Next - closed caption RADIO ?

Even though I am not hard of hearing, I find  CLOSED CAPTION

    TV very useful.  Even viewing videos, I am annoyed by garbled conversation.

     Often  the caption can CLARIFY the dialogue. How pleasant to actually

    make some sense of all that song lyric gibberish!

        I am no technical brain , but I must ask : Can't radio sets in the

    near future also have built in to them a CLOSED CAPTION  device with

    a screen ( even a print out ! ) ?

         Just think how silly a transcript of most talk shows will seem !

         In many ways radio has even more potential than TV. People can

    listen to radio while they are working. Watching TV on the job is

    almost always shilly-shallying .

           And would CLOSED CAPTION RADIO be cheap enough to be

    marketable ?

Harrop,Kerr letters SILLY

Two recently published letters commenting on Kerr and Harrop

    columns were unusually SILLY!

          Not because they disagreed with  the points of view :

        One of letter writers imagines Kerr to be clinically MISERABLE

    because he was dismayed by library vandalism. ( Should we recommend

    " The Power of Positive Thinking " for Bob Kerr ? )

          The other letter writer recommends mental health therapy for

    Aroma Harrop. I guess only the imbalanced will not be cheerleaders

    for the STARR CHAMBER proceedings.

           I recommend " People of the Lie " for Froma. ( The author, Scott

    Peck, does not regret ALL his infidelities !  )

           Perhaps one sign of mental health is not even taking yourself

    and your weighty OPINIONS  too seriously .

          The letter writers  are perhaps themselves in need of medical

    attention. Or a new astrologer !

Mental illness and the soul

Scientists everywhere are mentally conditioned to seek a

    a scientific explanation of all phenomena, They  routinely put aside

    superstitious , supernatural, metaphysical explanations  and seek a

    " simple " -  MATERIALISTIC - explanations, even for the baffling

    social problem of mental illness. Epilepsy, for example, was once thought

    to be a form of demonic possession. A famous ancient Greek physician

    figured out what it really was - a brain disease .

            Our society takes stock in the  quasi-theological idea of

    FREE WILL. It is our most respectable LIE. We routinely clamor for

    death penalty for the criminally insane killer. If a man has a diseased

    heart or a diseased liver, we usually do not see this as absolute proof

    of an evil soul. But the human brain is an ORGAN just like the heart or

    liver.  Being more complex it is all the more likely to malfunction.

         A diseased brain deserves as much medical attention as a diseased

    heart or liver.  As far as science is concerned the product of the

    brain - thoughts, ideas, consciousness -  this product is inseparable

    from the physical organ.

          But when we put the deranged criminal on trial, we judge his SOUL

    to be wicked. And where in the physical brain resides the soul ?

           All our babble about EVIL in an individual - like psychopath

    Craig Price for example  - just ignorantly IGNORES an everyday fact

    of medical science : ANY body organ can malfunction !

         On the brink of 2000, we still think DARK AGE thoughts !

Why I hate talk shows

I gave up TV watching years ago . What an ignorant and

    absurd circus. But now I find radio just as bad. Most talk shows - the

    arrogant, loud mouthed hosts and dumb and dumber callers -are the

    intellectual pits of our times.

          The same jackasses check in every day . Many annoy the listener

    by taking forever to make a point. Other frequent callers are hit

    and run artists.

            How much I prefer the written word or the  e- mail letter. You

    have to THINK first before typing words out on a keyboard. The receiver

    of the letter can pay  as much or as little attention to it as he or she

    pleases.

          I NEVER call talk shows because I insist on having a little time

    to think about unpredictable questions that arise in a controversy.

         Those regular talk show callers just need a chattering mouth and

    a spinal cord.

           The talk show hosts are rarely a cut above the callers - just

    more articulate and arrogant.

           Just now I hear an idiot host that Boston could be made blissful

    if only the police would confiscate cars that are double parked !

          Just double park once and you lose your car to the city!

       " Oh they'll cry fascism but the problem will be solved ". ( near

    quote )

           In the real world space AND time is precious. Stupid talk show

    hosts and their callers are hogging precious air time.

           Listening to them is hazardous to your sanity !

Craig Price is a VICTIM !

          The name of Rhode Island serial killer Craig Price must now

    set off mental alarms everywhere in the country. While I hear unctuous

    TV lawyers - discussing the Clinton- Starr affair ( Yes, that is how I

    see it ! ) - babble about the imbecilic letter of the law, right here

    in Rhode Island the " letter of the law " does not seem to apply to

    Craig Price , now 24 years old.

            Who gets an additional 15 years in prison for a scuffle with a

    prison guard - in which racial epithets MAY have been a factor ?

          Who gets a seven year term for THREATENING a guard ?

        Price lawyer sees the ugly shadow of racism here. But I see Price

    not as a victim of racism but as a victim of genuine MENTAL ILLNESS .

           A man is clearly mentally ill ( Craig is stark raving MAD )

    and the state punishes him severely for bad judgment. I read  that

    Craig Price is " guilty of criminal contempt for failing to comply

    with a court ordered psychological examination while he was confined

    to the training school". ( Projo, page B6 , Aug 28 )

           The legal system , it seems, must subscribe to the myth of FREE

    WILL.  You cannot let mentally ill people decide for themselves about

    such consequential things as psychological examinations.

