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Bye-Bye
Oh Four (12/31/04)
New Year’s Eve is such an arbitrary
moment. Like most holidays. It’s not like we’re at a low, mid or
high point in the sun’s cycle. But we make resolutions, most of which
will never be kept, and we drink champagne and we watch revelers
carousing in Times Square and elsewhere.
The
Last Week (12/30/04)
Now the latest from that wonderful week
between Christmas and New Year’s when fathers chop up their families
with the electric carving knife they got under the tree; nope, not this
year. But there is a lot of news, which most people will miss because
they’re so busy with the business of the holidays... specifically,
re-gifting.
Liberal
and Smart (12/29/04)
But they went overboard, and in their
zeal, squandered public support and jeopardized much of what they had
accomplished. Their problem was that they lacked the self-discipline and
awareness to mitigate progress with the natural intransigence of the
less conscious.
Mayhem
(12/28/04)
Methinks we need a political mayhem
law, one which punishes in draconian fashion those elected, appointed,
and hired government types who act against the public interest.
Bits
& Pieces
(12/27/04)
No, it’s not an emergency; the people
who call are just remarkably dense. By the way, the number of calls to
the CHP’s Bay Area dispatch center over the past twenty years has
risen from nine thousand annually to eight million. Remember when
silence was golden?
Meaning
to Christmas
(12/24/04)
I’d like to feel good about
Christmas, but circumstances don’t seem to warrant it. Maybe when we
restore the Christ Consciousness it will be time again. But in the
meantime, a heartfelt Merry Christmas to all.
Sing
from the Hearts
(12/23/04)
I remember liking from a young age many
songs whose sounds I would cheerfully mouth but whose precise, and
sometimes general, meaning was never an issue. One favorite was a
Thanksgiving song which talked about chastening. I didn’t know what
that meant.
Bits
& Pieces
(12/22/04)
The bill was $255. But because I
didn’t have medical insurance -- just hospitalization -- when I
resubmitted the bill at their behest, it was only $143. Apparently
that’s not uncommon, but it is nuts.
Oh,
Canada
(12/21/04)
The week after the November elections,
the number of Americans inquiring about becoming Canadians went through
the roof. For a lotta folks, it had to have been intriguing to discover
that our neighbor to the north isn’t just colder; they’re kinda
smart.
Tradition
(12/20/04)
The sun didn’t go anywhere, it was
the Earth’s orbit that turned back in the other direction. Which is a
better way of putting it since if you stand really far back, like at the
edge of the universe, there ain’t really no north or south. Probably
not even an up and down.
Values-Schmalues
(12/17/04)
The implication that Bush voters have
higher moral values is an obscenity in itself. People who voted for the
incumbent -- whose record of evasion and invasion was probably the worst
in our history -- don’t have a clue about morality. They voted on the
basis of ignorance, greed, and fear.
Limits
to Privilege
(12/16/04)
Being a journalist has some privileges
when it comes to keeping secrets. At least it did. But a couple of cases
in the news are underscoring the complexities that can arise when
privilege is claimed and the government objects.
Vote
for Voting (12/15/04)
The U.S., along with the rest of the
civilized world, supported Yuschenko, who is viewed as a liberal. We
apparently poured $65 million into getting him elected. Russia opposed
him. Now relations with Putin’s government have soured.
Don't
Shoot 'Em But...
(12/14/04)
I used to toss out the phrase
"Shoot ‘em" when I’d encounter people acting badly.
Usually theirs wasn’t a heinous offense in the general scheme of
things; not like invading foreign countries or torturing prisoners.
The
Rummy Deal (12/13/04)
Why didn’t the military provide the
properly-plated vehicles from the get-go? Why did it take this question
-- a public challenge to their chief -- to get the Pentagon off the
armorless dime? And who really thinks the military is going to keep up
appearances after the story leaves the front pages?
Strained
Mercy (12/10/04)
Very disappointed doesn’t seem very
reasonable. Surely if a governor who has signed plenty of death warrants
sees a reason to allow for a re-examination of the evidence, it should
be incumbent upon the prosecutor to say, By all means.
"The
Scream"
(12/09/04)
There was a story about The New
Republic’s lead editorial decrying Dean’s bid to head the
Democratic National Committee, saying America thinks of him as "an
unhinged screamer, arrogant Northeasterner and anti-war activist."
Hmmm, Dean might be just what the DNC needs.
Odds
& Ends (12/08/04)
Dylan: "It's a feeling you have
that you know something about yourself that nobody else does....It's
kind of a thing you kind of have to keep to your own self, because it's
a fragile feeling. And if you put it out there, somebody will kill
it."
Evolution
and Spirit (12/07/04)
There is impeccable science behind
evolution, but there are also some significant holes in Darwin’s
story. However, the Biblical story, while entertaining, is all holes.
There is no science behind it.
Anchors
Away (12/06/04)
Had their focus been on journalism
instead of their pompous self-importance, they might have raised enough
questions about why our public schools were being flushed into academic
incompetence and prevented the virtual collapse of the world’s
once-greatest education system.
Bits
& Pieces
(12/03/04)
The "Fountain" is simply and
only an ordinary white porcelain urinal, and the experts decided it was
more significant than, among other choices, Andy Warhol's screen prints
of Marilyn Monroe and Picasso’s "Guernica."
Letter
from New York
(12/02/04)
Circulating on the Internet is a letter
from a New Yorker directed at the people of the red states. She speaks
bitterly of the stupidity of the people who voted Bush in for the next
four years, decrying their unconscionable endorsement of his obscene
Iraq war and tragic domestic politics.
This
Democracy Thang
(12/01/04)
This democracy thang has some wrinkles
in it, at least as far as it’s being practiced. Let’s acknowledge
right off the bat, as Churchill observed, that it is a terrible form of
government, albeit the best we have. The essential problems lie in its
principle components -- the people -- those who vote and those who count
the votes.
The
Obscenity of War
(11/30/04)
People in uniform think they have
special authority because they put their lives on the line. They think
they know more because they are the ones who do the fighting. They think
that civilians know less, are worth less, and don’t have a right to
question them.
The
Left Out (11/29/04)
In fact there are a whole lot of
otherwise-intelligent people who, inundated with innuendo and falsehood,
day after day, week after week, year after year, without hearing the
facts in context, now believe very important things that aren’t true.
Turkey
Trot (11/26/04)
The children seem to be having a great
time, running ahead and back, waiting for their parents to catch up. I
used to think that their noisy enthusiasm made it hard to hear the
deeper voice from within. This Thanksgiving I realized that it’s the
same voice.
