Hey BC - this was in Slate today:

Republicans are saying that for the good of the country, after the
election all the Florida ballots should be sealed so that no private group
can count the ballots and conclude that the man sworn in as president
didn't actually get the most votes. Can the ballots be sealed?

As we've learned in the past five weeks, anything is possible, but sealing
the ballots would be a gross violation of Florida's strong open records
laws. (Read about them in the Dec. 7 Explainer here.) It looks like the
suggestion was first floated by New Jersey's Republican Gov. Christie Todd
Whitman last month during an MSNBC appearance. Her idea is that they be
sealed for the next four years so a privately funded recount wouldn't delegitimize
the presidency. (If it's a Gore presidency, Explainer thinks that Whitman would
suddenly feel burying the ballots in the New Jersey Pine Barrens until 2004 is a
very bad idea.)

Then last weekend on Capital Gang Rep.Jennifer Dunn (R-Wa.) upped the ante
by saying, "Those ballots are going to be sealed right after the election."

So who's going to do the sealing?
Whitman has no specific plan but suggests the busy, busy Florida Legislature
could take care of it. Dunn's office would not return  calls.

http://slate.msn.com/Code/explainer/explainer.asp?Show=12/12/2000&idMessage=6671

Sean Young
Michigan State University

From:   honeyb123@hotmail.com

Subject:    Hogan's Heroes

If pitching a show to the networks about a goofy concentration camp wasn't
enough, quite a few of the actors had had experience with the Nazis.

Werner "Col. Klink" Klemperer was the son of a Jewish father who had
converted to Catholicism and a Lutheran mother--they fled Germany in the
30's and Werner fought in the US Army during WW2.

Werner agreed to do Hogan's Heroes if producers agreed that Klink would
never succeed in his schemes.  Robert "LeBeau" Clary, was Jewish  and
spent most of WW2 in the Buchenwald concentration camp.

Some other Jewish cast members were John "Sgt Shultz" Banner, an Austrian
who fled the Nazis, Howard "Maj Hochstetter" Caine, a WW2 Navy vet, and
Leon "General Burkhalter" Askin.

Regards,
Tara Leigh
 

Hey, wait a minute:
Doesn't Major Hochstetter look a look a LOT like Tom Delay?

From:  nsmall@coair.com

Subject:    Rutherfraud B. Bush

Dear BC,

I only recently discovered your web-site and want to thank-you.
Living in Texas I am bombarded with right wing propaganda on a daily basis
and have gone to your web-site to get the real story.

Now that smirk has been appointed president by the fascist controlled supreme court
- I think it's time for us to rename him.  Smirk was great during the campaign season but now
that he is going to be masquerading as president for the next 4 years - I think we should now
refer to him by a new name with some historical significance and reflective of the way he
absconded with the presidency despite losing the popular vote AND the electoral college.

I had promised myself that if smirk won the election I was going to afford him the respect
that the President of the United States deserves regardless of the complete lack of respect
pig-boy and his ilk showed President Clinton these past 8 years.  However, seeing as he did
not actually win the election but was instead appointed president, I do not feel like that is a
promise I need to keep.

Therefore, I suggest that we adopt a new name for smirk and that he henceforth be referred to
as Rutherfraud B. Bush - after Rutherford B. Hayes the last person to be appointed president
despite losing the popular vote AND the electoral college.

May our country survive these next 4 years!

Nathan

 Judas Maximus, SOB

 He could open a law firm with Pat Caddell and call it
 Judas and Crazed

From:  dbaker41@fuse.net

Subject:   On Toning Down the Rhetoric

Dear Mr. Matthews:

You, along with virtually every other pundit in the last few days, have
called on Americans to tone down the partisan rhetoric.  Along with the
rest of the Rabid Right, you apparently believe only Democrats are
guilty of overheated partisan rhetoric.  Yesterday, however, your friend and
occasional guest on Hardball, Rush Limbaugh, stated that now is not the
time for peacemaking, it is time to "declare war on liberals."  He
compared the Bush victory to Rome's victory over ancient Carthage, when
the conquering Romans salted the fields of the Carthaginians so that no
crops would grow.  Your buddy Rush said now is the time to "salt the
fields" of the Democrats.  And his ditto-heads eat it up.  Not even
Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton have been so overheated.

Why do you not condemn such irresponsible rhetoric (of course I
recognize freedom of speech, he's free to spread his hate and I am free
to call him on it)?  And why would you EVER allow such a virulent,
vicious demagogue to appear on your show?  And finally, why do you
continually suck up to him when you do have him on your show?

People like Rush, especially in the wake of this election, are deepening
the partisan rift in America and energizing the Democrats.  If they
want a war, by God that's what they'll have in 2002!

Critically yours,
David A. Baker
Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky