Their lost youth
Old men lament their lost youth, none more so than those who never had one.

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#28

The incredible vanishing book review...
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Kevin Berger

July 19, 2001 | "Wait, I think the stairwell is over there," said a San Francisco Chronicle editor, accompanying me to the paper's book-review department. "I've actually never been down there."

The wry editor and I were leaving the newsroom, a fluorescent hive of conversing reporters and editors. Down we descended into the basement and into a scene right out of "Norma Rae." We stood in a windowless lunchroom, a grim assembly of colored-plastic tables and vending machines. The few folks eating their sandwiches here were clearly not the Chronicle's executive staff. A sign on a far wall said "Book Review," followed by an arrow.

We headed down a dimly lit hallway, past a janitor's office, a storage space with extension cords on the floor and an abandoned copy-machine room, and finally arrived at a stockroom. Inside, pressboard shelves sagged with books. The floor was piled with padded envelopes stuffed with a lot more.


Well, you get the point. This lengthy article was about book reviews being a disappearing breed and was published in Salon.com back on July 23, 2001. Are books reviews becoming a vanishing breed?

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#27

God is not on my side, or yours
Roger Rosenblatt in an essay (Time, December 17, 2001) asked, "Where has God been since 1973 regarding the New York Knicks?"

I would like to know where he has been since 1918 regarding the Boston Red Sox.

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#26

Executioner:...a line of work routinely ignored by career counselors...
Paul Festa, book review entitled Executioner's Song, salon.com (12/04/01)

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#25

Packers Win Over Chicago...Take lead in NFC Central
The Green Bay Packers (9-3) defeated the Chicago Bears (also 9-3) 17-7 Sunday to take the lead in the NFC Central Division. The Packers have games remaining at Tennessee, at home against Cleveland and Minnesota and at New York Giants.

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#24

When America entered the war
"It is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning."
Winston Churchill
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#23

Remember Pearl Harbor

People are given to calling September 11 "another Pearl Harbor." This is especially so among young people who were not even born when the Japanese attacked the American base in the Hawaiian Islands. That war ended three and a half years later as two mushroom clouds ascended over Japan. Sixty years ago on December 7, 1941, I was ten years old and returning home from an afternoon at one of the local movie theatres. I don't recall what I saw that day, but when I entered the house my mother and some neighbors were listening to radio reports on the attack. Everyone was scared. I'm sure I was also but don't recall it specifically. Over the next few months nothing much seemed to happen, although we know it did. Our men and women in service fought their way into Africa, Sicily and Europe and across the Pacific. At home, life went on as it does for a ten year old child, and his two brothers and two sisters. We went to school, saved tin cans, played ball, were introduced to margarine, attended church, moved on up and finally, the war was over.

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#22

Packers Win in JAX Last Night

Last night's game, which ended about 12:25 a.m. this morning, was a thriller. Bret Favre showed why he is the number one quarterback in professional football. He threw three TD passes and ran for a fourth in the 28-21 victory. The Jaguars were on top for the first half and had sparks flying at times in the second half, but in the end it was the Packers defense and the Favre driven offense that prevailed. A great game leading into next Sunday's contest against the Chicago Bears. A win by the Packers will earn them first place in the division, since they would have two wins against Chicago this season.

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#21

CIA Officer Killed in Afghanistan, Termed "Hero" by CIA Director

From the MSN news today (Wednesday, November 28, 2001)

The Times of London reported Wednesday that a CIA officer, John Micheal Spann, and another called David had on their own confronted a foreign Taliban fighter at the (Mazor-E-Sharif) prison, asking why he was in Afghanistan. The soldier replied, “We are here to kill you,” and jumped at Spann, who then shot him and several other fighters to death, the newspaper said.
After the confrontation, The Times said, a group of Taliban supporters attacked Spann, kicking, beating and biting him to death. The other officer managed to escape.
CIA Director George Tenet addressed agency employees Wednesday, calling Spann a hero. The death occurred during several days of rioting at the prison beginning around November 24-25.
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#20

Prime Minister Tony Blair's statement to Parliament Updated November 14, 2001
On November 14, British PM Tony Blair updated the statement he made to Parliament on October 4, 2001, on responsibility for the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. This statement can be accessed via the LINKS connection at my (this) web site.

