Red Sox Nation Commentary
Well, the Red Sox traded Nomar to Chicago yesterday in a deal where they got two players I have never heard of before. That doesn't mean these two mystery (to me) men won't contribute, or they are not prime players. I am about to give up on the Sox' 2004 aspirations of a shot at the world title. It is again looking more like "some day in the next hundred years."
#207 (04-56)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

$445 billion deficit
Holy shit. I thought it was the Democrats who were the big spenders. Republicans control the White House and the Congress and have run up this deficit. Why is it when Democrats run a deficit the GOP screams that the end of the world is coming, but when they run the largest one-year deficit in the history of this country "it proves what they are trying to do is working."
#206 (04-55)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

More on donuts
On July 26, (see below) I commented on the more than a 1,000 donut shops in Boston and asked how many were in other areas. Here are some edited replies I received:

Las Vegas – Thirty-one, enough for the locals and the 50,000 tourists here daily.

Virginia – I don’t drink coffee and I don’t eat donuts. Have to meet my friends on a park bench.

Boston – I visited Atlanta a few years ago and went out in the morning to fetch some donuts, a usual thing back home. An hour later, I returned to my worried friends empty-handed. No donut shops.

South Carolina - The South Strand Krispy Kreme has been here for years and a new Dunkin' opened this spring.  Murrells Inlet remains the "Seafood Capitol of South Carolina" but I guess this makes Garden City Beach the "Donut Capitol."

South Carolina – I like a Starbucks in Hanahan…us yokels like good coffee too.

South Carolina – Do Bostonians enjoy Krispy Kreme as much as people in other parts of the country do?

South Carolina – Does Columbia still have a Dunkin’s shop? A favorite of mine years ago when traveling with the kids and the high school band.

South Carolina – I went to Myrtle Beach recently and noted many Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts shops. I must have counted at least 20 and could not believe it.

South Carolina – Three in our area (North Charleston) closed…and you have to travel far to get a donut.  BTW: The Krispy Kreme shop on Rivers across from the Naval hospital was where they made all the donuts that the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, schools and different organizations sold to raise money.  It was a pretty good fund raiser! 
#205 (04-54) 
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Al Sharpton Impressive in DNC speech
Rev. Al Sharpton stirred up the crowd at the DNC Wednesday night with a spirited "our vote is not for sale" speech. Sharpton told the cheering crowd black Americans had been promised "40-acres and a mule" by Republicans and never got the 40-acres and never got the mule -"So we decided to ride this donkey (symbol of the Democratic Party) as far as it would take us."
#204 (04-53)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Suicide in Russian Army
109 soldiers in the Russian Army have killed themselves in the first half of 2004, a rise of nearly 40% from last year. Every army suicide is investigated as a criminal case, since top brass themselves admit that a large portion of the suicides were driven to their drastic final step. Faced with violent hazing from their peers and indifference from their superiors, many young conscripts opt for suicide — the only choice they see when they feel their life has been destroyed.
#203 (04-52)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Eat your heart out
There are at least 1,050 doughnut shops in Boston, one for every 5,750 residents, eight times the national average, according to The Wall Street Journal, (page 1, July 26, 2004).
#202 (04-51)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

World War II Memorial and other sites
Over the past weekend I visited the World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington and was touched to tears at the moment. The site is splendidly done, simple and dignified. The columns representing each state allow visitors to pause and think about the men and women from that state who served in the great conflict.  I and my wife were particularly surprised and pleased to find the columns for South Carolina and Massachusetts (my original state) were side by side. The four thousand stars, each representing 100 American men and women who died in the conflict are a sad reminder of the price of freedom.
I also visited the Library of Congress and saw the Bob Hope and Gershwin displays, as well as a selection of the cartoons of Ann Telnaes. In 2001, Ms. Telnaes became the second woman ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Another stop was The National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles airport. The center currently houses more than 80 aircraft and 60 space artifacts. This will grow to more than 200 aircraft and 100 space artifacts as the ten story high building is more than adequate. Two of the many exhibits that overwhelm the visitor are the SR71 Blackbird and the Enola Gay. Two of the great airplanes of the twentieth century.
#201 (04-50) 
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

The Twentieth Train

The spring of 1943 was a desperate time for Jews all over Europe. In Belgium, as elsewhere, the trains were carrying Jews to Auschwitz. This is a story told with simplicity of the courage of three men who, at the risk of their own lives, sought to rescue some of the victims. It is also the story of ordinary Belgium families - facing concentration camps and even death - who also rose to the occasion to prove once again that there are good people in this world. (The Twentieth Train, Marion Schreiber, Grove Press, New York, 2002, 308 pages, $25.00)
#200 (04-49)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Cheney's intelligence
Either Vice-President Dick Cheney is not as smart as some people think he is or he covered up for his drug-addicted doctor for years. According to reports in The Washington Post today, Cheney knew his internist was addicted to drugs yet continued to use him as part of his medical team. Is this a double standard, stupidity or what?
#199 (04-48)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

It's Edwards


At 8:27 this morning Presidential candidate John Kerry e-mailed me and said he had selected John Edwards as his running mate. The e-mail message was sent in advance of the public announcement to approximately one million supporters and contributors on the Kerry mail list. Onward to victory in November.
#198 (04-47)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

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)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

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)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

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)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

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)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

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)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

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)

E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

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)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

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)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Hey, wait a minute
I thought it was Tom Ridge's job - as head of Homeland Security - to warn us about terrorism. Wednesday (May 26, 2004) he was not at the press conference when Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller issued warnings about the likelihood of terrorist attacks this summer. Are these people talking to each other? I would feel more comfortable if Ashcroft and Mueller were telling us they had thwarted terrorist planning instead of warning us to "duck and cover."
#189 (04-38)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Celebrate Memorial Day
On the occasion of Memorial Day this weekend let us pause to remember those who gave their lives in defense of our country and our way of life, and give thanks for those who defended it yesterday, do so today and will do so tomorrow. Freedom is not free and we can honor our men and women in uniform by being as good an American as we can in all ways.
#188 (04-37)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

They are at it again
A report in the The New York Times in the (Saturday, May 22, 2004) morning will reflect that the Saudis have agreed to increase oil production by 500,000 barrels a day. They deny they are trying to help President Bush in his re-election efforts, as Bob Woodard recently reported they had promised to do. Strange.
#187 (04-36)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Fast service response
One reader wrote: They (The Post & Courier) probably wrote the letters themselves.
#186 (04-35)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Fast service
On Thursday, The Post & Courier ran a story on Wednesday's "he said, she said" argument between SC State Senator John Kuhn and Jenny Sanford, the Governor's wife. Today, Friday, there are two letters to the editor supporting Mrs. Sanford and criticizing Senator Kuhn in The Post & Courier. Does anyone wonder, as I do, how these letters got into the paper so quickly? Were the letters hand carried in? Were they faxed or e-mailed? Were there also phone calls? Was there pressure from the Governor's office? Is The Post & Courier expressing a preference for the Sanfords over Kuhn? Is The Post & Courier attempting to influence the impending Republican primary? Just wondering. (Oh, by the way, one of Senator Kuhn's opponents is running TV ads with a picture of him and the Governor side by side.)
#185 (04-34)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

William favored in South
William was the No. 1 choice for a baby boy's name in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee in 2003, according to the Social Security administration. In later years the boy can be then called "Billy Bob or Billy Jim" or if he turns out light in the loafers, "Billy Jean."
184 (04-33)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Take the high road
We won the war but failed (to date) to secure the peace. In short order we knocked off Afghanistan and Iraq, neither of which was in our league. It was as if the Los Angeles Lakers took on a couple of third-ranked colleges and whipped those good.

