The Passing Scene
12 February
1999
Taxes are like warts. One may always complain but after a while one gets used to them. Im not in favor of cutting taxes. The United States is enjoying a healthy robust economy and has a great opportunity
to correct some basic mistakes in fiscal management. Stop all the political posturing and institute ways to get the country out of debt and on solid financial ground.
I do not understand how the US Government can manage its money affairs in ways that would have resulted in bankruptcy for any household any more than I can understand how the president can remain commander in chief for the same offense that has forced general s and sergeants out of the service.
The Congressional Budget Office is projecting a surplus of over one and one half trillion dollars over the next ten years. This projection is based on a whole lot of assumptions such as Sadam does not get the bomb, we can control the economic environment so as to maintain the current rate of growth and keep all the jobs and income, the tax rate doesnt change
etc, etc. The statisticians can project next years-financial picture with about 95% accuracy. Thereafter the reliability of the forecast diminishes five or ten percent with each succeeding year. By the tenth year the forecast is meaningless. What Im saying is the 1-1/2 trillion projection aint worth spit.
However, good times are upon us and likely to stay for a while and we should plan on the disposition of some sizable surpluses.
We are facing another long dreary national election to send some new faces to Washington. I have been looking at and listening to the candidates and their key supporters since they fired up the Iowa caucuses and have come to the conclusion they are all a bit daft or they believe "we the people" are totally daft.. The candidates are throwing that bull at
us once again big time. Wouldnt it be refreshing to hear a politician address us as intelligent people and offer salient facts and plans instead of all the rhetoric? I shall use
Governor Bush as the example here only because he is currently cluttering up the Arizona media with constant repetitious outpourings of the same old c - - -. Over and over again and again "as governor, I did this and I did
that". Frankly I heard him the first time. If my engineering professors had felt it necessary to constantly repeat the same engineering principal, I would have been major insulted. And so it is with the media blitz.
Last week I watched a discovery channel feature about a jillion terns on a far south island. There were about nine nesting birds per square meter and they were all talking at the same time and saying nothing. Suddenly their faces changed and all I saw were candidates and they were still all talking at the same time and still saying nothing. Frankly, I
can make more sense out of Mash re-runs.
And the issues are ridiculous.
Abortion for example; women have been having abortions since the snake and the apple. This is a woman's private matter and the government should out of it. If she wants a baby, that is her business. If she does not want a baby, that is also her business. If she is entitled to government medical care, she is entitled to a paid abortion. Abortions are as
much a medical situation as appendicitis.
Gun Control is another example. All the Democrats in general and Senator Bradley in particular are harping on the subject of gun control. Sixty five million legitimate and voting gun owners are going to be hard to work around. (See Gun Control). There are more homicides by drunken drivers than there are homicides by
firearms. How many times have you seen President Clinton and the Brady bunch on the dais in support of anti-drunk driver legislation? The so-called gun control problem can be stopped dead in its tracks, in the Islamic fashion, by swift and rigid application of existing laws to criminals who use guns.
The largest issue of all is what to do with the budget surplus. No two candidates in the field can agree on what to do with the surplus - and they all are on the wrong track.
Other controversial areas such as health care, welfare, campaign financing, the great American Lobby System and the like have been with us for a long time and are not likely to go away. Forbes was a voice in the wilderness without allegiance to any special interest group. Too bad he wasnt heard and understood by the voters.
Over the years I have observed the Republicans tend to favor less government and, more importantly, they tend to let me keep more of my income. This is sufficient reason for me to be Republican.
I am, therefore, left to consider two republican candidates, Bush and McCain. These two fellows seem to be having a hard time separating themselves, one from the other, on any of the issues. I expect they are fundamentally in agreement on it all.
I, therefore, am judging them on experience, character, honesty, forcefulness and the like. On this basis, McCain wins hands down.
Most well managed household budget spends its money for those things it is has to have. After that for things it's nice to have. And they do without the rest. And so it should be with the government. My answer to budget surplus is listed here in the order of execution.