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#19

Crisis brings out best (Letters to the Editor, the Post & Courier, Charleston, SC, November 21, 2001)

A Monday letter to the editor asks where are the liberals and decided that neither Bill Clinton nor Al Gore would have risen to the occasion like President Bush.

The liberals are where the conservatives were on Dec. 8, 1941, in the summer of 1950 and the spring of 1965. They are united with their country and the leadership, irrespective of personal or party affiliations.

This is what all Americans do when confronted with foreign enemies.

We will never know how Mr. Clinton and Mr. Gore would have responded, but I believe either man would have done us proud.

A crisis brings out the best in Americans (three liberals come to mind: Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy). I believe this is what has happened to President Bush, who was not expecting the challenge but has risen to meet it.

Liberals are still around as the voices against permanent curtailment of our freedoms.

Some of the security legislation recently passed by the Congress has a termination date, as well it should.

Legal advocates and scholars are challenging extended detention of suspects without the right to be brought before an open court and judge. The president signed an order authorizing secret trials before military tribunals, but we are a long way from conducting such proceedings.

It is necessary to remember that agreement by everyone with every little facet of government is not essential to our survival, nor is disagreement with one thing or another a sign of disloyalty. This is America, land of the liberals, conservatives and everyone in between.

FRANCIS X. ARCHIBALD
1128 John Rutledge Ave.
Hanahan
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#18

An apt analogy
Automobile dealers believe the General Motors decision to extend zero financing through January 2 will compel other manufacturers to do the same. A "Ford dealer has confidently predicted that Ford will continue to 'fold like a cheap lawn chair' and match GM's offers." (The Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2001, pg. A-2.)
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A fresh anecdote about Churchill. In his new book, Churchill, author Roy Jenkins tells that churchill's grandson Nicholas Soames told Jenkins that when he was six he once sneaked past the guardians into the old man's study and, starry-eyed, asked: "Grandpapa, is it true you are the greatest man in the world?" "Yes," replied Churchill, "and now bugger off."
Review South Carolina Commentary

Fighting on Ramadan: There was an article on the Slate Magazine website today (November 1, 2001) advocating that America stop bombing Afghanistan during Ramadan, to which I posted this reply:

I say, "Fight, fight day and night, fight during Ramandan, fight on Thanksgiving and fight on Christmas. Fight tooth and nail, hammer and tong. And bring back them damn flamethrowers. Go to the Army-Navy Surplus stores in the South and buy them back for the Army."

The reference to flamethrowers relates to an article yesterday (October 31, 2001) on the Slate website to the effect that the U.S. no longer has flame throwers in its arsenal. The fuel for these is napalm, which the author said fell into disrepute during the Vietnam War; after making a great showing during WW II in the Pacific where the Marines had to burn the Japs out of their caves and tunnels. Afghanistan is full of caves and tunnels and this is where Osama Bin Laden, and his commanders, are believed to be hiding.
See an earlier posting below on fighting during Ramadan dated 10/29/2001.
Visit my web site at Francis X. Archibald

Random Thoughts & Questions: (Submit comments to: archinsc@home.com ) (October 30, 2001)

President Bush said Monday (October 29) the U.S. would get tougher on immigrants with student visas to assure they are in school and not off somewhere plotting something illegal. The already overworked FBI, Immigration and other federal officials obviously cannot take on this workload. About 600,000 foreigners are admitted each year on student visas and more than 26,000 U.S. colleges and universities are authorized to enroll them, according to the Associated Press. This security checking ought to be farmed out to local authorities in the area where the student is scheduled to enroll? The colleges should also be required to certify attendance and report absences via a nationwide computerized hookup, which will alert the Feds and local authorities. Searches for missing immigrant students must be undertaken promptly upon alert.

Since the overwhelming majority of Americans cannot read, write or interpret Arabic, why hasn’t the computing community (are you listening Bill Gates) developed the means to capture Arabic speeches and writings and run them through a converter/translator into English so we can all have a better idea of what Arabs think, write and say?

