Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Babs Watch I
This is part of an ongoing series that keeps an eye on America’s favorite singer-turned-pseudo-intellectual, Babs (Barbra) Streisand. Awhile back when checking the Drudge Report (www.drudgereport.com), I saw a link to a story about Babs calling to impeach President Bush. (Where was she when Clinton was unzipping his fly whenever anyone with an XX chromosome came within arms distance?) The link took me to this songstress’ own blog site, and judging by what I saw there, I’d say she is certainly putting this latest technology to use. Sounds good, but…
Before continuing, I have to warn some of you that “Babs Watch” has no jiggling babes or hunky lifeguards. Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhof are nowhere to be found. This is strictly about that “Funny Lady” who has been regaling us for decades with her nasally renditions of such hits as “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “People.”
Now that the jiggle and hunk fans have moved on, for the rest of you I want to fill you in on Babs’ latest spewings. She doesn’t have the nerve to allow comments on her site, so this is the next best thing.
The first thing to address is Babs’ quote from Thomas Jefferson: “Dissent is the essential aspect of patriotism.” Interesting. Looks like Babs has fallen victim to a scam by historian Howard Zinn (according to About.com at http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/a/146858.htm). Actually, this quote is his, not Jefferson’s, at least according to The Etext Center at the University of Virginia Library (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/). Of course, even if she did fall for this distortion of Jefferson, she has the right to voice her opinions. Too bad she doesn’t want us to do the same by posting comments on her blogsite.
A good definition of “patriotism” can be found in Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary: “Love for or devotion to one’s country.” I guess Babs is using “tough love” on her country, beating us all into submitting to her ideas of right – or should I say far left?
At one point, she states that “Saddam Hussein had begun to comply with the administration's demands.” I’m not quite sure where she got that idea. What intelligence was she privy to that Congress and the President were not, and why didn’t she show it to them? Or is she saying that they were privy to this intelligence and shared it with her, just to show their appreciation for her long career in show business? Maybe she got the idea in the same place she bought the black, off-the-shoulder gown she is wearing in the queenly photo of herself (holding pink roses and sitting on a pink throne – er, chair) on her blogsite. Clearly, Hussein was a threat to this country and to the very freedom that Babs is abusing with her emotional tirades (not factual dissent or criticism). He certainly seems to have had a lot of liberals in this country, including Sean Penn, convinced that he was just a nice guy trying to do the best he could for his people, just like Castro (according to Chevy Chase).
Some more definitions of patriotism:
- The Free Dictionary (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/patriotism) - Love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it.
- Datasegment.com (http://onlinedictionary.datasegment.com/word/patriotism) - Love of country; devotion to the welfare of one's country; the virtues and actions of a patriot; the passion which inspires one to serve one's country. --Berkley. [1913 Webster]
I also came across an interesting “musing” on the definition of patriotism at http://www.headlinemuse.com/Politics/musingonpatriot.htm. Good reading.
As for impeaching President George W. Bush, we have to keep in mind that Babs is in the camp that supported Al Gore and then John Kerry, two Democratic candidates that couldn’t go the distance and convince the American people to vote for them. Even Democratic attempts to keep military members’ absentee ballots from being counted in Florida did them no good in keeping the White House in their party’s hands. A lot of boo-hooing has gone on since then, with Babs wailing as loudly as any of them.
My guess is that Babs just needs a stronger sleep aid. Then, she won’t be online spewing her liberal pea soup at the world. The latest is her disappointment with the editors of the L.A. Times for cutting down her overly long letter. Gee, Babs, they do it to us, too. Get over it.
Copyright © 2005 A.C. Cargill