         A friend of mine, lawyer Pete Gallogly ( brother of the radio

    lawyer ) is appalled at the state's ignorance and contempt for

    the imprisoned mentally ill.  I accompanied him on a recent visit to

    the ACI to see a mutual friend - who is often psychotic .

          I also note that the ACI prisoners are using now obsolete

    type writers. They should have computers available to them, similar

    to those in public libraries. Their friend should be able to stay

    in touch with them via E- mail.

          The state MUST protect the public from the likes of Craig Price.

    I understand . But in the past there were mental institutions for

    the criminally insane. But today as one  " politically correct "

    psychiatrist  scolded the editor of the Providence Journal : " There

    are no MENTAL patients in MENTAL institutions."

        And THAT is just the problem !

David R. Carlin- PHILOSOPHER !

His letter today is titled " The silly faith in computers "

    ( Projo , Aug.27) but David Carlin, CCRI Professor Meritless, is

    actually upset about what he perceives as our culture of SKEPTICISM.

    To be sure it won't produce any Hamlets- who was a man of bold

    faith in all things dear to the sagacious professor's heart.

          Faith in Marriage & Family, for example.  Carlin thinks

    it unwise for us to " tolerate ( even encourage ) single parenthood

    PARTICULARLY AMONG THE POOR ".  ( I guess we can wink at single

    parenthood of the well to do ? )

             I think our society is too tolerant of FRAUDS like

    Mr. Carlin in academia .

          Radical feminists - it seems a long time ago - were

    voicing their very RATIONAL skepticism of Marriage & Family.

    Now they are less skeptical about this rock bottom foundation

    of BOURGEOIS SOCIETY. Now they whine about glass ceilings in

    BOURGEOIS corporations .

         I say : Back to skepticism on the sacrosanct FAMILY.

     ( I do love my mommy & daddy ! )

Letters - public property ?

An amiable newspaper editor told me in a e-mail message :

    " We get zillions of letters ! "  A national newspaper like USA TODAY

    can get ( by their own count ) a thousand letters a week. About the

    same number of letters are received by the national magazine NEWS WEEK.

          Of course they all claim that they can publish only a fraction

    of them. But that fraction represents raw , unpolished, unpaid, often

    unrestrained , undisciplined, unabashed, unpredictable, unpretentious,

    and for timid editors - unsettling- PUBLIC OPINION .

          Since most people write to the major publications with some

    hope of publication, they are REALLY writing for the GENERAL PUBLIC.

    As a private business newspapers have no obligation to publish

    these letters. Advertising - not public correspondence - is their

    life blood. That newspapers are a force for  TRUTH, JUSTICE, and

    the AMERICAN WAY is only a comic book delusion.

        Still an interesting legal question presents itself: Do

    newspapers have a right to regard letters - intended for the

    public - as  their private property ?

         Should not ANYBODY be able to walk into a newspaper

    establishment- like THE NEW YORK TIMES - and demand to read

    PUBLIC letters ?  Letters that will never be published ?

           To say NO definitely would be to say that FREEDOM OF

    SPEECH is in reality just a PROPERTY RIGHT.

            Think about it !

Plotters arrested -a pleasant surprise !

        I was pleasantly surprised to read that the U.S government has

    actually indicted seven aging " gusano " exiles for their involvement

    in a nefarious plot to assassinate Cuban president Fidel Castro. I

    commend the integrity of the government officials who captured

    these fanatics of a lost cause. All most ALL of them are embittered

    capitalists who lost their robber barron fortunes when Castro 's forces

    triumphed in Cuba way back in 1959.

           What the gusano's hate is not so much a deplorable lack of democracy

    in Cuba but the very idea of a SOCIALIST Cuba. You can kill Castro but

    can you kill an IDEA which for all its pathetic failures still represents

    HOPE for the wretched masses everywhere ?

         Has capitalism brought the GOOD LIFE to the Russian people ? Well

    Red China is certainly watching developments in the former Soviet Union

    and drawing conclusions like this : Capitalism is a wonderful system

    for the capitalists. True enough, they are not capitalists for the

    benefit of the working class !

           In conclusion let me point out that it would be difficult for

    the Clinton administration to pursue world wide terrorism and wink

    at yet another crackbrained  plot to assassinate FIdel Castro. Besides

    I suspect that God may be on HIS side, even if Castro himself does not

    appreciate HIM.

             Note : Bill Clinton haters take note - you have an ally in

     the charming Muslim, Bin Laden .

When Starr smiles !

 I have had only negative things to say about witch hunter Ken

    Starr. My sympathy is with " Bad Boy Clinton ".

        However, looking at Ken Starr's smiling face on the front page

    of USA TODAY, I must say that his is a most pleasing face when he

    smiles ; it is the benign face of a country preacher or parish priest

    ( of the literary imagination )

        A difficult face to hate ! But come to think of it, Bill Clinton

    reminds me of the " good- bad " kid -next-door ( Huck Finn ? )

    who got caught robbing a cranky neighbor's peach tree.

         Hollywood producers take notice !

Feder and M.Scott Peck

I read your conservative columnist, Don Feder's anti-Clinton

        and drooling anti-LIBERAL drivel in the Boston Herald recently.