Now, in Iraq we are faced with insurgency and guerrilla warfare and a horrendous prisoner abuse scandal. History proves that the hit and run tactics of guerrillas can go on for years, as witness 20th Century events in the Philippines, Vietnam and Chechnya.

In a few short days since the details started coming out on the prisoner abuses in Iraq, we are hearing rumors and suggestions that a small number of our troops in earlier wars may also have committed atrocious violations of Geneva Convention rules for the handling of prisoners. We are reminded that others have done far worse. We are also reminded of the terrible senseless horrors of 9/11, and that terrorists – who do not follow any rules of combat but improvise as they go along – attacked the United States in the first place. These rumors, suggestions and reminders imply, “It has all been done before and besides they asked for it.” How wrong is such thinking?

If we have not learned anything in the last 60 years, then what have we gained? Just because something was done sixty years or less ago does not make it correct or right today. Abominations committed by anyone in World War II, Korea or Vietnam – in the heat of battle or otherwise - do not excuse or justify similar or worse actions today in the War on Terrorism.

Restoring order and bringing peace to Iraq are the only legitimate American goals in that faraway place. The only way to do to do this is to take the high road and not slip into the gutter with our enemies in thought, word or deed.
#183 (04-32)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

The Hat Lady

My wife, Mary, wearing her own creation to the Hat Day tea in North Charleston, April 23, 2004. Mary took a common straw hat (purchased at local grocery store for $1.98) and painted it to match her jacket. She decorated the creation with a ribbon in the back and three butterflies, visible under the brim. The hat received several favorable comments at the tea and since.
(#182 (04-31)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Something is wrong here
You can get a license for a firearm in South Carolina after 8 hours training but under legislation pending in the state Senate you will require 350 hours of training before you can braid hair. I feel safer already.
#181 (04-30)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

No. 1 in South Carolina
Many thanks to all who voted and propelled this website to the No. 1 position in South Carolina. You can see it all at Top NC & SC Sites
#180 (04-29)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Shades of Florida voting
This evening the webmaster from the top North and South Carolina Web Sites called. He was compiling the April votes and was surprised my site was not moving up on the list of top South Carolina sites. We did a check on the linking code and it was defective. It linked to the site but your vote (if you voted) did not register. (Sort of like Florida a couple of years ago, although we did not find any hanging chads.) Those who have the time are asked to vote again (as Jim Curley used to say, "early and often"). Go to the site and see the "click here" message on the opening page (it is also on the links page) and click away. The vote ought to register automatically. The webmaster said in a second call that it appears to be registering. We'll know for sure in June. Meanwhile stay tuned.

Thank you for your time, effort and patience.
#179 (04-28)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Plan of Attack
Finished Bob Woodward's latest book, Plan of Attack, last night. It is obvious President Bush was bent on attacking Iraq in November 2001. What is surprising is that it took until March 2003 to get it on. The war was over quickly in Iraq (President announced the shooting over on May 1, 2003, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln) but preserving peace and instilling democracy still has a long way to go. One year later the number of dead American servicemen and women has risen to 718, (579 since May 1, 2003). The center point of the book is that Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney were fixated on Iraq and have used three themes at various times to justify the war: i.e. the 9/11 attacks (no Iraqi connection has been established), suspicions about weapons of mass destruction (none have been found) and getting rid of a dictator (what about all the other dictators in the world?). The book should be highly interesting to readers curious about the process of moving elephants around. The American military machine is so big it takes a tremendous amount of planning, know-how, effort and guts to get it moving. The cautious have to be prodded and the bold have to be restrained. I liken it to making a cup of tea. The teabag only goes in at the moment the water is at optimum boil.
#178 (04-27)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Abortion and communion
It is unfair for any Catholic Church leader to expect all Catholics who hold public office to fall on their swords on the abortion issue. Catholic candidates are elected - as all candidates are - by a majority of the persons voting and it is delusional to assume all of these are either Catholic or support Catholic teachings on abortion. I respect a candidate who says he/she personally deplores abortion but supports a woman's right to choose. Spokesmen for the Church may urge communion be denied to Catholics who do not toe the absolutist line, but such a position is not likely to be widely accepted - among the faithful or the clergy.
#177 (04-26)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Pat Tillman, R.I.P.
Without diminishing the sacrifice of the many almost anonymous men and women who serve, we pause to salute Pat Tillman who gave his life for his country in Afghanistan on Thursday (local time there.) Pat was an NFL defensive back with a great on-going career (and a $3.6 million salary) with the Arizona Cardinals, who put it all on hold to join the Rangers, part of the Army's elite fighting men. The media will undoubtedly report on Mr. Tillman's loss.
#176 (04-25)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

People Who Read Newspapers
GOOD MORNING LOWCOUNTRY (Humor column from The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC, April 16, 2004)

A friend of GMLc lives in Hanoi as an expatriate business consultant .....sent us this take on American newspapers.

WHO READS WHAT:

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.

3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.

4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics in pie charts.

5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.

6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.

7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.

8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country as long as they do something scandalous, preferably while drunk.

9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.

10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country... or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. They make exceptions if the leaders are handicapped, minority, feminist, atheist or illegal aliens from another country or galaxy, provided, of course, that they are not Republicans.

11. The National Enquirer is read by people stuck in line at the grocery store.
#175 (04-24)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

9-11 Commission
The nine staff reports of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, and other data about and from the Commission are available on the web, including the most recent (Number 9) about the shortcomings of the FBI in the war on terrorism. The Bureau's shortcomings were caused by a mixture of internal cultural self-inflicted wounds and lack of financial support from superiors and the Congress. One of the Bureau's self-inflicted wounds, and a major shortcoming, in my opinion, is the arrogant attitude they have had for decades toward the Attorney General's office and any kind of external supervision.
(#174 (04-23)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Top Carolina Sites
My web site was featured on Top Carolina Sites today, a compilation of more than 200 web sites in the Carolinas touching on many aspects of daily living, business, shopping and the arts. Check the list out today at www.carolinasites.com. You can also go to the LINKS page (click above) and vote for my site. Currently I am 123rd on the South Carolina list and every vote helps to move up on the list. Thanks.
#173 (04-22)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Backing up
I've had a computer since the early eighties and yesterday for the first time backed up my hard drive completely. For many years I kept data files backed up on CD's. I bought a 120GB external hard drive and installed it (really just plugged it in) and commenced the backup. This was about 5 p.m. yesterday and the backup finished this morning around 11 a.m. More than 180,000 files (26.3GB space on C:\) backed up. The external drive was in one of the slower USB ports on my computer. I switched this today to a USB 2.0 port, of which I have four (two in the back and two in the front). Had the initial plug-in been in the faster port I am sure the whole process would have finished much sooner. This afternoon I ran a test by deleting a file from C:\ and then restoring that same file from the external drive. Backing up in the future will be incremental as files are generated and thus the whole process will be on-going.
The price of external storage has dropped and this undoubtedly led me to this step. Coupled with the "no tools required" USB connection it seemed time to go beyond the saving of data files. I've read for years about the necessity and desirability of backing up and believe in it.
#172 (04-21)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

