WHY I’M NOT VOTING FOR GEORGE BUSH

By R. A. Pearson

During the 2000 campaign, then candidate George W. Bush sold 47% of the American voting public (and evidently 5 out of 9 US Supreme Court Justices) on a program that he called ‘compassionate conservatism.’ While Bush entered the presidency with even less a majority of the votes, he has acted as though he had a tremendous mandate for his programs from the American public. This year’s election will be a referendum on his performance in office and his vision for America.

One of the major issues in the election is the war in Iraq. President Bush convinced the American Congress and people that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and had been a major player in the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Recent revelations have shown both of these assumptions were incorrect. Administration insiders who have dared to speak out indicate that as Bush took office in 2001 he began to focus on Iraq. While President Bush refuses to admit that he ever made a mistake, his rhetoric has changed to emphasize the internal horror, terror, and brutality of Saddam Hussein’s regime. While post war examinations of Iraq have uncovered atrocities committed over the 30-year reign of Saddam Hussein, these horrors did not seem bother Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld as he delivered golden spurs to Saddam as a gift from Pres. Ronald Reagan or the Cheney linked Halliburton subsidiaries when they were selling weapons grade biological materials to Saddam’s Iraq in the 1980s.

While America won the war with Iraq, the occupation and nation building (talk about a flip-flop) in the Islamic nation has not been easy. Many Americans will remember Bush’s famous statement to the question of the possibility of insurrections in Iraq shortly after the ‘end of hostilities’ in the spring of 2003. Instead of a diplomatic statement like, “We hope for a peaceful transition so we can rebuild Iraq,” the president replied with a defiant challenge to any insurrectionist or terrorist with a gun or bomb, “Bring’em on.” Well folks, they came. The United States has lost over 1,000 service personnel killed and over 7,000 wounded in the war in Iraq. This does not include civilian personnel (cooks, truck drivers, etc.) working for military contractors that have been killed or injured. A vast majority of these causalities came after President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier and declared the war over under a banner declaring “Mission Accomplished.”

Today our military is in dire straits to meet the obligations placed on it by Bush’s unilateral foreign policy. Our troops are forced to stay in Iraq on extended deployments. National Guard units are called up and sent overseas for years at a time. Individual soldiers are forced to stay in the service well past their date of retirement (the stop loss order) and former servicemen who are out of the service and now in private life are being called back because the United States does not have enough soldiers. National leaders are discussing bringing back the draft to meet the need for soldiers. Perhaps this situation could have been averted if Bush had opted to build a truly viable international coalition instead of taking unilateral action in Iraq.

The war is currently costing the United States tax payer $5 billion a month and projections now show a $12.3 billion deficit in the Pentagon budget caused by the war (and money owed to Halliburton). Yet the Bush response continues to be a call for continued, and even more tax cuts in America.

The economy has suffered greatly under President Bush. Under Bush the United States has lost over 2.7 million good paying jobs, especially in industry and manufacturing. The Bush Administration’s reaction followed the typical Republican philosophy of a tax cut. In theory this allows more money for investment in American industry, thus creating jobs (the trickle down concept). However, the investment of American cash in industry is now going overseas to Asia where people work much cheaper. Very little money is going into American industry or manufacturing and more jobs are being outsourced overseas. The two million jobs by the end of 2004 that Pres. Bush promised to create in the Spring of 2004 have not materialized (only 32,000 were created in July 2004), and the jobs that have been created are lower paying service sector jobs that often come without basic benefits such as health care. Today there are over 8.2 million (5.5%) unemployed Americans looking for work. On August 5, 2004, President Bush promised “not to rest until every American who wanted a job had one.” That same weekend, he went on a family vacation to Kennebunkport, Maine, for rest and the wedding of his nephew, George P. Bush, the son of Florida’s Gov. Jeb Bush. A jobless recovery does not help if you don’t have a job!

When Bush took office in January 2001, the US government had a $5.6 billion dollar surplus. The Bush tax cuts, the War with Iraq, and growth in the size of the federal government, coupled with the tax revenue lost during the Bush recession, has presented the federal government with a deficit for as far as the eye can see. The projected deficit for 2004 is 445 billion dollars. Pres. Bush has spent the United States into a seven trillion-dollar national debt, the largest debt in our nation’s history. That folks is an average of $1.73 billion per day. Most nonpartisan economists agree that the only part of the economy that has grown during the Bush presidency has been the national debt. Do the wealthiest two percent of Americans really need all the tax cuts doled out by the Bush tax cut plan?