Issue Social Security - The absolute first thing we should do with any surplus is honor the contract FDR made with the American worker when he instituted the Social Security System. The art of projecting the number of retirees in the future is well known and consequently the dollar volume required to meet the social security
obligations. Our government should calculate the five year projected social security obligation each year and fund the entire five-year forecasted amount. This fund must be protected from raids by the politicians. When, not if, the time comes that the system fails and funds are not available for this, the politicians must look at ways to fix the system.
Issue National Debt - Secondly, we paid over five trillion dollars in interest on the national debt over the last five years. Any funds left after social security each year should be allocated to the debt. Once the debt is retired, consider other programs.
Hare some other good issues that are being swept under the rug so to speak.
Issue - Drugs - Arguably, one of the more serious, if not the most serious of all, problems extant on the planet today is the increasing use of addictive drugs. Responsible for a vast majority of crime, hard drugs are continuing to flow into the United States in ever increasing volumes. We refer, laughingly, to the "War on
Drugs". My perception is the "War on Drugs" is in the same category as the "War in Korea" and the "War in Viet Nam". It is a war that we havent the political will or the political imperative to win. It is inconceivable to me that the United States of America cant stop the flow or stop the source if it ever becomes totality dedicated. I dont presume
to have all the answers, but I will keep asking the questions. Two hundred fifty million Americans would do well to ask the questions as well. Any presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican or Reform Party who can convince me that he will make the war on drugs a top priority and apply the full force of the United States to that war will have my unconditional
support.
Issue Lobbyists - In Mexico its called mordita and refers to their quaint custom of accepting bribes for favors at all levels. (I have felt for years that we should buy Mexico from the PRI party and turn loose the free enterprise system. Think of the long term savings in Border Patrol and Drug War monies.) In the United States we refer to it as lobbying. The Greek definition of politikos is belonging to the citizens. The Latin definition of politicus is citizen. The American definition of politics
is "Go for the Gold Mr. Incumbent and to hell with "we the people". The politicians are being pampered by the lobbyists - big time. While this is happening, who is lobbying for the people - not the politicians, they are too busy catering to the lobbyists.
It seems as if the politicians are from a different planet and not in tune with "we the people". I have been under the impression that government serves at the will of the people. Look up next summer and see how much cajoling, pleading, haranguing, and such you will see and hear. The politicians will, once again, be serving at the will of the lobbyists. We
must eliminate the special interests impact on government.
Issue Legal Reform - The framers of the constitution had a neat phrase " government by the people, of the people and for the people". Sadly it has become twisted, warped and re-defined to mean "by the lawyers, of the lawyers, and for the lawyers". In todays reality, in any interaction between two or more persons
the result can be viewed by the parties as not fair or illegal and by the lawyers as a cause of action. The lawyers, in turn, will mount a tremendous campaign to convince a jury and there will come another jillion dollar judgment. Institute common-sense legal reform to stop excessive legal claims, frivolous lawsuits and overzealous lawyers.
Issue Welfare - How many of you have stood behind a large overweight person in a supermarket checkout line and watched that person pay for a market basket full of luxury items with food stamps and then place their purchases in a new Cadillac and drive away? Stopping the welfare shtick wont be easy. We
need a comprehensive long-term plan to eliminate the root causes and convince welfare recipients that welfare is not an honorable thing or an inalienable right. We must get the able-bodied people off welfare and back to work. It can be done look at Minnesota and Michigan.
Issue Big Government - If we dont take some drastic action, big government, like the battery powered bunny, is going to get bigger and bigger. They now spend 40% of income. Expenditures have grown 50% in the last 20 years. Any fool can see there is a finite limit to all this. As soon as
expenditures outgrow the production capacity what happens? It boggles the mind. We must get control of this run-away government of ours. Stop the fleecing of America Stop government growth - Stop the pork. (See Government).
Issue Education - Why does the most prosperous and powerful nation on the planet rank so low in the education of its children. Because we have let the government take charge of their education and, to some extent, their care and feeding. I could care less if they learn basket weaving or finger painting. As Dizzy Dean once said
"learn them reading, writing and arithmetic and I'll learn them baseball". Students should perform to the limit of their abilities or make room for those who can. Give the schools back to the people or at least the people who care.