        ( by the way congratulations on your new and winning appearance! )

            Feder thinks that liberals in general are a contemptuous lot,

        unwilling to condemn moral decay in the sacrosanct White House.

               He says, I recall, that  they are all what the popular

        psychiatrist M. Scott Peck would call " People of the Lie ".

              Would Peck himself make this judgment and throw stones

        at the wicked sinner, Bill Clinton.

             Read  the article on him in " The Christian Century " ( 11-22-95) .

         The good doctor confesses that he does not regret ALL his infidelities

        against wife, Lilly. But he owes his readers, he says, " a modicum

        of honesty and realism "  ( Bill would understand ! )

               " During a a dry period in his marriage with Lily, he responded

        to the limits of romantic love with sexual infidelities. " ( Christian

        Century )

               One of M. Scott Peck's recent books is titled " In Search of

        Stones ".

The "cyanide " lady - a victim ?

                Without knowing more, I study the haggard face of Kathryn

    Schoonover ( she must have lost her hair from the cancer treatment )

    and read : " homeless cancer patient ". She won't be homeless now ! She

    has been arrested for lunatic behavior - mailing out cyanide containing

    envelopes. Just like Kathryn the envelopes, I learn, have no " return

    address !

             Republicans can scream all they want for the death penalty for

    this woman. She is already under nature's  own immutable death sentence.

          Is this how we treat poor cancer patients ? The clearly mentally

    ill? We cannot even manage to give them the dignity of a home to die

    in ?

         But the poor and the mentally ill just don't have the right

    attitude do they, Mr. And Mrs. Republican ?

Jarvis Tyner right about welfare!

I cannot agree that criticism of affirmative action is

    always racially tainted but Jarvis Tyner, American Communist Party

    leader, is quite right about poor blacks ( and poor people in general )

    being kicked off welfare with utter meanness and coldness - and going

    from low income to no income. ( See People's Weekly World, Aug. 15 )

         Just this morning I read an " inspiring " welfare to work story

    in the - let's say it! - BOURGEOIS PRESS.

        But just thinking about it for a moment, I smelled a rat ! Of

    course the vast majority of poor people " rescued " from welfare

    end up in stinking pit jobs - highly exploitive and alas even highly

    insecure.

          With no SOCIAL CONTRACT essentially saying that our government

    has a moral obligation to care for the down and out, these former

    " underclass " workers  are just plain fodder for the most ruthless

    exploitation.

        Perhaps this vast so called " under class " needs a few lessons in

    1930s style UNIONISM . Could the big bad Teamsters - once a downright

    radical union - help them to organize and champion their cause ?

        Could this country get as  bad as present day CAPITALIST

    Russia ?

ER ennui -a help?

 I just read your editorial " ER ennui " and agree with its

    points. I wonder if the writer has had a recent experience of " excruciating "

    waiting in " grim " emergency rooms. Nothing like a real experience to

    focus the mind !

            Of course the bottom line must not prevail in hospital emergency

    rooms. They must be well staffed !

          I  also believe that no accident room patients should be asked

    ANY questions about their medical coverage or ability to pay fees - until

    well after the emergency treatment. This is only common decency !

           And I recommend that soothing ,cheerful or at least PLEASANT

    CLASSICAL music be piped into the " grim " waiting area .

           And Mozart might might even make the staff SMARTER !

      Can we hum along about " our favorite things "  ( " The Sound of Music " )

    while nearly bleeding to death ?

Another view of Barnicle debacle

             I will not join the " feeding frenzy " in the Mike Barnicle

    scandal. He still seems to be a GOOD man -HONEST ,well most of the

    time. ( The same is true of the " disgraced " Patricia Smith .)

           The problem with Mike, I suspect, was also 25 years as a STAR

    columnist. There are lesser Mikes on every major newspaper. There is

    also a YOUNGER generation with a lot to say.  Mark Patinkin , for

    example, is a  " star " columnist for the Providence Journal, a man

    only in his mid-forties, but already a little " tired " for the job ,

    which really demands freshness of mind, the enthusiasm of the unjaded.

          These OLD PRO columnists begin to irritate many readers when

    they start wallowing in tripe and banality. Imagine precious column

    space in major newspapers - like the Boston Globe and Providence Journal -

    devoted to cheap -and second hand ! - JOKES; or the up and downs of

    domestic life and THE DOUG !

            Patinkin's column are so bland ( but he IS a good writer ) that

    I am surprised that I have not caught him doing radio or TV commercials

    - a REWARD for being non- controversial.

            Perhaps newspapers should give those hard working REPORTERS -

    who respect REALITY - an opportunity to be a STAR columnist, at least

    a few times a year .

           Perhaps STAR columnists are an anachronism nowadays .

The still living voice of slavery

Scholars were unaware just how many dead slaves are STILL

    TALKING ! They are still -on tape recordings buried in the basement

    of the Library of Congress -still CONDEMNING in their own moving words

    the horrors of the " peculiar institution ". The forgotten recordings

    were mostly the work of Depression era scholars  connected to  Franklin

    Roosevelt's WPA  .( How savy of THAT MAN to employ the nation's thinkers

    and scholars. They might have gone over to " Uncle Joe " - Stalin ! )

         The book and audio tape is titled : " Remembering Slavery-African

    Slaves Talk About Their Personal Experiences of Slavery and Emancipation "

    ( authors, Ira Berlin and Steven Miller - The New Press )

          Excerpt : " Course dey cry; you think dey not cry when dey was sold

    lak cattle ? "

             It is interesting that Darwin's " Origin of the Species " was

    published in 1859 just before the American Civil War. Later he published

    the even more controversial " Descent of Man ".

