Independence Day, 2004

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

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

FRANCIS X. ARCHIBALD
1128 John Rutledge Ave.
Hanahan
#196 (04-45)
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No. 1
In a Wall Street Journal article June 24, 2004, (pg B5), Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, said that first day sales of former President Bill Clinton's "My Life" were so strong the publisher printed another 750,000 copies bringing the total number of copies in print to 2.25 million...Barnes & Noble and Borders Group said first day sales were the highest of any nonfiction book in their history...a Borders store in New York's financial district hosted Mr. Clinton on Wednesday (June 23) and attracted a crowd estimated at 2,000..."My Life" ranked No. 1 in sales on the Amazon.com web site.
#195 (04-44)
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Reading List

Today I picked up my copy of "My Life" by Bill Clinton at Books-a-Million in North Charleston. It is third in line to be read. At present I am reading "The First Billion" by Christopher Reich and John LeCarre's "Absolute Friends" is next on the list. These two books are checkouts from the local library.
#194 (04-43)
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On the home front
This spring I added a shed (12 x 12 x 8) at the side of my garage to house lawn and garden equipment. During the past week re-painting of the entire structure was completed. I cut a door opening between the side of the garage and back of the shed. This is a convenience that also promotes the passage of air to help cool the workshop in the garage.
#193 (04-42)
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Time and the dead - some responses
While I wait to hear from Time about their policy change (preceding article) here are some responses I received after posting the article:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Time and the dead
This week Time magazine put the late President Ronald Reagan on its cover. This is a departure from custom which dictated, at Time, that dead men do not make the cover. When President Kennedy was assassinated, the new President Lyndon Johnson was on the cover the following week. Does anyone know when and why Time changed its policy? I have written to the editors and asked. No reply, yet.
#191 (04-40)
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George Tenet's resignation
President Bush caught everyone by surprise today with his out-of-the-blue announcement that CIA director George Tenet had submitted a letter of resignation, with effective date of July 11, for "personal reasons." Tenet is very popular at the agency and his leaving will have an adverse impact on morale there. Something the public doesn't know is at play here. The timing of the resignation is strange to say the least. Given that the country is in the midst of a Presidential election (and Bush's re-election is in doubt)it is unlikely any permanent director will be nominated before the end of the year. Deputy CIA director John McLaughlin will be acting director until a new director is confirmed. Tenet was expected to leave after the election, whether Bush or Kerry wins in November.
#190 (04-39)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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Fast service response
One reader wrote: They (The Post & Courier) probably wrote the letters themselves.
#186 (04-35)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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