Issue Taxes - Incredible as it may seem, there are 17,000 pages containing some 5.5 million words in our tax codes. The system has grown way too complex and unwieldy. Money magazine reported 50 tax accountants came up with 50 different tax returns using the exact same data. We must undertake a massive and
complete overhaul of out tax system.
MEDIA BIAS
One need only watch the various network news broadcasts, including public television. The talk shows, dedicated to interviewing
officials and round table discussion groups, are glaring examples of someone trying to place their personal spin on "Whats going on".
In the good old days when a speech by a politician was aired the program ended with the conclusion of the speech. We, the
public, were given enough credit to have the ability to absorb or understand the message. Now when a speech is concluded a panel of experts is there to
debate what was meant by certain statements, look at the issues and put their slant on the topics addressed. They presume, if left without direction, the
public can make the "wrong choice".
My perception is the "right choice" reflects their personal bias as well as the dogma of the organization who issues their
paychecks. Your editor will endeavor to keep his brain off automatic pilot, minimize his personal bias and examine all sides of the issues.
My perception of the printed and broadcast media is they are liberal and one-sided, reflecting a personal bias as
well as the bias of the owners and writers. On the other hand they may simply be in opposition to my personal bias. The dictionary defines "bias" as leaning,
prejudice, tendency, inclination, propensity, proclivity, bend, sway, color and warp.
According to the pundits, bias in an individual is the product of his or her environment. No doubt this is true.
To name a few, my bias is against human suffering, starvation, persecution and corruption. I am biased in favor of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Marilyn Vos Savant, reported to have the highest IQ on the planet, says the straightest shooters in the media will
sound biased to viewers who are biased themselves. Again true but not deep enough. My bias is the result of over 75 years observation of the human condition; its
causes and effects. I wonder how many of the liberal media (outside of their professional requirement) have walked a picket line, been out there in an infantry line
company in time of war, tried to scratch a living from a piece of hardscrabble dirt farm, spent sleepless nights trying to figure how they can, or if they can, send
their child to college.Well you get the idea.
Katie Curic was interviewing Dan Whitcomb, the NBC corespondent at the Markachef trial. They were discussing the
media hype focused on the trial. On the subject of media spin her statement was "obviously you are biased, but"
Tim Russert of "Meet the Press" commented on a recent "Spin Job" by saying he wasn't sure
whether it was ideological spin, media spin, political spin or some other spin.
It's so easy to insert or delete a single word or fact and put a whole new slant on the statement. How many
times have you heard the words "But, will it really happen"? Listen with care and soon you will hear a "but" coming.
The Arizona Republic published an article entitled "Shoddy journalism is result of a market-driven
media" written by Arizona State University professor Joseph A. Russomanno. Key
excerpts that make an excellent case are:
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The New Republic fired a reporter for fabricating...
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The Boston Globe fired a columnist for inventing..
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The Cincinnati Enquirer fired a lead reporter for illegally obtaining..
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CCN and Time retracted the nerve gas story.. (In this case the story was probably true.)
In this well written and timely article Professor Russsomanno concludes:
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"Journalism" has been redefined. The ultimate criterion is often whether the journalist has the
ability to help the product attract an audience..
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The fear among media organizations is losing audience. The result is a dumbing down of content, with what
was once labeled entertainment now passing for news.
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When the bottom line is top priority, journalism and its tenets become secondary. Until higher
standards are demanded, news will continue to be de-emphasized, hype will rule .....
Professor Deni Elliot is an ethics professor at the University of Montana. In a recent speech she said
"..Objective reporting is a standard whose time has come and gone..".
Spring, 1999- Fred Thompson, when he abruptly disbanded the Campaign Finance Reform
Committee during his last public speech on the subject said, "this committee was established in order to show the American Public how our government works and it has done so..". Convulsed with
laughter, I could visualize legions of lobbyists, unions, corporations and fellow congressmen beating a path to his door with mountains of pressure to shut down the
committee and stop messing around with campaign financing.