These guys mean business
The Washington Post reported today that an attack Sunday on the U.S. Government's headquarters in Najaf by hundreds of Iraqi militia members was repulsed not by the U.S. military but by eight commandos from the Blackwater Security Consulting firm which also sent in its own helicopters carrying ammo and subsequently taking out a wounded U.S. Marine. Reportedly thousands of rounds were fired and hundreds of 40mm grenades shot. The Iraqis suffered an unspecified number of casualties.
#171 (04-20)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Against All Enemies
I finished Richard Clarke's book Against All Enemies today and am glad I read it. Maybe it is because I thought a year ago when the war in Iraq started that we should have been going after Bin Laden with the ferocity we attacked Saddam Hussein. No one doubts the world is better off with Saddam deposed, but that is not the issue. If knocking off despots was the issue why not do the same in North Korea, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, to mention a few candidates. We blew the chance we had to get Bin Laden when the world would have cared less, and would certainly have understood and might even have applauded. Clarke's book is critical of the Clinton and Bush administrations, but it is not an anti-Bush polemic purely for political reasons. I accept Clarke's argument that when the new administration arrived at the White House in January 2001 they wanted nothing to do with any ideas or programs left on the table by the Clinton administration. Every administration wants to invent a new wheel. We can only speculate whether things might have been different.
#170 (04-19)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

The Post & Courier replies
Dear Mr. Archibald,
Thank you for your message. I think you make a good point. At first, I
assumed that the desk used such a brief story because The Post and Courier
had published extensive accounts beforehand. I checked and found that we
have, of course, addressed the issue, but not to the extent that we could
assume readers knew the whole story. I will say, however, that this vote by
the legislature does not constitute a ban. It is just one step in a process.
I expect that, when the matter is ultimately resolved, The Post and Courier
will devote more space to the issue.
It is always helpful to hear from you.
Elsa McDowell
Public Editor
#169 (04-18)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Gay marriage, inconsistency in coverage
The Post & Courier (Charleston, SC) owes readers an explanation, if not an apology, for giving only two and one half inches of space to the Massachusetts legislature's ban on gay marriages (pg 8A, Tues.,Mar.30,2004) after all the space and ink devoted to the same state's Court ruling late last year that gay marriage was allowed under Massachusetts' constitution. (Feedback submitted via e-mail to the newspaper this day.)
#168 (04-17)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Another first
Last night I had another first in my life. I went to the circus and enjoyed it. This is my 72nd year and it is only three months old and already I have had two firsts: Epcot and the circus. Life is good.
#167 (04-16)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Against All Enemies
Today I started on Richard Clarke's book, Against All Enemies, and found the opening chapter riveting as the author relates what happened in the White House Situation Room on 9/11. Media attention to the book this past week has been at the highest levels following his appearance on 60 Minutes last Sunday, release of the book on Monday and his testimony before the commission investigating 9/11 at mid-week. He has been under attack by the administration all week.
#166 (04-15)
Email your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Remote blogging 2
The formatting for my blogs does not remain inside this Google template and I must add the HTML code to have a red title in larger point size as well as the "E-mail" link and reference to the archives.
#165 (04-14)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Remote blogging
This is second attempt using Google and the format of my earlier blogs. Heading is red and it has the E-mail connection as well as the reference to the archives. I deleted an earlier attempt to post an entry to my blog using Google.
#164 (04-13)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

A phone call
Someone called me last night. It was a male voice and it sounded like that of one of those Indians who learned their English from listening to British businessmen and scholars busy building The Empire in the 19th Century. I assume it was an "outsourcing" call promoting some mortgage relief scam. He inquired if I was "Fraaancis." I said yes and the conversation went like this:
Caller (C): Are you the homeowner?
Me: No.
C: May I speak to the homeowner?
Me: No.
[He must have been reading from a script because he was undeterred and the conversation continued.]
C: Do the know the interest rate on the home mortgage?
Me: 22 percent.
C: 22 percent?
Me: Yes.
C: Do you know the balance of the loan?
Me: Three million dollars.
C: Three million?
Me: Yes.
C: Would you speak to my supervisor?
Me: No.
And I hung up. I wonder if this is one of those "outsourcing" jobs that some in the current Bush administration believe are good for America.
(#163 (04-12)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Taking a bullet
When a baseball player gets beaned it is said he "took one for the team." This sort of erratic behavior was carried to a new height in Taiwan last week if you believe the shooting - one day before the voting - of the campaigning President and Vice-president was arranged to swing a close election to their favor. If so, it worked because they were re-elected by a razor thin margin. The losers have demanded a recount. The high court ordered all ballot boxes seized.
#162 (04-11)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Presidential politics 2004
The fall of the Spanish government following the bombing in Madrid on March 11, 2004, brings renewed interest in the proposition I put forth last November that another major terrorist attack in America in 2004 could have a huge impact on the Presidential election. (See my earlier remarks of January 22 and 23, 2004, in the Archives on the left). In brief: in the event of a major terrorist attack, if the administration is perceived as "sleeping on the job" it will be bad for President Bush. There is no indication that the Spanish government was "sleeping" but voters who did not support the war in Iraq came out in large numbers and voted for change. American morale and support for the Bush administration will be tested over the next few months as never before. We have lost as many servicemen and women in Iraq to random acts of terrorism since the end of the shooting war as we did in the war. Supportive nations are going (to use Mrs. Thatcher's terminology) "wobbly in the knees," (e.g. Poland's president says he now doubts Saddam ever had WMD; the Spainards are going to withdraw their 1,300 peace keeping troops from Iraq). If this sentiment spreads, it is unlikely the United Nations will give the administration some cover (and the American people a breather) and agree to take over - from the United States - the major role of peace keeping in Iraq, after June 30, when we turn the country over to Iraqiis. If the drumbeat of bad news out of Iraq continues, a major terrorist incident in the United States could be the "huge impact" straw.
#161 (04-10)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Happy St. Patrick's Day
And a bit of the Irish is in practically everyone tomorrow as a good portion of the world observes St. Patrick's Day. It is a time for fun, to be with family and friends and to recognize the accuracy of the belief that the problems of the world would be lessened if only the Irish were put in charge.
Enjoy the day.
E-mail your comments
#160 (04-09)
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Obesity is shocking
I visited Disney World last week and enjoyed myself at Disney Downtown and Epcot. It is clearly evident that obesity stalks the land like a super-size order of French fries. It was shocking to see so many people, young and old, who obviously could trim down and would look better if they did so. To say nothing of the possibility they might live longer with fewer health problems. I also went to Naples, FL, for a reunion of graduates of Keith Academy, and had a good time with fellow graduates of this all-male Catholic High School.
#159 (04-08)
E-mail your comments
Check archives on left for earlier postings.

