As the McWorld Turns

What was once THE WORLD is now being called McWorld by

    keen observers of our consumer culture. The McNews reports the

    big story of the day: McDonald's may soon  be serving its McCustomers

    a different Mcburger. I am reminded of the Classic Coke fiasco.

         Don't mess with success ! Or in this case, don't mess with a

    mess. I'm  one of those soon to be OBSOLETE baby boomers who

    remember what REAL hamburgers tasted like -and smelled like as

    they sizzled on the grill of the friendly, neighborhood Greasy Spoon.

             McWorld is taking EVERY nostalgic memory away from us !

    I can now identify with that character in the Twilight Zone episode:

    " Walking Distance ". Imagine just being able to walk back into

    the saner and safer world( ??? ) of 1959 !

              But the McWorld news can only tell me that the monsters

    are due on Maple Street.

               It seems that McPeople are terribly worried about

    clones - HUMAN clones.  McPeople at least are alike everywhere -

    as alike as McDonald's hamburgers !

Graceless on Christmas Eve ( WHJJ )

              I  make no claim to being a pious soul myself . But

    often enough the VILLAGE ATHEIST type annoys me. Or was he just

    another jerk in the entertainment business ? I am talking about

    the  TALK RADIO fill in for smart,congenial, and popular Arlene

    Violet on Christmas Eve ( WHJJ ).

               Of course the lines went dead. It is one thing to be

    intelligently and politely controversial. It is quite another thing

    to be obnoxious and downright TOXIC.

                 Imagine a guy who finds fault with the humane sentiment:

    " There but for the grace of God go I " !

            A guy who scolds people for not giving a hard earned 20

    dollar bill to a hopeless derelict.

             A guy who seems to believe that every religious person who

    believes in a GOOD God is a dimwit.

              TALK RADIO is an art form , not just a forum for cranks.

    And that guy -who even maliciously mispronounced Arlene Violet's

    name - should be shown the door.

                Believing that EVIL is just  EGO, he was hardly egoless

    himself in thinking the majority of his listeners morons in their

    religious faith.

               As a ratings gimmick in your face PROFUNDITY flunks

    miserably.

               Rudeness and disrespect should not be the norm for

    TALK RADIO !

               Carl Sagan handled the science vs. faith controversy

    with great tact and sensitivity. View the movie " Contact " or

    read the novel.

A Lott of distraction

 If I were a Republican, I would feel free to comment

    on how to punish Trent Lott for his " Gone With The Wind " nostalgia

    for the dead past of the Old South. Clearly those days of accepted

    segregation of black people and respectable racism can NEVER come

    back.

             But ironically the most beloved black militant, Malcolm

    X, for most of his Black Muslim career, preached just this: black

    separatism. And he had a keen nose for sniffing out Jewish " control "

    or influence in the civil rights movement. It escaped him until his

    last days that  liberal and radical Jews were just naturally empathetic

    to the oppressed, to the victims of all forms of discrimination.

               Today phony Democrats will try to make a lot of political

    hay out of Trent Lott 's  party time drivel.It is only human to

    indulge the idiosyncrasies of a 100 year old LOYAL son of the

    South ( also an old SOB ! )

              It takes more political courage to tell the whole country

    on the floor of the Senate or the House that HEALTH CARE is a basic

    human right than to beat the dead horse of an OUTLAWED racism.

                But few Democrats are champions of WORKING CLASS

    America. " Political correctness " is a just a cheap way of

    seeming PROGRESSIVE while millions of working class people -of

    ALL races and ethnic groups - are on the edge of the social abyss !

                 What matters to our more RESPONSIBLE leaders is the

    sacred illusion of democracy. Just replace RACE with CLASS and

    a lot of Malcolm 's more wild rhetoric make great sense.

           Just for the record, I voted for Ralph Nader.

TV NEWS - WHY THE SCREAMING FANS ?

I am not neurotically annoyed by too many things. But

    perhaps middle age has made the sense of disgust -unlike the other

    vital senses -more acute. I hear more things in hell, to be sure.

            I often fantasize  about ridding myself of the damm TV

    forever. But I am too attached to the VCR -which is blessedly free

    of noisy, dumb, and obnoxious commercials.

              I must catch the morning news on Channel 10. What I can't

    stand - and don't understand - is the very beginning of the program

    where the cameras always zoom in on the screaming-hyenas - FANS - of

    Katy and Matt, I guess . How can they be so infantile over a moment

    of media attention ?

                  What a contrast between the nightmare news and the

    demeanor of the celebrity news people - ( they ooze narcissism ) -

    and the bestial FANS in the street.

              The Providence horror writer H.P Lovecraft got it right

    about the future of humanity.  A decayed species will inherit the

    earth. Public education gives most kids a vocabulary of 100 words

    - BASIC ENGLISH. A dismal future for the newspaper business !

Trent Lott and words, words, words !

I am as far removed from Trent Lott politically as an ordinary,

    law-abiding American can be. I voted for Ralph Nader. Presently IT SEEMS

    that Lott is condemned by his own words as a die hard ,incorrigible,

    OLD FASHIONED racist. But put brainless emotions aside, and what do you

    really have here ? A talk a lot politico who -not running out of gas-

    blew it all out the wrong hole.

               Trent Lott is not a little obnoxious for liberal types.

    But words must be judged in their context and in the context of a

    man's whole life. Not a few black activists speak derogatively of

    Jews in " Hymie Town ". But that does not make them Nazis - just the

    jerks of the moment.

           FREE SPEECH must permit all of us to make fools out of ourselves

    now and then without being completely ruined.

                Reactionary ideas must be challenged by rational, humane

    ideas -not by the smothering atmosphere of political correctness.

               The Left -in general - has little to teach the Right about

    free speech and -often enough - common decency !

                 To think that all Southern whites are KKK sympathizers

    is as stupid as thinking all Italian-Americans love the Mafia !

               Don't think the South has not CHANGED profoundly in the

    last 50 years. It most certainly does not send die hard racists to

    the U.S. Senate or to the House.

            But there are too many old generals around on both sides

    always living in the past - in THEIR glory days.

              In his heart Trent Lott may have as much affection for

    blacks as old Joe Kennedy had for Jews. But BUSINESS has a way of

    keeping lunacies in check. And most liberals still don't believe

    in THOUGHT CRIME.

             Why not suspect most of our leaders of being NICE GUYS -

    whatever their political philosophy ?

CRANSTON R.I. HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH

             The whole country now knows that Cranston, R.I. is a big

    mess- with the lowest bond rating in the nation, now even lower after

    our Honest Abe mayor, Stephen Laffey ( I like him ! ) expressed his

    own " depressing assessment "  ( PROJO editorial, Dec.10- " An honest BB ")

             The economic situation here makes even passing through hazardous

    to your health. For example, if you are lying injured on a busy main

    street like Reservoir Ave, don't expect the police or an ambulance to

    come to your rescue. And don't expect them to investigate what happened

    to you. And don't expect them to help you with a gargantuan medical bill.

