Like last week, this week's column was divided into three sections: The appropriations bill for the war in Iraq; Don Imus; and the Duke rape case. I found myself in agreement with most of what he said this week.
War Funding
The political right has been banging the drum against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Here's how it sounds:
...how can (Pelosi) meet with Syrian president (sic) Bashar Assad and suggest talks with Iranian president (sic) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and then ignore Bush in a matter as important as funding for the troops.In a sense, I agree. Then again, Bush made his bed and now has to lie in it. What I like most is that there is now a counter balance to Bush instead of the rubber stamp Republicans of the last 6 years.
BTW, why haven't they attacked Democratic Presidential candidate Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM) for his trip to North Korea? He certainly seemed to be in the middle of the negotiations between the U.S. releasing funds in a Macau bank in exchange for the Koreans shutting down their nuclear reactor. Could it be because he's a man? While I'm on the subject, didn't the Bush Administration criticize Bill Clinton for a similar agreement in the 90's?
Don Imus
Much to my surprise, Ed Weaver says he can't stand Imus and is glad he's gone. But here's the money quote:
"I can't understand why anyone would listen to him. If you owned a business or were marketing a product(s), would you advertise with someone so cynical, so bitter?"I laughed out loud when I read that. Talk about a lack of self-awareness. People listen to Imus' show for probably the same reason they read Weaver's column.
Duke University Rape Case
I feel sorry for these young men. As one of them so astutely observed, that if they were in such trouble and they could afford the best lawyers, imagine what little chance a poor person would have against a corrupt system. I agree with Ed that Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong should face criminal charges for sitting on exculpatory evidence. A person willing to send three young men to prison for 30 years to win an election needs the book thrown at him. Outrageous!
Mr. Weaver asks:
And what about those 88 Duke professors who signed a letter to Duke President Richard Brodhead denouncing the players, their conduct, the entire lacrosse program and claiming 'what is apparent every day now is the anger and fear of many students who know themselves to be objects of racism and sexism'?"I agree whole heartedly. These professors should bow down and kiss the asses of these men. While they have a point about society in general, tying it to these students was wrong, irresponsible, and dare I say unAmerican.
Ed Weaver's column appears every Saturday in The Record newspaper in Troy, NY. I'd say he's a right-wing conservative, but all indications are that he's even whackier than that. His views are so skewed, and based in a reality that I don't even recognize, that I think he sees the world through fun house mirrors, only it isn't funny. He's proof of the theory that hindsight is 20/20, only his vision is 20/100...20 for those things that support his views, 100 for those that don't.
Previous Posts:
4.7.07 || 3.31.07
3.24.07 || 3.17.07 || 3.10.07 || 3.3.07 || 2.17.07 || 2.10.07 || 1.27.07
1.20.07 || 1.13.07 || 1.6.07 || 12.30.06 || 12.23.06 || 12.16.06
12.9.06 || 12.2.06 || 11.25.06 || 11.18.06 || 11.11.06 || 11.4.06
10.28.06 || 10.17.06 || 10.10.06 || 10.3.06 || 9.26.06 || 9.19.06
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2 comments:
Years ago, when I was an RPI student, the Troy Record starting sending us the paper as a promo. One of my roommates, who apparently had too much time on her hands, started clipping the stories with the most egregious abuses of grammar and spelling, and put them all in a notebook whose cover read, "Record of Failure."
I wish I knew what happened to that notebook; she said she was going to send it to them. (I was there when their telemarketer called to ask if we wanted to subscribe; when she said, "No," they asked why not, and she said quite politely, "Because it's a terrible paper and no one there can spell or use English properly.")
My niece graduates from RPI this year. I'm amazed how many people went to/or have relatives that went to RPI that I've come across in my travels. Now another of my blog visitors that knows what I'm up against here in Troy!
When I moved away in '85, I thought Troy was a complete pit. It seems to have turned the corner and I can actually see a lot of changes for the good.
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