Miscellany
The 2004 election is now 75% defined. Bush and Cheney will take on Kerry and a VP candidate being decided on. Gay marriages are spreading. Today Oregon was in the limelight. A mayor of a town in upstate New York faces criminal charges for having performed a marriage ceremony for gay couples. Suicide bombings continue in Iraq, as does civil unrest in Haiti. A rep from my ISP called today in an effort to ameloriate the damage done by dropping all my web site files from their server on Mon (see Tuesday below). Said he had spoken to the employee responsible. I am using a template called "sand dollar" (with some modification) as the template for this blog.
E-mail your comments
For earlier blogs check on archives index to the left.

Web site update
Today I worked to update this web site and have my blog be the first page one sees when they log in. It has been an interesting project and one that will be ongoing for some time as I try to make the site more appealing.
E-mail your comments

Web site
This web site has been down for the past 24 hours because someone at my ISP "dropped" all the files from their server and I have had to upload them from my computer and reconstruct the web site. Further changes will be forthcoming.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#156 (04-05)

Fake Kerry-Fonda photograph
That picture of John Kerry and Jane Fonda together at an anti-Vietnam war rally is a bogus picture, according to The New York Times; and Jane herself on Paula Zahn Now, CNN, February 11, 2004. The picture was also discredited on Real Time, HBO, February 20, 2004, which showed how two separate photos were put together as though one.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#155 (04-04)

Return of the Egret
Yesterday, Saturday, January 31, 2004, I awoke and went into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and jump start my liver. I looked out the window toward my pond and saw an Egret, about 3 feet tall, standing at the edge of the pond. I rushed back to the bedroom to get my camera but by the time I could get it focused the bird flew away. Later, to my dismay, I discovered he had dined on my fish. All except two or maybe three small ones are gone. I had over 25 gold fish, some good size and they were holding up quite well in the cold weather and water of the pond. An Egret visited the pond and ate my fish in the early days of 2003.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#154 (04-03)

al Qaeda and the 2004 election (part 2)
From The Economist Intelligence Unit, January 20, 2004, via e-mail.
"In the event of an actual terrorist attack, the advantage could quickly shift to the Democrats if the administration, or one of its law enforcement agencies, was shown to be negligent. Short of that, an attack--even a devastating one--would probably cause most Americans to rally round the presidency."


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#153 (04-02)

al Qaeda and the 2004 election

At a Sunday luncheon during the AFIO (Association of Former Intelligence Officers) National Convention and Intelligence Symposium, in Tysons Corner, Virginia, (November 1-4, 2003), I asked Ron Kessler, the keynote speaker who was discussing his latest book, “CIA at War,” whether in his discussions with informed sources as he was writing the book he picked up on a fear that al Qaeda might try to launch a major attack on the United States “next year” in an attempt to upset the re-election likelihood of President Bush. I made reference to the 1980 election when the Iranians held American hostages for almost a year and helped Ronald Reagan defeat President Carter, (who seemed to the American people incapable of dealing with the problem and the long-range threat from Iran.)

Kessler said he had not picked up any vibrations to that effect. He added that he personally doubted al Qaeda had the required sophistication to understand our election culture and timetable. I was shocked at his response as it related to al Qaeda followers lacking an understanding of American election processes.

Another attendee in the audience said to me that he also thought it unlikely and even if it did, it would help, not hurt, President Bush. I responded that if it happens again the American people will hold President Bush responsible. “After all he has had three years since 9-11 and if it happens again people are going to want to know what the hell the President has been doing for the past three years.”

This all comes to the forefront in light of a brief article in U.S. News and World Report, January 26,2004, (Washington Whispers, page 6), to wit: “The latest sign that the confident Bush-Cheney team is trying to quash talk of a runaway re-election is the administration’s whisper campaign that another terrorist attack could come before Election Day. Some see a potential attack as a genuine threat to a second term, while other say the talk is a bid to inoculate the public. FBI Director Robert Mueller tells us ‘al Qaeda would like nothing more that to replicate September 11,’ but he predicted no finger pointing. ‘We are in this together.’”

Stay tuned.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#152 (04-01)

Bret Favre
Bret Favre won one for his father (who died yesterday at age 58) tonight with a QB rating of 154.9 out of a possible 158. Four passing TDs. A real competitor. It's what I love about the guy. And all the Packers stepped up tonight. Twelve of them caught passes from Favre.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#151

Happy Thanksgiving
Best wishes to all for an enjoyable Thanksgiving with family and friends. To those who must work, including our men and women on active duty, so that others may have a nice holiday, a special thanks for all of you.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#150

The REAL facts about Judges
Al Hunt says this week's 30-hour GOP talk-a-thon in the Senate about how Democrats are blocking judicial appointments is a bunch of crap. 168 of President Bush's nominees have been confirmed, one more than was confirmed under President Clinton at this exact date - less than three years into the presidencies. Democrats are blocking 5 appointments, Republicans blocked 60 of President Clinton's nominees. (Hunt's throughly researched and detailed remarks are in a Wall Street Journal column, November 13, 2003, pg A19.)
If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#149

A Gathering of Spies
On Sunday, November 2, 2003, I finally got into the Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. I would give it a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. It is certainly well done, laid out and stocked with "gadgets." Our tour guide told us they had 750,000 visitors last year (at about $20 a head), so who would have thought spying would become such a cash cow. We arrived at 9:05 and the guide to that phase of the tour consumed the next 20 minutes with background and introductions...Talk about carrying coal to Newcastle. This put us only 40 minutes ahead of the 10 am opening for the general public, including the dozens of Japanese tourists who were on hand trying to learn why they lost WWII. To truly enjoy the place you need more time to look and read all the plaques, displays, etc. at a leisurely pace. But on balance it was time well spent and is worthy of your "places to see" list.

The AFIO (Association of Former Intelligence Officers) November 1-4, 2003, conference and meetings at NRO and the Central Intelligence Agency were, with minor exceptions, all worthwhile. A couple of briefers haven't learned the cardinal rules of briefing - (1) don't read the damn slides - and (2) no one is interested in the organizational chart. A Marine Corps officer referred to something as being as complex and confusing as an "Air Force PowerPoint."

An Air Force Colonel gave a briefing at the end of the day on Monday when everyone was practically numb from sitting and had just endured a briefing from the DEA. From the time he stepped forward it was like Amateur Night at the Improv, only this guy was good. He is ready with his second career: standup comedian. He talked a lot about bombing and blowing things us and killing people, which he said was how one got promoted in the Air Force. He knew his subject, measuring signature intel, and now so do his listeners.