Thanks
a Bunch (11/25/04)
Over the river and through the woods,
but not to grandmother’s house I go. Don’t have one. Not gonna have
a turkey, either. But I’ll drive over the Navarro River and through
the magnificent redwoods, singing along with Arlo Guthrie’s
"Alice’s Restaurant" on the CD player.
The
Foundation for Peace
(11/24/04)
Courtesy is the foundation for peace.
Granted, there are those who aren’t interested in peace. Psychotic
religious types and right-wing nutzis among that crowd, but most healthy
hearts and minds truly yearn for peace.
Obscenity
(11/23/04)
The Federal Communications Commission
is rankled over ABC’s opening video for MondayNightFootball last week.
Described as "steamy" the intro shows a naked actress -- from
the back, above the waist -- jumping into the arms of a football player.
The
Gaia Principle
(11/22/04)
It ain’t so popular in our
take-control world but from time immemorial a theory has intruded itself
that says the Earth is a living entity. It’s called the Gaia Principle
-- Gaia being from the Greek meaning Earth -- and it sees our dear Blue
Planet as a self-contained ecosystem.
Ding-A-Lings
(11/19/04)
There may be more corrupt people than
those managing the cellphone business but they would have to be in the
Bush Administration. The fone folks spend huge sums on advertising,
signing up sheep in droves using full page newspaper ads and an
incessant babble on television and radio.
Fries
with That? (11/18/04)
If you are ever of the mind to think
that religion should live without restraints, uh, you’re wrong.
Let’s start with how the wing-nuts are cheerleading Armageddon. They
are taking delight in the notion that most of us will soon be pitched in
a lake of fire. That’s not a very Christian thought, is it?
Honor
the Veterans
(11/17/04)
It used to be called Armistice Day. An
end to the slaughter that was World War One was declared at the eleventh
hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It was the war to end
all wars, though of course not for long.
Circular
Firing Squad
(11/16/04)
A principal reason why the Dems lost,
again, was because they are incessantly divided. Their over-broad multi-culturalism,
over-the-top inclusiveness has meant a vanilla-ization of anything
resembling a platform of principles.
Why
Are We Here?
(11/15/04)
You have to think that the world, with
all its economic and military alliances bristling with death, might do a
better job of unseating virulent despots and of ending and preventing
wars. Of course, you have to want the world to be a better place. You
can’t install and prop up psychopaths the way the US did, for example,
with Saddam.
The
Old Man and the See
(11/12/04)
There are still some people out there
with the resources -- financial and intellectual -- to be who aren’t
yet on-line. Like my father, who’s pushing 81, and probably thinks the
learning curve is too great for the time he might have left. Or else
it’s just his patent intransigence refined over eight decades.
The
Need for Laws
(11/11/04)
We must remind each other of our hopes and aspirations for a healthy and productive society so that when opportunities arise to share higher aspirations -- when the need appears to defend good against evil -- we don’t have to dig into our consciousness to come up with a response.
Bits
& Pieces
(11/10/04)
Authorities are trying to figure out why an
F-16 fighter pilot strafed a New Jersey school with 20mm cannon fire in
the middle of the night last week. Two dozen rounds were fired, eight
penetrating a classroom, no one was hurt. There was a target area
several miles away.
The
Bush Mandate
(11/09/04)
Last week, when some special people were in
considerable pain, I put out to them that they shouldn’t feel so sick.
There was a reason to look at the same facts from an alternative
perspective I said, and no, not be happy, but at least see a good reason
not to be so blue.
Neener,
Neener, Neener
(11/08/04)
I was disappointed to receive an email from him
the day after the election which read in huge letters: "Neener!
Neener! Neener! Need I say More. The people have spoken!" No, I
don’t think you need to say more, old friend. Your version of the
Christ Consciousness and mine aren’t found in the same libraries of
the soul.
The
Serpents Tale
(11/05/04)
Okay, we’ll go back to the rattler
theory which needed just a touch of modification because there were no
rattles. A little thing like that shouldn’t hold back the intrepid
raconteur, however; clearly, the critter had been caught, tail high, by
the blade of a lawn mower, recently passed.
Lots
to Do (11/04/04)
There are some folks out there kinda
unhappy with the results of the voting on Tuesday. There’s gonna be a
whole lot more folks a whole lot more unhappy when the results of the
voting are seen up close and personal down the road just a bit.
I
Tremble for My Country
(11/03/04)
I had actually thought that the mass of
new registrations and the push by the progressive organizations would
mean something good at the polls. That the larger turnout would be of
people hungry to get America back on track. That the heart of country
was sound.
A
Vote that Counts
(11/02/04)
It’s crazy in our
communications-saturated society that our citizens shouldn’t have to
cast their ballot in a timely and informed manner.
The
Cost of Free Speech
(11/01/04)
Almost thirty years ago, a liberal
Supreme Court ruled that money in politics was protected by free speech.
Corrupting the very notion of what is free speech, they dangerously
undermined our democratic process. As a result of that decision,
political investment in candidates became the norm.
Slipping
the Surly Bonds of Earth
(10/29/04)
Gaining the skills to launch a ton of
steel and me into the air, to soar above the birds and clouds, and bring
the aircraft back down to earth gently, usually, at seventy miles an
hour...I have not known greater excitement or satisfaction.
War
of People (10/28/04)
It’s a mark of the communications
revolution that while significantly fewer people are dying in the IraqAttaq
than did in previous wars, but the impact is significantly greater.
The media now make the killings somehow more personal in a maudlin sort
of way, humanizing statistics into a poignant sense of loss.
Take
Back America
(10/27/04)
We’ve added $1.7 trillion to the
national debt under this Administration, which works out to roughly
$14,000 the average taxpayer owes, on which he’s paying interest. We
have lost the trust of most of the planet; nations which were our allies
for decades now view us as not only odious but dangerous. We used to
have the finest education and health care systems and now we rank behind
most other developed nations.
Every
Vote Counts
(10/26/04)
My aunt lives in Florida and she was
planning to vote for Bush-Lite, thinking he was better for Israel. But
last week she told me that she’s changed her mind. She doesn’t like
the idea that Bush believes God is speaking through him -- she doesn’t
like the messianic arrogance -- and so will vote for Kerry.
Incurious
George (10/25/04)
Of all the complaints against The Bush
Boy -- there are a lot of them and most of them are justified -- the
most significant perhaps deals not with a particularly policy crime, but
a flaw in the man’s character. It’s the fact that he lacks
curiosity. He doesn’t even seem interested in the work of being
President of the United States.
The
Old Man (10/22/04)
There’s a vast difference between the
ways he and I were raised. For any complaints I might have, spoken or
not, recognized or not, I know I had it better. And that makes him feel
better...which makes me feel better, and still glad I didn’t have
children.