              And  for the bigger picture here in R.I, I will say that the

    Ocean State has literally gone to the dogs. Vicious dogs own most of

    our urban streets. And they are now beginning to announce their presence

    in once idyllic rural Rhode Island.

             The visitors to the Ocean State are more likely to encounter Cujo

    here than Jaws.

             Perhaps Governor Carcieri will improve the situation. Was not

    THAT his campaign slogan : RHODE ISLAND IS GOING TO THE DOGS ?

            And he won ! Good luck and God bless him.

Humbug in Warwick

Allergic to the very spirit of Christmas, a Warwick Fire

    Dept. dispatcher destroyed a co-worker's decorations - wanting

    " a Christmas free work-place ". A direct descendent of one Ebenezer

    Scrooge - not yet visited by ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and

    Future ? Or did he just forget those little " helper " pills that

    get millions of normally decent people through the JOYOUS season ?

              To be sure, the spirit of consumerism poisons the season

    for the most good natured amongst us. If I were a radio personality,

    I would read  to the kids this poem on the night before Christmas:

    " Howl " by the Jewish beatnik A. Ginsberg. THEN I would offer

    the music of Bach as a sedative.

             Don't be too hard on that cheerless dispatcher: Tis a very

    stressful time of year. Perhaps Santa Claus will give us a brand new

    casino for Christmas. Never lose hope !

Book award like a beauty contest ?

The phony Wizard of Oz is showing up everywhere in our

    culture. A Nobel Prize winner -who did deserve it - writes that

    he learned this simple truth while still a fresh faced graduate

    student : There are no wise old men behind magnificent doors looking

    after us ! The President, the Pope, the King, the Celebrity -all are

    as clueless as we are. But everywhere we are bamboozled by GREAT

    PRETENDERS.

              Now it seems that even THE GREAT AUTHOR may be just

    another humbug. A judge for the National Book Award confesses

    that it was simply impossible for him to read all those books

    he pretended to read.

                 I guess books are judged by their cover. But beauty

    contests are more honest: Nobody pretends that those half naked

    BROADS  can also qualify for MENSA.

             It looks like some kid in the library was assigned: " Profiles

    in Courage ".  Not the scholarly type himself,I suspect . But someday

    -with the help of steroids - he just might win the Super Bowl for

    the New England Patriots.

            That Holden kid in " Catcher in the Rye " got it right about

    all the phonies out there !

                 Now I must buy all those Christmas cards for dear

    friends and relatives. Don't forget the boss !

Nice lady can't afford a mammogram ?

TV news was interviewing Americans hit suddenly by hard times.

    You don't need the imagination of Charles Dickens to picture their

    daily challenges. One lady -perhaps comfortably and safely middle

    class- had lost her health insurance. " I can't afford a mammogram ",

    she said. Every hospital in the country should be available to this

    woman - and millions more without health insurance. And without

    pitiful pleas for help. This truth should sink into the moral

    consciousness of America: Health care is human right!

                How odd that car insurance is compulsory but the very

    idea of a national health care plan raises conservative eye brows.

               It is impractical to think health care can be absolutely

    FREE for everybody. But we can begin  by making it more affordable

    for everybody. The one truly GREAT Kennedy,  Senator Ted, has been

    keeping this idea alive. God bless him for it !

              Most medical doctors see themselves as professionals-not

    plastic hearted shop keepers. The GOOD doctor is eager to help

    sick people get well again -whatever their economic status.

                I believe a national health care plan will also

    eliminate the terror of nasty law suits.

               And nobody who ends up in a hospital accident room

    should be rudely quizzed - while in a high anxiety state of

    mind -about their financial resources.

                  " What, no blue cross ? I guess you'll just have

    to drop dead ! "

KIDS IN PRISON on Discovery Channel

 Ask the whole world: HAVE YOU NO SHAME ? That's what I

    thought while watching a Discovery Channel documentary- a world-wide

    perspective on kids in prison, in Texas, in Britain, in Russia, in

    Brazil ( most horrible of all ! ). This is indeed the stuff for a

    United Nations report, for Amnesty International.

              Not for nothing I decided more than 20 years ago that

    I never want to bring children into this abominable little world !

          You do not need a PHD in sociology to see the common denominator

    in their lives ( with few exceptions ): They had wickedness to choose

    ignorant paupers for parents !

                One kid says : " If I'm living on the street -and I don't

    steal- I'll starve ! ".  But he promises his crying -dying - old

    mother ( prematurely old ? ) that he'll be a GOOD BOY when he gets

    out of that hell.

               How does their society attempt to REFORM them ? By pure

    terror, fear of  AUTHORITY (" You forget to say SIR, punk ! " )

           To SIR with love : Get a life. Too bad for you to miss out

    on the Nazi thing !

              All the other people who deal with these kids -if not

    evil and well intentioned - look like comfortable, well fed,

    petty bourgeois bureaucrats -with hearts of pure plastic.

              How many of these kids have a future in terrorism ?

Praise R.I. Congressmen on Cianci help

I like Arlene Violet but I can only praise our Rhode

    congressmen, Kennedy and Langevin, for trying to help our " Buddy "

    find a constrained residence closer to home and to his troubled

    daughter. EQUALITY for me does not mean equality in meanness.

               Just because there is great injustice in our prison

    system, that is no excuse to treat  relatively privileged persons

    with undue meanness -when they fall from grace.

                 The Cianci trial was more blunder-dome than plunder-dome.

    Just how much did " Buddy " steal and where did the money go ? Facts

    and figures count for something in the world of science. I guess the

    LAW is rather womanish, emotions decide the fate of people.

            As for Cianci's relationship with his daughter, family matters

    are not easily or fairly judged by outsiders. LOVE is often two-faced

    and ambivalent. The LAW does not recognize HUMANITY anymore. It has

    become an inhuman punishing machine crushing millions of lives.

               The LAW is an ass !

Egyptian TV and a mummified prejudice

Without seeing an English language version of the controversial

    Egyptian TV drama - which, they say, gives a certain credibility

    to a mummified prejudice, that there is a Jewish conspiracy to dominate

    the world - I cannot  condemn it. But I know this much about American

    TV: it rots the brain and corrupts the soul. I guess everywhere the

    damn boob tube is busy 24 hours of the day making monkeys out of

    human beings.

               Here is a possible location for the international Jewish

    conspiracy: the public library. I cannot fail to observe that Jews

    read more books and write more books than other people. By ridding

    the world of the " Jewish conspiracy ", civilization will be the

    loser, and humanity in general all but lobotomized.

              Here is a Darwinian explanation for the " clever Jew " :

    If  a people is hounded for centuries - how else should you treat

    Christ killers ?  - the clever ones are more likely to survive

    and teach the tricks of  the trade to threatened kin.

             I'm still trying to figure out why people think Communism

    was a Jewish conspiracy.  An alternative plan to rule the world ?

    But what ingenious flexibility !