Nigel West and Ron Kessler were on hand flogging their new books and were likewise informative and entertaining. West was our speaker at the Saturday night black tie dinner. We had an hour and half on new literature in the field on Sunday and one of the speakers said he always addressed new officers with the admonition "No man is your friend and every hand can be turned against you - and that is just in headquarters." It was a mix of seriousness and humor.

I was impressed with the NRO complex and can understand why congressmen and women sitting only a few miles away would have been angry and surprised a few years ago when the place was built and equipped and they didn't even know it existed. It is a most beautiful, spacious and accommodating government building I have ever seen in the free world. And no government issue desks. I believe the planner and executor of the building contract must have been at heart a potentate. Remarkable.

The day at the CIA went well, although several of the original speakers cancelled out and sent substitutes. One man on the schedule for after lunch cancelled before lunch and sent no one. Had he known about the fine lunch he might have soldiered on and showed up. After lunch I toured the William Donovan and OSS memorial site and enjoyed it immensely.

The AFIO crowd was primarily a late fifties, early sixties group, with a smattering of young men. I talked with two of them and said they didn't look old enough to be "former". They told me their Dad had brought them and they were trying to get into the work. I wished them well. There were a few who were much older, however, I did not see a couple of men I had hoped would come. One of the guests at my table for Saturday's dinner was the second black man ever to become a Navy SEAL; he is the oldest black man alive to have been a SEAL. Another guest at my table was Air Force General John Singlaub, Ollie North's old buddy. He has slowed in his gate a bit but he looked like he could still do a deal or two.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#148

Politics and the Red Sox
Al Sharpton (who has absolutely no chance of winning the Democratic presidential nomination) said Saturday night in Detroit that the 2004 race will be a contest between the "Christian Right and the right Christians." On the sports front, the Red Sox declined to pick up Manager Grady Little's contract for next year,.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#147

The Red Sox
Family comments on the Red Sox after October 16, 2003:
My sister Carol:
Right now, the manager is being tarred and feathered in Boston. This even surpasses Buckner's error in 86. What can we say except this is the bottom of the abyss.

My brother Charles

Abyss is right!

Grady's decision is far worse than McNamara's decision to leave Bucker in the game. Now maybe management will be inclined to replace Grady before next spring. The team and the fans deserve someone new at the helm of this exceptionally talented team. For heavens sake, they out slugged the 1927 Yanks and have better than average pitching with a bullpen that 'rose' to the occasion.

My thoughts:
This is the most "horribilus week" of my young life. First, the Packers on Sunday. Then Grady Little. I was screaming at the TV, "Take him out. Pat him on the ass, but take him out." Unfortunately, my TV doesn't broadcast as far as New York. I believe Charlie you are wrong about replacing "Grady before next spring." What (the hell) is so sacred about Friday afternoon? Job psychologists tell us it is better to fire someone late Friday afternoon and get on with a fresh start on Monday. This is beneath the abyss.
Bud


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#146

Two Years In a Row, More in poverty
"More than a million Americans sank into poverty last year, an annual Census report is expected to show today. It would be the first time in nearly a decade that the number of poor rose two years in a row.

"Experts at the University of Michigan, the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation and the liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said they expected official figures to show the U.S. poverty rate growing from 11.7% in 2001 to around 12.3% in 2002. Their predictions generally are accurate within a few decimal points." (Source: USA Today, September 26, 2003.)

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#145

Hillary and Republicans
In response to a Slate article on the Republicans who want Hillary to run in 2004, I posted this reply: "Subject: Republicans for Hillary
From: Archinsc
Date: Sep 23 2003 1:48AM

Hillary ought to keep her eye on the prize in 2008 and until then continue to invigorate supporters and infuriate the right. She is going to be the first female president of the United States - and in the meantime, Bill ought to stay abreast of world affairs and continue to travel, speak and enjoy the cuisines of the world. He will be needed as Secretary of State in Hillary's administration."

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#144

African Americans in South Carolina
African Americans represent about 30 percent of South Carolina's population of 4 million -- the third-highest percentage among states. They are twice as likely to be unemployed than white workers. The state has the third-highest percentage of black people who rank below the national averages in education and income. Black infants die at twice the rate of white infants, and black men are three times more likely to die from prostate cancer than white men. (Darryl Fears, Staff Writer, The Washington Post, 9/20/03, pg A08)

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#143

Response on "Labor Day"
Very good and appreciated. Would like to let you know in fairness that there was an article in yesterday's Post & Courier on Labor Day and its meaning. I had gotten a call from a reporter who had seen a letter to the editor I had written about a month ago and started to question the meaning behind Labor Day It was on the front page of one of the sections (I think the Life Section) I had sent in an editorial also which they did not print. At the ILA picnic today there were some politicians . I saw the following: Inez Tenenbaum, Mayor Riley, Jimmy Bailey, David Mack, Floyd Breeland, Seth Whipper, Senator Ford, Congressman Clyburn, and reverend Sharpton, and a young man running for CPW. It is also good to read your emails. Thank you and hope you enjoyed your Labor Day.
Erin McKee
Pres. Charleston Labor Council

Dear Arch,

I'm happy to report that, here on the Grand Strand, a community known for its success in keeping the unions out of the hospitality industry and, thus, low wages and minimal benefits, the "Sun News," our local paper, did run a tribute to those of us who work on holidays so others can relax.

Jon

My dad always said labor day was his favorite holiday because it was for the 'working man.'
Our family always celebrated with a trip to the lake or a cookout at home.
Yesterday found me scrubbing and painting a vacant rental unit, but thinking of dad.

Rose Mary

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#142

Labor Day
Today is the day set aside to honor the workers who labored in the multiple vineyards of America from the factories to the fields, from the bridges to the stores, and from the docks to the moon. In so doing these men and women built America into the most prosperous country throughout history. Unfortunately, the true meaning of this day appears to be lost. For most it is just an end-of-summer holiday. Our Republican Governor has not issued any proclamation; not surprising in a state which abhors labor unions. Local politicians are off somewhere, probably the beach enjoying the holiday. The local daily (The Post and Courier) did not have an editorial saluting workers or even mentioning the occasion. Over the weekend, our pastor did not mention workers in his sermon, as others have done in the past. (Remember Reum Novarum?) One union (the longshoremen) will have a picnic in the suburbs. Regardless, we ought to recall the hard labor, long hours, and sacrifices made by workers to build America and the continuing equally hard and challenging tasks today's workers are called upon to meet. Capital and labor go hand in hand in America and it is necessary to give each its due.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#141

Red Sox Nation
A local doctor wrote an article in today's The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC, about the beloved Red Sox and the "Curse of the Bambino." I sent him the following e-mail:

Hello Doctor,
I hope you are some sort of peek-a-boo doctor because if you were my head shrinker I would flee from you. I will be 72 come October and have been a conscious Red Sox believer since the end of World War II. I can recall those heady days when Rudy York, the lumbering, over weight, hard drinking, Detroit-castoff, first baseman almost had a heart attack trying to run out a triple when he belted one off the center-field wall. There was no EMS at the time, but undertakers were starting engines in their meat wagons as the old Indian lumbered around the basepaths. Your story in today's Post & Courier about the Curse of the Bambino and recitation of the horrors suffered over the years was a harsh way to start the day. I may have to forego whatever it was I planned to do and just do something else to pleasure myself and erase the memories of Bucky Dent and Billy Buckner (I really love Billy and think he was treated shabbily by his neighbors). On an upbeat note I do have a favorite memory of the '75 series. My mother (who died a couple of years ago) was visiting at the time here in Charleston. Our children and my wife's relatives were also in the house for a family get together. We had a TV in the bedroom and in the evening I went in and turned on Game Six. In a short while my mother came in and sat on the edge of the bed ( "Just want a glimpse at the action. Have to get back to the guests," she said.) After a few minutes she was sitting up on the bed alongside me with our backs against the headboard and we stayed that way until Fisk's homerun. It was a great Mother/Son moment and one I treasure. No one in the family ever uttered a word of criticism about us being more interested in the Red Sox than with them. It was a moment.

"...if not this year...then surely '04"

Thanks for the memories.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#140

Why?
If in 2004, Congressman Henry E. Brown (R-1st District SC) is unbeatable in the Republican Primary and won't have credible Democratic opposition in the General Election, why does he continue to raise money? Is there no end to the line of lobbyists and special interests willing to fill the coffer of an incumbent congressman not in need? Why?

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#139

California Here We Are
"Jay Leno's complaint on Monday...that California is the 'laughing stock of the nation' smacked of self-fulfilling prophecy...Other characters [considering entering the race] include nearly 400 Californians - including assorted oddballs, mischief makers and the self avowed 'smut peddler who cares,' Larry Flynt - who have taken out candidacy papers." (Jackie Calmes, The Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2003, pg. A4)
If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#138

California Politics
"The [California] public has reacted to these soulless exercises [political campaigning solely on television] with disdainful apathy; Californians tend to be more interested when the state's nutty kernel of political extremists put some hot-button initiative - about race, immigration or taxes, inevitably - on the ballot." (Joe Klein, Time Magazine, August 11, 2003, pg. 21).

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#137

California recall
From The Economist, August 2, 2003, pg. 29: "Californians do not like Mr. [Governor Gray] Davis, but they may also decide that a recall process, originally meant to get rid of crooks not incompetents, has been distorted." Each person who plans to run against Mr. Davis - who pledges to fight like a Bengal tiger - have until August 9 to come up with $3,500 and 65 signatures. The recall election is scheduled for October 7, 2003.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#136

A word for baseball fans everywhere

New Hampshire's Mary Jo Ray, 108, was at her first Red Sox game on Sunday at Fenway Park. She went to a game last year but it was rained out. The Red Sox have won five World Series in her lifetime, the last in 1918. ...(The Sox won on Sunday!)

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#135

Criticism
“The essence of a free and civilized society is that everything should be subject to criticism, that all forms of authority should be treated with a certain reservation, and … that once you have produced … a totally conformist society in which there were no critics, that would in fact be an exact equivalent of the totalitarian societies against which we are supposed to be fighting a cold war.” (Malcolm Muggeridge in an interview by Mike Wallace, mid 1950s.)


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#134

Strom Thurmond
I do not recall the precise Latin phrase Dean Acheson used when asked to comment on Senator McCarthy's death, but I recall it was translated as, "Of the dead, say nothing but good." Noble sentiments at all times, however, I am inclined to pass along the observation that after 48 years in the United States Senate the late Senator Strom Thurmond's name is not associated with any major legislation benefiting all Americans. What a waste.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#133

Point to consider
According to Consumer Reports, August 2003, "Hormel Foods needed 65 years to sell 6 billion cans of Spam. It takes marketers less than three days to e-mail the same number of 'spam' messages to America Online customers alone", to say nothing of the millions of other serviced by alternate ISP.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#132

Home-Friendly Projectors
The projector industry is leaving many of us behind ["Bright Lights, Big Pictures," April]. Remember those 35mm Kodak-style projectors with a carousel of slides and a screen set up in the living room? Where is the new-age portable projector that can be used standing alone, with a remote and a slot for a CD-R/RW or DVD so you can flash the pictures on the old living room screen? This would make life better for many home users.
Francis X. Archibald, Hanahan, South Carolina
(Letters, PCWorld, June 2003, pg 44.)


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#131

Moving On
"There's an old joke in which a couple married 75 years visits a divorce attorney, who asks why they waited so long. The reply, 'We wanted to wait until the children were dead.'" (Quoted by Jeffrey Zaslow, Wall St. Journal, June 17, 2003, pg D1)

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#130

David Brinkley
This eminent reporter, anchor man and host of a widely acclaimed TV Sunday morning news hour died today in Houston, Texas. Mr. Brinkley inspired confidence and trust in his readers and listeners and is one of a very small group of news personalities who will be missed.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#129

Break out the Advil
Forget about Bush, Israel and Palestine. We Americans have serious stuff on our plates: Sosa caught with a corked bat, Martha Stewart indicted and Barry Manilow broke his nose. Where is the Advil?

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#128

North Korean nukes
A six man congressional team, including Rep. Joe Wilson, (R-SC), had talks last week with North Korean leaders who discussed their intention to increase their nuclear weapons program. I hope one of the Congressmen, perhaps Mr. Wilson, had the presence of mind to inform the North Korean leaders that the first nuclear weapon they fire on America will be the last one fired by North Korea for at least a thousand years.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#127

About Henry Brown
Came across a new blog of possible interest to South Carolina Lowcountry readers about (click on the name)Congressman Henry Brown. The blog reports on Mr. Brown's record of service, citing chapter and verse, and is not likely to be favorite reading in the congressman's office.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#126

Saudi litmus test
"I will believe the Saudi rulers are serious about combating terrorism only after we see a few public beheadings in the public square in downtown Riyadh, preferably broadcast live on CNN."
(Letter to the Editor, The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC, May 25, 2003)
#125


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments

Armed Forces Day
Today we recognize Armed Forces Day and pause to say a prayer for the men and women who wear the uniform, defend our country and go in harm's way.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#124

A dissenting voice
A reform but not a stimulus
"Sadly, Mr. Bush's claims are not convincing. The notion that a tax plan's ten-year price-tag provides any measure of its efficacy as a short-term stimulus is absurd. The central component of Mr. Bush's tax plan—the elimination of dividend taxation—would improve the tax code and, probably, long-term growth, but it would do little to boost the economy now. Mr. Bush's people say that ending dividend taxation would raise share prices, which in turn would boost spending. Most economists reply that the boost to share prices would be fairly undramatic (a 5-15% jump is the consensus guess); and any effect on spending would be small and gradual." (The Economist, May 10, 2003, pg. 26).


