BuzzFlash presents Barbara's
Daily BuzzFlash Minute
exclusively on BuzzFlash.com
A collection of insightful ruminations, reflections, and rants on the events of the day (with the exception of the weekend). Come visit each weekday to see what's pushing Barbara's buttons.
November 8, 2005
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Frankly, if the Bush administration was so fervent about what the Clinton administration had to say about Al Qaida, terrorism, Saddam Hussein, WMD’s, etc., etc., etc., then why the hell did they ignore it all, back when it could have done some good? Why did Condi Rice ignore Sandy Berger’s warnings, why did they discount Richard Clarke’s analysis, why did George Bush ignore the August the 6th PDB, why couldn’t they allow the weapons inspectors time to finish their job? Oh my God, you don’t think maybe, is it possible, gasp, was the ignorance intentional? And now that we’ve gotten to know George Bush and the Bush administration so well, gotten to know the lies, the cover-ups, the secrecy, the cronyism, the corruption, the intimidation, the bullying, the downright criminal acts, you can bet your bippy YES, I BELIEVE THEIR IGNORANCE WAS INTENTIONAL, because they knew they had to have a substantial reason to launch their plan to wage war in Iraq!
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Sometimes it helps to go back and refresh the memory, in order to distinguish between the truth and the Bush lies! Some of the same people involved in scamming the American public back then are out and about these days continuing to project a myth and spin the lies! For instance, remembering how the “Office of Strategic Influence” morphed into the “Office of Special Plans” and then went forward with a plan to manipulate intelligence -- “The agency, called the Office of Special Plans (OSP), was set up by the defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld … senior administration figures created a shadow agency of Pentagon analysts staffed mainly by ideological amateurs … operated under the patronage of hardline conservatives in the top rungs of the administration, the Pentagon and at the White House, including Vice-President Dick Cheney. Cheney was at the shadow network's sharp end. He made several trips to the CIA in Langley, Virginia, to demand a more "forward-leaning" interpretation of the threat posed by Saddam. When he was not there to make his influence felt, his chief of staff, Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, was … Another frequent visitor was Newt Gingrich, the former Republican party leader who resurfaced after September 11 as a Pentagon "consultant" and a member … with influence far beyond his official title … Gingrich visited Langley three times before the war … the political veteran sought to browbeat analysts into toughening up their assessments of Saddam's menace … Gingrich gained access to the CIA headquarters and was listened to because he was seen as a personal emissary of the Pentagon and, in particular, of the OSP.” Hmm, put that in your pipe, Pat Roberts, and smoke it!
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How much do you want to bet, Sen. Pat Roberts R-Kan. chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee won’t call Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski, Retired, before the committee to testify about how the pre-Iraq war intelligence was manipulated? How much do you want to bet he really doesn’t want to know the truth about how the Bush administration lied in order to wage war in Iraq? And I’d be willing to bet, if left up to Pat Roberts, the odds that the American people will ever know the truth in its entirety are zip, nil, zero, kaput!
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And some thought it wrong to call the Bush administration Fascists! We are moving ever closer to becoming ruled by those who would emulate Hitler and who seem to value Nazi ideals! As we watch freedom and democracy ebb further away, it is imperative we hold the leadership responsible for the misbegotten downright criminal acts they’ve committed in our name. Otherwise, there will be “Gitmo” camps established throughout America and there are those who will truly believe it is for the greater good.
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“There's talk on the street” there’s a new “tricky Dick in town.” His name is Dick Cheney, and his alleged criminal actions are far worse than his predecessor's. How long is it going to take Congress to realize the American people will not tolerate his use of one of the highest offices in the land to commit crimes! How long will it take for Congress to realize the American people expect them to do what they were hired to do and oversee the people’s business? How long will it take before justice is served?
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Exactly who are the first to step up to a microphone and invoke the word, “Patriotic”? Which side accuses the other of being “unpatriotic” in the political realm? You guessed it, the Repuglicans! Go a step further and think about the constituency that Repuglicans support with undying loyalty---again you guessed it, Big Business! So I ask the question exactly how patriotic is it when big business supported by the Repuglicans moves our industrial infrastructure out of America in order to make bigger, higher, profits? How patriotic is it to give big business really big tax-breaks and our hard-earned tax-dollars to boot, so that big business can establish off-shore accounts, move our jobs to another country and not pay taxes at all? There’s more to patriotism than American flag lapel pins, decals, and yellow ribbons. The dictionary defines patriotism as: “pride in or DEVOTION TO THE COUNTRY somebody was born in or is a citizen of”---“loyalty”! Patriotism for the Repuglicans and big business doesn’t start at home! For them it’s the bottom line. They are only interested in and loyal to money, more money, and the most money they can stuff into their pockets, making hay while Bush shines, so to speak! Destroying this country from within is not patriotic, no matter the spin you hear or those who attempt to spin it!!!
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