterfully, in his Machiavellian manner, manipulates patriotic and cultural images to sway public thought.

That is why we have now written six news analyses on how the National Baseball Hall of Fame's cancellation of a long-scheduled "Bull Durham" festival was much more than an isolated impulsive act. It is highly unlikely that it was just an individual action taken by the Republican operative who serves as President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

MORE: http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/04/16_baseball.html

---------------------------------------------

FEATURED PREMIUM

Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential

by James C. Moore and Wayne Slater

The authors of this book unabashedly call Karl Rove the most powerful individual in the United States. Although they are in awe of his brilliance, you finish the book with the realization that Rove's genius lies somewhere between Machiavelli and Goebbels. As one critic in "Bush's Brain" describes Rove's strategy of using the Iraq war for partisan purposes: "It has to be the most evil political calculation in American history." Immerse yourself in learning about the evil (but brilliant) royal court strategist behind the reign known as the madness of King George. Read "Bush's Brain." You have to know the opposition to beat them at their own game.

http://www.buzzflash.com/premiums/brain.html

Hot off the press from Starcats Astrology 2003: Starcats' Table of Contents. Thank you Starcats for such insight into our need to know!



April 16, 2003

Live From Baghdad, Great Reality TV!

"Although the polls indicate that a large majority loves this war, far fewer people turn out for the pro-war manifestations than the rabble protesting it. The reason, it hardly needs be said, is that those of a patriotic disposition are home in front of their sets watching this largest and best of all reality TV shows, brought to us by sponsors such as MCI, Tylenol and—my favorite—Scott’s Turf Builder. Knowing that there are no dandelions in the lawn makes for the peace of mind to enjoy the bombing and the pretty girl war correspondents. There has been grumbling because a few Americans are being killed or wounded, but most viewers feel that knowing actual people are actually being harmed makes for better reality TV. Have you ever seen a war show or movie with higher production values than Attack on Iraq?



Nicholas von Hoffman, NY Observer

/me sips on her morning coffee.

"Men of the Hour"

We have just found the greatest online store to buy t-shirts, coffee mugs and take care oif your nousepad needs: The WeLoveTheIraqiInformationMinister.com Store!

I wonder just who is trying to make money off of the name of poor, over worked Muhammed Saeed
al-Sahaf ? cafépress.com have outdone themselves this time! Just look at the lovely quotes by MSS they are plastering on their ware:

» "My feelings..."
» "No American infidels..."
» "No I am not scared..."
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» "I now inform you..."
» "The American press is all about lies..."
» Mugs

Go their quick to pick up your historic goods! And on the topic of Muhammed Saeed
al-Sahaf . . .CNN.com reports: "To help pay for the upgrades, the site will sell T-shirts, mugs and barbecue aprons featuring choice quotes from Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, who maintained with a straight face that Iraqi troops were routing the Americans even as U.S. tanks busted through Baghdad." This quote is in reference to this gem of a new website, We Love the Iraqi Information Minister. According to the CNN article:

In the United States, Conn Nugent and his friends got a kick out of the comments, too, and decided to create the Web site Tuesday.

The site, Nugent said, was meant as a private joke.

"We didn't advertise it at all," he said. "We just sent it to our friends."

Within hours, someone at the Pentagon got wind of it, and soon word spread to journalists, Nugent said. By Friday, many Web journals, called blogs, referred to the site. Internet users also circulated e-mail telling friends to check it out.

Nugent said the group's contract with its Web host called for a limit of 2,000 hits a month -- but the site was getting 4,000 per second, putting other businesses sharing that host in jeopardy. The group looked for more powerful servers and decided to shut down after crashing four. The site was back up as of Saturday.

Is this website really a joke or was it made to honor this man? As posted in the left-hand column of the sites index page:

This site is a coalition effort of bloodthirsty hawks and ineffectual doves united in admiration for Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, Iraqi Minister of Information (currently on administrative leave).

"In an age of spin, al-Sahaf offers feeling and authenticity. His message is consistent -- unshakeable, in fact, no matter the evidence -- but he commands daily attention by his on-the-spot, invective-rich variations on the theme. His lunatic counterfactual art is more appealing than the banal awfulness of the Reliable Sources. He is a Method actor in a production that will close in a couple of days. He stands superior to truth."

-- Jean-Pierre McGarrigle

Now does this sound as if the site was made as a joke? Enquiring minds want to know! You decide. On a lighter note . . .for those still looking for Uday Saddam Hussein's Yahoo email address. . .try sifting through N!kkes Index :: Stats :: Yahoo! searches as it lists hundreds of vital links to support your researching needs, lol.

That's all folks . . .

Bush ain't happy that he's Captain Ahab and caught Moby Saddam Dick. Now he's got to go to Syria and get Flipper, too. Rofl! So says Stacats!

Let's give Starcats a big round of applause for that gem!

And this pearl of wisdom:



"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore! I think we're stuck in Bush's asshole!"

:)

Oh boy . . .here is another gem, You will never believe all of the crap that is sold in the nameof patriotic ferver. Claudia just keeps on digging up these internet treasures:

You will *not* believe the shit on this site. Go look at this:

Flag-O-Rama!
What "so-called" Super Patriots will do in the name of America, lol.

From Starcats.com - News That Will Really Turn You On . . .NOT:

April 15, 2003

Behind Our Backs

Bush's Second Tax Cut for the Rich

"a few Republicans in the House and Senate, and many erstwhile supporters on Wall Street are beginning to notice how much we're looking like a banana republic." Krugman

Check out the real Banana Bush Republic

----- Original Message -----
From: "Claudia D. Dikinis"
To: "Jammy"
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 9:39 AM
Subject: Re: Oh, this one is just too good!


Isn't Bush just an A-hole? I heard him bloviating on the radio this morning
about the tax cut that won't benefit anyone who actually needs any help. He
was touting it as another leg up for the middle class who own zero stock
dividend portfolios. He said 1/2 of the people are invested in the stock
market. Not true. He was introduced by some republican lady shill, a small
business owner who used the word "vision" when introducing R president
Gilligan -- to remind us that Gilligan "gets the vision thing" even though
Daddy Gilligan didn't. This is so transparent a Karl Rove p.r. mechanism a
la Goebbels that I puked my way out of my bed this morning.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Claudia D. Dikinis"
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 7:14 PM
Subject: Oh, this one is just too good!


George Bush went into a library and announced
in a loud voice "I'd like a cheeseburger and fries
please!"

The librarian replied "But sir, this is a library!"

"Gee, I'm sorry" said the President, then whispered
"I'd like a cheeseburger and fries please".
Claudia D. Dikinis
http://starcats.com/
Political & Personal Astrology for a New Millennium

"SURRENDER, DOROTHY!" -- Wicked Witch of the West.

Don't Miss This! You'll Get Sane Again!
http://www.bushwatch.com/weiner.htm
"Depression -- And Its Activism Antidote -- will lead to Bush's Demise"

It is exhausting carrying America's coffin. We are all pallbearers now. --
Claudia D. Dikinis, March 22, 2003.

"America has been hijacked by the religious rich and placed under the self-righteous dominion of people who, like their British predecessors, are convinced that great wealth and power are the direct result of favoritism by the Judeo-Roman God of the West...From this spooky interpretation of the causes of wealth comes the assumption that current and continued American dominion is something that is ordained from above. Bush's religiosity has lumped us all together in one Old Testament heap....We have been bombing so many other countries for so long in the name of keeping the peace, we don't even know the difference anymore."
Gerry Lower, http://www.bushwatch.net/miscellanea.htm

From: Claudia D. Dikinis
To: jammy
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2003 11:09 AM

Hot Flash: From Starcats Astrology 2003: Starcats' Table of Contents

Syria Is Next -- Bush Reich Plans War Without End

Top-level aides bare their teeth at Syria

"WASHINGTON -- With victory in Iraq assured, hawks outside and inside the Bush administration have begun taking an aggressive stance toward its neighbor to the west, Syria."

"Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, and their ideological ally at the State Department, Undersecretary John Bolton, have all made menacing public remarks about Syria in recent days.

"Wednesday, Rumsfeld said Syria was harboring lower-level members of Saddam Hussein's regime. He said Syria had ignored his warnings not to help Iraq militarily and, in response to a question as to whether Syria was "next," said ominously: 'It depends on people's behavior. Certainly, I have nothing to announce.'