Vacation
in Books (10/21/04)
Last week I trekked East for a business
meeting and some time with my father. Being that I was trapped with a
coupla hunnert strangers in an aluminum cylinder for many hours, that
the meeting was only forty minutes, and my father and I can only take so
much time together, I wound up with the time to devour a stack of books.
The
Lone Star Iconoclast
(10/20/04)
What the Iconoclast did was a
credit to the profession. It’s unfortunate that more papers, including
some of the big ones -- and especially the broadcast media -- don’t
hold themselves to the same high standards. If they told the facts as
the Iconoclast did, their wouldn’t be a race.
Sick
to Death (10/19/04)
It’s up to HHS to make sure that
people get their shots and that there are shots to get. They failed
miserably on the flu vaccines, apparently covering up prior knowledge
that there would be a shortage. It’s a pattern with this
administration.
The
Name of Death
(10/18/04)
The 3,000 people who died in the
terrorist attacks got on planes or went to work in normal fashion and
were brutally murdered, but they weren’t heroes, as they were
subsequently portrayed, they were victims.
Osama
on the Rocks
(10/15/04)
The head of marketing and development
for Al Qaeda thought now would be a good time to pile on the CIA, which
for the past three years has been saying the tapes delivered to Al
Jazeera were probably Osama. Wrongo.
The
UnChristian President
(10/14/04)
The healthy believer contributes his
own mind and heart, participating in the creation of today and tomorrow,
for his sake, his children’s and posterity. It is this cosmic dance
that gives purpose to his life; a worthy god would demand no less.
The
Boys of Fall
(10/13/04)
It’s hard to tell by the way they
play, but looking at the faces, it doesn’t seem likely the two teams
could field both an I and a Q. I think if they were ever to add a base
or changed the route around the diamond, half the players would wash
out.
Networks
of Shame (10/12/04)
The familiar rap is that they are
whores for the huge corporations that have a financial stake in
preserving the status quo. Perhaps, or it may just be that they are
overpaid, egotistical, intellectual cowards.
Thoughtless
Intelligence
(10/11/04)
Despite even conservative Republican
Senators denouncing the CIA, all we hear is a lotta talk but we don’t
see anyone taking any real action, on either side of the aisle.
Bits
& Pieces
(10/08/04)
Unrepentant is an artist who created a
mural for the outside of the Livermore, California, library in which she
misspelled eleven of 175 names, including those of Einstein,
Shakespeare, Van Gogh and Michelangelo.
Vice
President Bush
(10/07/04)
A lotta folks probably don’t remember
five years ago the gee-willickers tone of George Bush’s announcement
that he’d decided to go with Dick Cheney to be his vice president.
Cheney had been in charge of his vice presidential selection committee
and couldn’t find anyone. It was a ridiculous charade albeit
well-designed.
The
Siren Fog (10/06/04)
When the fog settles in like that, the
ceiling drops to a hundred feet, if that, and horizontal visibility is
maybe a quarter-mile. The fog doesn’t reach very high, probably less
than five-thousand feet, and it’s only in pockets. I can hear the
occasional small plane flying above and around the heavy grey clouds.
Anchors
Away (10/05/04)
Did you see those hoity-toity
anchormen? Anchors indeed as they have brought television news to such
lows. They confabbed over the weekend in a show of support for the dirt
in the memo-maligned CBS eye.
President
on Stage (10/04/04)
This debate, watched by more than 60
million, may be viewed as the turning point in the campaign. John Kerry
showed America, on both an intellectual and visceral level, that he is
presidential in stature and character, much more so than the man with
whom he shared the stage.
Useful
Scholarship
(10/01/04)
Jackson is an interesting figure in our
culture to be sure but I wonder with all that is going on in our world
today if he is worth a conference. Apparently the guy who organized it
thinks so. Jackson, he said, "in many ways is the black male
crossover artist of the 20th century."
Not
Just Poor (09/30/04)
Here where the streets are paved in
gold, more Americans are walking in the gutter. Despite our wealth and
the power of our national economy, more of our fellow citizens are
slipping into poverty, especially children and blacks.
Questions
for Debate (09/29/04)
Finally, sir, have you come up with
anything yet that you might have done or not over the past for years
that you now regret?
Baring
Breast and Soul
(09/28/04)
Topping the hypocrisy were the absurd
theatrics of the FCC, which first took eight months to study the matter
and then leveled the meaningless half-million dollar fine. For goodness
sakes, the last thirty-second commercials that found slots during that
Superbowl cost advertisers more than $2,000,000 apiece.
Television
Mind (09/27/04)
They call this entertainment as they
bathe themselves in the stupidity, the deceit and the aspirations of
low-life characters and then embody these destructively low standards.
Of course they would vote for Bush over Kerry.
Bits
& Pieces
(09/24/04)
The folks in Wisconsin have got to be
chafing at the bovine bit a bit. Known forever as cheeseheads, they are
projected to lose the crown as the nation’s leading cheese producer to
the "Got Milk?" folks in California.
Always
a Next Time?
(09/23/04)
With only six weeks before the
election, a number of very bright, politically-astute friends are
increasingly upset about the Kerry campaign, and with good reason. They
question not only the tactics of the candidate but the candidate himself
-- his character and ability.
The
CBS Mess (09/22/04)
Had CBS been practicing journalism for
the past two decades, they probably wouldn’t have been snookered. But
the fact is that the substance of their information was dead on, and CBS
still lacks the substance to bring that point home.
An
Undecided Voter
(09/21/04)
Many people were, and even Pat
Buchanan, who was the recipient of thousands of errant voters,
acknowledged the situation. One speculates that if the authorities had
offered a normal ballot that Gore would have carried Palm Beach County
by a margin large enough to deprive Bush of his stolen election.
Don't
Hate Bush (09/20/04)
Hatred would be a fatal distraction. We
need to win by going deeper, being smarter and by convoking the best of
our people to overwhelm the worst.
Wood
Anniversary
(09/17/04)
Last month marked five years of
SetonnoteS. Since starting my weekdaily columns, I’ve written, posted
and emailed over 1300 commentaries on a wide variety of topics, sourced
by a seemingly-limitless pool of impulses, thoughts and moods.
Bits
& Pieces
(09/16/04)
Charging the pictorial was pornography,
the group claimed the store was responsible, even though the employees
self-selected, were shot on their own time, and none was from
Farmingdale.
Don't
Fox with Me
(09/15/04)
The anger is mindless, fomented by
their remarkably, dangerously narrow thinking coaxed further into ugly
darkness by the Rovian propaganda machine, abetted by the media
wing-nuts who have given up all pretense of truth.