On a map of Kabul recently I saw the location of the Taliban’s Ministry for the Preservation of Virtue and the Elimination of Vice, which still holds eight Christian good doers in jail for allegedly throwing in a few words about Jesus along with advice on how to dig a well, plant a garden and turn stones into turnips. Not since Barry Goldwater’s 1964 ad hominem (“Extremism in the defense of freedom is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of liberty is no virtue.”) at the Cow Palace in San Francisco has anyone put virtue and vice in the same sentence.

It is not un-patriotic to disagree with something President Bush and the Congress are doing. It is not un-American to criticize politicians in this day and time. Politicians who expect everything they do to be accepted at face value are wacky or deluding themselves. America is all about independence of thought. It is also a Republic, where we elect officials to represent us and we abide, albeit sometimes reluctantly, with their decisions. This doesn’t mean we can’t have our own opinion or that we must shut up and wallow miserably in absolute silence.

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War During Ramadan
Six days ago I urged the U.S. continue to fight, including bombing, in Afghanistan during Ramadan. (See 10/23/01, 10:19:24 AM below). During the past weekend other voices are saying the same thing. Most recently, The Post & Courier, Charleston, S.C., editorialized in favor of continuing the fighting during Ramadan. It may not go over too well with some Southerners, but in war we ought to remember General Grant's promise: "I purpose to fight on this line if it takes all summer."

TERRORISM'S INTENT - Writing in Newsweek, October 29, 2001, pg. 76, George F. Will said, "Hijacked aircraft and powdered anthrax -such terrorist tools are crude and scarce compared with computers, which are everywhere and inexpensive. wielded with sufficient cunning, they can spread the demoralizing helplessness that is terrorism's most important byproduct."
In the October 18, 2001issue of The Wall Street Journal (page A-8) it was reported that the former deputy head of the former Soviet agency that manufactured anthrax and other agents for biological weapons, told the U.S. House National Security Subcommittee that the primary use of anthrax was not to cause death or illness. Reportedly Dr. Ken Alibek said Soviet goals were, "Inciting panic and fear, paralyzing the nation, overwhelming medical services, causing severe economic damage," and death or illness came in fifth. Without evidence, no one can be sure what goals terrorists (foreign or domestic) might have, but former Soviet strategy is worth considering.

Hanahan, South Carolina: Today I updated my web site Francis X. Archibald_Commentary from South Carolina to make a specific link to this blogger under the rubic FRESH COMMENTARY. It was on my LINKS page previously.

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday it would be in the interest of the United States and its partners to see the military action in Afghanistan "resolved" before winter, but hinted that operations might continue during the month of Ramazan. (Pakistan News Service, www.paknews.com, Monday, Oct. 22, 2001.)

Comment: Secretary Powell is speaking realistically when he says it would be better if the fighting in Afghanistan were over before winter, but no one should interpret that to mean America and its true-blue allies won't fight through the winter. My vote would be for "no relief" during Ramadan. Remember the Tet holidays.

In today's (October 18, 2001) The Wall Street Journal (page A-8) it was reported that the former deputy head of the former Soviet agency that manufactured anthrax and other agents for biological weapons, told the U.S. House National Security Subcommittee that the primary use of anthrax was not to cause death or illness. Reportedly Dr. Ken Alibek said Soviet goals were, "Inciting panic and fear, paralyzing the nation, overwhelming medical services, causing severe economic damage," and death or illness came in fifth. Without evidence, no one can be sure what goals terrorists (foreign or domestic) might have, but former Soviet strategy is worth considering.

Maybe you have heard the quip around South Carolina: "The other day I saw a guy with a sign that said, 'Where will you spend eternity?' It freaked me out because, at that time, I was on my way to the Department of Motor Vehicles."
Well, you won't hear Francis X. Archibald repeating it. He wrote to me four years ago to say that, despite a rash of complaints about the DMV, he had received fine service at the Ladson office.
Recently, he and his wife returned and left 33 minutes later with renewed licenses.
"The place was orderly, the servers friendly and the whole process not a bit of a hassle."

Elsa McDowell, Driver has praise for DMV, The Post & Courier, Charleston, S.C., October 13, 2001

I thought these insights into a couple of Americans were worth sharing: These come from the Associated Press, October 9, 2001.