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#123

Consequences

Robert Ingersoll said, "In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments - there are consequences." Last night I learned that the hard way. After struggling for two years to clear my backyard pond of algae and clear the water so we might enjoy the fish, I finally succeeded this week. It is not important what all the theories, trials and guesses were over the past two years. Only the consequences matter. During the night a heron or egret visited my pond and ate all but two of my fish. Gone are six two-year old comets and shumukins, as well as two new koi and about ten small gold fish I had introduced a week ago. My wife was up around four this morning for a few minutes and looked out the kitchen window. She saw the bird standing tall at the edge of the pond. Since it was still dark and she was only minutes out of bed she thought it was a new piece of statuary I had purchased. When she later got up for good the bird was gone and we discussed it. An examination of the pond established Ingersoll's insight.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#122

Doesn't "Andre" sound French?
This week in Columbia, SC, the Lt Gov, Andre Bauer, was held at gunpoint by a cop after the Lt Gov swept through two red lights, was clocked speeding 60 miles an hour in a 35 zone, and jumped out of his car in an aggressive manner that scared the officer. The Lt Gov said later he exercised bad judgement but he was running late on his way to preside at the opening of the Senate (about all a Lt Gov in the Palmetto State has to do). Some sort of weird behavior for a man whose name smacks of the French.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#121

A gentleman's apology
Hall of Fame apologizes for snubbing Robbins


Sunday, April 20, 2003 at 07:00 JST
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame president apologized Saturday after he was caught in a media firestorm for publicly snubbing stars Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon over their opposition to the war in Iraq.

Dale Petroskey issued a letter in which he admitted making a public relations blunder when he summarily cancelled a screening of the stars' baseball film "Bull Durham" at the prestigious Hall of Fame later this month.

"There was a chance of politics being injected into The Hall during these sensitive times, and I made a decision to not take that chance," he said in the letter posted on the Hall's web site.

"But I inadvertently did exactly what I was trying to avoid. With the advantage of hindsight, it is clear I should have handled the matter differently," he said.

Petroskey however did not directly apologize to Hollywood pair Robbins and Sarandon, who reacted furiously to the Hall of Fame's very public slap in the face, delivered in a letter which was sent to the media.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#120

A future Secretary of State? Fact, fiction or fantasy?
Although he doesn't discount it totally, Fareed Zakaria, is being touted by two ladies on the net as a future Secretary of State and the first Muslim to hold the job. Who is this Omar Sharif lookalike who speaks like Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady, to quote the impressible Tina Brown (she put the cleavage back in Cosmo) and Marion Maneker writing in NewYorkMetro.com. This is what Newsweek - his principal employer - has to say about him:

Fareed Zakaria was named editor of Newsweek International in October 2000. The magazine reaches an audience of 3.5 million worldwide. He also writes a regular column for Newsweek, which also appears in Newsweek International and often The Washington Post. He is a regular member of the roundtable of ABC News’ "This Week with George Stephanapoulos" as well as an analyst for ABC News.

Zakaria came to the magazine from Foreign Affairs, the widely circulated journal of international politics and economics, where he was managing editor. Prior to joining Foreign Affairs, Zakaria ran a major research project on American foreign policy at Harvard University, where he taught international relations and political philosophy. He has written for such publications as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The New Republic, and the webzine Slate. He is the author of "From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America’s World Role" (Princeton University Press), which has been translated into several languages, and co-editor of "The American Encounter: The United States and the Making of the Modern World" (Basic Books). His new book, The Future of Freedom, will be published in the spring of 2003 by W.W. Norton.

Zakaria has shared two Overseas Press Club Awards with Newsweek reporting teams and has been nominated for two National Magazine Awards. He won the Deadline Club award for his columns and several honors for his October 2001 Newsweek cover story, "Why They Hate Us." He has received the South Asian Journalists’ Association’s highest honor, the Leadership Award. In 1999, he was named "one of the 21 most important people of the 21st Century" by Esquire Magazine. He has appeared on most major television news programs and has addressed audiences ranging from the World Economic Forum at Davos, to the State Department, to universities in America and abroad.

He received a B.A. from Yale and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard. He lives in New York City with his wife, son and daughter.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#119

Finding the WMD
"There is a famous Soviet joke about the impossibility of being right: Workers who arrived early at the workplace were accused of espionage, those who arrived late were guilty of sabotage, and those who got there on time were despised for petty bourgeois conformism.
" As the war in Iraq winds down, something similar is happening in the debate over weapons of mass destruction. An early discovery by coalition forces would have proven that operational intelligence was not provided to international inspectors, late findings would show that evidence had been planted by the CIA, while no discovery of proscribed weapons would ruin the main justification of the war." (Therese Delpech, French commissioner of the U.N. Disarmament commission on Iraq, arguing in an Op-Ed piece that the search must go on for WMD. Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2003, pg. A18.)


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#118

Congratulations to CIA!

ABCNEWS has learned that the CIA assisted in the rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch in Nasiriyah last week by covertly videotaping the former POW as she lay in an Iraqi hospital bed days before her dramatic rescue.

U.S. intelligence sources told ABCNEWS that the CIA, acting on a tip, gave a concealable camera to a paid informant who videotaped the inside of a hospital where Lynch was being held.

The following day, a U.S. special forces team went in knowing exactly where to go and rescued Lynch, said U.S. intelligence sources.

The former POW is recovering from her injuries at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

NOTE: JUNE 7, 2003 -This story appears to be suspect in many regards as new information is coming to light. It may all very well be a piece of propoganda put out by the Pentagon. In any event, it should be treated accordingly.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#117

Al Sharpton
Several years ago when South Carolina put James Brown behind bars, Jesse Jackson was allowed to visit him in prison. Al Sharpton of New York tried to crash the party but Jesse didn't want him around and it fell to me (as Public Affairs Director) to tell Mr. Sharpton that he could not come in. Apparently all this was before Mr. Sharpton announced, "All my skinfolk ain't my kinfolk."

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#116

The Pianist
Friday night (April 11, 2003) we saw The Pianist. Thought it a very good film and highly worth seeing. It is unfortunate that the director Roman Polanski couldn't keep his dick out of a 13 year old girl or he could be in this country enjoying the fruits of his work.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#115

Foreign Affairs - Some views
China:
The Chinese government's penchant for secrecy and outright stonewalling on the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) will cause repercussions in the form of foreign investor hesitancy and business and personal travel to China. The recent death of an American who taught English there may be the consequences of a country obsessed with not losing face. (As one who formerly taught English in China, I find the Chinese conduct so typical and foolish, but also so unnecessary.) Wal-Mart has banned employee travel to China and other Asian cities. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning against travel to China.