Summer, 1999- After the last round of teenagers shooting up schools, a non-government psychologist type convened
a seminar attended by representatives of the recently affected schools and police departments. The list of recommendations that ensued included, among
many good ideas, one that got my attention. It would hold gun owners be they parents or whomever, responsible for the damage done by the
teenager. This is a pretty good idea and deserves wide spread consideration. The spin here is one of omission. One network aired the story one
time and it disappeared from sight. Too bad the psychologist was not named Lewinsky.
16 July '98 - Regarding the CCN disclosure that the military had used nerve gas against deserters
in Vietnam and their subsequent retraction. The event was reported by the other networks in due course with details, including the punishment administered to the CCN
executives and staff involved. NBC, for one, reported the various punishments and very carefully avoided identifying the individuals involved. The fact that CCN had
concocted a false story and got caught was so newsworthy it had to be reported. Certainly NBC has as much right and responsibility to name the culprits as they
have to name the thousands of ordinary citizens who daily get caught up in abnormal situations. My perception is NBC was protecting birds in their own nest,
so to speak. Three days later the Fox network did identify two of the lesser lights. However, the executives remain unidentified.
26 July '98 - Well Whoop-de-do - the tip of the iceberg!! April Oliver, the
producer, now says the events did occur and she can prove it. Her story is the result of an eight month study and is based on solid fact. Miss
Oliver says she and the article were and are the object of a major cover-up by government. The Special Forces Association unleashed a savage attack on
the CCN Executive Suite by such luminaries as Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell and Richard Helms. Miss Oliver was muzzled and forbidden to speak to
the reporters.
The affair has spun out of control and now must be investigated by independent council. If
the military did use nerve gas against deserters in Vietnam and want to keep it a secret, that's bad. Use of nerve gas for any reason is against
international law, moral law and, by my perception, not the way this country is supposed to behave. I am concerned if they did it and are trying to
conceal the fact from "We the people". I am equally concerned if they didn't do it and are the target of shoddy journalism. In either case an in-depth
investigation is in order.
My perception is they did it. I lose sleep thinking about uncontrolled civilian or military
units conducting Black Operations without answering to higher authority. Ultimately "We the People" are the highest authority, bear the highest
responsibility, and in the extreme case will pay the highest penalty.
I cant count the times I have heard panels, pundits, anchor people and all the media say the
American Public is not concerned about the Presidents morals.
Obviously they have not talked to the parents who resent having to explain oral sex to their
children. Children, encouraged by their schools to be aware of current events, are asking their parents to describe the accusations involving Mr. Clinton .
Yet, not once have I heard a derogatory statement by the media. My perception is
they are trying to create a public "lack of concern". If you make a statement long enough, eventually the listener will come to believe it.
Well I wish to state loudly and unequivocally that I object to his behavior. If we cant trust
Mr. Clinton to be true to his marriage vows, how in the world can we trust him to be true to his oath of office.
On face the Nation, Mike Barnicle of the Boston Globe said "It is all about
sex". Other media pundits disagreed. There were as many different spin jobs at the table as there were pundits. (August 6 - News today Mike has been
fired.) (August 12 - News today Mike has been re-hired -- stay tuned.) (Two weeks later--they fired him again.)
And just imagine our President at the summit table with leaders of the other great
nations. Picture him pontificating on the subject of how many nuclear weapons Iran has or the relationship between the Euro dollar and the American dollar or some
other weighty subject. Picture also the other heads of state watching him with bemusement and wondering who was in the oval office last night.
A ray of hope has appeared. Today (26 July '98) the Fox News Sunday program reports
recent polls indicate two thirds of the public think the Mr. Clinton should "tell all". Maybe that feeling will carry through the fall elections.
One of the panelists stated "If the President had an innocent explanation, we would have heard it by now".
Grandmother Hubbard had a classic colloquialism for this event. "Where
there's smoke, there's fire." My perception is, whether he did it or didn't do it and whether he lied or didn't lie, the stature of the leadership of the
American people and it's government has been diminished.