Perfidious
Prevaricator
(09/14/04)
If people
haven’t grok’d how dangerous this man is by now, Jesus, Mary and
Joseph wouldn’t likely convince them either. However, if you perchance
run across someone who seems wavering, you might toss a couple of
thoughts in their direction. Carefully, so you don’t overtax them.
From
Grief to Purpose
(09/13/04)
We took a wrong turn after the
terrorist attacks. We failed to ask what provoked them. We blindly
followed a depraved president and ovine legislators. It is
understandable, of course, but it was not the right course.
Flying
Pig Farm (09/10/04)
Of course, it wouldn’t have to be an
actual flood. A nice plague would probably do the trick and judging from
reports about the so-called bird flu infecting pigs in China, we may
already have witnessed the beginning of the end.
Character
as Prologue
(09/09/04)
Character is prologue. The record of
the Bush administration on every issue -- Iraq, education, the economy,
health care, the environment, global relations -- is an unmitigated
disaster. America owes itself and the world a decent president in the
White House.
A
New Civil War
(09/08/04)
She wrote, "aren't you glad that
the good ole US of A rescued the jews. Isn't Saddam just as disgusting
as Hitler was??? I also feel that our invasion of Iraq sent a very
STRONG message to all the world we aren't going to just sit back."
Political
Prostitution
(09/07/04)
It’s not because they are Republican
that these whores are performing for their pimp. It’s because they
lack character, like all too many whom we’ve elected to lead us, from
both parties.
Bolero
(09/06/04)
What was compelling beyond the music,
performance and production was what a wonderful model this show would be
for children. Here was a huge orchestra, an assembly of individuals, all
dressed in white over black. Serious, dignified, focused, talented; most
stoic, at least two in a pre-writhing condition.
The
Bush Coronation
(09/03/04)
Waiting to watch The Bush Boy address
the Republican faithful was akin to facing ttraffic school. Attending
eight hours of the latter was actually like earning $100 a hour, because
my car insurance wouldn’t go up, but facing the coronation was rancid
anticipation.
Head
Wounds (09/02/04)
Kerry was right; he still is. The
veterans, out of guilt or ignorance, are wrong. Vietnam was a travesty.
Iraq is a travesty. And any vets so stupid and venal as to support Bush
forget the principles for which they allegedly fought.
Did
They Know? (09/01/04)
While I think more people were involved
in the John Kennedy assassination than just Lee Harvey Oswald, I’m not
generally a conspiracy theorist. Which is why I’ve not mentioned the
talk about the Bushies knowing that the Nine-Eleven terrorist attacks
were coming and didn’t do anything about them. Until now.
Fat...So?
(08/31/04)
One reason for the poor job by the Ag
experts is that more than half their number have ties to industries that
get rich making us fat. For example, they don’t see anything wrong
with our sugar consumption. Sugar, said a spokes-deceiver for the sugar
industry, is in all sorts of healthy foods.
Wuss-Ass
Donkeys (08/30/04)
If you just started paying attention to
American politics the last few years, you couldn’t be faulted for
thinking that Democrats means castrati. The incredible lack of cohones
the donkey party has shown since the Republicans took control has been
worse than disgraceful, it’s hurt our country badly.
Loving
the Cockpit
(08/27/04)
With due apologies to my favorite
ex-wife, the most important thing I ever did in my life was learning to
fly. I got my private pilot’s license when I was 49 and picked up my
instrument rating 20 months later. That, according to the FAA, means
that I can fly blind, that is, in and through clouds.
Felonious
DNA (08/26/04)
I don’t have a problem with
everyone’s DNA being on file, if it would clear up crimes and identify
bodies. I also think a national ID card would be a practical idea. It
wouldn’t impinge on the innocent and would help to get the guilty off
the streets.
Keeping
Score (08/25/04)
The super-rich -- also greedy and
murderous -- among Venezuela’s big landowners forced a recall of
Chavez and got considerable help from their nefarious allies to the
north. But the people saw through the subterfuge and came out in
enormous numbers to keep their president in office.
Vote
the Man (08/24/04)
It is really a mythic struggle. Do we
pick the street-smart macho bully or the mushy palavering egghead? Four
years ago we chose right, barely, but they stole the election. And this
time the stakes are even more dire.
Bits
& Pieces
(08/23/04)
From political shame to religion...not
a big step. Especially for the Catholic church. In New Jersey, an
eight-year-old girl has been denied communion because she can’t eat
the wafers. She has an acute allergy to wheat and they won’t let her
substitute a rice wafer.
Trailer
Park Weather
(08/20/04)
When you think about it, the death toll
from Charley -- said to be 22
-- is hard on those who died and their survivors, but compared to the
number of people who are regularly killed by hurricanes in places like
Bangladesh -- those numbers climb into the thousands, quickly -- you
have to think we’re doing something right.
Institutionalized
Relationships
(08/19/04)
I’ve long been mixed on the idea of
homosexual marriages. Not because I don’t think anyone and everyone
should be allowed to engage in whatever sort of non-injurious
relationship they like, but because I don’t think the state should be
involved in the process.
Muddled
Man (08/18/04)
The governor of New Jersey announced
last week that he will step down this fall because he’d been having an
affair. There’s more to the story, of course. He’s in his second
marriage, and the affair was with another man.
Huff
'n Puffin' (08/17/04)
One of my favorite Peanuts
cartoons featured Linus asking Charlie Brown if he didn’t ever get the
urge to jump up and run around and kick a ball. Charlie Brown says yes,
he got such a feeling. And what did you do? asked Linus. I lay down and
waited for the feeling to go away.
Dear
Mr. God... (08/16/04)
Dear Mr. God, I hear that you take
requests, at least under advisement, and that you look most favorably
upon those that are appeals for justice. I have a short list of requests
that I think are worthy of the highest attention, since by acceding to
them, you could significantly advance social consciousness on our Dear
Planet Earth.
Bits
& Pieces
(08/13/04)
The prosecution in the Scott Peterson
case has been taking it in the chops like a punching bag. Their case may
not have fallen completely apart for lack of evidence and
breath-catching mishandling, but according to courtroom wags, it’s
hanging by a thread.
Loon
Politics (08/12/04)
So they pitched Keyes, who doesn’t even live
in Illinois, and he said he’d think about it for a few days, which he
did, and somehow convinced himself that he would get something out of
this quixotic venture. What it is is not clear. He’s gonna have his
clock cleaned by Barack Obama, the skyrocketing Democrat who’s got a
good chance to be the first black in the White House.
