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The
Daily News In Review
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9/4/2002 -  Audio Version
23:11 (Includes music at the end by David Crosby - Lady of the Harbor - from the
CD, Yes I Can )I'm excited to say that I expect the website for the Global Democratic Citizens Union to be active on Saturday or Sunday, and then minimally up by mid-next week. We'll have some things for you to think about... I think you'll like it... and, since I dare to speak up on practically everything, I'll be creating an online book of ideas and questions that I hope will spark an inquiry into what choices we can make as people and citizens that create the new future. I'm sure we'll talk about those things much more later. I've got a collection of links to some very interesting sites that provide scientifically based alternatives for energy and a lot more. It'll be fun Dr. Steven Hatfill and the Anthrax Attacks Dr. Steven Hatfill was fired from Louisiana State University yesterday because Today, we find out that the The Justice Department acknowledged Wednesday it sent an e-mail to Louisiana State University's biomedical research and training center to "immediately cease and desist" from employing researcher Steven Hatfill on department-funded programs. Justice Department officials, requesting anonymity, declined to defend sending the e-mail. One official said the decision to send it was made by the Office of Domestic Preparedness, "based on their own criteria." --- See, I originally bought into printing the reports about Steven Hatfill because I didn't understand why investigators weren't making any reports about findings, or that the investigations were over. And reports were that he was the primary suspect. But, living in a society that has agreed to the presumption of innocence, I can't help but notice the heavy hand of the Justice Department at work against a man who hasn't been charged with anything. If he is now deemed unworthy of a security clearance or any such thing, then it seems that it can only be because they fear disloyalty because he may harbor a grudge... but then, he would be paying for the DOJ's handling of the matter. Somehow, it just doesn't seem fair. Or, maybe there's more evidence they plan to release at a more politically expedient time. Just hypothesis. We have no other evidence. Speaking of no other evidence... Alex King, 13, and his 14-year-old brother Derek are charged with first-degree murder and arson, accused of beating to death their father, Terry King, in their home, and then setting fire to the house in the small Pensacola community of Cantonment. Both are being tried as adults. If convicted of first-degree murder, the boys face a mandatory penalty of life in prison without parole. The maximum penalty for arson is 30 years in prison. This story has a twist... there was an adult male neighbor with whom he was emotionally and sexually involved was the actual killer, and that he and his brother reluctantly agreed to take the blame after being coached on what to tell authorities. Their prosectuion as adults I can't help but comment on this, given my own background. At the top of the page is a link to corruption and me part 1 if you want to read the long version of the story. But the short version is basically that I grew up, as a teen, with a violent alcoholic step-father. One rainy night, he threatened me with a knife. I was able to escape out a window before he could get to me. Later, when I returned, I held a gun on him and told him he might be able to get away with doing that kind of thing to me, but if he ever did anything to harm my sister, I would kill him. Some 20 years later, I was informed that she had been repeatedly raped... and she wondered why I didn't stop it and protect her.. but I swear I didn't know it was going on. And, then, I knew I had to live with the knowledge that I would have taken someone else's life. But, here we were, living 40 miles from a working phone, in the mountains in a logging camp... and we had the right to survive and not be harmed. I was a 90 pound kid, and he was a 280 pound logger and former boxer. This is not a justification, but an acknowledgement of the circumstance. We all have a right to protect ourselves. Police Officers who are trained to deal with such pressures on the job must deal with the knowledge that at any moment, they might be required to use lethal force. And thoughts about that are not easily reconciled. So, here are these 2 boys.. obviously misguided by another adult whose alleged deceptions offered them caring and counseling and shelter in the face of emotional and psychological abuse at the very least... And, because the trio believed that because the two were minors, they would receive needed counseling to get over the post-traumatic stress. Not a trial. And that's the other twist. Because before the trial, they admitted they killed their father. Now, with the burden of the weight of the death penalty over their heads, they have said they did not commit the crime. Regardless of who actually committed the act of murder, this is a clear cut example of people who had an expectation of the government to deliver compassionate justice, not seek extreme vindictive punishments on people who are actually victims. And it's not that I can legitimately justify the taking of a life. Nor do I believe a clear crime should go unpunished. In this case, though, you have two children, being raised by a community, not just a father, that does not have a system to assist parents in the treatment of their children, nor a system that gives children a viable method of seeking assistance from legitimate, responsible people. In Florida, the Jeb Bush Adminisistration has a child welfare system that has actually lost more than 500 children... they just don't know what happened to them. Oh, sure, you could point out a program for this or a program for that... my sister ran away