Geraldo and Linda Ingram, both lawyers, were Katie Curic's guests on the 29 July '98 edition of the Today
Show. The subject was - guess what. Geraldo sounded like a ranking member of the President's "Spin Control Team".
Geraldo said "It's about sex, it's only about sex, it's always been about sex. The only person who
should be upset about the President of the United States having an extramarital affair in the White House is the President's wife". "After all",
Geraldo said "Every member of Congress has done the same thing at one time or another". It's too early to speculate whether Bill Clinton will be
impeached, but I'll bet there are people in Congress who would surely love to impeach Geraldo.
Miss Ingram tried to present a clear logical account of "What's Going On", but was prevented from
presenting her views by constant, rude and loud interruptions by Geraldo. The disgusting aspect is Miss Curic let him get away with this obscene behavior.
8 August '98 - According to Dick Polman of the Philadelphia Inquirer ".. Americans have become
numb to deceit in high places; indeed, they have come to expect it..
John Kolbe, a columnist in the Arizona Republic said today "No longer does Clinton, the most
self-absorbed president in U.S. history, come before the American people as their selfless savior. His primary goal is now painfully apparent -- the
salvation of Bill Clinton."
8 August '98 - Columnist William Rusher predicts:
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"President Clinton will testify fully and accurately to the grand jury, admitting to a
sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky"
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"The next day the President will address the American people and tell them his conduct was a
terrible mistake which the nation should put behind itself."
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"Then the White House spinmeisters--Rahm Emanual, Paul Begala, James Carville and Lanny
Davis will fan out onto the news programs and talk shows and announce that everyone has suffered enough..."
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"Two and a half more years of Clinton means a daily national bath in the sordid, sleazy mess
his (Clinton's) administration has become."
And finally today Ross Baker a political analyst at Rutgers University said " If it ever came out that
he (Clinton) practiced witchcraft, that would probably be OK with some people. There's still a tendency to overlook almost anything because expectations about him
are so low."
18 August '98 -- William Rusher was right -- Sort of. Bill Clinton did testify to the grand Jury,
but not fully and accurately. He chose to take the fifth on certain aspects of his affair with Monica Lewinsky. He did tell the nation his conduct was a
terrible mistake and the spin doctors are out in force. I am ticked off at his attack on Ken Starr and I expect his apology is worth about as much as his original
lie.
From "I did not have sex with that woman" through seven months of lies, deceit and
wrangling to "I did have an improper relationship with Ms.Lewinsky", to "My Spirit is Broken" it's been a long weary road. And the end is not in
sight.
And what did it get us? A diminished presidential office stature for future presidents? A teetering
of the pinnacle upon which the United States has rested do long? Or national and international attention focused on just about everything except the important
conduct of the United States Government?
Certainly all of that. But, most importantly, it's left us with a president who is a liar, a cheat and an
adulterer and has lost whatever moral authority he ever had.
Me, I'm glad road to closure is becoming clearer. I'm tired of the long day after day outpouring of
the "Clinton Sex Story". Good, bad or indifferent, we've still got him. He's still our president and likely to remain so.
I sincerely hope he keeps his pants zipped and we can all go about the business of facing the
future. I also hope Mr. Rusher was not clairvoyant when he said ""Two and a half more years of Clinton means a daily national bath in the sordid, sleazy
mess his (Clinton's) administration has become."
Anyway, with Hillary sleeping in a separate bedroom, I expect he is getting at least a small portion of
just retribution.
I was in Europe and my war was in Europe. Bill Clinton was in Europe too but his war was in Viet Nam.
Not only did he evade service in that war, he actively campaigned against it. And in a foreign country at that, while not inhaling pot.
I thought I had about enough of our presidents escapades, but something has happened that I just cant pass up.
This morning, 11 Sep. 98, in his "broken spirit" breakfast speech to a group of religious leaders that man actually had the unmitigated
gall to suggest Americas children should model their character after him.
During the speech he mentioned a rabbi friend in Florida had given it to him and he quoted a passage from the Hebrew Torah about "Turning".