"One intelligence source with good access to Pentagon civilian authorities said that Rumsfeld last week ordered the drawing up of contingency plans for a possible invasion of Syria and that Pentagon Undersecretary Douglas Feith is working on a policy paper highlighting how Syria's support of terrorist groups is a threat to the region." Chicago Tribune

----- Original Message -----
From: Claudia D. Dikinis
To: Jamilla@Cox
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 6:20 PM
Subject: Re:

There are plenty who feel as we do and are (daily) called traitors, treasonous and unpatriotic. The Bush regime is "nazi" -- and fascism rules the day. Huge corporations are now merged with the nation-state, and that was Mussolini's definition of fascism -- or what Thomas Jefferson was terrified would happen to America. An enormous transfer of wealth now goes to the 10% of our population and most of the rest is going to the military. About 300 families actually own the resources of America. It's back to stinkin' oligarchy and fascism. Bush is so transparent. I can see right through him. He's empty. I don't care how he tears us when he says "semper fi" to our Marines who are dying in Iraq. Bush was AWOL from the National Guard for 18 months in what was a masquerade of his military service.

I see this whole thing as the "God' of the West and the God of the Middle East and Central Asia clashing together the way Wotan, the Germanic God clashed with the world in World War II. It is insanity. The world is having a psychotic breakdown and needs some serious medication.

Claudia

----- Original Message -----
From: Jamilla@Cox
To: Claudia D. Dikinis
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 4:48 PM
Subject: Re:

I am sure there are plenty of others who feel as we do Claudia! I too am a "nationalist" of sorts. I love this country because I was born here but I am not proud to be an American, lol, not the way our country wants to monopolize the worlds economies, governments, and their military.

I am glad that there are Muslims, Buddhists, Animists, Sikhs, and other non-Christian religions in this world, so people like Bush cannot push his right-wing, Hawkish, WASP, "true ass-hole" beliefs onto the majority of the world's populations! Yes . . .Christianity is small when compared on a word-wide basis.

Our government and its lackeys are ruining any of our so-called allies chances at becoming major "players" in the game of word-wide peace (yech . . .just to think of how this is being accomplished, making the world safe for Bush).

Jammy


----- Original Message -----
From: Claudia D. Dikinis
To: Jamilla@Cox
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 4:18 PM
Subject: Re:


You're in line with what I think.

America is engaging in Empire/colonialism, having "inherited" or having been influenced by its white colonial "mother" - England. America is going through her "terrible two's" -- 227 years old and getting wayyyy too big and defiant for her own britches. Bush is just a puppet of Wolfowitz, Perle, Kristol, Rumsfeld -- Neocons who flirt with right wing Zionism under the table while letting Ariel Sharon run amok. The Bush angle: he's a fundamentalist Christian and, baby, don't let 'em fool you. It *is* a crusade. Bush thinks God chose him to bring on Armageddon. The Neocons want "empire" and will do most anything to keep OPEC from switching over to the Euro instead of the dollar.

It is huge. Huge. Huge.

I feel so damn sad for our military and also the Brits. So very sad. Bush and his bible belt war games. It makes me puke.

Talk to you later!

Claudia

From: Jamilla@Cox
To: Claudia D. Dikinis
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 7:09 PM
Subject: Spongebob is way cool!


OMG . . .I love Spongebob! I'd rather watch Spongebob anyway than those joke-of-a-war reports they are showing now. It was interesting the first week but since Bush Jr, never has his so-called "two day" war . . .it has become rather redundant.

Jammy



----- Original Message -----
From: Claudia D. Dikinis
To: Jamilla@Cox
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 7:59 PM
Subject: Re:

Hey, Jak, Thanks!!! Way cool!

Have a good night. I'm going to watch Jeopardy now and catch Spongebob at 8:00 pm -- Frontline is supposed to be good tonight on Public TV -- about Blair, Bush and Iraq!

----- Original Message -----
From: Claudia D. Dikinis
To: Jamilla@Cox
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 8:10 PM
Subject: Re: Spongebob is way cool!


Spongie is so cool. Yeah, Bush sells these wars as if its the Ballet du jour. They're just dancin' their way into town and takin' Baghdad like an obligatory aspirin.