numerous times, and was even labled an incorrigible child for running away so often... nobdy asked me a single question. I just figured out that I had to cope with my circumstances. After all, I was just a kid, not an adult with rights and privileges... or even the knowledge that there was anyone available to help my sister and me. I find it hard to understand why prosecutors would go so far as to terrorize these children who, in my estimation, show no signs of being anything but nice kids in a difficult circumstance and, more than anything else, despite the murder of their father, were victims of parental abuse, and victims of child molestation. I can only wonder if justice and compassion were considered in this matter. It's insane. But it makes a good headline. What it proves would certainly be the assertion of a subjective conclusion. Community is a concept I've been fascinated with for decades. What causes a community? What is a community? How can a community exist and progress in the face of adversity? How can you cause it? What would you need to provide as a leader to forward the idea? It's why I love the movie Pay It Forward. A young boy is challenged by his teacher (Kevin Spacey) to come up with a project that will change the world. So, he came up with the idea of pay it forward. And the idea was to do 3 things to help other people... and the catch was that whoever they helped, they were requested to do 3 acts of kindness for three other people... and so on and so on and so on... a very simple quantum adjustment to the way we respond to adversity that can make all the difference in the world. It's why I love the movie The Postman with Kevin Costner so much. I guarantee you, when I work on the book, community will be a large section. I hope some leaders and citizens will consider submitting their thoughts on the subject, and many others, once that gets opened up. Synchronicity: as I write this, one of my 2 favorite tv shows comes on. Which one is rated number one is always based on which one is on at the time... The 1st runner up is Mash, with Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan and David Ogden Stiers... Loved him in Doc Hollywood with Michael J. Fox, too.. The winner is Northern Exposure... sometimes I wish I lived there. No one on that program is perfect, they all had their idiosyncracies, but they cared about each other, and despite their opinions and evaluations, when it was time for everybody to pitch in, or be honest to each other, they did. The latter years of that show were written by the genius David Chase, who also does The Sopranos. Just haven't watched that much... although I love Elaine Bracco, who is the wife (I think they're still married) of James Edward Olmos... of whom I am also a great fan. Remember the movie of the teacher who coached his class on the SAT's... Stand and Deliver... this just actually turned into one of those 6 degrees of separation things... It's also an example of somethin I have to admit that is true. My friend, the Pizza Messiah, is a guy who I first knew while attending human potential development courses, and, he being 10 years or so younger, I called him my little brother I never had. A really nice friend. The Pizza Messiah needed a place to live while going to the University of California at Santa Cruz, and since I hate doing housework, and he actually had a business doing housework, I thought it would be a good trade. Later, I learned he was an adopted child. Anyway.. He became known around town as the Pizza Messiah because he had a part-time job delivering pizza, and he had a pet peeve... parking meters. And the fact that they, and other fines, are used as a tool to raise money, and aren't necessarily about justice. Like sin taxes. So, he used to go around town delivering pizzas, checking parking meters and using the change from his tips to help out the drivers whose time had expired... which of course is illegal... and sometimes he'd really complain about how much it cost... especially when something was happening down at the boardwalk... but it made him feel good. And he had more than a few funny stories about evading the law in the process. He's a funny one. Great guitarist, though... and software salesman. The Pizza Messiah calls me Mr. 70's, and I have to admit, I am. Other people use their own devices to inform me that my entertainment themes ar out of date... although it's strange that I mentioned Grand Funk Railroad the other day, and the next day, Don Brewer of the band turned 54. I still have my orange vinyl copy of American Band, in mint condition. Anyway, after we get things going, I may actaully start doing things like listening to the radio or something so I can talk about contemporay artists. Hard to tell if it's possible to get promo services anymore. Community... Hershey, Pennsylvania. A man had a vision. A beautiful vision
of a town where people could trust that the people ran the place to care enough to want to
see the citizens prosper and benefit from.. and he did it because he could.. his own life
had been so blessed that he saw an opportunity to share it. And now that he is gone, the
people in charge of the corporation, the vision, the dream, want to Thank God that the court, there, decided to grant a restraining order to prevent the sale of assets of that dream come true. Good for them. Let's talk leadership for a moment. Tonight, someone in the house was watching a video
of a program on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Wednesday that "for the first time, Kudos to Tony Blair for thinking out of the box, and suggesting combining all three primary plans on the table for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict... Democracy in Palestine, setting the boundaries back to 1967 and combining with that the Saudi initiative. It's proof that we have everything we need. All we need to do is choose it. Break the old paradigms and think out of the box. It's alot more fun, too.
