BuzzFlash
presents Barbara's
Daily BuzzFlash Minute
exclusively on BuzzFlash.com
Barbara's Daily BuzzFlash Minute
WELCOME to Barbara's Daily BuzzFlash Minute, a collection of insightful ruminations, reflections, and rants on the events of the day (with the exception of the weekend). A regular contributor to our Mailbag, we've elevated Barbara to her own BuzzFlash page. We'll collect a week's worth here and then archive them. Come visit each weekday to see what's pushing Barbara's buttons.
Vacation Notice! Barbara's Daily BuzzFlash Minute will be on hiatus from Monday, July 29 until Monday August 12, 2002.
* * *
July 26, 2002
Can't help but wonder why Dumbya is again gettin' outta Dodge for a month. It certainly couldn't be because he's overworked. Every weekend at Camp David, and in bed by 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. every night, seems pretty good for relaxation, which brings me back to why leave the White House for a whole month during the hottest time of the year? Could it be that it will be hotter in D.C. than Texas? Could it be to avoid warnings of terrorist attacks and "get out of harm's way" again? Could it be to let the other Hawks plan a new approach to the war on terror, say in Iraq? Could he need the time to regroup with his friends, say Kenny Boy, out of sight of Washington's prying eyes? A number of possibilities, but rather unwise to leave for a month. I have to remember, it's Dumbya and he hasn't made a wise decision in his entire life.
* * *
A few questions -- Don't we have the National Security Agency, aren't the FBI and the CIA intelligence agencies, doesn't the military have separate security agencies within? Do all these agencies report to the President? Would it be presumptuous to think that when the information was presented the President should have enough smarts to evaluate the information? Haven't we been told there were recommendations on his desk? Could one assume that the breakdown occurred because the man did not have the brain power to assimilate the warnings or he chose not to? Just wondering.
* * *
The current administration is in business all right -- monkey business. If one were to look at the business dealings they have scammed in the past, it would tell us a whole lot about the future. There's a whole lot of underhanded, backdoor deals that profit only friends and family; commissions for their buddies; land for their friends; defense contracts for family-related companies; and energy crises for campaign donors. It stinks, and the longer it's allowed to continue, the poorer we will be. When something starts with lies and theft, it only gets worse.
* * *
So the dummy wants personal flexibility in the new Homeland Defense Agency! Ha! Flexibility for a man who can't read what's on paper in front of him (e.g., warnings of terrorist attacks). He wants an agency that he can control in the cover of secrecy to spy on Americans. His intentions are not to protect the citizens of our country, but to do as he pleases, when he pleases, how he pleases, without oversight, without scrutiny and without the constitution. This agency, if done the way he wants, will be the beginning of a true dictatorship and the end of Democracy in America.
* * *
July 25, 2002
How credible is the country with Dumbya at the helm? We lost many of our civil rights and civil liberties, free speech is labeled as unpatriotic, our economic condition stinks, people have lost their gains on paper and their original investment, seniors are seeking employment in a market where unemployment is rising, healthcare is virtually zip for millions of Americans, our neighbors are being encouraged to spy on us, the national debt is going up, we are in an eternal war without victories, mainstream media chooses scandal over news, and many of our legislators chose big business over the people. I ask you, are we better off today than we were 18 months ago? I also ask, just who is winning in this war against terrorism?
* * *
Just wishing that Bill Clinton would speak out more often. If there is some kind of "unwritten law" regarding a predecessor speaking out, it's time to executive order it out!! The people are losing and we need someone to speak for us. The people need a voice, someone who is not afraid of the truth, a leader, now! We are facing the most turmoil this country has ever seen. Time for sanity, intelligence, and experience to reign.
* * *
Read "Escape from hunger, fear in N. Korea," by Robert Marquand, staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor, for a glimpse into totalitarianism. One excerpt really caught my attention: "The binding cords of military and secret police, informers, and guards remain thickly interwoven, they say -– inside apartment complexes, on the street, in factories." Does this have a familiar ring? Can Americans look forward to the same? Is it possible that TIPS and a domestically involved military are the beginning of America's own "axis of evil"? Just wondering.
* * *
Hmm, where there's smoke there's fire! Cheney is relatively incognito while there are questions regarding his reign at Halliburton. Fundraising is the only endeavor that brings him out of the caves. Could it be he's attempting to duck public scrutiny of his double dealings? All those secrets, all that "bidness" with Iraq, all that support of Arthur Anderson's aggressive accounting, all that talk about how the government had nothing to do with his business success (only billions in government contracts) makes one wonder! Where are all those investigations the Repugs are so fond of having? When the crimes are serious and robbing the public is an issue, the Repugs disappear into that nether world from whence they came!
* * *
July 24, 2002
Our civil rights and civil liberties are being obliterated by the nincompoop in the White House. Our life savings are wiped out, the stock market is tanking, and now the nitwit is trying to wipe out Social Security. America better wake up because the Bushies and the Repuglican party are quickly erasing everything American. They run around spouting patriotism, with their hands in our pockets and Ashcroft in our bedrooms. Will we wonder what happened when they've squeezed out of us every last dollar and every freedom we ever had? A fascist is staring us in the face and he is determined to ruin us all.
