Radiofree West Hartford - News, views and a sad day in the Neighborhood by Tom Evers

THE CROW'S NEST:

News, views and a sad day in the Neighborhood.

By Tom Evers

March 04, 2003

My own little drips and drops for the week…it's going to be a short one. But I've been on the road a lot this week. Again, I encourage you to read posts at the Outpost. Lots of news and tidbits can be found there -- including wit and wisdom from Don Dodd and his host of merry contributors. Oh, and you can contribute too!

Ok, on with this weeks diatribe:

· My own self-assertion is that the United States should probably stop participating in these useless arguments against Saddam Hussein at both the United Nations and NATO forums. We spend hours of time and lots (and lots) of money trying to convince our allies and the world community what they already know: Hussein is dangerous, Hussein isn't telling the truth, Hussein is a tyrant, and Martin Sheen and his Hollywood cronies are pathetic. Well, maybe not the last point. This week, Mexico seems to have slipped into the pack. President Fox is concerned that supporting the United States would result in a backlash during the coming election. So instead of taking the noble, and principled position against terrorism, he's opting for mediocre policy positions. Well, there's a lot to be said for turning your back on your neighbors. Hmmm. Maybe NAFTA wasn't a good idea after all.

· Speaking of Martin Sheen, he and his left-leaning Hollywood gang are really having an impact… on themselves. His rants and raves are helping to put NBC's West Wing. Martin Sheen's left-wing ideological view has dropped well out of the weekly top 20 Nielsen rankings - apparently, no one wants a left wing coward in the White House. It's pretty simple, even NBC executives were concerned about Sheen's anti-war position.

· There is little to talk about in ye old West Hartford. Mayor Harris has been doing little to address the town's over expenditure problem. Further Harris hasn't called for fiscal restraint in the eyes of reduced financial support on the part of the state government. If its crunch time -- then local spending should be reduced significantly. Unfortunately, with a Rowland tax increase on the way, Harris feels its best to follow the Governor's foolish lead and double punish West Hartford residents. Memo to Harris: One term of you is expensive enough!

· With all of the talk about the current national obesity problem, it's apparently a matter that Connecticut's Governor John Rowland and the Democratically controlled Connecticut Congress thought they aught to deal with. They decided that one of the ways to reduce the state budget deficit was to punish health minded individuals. A six percent punishment tax will be imposed on all Connecticut residents who attend a health club facility. Thank you Kevin Sullivan for thinking with your (large) rear end once again. By the look of some of these politicians, taxing a health club is bound to have little effect on them personally.

· Once in a while its good to see greedy people fall. Yesterday a gleeful media reported the Turkish parliament's heroic no vote on supporting deployment of U.S. troops in Turkey. Today their heroism was rewarded as the Turkish economy plunged a whopping twelve percent. The cost of allowing us to place troops in Turkey was an astounding $15 billion in grants and additional billions in loan commitments. I wonder how much more of a pounding the Turkish economy will take. Well, so much for principle. Maybe they can get a loan from Saddam.

· My outrage of the week is this ridiculous story. The concept that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional is wholly absurd. In a time when Americans are trying to show patriotism in the face of evil and tyranny, a goofball has decided rain on everyone's parade. A Sacramento, California atheist decided that the words "under God" are offensive. But fear not, Attorney General John Ashcroft has said the Justice Department would "spare no effort to preserve the rights of all our citizens to pledge their allegiance to the American flag."

Liberals really know how to send the wrong message to our kids, don't they?

· Lastly, congratulations to the Swiss team: Societe Nautique de Geneve for winning the great world sailing event: The America's Cup. This is the first time a European team has won this event in 152 years (no, that's not a typo). They unseated New Zealand, which has held the cup for the last consecutive eight years. The team is financed in part by Swiss pharmaceutical billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli. At least there is one thing to cheer about in Europe these days.

· Finally, let me comment on the sad passing of American icon Fred Rogers. For most of us, Fred Rogers was a personal television friend. As a child, I can remember spending many hours in front of the television -- watching and listening to his kind and helpful remarks. Rogers seemed to know our fears and helped us deal with them directly - being afraid of the dark, going to the doctor, and a host of other concerns. His puppets in the "Land of Make Believe" seemed quite real at the time: King Friday, Queen Sara, Daniel Striped Tiger Henrietta Pussycat, X the Owl, scary Lady Elaine Fairchild, and all of the rest. This was the kind of clean television that is nowhere to be found today.

For those who don't know it - On July 9, 2002, President George W. Bush gave Fred Rogers the Presidential Medal of Freedom. President Bush said of Mr. Rogers:

"Fred Rogers has proven that television can sooth the soul and nurture the spirit and teach the very young. "The whole idea," says the beloved host of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, "is to look at the television camera and present as much love as you possibly could to a person who needs it." This message of unconditional love has won Fred Rogers a very special place in the heart of a lot of moms and dads all across America."

Mr. Rogers, God Bless you. May you rest in Peace. I'd encourage you to check out these pages: here and here

Again, my apologies to everyone for such a short essay this week. I'll try to make up for it next week.

Keep smiling!