Madonna... bravo.. she's writing spiritual books for children, and has decided to take certain suggestive scenes out of her upcoming movie. God bless you for setting the precedent. Maybe you and Dave Lettermen can find a way to get along now, too. :} I'm doing my best to make this shorter, and I still want to talk about the Middle East, the editing of suggestive and "inappropriate" scenes from movies... e-rated movies... in Utah... I have a few surprises for everyone.. Project Innocence and OJ Simpson...but I'll save it for tomorrow.. but there is one more thing I want to say. As I say it, and as you listen to me say it, and you decide that it sounds a little odd that I'm saying it, just try to imagine how I feel being the one to say it. But, then, I'm an American, and I can only ask that we all share ideas... listen to what is brought to the table today... and then decide if what I'm about to say is odd, or just unusual that someone like me would say it. Dear. Mr. Hussein: Please forgive me for communicating with you in this forum, but at present, I have no other. Should you happen to this site, and consider these thoughts, I would be most honored, and only you would know. We citizens in the United States have the right to speak our minds, and I know you understand that too. The stage is set in such a way that the true decision is up to you... not as an intimidation, but as a revelation of truth. The eyes of the world are upon George Bush and the leader of Iraq. The time for decision has arrived. Surely, this can be resolved. And I understand the plight of your people, the oppression of sanctions, and I, too am concerned at the apparent desire of the Bush Administration to seize control of the world. In my humble opinion, I would say this gives you the opportunity to make a courageous decision and be the leader of a people worthy of self-determination as you choose to be made vulnerable by disarmament or by force. It gives you the opportunity to make a choice that could determine the fate of our planet. Few opportunities for great leadership and diplomacy such as this come in the lifetime of a leader. This is your opportunity to be bold without force. And provide an example for the world regarding what is possible if we begin to forgive the trespasses against us, and begin to operate inside the disciplines of our faiths and Certainly there are honest brokers who will assist you. Certainly the world will respect integrity. Whether you have weapons of mass destruction or not. Whether you must undergo a disarmament or not. If you do not have to face war and can relieve yourself and your people of oppressive saanctions, then you win. As do your people. If you are a leader, then all people are your subjects. Do it for Iraq. Do it for yourself. Do it for the world. That's a wrap. 9/4/2002 - Early Edition - Sometimes, when we view the world, it's easy to overlook those things that make the greater difference. It was correct to say that we should support our legislators. It is also true that they are, for the most part, supporting the rights of the people, and the unions of people and organizations that honor the rights of people. Please support our Senators who are seeking to effect the greatest good in the shortest time. 9/3/2002 - Today was another great day for America, as the dialogue begins to open up and the need for consensus is understood and embraced. We will only hope that this new opening is in earnest. Despite my cynicisms of the past, I'm actually proud of the actions and statements of our legislators. They're leading as true leaders would.! Senator Tom Daschle stepped forward and said “We have the constitutional responsibility and we intend to enforce that responsibility,” he said. “I think the president has been made abundantly aware of the sensitivity and concern that a lot of us have.” And Trent Lott put his reputation on the line as well when he said “I’m absolutely satisfied that if we’re going to have a major conflict in Iraq, the Congress will be involved. There will be time for debate." Let's hope it's meaningful debate that's actually taken into consideration. Former Sen. Bill Cohen (R-Maine), who was secretary of defense under President Clinton, emphasized the importance of a thorough and broad debate on the details of any such military action. “The last thing we want is to have our men and women put in harm’s way with a divided country, or a divided Congress,” he said in an interview. “It’s important that the debate take place.” Cohen, who oversaw the U.S. military campaigns in Bosnia and Kosovo in the late 1990’s, also held that before firing the first shot, the United States must review all the details — both known and presumed — about attacking Iraq. “What are the human costs going to be? How long are we likely to be there? No one can tell you at this point. We’re still in Afghanistan, we’re still in Bosnia and Kosovo,” Cohen said. The list of Patriots standing up for American principles is growing. Dr. Steven Hatfill and the Anthrax Attacks Dr. Steven Hatfill was fired from Louisiana State University today because Storm Season is approaching... CNN has a great place to look at the Speaking of Art Bell...you know, the truth is out there, all around you, and mainly, you just need to look and listen to it. Today, for me, was a day of a number of realizations, and self-realizations. It's been an amazing experience. When you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, things just sort of happen, and fall into place. You become more focused and willing to do what you need to accomplish...to do whatever you believe needs to be done. And it's so easy to overlook. And so easy to impact other people. Tonight I received a phone call from someone who seemed to be a phone solicitor,and I was in such a hurry to do something else, that I interrupted and said "I really have to go." And he said "Wait, is this because I'm black?" and you could tell he asked out of sincere personal pain. "And, I said, no absolutely not, it has nothing to do with you, call back later if you want." And he sounded very relieved. And that's all it took, just a moment.to consider someone else's feelings. Reminded me to be more patient and willing to listen. For some reason, that's all that seems important right now. 9/2/2002 - On Sunday, even though I decided to take the day off, I also decided I would declare it the day of the re-birth of America. It was a day of many distinctions. Today included many similar surprises and inspiring moments. I'll begin with today. Today, Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United