Support British firefighter's strike

 I just read the AP story about the nationwide strike of

    some 50,000 British firefighters. Knowing something about the moral

    and ideological degeneration of the Labor Party, I am not surprised

    to read these British firefighters -no less heroic than NYC's finest-

    have a bitter foe in Prime Minister Tony Blair: " There is no government

    on earth that could yield to such a claim , " he says. I wonder:

    just what can a LABOR government do for LABOR ? The answer , I see,

    is right on the same page : " Drinkers raised their glasses to

    Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday after his government announced

    plans to let pubs stay open later ".

             Drinkers of the world unite. You have nothing to lose

    but your change !

           A REAL revolutionary, Leon Trotsky, ridiculed the likes of

    Tony Blair many decades ago : " The ideal socialist leader for

    successful dentists " . What they all have in common is a genuine

    horror of CLASS STRUGGLE. When a LABOR government crushes a strike,

    it is responsible statesmanship; when the workers fight back it's

    odious class warfare.

             Global capitalism has become the opium of a " respectable "

    Labor Party which cannot stir up a tempest in a teapot !

            I say to the American workers : Support the British

    firefighters strike !

Bribed journalism at its worse

n bold print a courageous Boston Herald columnist, Thomas M. Keane Jr.,

    puts in a kind word for the despicable class of greedy slumlords- who

    have made homelessness a plague : " Rent control feels good... because

    its only foes, property owners, are few in number and easily demonized "

       ( Nov.13 column : " It's just low rent political posturing "  )

          I guess this was also true of Southern slave owners before

    the Civil War. They were few in number compared to the their black

    slaves. Moralizing bullies from the North shamelessly DEMONIZED

    them. But this OPPRESSED minority knew how to put the fear of God

    into the slave class. If they did not like slavery, they could just

    find another master, move to a different plantation. Oh the sting

    of ingratitude !

            As for the poor and the working class - " low rent " types -

    they should praise the Lord -or the LAND-LORD - for housing them.

              Nothing deplorable about handing dee Lord the bulk of

    your monthly income. Dee Lord is always there for the rent but

    always out of town when dee damn toilet don't flush  !

               Just a daydream : " Praise dee Lord and pass the munition ! "

          When " property owners... are few in number ", there is something

    wrong with DEMOCRATIC capitalism.

           And demons are easily demonized, to be sure !

Popular Rule as foolish as tyranny ?

              The days after an election put the unhappy voters or non-

    voters in a pensive mood. I was not very interested in ivory tower

    political cogitations, but I now realize that the deep thinkers in

    our culture must rethink the very meaning of DEMOCRACY.

             A little thinking will reveal that direct popular democracy

    can be as disastrous for a people as the rule of a narrow minded

    oligarchy. On just what questions and issues can a mathematical

    majority claim more wisdom than the informed minority and a tiny

    number of specialists in every field of knowledge ?

              For example, what can I possibly know about Iraq's real

    intentions -belligerent or otherwise ? Or, what does it matter

    what the majority of voters think on the REALITY of global warming ?

                Should we consult a kind old socialist about a complex

    problem of international finance ?

              A person elected to high office in the United States must

    somehow manage to be a voice for his constituents AND a LEADER - in

    a position to explore issues more deeply.

               Popular wisdom can predominate -perhaps - in one area: on

    the general distribution of wealth and resources in a society. Here

    COMPROMISE is always possible: A " bum " in the street might ask you

    for 5 bucks. You are inclined to give him nothing or a quarter. Then

    you recognize him as a truly needy person - of the worthy poor. You

    give him 3 bucks and a " good luck " wish.

                 The Hubble telescope is a gift to all mankind -even if

    it took pennies away from every pauper in the country.

             A man is a man even in the gutter: He looks up at heavens

    with wonder. A wonderful picture of the infant universe is even more

    inspirational than a cigarette and a cup of coffee.

                Even in the gutter the bum dreams dreams !

Long-hair and crypto-homophobia ( Fortunato ruling )

A nice kid in a private Catholic school thinks his long hair

    style is really just his own business -and does little to subvert

    the education process there. The matter -sadly- gets settled in a

    Rhode Island court room: the kid can keep his idiosyncratic hair

    style - a small patch of free turf in a highly regimented little

    world. Thank God here for that " er-eccentric " Judge Fortunato !

    ( see PROJO editorial ).

              Consider the crypto sexism -or subtle homophobia here :

    Imagine a girl in a private school being told her hair is too long!

           Where can they draw the line ? Not at the barber shop !

           Looking at myself right now, I could pass for an aging 60s

    hippie. But I have a good excuse to avoid the barber shop- apart

    from making a rebellious STATEMENT:  I am getting cheaper and

    barbers are getting nosier !

              At age 55 some guys would LOVE to have a long hair

    problem.Eat your hearts out skin heads !

            UNPRINTABLE :  ( And they respond: " go to hell, faggot ! " )

          The 60s have been overbashed. Nice to be ALIVE back then.

              But don't expect to see my name in the POLICE LOG :

    " Cranston man busted for LSD possession ".

              Even back then my rebellion was confined... er to my

    HEAD !

Post election blues ?

Bob, I just read your column. I am not ashamed to confess that

    I just could not get myself to vote for ANYBODY in this election.

    The negativity was horrendous. Every candidate's opponent was a moral

    monster -or a dangerous weirdo. I KNEW Myth York would lose with that

    shameless TV ad making a fiend out of the affable Don Carcieri.

              No wonder politics in America no longer attracts the best

    and the brightest. What type of people want the public to fall in love

    with them on the basis of short introduction and vapid and asinine TV

    and radio sound bites ?

                I personally feel more affinity for the 1950s beatniks - BEAT -

    than left wing politicos or phony 60s  flower children. But I abhor the

    FAR RIGHT. But the Left in general should rethink the gospel of political

    correctness.

               I feel sorry for those loser political hacks who invest their

    heart and soul -and future - on a the sham democracy of the political

    circus. I might have voted for the Cool Moose character - he had the

    right idea.

A merit badge for bigotry ?

I just read about the outstanding boy scout whose militant

    atheism has got him evicted from the organization. A lesson in

    Civics 101 if he ever wants to run for political office: IN YOUR

    FACE contempt for popular prejudice is usually paid for with

    defeat or ostracism.

              Talking or writing to people with power in this country

    is lot like talking to a horse's ass. Still it is not futile.

    Even hopeless philistines are at least entertained by unorthodoxy.

                I think if the kid were wiser and the Boy Scouts were

    wiser this embarrassing situation could have been handled more

    felicitously. The kid could have been asked to write an original

    essay on the conflict between Science and Faith - and how it is

    only human to try to square the circle. He should realize that it

    is indeed necessary to respect religion in a multi-cultural world.

          Then the Boy Scouts should have awarded him a Religion

    merit badge at a scout ceremony. Sort of like the president

    awarding Frank Sinatra the Medal of Freedom ! But hey, he just

    did it all his way !

                A good way to be POPULAR is not to take ourselves

    too seriously. Once Isaac Asimov, a popular science writer - of

    the HUMANIST faith -was cornered on this  sensitive issue of

    God's existence: " Hey, why can't God just find me ? " he

    wondered.

