Too Ugly for Beijing

How would you like to go through life having been told by the highest authority in your country that you were too ugly to sing in public? This is what happened to sever-year old Yang Pelyl at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. She sang the "Ode to the Motherland" while a nine-year old girl lip-synced it on stage in front of 91,000 attendees and a world-wide TV audience. A member of the Chinese Politburo ordered the switch because Pelyl was said to be too chubby and had crooked baby teeth.

Contrast this with President Harry Truman's conduct more than 60 years ago. He told a young heckler to shut up and sit down in a public forum. Then worried that the young man would carry that chastisement through life, Truman had the Secret Service round up the man. The President talked with him, listened to the man, apologized for snapping at him and sent him on his way. The young man walked away with a smile on his face. The story was released to the media on Truman's orders.

Unbelievable

So help me Jesus, this is from The New York Times, Oct. 18, 2007: "The Portland (Maine) school board on Wednesday approved a measure allowing middle-school students to gain access to prescription birth control medications without notifying parents." About five of the school's 500 students reported themselves as being sexually active. What are we coming to?

Who puts these lists together

Some people have the knack for getting right to the bone. Consider Mr. Benjamin Woods of Menlo Park, California. Time published a list of who it considers the 100 most influential people in the world. In Letters to the Editor some agreed, others disagreed and a teacher, understandably, bemoaned the absence of any educators on the list. But Mr. Woods had the last say: "These are supposedly the 100 most influential people in the world, but not a single professional bowler? Who puts these lists together?"