Nations nearly
But, the words I was going to repeat are actually the words of Susan B. Anthony, a special person in my household. She, and Elizabeth Caty Stanton led the movement as suffragettes, calling for the right of women to vote. They worked toward that goal for 50 years... and did not live to see their vision come into being. Women did not receive the right to vote for some 20 years after Susan and Elizabeth's deaths. 2 weeks before her death, Susan B. Anthony's last speech was entitled "Failure is Impossible". But the quote I wanted to share with you applies to us all. It is a simple reminder of who we have to be as people and citizens in order to cause the world we say we want She said, "Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation." So, when I call upon people to be New Patriots, what I'm talking about is just that.... who are you willing to be in order to cause the world you long for? What can you do, what single action can you take to cause it. I'd say things like, inform people without confronting them. Visit chat rooms and websites and remind people of the values of Democracy that are important to you. And remind them of the distinctions between what we say we believe in, and how we actually choose to act in response to the world and circumstances we live with. And do it not as a judgement or criticism, but as a discussion of values... something people don't talk about too often. What you'll find out is how many people actually agree with you, and how it empowers people to find out that most people actually do agree. I don't know if you believe in synchronicity or not... but... I'd like to say a word about an incredible musical artist who passed away this weekend, Lionel Hampton... he played the vibraphone, an unusual instrument, when you think of what typical instruments popular artists play. I first saw him perform in the late 70's at a jazz festival at Stanford University... his performance was one of 8 different groups playing that day... and it was one of the best... and the reasons it was one of the best was because you could tell that the music was coming from deep inside him. About 3 years later, I was given the privilege of interviewing him for a magazine I worked for... what a special person. And he told me, as many other gifted musicians have said... people like Michael Jackson, the Brothers Johnson ("Strawberry Letter 23")... Todd Rundgren who's known as a musician, but plays a bigger role.. he produced the first hit album of Hall & Oates, Meatlof, the last hit album of Grand Funk Railroad.. and wrote songs like "Love is the Answer" and "Compassion"... they all say that writing music is sort of like tapping into a big radio station in the sky... like a broadcast... and their job is to write it down. And frankly, I agree with them. You can hear it in the inspiration of their music. Anyway... I'll surely miss Lionel Hampton the man. Fortunately, technology allows us to continue to treasure the music. Now, how this relates to what I'm going to say next is a little cryptic, but I think you'll understand. As I'm writing this, Larry King has come on the air with a guest.. a young man who is truly remarkable... and I'll say this only partly tongue in cheek, but this incredible young man is singing my song. We must listen to the same station. :} His name is Mattie Stepanek... Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek... He's one of Jerry's kids.. he has autonomic muscular dystrophy... a type which caused his body to forget to breathe... with a real name I wouldn't even dare to try to say... things we normally don't have to think about. Anyway, this 12 year old boy has released his second book of what I'll call inspirational poetry... anyone 10 times his age would have difficulty expressing the wisdom he shares in his verses. His first book is called Heartsongs. His newest book is called Celebrate Through Heartsongs. And it's beautiful. He has a wonderful website at http://www.myheroes.com Look in Mattie's section called The Teacher. But for now, I'll share a little bit of the message Mattie wants to share with you. We older folks have something to learn from this young man, something about the future we can help to create for all of our future leaders, the young men and women of today. Mattie basically says that we can choose our world... by making choices about ourselves. He says we can choose an attitude that will cause peace. Mattie says we can choose habits that will cause peace and that we can choose to make peace a reality. And he's so right, because if we choose these things, failure is impossible. Get his books and check out his website. He's one more person who's a stand for peace, and can make you believe that everything is possible... through the distinctions he points out in his writing. And his courage in dealing with his incurable disease. Mattie has been one of my heroes for a few years now. More distinctions for you. You know how I criticize our government as a whole. Well, then remember, I also say there are plenty of good people on both sides of the aisle. I know that is pretty confusing, but it's all the more reason to pay attention. It would be a good thing for you to write to your reps and tell them you support their efforts to put the Homeland Defense and Departments on hold til after the elections, and that you'll help spread the word that delaying it for more careful consideration is in the best interest of this country, in order to protect Democracy and freedom. That way, the administration can't make quite as much political hay to blame the Democrats for endangering our nation by not acquiesciing to his agenda. More Distinction: For example: New Patriot Senator Chuck Hagel of the Senate Foreign
Relations Commitee and a Republican of Nebraska, who also is a Vietnam
Veteran, - and just happens to have one of my favorite names... :} appeared on Wolf
Blitzer's Late Edition on CNN last Sunday, and In the beginning of the interview, Senator Hagel said "You know, I have
occasionally reminded some of my colleagues -- we didn't have this debate, this dialogue
before Vietnam.(and) I understand -- we all do -- this is not Vietnam, but there are
some similarities here. We'd better understand what we're getting into before we get
there.