People
in the News
(08/11/04)
Former Vietnam POW Republican Senator
John McCain was knocked out of the 2000 presidential race by scurrilous
commercials run by the Bush campaign. This spring, he was mentioned as a
possible Democratic vice-presidential candidate. Then he showed up with
The Bush Boy on the campaign trail.
October
Surprise (08/10/04)
It’s called the October surprise.
When one of the campaigns running for the White House suddenly pops a
big event just before election day, designed to secure the vote. The
Reagan folks coffin-nailed Jimmy Carter by convincing the Iranians not
to release the American hostages until the inauguration.
Bits
& Pieces
(08/09/04)
Political sensitivities were
indeliberately trod upon in London by a still-born a advertising
campaign in the Underground. Authorities put up posters featuring a man
surrounded by salami, strings of sausages and Parma hams, above the
words "Please don't eat smelly food."
Making
Enemies Abroad
(08/06/04)
We have done so by propping up
dictatorships, selling weapons to murderous regimes and sabotaging the
efforts of indigenous people to gain their freedom and to organize
democracies. We have jack-booted our way across Asia, Africa and South
America, leaving a shameful trail of abuse and repression.
Hot
Air Balloons
(08/05/04)
It wasn’t really a meeting of minds,
as it used to be; it was a coronation. It was tightly controlled by the
party and the Kerry campaign and it was all but ignored by the
mainstream media. Therein, the American public wasn’t well served.
In
Other News (08/04/04)
First they said, Oh wow, they knocked
it down a hundred billion dollars. No one bit. Then they said, Oh, um,
it’s gonna be around $425 billion, then $445 billion...the largest in
history, by a lot.
Bits
& Pieces
(08/03/04)
Finally, on the lighter side, passing a
local library I saw a listing on their message board that read T-U-E-D-S
at 7:30 CAN AMERICA STILL COMPETE. It’s gonna be tough to compete if
librarians can’t abbreviate Tuesday.
Gulled
(08/02/04)
No one likes to be shat upon,
figuratively or literally. It happened to me more than once, and I’m
not talking figuratively. Once, way back when in the 8th or 9th
grade, I was walking between school buildings and splat; I’d been
pigeoned.
A
Clear Choice
(07/30/04)
John Kerry delivered a fine speech. He
probably picked up a good chunk of the undecideds and solidified a big
part of his Democratic base. The polls will probably give him a bounce
of a few points.
Cash-Corrupted
Congress (07/29/04)
Money isn’t bad in itself but for two
long now bad people have used it to corrupt our government, and
jeopardize our future. If we don’t act quickly, we will lose our
cherished democratic republic.
The Manichaean Candidate
(07/28/04)
Okay, but if people can not escape
their conscience, and the essential human qualities of decency and
morality do speak to even the worst people when they sleep, I pondered
what might play in Bush-Lite’s brain when the waking part was on the
sidelines. Try this out.
A
Parallel Universe
(07/27/04)
In case you weren’t in Dublin for the
17th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation, and
missed the presentation by Stephen Hawking, here’s your chance to
catch up. Yeah, right. First, will all you who actually read "A
Brief History of Time" stand up and all of you who understood
it...yeah right.
Hostage
to Terror (07/26/04)
Our individualistic notions have
shredded any real sense of national community. Many of us don’t know
our neighbors. And that has made us increasingly vulnerable to attacks
from within our midst, from both basic criminals and international
terrorists.
The
Hole Truth (07/23/04)
It’s tough to stay informed these
days, but we’ve seen, particularly over the past three years, what
happens when we don’t.
Real
Politick (07/22/04)
If I had the ear of the Democratic
candidate for president, I’d suggest to him that he eschew the
traditional advice of preaching to the moderates and instead he should
campaign on the basis of what’s right...what will get our nation back
on track. And I’m not talking generalities.
Intelligence
Security Hogwash
(07/21/04)
We’re spending tens of billions of
dollars a year on a security farce. I mean, Do you feel safer than you
did four years ago?
Bits
& Pieces
(07/20/04)
The EPA claimed they are making great
progress cleaning up North America’s largest estuary, but
unfortunately they were wrong. They were using a computer model based
on, um, optimistic premises. Actual testing of the water showed that
they had "significantly overstated" their achievements.
Come
On, John (07/19/04)
I have followed Kerry since his Vietnam
Vets Against the War days and written about him as a real White House
hopeful since 1981. His run for the presidency, however, has left me
with a half-grimace.
Slut
TV (07/16/04)
These shows must attract at least a
minimal audience, otherwise they wouldn’t be on the air; they are also
remarkably inexpensive to produce. The willingness of the people to
participate in the first place suggests that they are had for next to
nothing; maybe dinner and a copy of the tape.
Darkness
in Sunshine
(07/15/04)
Statistics
are interesting props which fall into two basic categories; those that
mean or might mean something and those that are totally meaningless.
This latter group is where most statistics should be shelved.
Bits
& Pieces
(07/14/04)
Trump, a Republican who has considered
running for president, said he would have caught Osama bin Laden long
ago. Said The Donald, "Tell me, how is it possible that we can't
find a guy who's 6-foot-6 and supposedly needs a dialysis machine?"
"Distinctly
Native American Criminal Class"
(07/13/04)
Congress is spending more than they are
taxing us by hundreds of billions of dollars, dangerously leveraging our
future. We can no longer put up with this malfeasance. The decisions
made on Capitol Hill will tax our children to their knees. If we don’t
act now, they may never rise to their potential.
Lay,
Kenny, Lay (07/12/04)
Considering all the hardship he put
people through -- the savings lost, the businesses destroyed, the lives
ruined -- prison seems almost too good for Lay, for the just-convicted
Rigas at Adelphia, and the rest of the corporate sleazes. That said, I
don’t think the bracelets were necessary.
Nursing
Mushrooms (07/09/04)
Do you know about nursing mushrooms?
They grow up around a certain kind of orchid and actually nourish the
infant plant to maturity. At which point the teen-age orchid pushes the
mushrooms away. Now that sounds like a natural pattern, doesn’t it?
Ugly
American Redux (07/08/04)
As long as Bush and the other neoliths
acting in the name of the United States continue to carve out a role for
us as the world’s policeman, we will continue to be the world’s
target. We have so much to straighten out here at home anyway, we
don’t need to traipse around the world looking ugly to others.
Odds-'n-Ends
(07/07/04)
"The Tsunami," as Takeru
Kobayashi is called, set another hot-dog eating record. Beating his own
2002 record consumption by two, the 5-foot-7, 132-pound 26-year-old from
Nagano, Japan downed 53-1/2 hotdogs in 12 minutes at the annual Nathan’s
event on Coney Island.