Here is where the spin doctoring becomes evident. One hour later Matt Lauer, without reference to the Torah, reported the president had quoted from a poem in his speech.
While Im on the subject, during a recent speech, Mr. Clinton stated the most important thing his mother taught him was survival. Too bad she could
not teach him a little basic morality and honesty.
On the Today show an absolute expert spin-doctor, Ms. Ann Lewis, a presidential advisor, delivered a bunch of double talk and concluded Clinton was
not in violation of the standards set by the framers of the constitution.
Ms. Lewis, please be advised the Constitution does not establish standards of behavior for the president. It does, in fact, provide a mechanism by
which the existing congress at the time may establish current standards in light of the existing state of legal, moral, or other restraints in vogue in the country. The
next president may face an entirely different standard.
Ms. Lewis, it must be wonderful to have your annual "Day of Atonement" and Clinton to have a "Broken Spirit" and beg forgiveness
from a room full of priests in the White House. No doubt you both expect to start over with a brand new and clean slate after such event. I, for one, do not grant
Bill Clinton any infinitesimal bit of absolution. That man has broken the oath he made when he accepted the job and I want him out of there. Not as punishment, as you
said in your interview, but as pure and simple relief.
On the farm during the winter we would go in the root cellar occasionally and throw away the bad apples lest they contaminate the remainder. I want
that bad apple out of there before it rots the entire fabric of our society.
Sports Fans, if you are in any doubts about the seriousness of this situation picture Bill Clinton in a reclining chair with his pants down and
Monica working on that end while he is in a telephone discussion on the other end with a member of the Congress--ostensibly making weighty decisions about the affairs
of government. Picture his hand on a nuclear trigger at the big moment.
Generals, Captains and Sergeants covered with combat awards are forced out of the military for Lewinsky type
scandals. Where does Bill Clinton who is the commander in chief of all the military derive immunity from the same punishment?
On 15 September Tom Brokaw said "It's not business as usual in Washington these days and not likely to change for some
time. Could it be that the Media Beast is turning on Bill Clinton after almost single-handedly electing him in two elections? We can only hope.
16 September '98 - Bob Dole - "This incident has diminished the stature of the presidential office and hurt Clinton's
creditability as a world leader."
16 September ' 98 - Spin Doctoring out of spin! Congresswoman Sheila Jackson, a super loyal Clinton supporter who has been
thumping the tub on any and all subjects relating to Clinton's sexcapades said today "The release of the grand jury tapes makes the president seem beneath the constitution". The perception, of course, is she believes Clinton is
above the
constitution. Obviously the president agrees with her.
Some religious faiths hold that electing their top leader to office automatically endows that individual with the ability to
engage in a two-way conversation with God and pass his instructions along to the faithful. The Mormon Church and the Roman Catholics come to mind. Is it
possible that Bill Clinton will begin speaking ex cathedra?
1 October '98 - The constant harping by the White House minions and their attempt to blame Ken Starr for the $45 Million cost of the
investigation in order to shift the focus from Clinton has got me boiling again. From Jessica Flowers to Paula Jones and who knows how many other women
through Whitewater, File Gate and Travel Gate to Chinese Campaign Contributions to Monica Lewinsky the whole sordid mess has been the direct responsibility of just one
person - Bill Clinton. Our president is directly and solely the cause of the $45 Million cost to date. The record indicates Monica kept nine assignations
with Clinton. That means that each individual visit she made to not have sex with our president cost the
American taxpayers Five Million Dollars! Each visit!!
8 OCTOBER '98 The record indicates there are currently 215 individuals in the United States serving time for committing perjury in a grand jury
hearing. Is it possible Bill Clinton will become number 216 or will he manage to evade punishment in the same manner as he, as commander in chief of all the military,
is evading leaving the service as others are currently so doing because of Clinton like sexcapades.
I will pause here and give the president a bit of credit and chide the opposition Republicans for their respective positions regarding the $75
billion budget surplus. Clinton wants to use the surplus to relieve the social security problem. The Republicans want to lower taxes. In-as-much-as pundits claim social
security will be defunct by the year 2020 or thereabouts, I guess it boils down to whether we want to bite the social security bullet now or accept the tax windfall and
pass the social security bullet on to our children.