Internationally, almost all nations are concerned about the belligerence of the Bush Adminsistration. Russia, Kuwait, nearly all of the Arab States, China, Germany and the list goes on and on... about their concern that the United States is so eager to go to war, without seeming to care about world opinion, the United Nations, or even the Congress of the United States. Or the negative impacts on you and I, the citizens... you know, the ones who didn't elect him and don't approve of his coronation... Matthew Engel of the Guardian in the United Kingdom provides you with a unique insight into world opinion. Matthew Engel The Guardian Sept. 3, 2002 Overall, the US's list of wholehearted allies, as opposed to mutinous vassals, is now apparently down to Israel (provided it keeps getting its own way), Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. This is the kind of point oppositions are meant to pick up. But the official opposition is inaudible. In 2000 a plurality of Americans voted to put into the White House a man whose knowledge of, and commitment to, environmental issues was unparalleled in presidential history. He is, of course, referring to President-Elect Al Gore, still waiting to be sworn in.
BTW: I was reading www.cnn.com when I found these stories. That's why I like CNN. Great Reporting, and a commitment to the whole story. Just like me, I'm glad to send you to other sites to get the whole story. Also on Sunday's, Late Edition, one of his guests was TARIQ AZIZ, IRAQ'S DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER. This is what he had to say: AZIZ: Well, we are hearing conflicting statements from the American officials. Some of them are saying what you mentioned; some of them are saying it makes no difference whether there are inspections or not. Our plan to regime change will not change. So we would like to know in exact terms what the United States government is seeking. The other aspect of the matter is that when they speak about weapons of mass destruction, is it a genuine concern or is it a pretext to be used to justify the unjustifiable attack on Iraq? If it is a genuine concern of the United States, well, that could be dealt with in a civilized, diplomatic, practical manner. You remember that our National Assembly invited American Congress to send a team to Iraq, a fact-finding mission to Iraq to investigate those allegations. Our proposal, our invitation, was not accepted. I don't know why. If they are really concerned about this matter, why didn't they respond positively to our request.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Richard Cheney goes around telling people that Iraq is armed to the teeth and they pose a Clear and Present Danger, and that Saddam Hussein has a master plan to dominate all the Arab oil fields... practically anything he could think of that would cause Americans to become extremly concerned over a threat that doesn't exist. This is a little of Now, remember, in the world of Bush-isms, if you were to replace the word Iraq with Bush, you would find that the description of what is actually occurring in the world... That would read... These are not weapons for the purpose of defending Bush. These are offensive weapons for the purpose of inflicting death on a massive scale, developed so that George can hold the threat over the head of anyone he chooses, in his own region or beyond.
By the way, Jim, the truth always bubbles up. Better sooner than later. I'm glad you read my column though. I'm still giggling about the song book line. What else, what else... oh, yeah that was all Sunday... Did I mention that New Patriot
Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton . you know, Uncle Bill and Auny Hillary, finally spoke
out on the issue of Iraq? He said he has no doubt the Iraqi leader has stocks of biological and chemical weapons, and has used them on his own people, Clinton said there should be a "large-scale public debate" on whether to wage war Hillary said "I have personal faces I can put on this debate, and I want to be sure that the president comes with his arguments and information and evidence and that we debate it, and then as a nation we'll stand behind the decision," she said while attending a state fair in upstate New York. Simple, but to the point, and pretty rational conclusions. Kind of like being in stereo. And, even Colin Powell is having a problem with what's going on. Close aids say he intends to leave theAdministration after this Dubya's first, and hopefully, last term in office. That reminds me... I decided that I was having too much trouble when saying double-u when telling you about websites. For some reason, I just can't quite get it out. I think it's freudian. So just assume three of them precedes the web addresses I give you. We now return to our regular programming.
