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Claxton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 10:44 pm: | 
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1) According to the powers that be, we've all but won the war against Iraq. Okay, now what? Is Iraq going to be annexed as a US territory, and perhaps granted statehood sometime down the line? Are we going to prop up another schmuck who we'll have to knock down in 10 or 20 years?
President Bush has been trying all along to sell us on the idea that this war was about disarming Saddam Hussein and liberating the Iraqi people. Look what some of those people are doing in return--looting, rioting, threatening the lives of the very men and women who supposedly fought for theirs. It may be true that a lot of Iraqis didn't like Saddam, but that sure doesn't mean they like us any better.
And just how is Mr. Bush planning to pay for this war? Cuts in health care, education, Social Security? This war will cause our national debt to balloon again to Cold War-era levels, levels that had been put under control and brought down during the Clinton Administration. If we as an electorate fail to hold Mr. Bush and Congress responsible for this war, then we fail not only ourselves but the generations who'll eventually pay for this foolishness.
2) Speaking of the war, Arizona's governor has come under fire for her decision to rename Squaw Peak, outside Phoenix, for Pfc. Lori Piestewa, an Arizona native and Hopi Indian who was the first woman killed in Gulf War II. This change, and the likely subsequent name change of State Highway 51, which is called the Squaw Peak Freeway, has many Arizonans up in arms, and rightfully so. Governor Janet Napolitano did make a bad decision, only because she singled out Piestewa for such an honor, and because the honor involved a 2,600 foot mountain. Had it been a stretch of road, it might not have been so bad.
Long before the Phoenix Suns played in America West Arena, they played in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. If Napolitano really wanted to win friends and influence people, she should've used the opportunity to rename Squaw Peak--itself a controversial name--to honor all those Arizonans who've died in battle.
3) Scott Peterson, the husband of the now-deceased Laci Peterson, has been arrested in connection with his wife's death. He stands to face the death penalty if he's convicted. There's not much doubt in my mind that he did it; there's also no doubt in my mind that he'll be found innocent. Why? Well, it's California, after all. They couldn't prove that OJ did it, so why should we expect any better in this case? If Scott Peterson is smart (and he isn't), he'll put in a call to Johnnie Cochran pronto and get that brother to spring his sorry behind. Of course, if Cochran is smart (and he is), he won't touch this case with a 10-foot briefcase.
4) It's always troubling to hear when a famous person, particularly one you've known for so long, goes down. In this case, that famous person is Luther Vandross, the smooth singer who has wowed fans for years with his vocal talents. Vandross suffered a stroke this week at his Manhattan home; he is recovering in a New York hospital, but his condition has not been released.
Vandross, who has always had problems with his weight, suffers from two key risk factors for stroke--diabetes and high blood pressure. In the black community, both of these ailments lead to a host of problems, including strokes and non-traumatic amputations. These problems are also part of a national trend toward inactivity and obesity that are putting children and adults at risk. Let's hope that Luther's next album, due out in June, isn't a swan song to what has been a wonderful career.
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Crystal
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 25, 2003 - 07:30 pm: |
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Hey Claxton. How goes it?
1) It's hard for me to even talk about this big azz lie called the Gulf War II. Nothing but lies. Where's the WMD? Where's Saddam? And there are many more people in the anti US crowds than we saw trying to topple that statute. And yes, how ARE we gonna pay for it? All I'm hearing from him is more tax cuts. How's that supposed to work? What kind of tax breaks are those companies that are going over there to rebuild gonna get? As if they need more tax cuts!
Here's my question for Mr. B: when is he gonna start worrying about America? The only domestic issues I've heard from him are tax cuts and anti affirmative action. That's it.
2) Didn't know about this one but it doesn't sound too smart of her.
3) Very sad. Here's what I think happened - she found out about his girlfriend, they fought, she ended up dead and he got scared and tried to hide the body. Or, how about this one - she also had an affair [sorry Laci for calling you out like this] and he didn't think the baby was his, got mad and …
Nope, I think Johnnie will steer clear of this one - I hope.
P.S. Back off California!
If I may hijack your post for a moment - just how stupid was Robert Blake's wife? I mean this man was going all over town trying to hire somebody to kill her. Somebody must have told her because he asked people who knew them both but still she kept on doing whatever it was she was doing. You need to listen when somebody says they are gonna kill you.
4) Prayers for Luther!
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Claxton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 11:29 am: |
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Crystal, always good to hear from you...I'm busier than a beaver in a dam-building contest these days, but other than that, I'm doing well.
I'm going to go back to Points 1 and 3 for just a bit for additional elaboration.
1) My personal thought on Bush and this war is that, since he can't find Osama bin Laden, he'll take out a little aggression on Saddam Hussein. Makes me wonder who's next on the hit list--has Australia or Uraguay done anything to piss us off lately? You know, if we really wanted to fight anybody, we should take on China...It'd be a much more entertaining war.
3) I didn't consider the angle of Laci Peterson having an affair, but it makes for wonderful speculation. That may explain why Scott sold off her vehicle and was talking about moving out of the house. Until someone comes forward and makes that case, though, Scott is looking at a free pass to the gas chamber. But, then again, it is California. (Sorry, Crystal, but I'd also say the same thing about North Carolina, my home state.)
Speaking of North Carolina--this is a state that is facing a major budget shortfall (gee, which states aren't these days?!), but somehow has enough money in the till to pay for two state roads to swap numbers. Yeah, you're reading right. Earlier this year, NC 136, which ran through Iredell and Cabarrus counties, was renumbered NC 3 in honor of late NASCAR driver and Kannapolis native Dale Earnhardt. Old NC 3, which was renumbered NC 136, is in Currituck County, on the other side of the state.
Now, I'm not opposed to honoring the memory of Dale Earnhardt. The man was one of the best in his sport, period, and he helped put NASCAR on the map internationally. But I have a problem with what the state did, particularly when you consider it's struggling so much financially. The money they spent on changing road numbers could've paid a teacher's salary for a year. Only in North Carolina, and that's the truth!! |
Cynique
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 05:25 pm: |
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Michael Moore was very right when he called the Iraqi incursion a "fictious war" being waged by a "fictious president". Osama bin Laden was transformed into Saddam Hussein using the "weapons of mass destruction" argument as the smoke screen. This whole idea was conceived by a cabal of men seeking to put in place a new world order by reconfiguring the middle east so this country can control that part of the globe. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld are the man ones calling the shots and "Dubya" is just a puppet who probably really believes this was about liberating Iraq and installing a democratic government. America, by pursuing this imperilistic "Bush Doctrine", and by virtue of being the most powerful nation on earth, is evolving into an Empire. Whether this is good or bad remains to be seen. "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
As for the Laci Peterson case, I watch a lot of true crime documentaries on "Court TV" and the "Discovery" and "A&E" channels, and Scott Peterson is just the latest in a long list of men who stray from their marriages and take up with a mistress, then insure their wives for a large amount of money only to kill them off a few months later. These guys never seem to learn, because they invariably get caught. What I don't understand is why they don't cover their tracks better? They either think they're invincible or subconsciously want to get caught, I guess...
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Claxton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 08:57 pm: |
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Cynique, I'd like to think that guys like Scott Peterson are just dumb...Not only is that easier on my tired little brain, it just seems to make the most sense...I wasn't hatched yesterday, but Scott Peterson may have been... |
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