* * *
Tom Delay continues to smear and scandalize. This exterminator needs some delousing himself. Those who yell the loudest are the ones who have the most to hide. Ohhh, the roaches in this man's closet would have some stories to tell.
* * *
I have been under the assumption that attacking Iraq was for revenge, but it suddenly occurred to me that revenge is not the motive. It is to prove a point -- it is a son proving to his father the son is a better man! Think about it, review past history and then realize that Americans are being sent to war risking their lives because of that age old competition between Poppy and son! Our future lies in the hands of an immature son competing with his father. We are in trouble.
* * *
When the Ken Lays in this country get to walk away with millions and 85-year-old women have to get jobs, we all know there's something wrong in the White House. It is despicable that senior citizens have lost their hard earned life-savings and friends of Bush are awash in luxury. Then, to top it all off, the Repugs don't want to give any real help in acquiring life saving medication for the elderly in our country. It stinks, and no amount of spin, rhetoric, or false patriotism will excuse those who protect the rich while ignoring hard working Americans.
* * *
July 23, 2002
On the one hand, I'm elated to see the poll numbers dropping for Dumbya, on the other, I'm terrified in anticipation of what next! I believe they will do anything to elevate his standing, and that's scary. It will take a miracle to save our country from this illegitimate bunch of boobs.
* * *
Gag me with a spoon -- no thank you to an invitation for "Coffee with Katherine." She did enough damage to democracy in Florida, I am eternally hopeful that she will not be given the same opportunity nationally.
* * *
With all the money and reforms going into "Homeland Security" and all the rhetoric about how we're "gonna get em" regarding the terrorists, isn't it interesting that the anthrax sender is still out there? How can we trust this bunch of boobs on the foreign front when they can't even take care of the crimes committed within our borders? Can we trust their judgment when it comes to an all out war with Iraq, when the evidence has not produced the perpetrator of anthrax? Are they trying hard to connect anthrax to Iraq in order to give them a basis for a "preemptive" attack? It's going to take more than rhetoric to give them credibility to launch a war, sending American sons and daughters to risk life and limb. I'm tired of the excuses and the cheerleading -- I want to see some results. We are paying dearly for the reign of this bogus administration.
* * *
Don't tell me the Bushies aren't doing anything for Enron! Where was all this outraged indignation when Enron was cooking the books? Where were all the reforms when the Enron employees lost their life's savings and the executives walked away with millions? Why wasn't Ken Lay pilloried in the same way as other corrupt CEOs? Silly me, I forgot, Kenny Boy is a good friend and ardent supporter -- both financially and otherwise -- of the Thief in Chief. Why in the world would anyone think prosecution? Of course, we will see a repeat performance of Harkengate. Kenny Boy should expect the same "form letter" that Dumbya received. After all, the head of the SEC is another friend appointed by the Bush family.
* * *
"It was always suspected that something was fishy, but not because of the Bush connection," says Gheit of Fahnestock. "That for a small company like Harken to be involved in foreign drilling operations getting concessions from foreign governments, things just didn't add up. A lot of people had suspected that this was a CIA front." "That particular point, of course, is just a rumor." An excerpt from an article at Fortune.com entitled "What Happened to Harken", by Andy Sewer. Just wondering if this might explain the mystery of who bought the stock? Hmmm!
* * *
July 22, 2002
An excerpt from an article in the Miami Herald regarding Janet Reno's Dance Party: "...Asked how he felt about the party, Bush spokesman Todd Harris, who attended, said: 'You don't want to be invited to someone's house for dinner and make a comment about how ugly the wallpaper is.'" The comment speaks for itself about ugly. It is a reflection of how ugly Bush and GOP politics is practiced. Ugly is as Ugly does.
* * *
If Congressional lawmakers think that Dumbya will play by the rules, then they are fooling themselves. Thus far this administration has governed as though they are judge, prosecutor, and jury. They have no intention of including Congress in any decisions. Dumbya has found the Executive Order pen, and has used it extensively, excluding Congress and public debate. His plan is to rule, not govern, and it's time the other members of government wake up. It's time for the checks and balances to begin. We are not being represented, we are being dictated to and Congress is failing us.
* * *
Not that I really believe it will make a difference, but would someone please tell Dumbya no one other than mainstream media is listening to his "cheerleading." Every time he opens his mouth, the stock market goes lower. Our life's savings have gone with the wind thanks to Dumbya's economic policies. To say we've been here before, when Poppy was leading the charge, would be an understatement. These guys only know how to line their own pockets, while everyone else gets in the soup lines. Where's all that compassion, where's all that good ole boy shtick, what happened to responsibility? All I see is greed, corruption, inexperience, and less than intelligent blather coming from our so-called leader.
* * *
Mainstream media at it's finest -- CNN is overplaying "men's menopause," while the economy is tanking! Somehow, this kind of programming seems to be covering the mistakes caused by those males suffering "male menopause." Perhaps the economy can now be blamed on those paragons of business and government afflicted with menopause.
* * *
If, as one article suggests, Dumbya were to get rid of Pitt, O'Neill, and White, then order Cheney to speak out on Halliburton, Dumbya's "dirty laundry" would become evident to the American people. He really isn't in charge, he really doesn't know what he's doing, and someone else really has been running things. The guy is not capable of governing, why do you think he would prefer to be a dictator? He doesn't have what it takes and he really isn't a nice guy.