Pro-Life cranks:GET OUT THE VOTE !

The Catholic TV station I see this morning -unlike most American

    Catholics - is obtuse on this matter of separation of Church and State.

    Sheeplike, all GOOD Catholics should vote for boldly anti-abortion

    candidates- THAT is the message. The Church big-wigs have no real passion

    for any other issue but LIFE IN THE WOMB ! And at a time when newspapers

    are telling unflattering stories about the Catholic hierarchy- the sexual

    abuse of innocent children.

                  In short because of the nature of the two party system here,

    they are telling GOOD Catholics to vote Republican. These same Republicans


    might be pro-war and pro-death penalty and great supporters of the NRA.

    And there is nothing Christ-like about their proposed legislation against

    the poor and the working class. LIFE IN THE WOMB monomania -for three decades

    now- has destroyed old fashioned Catholicism.

             What is so wrong about Catholicism for Catholics ? Let the

    pro-life fanatics all move to Vatican City - where they will get along

    with modern Italy as well as Israel get along with the Palestinians.

                 Why is abortion the only issue the " modern " Church

    feels passionately about ? Any two bit psychiatrist will tell you

    that obsession can be a sign of lunacy !

                I'll admit I myself am a very nominal " born Catholic ".

    I can't remember the last time I was inspired by a sermon in a Catholic

    Church. All pro-life unction and " give generously " !

                  Perhaps God himself sank into a bored deep sleep too !

             But I have never been involved in the abortion BUSINESS . So

    my CATHOLIC conscience never troubles me.

                  I'll vote for a Republican - like our Don Carcieri - if

    I like him. The pro-life fanatics are invariably nasty people !

                God save the Church !

Israel and D-day

I  have just reflected on your front page headline today:

    "Israel quietly helping U.S. prepare for war with Iraq " ( USA

    TODAY,Nov.4 ) . Oddly enough Saudi Arabia -a neighbor of menacing

    Iraq- is not enthusiastic about helping us at all. And a lot

    of healthy young rich kids in Kuwait -which owes us - will applaud

    a U.S. invasion of Iraq in the safety of their own luxurious homes.

    An old fashioned  American woman would scold them : COWARDS !

                The same for young Jews who rarely risk their lives

    against rock throwing Palestinians. Just study the casualty

    figures for Jews vs. Palestinians !

                I say if a war with Iraq is inevitable, an invasion

    should be led by soldiers - thousands of them ! - from Kuwait

    and Israel.

             Remember D-Day - the ALLIED invasion ? I would prefer to

    see multi-cultural pictures of bloated corpses. It is only fair

    to America's youth.

              After the election: THE WAR !

Naderite recommends Carcieri

As Mr. Robert Whitcomb says in his column today reality is a
    lot more complex than those horrid political ads. But let me simplify
    things a little. LIKABILITY is no small factor even in bourgeois elections.
    Too often third party candidates comes across as kooks - Ralph Nader was
    an exception!  The PROJO was right to endorse Carcieri and Kennedy as
    being more right for Rhode Island than their opponents. To hell with
    consistency. No, Carcieri is not fiendish corporate rat- with a heart
    corrupted by Catholic religious prejudices ( opposed to abortion and gay
    marriage in his personal moral conscience, like most Catholic politicians,
    but no fanatic and no threat to Roe vs. Wade . And certainly no homophobe )
             I agree with one WHJJ talk show regular, the very sane " Laurie "
    -who finds the Kennedy opponent Rogers " scary ". For me he is as charming
    as a junkyard dog. A step away from a right-wing skin-head.
                 The oh so politically correct Myrth York thinks her comfortable
    East Side molehill is the REAL world. Coming from her that line about
    "people before profits " sounds a little phony !
                I'll bet LIKABILITY wins on election day. But the WORKING CLASS
    will lose whatever. Karl Marx was not very likable but he was brilliant
    and honest.He should be awarded - a little too late - the Noble Prize
    for economics. Yes, a COMPLEX question : How do we re-distribute all that
    capitalist surplus value and still get the workers out of bed in the
    morning ?

Flores no Florence Nightingale

          A 41 year old failing nursing student, Robert Flores Jr. , goes

    berserk  and kills three of his professors -and then, of course, himself.

    ( AP story, October 29 ). I read : " there are many issues in Mr. Flores'

    life, all of which are a factor. "

              I suspect that sexism and age-ism were a factor in his crackpot.

    It is not easy to go back to school with all the energy, enthusiasm,

    and confidence of YOUTH. Perhaps Flores was as WELCOME at the University

    of Arizona 's nursing school as a 41 year old female would be in the

    Providence Police Academy or as a Fire Dept. trainee.

                 Why would cold, obnoxious person choose to be a nurse

    anyway ? Robert Flores was  already an experienced LPN. Was he getting

    the " treatment " familiar to a black person in a NICE white suburb ?

                No instinctive  FEMALE empathy to help a drowning student ?

    No help  for him in mastering challenging  subjects ?

                 Success is no FUN unless we can see FAILURE fumble !

           There is more to this story of Robert Flores, MALE nurse.

Imus slouching toward Gomorrah !

I'm against censorship even though I'm fully aware that

    decadent " entertainment " corrupts the soul. I can't avoid brief

    encounters with radio and TV degenerates. I turn on the radio early

    in the morning just to catch the latest news. When I get Imus and his

    friends, I get the impression of hung over amphetamine addicts in a

    sleazy NYC bar who are still babbling idiotically at 5:00 AM. Imus

    is the clearly the leader of the pack -who looks like he can claim

    Viking ancestry, with an inherited propensity to burn places like

    the public library that might inculcate a prejudice against Talk Radio.

               The topics arise as if inspired by the fumes of an underground

    sewer. This morning a staff member  momentarily disappears: " She must

    be picking her nose somewhere. "   And then there are tabloid stories

    to ponder: A man was arrested in a motel while copulating with a farm

    animal. Did you know that most men between the ages of 18 and 40 worry

    about the size of their penis ?

                 What is the secret of the Imus guy ?  Are we as Judge Bork

    puts it " slouching toward Gomorrah "  ? Do we loath the very idea of

    a natural elite ? We dread being reminded of our own intellectual and

    moral inferiority ?

               I miss Walter Cronkite. He was not ashamed of being literate.

    Why is our culture mass producing JUNK-HEADS ? Where is the former glory

    of Western Civilization, the glory that was  Greece and Rome ?

            Slouching toward Gomorrah, indeed !

Crazy crosswalks in Cranston

Nothing new here : the Greater Providence area is very pedestrian

    unfriendly. Perhaps if the state could just cancel the driving license

    of everybody over 60, the PROBLEM of too much traffic in the too small

    Ocean State will be solved. But people think they have a right to their

    mechanical anti-people monster as much as actor Charlton Heston thinks

    he has a right to his gun. Imagine HIM five years from now - not quite

    in full possession of his faculties - driving around Rhode Island with

    a rifle at his side, looking for GREEN people who hate the NRA !

