Sunday, June 27

Independence Day, 2004

A fresh flag flies at our home in Hanahan, SC, to celebrate our country's 228th anniversary, Independence Day, Sunday, July 4, 2004. Fifty percent of the 20 homes on our street regularly fly the American flag. Some 68% of Americans said they owned a flag, according to a recent study by the National Retail Foundation. Have a pleasant holiday!
#197 (04-46)
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Friday, June 25

Good Morning Lowcountry
Column enlightening (Letter to the Editor, The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC, June 25, 2004)

Kudos to the writers of Good Morning Lowcountry. Their daily offering is frequently hilarious and sometimes insightful and enlightening.
Sunday's collection of wit and witticisms about fathers was outstanding. I clipped, copied and mailed it to each of my five children who have the good sense and taste to not live in my Zip Code.

FRANCIS X. ARCHIBALD
1128 John Rutledge Ave.
Hanahan
#196 (04-45)
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Thursday, June 24

No. 1
In a Wall Street Journal article June 24, 2004, (pg B5), Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, said that first day sales of former President Bill Clinton's "My Life" were so strong the publisher printed another 750,000 copies bringing the total number of copies in print to 2.25 million...Barnes & Noble and Borders Group said first day sales were the highest of any nonfiction book in their history...a Borders store in New York's financial district hosted Mr. Clinton on Wednesday (June 23) and attracted a crowd estimated at 2,000..."My Life" ranked No. 1 in sales on the Amazon.com web site.
#195 (04-44)
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Tuesday, June 22

Reading List

Today I picked up my copy of "My Life" by Bill Clinton at Books-a-Million in North Charleston. It is third in line to be read. At present I am reading "The First Billion" by Christopher Reich and John LeCarre's "Absolute Friends" is next on the list. These two books are checkouts from the local library.
#194 (04-43)
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Sunday, June 13

On the home front
This spring I added a shed (12 x 12 x 8) at the side of my garage to house lawn and garden equipment. During the past week re-painting of the entire structure was completed. I cut a door opening between the side of the garage and back of the shed. This is a convenience that also promotes the passage of air to help cool the workshop in the garage.
#193 (04-42)
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Saturday, June 12

Time and the dead - some responses
While I wait to hear from Time about their policy change (preceding article) here are some responses I received after posting the article:

Maybe because he was so well loved by millions of American people and because of his optimism and "proud to be an American" outlook! One person on NSMBC stated when he became president, it was like sunshine came to the United States. That's my view! (Source: a woman in Hanahan, SC)

I don't know why or when Time changed their policy but they should put Ray Charles, may he rest in peace, on the cover of their next issue. (A man in goose Creek, SC)

I doubt if you get a reply. If you do, please let me know what they say.
Reagan was such a pleasant. Really nice guy and everyone really liked him. I would guess that is why his picture was on the front. A most popular man. Time, like all magazines, is out to sell copies and whatever they think will sell copies - well, that goes on the cover. (A woman in Goose Creek, SC)

I think they used the same picture as one of the other major weekly's ... may have been Newsweek or U.S. News & World Report. (A woman in Hanahan, SC) (It was Newsweek.)

You keep the world intact! Stay on the bastards.
Personally, the whole Reagan thing has been a bit overdone for me. I was into it at first but please, not burying a white man for a week! Poor Ray Charles, he barely got any press on his passing. (A woman in Myrtle Beach, SC)

My only thought is that the whole week has seemed to be a rather carefully orchestrated attempt by the right-leaning media to canonize the late President and, at the same time, to have us forget Lebanon, the Iran-Contra matter and the pathetic so-called "investigation" which followed, the comic opera invasion of Grenada, the homophobic snide comments and indifference as the aids crisis took off and the bail-out of the savings and loans. Yes, Reagan did make many Americans "feel good" about themselves again. But I suspect the same could have been said by Germans of Hitler, at least by those who were not Jews, Gays, Gypsies or the old aristocracy who opposed him. Perhaps the greater measure of a President is the ability to challenge Americans, as Kennedy surely did, and Carter earnestly tried to. (A man in Garden City Beach, SC)

Tell us if you get a reason. (A woman in Massachusetts)
#192 (04-41)

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Thursday, June 10

Time and the dead
This week Time magazine put the late President Ronald Reagan on its cover. This is a departure from custom which dictated, at Time, that dead men do not make the cover. When President Kennedy was assassinated, the new President Lyndon Johnson was on the cover the following week. Does anyone know when and why Time changed its policy? I have written to the editors and asked. No reply, yet.
#191 (04-40)
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Thursday, June 3

George Tenet's resignation
President Bush caught everyone by surprise today with his out-of-the-blue announcement that CIA director George Tenet had submitted a letter of resignation, with effective date of July 11, for "personal reasons." Tenet is very popular at the agency and his leaving will have an adverse impact on morale there. Something the public doesn't know is at play here. The timing of the resignation is strange to say the least. Given that the country is in the midst of a Presidential election (and Bush's re-election is in doubt)it is unlikely any permanent director will be nominated before the end of the year. Deputy CIA director John McLaughlin will be acting director until a new director is confirmed. Tenet was expected to leave after the election, whether Bush or Kerry wins in November.
#190 (04-39)
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