Educate
to Peace (07/06/04)
It underscores the difference in
philosophy between the militaristic neo-cons and Kerry, who saw the
travesty of military malfeasance from the front lines. And consider,
too, that the military is used when reason fails. Also, the military
uses the under-educated to do the fighting and dying on the ground.
Unspackled
Innocence (07/02/04)
I’m more than willing to sacrifice
the whole sordid lot, not only the Bushes and their minions -- along
with Clinton for his grandiose negligence -- but also the vast majority
who have suckled at the Congressional teat over the past thirty years.
I’ll gladly throw in, too, the people who voted them into office for
the wrong reasons.
It
Ain't News (07/01/04)
Even if he were right about the liberal
media -- which if you don’t know it is a lie on its face and virtually
every study on the subject says it’s not true -- then it would still
be his job to tell the truth instead of trying to compensate.
Service
(06/30/04)
Looking up the word service in
my Bookshelf dictionary I found thirteen different definitions for the
noun, and four each for the verb and adjective forms. The meanings
ranged from military branches to copulation with a female, if that’s a
range. The derivation of the word service is from the Latin meaning
slavery.
Cheney,
Dick (06/29/04)
Cheney ducked around the rule -- he
does that so often -- saying that the Senate wasn’t formally in
session; just posturing for cameras. And it wouldn’t have mattered. As
the Vice President told his network the next day, he didn’t feel sorry
for the incident. Quoth he on Fox, our second in command, "I
expressed myself rather forcefully, felt better after I had done
it."
An
Important Film (06/28/04)
Anyone who sees Fahrenheit 9/11
and votes for Bush should have their head or heart examined. It’s not
the film itself but the facts -- not the opinions or ideas represented
but the very basic facts -- that make support of this president and his
policies a slander on the very notion of intellect and decency.
Slick
Willie Reducks (06/26/04)
The 957-page tomb which put a ten
million dollar advance in his pocket, was reportedly not easily
written, at least not from the publisher’s point of view. It is said
that Clinton was late in delivery, and judging from some of the comments
about the work, it sounds like something of a petulant memories dump.
Texas
Blood Lust (06/25/04)
Should be a slam-dunk, right? Sigh,
except that the attorney general’s office is opposing the commutation
petition. Said a spokesman, "we do not believe error existed during
the original trial proceedings." He didn’t explain what it would
take for the AG to consider a trial a travesty.
Middle
East Report (06/24/04)
On Capitol Hill, Dr. Strangelove was
insisting Iraq is not a Vietnam-type quagmire. "We're not
stuck," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz testified before
the House Armed Services Committee. But he admitted that he had no idea
when U.S. troops might come home from Iraq.
Strange
Bush-Fellows (06/23/04)
How will all of this play in the
presidential campaign? Bush’s supporters will have something to cling
to, even cheer, but for sentient beings, it all just hurries us along
the worry path, fondling the prayer beads, nursing the growing hope that
we will have a more truthful man in the White House on January 21st.
Every
Day Crooks (06/22/04)
There have been times when I have not
acted with impeccability though my failures were never against
individuals or small operations; more like stretching insurance
coverage. So perhaps this is some form of karmic payback. The cost in
dollars isn’t a fraction of the toll it took on me in worry and anger.
Unburdened
by Facts (06/21/04)
It just keeps getting worse, with the
new charges against Rumsfeld that he hid Iraqi prisoners from the Red
Cross for Tenet and further allegations that the United States is
maintaining dozens of secret prisons. Iraq is not going to go away. The
Bushies are. Would that they could go together.
Inerrantism
(06/18/04)
Do Bush and his handlers believe that
we are actually headed for Armageddon? Do they think they are supposed
to engineer their way to heaven and ours to hell? If that’s true and
they’re right, it’s time to pack the summer clothes.
"No
Credible Evidence"
(06/17/04)
So in that context, it’s rather
astounding that the commission is reporting that there is "no
credible evidence" of any connection between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda.
This while Dick Cheney has been saying as recently as this week that
there was a connection.
Bits
& Pieces (06/16/04)
"As Americans of faith, we express
our deep sorrow at abuses committed in Iraqi prisons. We stand in
solidarity with all those in Iraq and everywhere who demand justice and
human dignity. We condemn the sinful and systemic abuses committed in
our name, and pledge to work to right these wrongs."
Leaders
Recognized (06/15/04)
They were mostly activists -- at least
thoughtful people -- who glowed with an elevated level of consciousness
and purpose. Many wore non-designer fashions; purple was in profusion.
Just the kind of people who give nightmares to Cheney and Ashcroft. That
wasn’t their purpose although they wouldn’t have objected to the
result.
Secure,
Oh Yeah (06/14/04)
As far as homeland security is
concerned, the new department is little more than a military-lite
version, a bureaucratic boondoggle, a misnomer, a waste of $35 billion a
year...unless you manufacture duct tape or like getting felt up in long
lines at airports.
Bits
& Pieces (06/11/04)
Pew Research reports that Republicans
have lost considerable confidence in the news media since the current
occupant landed in the White House. They distrust the news much more
than Democrats. And it’s not just the so-called liberal media.
Hearse-Tails
(06/10/04)
It’s probably just palaver to
speculate about the effect of Reagan’s death on the election, as so
many other factors will play much more significant roles. But this point
should be made: much of politics is visceral.
Makes
Ya Sick (06/09/04)
For people with good insurance
coverage, the political back-‘n-forth on health care is of marginal
interest. For the policy makers who have excellent coverage, it’s
simply a political football, which gets tossed around to get votes. For
people who have no coverage, health care is a dire issue.
Reagan
Really (06/08/04)
Whatever his motivation, even if he was
affected by Alzheimer’s years before it was so announced, the fact is
that he presided over a significant diminution of America’s greatness,
the costs for which will be charged to generations to come.
World
Gone Mad-er (06/07/04)
A burly man with such unkempt hair and
beard he makes post rat-hole Saddam look coiffed, Cos got over his
cheese period about two years ago, he says, after he had sprayed five
tons of pepper jack over a vacant house in Wyoming.
The
Family Veep (06/04/04)
Oh, Dick, wake up and smell the manure.
You’re facing a revolt by conservatives in Congress over your Medicare
over-billing. Their worried that your arrogance is going to cost them
control...of both houses.
Growing
Up Secure (06/03/04)
It wasn’t that he always had good
news, or got the diagnosis right, but there was a certain comfort level
generated simply by who he was and what his patients thought he knew.
That sense of security is probably worth years of a healthy life,
regardless of what it’s based on, if the feeling is there.