Today the house has voted to continue full bore impeachment proceedings. That is progress of a sort. It presents a gloomy picture of day after day
barrages of media hype and much more about Clintons sexual proclivities than I want to
hear. It cant be avoided and I accept that, but it is getting to be a bit
of a bore.
Lets take a global look at our planet.
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Iraq and North Korea are on the verge of getting the atom bomb
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Kosovo is a disaster and a blemish on the world consciousness
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Russia is a shambles
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The Asian economic woes are threatening a world depression
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Terrorism is on the rise
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Big government in the US is getting really bigger
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Social Security is going down the tubes
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Big "Anything" with big money for political campaigns is running the country
At a time when the entire attention of the United States should be focused on these and a passel of lesser
problems, what do we getimpeachment. Just thinkall this came about because Bill Clinton could not keep his pants zipped.
One hundred and seventy six congressional Democrat representatives voted against the impeachment proceeding and
made a vigorous effort to minimize the process in favor of Clinton. One hopes the electorate will remember this during the next congressional election.
I refer, of course, to the mills of Lord McDonald of the Isle of Skye, whose family has been
chieftains of the clan McDonald for 300 years. A dialogue, initiated by McDonalds (the fast food outlet) between the family and the fast food outlet about use of the
name "McDonald" is ongoing.
Hereafter, McDonald's refers to the fast food corporation. This whole thing started in
London in 1989/1990 when Dave Morris and Helen Steel began passing out "Whats wrong with McDonald's" leaflets in front of a McDonald's. Among other things
they accused McDonald's of cruelty to animals and cheap wages. Left alone these two individuals would have shortly dried up and gone away. However
McDonald's chose to bring suit in a London court.
The defendants could not afford an attorney and represented themselves in the trial. Years later
McDonald's, after spending in excess of 16 million dollars, won their case and received a one hundred thousand dollar
judgment. They havent been able to collect the judgment because the defendants are broke. At this reading, they havent tried to collect. Interestingly,
the judge in the trial found
McDonald's guilty of cruelty to animals and cheap wages.
McDonalds's did not get a
judgment preventing Dave and Helen from further activity. They
are back on the street passing out leaflets. During all this, they published a Website informing the world at large of their opinion of McDonald's. The last I heard
over 20 million people had visited the Website. That calculates McDonalds's paid $0.80 for each visitor to the Website
"Behind the Arches', is a book authorized by McDonald's in 1987. The book states, "In
Japan, McDonald's faced a fundamental challenge in establishing beef as a common food". Their President, Den Fujita, said "The reason Japanese people are so
short and have yellow skins is because we have eaten nothing but fish and rice for two thousand years, if we eat McDonald's hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years
we will become taller, our skin become white and our hair blond". This is only part of McDonald's efforts to promote junk food with their annual advertising and
promotions budget of $1.4 billion. One wonders how many pounds of fat their junk food created. Too bad we can't reduce their budget to dollars per pound of
fat.
The Mills of the God's may be beginning to grind exceedingly fine.
My perception is the Clan McDonald are much too nice to let this get under their tartan. Time will
tell.
My grandmother Hubbard will, no doubt, "turn over in her grave" when she reads
this article. She was born about 1875 and a staunch Democrat. Her favorite comment was, "I wouldn't give a Republican air if I had him in a
jug". I expect she had more than her share of personal bias. Well, here's one for you grandmother.
Mr. Clinton was right to go to China. We cannot ignore China and we cannot force China to do
anything China does not want to do. We had best maintain a continuing dialogue and make every effort to understand China and have China understand us. So I
applaud President Clinton for making the trip. I'll even go along with a gentle pressure for human rights.
However, there are an awful lot of places on earth right now, where we can make a real difference in
human rights at a much lower cost. Unfortunately, these places don't offer a billion person marketplace. My perception is this administration is ignoring
the balance of trade deficit with China and visualizing the largest consumer group on record for American products.