Actually, I grew to respect Powell even more than I already did when he emerged from the Ramallah compound of Yassir Arafat when the Israeli's had it surrounded, and basically said there was little reason to talk about the peace process so long as Israel was occupying and destroying targets in Palestinian territory. By the way, did you ever notice that Bush and company always say that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are doing the bulk of the bombings, but then they always blame Arafat? Sort of like how Sharon says Arafat is "allowed" to go to other countries for Arab Nation conferences, but he won't be allowed back. That's an interesting strategy to consider... :} I wonder if it has domestic applications... Anyway.. It's also alot like how we say we need to atack Iraq, because we can't afford another 911, even though Iraq has nothing to do with Al Qaeda.... A strange, tangled web indeed. But lacking the detail and facts usually associated with distinctions on any given subject enunciated by the administration. Did I mention that the European Union is worried about the Bush agenda too? And, isn't there a phrase about when And on the election front, George was in Pennsylvania at a picnic. That's exactly
where I'd expect him to be with the economy in the dumpers, a supposed danger of imminent
attack... and an election primary in Delaware on a Jewish Holiday in a state that's
primarily Democratic... by the way, Let's move on. Remember the And now, for Headline Views.... The Dutch say they worry about the summit's failure because it's trying to accomplish too much all at once. Sounds like what Tip O'Neill sid when Jimmy Carter took office. Meanwhile, Chirac in France intends to assert the idea of a global tax to end poverty... there's a tax I could support... actually, I thought I was already... but it appears not... More fires in Sacramento and the San Bernardino Forest... a tornado touched down and
destroyed buildings and injured people in Ladysmith, Wisconsin... they say it affected the
entire town. Thousands are without power. And the Bush-ism of the day actually goes to George himself... when he said that the Energy Bill is a jobs bill, and a national security bill, and went on to say that less imported oil, the more our national security is strong. Now that's one heck of a package in one paragraph... notice it's centered around drudging up your concerns about national security, and trying to tell you that ignoring global warming and air pollution is in your best interest. Because, as he also said, people need to act responsibly in our society, which means that if we're all good boys and girls, the corporate commandante will allow us to have jobs and feed ourselves. Sounds like a promising social program. Speaking of programs... Jan Hopkins was presenting a story on The question is, what to do Bob Dole, Viagra, and a bunch of other people have to do with our mystery person? Or how about Monica Lewinsky? To make it even stranger, how can you link Kevin Bacon to Kenneth Lay? Or a bunch of others... it's a strange tale It actually took me a couple minutes to come up with that line. I'm not good at B words. I wonder if Ari is proud of me. I'm almost ready to release part 1 f the Similarities Between the OJ Simpson Trial and the case of Robert Blake... gets more interesting all the time... You might want to check your listings for a movie called "Blood Feud" in which Blake stars... it's a movie about the legal battles between the Teamsters and Robert Kennedy. In the mean time, here are some interesting entertainment notes... Steve Wariner of Country Music Fame - did a song called "I'd Love To Be With You" a number of years back... he received the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award. Ronnie Milsap has a new CD set out of his all time greatest hits... that's an interesting story... the writer of most of his later hits were written by Mike Greene, former football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.. of course Chicago's got a Greatest Hits set out too... I like the song "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?". In the middle of the song, they start talking and it's always so life like I end up looking out the windows and locking the doors because I think someone's there... kind of like the Pink Floyd album Pigs where you keep wondering where that barking dog is... Another Brick in the Wall has helicopters in it that sounds like they're right above your house... a sort of Orwellian effect. There's been an Elvis sighting on the border of Tennessee and Arizona... yup. Somebody stomped one of those cool pictures into a crop field again... they did it with an image of Larry King up in New England a few weeks ago... we're either experiencing some aliens with a sense of humor or some really bored but creative unemployed people who wanted something to do on the Labor Day Weekend... plenty of those to go around...In July, the jobless rate was at 5.9%... or about 1.7 million people... Or, maybe it was one of those Mel Gibson "Signs".... And that's a wrap. Have a good one. PS Loved Jimmy Neutron!. 