                 Recently I saw a young woman with a baby in her arms trying

    to cross busy Reservoir Ave. in Cranston. There are just not enough crosswalks

    on that  major traffic artery, I reflected.

             A ridiculous situation where there is a crosswalk on Reservoir.

    The cautious pedestrian waits for the flashing white WALK signal. In a

    second it changes to a flashing red DON'T WALK signal - which a driver

    at Legion Ave. , for instance, might  interpret as a GO signal for

    him or her. The pedestrian with the right of way is nearly run over

    by the turning automobile.

               That flashing red DON'T WALK signal should instead read : CAUTION

    PEDESTRIAN CROSSING !

                 Like the ancient god Moloch, the automobile god is being

    fed more and more human sacrifices. And we  still kiss its feet while

    it crushes our hearts !

Foster Candidate Ruggieri No Peacenik

I note with proud amusement that my brother, Richard D. Ruggieri,

    of 171 Howard Hill Rd. in Foster, is once again running for the City

    Council slot there. He did win way back in 1990 and, so I hear, served

    honorably . Today I read in your Northwest edition ( October 28 ) that

    he wants to preserve the rural character of Foster. I guess that means

    keeping people like me out of town. Rick never was a PEOPLE GUY anyway.

    When he was a 12 year old kid he argued for a pre-emptive nuclear attack

    on Red China. And if his international outlook is relevant to high office

    in Foster today, I will sum it up for the locals: GIVE WAR A CHANCE !

           Rick describes himself for the PROJO as an advertising professional

    -which means he has specialized in baloney most of his adult life. His

    TV commercials for the Harborside restaurant are quite good. Now and then

    I have a lobster sandwich on his provincial celebrity.

                If Rick were a  real people person -like Bill Clinton - he

    would shake a few more neighborly hands and bus in Greater Providence

    types to distribute his campaign propaganda.

            Yes, indeed : KEEP FOSTER RURAL !

              Please don't publish this letter unless you too want Rick

    to win. Things could be worse in Foster. Imagine ME on the Town Council !

                  Election are decided by a few votes in Foster. So I

    think Rick has a 50/50 chance of getting elected again. Just SHAKE

    MORE HANDS, Rick !

                  If he loses, he is STILL in the baloney business.

Psychoanalysis of Pro-Life crowd

I know psychoanalysis is not as popular as talk show

    pop psychology and pill popping in treating mental disorders.

    For me - a fan of old Freud - I see this obsession with human

    life in the womb- that grows into a nasty and arrogant POLITICAL

    movement - as rooted in abnormal psychology of neurotic individuals.

            A psychological profile of the typical " pro-life " - anti-

    choice- anti-abortion militant is not that of an appealing personality.

    The typical pro-lifer often is not even somebody you would trust as

    a baby-sitter. He or she is a cold fish - often showing no passion

    for other moral issues like the death penalty, homelessness, poverty,

    war. But these anti-abortion fanatics are madly devoted to the unborn.

             I think religious and economic institutions have a vested

    interest in FRESH BLOOD - like Count Dracula, their future depends

    on it. What does the Catholic Church and the Burger King have in

    common ?  Yes, tell the destitute of the earth : KEEP THE BAMBINOS

    COMING !

              Respect for human life just does not explain the fanaticism

    of the pro-life movement. CHEAP LABOR in a crowded world is the LIFE

    of the church - and the LIFE of global capitalism.

               What do they care about human dignity ?

T-Mobile's ilk protect crime

I learned earlier in the year that a cell-phone company

    will protect the privacy of its users -even if they are involved

    in a crime or a possible crime. West Bay published my letter on this

    incident on March 5: An unrestrained -and out of control - Rottweiler

    ambushed me at the corner of Reservoir Ave. and Speck Ave. in Cranston

    around noontime on Tuesday Jan. 29. I fell on busy Reservoir trying to

    get away from the beast - and dislocated my right shoulder and also

    had a serious fracture that required surgery. The owner of the dog

    called 911 on a cell phone - and then disappeared from the scene. A

    hit and run ?

               A paralegal for my lawyer( John Revins of Warwick ) says

    it will be almost impossible to get a court order to trace the 911

    call.

             I'm not a vindictive person and don't want to ruin anybody.

    But I am stuck with $25,000 medical bill. You can understand , Bob,

    why I believe in a national health care plan.

              Rhode Island Hospital reminds every other day that they want

    their money. Any credit card will do !

                   Certainly after Sept 11, 911 calls  should not be a

    private matter.

                Soon I will have to soap box in a Rhode Island court room,

    I'm sure. I'll keep you informed. Do they still have DEBTOR PRISONS as

    in Charles Dickens'  day ?

                " Something will turn up ! "

Radical rhetoric in Rhode Island

No, Don Carcieri is not the fiendish enemy of the Brazilian

    rain forest- putting " profits before people ". THAT TV attack on him

    is absurdly personal. It will HURT Myrth York and most of those UNDECIDED

    will vote for the CHILD KILLER whose last name ends suspiciously.

                I believe that capitalism in general puts profits before

    people. But then I voted for Ralph Nader for president of the U.S.

             But I love Patrick Kennedy's truly RADICAL message on TV :

    HEALTH CARE IS A RIGHT- NOT A PRIVILEGE ! Now that is a real winner.

    Is Patrick a closet commie ? God bless him anyway ! There is a national

    health care plan in our future with Patrick as President of the United

    States.

            Only in Rhode Island. WE are unique !

Robert H. Bork on the Catholic Church

With very critical reservations I can recommend Judge
    Robert H. Bork's book as a good read even for an open minded commie
    like myself." Slouching towards Gomorrah " is not without its conservative
    cretinism -the equal of the PC variety -but on the whole it is the work
    of brilliant  CIVILIZED mind.  Those in the news media with a gut hatred
    for the Catholic Church should ponder his observation: " Because it is
    America's largest denomination, and the only one with a strong central
    authority, the Catholic Church can be a major opponent of the nihilism
    of modern liberal culture. "
             ( page 337 )   . I say without conservative bias: the news media
    has been indulging itself in Catholic Church bashing for a long time now.

               Many priests are sinners. What else is new ? And the Christ
    of the Gospels has a zero-tolerance  policy for sinners? To me he just
    seems a little hard on the rich guy who wants to bribe his way into
    Heaven.
              I feel very sorry for thousands of priests who just try to
    be worthy of being under HIS roof.

Divine Comedy and mental illness

Just read the PROJO Lifebeat article on  Dave Kane - " who has

    earned plenty of laughs... portraying a Roman Catholic priest. "

    ( October 21 ). A caption says of his FATHER MISGIVINGS : " This

    whole show says one thing: God loves you, no matter who you are ".

                   I enjoy comedy and spoof as much as anybody but in

    real life the DIVINE COMEDY is not enjoyed by many millions of lost

    souls whose daily life is tormenting misery, especially if they are

    deeply religious and believe in a PERSONAL GOD.