On the negative side, the word hypocritical comes to mind. We have deserted the Taiwanese,
the one piece of China that has created a real democracy in the traditional American way. They have accomplished the very same thing in breaking away from
mainland China that we did in breaking away from Great Britain with identical results. Mr. Clinton's obvious bias in favor of mainland China over Taiwan is
unconscionable.
20 July '98 - The media is all worked up about a fellow named Rudolph, the suspected abortion clinic
bomber. Mr. Rudolph is successfully hiding in the mountains of North Carolina with a million-dollar bounty on his head.
The media calls Mr. Randolph a survivalist and attributes his survival skills to military training. In fact, the
military does teach some of the troops to eat bugs, start fires with their bare hands and kill with a single glance. My perception is Randolph learned his mountain
craft in the Appalachian mountains. Any of his contemporaries, who was raised and hunted and fished in those mountains could perform equally as well.
Two aspects of the media reviews were absolutely hilarious. First, they expounded at length on
Randolph's ability to live by eating bugs and worms. This was the very next day after they had reported he had acquired a six months supply of regular
people food.
Secondly, and this one really cracked me up, an apparent instructor at a so called survivalist school
gave a demonstration of hiding in plain sight. The instructor created a pretty good hidy-hole by camouflaging the space under a fallen tree with green
branches. This would be effective until the green stuff began to wilt in 4 or 5 hours. He then backed into the hole and reached out and scraped a
large bunch of dead leaves into the hole after himself. He was effectively invisible. However, just outside the hole like a flaming arrow, a four
square foot area of bare dirt, in the midst of a carpet of dead leaves, was pointing directly at his hole.
8 August '98 - The Rudolph posse has been reduced by 120 men, down to less than 100. It doesn't
make the FBI look less ludicrous.
Meanwhile, Bo Gritz has appeared on the scene. You will remember Colonel James "Bo"
Gritz of Viet Nam fame as the highest decorated Officer in Green Beret history. You may also remember him as the person
who engineered the peaceful surrender of the Freeman gang in Montana. Most of all you may remember him as the 1992 presidential candidate under the auspices of
the Populist Party. His war cry "We've got one more hill to take --- Capital Hill" I can support without a second thought.
Today he talked back to Katie Curic and got away with it. He reports he is using volunteers from all over the
country to try and arrange a peaceful surrender. His wild card is to cut a deal that gives the one million dollar reward to Rudolph's mother. Time will
tell.
8 August '98 - While Randolph is eluding the searchers in North Carolina another scenario is being
played out in the Four Corners area near Montezuma Creek, Utah. Alan Pilon and Jason McVean are being sought in the biggest manhunt in Rocky Mountain
History. In 110 degree temperatures these two suspected cop killers who the local media are referring to as Butch and Sundance have avoided capture since
the 29th of last May. The small army of searchers which at times included 500 officers from 51 different agencies has spent $2,000,000 so far and counting.
At one point the posse actually tried to burn the outlaws out with a forest fire. No Joy to date.
The question arises. How in the world can our government expect to apprehend and punish
the perpetrators of the African embassy bombings when they can't catch common criminals at home? Bill Clinton stood in front of America and said we
will unleash the full force of American power to bring the bombing guys to justice. Bull!
Texas Bix Bender has a cowboy clich that fits the situation to a tee. "After eating an
entire bull the mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of
bull, keep your mouth shut."
15 October '98 - Two years after the fact the government has charged Rudolph with the Atlanta
bombing. Rudolph is still on the loose and Colonel Gritz has disappeared from the screen. Apparently it's a lot easier to solve crimes in
comfortable offices and laboratories than it is to track down an experienced mountain men.
And what of Butch and Sundance -- Nada!
February, 2000
- We hear no more about
Rudolph and the mountain men. The authorities and the media have successfully swept them under the rug.
June,
2003 - A rookie coop in Murphy, North Carolina arrested Rudolph while
Rudolph was dumpster diving in Murphy, NC. This will, no doubt, keep the
media busy for weeks.
Spring 2006
- And what of Butch and Sundance --
Still Nada!
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