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Apr 11 commentary: "For links to the articles I
read on the air, guest websites, archived shows, my
commentaries, a listener's discussion forum, and the text of
Mark Stanneart’s latest commentary, visit:
www.rabblerousing.org."
Well, is there more important local news than the bomb shell
nev co elections official dropped when she announced that she
was resigning her office "in the interests of nev co voters
as well as her own career? That’s a most interesting statement
of resignation. Note that she did not site health, family or the
ubiquitous personal reasons. Im a voter. Why does she feel it is
in my interest that she resign? It could be simply that she
feels her dept is not receiving sufficient funding to properly
do their job. But one cant ignore the fact that nev co is in
process of installing electronic voting and vote counting
machines which represents the greatest change in our nations
voting procedures since the invention of the pencil. Could her
decision possibly be linked to the implementation of electronic
voting? Whatever her reasons are, at time of this broadcast, she
aint talking.
EDIT THIS: Next item: the union reports that some nev city
users of miners trail behind stonehouse restaurant are raising a
stink over some transients and youth using the trail as an
outdoor clubhouse. I was most imprressedf with nev city police
chief lou trovato’s very compassionate and intelligent
response. He gracefully walked the delicate line between
protecting the public while protecting the rights of all our
citizens, and not just the wealthy. Well done lou.
Next item: king george just came out with his solution to
illegal immigrants. The situation: poor Mexicans are illegally
crossing our border to earn money, and are willing to do back
breaking labor under terrible and dangerous conditions, work
that no American is willing to do. these people are poor and
desperate. Emphasize poor. king geo brilliant solution? Charge
em $3500 for a special 3 year visa. And no delayed payments,
like after you work and get paid. $3500 up front. Then you get
your visa. You got to love this guy. He lives on a planet the
rest of us cant even imagine.
Next item: With all the controversy surrounding attny gen
alberto gonsalez, I have to admit to some sympathy for latino
Americans. After decades of being marginalized and insulted,
they finally get one of their people appointed to a very
important, prestigious, and conspicuous position, and this
should be cause for great pride. Instead their boy is a
continuing source of shame as he reveals himself to be an
absolute sleeze ball. If tony blair is georges bushes poodle,
what description best fits alberto Gonzalez? Next item: Its easy
to point out the debaucle our nation is descending into, so it
is with pleasure that I remind us that progress, however
painfully slowly, is being made. This from the sports pages: It
was the beginning of a grand tribute to eddie Robinson, who was
a feed mill worker making 25 cents an hour in Baton Rouge when
he heard about the vacancy in the coaching position at
Grambling, a small black college in the rural, piney hills of
northern Louisiana. That was more than six decades ago. It was a
time when Robinson and fellow blacks lived in segregation,
forbidden to patronize restaurants that catered exclusively to
whites or to sit anywhere on a public bus but in the back. When
Robinson died last week at 88, state officials immediately made
plans for his casket to be placed for a time at the Capitol, an
honor more often bestowed upon political leaders such as Huey
Long, the former governor and U.S. senator whose days in power
coincided with Robinson's youth.
Next item: you have to admire the theatric sense of irans big
cheese amedinajad. He extracts political capital from his
nations capture of 15 british sailors then releases them.
Conscientious fisherman understand the principle of catch and
release. Unfortunately our govt leaders don’t seem to grasp
this principle. So the people who ordered and condoned the us
prisoner abuses at abu garaib are still driving around in their
fancy cars, free and some even rewarded with promotions, and the
us continues to torture its prisoners in guantanamo and in
secret prisons around the world. Its getting more difficult by
the day for me to wave my flag and insist that we are the good
guys and those ragheads are the evil ones.
Next item: judging from listener feedback, last weeks show
featuring nev co dist attny cliff newell was widely listened to.
I expect the upcoming public meeting on wed the 18th
will be widely attended. Assuming there will be an opportunity
for attendees to question or comment, I urge those of you who
wish to comment or question to prepare yourself ahead of time.
There will be many people wanting to speak and little time to do
so, so please be brief, and make your points without a lot of
philosophizing, moralizing, or going too deeply into your
personal story. The da and hopefully other members of law
enforcement will be there to get your feedback. It’s a rare
opportunity to give them an intelligent perspective on your
needs, so don’t blow it.
Next item: from the gv union. under a new code of conduct
being considered by the Nevada City council City officials are
barred from accepting any gifts, favors or promises that could
compromise their judgment. One might ask why it took this long
for such a common sense rule to be formalized. The answer of
course is that America is changing, and basic ethics and
morality of our officials can no longer be assumed.
This is nothing new," said City Manager Mark Miller. "
We all know this from our ethics training." We do? I wonder
if miller is familiar with the name john Doolittle?
but for all you would be office holders, don’t despair. Then
article adds that Despite the proposed code, violators face no
specific consequences. However, the City Council can consider
censuring a Nevada City official or taking legal action against
that person despite the resolution's lack of punishment, city
leaders said. I have a more modest proposal: how bout tar and
feathers?
end of show humor
: the following are actual quotes from our great president, the
leader of the free world and butcher of the English language. "The
vast majority of our imports come from outside the country. "
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of
failure. " "One word sums up probably the
responsibility of any Governor, and that one
word is ' to
be prepared '."
" I have made good judgments in the past. I have made
good judgments in
the future.
" " The
future will be better tomorrow."
" We're going to have the best educated
American people in the world. " " I stand by
all the misstatements that I've made."
" We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a
part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe We are a part
of Europe."
"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer
people going to the polls." "We
are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur. "
"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that
teach our children. " "It isn't pollution
that's harming the environment. It's the impurities
in our air and water that
are doing it."
And finally , at least until the next time he opens his mouth:
" It's time for the human race to enter the solar
system."
one final item.
I hasten to point out that the following news report does not
necessarily reflect the sentiments of myself nor anyone else
connected with kvmr. But in the interests of good reporting I
offer the following: dateline wash dc: date unknown. A lobbyist
is driving home on the DC beltway after work one afternoon when
he encounters a traffic jam, it's total gridlock for as far as
he can see. As he sits there waiting, he sees a cop
walking toward him between the lanes of stalled cars, so when
the cop reaches him, the lobbyist rolls his window down and
calls out, "Excuse me officer. What's the holdup?"
"It's the President," the cop replies. "He
got depressed, so he stopped his motorcade, and now he's
threatening to douse himself with gasoline and set himself on
fire."
"The President? Depressed?" says the lobbyist,
"He's the leader of the free world. One of the most
powerful men on the planet. What's he got to be depressed
about?"
"Well," the cop says, "It's this Iraq
thing. It's not going the way he expected. After four years it's
turned into a civil war and people are still dying by the
thousands over there. He's also upset because he's probably
going to have to fire the Attorney General, and now Congress
wants to subpoena Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, and on top of it
all, his approval ratings are the lowest ever. His own party has
turned against him and he thinks everybody hates him."
After a pause, the cop says, "They're taking up a
collection for him farther on up the road."
"A collection?" replies the lobbyist, reaching
for his billfold, "I'll chip in. How much you got so
far?"
"I'm not sure," replies the cop. "Looks
like maybe about 40 gallons, but some folks are still
siphoning."
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