Pokey
Time (06/02/04)
We have 715 per 100,000 residents in the pokey, compared to 114 in
Australia, 116 in Canada, 95 in France and 96 in Germany. Most of our
incarcerees are disproportionately of darker shades. Men outnumber women
13-to-one; in fact, one in every 75 U.S. males is behind bars.
Bits
& Pieces (06/01/04)
Time
magazine reports that The Bush Boy has the gun which Saddam Hussein had
with him, unloaded, when he was captured. It is displayed, along with
other memorabilia, in a small study off the Oval Office. As the magazine
noted, it’s the same room where Slick Willie displayed his, um, iron
to Monica Lewinsky.
Immemorial
Day (05/31/04)
So that leaves the question, who or
what will stop the terrorists this time? Not our keystone fops. They’re
too busy holding press conferences and futzing with the color chip
charts. They’re not in the trenches where the alligators play.
Cosby's
Courage (05/28/04)
Perhaps it shouldn’t have come as
such a surprise that at the commemoration ceremonies Cosby dropped a
bombshell. It was a bombshell because he told the truth when most people
didn’t want to hear it. He started by contrasting the civil rights
giants of early times with today's generation.
Bush
Mish Mash (05/27/04)
For three years they have layed down
for him, enabling his destruction of much that thinking people value,
like the environment, education, the economy and peace. But at last the
networks stood up and said This ain’t news so we’re not obligated to
put you on the air.
Fireworks
on The Bay (05/26/04)
Over the past few years, whether due to
aging or rebalancing or what, I have been able to go out on The Bay with
Peter without getting sick. I still don’t spend any time in the cabin,
but my voyages with him on deck are a true delight.
Growing
Sense of Dread (05/25/04)
For a while it was that you had to read
between the headlines to get a sense of the big picture. Now that
picture is has crept into the headlines, and it’s not very pretty. But
at least when it is in front of people in large type, fewer will be able
to ignore the facts and perhaps we will begin to deal with the tragedy
that threatens to engulf us.
Bits
& Pieces (05/24/04)
Several California lawmakers of the
Hispanic persuasion along with a bunch of activists took offense,
claiming that the ads somehow negatively stereotyped women of the Latin
American persuasion. Said one negativist, "As a Latina, I'm tired
of being portrayed as sort of a hot-to-trot woman."
The
Cross Wind (05/21/04)
Landing, with the wind blowing you
sideways, you use the ailerons and the rudder to keep the aircraft
headed toward the runway instead of the hangars. It’s a marvelous
dance, one of the most challenging of aviation.
Systemic
Failure (05/20/04)
Like the FBI, the CIA, the NSC, the DIA
and all the other federal alphabet bureaucracies, the New York City
officials will shuffle papers, reassign minions and issue press releases
touting their efforts, but they won’t accomplish a damn thing.
Wackee
Whirl (05/19/04)
In case you didn’t know it, the world
has gone mad. And I’m not just talking about American foreign policy,
if there actually is one, but everyday life which is showing signs of
breaking away from any normal sense of reality.
Rights
of the Born (05/18/04)
Our society is far more concerned with
rights over responsibilities. Especially when it comes to child-rearing.
Until we reset our standards to be about the rights of the children and
the responsibilities of the parents, we can’t consider ourselves
civilized.
Pilot
Found (05/17/04)
The French recently discovered his
plane over the coast of Marseilles. If the name doesn’t jog your
memory right away, perhaps you will remember St.-Exupéry
as the author, and illustrator, of Le Petit Prince, or more
likely, The Little Prince.
The
Great Escape (05/14/04)
I escaped Redding almost seven months
before my due date. I didn’t move here just for the better weather. Or
even the access to the Pacific and The Bay. Or to reconnect with old
friends. Or for the more progressive politics. Or the greater
professional opportunities. Or the food.
Lost
Is America (05/13/04)
If George W. Bush is not only corrupt
and incompetent but also a kookie fundamentalist who thinks Armageddon
is the right direction, he probably also thinks he doesn’t need to
pack for a long trip. For three years, he’s been pushing us -- ever
more quickly, it seems -- toward the abyss.
News
that Spews (05/12/04)
That’s the nature of the television
beast. Count the eyeballs, bill the advertisers. For the networks, the
news is little different from a sitcom. Indeed, it is the intermingling
of entertainment and news that has so vanilla-ized reporting today.
Bits
& Pieces (05/11/04)
Hooked, at least for the moment, on the
Kabbalah, the mystical form of Judaism, which was introduced to her by
her kissing cousin, Madonna, Britney wound up, by mistake, getting
gibberish inked into her neck instead. What she also didn’t realize
apparently that tattoos are a no-no in Jewish religion.
Stain
of Shame (05/10/04)
Excuse me, but we’re talking about
adults here. Surely, in their upbringing at home, in their basic
schooling -- on television, for chrissakes! -- they should have learned
that torture is not a good thing; that it is not right, that it is not
what Americans do.
Political
Swiss Cheese (05/08/04)
The Swiss cheese that is the White
House explanation of the Iraqi prisoner abuse story has more holes than
cheese. They are lying, stumbling over their lies, and having ever
increasing difficulties staying within shouting distance of
plausibility.
Headz
Up
(05/07/04)
The Multicultural Intellectual
Mudwrestling Championships from the Hague and The Cialis-Levitra-Viagra
Finals hosted by Donald Trump and Paris Hilton will both debut next
month. The additions come in the face of new ratings which could not
find anyone at all watching PBS after MacNeil-Lehrer.
Yes
and Yes
(05/06/04)
Even if someone has 95% of the puzzle,
in order to be whole, he must get the other 5%. Surely most of the
people who disagree with us can lay claim to only a few percent. But we
still need them, albeit grudgingly, for that little bit to complete the
picture.
Straightjacket
(05/05/04)
If you don’t realize that our world
just got considerably more unstable, you haven’t been paying
attention. The torture of Iraqis by Americans has caused a furor which
Seymour Hersh suggests might be an historic turning point, similar to
what the revelation of the atrocities at My Lai did for our Vietnam
policy.
Kids
(05/04/04)
Whether it is an issue of interest,
time or money, the bottom line is the mess we have today...a second
generation of children who haven’t learned what only thoughtful,
loving parents can impart.
Wake
Up or Die
(05/03/04)
They could then band together in true
patriotic fashion, revolt against the tragic deception and demand to be
sent home. Because honest patriotism means supporting your country and
its principles, not a corrupt regime such as the one they followed to
Iraq.
The
Death Roll
(05/01/04)
Nightline
on Friday night was to feature Ted
Koppel reading the names of the more than 700 American military
personnel who have died in Iraq. The program caused a stir among some
people, including some television station owners affiliated with ABC.
