June 23, 2010 by barbara 
barbara writes
I’ve been thinking, which is always just a little bit dangerous. Especially to those who are willing to listen, engage and talk back.
Lately, I’ve been thinking that there needs to be a community service component attached to the BP disaster. I figure if a kid who TPs a few trees while drinking some lite beer has to do time, the BP thing is exponentially more worthy of recompense.
Here’s my idea.
I’ve been thinking that every day until the oil leak is verifiably stopped for some as yet unnamed but protracted period of time, the BP executives – and by the way, given the company’s world view, BP probably stands for Big People, as opposed to the Small People whose lives they’ve trashed – the dudes and the occasional dudette at the top of the BP food chain should be required to take a daily dip in the Gulf. Full immersion required. Sadly, there is more.
June 23, 2010 by barbara barbara writes
Quick thought on the fly:
It will not surprise me if Gen. Stanley McChrystal's next career move brings him into close proximity to teabags. Just sayin'.
June 20, 2010 by barbara 
barbara writes
Father’s Day, happy. I wish that for you, whether you’re a dad, child of a dad, spouse or lover of a dad, or watched “Father Knows Best,” and used that as the standard for how a dad might be.
A bittersweet day for barbara. You know, our culture easily (if superficially) acknowledges the anguished relationships that, for some, make Mother’s Day a dicey holiday. Not so much with fathers.
Ah, don’t go away. I’m not going to go all wounded inner child on you. But the day certainly brings to mind my own father, who was a very mixed bag kinda guy.
A farm boy growing up. College grad, D.D.S. U.S. Navy officer, serving during WWII on Guam and Okinawa, among other vacation destinations. An exceptional dentist. Severely smart. Generous to a fault. Alcoholic. There's more.
June 08, 2010 by barbara 
barbara writes
I seem to have an uncanny knack for backing the wrong horse and then watching the winner lose the whole magilla and/or trash our country.
So it will not surprise you to know that my whole-hearted support of R.T. Rybak for governor and subsequent developments have left me (and likely many others) with no small amount of PTSD.
For those of you beyond the bounds of Minnesota Wonderland, let me give you some back story. Read on.
June 05, 2010 by barbara 
Alan Anderson writes
So here we all are, struggling to understand what's happening in the Gulf regarding the huge oil spill. It’s very important to know who the players are and what they represent.
BP (formally British Petroleum and the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) is the largest company in Britain. Along with the US CIA, BP was involved in the overthrow of a democratically elected government in Iran after they nationalized the oil industry without compensating AIOC.
BP has donated more than $5 million to political campaigns since 1990, giving 72% to Republicans and 28% to Democrats. They spent $16 million dollars on lobbyists in 2009. They have been fined three times for safety violations—one of those related to the 2005 explosion in Texas that killed 15 workers and injured 150 more. They were fined $87 million by OSHA and placed on probation. A review of the company found organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the corporation.
Another corporation involved in the Gulf disaster is Houston-based Halliburton, an oil servicing company. Former VP Cheney was their CEO from 1995-2000. Read on.