8/31/2002 - The late Edition - At the Earth Summit for Sustainable Development, Russia has stated that it may not be in the position to ratify the Kyoto accord, which threatens the existence of the treaty... not to mention our environment. Russia's reasons seem to be in line with the Bush Administration's position... and that would be that such ratification would require a greater amount of finanial stimulus and expansion... remember, Russia is trying to fit into the mold of capitalism itself... as is China, to an extent.. and the business world is greatly in charge of allowing or disallowing any measures that would cost them any more than absolutely necessary... imagine it, a world of automated factories, highly efficient productivity, empowerment of greater profit margins for the corporations, , and thus, a more stable stock market... sure seems like something is missing in that equation. I think it's people.. yeah, that's it... people... all poisoned by the wastes of those highly profitable corporations... I guess they can clone us after getting the new world is built for us... like they seem to want to do to re-populate the planet with cloned animals after global warming, drought and pestilence run their course. The European Union criticized the United States for failing to adopt the Kyoto accord, as well as for more basic environmental and fiscal policies. And, there was criticism of failure to reach deals between rich and poor nations on a range of issues, which host South Africa wants to help end what it calls "global apartheid." United States Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky, leader of the U.S. delegation, told the conference: "No nation has made a greater contribution and a more concrete commitment to sustainable development." Claude Martin is the director general of the pressure group WWF International. He says "Negotiations have fallen dramatically short of the kinds of commitments that would ensure a sustainable future for our planet and the people who live on it" He went on to say "The economic interests of the rich are being put before poor people and the environment." All the while, an agreement to protect diminishing fish stocks has been reached. But some environmentalists are questioning whether the deal can be enforced against pirate trawlers, while other disputes between rich and poor states over aid and trade will go on to continue throughout the 10-day meeting in South Africa. Many protesters are upset at George W. Bush because of his refusal to attend the summit. So, many of them, carry anti-U.S. banners including one which branded the United States as the 'United States of Aggression.' Tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected to march on the Earth Summit in South Africa on Saturday in an expected 17 separate protests. In the United States, the West Nile Virus is still taking it's toll... this last week alone, reported cases have gone up 62 per cent...according to the CDC, 555 people in the U.S. have been afflicted, 25 of them fatally. 1 person has died in Canada. The virus is supposed to peak in mid-September, and Easterners are hoping that it doesn't turn into a problem of Biblical proportions. The keyword there is hoping. Members of the U.S. Congress have stated that they'd like to be included in planning for the invasion of Iraq. The Bush administration has stated that they don't need Congress's approval. However, Senator Robert Byrd, a Democrat from West Virginia, told CNN's Judy Woodruff that he's checked with numerous attorneys, and they say that Bush does not, in fact, have the legal authority to make the determination to invade Iraq without the approval of Congress. And, what New Patriot Byrd said was that "the Bush Administration needs to stop reading the polls, and instead, should try reading the Constitution" Way to go, Senator. I couldn't agree more. Meanwhile, as nation after nation voices its concerns over the aggressive atiutude of the United States, exemplified by Dick Cheney's recent speeches. To make things even more complicated, the U.S. military carried out 5 bombing raids on Iraqi military facilities in the last week. In San Mateo California, $500 thousand dollars worth of emergency supplies were destroyed by an arson fire... that fire is still under investigation. You might remember, sometime back, George Bush decided to limit the importation of foreign steel.. that deciion was in direct violation of agreements with the World Trade Organization... The WTO has now given it's okay to the European Union to impose approximately $40 billion dollars in tariffs on U.S. products... Bush saus he's disappointed. Remember Andersen Accounting... soon it will, in fact, be a distant memory... they'll be closing their doors, leaving some 85,000 employees out of work.. This, as approximately 8,000 more unemployment claims were filed this last week. Not very good news, given that it's labor day weekend. In entertainment, if you buy James Taylor's new CD called October Road online at www.jamestaylor.com, you'llhave an opportunity to win an autgraphed guitar. He's also screening part of his current concert tour, that on pay per view....Bruce Springsteen's newest call The Rising can be found at www.brucespringsteen.net Movies you'll want to check out include include A Walk to Remember a great love story.., Simone starring Al Pacino, City by the Sea featurng Robert De Niro. That's a wrap for now. 8/30/2002 - Jesse Ventura, please go to Cuba.. you know what the right thing is. Don't let the world down by being persuaded by others' political agendas. 8/30/2002 - Early Edition - Hooray for Baseball!!!! Looks like we get to keep another American symbol on the field. Personally, I'm cooking up a couple of corndogs (Poupon goes good with them too) baking an apple pie and getting out my old baseball mitt. Song of the hour. NEW PATRIOTS of the day... Bill and Melinda Gates for continuing their incredible work at the Gates Foundation and donating $46 million towards aids prevention and treatment. This, by the way, is just one example of what great things the Gates Foundation has done for people. Green Acres on Fox... that'll be interesting. 