A
Toast to Giving
(04/30/04)
On my way back through this lovely
scene, a bicyclist, in normal human clothes, approached. There was
enough room for her to get by, but I stepped further off the path to
assure her more space. "Is everyone in California more
considerate?"
Bronx
Bombers Bomb
(04/29/04)
For eons, I was a Yankees fan, back in
the old days when the sport still seemed a sport. Oh sure, it wasn’t
all applehood and motherpie, but it wasn’t the world of salary caps,
deferred payments and perks up the ying-yang that it is today.
Spiritual
Voice
(04/28/04)
I had a chat with a good friend the
other day about a new direction I thought my writing should take. I had
received criticism from a coupla folks that my tone was maybe too harsh.
I don’t want to be even regular harsh. Illuminating, informing and
occasionally eviscerating but not harshly so.
Killing
Cop Killers
(04/27/04)
Truth be told, it does seem that there
are more killings that don’t make sense. Probably one reason is that
there are more people so there are more crazy people and there will
inevitably be more such incidents of this nature.
Bits
& Pieces
(04/26/04)
The apparent train collision disaster
in North Korea underscores the grotesque failure of the world community
to practice smart politics. For a half-century, our leaders,
individually and collectively, have failed to nudge their way into the
loon-ocracy that has encapsulated an entire nation in an impoverished,
polluted bubble.
The
Primitive Right
(04/23/04)
Looking at political leaders like Bush,
Blair and Clinton and the corporate sleazes who corrupted Tyco, WorldCom
and Enron, we see a pattern. These are all young men who never grew up;
they are boyishly immature, unformed and irresponsible. They lack the
character that maturing brings that provides an ethical compass.
A
Loaf of Bread
(04/22/04)
I was sitting in a local restaurant the
other evening, waiting for my best pal Pete to wend his way back from
The City to join me for a collegial repast. The establishment was
loosely built around the pressing of olives, and so has a high ceiling
and in the back are large stone presses. I didn’t see any
extra-virgins around, but the olives they served were delicious.
Plausibility
Test
(04/21/04)
Perhaps it is that I have a skeptic’s
mind, but two thoughts have come to it over the past two days that I
wish never passed the plausibility test. That’s the test that rejects
most conspiracy theories but which after three years of the Cheney
administration does not find them as impossible to believe as they might
have seemed in earlier years.
The
Casualty Truth
(04/20/04)
They said that the White House
estimates of the number of troops that would be needed, the time it
would take to get the job done, and what was that job were at odds with
the military view. Of course, when they were told to get in line, they
did so immediately. Partly because that’s their job, and partly
because they were handed hundreds of billions of mighty persuasive extra
dollars.
The
War's Still Not Over
(04/19/04)
It’s not much easier to be right
about Vietnam now than then. Few who supported the war then have changed
their minds; they still endorse the sinful, murderous policies of
Johnson and Nixon administrations. Fewer still acknowledge that many of
our problems today are the result of their active complicity or silence.
Bits
& Pieces
(04/16/04)
Study number two is from SETI, the
folks searching for extra-terrestrial intelligence. They’re probably
looking for it elsewhere because there ain’t none here. Anyway,
they’ve announced that they’ve calculated -- again those pesky
computers -- that we will have an encounter with aliens in 22 years. And
people get paid for this.
I
Didn't Do It
(04/15/04)
He could have swept Clarke off the
table and jacked up his poll numbers by twenty points if only he’d
expressed personal sorrow over his role as commander in chief to protect
and defend the United States. His refusal speaks volumes about his
leadership and about his character.
Rose-Smelling
101
(04/14/04)
I think we learn the important things
in life when we put ourselves in life’s way. I’m not suggesting
folks simply walk away from their desks and stroll through the fields or
local parks. First, because not all the answers are there, and second,
there are mortgages to pay. But if it comes down to a choice between
cubicle and camellias, well, it would help to have a rich wife.
Better
Than Self-Abuse
(04/13/04)
My pal Yo, whose name has surfaced on
occasion in these pages, dropped me a rather poignant note the other
day. After some nudging on my part, he agreed that I might share with
you the substance of it, provided I never provided more clues as to his
real identity, as he didn’t want to get in trouble with either his
employer, the authorities, or worse, his soon-to-be-ex-wife’s divorce
attorneys.
Irony
(04/12/04)
The Bush Administration didn’t
realize that once we toppled Saddam, the various factions he’d kept in
check -- the Shiite and Sunni Muslims and the Kurds -- would go after
each other, serving their hatred for each other with a vigor you
wouldn’t find in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, or Sri Lanka.
Bits
& Pieces
(04/09/04)
A hugely expensive advertising campaign
ran over young Hillary with claims that the Canadian system, which might
be our model, was a disaster. Turns out these were all lies -- surprise,
surprise -- and in fact our neighbors to the north live longer and
healthier than we do.
Unsupporting
Terrorism
(04/08/04)
While our "instinct" may be
to stomp the miscreants into insolvent dust, the truth is that the only
solution to our terrorist crisis lies not in eradicating the
perpetrators -- we can’t anyway -- but in dissuading them to an
alternative course.
Miscellany
(04/07/04)
We got an Iraqi judge to put out an
arrest warrant for murder for this spiritual (cough-cough) leader who
allegedly had a rival killed last year and is said to be responsible for
much of the organized anti-American violence in Falluja. Does it really
make sense to capture this guy? Wouldn’t he make just too tempting
hostage bait?
Over-Dosed
(04/06/04)
The Osbournes aren’t the only
pharmaceutical family in the news. Does anyone remember the joke about
the police calling Whitney and saying, "Houston, we have a
problem." (Okay I didn't say it was a side-splitter; I was just
using it as a transition.)
Overzealous
Prosecution
(04/05/04)
The worst of the worst are those who
try to persuade a jury that a psychopath isn’t crazy and should be
executed. It’s usually an incredible travesty of justice, and an
obscene waste of taxpayer funds. When it’s obvious that someone is
dangerously cuckoo, they should lock ‘em up in a mental institution
and not waste our time, money or emotions on a public trial.
The
Daily Dang
(04/02/04)
I raise the issue because I’ve become
a fan of The Daily Show lately, and anchor Jon Stewart is
regularly bleeped for using words that would take the odor out of crap.
He doesn’t do so gratuitously, but rather the same way many in my
varied circles use such words, that is, with a degree of circumspection.
Bush-Rice
Flip-Flop
(04/01/04)
Talk about flip-flopping, which is what
the Bushies have been charging John Kerry with doing, now the White
House has decided that it will be all right for Condoleeza Rice
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