But for others, carrying on was a patriotic and perhaps courageous gesture of defiance against accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. Claudette and Floyd Nelson, retirees from Mora, Minn., endured a 30-minute wait in bitter cold and passed through a metal detector to see the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

"It's telling that little slug over there that we're not afraid of him," said Claudette Nelson, 67. "He's not going to succeed. No way."


Nancy Fritz, a nursing student from Irvine, Calif., studied for her midterms in the courtyard of a Phoenix mall while her husband attended a convention.

"For me, especially living near Hollywood, where most of America's culture is disseminated to the world, the possibility of retaliatory strikes now seems very real. I'll probably start to stockpile bottled water and nonperishable food supplies," she said.

Still, "I can't see myself taking a vacation in Afghanistan any time soon, but other than that, I won't change much in my life."

"George Washington said, 'I cannot tell a lie.' Richard Nixon said, 'I cannot tell the truth.' Bill Clinton said, 'I cannot tell the difference."'

-- comedian TOM SMOTHERS, from his latest stage act with brother DICK SMOTHERS.

The National Farmers Union launched a campaign to bring back breakfast in bed and celebrate the traditional British farmhouse breakfast of bacon and eggs. "Maybe the French breakfast would be more appropriate - 'A roll with a little honey'." Peter Wright, Bedale, England. (via E-mail, January 30, 2001)

" ' Bush the father' and 'Bush the son' leaves you wondering who the Holy Ghost is." Robin Lakoff, U.C. Berkeley linguist. Verbatim. Time, 1/29/2001, pg. 17

"I'm going to miss Bill Clinton. And I don't mean only in a selfish 'He was great for late-night comedians' way. I'm going to miss Bill Clinton in that aching, visceral way. I'm going to miss him the way you miss Christmas on a dark February morning." Conan O'Brien, Essay, Time, 1/8/2001


"When right-wing operatives torture themselves with how Bill Clinton managed to beat the rap, they might consider the sheer pleasure of observing someone with the glow of knowing he knows everything. The policy wonk's policy wonk, he could rattle off the details of the welfare rolls in Alabama, the acreage in the national forests, the effect of the Asian markets on the eurodollar. And he could spit it all back in a speech that seemed to be coming straight at you, with a studied sincerity hypnotic as a snake charmer's song. That's one reason, that despite his personal behavior, his approval rating stayed high." Anna Quindlen, The Last Word, Newsweek, January 15, 2001, Pg 64.


"A majority of the one million or so attorneys in this country can now be found online, as accessible as pet supplies and CDs." Richard Schmitt, WSJ, 1/15/2001, Pg A1.

"One is not entitled to 'free' coffee...In the real world, people understand that nothing is 'free.' This must be different in academia." Paul Dembry, Los Gatos, Calif.; Letter to the Editor, WSJ, 1/11/2001, Pg A23.

"I've been at this (Colorado's anti-tax crusade) for 12 years, but I'm hanging up the plow. Voters are so unbelieveably ungrateful, ignorant and able to be stampened." Douglas Bruce, Colorado Springs Real-Estate Man, WSJ, 1/4/2001, PgA1 (quoted by David Wessel).

"The smaller the PC, the harder it is for manufacturers to get it right." Walter S. Mossberg, WSJ, 1/4/2001, Pg B1.

"How can you be proud of a company that can't even afford coffee?" Charles Heckscher, Rutgers Univerisity, WSJ, 1/4/2001, PgB1 (quoted by Joann S. Lublin in an article on how companies cut perks in the face of a souring economy.)

December Quotes

“It takes 2,000 nuts to assemble an automobile. It takes one nut to tear it up.” Lawrence M. Loh, Jr., Blythewood, S.C. The American Legion Magazine, December 2000.


November Quotes

“If you are one of the 1.2 million Americans who think Joan of Arc was married to Noah or that the epistles are wives of apostles, then the National Bible Association would like your attention.” Susan Lee. WSJ, 11/24/00. Pg W15.

“’Only two things I haven’t done are steal and pimp,’ he jokes. ‘And I’m not ruling them out.’” Gino N. Pala, quoted by Ann Carrens. WSJ, 11/24/00. Pg A1.

“If someone offered you 34¢ to carry a piece of paper to a bungalow in Alaska in three days, you’d refuse. Not the post office.” Joel Stein. TIME, 11/27/00. Pg. 24