South Korea:
The U.S. plans to move its military headquarters and some 6,000 troops out of Seoul and further South away from the border with North Korea. This comes at a time when South Korea is worried about (1) "military adventurism" on the part of North Korea and (2) suspicions that the U.S. may move next against North Korea (part of the axis of evil) having dispatched Iraq. South Koreans around Seoul, many of whom demonstrate periodically about something or other American servicemen do or don't do, but who also profit from the presence of these troops may also be thinking of their pocketbooks. The U.S. would like to get its troops out of range of North Korean artillery.

Cuba:
It is difficult not to believe that Cuba moved against almost 80 dissidents while the world was focused so intently on the war in Iraq. Hammering his opponents, Fidel Castro has shown again his own feelings of insecurity. Courts in Cuba sentenced people to jail for 20 years or more for writing, operating independent libraries and associating with foreign (principally American) officials. The U.S. Congress, regardless of complaints from farm states, tourists, Mafia gamblers, and others hoping to score by dealing with Cuba, should shut off all aid and travel to that country unless Castro exercises "executive clemency" and frees political prisoners. Cuba has been a pain in the ass for over 40 years. President Kennedy's promise not to invade Cuba in return for the removal of Soviet Missiles was a good deal at the time, but current American leaders have other cards to play. The relaxing of tensions and turning a deaf ear to trade and travel there have been thrown with contempt in our face.

Responding comments and views solicited.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#114

Are we being manipulated?
The following was a (unpublished) letter to the editor, The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC, submitted March 27, 2003.

Getting into the mind of people everywhere, soldiers on the battlefield and the families at home awaiting their return, is one of the goals of psychological warfare. Getting into people’s minds goes a long way to winning battles – and the war – without the use of bullets. This is not new age psychology; it has gone on as long as there have been wars. America is proficient at this tactic, but so are other nations. Let’s consider the current events in Iraq.

President Bush says Iraq has weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including chemical and biological weapons and the means to deliver them. And so for this (and other reasons beyond this scope of this letter) we have gone to war in Iraq. Preceding the war a massive buildup and positioning of men and equipment – primarily American – took place as the world watched. This out-in-the-open action was no half-hearted measure, and it was designed to send a message: Iraq’s armed forces ought to surrender forthwith and spare themselves. The President and his chief officers put out this message loud and clear. This was psychological warfare at its best.

Our leaders talked about the WMD and considered how they might be used on the battlefield. They talked of measures to be taken to meet and overcome chemical and biological weapons. Equipment was issued to the troops, and training in its use was intensive. Medical staff training was updated and intensified to recognize and treat problems which might arise. This was psychological warfare to reassure soldiers and their families.

A week into the battle, however, such weapons have not been used by the forces of Saddam Hussein, and none have yet by found by our forces. In a hospital in central Iraq, U.S. Marines found 3,000 chemical warfare suits and the discovery was instantly communicated to the American leadership. Following standard military procedures, we must conclude, the find was reported downward and all units and individual soldiers ordered to be on the alert and ready. The people at home got the message over the TV, radio and in their newspapers. This find would re-enforce the original message of our president that Iraq had WMD.

But let’s look at the strange place where the find occurred: in a hospital. Saddam Hussein knows Americans would not knowingly bomb, shell or destroy a hospital. The hospital would be taken, the suits discovered, and fear and anxiety introduced everywhere. What better way to get inside the mind of soldiers on the battlefield and anxious families at home? If Iraq didn’t have WMD, why would they have the suits? Will the weapons be used in the battle tomorrow or the next day? Will they be fired on Israel, or on the Iraqi people? Or, is Iraq showing its proficiency at psychological warfare?


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#113

Dollars on the fly
Around one o’clock this morning one of the several private security trucks leased by South Carolina banks that carry cash to replenish ATM machines around the state was on its way to Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Georgetown when it had a tire blow and the speeding truck rolled three times, the light frame collapsed and the truck ended up on its side. The driver and the technician with the codes to the ATMs were badly bruised and are hospitalized at this time. The authorities will not release the amount of money the truck was carrying. There are, however, 1,347 bank, savings and loan and credit union ATM machines in the three cities (Each pay a proportional share of the costs of servicing their machines.) According to Chamber of Commerce data released last year, each ATM machine holds up to $20,000 when re-filled. Anyway, the point is that the low temperatures in the area at the time were accompanied by high winds and when the truck crashed the money went everywhere. (The money in the truck was stacked and held together only with narrow paper wrappers denoting the denominations and the ATM machine it was intended for.) People have been reported picking up money as far as eighteen miles from the site of the mishap. Continuing high winds are expected and the windologist–trainee on duty at the Charleston weather station said (before being muzzled by her angry supervisors) that the money could be carried on the winds as far south as Beaufort and up to the outer banks in North Carolina. Bank and police officials stress that people must turn the money in (ha, ha), and are subject to federal prosecution under the Bank Robbery statutes enforced by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney if they find it and keep it. A toothpick chewing deputy sheriff, coming off donut break in the area, who spoke on the condition of absolute anonymity, said, “It’s impossible to cover the whole area and the money will never be recovered.” He added, with a chuckle, “Of course, if I find some, I’ll turn it in.”

Just thought you would like to know this. Feel free to pass it on, especially to retired seniors who may have time to cruise about. A good cover story would be, “I was picking up trash along the highway.”

Archie
4/1/2003


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#112

Best wishes to Bill Starr
A friend, Bill Starr, is moving on. Here is part of what he wrote in The State, Columbia, SC, March 23, 2003:

"THE NEXT CHAPTER
"BILL STARR, Staff Writer

"In just a couple of weeks, I'm going to take an early retirement from my newspaper home - well, maybe not all that early - and move to Atlanta, the city of my birth, and the city where my wife lives and works. It will be a pretty dramatic change.
Then again, maybe it won't.

"I'm not going to be leaving the arts behind; that's no longer an option, much less a desirable one. No, I'll be working in a bit of a different area - as executive director of the Georgia Center for the Book - but one that involves many elements of a life spent in the arts. The new assignment will permit me the excitement of discovery. It's going to be very energizing.

"I go with a stash of incredible memories, of course. Thirty years at this newspaper preceded by five years at WIS-TV News and five years at United Press International way back when. Was I ever that young?

"I've been fortunate to have held a series of positions that permitted me to examine and comment on crucial elements in the life and health of the city of Columbia. That's even if not everyone in the city seemed to acknowledge the importance of a thriving arts community at the time."

We will miss Bill and wish him additional success and happiness.


If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#111

Return from the Dark Continent
On Thursday last we returned from our two month trip to South Africa. It was a grand time and I will be posting an article on our African adventure in due course. Suffice to say now we are happy to be home again with family and friends. Hope all are well and look forwarding to sharing our adventure with all.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#110

Books reviewed
A review of Bob Woodward's "Bush at War" and an earlier review of Richelson's "Wizards of Langley" are on the website under Book Reviews. Read and enjoy. Comments solicited.

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#109

2003
Best wishes for a happy, prosperous, error free, enriching, scintillating, exciting, rewarding, and healthy year in 2003! Just enjoy yourself to the maximum!

If not already there, visit my website.
E-mail your comments
#108