                 Here is a taboo subject: How many psychiatrists can deal

    with mental patients who are deep down  ANGRY at an anthropomorphic

    God -who they were taught is all-good  and all-powerful ?

                No rational human being can get angry at a THING. But

    God is another matter. I suspect that there are cognitive factors

    in many forms of mental illness. I  witness a mentally ill man

    cursing the Creator and can only conclude that he would be saner

    if he could only change his idea of a personal God.

                But that OLD TIME RELIGION  - its pernicious MESSAGE

    of a lOVING GOD - is ubiquitous in our mass media culture.

               We must settle for HUMAN LOVE - and as Erich Fromm

    pointed out in his " Art of Love " , THAT is rare in a competitive

    capitalist society that worships SUCCESS more than the plastic Jesus

    of TV evangelism.

                Anything humorous about the Holocaust , Father Misgivings ?

           If there is a God, better to give HIM the silent treatment and

    as Voltaire recommends : " cultivate our garden ".

                Sometimes PROZAC is not enough !

That Saddam is a monster !

I am proud of Rhode Island's truly " independent man ", Senator

    Lincoln Chaffee, in not giving any simple minded YES,YES ! to the

    GOP gods of war in Washington D.C. But a  public television documentary

    on the life of Saddam Hussein of Iraq - I watched last night on channel

    24 here - must convince most viewers that the guy is one of the great

    moral monsters of history. Even Hitler and Stalin had ideological

    brakes, a general philosophy of history. Saddam believes in Saddam

    far more than he believes in the Allah of the Arab world.

              True there is no crime  against humanity, against his

    own people, against the state of Israel, he will not commit in

    order to keep himself top Hell-Hound in his own country.

               Since he kills anybody who hints of revolt,there is

    a process of un-natural selection going on leaving Iraq a nation

    of terrorized zombies or cowards - or worse - Saddam worshipers !

                BUT I still say : CONTAIN THE MONSTER ! War is too

    risky. And Allah himself might strike him down soon.

              Then we can all shout : " Allah is great ! "

          Just a footnote : US and British and French imperialism did

    help make this monster of the ages, Saddam Hussein.

                 Washington D.C. did not give him too many lessons in

    integrity.

              And if war is inevitable, the cannon fodder for the

    invasion should be supplied by Kuwait and Israel. Our Air Force

    can help out a little.

Whitcomb on " freedom "

Having just read about his own little " freedom " dilemma

    in the Providence Phoenix, perhaps it is no accident that PROJO

    editorial page editor, Robert Whitcomb , has an interesting commentary

    today on what FREEDOM really means for most Americans : the freedom

    to  BUY - and with a pig's appetite for THINGS.

              Last night I was reading an interview with a Mafia hit man-

    a scary, cold blooded killer. He said he knew  RIGHT from Wrong. But

    he also knew the difference between  a nice pair of shoes and a cheap

    pair.

             Science, I understand, always seeks the simplest explanation

    for a phenomenon. When a toddler in  a store sees something he wants -but

    can't have - he just lets out a hair-raising scream. THAT is the state

    of the human soul in a capitalist society.

                 " Escape from Freedom ", by the socialist psychiatrist,

    Erich Fromm - inspired by  Marx and Freud - is still worth reading.

                 Democracy is a lot weaker than we think !

Hi Old Silber !

Apart from being rather attached to this thing called Western

    Civilization, I have little affinity for the conservative mind. But

    often enough when  educators like Silber ( read Projo editorial today )

    write or lecture with honesty, passion, and no little  AUTHORITY

    on public education today, I LISTEN. Why ? Because they -often

    enough - they make sense.

               Here is the gist of it : you just can't transfer political

    egalitarian ideals to the education process- which even in the

    sciences is AUTHORITARIAN: the teacher KNOWS, the student LEARNS.

               If you never learn to respect RATIONAL authority -which

    has earned its power- you will never " get an education ". And

    you will never be  able to improve on the existing social order,

    with all its flaws and preventable miseries.

               And you hug trees all you want. But MOTHER NATURE is

    a cold mother and demands conformity to her laws. Even without

    an explanation. She leaves all that to " dull " pedants.

               The more we  really LEARN, the less secure is our

    precious SELF-ESTEEM. Education can be very humiliating.

            A lot of kids have not even mastered Copernicus: No,

    THEY are  not the center of the universe !

               And reading all those books demands a sort of " love "

    -being able to get outside of yourself. Einstein observed that we

    are all prisoners of our own egos.

              When somebody honestly asks you : " and how are YOU

    today ? "   - you can be sure he is at least SANE !

Falsettos reject " Sopranos " in parade

I just finished reading about all the trouble so called

    Italo-Americans gave our first major party candidate for vice -

    president of the United States. Way back in 1984 reactionary

    Republicans and a  Catholic cardinal were throwing stones at her

    for honoring Jack Kennedy's view of Catholicism vs. Americanism.

    No, she was not welcome in New York City's Columbus Day parade.

           Remember Geraldine Who ? Her liberal views on abortion

    disgraced the Columbus Day parade ? Disgraced the Italo- American

    community who should have been throwing her kisses in New York

    City.

              Being Italian does not stop you from being a reactionary

    hypocrite.  Now the organizers of the NYC Columbus Day parade are

    offended by talented ACTORS who play mob figures. In rejecting

    " Sopranos " they have struck a false note. You can call them

    FALSE-ettos, I guess.

                 I just want JUSTICE ! Tony will understand.

Another kid mauled by pit bull

9 year old Corey Kue needed surgery at Hasbro Hospital after

    " Tyson " - a pit bull - attacked him. ( Metro story, October 10 ).

          In previous letters on the pit bull menace in the greater

    Providence area I suggested that the personality of these beasts

    often honor the master. Was " Tyson " named after the celebrity

    boxer, Mike Tyson  ?  The pit bull did not get a chance to bit

    Corey's ear off. And the story says the owner has liability

    insurance.

              But Providence just does not get it on the pit bull

    menace. The city should now be liable for any and every pit bull

    attack on a resident or a visitor .

              Most cities  are very pedestrian unfriendly. Sooner

    or later if a reckless driver does not send you to the hospital,

    a vicious dog will.  Do we  WALK at our own risk in  Providence,

    Cranston, Pawtucket, Warwick  ?

               Calling all personal injury lawyers !

Is Heaven a democracy ?

Amused to read this headline today: " House reinforces support

    for God ". And by a 401-to-5 vote. Nothing like war drums- even more

    effective than Bach - to put the people and their leaders in a pious

    moods. Cynical free thinkers have observed that belief in God - in a

    meddling, anthropomorphic God - is inversely proportional to the evidence.

             Anyway in heaven nobody ever quarrels with God. No such thing

    as democratic debate up there. Until Lucifer came along. Was that guy

    the first original mind, the first FREE THINKER ? Then clearly Satan is

    the patron saint of the ACLU. We will not admit it, but Satan -not God-

    freed us all from boredom !

               And Satan does not demand we sing his praises while he is

    tormenting us. Who dare rebel against eternal crankiness ?