8/29/2002 - Time flies, sometimes... that's a good thing.. means you're havin' fun... tomorrow, we'll take a shot at the long awaited audio version as well as the long awaited (or avoided) rough cuts... Today, we start off with likely one of the most intelligent discourses to date on the pending Iraqi invasion... it happened on CNN's Crossfire... and it included Wesley Clark, who was the Commander of the Kosovo operations... and James Woolsey, who I criticized before, but, sir, thanks for the straight talk. Really. Here's the transcript, it's worth reading. Transcript. Look about 1/4 down the page for this story. In addition, Lou Dobbs' Moneyline had some great guests... and a new book to add to his booklist from the web site.. a book by Daniel Pipes called Militant Islam Reaches America, all about the reasons and means Al Qaeda has decided to attack America. Commentary: The Dobbs Report And, while I'm at it, I'll mention that Wolf Blitzer had a very interesting report featuring Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who says Iraq Policy is "Inexcusable". Ramsey Clark was in the administration of Lyndon Johnson. He spoke of the sanctions, the conditions and suffering of the people because of them, and their desire to conduct their lives and government as a sovereign nation and people. By the way, if you think I'm promoting CNN, it's only because after 2 years, I've found them to be a reliable news source. But, as you notice on the site, there are lots of different news sources. I encourage you to take advantage of them all. What's above, though, will give you some great insights on what's really at issue in the fray of the possible invasion. Meanwhile... in the area of war.. and since I claim I believe our government allowed the WTC/911 attacks to cause you to take a war stance, my father (born 1908 and in the Navy) always used to swear that we knew about Pearl Harbor, but allowed it to happen in order to cause Americans to be willing to take on yet another enemy. They found a Japanese 2-man mini-sub which had been sunk about an hour before the major attack began. That's in the Wolf Blitzer transcript above as well. In Chile, they had a bit of a pyrothechnics show today. They were blowing up all of their land mines. Currently, only 2 countries in the western hemisphere have declined to sign on to the treaty to get rid of land mines... Cuba and the United States. At this point, we don't know if baseball will continue this season or not.. talks ended tonight without resolution. In Saskatchewan, it seems like synchronicity or someone read this column... A radio station had a contest to get rid of grasshoppers in Canada... first prize 2 tickets to see Elton John. The winner carted in some 38,000 grasshoppers. Now, that's a thinking radio station. It would be interesting to know how many got collected altogether. If you want to see something pretty amazing take a look at this series of maps that show you the forest fires around the world from space. Fascinating. Earth on Fire Meanwhile, Bill Reilly at Fox (faux) seems to have caused Pepsi to cancel a contract with Ludicris to represent their products.. Reilly seems to think Ludicris is a bad example to be representing any product, and so he basically created a boycott of Pepsi to cause them to drop him as a spokesperson... we think you should send an email, and tell them you'll boycott Pepsi for allowing Reilly to push them around concerning one of the hottest talents on stage today. Their other products include Mountain Dew, Slice, etc. and snack foods (Frito-Lay). A spokeswoman supposedly defending Reilly's position couldn't even quote one phrase of Ludicris' lyrics that she objected to. It was a simple case of "let's gang up on yet another African-American artist". See, the economic war has spread to nearly all of American life, and it's dividing us as a people... on purpose. Target stores decided to take a product off the market... let's hope they never do something like this again... they were selling baseball hats and shorts that carried an "88" emblem, which is symbolic of Heil Hitler... a Nazi salute to Adolf Hitler. What's up with them selling that kind of thing in the first place? Umbro decided to put out a new tennis shoe... that offend some.. it's called Zyklon... which just happens to be the same name as a gas used in Nazi concentration camps to kill Jews during World War II. Have you noticed all the racist and fascist/Nazi kinds of themes lately. Don't think about it like it's an accident. Speaking of which, Uncle Ernie, who was a broadcaster for some 30 years, will be joining this site, at least in terms of doing an audio column... he just got back from having a run-in with who he describes as the Gestappo.. he says the story of that will be his first broadcast. He's over at www.issuesandalibis.org Definitely a fun little site. If you have a site, and do a column on a regular basis, check in with me about us broadcasting your column too. Back tomorrow with a ton o' stuff. The research shows that CNN is trusted by 37% of Americans for the most accurate and complete news, a fitting tribute to the original commitment of Ted Turner. Most major market broadcasters settle for 5% or less. Though I've never talked to any of them, they're my daily briefing on the world events. Paula Zahn, John King, Wolf Blitzer, Judy Woodruff, Lou Dobbs Jan Hopkins, and ALL the guys on Crossfire... And Connie Chung does some truly interesting reports on things that make you look a little deeper at things... Aaron Brown, the Pacific Northwest hero...And of course, the Legendary Larry King. I could go on and on... the rest of their programming is incredible too, especially the international stuff. Use them as the baseline of truth. And if that changes, I'll let you know. But I doubt it will. BTW, I get nothing from CNN for plugging them... just trying to refer everyone to resources they can depend on. There is, however, this satisfaction of knowing I don't have to inform the world by myself. :} |
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