"Late Night" Commentary


"War continues in Iraq. They're calling it Operation Iraqi Freedom. They
were going to call it Operation
Iraqi Liberation until they realized that spells 'OIL.'" .Jay Leno
"Yesterday, the president met with a group he calls the coalition of the
willing. Or, as the rest of the
world calls them, Britain and Spain." .Jon Stewart

"According to the New York Times, Saddam Hussein has mined all his oil
fields, planted bombs in all his
major cities, he's got bombs in the military installations, in the
airports, and he's mined all the
government buildings. There's not much left for us to do, really." .Jay
Leno

"Good news for Iraq. There's a 50 percent chance that President Bush will
confuse it with Iran." .Craig
Kilborn

"President Bush spent last night calling world leaders to support the war
with Iraq and it is sad when the
most powerful man on earth is yelling, 'I know you're there, pick up, pick
up." .Craig Kilborn

"President Bush spent the day calling names he couldn't pronounce in
countries he never knew existed." .Jay Leno

"President Bush found out something this week. Between the countries of
Camaroone, Chile, Angola and Syria,
Angola plays the best music when they put you on hold." .Craig Kilborn

"As you all know we're about to start March Madness. That's NCAA college
basketball tournament when they
start with 64 teams and you whittle them down to just one, you know kind of
like our allies." .Jay Leno

"CNN said that after the war, there is a plan to divide Iraq into three
parts ... regular, premium and
unleaded." .Jay Leno

"Turkey has voted not to allow U.S. troops into their country and Saddam
Hussein said 'You can do that?'"
.Jay Leno

A lot of students around the country protested the war today. The National
Youth and Student Peace Coalition
sponsored an anti-war organization called 'Books Not Bombs.' President Bush
said, 'Why do you want to drop
books on them?'" .Jay Leno

"My wife wanted to go somewhere expensive for the weekend. So, I took her
down the street to the local
Texaco." .Jay Leno

"Experts say that if we go to war with Iraq, oil could reach as much as $80
a barrel. Of course, after the
war it will be free." .Jay Leno

"Saddam Hussein also challenged President Bush to a debate. The Butcher of
Baghdad vs. the Butcher of the
English language." .Jay Leno

"President Bush announced tonight that he believes in democracy and that
democracy can exist in Iraq. They
can have a strong economy, they can have a good health care plan, and they
can have a free and fair voting.
Iraq? We can't even get this in Florida." .Jay Leno

"In an interview with Dan Rather, Saddam has challenged President Bush to a
live, televised debate.
I think this would be fair, since English is a second language to both of
them." .Jay Leno

"President Bush has said that he does not need approval from the UN to wage
war, and I'm thinking,
well, hell, he didn't need the approval of the American voters to become
president, either." .David
Letterman

"In a speech earlier today President Bush said if Iraq gets rid of Saddam
Hussein, he will help the Iraqi
people with food, medicine, supplies, housing, education . anything that's
needed. Isn't that amazing? He finally comes up with a domestic agenda .
and it's for Iraq. Maybe we could bring that here if it works out." .Jay
Leno

"Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations Security
Council, offering a compelling 90-minute presentation that not only
furthered his case but reminded the world why America is second to none in
the field of PowerPoint." .Jay Leno

"You know why the French don't want to bomb Saddam Hussein? Because he
hates America, he loves mistresses
and wears a beret. He is French, people." .Conan O'Brien

"The state of Texas executed its third prison inmate this week. This week.
In fact, they don't even have a
last meal anymore, now it's a buffet." .Jay Leno

"I read today that the president was interrupted 73 times by applause and
75 times by really big words."
.Jay Leno

"This week officials from France, Russia and Germany accused President Bush
of having a fondness for war.
Yeah, when asked about it, a spokesman for Bush said, 'It's a one syllable
word, of course he's fond of
it.'" .Conan O'Brien

Claudia D. Dikinis
http://starcats.com/
Political & Personal Astrology for a New Millennium

Don't Miss This! You'll Get Sane Again!
http://www.bushwatch.com/weiner.htm
"Depression -- And Its Activism Antidote -- will lead to Bush's Demise"

It is exhausting carrying America's coffin. We are all pallbearers now. --
Claudia D. Dikinis, March 22, 2003.

"If humankind would accept and acknowledge this responsibility and become
creatively engaged in the process of evolution, consciously as well as
unconsciously, a new reality would emerge, and a new age could be born." --
Jonas Salk