           The author of these great scientific works - who studied " primitive

    people " - would never have judged the black race to be anything but

    fully HUMAN - members of homo sapiens .

              Leave it to pious Christians of the last century to make

    a more cruel and FALSE judgment of the " darkies "  as nearly sub -human,

    most fit for slavery.

            Darwin's doctrine is still believed by many to degrade mankind.

    Yet one with this COLD scientific outlook was already ideologically

    armed against the ignorant RELIGIOUS defense of slavery.

           Yes , the TRUTH will make us FREE ! And keep us FREE !

We ARE a forgiving people !

The press is making it seem that proven LIARS are insufferable

    to the public conscience -  witness Bill Clinton, Mike Barnicle, Patricia

    Smith, etc  . But how many politicians have lost elections because they

    were HONEST ? How many journalist were drummed out of the profession

    because they wrote the truth, indeed exposed the lies of the corrupt,

    wealthy and powerful ?

             Let the venomous pundits of the bought and sold mass media-

    absolutely dominated by the bottom line - understand this : the vast

    majority of Americans -who understand the pressures of the work place,

    who themselves may be at the mercy of crackpot managers - are NOT

    sanctimonious hypocrites !

          Everywhere in a capitalist society the BOTTOM LINE - PROFITS - is

    the root of all lies !

Thanks for the " memory "

 " Magnetic resonance imagining ", says an AP story today (Aug.21 )

    ( Projo, " Scientists pinpoint memory -making regions of the brain " )

    can now let researchers peer inside the human brain " at the split

    second it creates a memory ".  If we can just understand the bio-

    mechanics of the memory process, we are not far from the beginning

    of understanding human CONSCIOUSNESS - almost universally believed to

    be a " spiritual " phenomenon .

          One noble application of the new insights would be a cure for

    the most cruel Alzheimer's disease - which almost completely destroys

    important memory making centers.

        A less noble application : more effective TV and radio commercials!

    To be sure without a long term memory we could never be very unhappy

    or miserable. The evil idea of REVENGE would be inconceivable. But we

    also would not be HUMAN !

        News like this -" scientists pinpoint memory-making regions " -

    is of greater consequence in the long run for humanity than these

    ephemeral and often silly headlines we read daily in the paper:

       " Monica Tells All ! "  ..." Lesbian Actress Comes Out of Closet ".

      According to the article the MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION is : " What

    makes your brain more likely to react to one item over another ? "

          Just a layman's guess, but haven't popular memory experts

    already in part answered this question ?  We react to the

    already FAMILIAR, what we have already experienced, what we already

    know.

         A common experience is this : one day we learn the meaning of

    a very strange looking word. Then - often the very next day - it

    seems to pop up everywhere in our reading!

        It seems that we SEE only what we are mentally prepared to

    see.  In the final analysis we are an EYE WITNESS only to

    our own universe. But SANITY demands that it not conflict with

    the universe of other people- at least not too much !

          Perhaps the Memory- not the eyes alone -  the Memory

    is the " window of the soul ".

Just for you Froma !

    I loved your column today Froma ! Numerous other columnists

    conspired to make me see myself -and my dearest buddies - as morally

    defective. As I said before: " Three yawns for the Truth here ! "

         I read your column while waiting for a haircut -which I get now

    and then - a disguise for my hippie, commie, bohemian nature !

          But I still VOTE ! Thanks again for your good sense !

Russian Roulette with Famous

Having helped to create a vapid PUBLIC MIND, unable to focus

    on the real problems facing all mankind, the United States news media

    is ENTERTAINING us by playing Russian roulette with the famous , the

    successful, the achievers among us : Patricia Smith, Mike Barnicle, Bill

    Clinton - dozens more . Whose next in the the feeding frenzy ? May I

    indulge my own simple minded prejudices and recommend Ken Starr ?

           The news media has become the moral equivalent of the ancient

    Roman Colosseum - bread and circuses. The passion to tear apart and

    taste blood is insatiable.

           It is almost 2000 AD and there is still a world out there. It is

    bigger than all the bigger than life celebrities .

       ( edit :  Who's next in the feeding frenzy ?  )

Gingrich-look who's talking !

 I note in this morning's news that House Speaker, Newt Gingrich,

    wants President Clinton to resign. But look who's talking ! For

    those with short memories let me quote some abstracts from the

    ancient past :

        " Gingrich brings discredit to the House "... " An unworthy

    Speaker ".

        " Gingrich's view that it was not his fault "

         " Gingrich's view of being pilloried "... "  Support of

    Gingrich reprimand by a majority of Republicans ".

       " 395- 28 --- House votes to reprimand Gingrich ".

         No, I will stand by my man, Bill Clinton. Better to

    have a sex rogue in the White House than an out and out

    CLASS ENEMY !

Pryrrhic victory for Starr!

 I am not shocked  by Clinton's admission of GUILT in

    a sexual affair with a subordinate, the White House intern,

    Monica Lewinsky. Bad judgment yes, but an utterly banal scandal !