               Yesterday, I overheard a mental patient cursing the Almighty.

    Must have forgotten to take his  daily pill.

               Is war coming ? Praise Bush and pass the Prozac !

Postage stamp honors avowed Socialist Keller

I was pleased to read that the United States Postal Service has

    chosen to honor an avowed socialist and  remarkable human being -Helen

    Keller - with a stamp. I have just finished reading the autobiography

    of one Upton Sinclair - also a socialist who aimed for our hearts in

    his classic " The Jungle " - but instead hit us in the stomach instead

    -with his rotten meat industry story. Sinclair just missed winning a

    Nobel Prize. Perhaps he too - like Helen Keller - should be honored

    with a stamp. I believed he advocated a very tranquil transition to

    Socialism - which would not offend comfortable white Southern aristocrats

    and their friends. At the end of his autobiography this gentle soul

    wonders how the poor can even afford to die !

             The cynic in me also wants to honor H.L. Mencken with a

    postage stamp. He knew that this world was too much to take SOBER !

Skunkin Donuts !

I told you a few letters ago that it is hard to find

    a capitalist nowadays who is not a corrupt thief. Today we read about

    the Dunkin Donuts scandal: the owner of 28 Mass. stores treating his

    help - mostly underaged kids ! - in a way that recalls scathing chapters

    in the first volume of Karl Marx's " Capital "  : Vampire like , the

    capitalist class sucks the life blood out of the workers.

                I have noticed inferior service in many local Dunkin

    Donuts stores. Providence is dumb enough to greet visitors with a

    Dunkin Donuts Center ! Shame on the Renaissance City !

                How many people have noticed the PUKE in their morning

    Dunkin Donuts coffee ? Just unfresh  creme or milk. You never see

    a supervisor around these kids. Yesterday I was about to buy a coffee

    bun at Dunkin Donuts across from the Providence Journal Company. Then

    I noticed the dumb kid was serving them with his dirty bare hands !

           And when a small cup of coffee costs as much as a gallon of

    gasoline, it is time to make your own coffee.

                  DON'T BE A DUNKIN DONUTS ZOMBIE !

No error in NY Times article

I was just able to check the New York Times article  on the

    10 " most beautiful scientific experiments of all time " ( Sept. 24 ).

    There is no error  there on the Cavendish figure for the mass of the

    earth. The error I observed in the Providence Sunday Journal article

    - a figure for the mass of the earth not in exponential form  ( 6.0 x

    1024 kilograms ) - whatever the excuse - originated at 75 Fountain

    St. I hope there is no Channel 6 vindictiveness here. To err is

    human. To forgive ( Buddy ?  Clinton ? ) is divine.

              But when you literally have the weight of the world on your

    shoulders, you should know the TRUE burden !

A weighty error in fine science article

Loved reading " The 10 ' most beautiful experiments of all time "
   
    in the Providence Sunday Journal, Sept.29, page A-17. But a weighty
   
    error that cannot be dismissed as a typo is right here : the eccentric
   
    Henry Cavendish had ingeniously weighed the earth. But the figure given
   
    in your article fails to  indicate EXPONENTIAL value. The approximate
   
    mass of the earth is 6.0 x 10 ( multiplied by itself 24 times ).
   
           NOT 6.0 x 1024 kilograms. A good banker knows what compound
   
    interest does to a sum of money. Tell him he is worth that in gold and
   
    he will smile. Give it as EXPONENTIAL and he will faint: He now owns
   
    the universe !
   
              Was a New York Times editor asleep on the job ? A while
   
    back this humble letter writer discovered them to be obtuse on
   
    the famous Periodic Table.
   
                 But THANKS for a very interesting story !

Sainthood for Evita Peron too ?

Being a Catholic by fate if not by piety, I keep up with

    Church affairs by reading " The Providence Visitor ". I do recommend

    reading this weekly for a balanced view on the sex scandals.

             Yesterday I was amused to read that the famous Catholic

    TV personality and Church scholar-or propagandist- Archbishop Fulton

    J. Sheen is being considered for sainthood. Catholic baby boomers-

    who experienced the golden age of The Church in America - will never

    forget that guy with his piercing, pious look - and that blackboard

    with short notes on it suggesting that for this mighty intellect

    Hell fire was as real as global warming is for the Greens today.

               I don't know what my opinion might be worth in the higher

    circles of the Church. But I think that Argentina's legendary " Evita "

    - Eva Peron - who did more for her poor people than Mother Teresa -

    is a more credible candidate for sainthood than  Fulton J. Sheen -

    whose fierce anti-communism at times made him seem more loyal to

    capitalism than Catholicism.

              " Evita " had the heart of the saint  -even if certain

    cynics would brand her as the patron saint of prostitutes.

              Next time I visit LaSallette, I will light a candle for

    my  kind and lovely " Evita ". Saint or no saint, the death of a

    beautiful woman is always the stuff of great poetry.

         "... Santa, Santa Evita ! "

" Buddy " again and my PROJO Horoscope

With reference to the " criminal " Mayor Cianci a letter to

    the editor today ( Sept.13 ) is fatuously titled : " Rhode Islanders

    like criminals ". I think we like justice a little more. The prosecution

    against our " Buddy " was so goofy that their case against him -known

    as Plunderdome - came one count away from being sarcastically renamed

    Blunderdome.

               Why could not the prosecution present a single witness of

    integrity to point a finger at the  prince of Providence: " You

    stole MY money.... YOU ruined my life "  ? The testimony of assorted

    bums should not  have sufficed to convict Cianci of anything.

                If he stole money from his beloved  city, HOW MUCH did he

    steal, WHAT did he spend this money on, WHERE is the rest of  it ?

                 The Cianci trial was a distraction from the far greater

    scandal of corporate corruption. Has George W. Bush disowned his

    Enron buddies ?   In general American capitalism has become a CRIMINAL

    ENTERPRISE.

                 If guilty, our " Buddy " is just a crooked shoe-shine boy !

            By the way my PROJO horoscope this morning reads :  "  Be careful

    - your words will be quoted far and wide ".

Big Brother was watching Miss TOO-GOOD !

It seems that a lot of wicked people nowadays - like Miss

    Too-Good whacking her kid in the back of a car - are being caught

    on camera. And if you say " bring it down " a little too loudly

    in a public place - and have that sinister Middle-Eastern look-

    almost certainly a virtuous busy body will drop a dime on you.

                It good to know that the nice people of the world

    are ever ready to stop the nasty people -even at the moment of

    conception , when the nasty deed is just a nasty thought.

                How many of us ordinary Americans - not overcome

    by the flatulent war rhetoric of George W. Bush - can identify

    with Winston Smith in George Orwell's " 1984 " ? Not until Winston

    was re-educated in the Ministry of Truth could he - finally - love

    Big Brother - who  was always WATCHING YOU !

              And Miss Too-good - perhaps - was trying too hard to

    be the perfect good mother. Observed Winston in " 1984 " : " Almost

    all kids were brats nowadays ". Often they reported their rotten

    parents to the Ministry of Love -where they could expect a punishment

    more severe than an old fashioned spanking. For Winston there was

    Room 101.