        After this unsurprising climax, it should be easier for

    most Americans to see the Starr for what he is - a politically

    motivated , religious crackpot - a greater menace to the Constitution

    than Bill Clinton.

          Can any corporate executive survive such a ruthless probe

    into his private life?  Do we wish to be a nation of snoops

    and snitches and vapid gossips ?

         It is characteristic of totalitarian societies to deny

    the private life. There is a scene in the movie " Doctor Zhivago "

    ( remember the  poet doctor is having an extra-marital affair

    with the beautiful Lara  )  where  the Red army general Pasha

    tells Zhivago : " The personal life is dead in Russia. History

    has killed it !  "

          How many Ken Starr clones are out there  - just waiting

    to distribute Scarlet Letters  to black sheep in our midst ?

          Now we have the TRUTH about the Clinton - Monica affair.

    Three  yawns for the Truth !

         There is still a world out there .

Stop having kids ?

In a letter to the editor of USA Today ( Aug.17 ) Gary D.Zeune

    tells off the welfare dependent: " Get a job. Stop bringing children

    into the world you can't take care of.... "

          But what if our " proletarian class " took his advice seriously ?

    What if the wombs of the poor  and working class women actually went

    on strike for  5 or 10 years - until society took responsibility for

    creating the good paying jobs that it will make it possible to CARE

    for children ?

          The very etymology of the word " proletarian "  suggests

    producers of offspring , indeed " prolific " producers !

           In  ancient Rome that is all the proles were required to do :

    replenish the ranks of the imperial army.

          Ancient Rome took better care of its proles. Indeed leaders like

    the Gracchi brothers - both martyred - even championed them .

         Are the American prole children just fodder for the capitalist

    economic order ?  If  that is the sad truth, why should our " proletarian "

    class reproduce the race at all ?

           Think about it you implacable foes of the Welfare State !

Helping Hollywood Avoid Duds

Why do Hollywood producers often blow it when going from

    book to movie ?   Imagine  losing millions of dollars  AND insulting

    quality  literature ? The latest example of this is " The Ransom of

    Redchief ", an O'Henry short story. I will not see the movie simply

    because ALL the critics I read  panned it. Often when it comes to

    entertainment " independent "  judgment is a waste of time and

    money.

          I concluded a long time ago that the average competent high school

    English teacher - hired  temporarily as an advisor - could protect

    film makers doing a familiar literary work from costly fiascos.

               But unfortunately big   shots of entertainment industry -

    like the big shots of politics -surround themselves with craven flunkies

    who dare not question the GENIUS in  charge.

                 POWER everywhere needs to plug into the COMMON SENSE of

    the more ordinary talented people . A little Democracy- outside the

    voting booth - can work wonders !

                 As for filmed books, I would like to see a competent

    Hollywood  version  of Theodore Dresser 's   " An American Tragedy  ".


               Of   the  O'Henry stories " The Cop and the Anthem " might

    have been a better choice to film . It is about a hapless derelict named

    Soapy who tries to get arrested in a big city - merely to be warm

    and cared for during the long cold winter .



              Is   Soapy  still out there in the cold ?

Nude child and pornography

             In itself it seems hardly felonious: transmitting a nude

    photo of a child over the Internet. The story on page 3 today ( Aug.15 )

    about the arrest of a Providence teacher, Gregory S. Mailloux, only

    hints at more damning evidence. Attorney David Ciciline expects Mr.

    Mailloux, a science teacher at Oliver Hazard Perry Middle to be " fully

    exonerated ". But then his reputation is still fully ruined .

          Once tainted with so serious a crime , can a man - Mailloux is

    only 34- fully recover his good name ?

             I was inside a Thayer St. gift shop  a few weeks ago when I

    noticed a book on bold  display : " Naked Babies ".  I was not the

    least interested in the contents. But I now wonder if the sex police

    might be. Perhaps they might even question the curator of the Vatican

    Museum .  Last month  a woman showed me an adorable photo of her two

    naked toddlers - a boy and a girl - in the bathroom. They were even

    embracing !  I told her that the photo could win a local contest !

         Perhaps Mr. Mailloux is indeed a sinister person -and dangerous.

    Perhaps not !

There's still a world out there !

I wonder if peaceful times are corrupting times. Have

    we forgotten that there's still a big, bad world out there ? We are

    about to  make a momentous  definition of our national character :

     Are we a nation of PRIGS or a nation of LIBERTINES  ?

                Meanwhile we can read a truly hair-raising story on

    the front page of the New York Times : " Defector Describes Iraq's

    Atom Push " .

          The defector scientist, Khidir Abdul Abas Hamza , is not an

    admirable person. He does explain just how an ignorant brute like

    Saddam Hussein can dominate Iran scientific establishment . They

    are controlled like laboratory rats - lavish rewards for pleasing

    the dictator of Iraq, horrible torture for disappointing him .

         Who said knowledge is power ?  If only those murdered

    scientists could talk ?

            American intelligence officials " grossly underestimated

    Iraq's nuclear program ", the article said.

         Have we been  living in a fantasy world since the end of

    the Cold War ? Just months ago India, then Pakistan exploded

    nuclear weapons ( " now we have the Islamic bomb. Allah be

    praised ! "  - a near quote . )

             But what we really want to know is this : " Did Monica

    Lewinsky have oral sex with Bill Clinton ?

        But for ALL of us the ultimate " blow job " might be just

    a few years away !

RIPTA RIPP-OFF !

I applaud your recent editorial on RIPTA .This morning I

    must scold RIPTA while it is in the very process of reforming


    itself. I am a regular user of the bus, living on Church Ave. in

    Warwick. But I started using passes just last month. Believe me

    I appreciate the convenience and the money saving. But I soon

    learned that Rhode Island is behind many other states in its

    public transportation services. Naturally !

           My friend Tommy, who has been living in Austin, Texas , tells

    me they have a one-zone system there. And a lot cheaper. In Rhode

    Island you now pay $34.50 for a two zone pass, about $45 for a three

    zone, and about $65 for a four zone pass covering the whole state ( no

    big deal ! ) .

         I understand this will change in October, hopefully for the

    better!

         Today I had my own memorable experience of the stupidity of

    the present zone system.For this month of August I bought a one

    zone pass. That means I must pay an extra $00.65 to get downtown.

    That does not seem too unreasonable. But today I was a little

    shocked to learn that the zoning has little to do with DISTANCE !

           A rude bus driver did not help. Is rudeness a qualification

    for the job ?

           Getting on the bus that stops at Church Ave, Warwick about

    five past eight-heading toward downtown Providence - I told the

    driver that I would get off at St. Paul's Church. I showed him

    my one zone pass. When I was about to get off near St. Paul's

    Church, the bus driver said -as if I was trying to get away

    with something - " You owe $00.65 ! " 

           Shocked and embarrassed - I had no change - I told him

    that I have never gone one mile on a bus and had to pay $1.65 .

       " But you crossed the ZONE ! " he said . Did he mean the

    Twilight Zone, I thought.

          " I'll pay you tomorrow ", I said sheepishly.

       You cannot catch this Warwick Ave. bus if you are in Providence

    after 8 o'clock. Imagine a main street like Warwick Ave. off

    limits to bus riders so early in the evening !

          Is this a form of curfew  for the inner city residents ? If

    I were a black or hispanic person living in Providence, I would

    conclude that I am UNWELCOME IN WARWICK ! The lack of a car is

    evidence of a certain deplorable shiftlessness. I just do not

    measure up to White Warwick's Finest !

         Paranoia or the simple truth ?

Guglietta The Jackass !

       Another jackass is running for Rhode Island attorney general-

    Democrat William R. Guglietta ..." recommended the death penalty

    for some youngsters who kill ". This is a pretty tired routine

    for the less bright candidates for that most honorable office.

         Of course the kid's IQ will also be a factor, says Wild Bill.

    An 14 year old killer with an IQ of 150 is a good candidate for

    roasting, he thinks. He does know enough practical psychology to

    understand that a kid can have a high IQ and be emotionally

    retarded.

          Since high IQs are so rare in Rhode Island, you would

    think that this alone would be reason to spare the kid. But

    then our politicians are perhaps prejudiced against INTELLIGENCE


    wherever they find it.

            Eva Marie Mancuso  and Nancy Mayer, the Republican candidate

    for attorney general - seem to have more common sense. Mancuso says :

    " the death penalty is morally wrong regardless of the age of the

    defendants. It doesn't deter murder and appeals make it costly to

    state."

              Guglietta might hesitate to execute a  7 year old , but

    " there's no bright line test . "

        Unfortunately there is no bright line test for Rhode Island

    politicians.Again and again the voters here must choose  between

    Dumb and Dumber !

I was just thinking !

Mike Barnicle explained the apparent plagiarism in his last

        one liner column as a product of mental laziness and stupidity. I

        just read a New York Times signed editorial-not mentally lazy and

        not stupid - describing this embarrassing incident as " pathological ".

             But perhaps that is precisely why Barnicle should be suspended

        rather than fired. Nothing like this before in 25 years ?

               I was just thinking : Does Mike Barnicle have a drinking

        problem that caught up with him and clouded his judgment ? With

        the pressure of a deadline ?

              Is there anything UNUSUAL about a drunken journalist with

        an Irish background ?

              I don't mean to be rude - I was just thinking !

Take back Barnicle & Smith !

I now think that the Boston Globe will not hurt itself

    if it takes back its two stars - Mike Barnicle and Patricia Smith.

    To be sure they will still  have  not less credibility than our national

    leaders. And since when is the TRUTH in the mass media absolutely above

    advertising   interests ?

           The story here is All Too Human ! We must not be a punitive

    people !

Gen. C.C Krulak- great letter!

I  am perhaps very far from his kind of guy. He is Gen.

    C.C Krulak ,commandant U.S Marine Corp , Washington , D.C . But

    letter in USA Today (   "  Marines  have to be held to higher

    standards " , Aug. 11   )    deeply impressed  me.  In brief

    it was a mini-lecture on the importance of CHARACTER.

         "  We are not born with character, " he writes. "  It is

    developed by the experiences and decisions that guide our lives."

        In the heat of battle, he points out,  character- that " inner

    strength " and  moral compass -will often carry the day.

          " Cowardliness in character " will soon reveal itself in

    other forms.