              The NICE PEOPLE want the rest of us to know this : " BIG

    BROTHER IS WATCHING " .

             Learn  the art of brainless conformity now. Or you will

    learn it in Room 101.

Channel 6 shooting itself in the foot

              Channel 6 is shooting itself in the foot by firing Robert

    Whitcomb - PROJO editorial page editor - from its Sunday morning

    public affairs program. I rarely watch TV and have no idea how

    he comes across on TV - ( as the boss of M. Charles Bakst ? ) .

                 The irony here is that Mr. Whitcomb must be familiar

    with " the treatment ".  FREE SPEECH in reality means freedom for

    the wealthy owners of the news media to say what they please, to

    show what they want to show, to tell the public what they want the

    public to hear. And where is the passion for TRUTH in all this ?

                 But I know that Robert Whitcomb never writes anything

    with his name under it that is stupid and uninformed. Can TV afford

    to be dominated by complete idiots ?

                  The economics of FREE SPEECH is, of course, modified

    and influenced by old fashioned American idealism: CENSORSHIP IS

    ODIOUS..... ALL OPINIONS SHOULD BE  HEARD. This is not just a

    patronizing indulgence but a practical necessity for making sound

    judgments in a most imperfect democracy.

              FREE SPEECH for plutocrats, too ! Love that " Buddy " !

Unfair to Michael Skakel

Rich or poor- a victim of injustice should arouse our

    sympathy. Kennedy clan member, Michael Skakel, accused of murdering

    Martha Moxley in 1975 " when they were 15-year old neighbors " ( " Skakel

    appeals murder conviction ",  Sept . 18 ) - is -I think - a victim of

    injustice. If a poor black man, Michael's age, were accused as an ADULT

    of  a murder that happened more than 25 years ago - guilty or not guilty,

    I'm sure every civil rights group in the country would be outraged: " Too

    much time has passed... a man is not the same person at 40 as he was at

    15. "

               The LAW is clearly punishing a 15 year old Michael Skakel -

    and using circumstantial evidence. Is Michael Skakel paying for Teddy

    Kennedy's sins, for  " The  Sins of the Father " . I'm sure a certain

    loathing for the Kennedy clan played  a role in the guilty verdict and

    the harsh sentence.  If he is guilty of that horrible crime, the law is

    still punishing a juvenile - and one with a troubled background.

                  Here in Rhode Island young Patrick Kennedy seems to be

    growing up - and he is now a GOOD Congressman and deserves re-election.

                 I hope Michael Skakel wins an appeal. And I would remind

    him that confession is good for the soul.

Shot Warwick man had hepatitis

Untreated hepatitis can derange your mind. I hear via

    a very reliable Warwick grapevine that the 35 year old knife wielding

    man shot by a Warwick cop in a nice , quiet neighborhood  indeed had

    hepatitis. They found that out at the hospital. And the hospital had

    to inform the cop.

             Assuming I got my facts right, I wonder if this was a case of

    another sick and mentally ill man " falling through the cracks " and

    seeing suicide as way out, a way to end the pain: just provoke a nervous

    cop to shoot you.

                 Preventive medicine is always CHEAPER !  How many

    mentally ill people opt for an instant death sentence ?

                And the criminal ruling class that owns America wants to

    save the world from terrorism ? What a joke !

In honor of J. Robert Oppenheimer

After reading the latest lying drivel about the father of

    the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, being all but a card carrying

    member of the American Communist Party, I  have this thought : It is

    about time  our country honor him with a commemorative coin or a stamp.

                Did Oppenheimer have communist connections ? If so, what

    does that prove ?  Pragmatic American genius selected HIM to lead the

    team of scientists and engineers that developed the first atomic bombs.

               During the McCarthy era Oppenheimer gave voice to his own

    conscience in the matter of the ethical use of this horrible new

    weapon. I guess for the brainless RIGHT.... CONSCIENCE = Communism !

              A man of Oppenheimer 's genius could never be controlled by

    political hacks in Washington or  Moscow. If he sympathized with

    communism or socialism in theory, well so did Einstein, so did nearly

    every great writer in America  during the Great Depression.

              The World Book encyclopedia  ( 2002 ) says of J. Robert

    Oppenheimer :  ..." he was cleared of all charges of disloyalty ".

                 It is possible to be a good American and still loyal

    to HUMANITY.

                 I believe the Greeks have a coin honoring the father of

    the atomic theory, Democritus - whose free spirit made him unpopular

    in his own time.   We should issue a coin or a stamp honoring the

    father of the atomic bomb .  With these words : " Now scientists know

    sin ".

Emotional diarrhea of Sept.11

They say people with a tin ear have no gift for melody.

     And it seems that most Americans - made vapid by too much TV - have

    no gift for melancholy. Knowing what was coming, yesterday Sept.11,

    I avoided radio and TV as much as it is possible to avoid the ubiquitous

    media. Only the emotionally illiterate can invent the " grief counselor ".

                 Only a few minutes of radio and TV alerted me to the

    emotional diarrhea that will characterize  every Sept. 11 for many

    years to come.  How many of us have the emotional intelligence to

    smell unctuous words ?   I am so turned off by this army of professional

    preachy manipulators of public emotion !

              One does get sick of sobbing on cue. REAL grief is personal

    and avoids the public circus. The lugubrious sight of people who

    regret every penny claimed by Uncle Sam - who will not stop their

    cars at crosswalks for cripples ! - languishing with a longing for

    dead compatriots, heroes all !

                 There is something  admirable about the British way, the

    stiff upper lip. Or is that just emotional constipation ?

             And the more anybody - even a President - babbles about God,

    the less we should trust him. Osama also has daily meetings with

    the Almighty.

                 George W. Bush is a one act president. He is frozen

    in   caricature on Sept .11. And he is no Abe Lincoln - who had wit,

    wisdom, and a great sense of humor.

Ban illegals from our hospitals ?

Local TALK RADIO is the very antithesis of political correctness -

    and more often than not - when it is not war mongering - it is vociferously

    protesting common decency : No, I did not know that illegal immigrants -

    who should have sub-human status here ? - could just walk into Rhode

    Island Hospital and  get  FREE medical care on demand.

                  You would think that ANY hospital in the country would

    treat  ANY medical emergency without harassing the patient with

    bureaucratic formalities: " Do you have an adequate health plan ? "

    ..." What is your social security number ? "  ...... " are you a

    citizen of the United States or an illegal alien ?  "

                Let this simple idea sink into nitwit skulls : MEDICAL IS

    A HUMAN RIGHT !  The financial problem should be a secondary matter.

                 But how is this really practical - medical care as a

    human right - without a national health care plan ?

                Everyday capitalism is a greater threat to ordinary Americans

    in their everyday life than the dictator of Iraq - or  rare terrorist

    spectacles -like Sept 11, 2001.

               Did Saddam ever call  YOU a bum ?