                Gen. Krulak ,I believe, knows men. But adolescents

    today - when their character is being formed - need above all

    to hear these words : "  The defense that EVERYONE IS DOING IT

    is no defense at all.... "

                Here I am thinking not about later life adultery but

      drugs and alcohol and smoking  and brainless, heartless sexual

    conduct . Also cheating, stealing, and lazy overindulgent life


    style thats makes too many youths  fat, stupid, and ignorant.

        I can just hear the wise General yelling at them : " Straighten

    out ! "   for your own sake and the sake of your country, the USA .

           I hope other editors discover Gen. C.C Krulak 's letter.

Pit Bull attack in Salem

I just read Paul Sullivan's article on a pit bull attack in

    the Boston Herald ( Aug. 10, page 7 ). I hope 7-year -old Carlos Garcia

    of Salem does not lose his right eye vision. The pit bulls in the Witch

    City, it seems, are commanded from Hell. Ask detective James Page

    and patrol woman Kate Noftle - also attacked by the fiendish beasts!

          I always suspected that a dog will reflect the personality of its

    owner.: the owner of the pit bull that attacked the little boy " has not

    contacted him to apologize " . Richard Laquaglia - a class act !

          Pits bulls are as dangerous as assault weapons most feared by the

    police. They should be banned! They are bred to be vicious !  Young Carlos

    just wanted to give the dumb monster a  cookie !

        Have you ever met a pit bull owner that did not seem a little

    deranged ?

            Death to all pit bulls !

Pacifists with an ax !

Again I read about a " well known local peace activist " and

    a young disciple attempting to sabotage federal property ( near the silo

    of a nuclear missile -Greely, Colorado )

               This 56 year old, Daniel Sicken, I suspect, first went

    " ballistic " around 1968 - " the  Days of Rage " .

                One  need not respect Democracy when armed with a  crusading

    Moral  Truth :  the U.S. government is the  Great  Satan   as the Islamic

    fanatics say it is . However THEY are not pacifists and THEY have struck

    again : read front page, Aug. 8 - " 80 killed in embassy bombings ".

           It is simply Cultural Suicide to try to  undo the  military


    establishment. THEY  are  not NICE !

              I could never understand the logic of delinquent pacifism -

    even when I was marching against  the  stupid Vietnam War. Have they

    no confidence in their own  powers of  persuasion ? Public opinion in

    a  democracy  is not  written  in  stone. Prevailing  ideas can  be


    peacefully -and more effectively  challenged.


            But  the  majority - that is  the effective majority that VOTES -

    in general RULES . If you believe in Democracy, you  have to  live

    with  that.


           For example I oppose the death penalty. But  it seems that

    public opinion supports it. Would I dare suggest cutting down power

    lines feeding the prison electric chair ?  Is  that  how you win

    support for your point of view ?

           Let me quote the Bible as a guide to conduct : " In the beginning


    was  the WORD ".

" Brain Droppings " all over the place !

I read in the Providence Journal this morning that the prominent

    Boston Globe columnist, Mike Barnacle , is being asked to resign - " in

    the wake of plagarism (sic ) accusations.  It seems that in big business

    journalism nowadays brains are indeed dropping all over the place.

        At first I was tempted to defend Barnicle against an over-reaction.

    But reading the more detailed story in Boston Globe, I just feel sad

    and a little betrayed. After all plagiarizing jokes is not as big a

    deal as telling lies and smearing reputations. Or inventing " characters"

    to write about in a " serious " column.

         Is it not just plain CORRUPT to plug on TV a book  ( " Brain Droppings " by

    comedian George Carlin ) that you now say you've not even read ?  I recall

    Patricia Smith had ounce " reviewed " a performance of a show she had

    never attended .

           Most  " one liner " columns I read in newspapers seem unworthy of

    even a mediocre talent. All these columnist are being " stupid and lazy "

    to use Barnicle's own words.

          There is enough fluff in the very contents of most newspapers

    nowadays . Do serious columnists have to compete with cheap, two bit

    entertainers ?

          Yes indeed, your brains are dropping all over the place. Are

    there no H.L Menckens anymore. Are brains taboo in the newspaper

    " entertainment " business ?

             If the Pope did report the baseball scores, he might just

    put you out of business !

Clinton owes no apology !

          Let sanctimonious half-wits think that President Bill Clinton

    owes them an apology for his extra- marital  sexual adventures. In

    a society where so many are divorced or fooling around with the

    spouse of another !

         Even no less a moral authority than Ann Landers cautions

    unfaithful  married people against TELLING ALL . It may do no

    good and cause unnecessary heartbreak.

         Clinton LIED FOR OUR SINS ! ( if he did lie ).

       Rather than COME CLEAN - perhaps impossible in his case - he should

    defiantly tell the self-righteous that his private love life is HIS

    business . I do not want to know the TRUTH about the Monica Lewinsky

    affair.

           The country  owes Bill Clinton an apology for this outrageous

    Starr investigation - right out of the Salem Witchcraft era.


            Clinton should end this matter by firing the SPECIAL PROSECUTOR !

Treacherous Bimboes Rule ?

How many otherwise decent and competent corporate executives

    could survive a Starr Chamber proceeding ? The harassment of President

    Bill Clinton is unprecedented in the history of the United States.

       Can treacherous bimboes like Monica Lewinsky determine the fate

    of a great nation. Would this low-life vixen want to have a private

    showing of that semen stained dress ( if that is what she has )

    with Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea ?

         I heard these words spoken in the McCarthy hearings: " Have

    you no SHAME ? "

          For me the scandal here is still the Starr investigation. But

    I never seem to hear the Voice of God, so I could be just the

    all-  American jackass. We'll see !

I understand Bob, but ?

I love to read your columns Bob . They are always honest. But

    I still feel that the SCANDAL is the Starr investigation itself. How

    many otherwise decent and competent corporation executives could

    survive a ruthless probe into their private lives ?

         For me Clinton's personal failings will never make the GOP agenda

    look good. Does Newt pass the integrity and morality test ?

          The five year old you write about would not be asking those

    embarrassing questions were it not for the Star Chamber harassment

    of an incumbent president. Should treacherous bimboes like Monica

    determine the fate of a great nation ?

          But you are right about this : the American people deserve

    better! Leave that to the next election.

          I never  seem to hear the Voice of God, Bob - so I can be all

    wrong about this too, We'll see !

        Have a nice day.       ron

Car thefts -hushed up crime ?

My brother Michael is RIPTA bus driver, more than 10 years

    with the company. A married man with three young-and beautiful-

    daughters to support, he needs that good job and also two cars,

    one for his wife, Debbie.

          For a family man those cars are quite simply a necessity of

    life. A car thief is  more often than not a mortal threat to

    hard working people's family. Does the bum have any idea how

    much misery he causes ?

           Michael's car was stolen  near the RIPTA garage on

    Elmwood Avenue in Providence by area delinquents -no doubt -

    a couple of weeks ago. When he finally recovered it, it was

    only good for junk. They even stole the baby chair !

        This morning he told me about all the problems  the loss

    of Debbie's car has caused. Having just moved to  West Cranston,

    they have had enough stress for the past month.

          It seems that car thefts are not even reported anymore

    in the paper's Police Log. The police  almost never find the

    culprits. If your car is stolen, it is just TOUGH LUCK !

               We can easily understand why they use to hang

    horse thieves !

The Hot 100 ( books )

The Providence Journal editorial this Sunday morning ( August 2 )

    " Brewing up book battles " made me recall an old " Freshmen English "

    essay : " What is a classic ? " . I can look up the author ,if anyone

    is interested.

           The essay made the excellent point that what makes any book

    a CLASSIC is not its fleeting popularity - its BEST SELLER qualities -

    but the love of a passionate minority. The CLASSIC has succeeded in

    profoundly touching a PASSIONATE MINORITY in every generation. They

    keep it ALIVE with their enthusiasm . Recall Tinkerbell in " Peter Pan " ?

         When people stop believing in his delightful LIGHT, he fades

    and dies.

           I could compose my own list of Hot 100. Sometimes the

    passionate  minority numbers only ONE .

Pigeon nuisance in city

When a particular nuisance crosses a tolerance threshold, you

        can expect an E-message from at least one guy. Yesterday was a beautiful

        day in downtown Providence, clear blue,sunny sky in early August.

             Pigeons -ugly city birds - are a common sight downtown. I have

        never been tempted to even throw them a crumb of junk food. Ugly, filthy


        creatures. And yesterday I reflected that they were just TOO MANY !

        Not a few times they have decorated my thick -nest like - hair, while

        flying brainlessly from one messy spot to another. In a scene right

        out of Alfred Hitchcock's " The Birds "  I was actually dodging the

        nasty fliers.


                I must ask : Do pigeons serve any useful , ecological purpose ?

        And must we put up with their crapping all over the streets and sidewalks

        of a " come-back " city ?

            I propose a FINAL SOLUTION to the pigeon plague !

Olneyville Johns & Hookers

The headline in the Providence Journal this Saturday morning

    is familiar (  August 1, page  A3) : " 29 arrested in prostitution

    sting ".  This all took place in the city's Olneyville section.

         Neighbors were complaining , I guess. My brother John - who

    I'm sure is NOT a " John " owns and rents out property in the area.

    I know he already has enough garbage problems. Those other " Johns "

    he does not.

         But my brother John is a single man in his mid- thirties - the

    average age of the gentlemen busted ? ( I 'll figure it out later on

    my calculator ).

          His girl friend, Shelly, might be furious to read this but I

    suspect that John and most American males would agree with this

    little bit of bar room MEN'S TALK : " Marriage in general - with

    all due respect to the beloved spouse is fundamentally a MONEY for

    SEX arrangement. Oh ,yes! I've heard too many stories. There are ,of

    course, many inspiring exceptions to this rather sordid RULE.

          I will not scold the Providence Journal for printing the

    names of the Johns and -quite possibly destroying what little

    marital bliss remained in their life. The law is the law, for now.

    And I agree they should all know better than to seek truly " filthy "

    sex on the streets.

         One of the police dept lures said : " You dress up too nice ,

    they know it's a cop."

         In fact the wisdom of the street wise John is this : " You look

    too pretty, they know it's a cop  ".

           The way to get prostitution   off the streets is to LEGALIZE

    it !  And that will also promote safe if not sane sex.

         Street prostitution just moves around . Elmwood  Avenue use to

    be the area of those  sting operations. I've already warned a

    sexually robust friend in Miami - who visits Rhode Island now and

    then to stay  away from Elmwood Ave.

         Looking over the list of Johns busted all I can say is : " There

    but for the grace of Grace go I  "