The Bush campaign has accused Democratic candidate John Kerry, its major opponent in this election, of ‘flip-flopping’ on major issues over the last 20 years. While John Kerry has changed his position on issues over the years, it is important to note that Kerry has cast some 200 votes per year over the last 20 years, and has slowly changed his mind on policies and issues over those years. Meanwhile Bush has flip-flopped on many major policy issues over the last four years, leaving America, and the world, wondering where he stands on several issues. Here are a few Bush flip-flops:

1) During Bush’s run in the 2000 election Bush said, “What I think the president ought to do [when gas prices spike] is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots...And the president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price.” Where are Bush’s jawboning and lower prices now?

2) Bush wanted to place Ahmed Chalabi at the head of the ‘liberated Iraqi government.’ He was the president’s special guest at the 2004 State of the Union address. By May of 2004, Bush approved the raid of Chalabi’s house where documents and computers were seized, although Bush knew about Chalabi’s ties to Iran before Bush tapped him to be the designated Iraqi leader in 2003.

3) Bush initially opposed the Department of Homeland Security in March of 2002. By June he had ‘flip flopped’ on the issue and approved the new department.

4) On Sept. 17, 2001, Bush issued a Texas style OSAMA WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE WARRANT. Bush emphasized, “I want justice.” However by March 2002, after many failed attempts to capture the allusive al-Queda leader, President Bush stated, “I don’t know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him. I truly am not that concerned about him.”

Other Bush flip-flops include: appointing the 9/11 Commission, National Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleezza Rice testifying before the 9/11 Commission, Bush and Cheney appearing before the 9/11 Commission, summits regarding North Korea, funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Free Trade, UN votes, the McCain-Feingold bill, and flip-flops (or simply ignoring) many environmental issues. Of course Bush would never bow to political pressure or opinion polls.

Under Pres. Bush health care reforms have been almost nonexistent. While the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan has been passed, the plan has proven to be convoluted and virtually annulled by the rising cost of medications. The plan does not allow the government to buy prescriptions in bulk from low bidders, and the importation of cheaper medications from Canada has been stifled. Meanwhile the cost of hospitalization, doctor visits, and medical testing has risen at a disproportional rate to inflation. At the same time private health care plans have raised their rates and cut back the services and medications they cover at an alarming rate. Most middle class Americans would see their life savings wiped out by a catastrophic illness. While Bush provided the citizens of the new Iraq with a national health care plan, he refuses to help American citizens obtain even affordable health care or medications. Over 45 million American citizens do not have health insurance, and at least five million Americans have lost their health care under Pres. Bush.

Pres. Bush is the only recent president to spend a large amount of his time in office defending himself from criticisms by former members of his administration. Several key administration officials have resigned in frustration over Bush policies. These officials include: Paul O’Neill, Sec. of the Treasury, Christine Whitman of the EPA, Thomas Scully, Medicare and Medicaid Administrator, Otto Reich, Special envoy to Latin America, William Farish, Ambassador to Great Britain, Gen. Anthony Zinni, Rand Beers and Richard Clarke of the National Security Council, and David Key, a weapons inspector. All of these individuals have written books, newspaper and magazine articles, and given interviews, describing the narrow mindedness, tunnel vision, and even the arrogance of the Bush administration over the last four years.

The most dastardly incident involving internal criticisms of the Bush administration was the ‘leak’ naming Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. Plame is the wife of Joseph Wilson, former US Ambassador to Gabon and Iraq. Wilson was critical of Bush’s 2003 State of the Union speech that tied Saddam Hussein to weapons grade uranium from Niger. Wilson exposed the Bush disinformation in an article entitled “What I Didn’t Find in Africa” that ran in major newspapers across America and received tremendous coverage on network and cable news shows. In July 2003, the White House “leaked” the information concerning Valerie Plame to syndicated columnist Robert Novak. Novak indicated that two senior administration officials gave him the agent's name. The White House investigation into the leak has turned up nothing. It is apparent that the Bush administration seeks only the counsel of those who agree with their prospective on national and international affairs.

Pres. Bush’s hard right stands have divided America and even the moderates his party. His ‘Defense of Marriage Amendment,’ designed to amend the Constitution to take away rights, did not survive a procedure vote in the US Senate. His restrictions on stem cell research, that some day might help cure Alzheimer’s and other diseases, is seen by many Americans of all parties as too restrictive.

The Bush administration persists on labeling all that disagree with them as ‘terrorist’ or ‘unpatriotic.’ Congressmen and Senators who vote against a bill, such as the American Patriot Act or funding for the War on Terror are labeled unpatriotic regardless of the reason for their vote. In February 2004, Bush’s Sec. of Education Rod Paige called the National Education Association (NEA), a 2.7-million-member Professional Organization representing many of the nation's teachers, a “terrorist organization” because the organization opposed the Bush No Child Left Behind Act. Any opposition to any Bush plan or program is met with name-calling, labeling, and other various types of ridicule and mockery.

In the election of 1980, then candidate Ronald Reagan, the man who built the current Republican Party and ideology, introduced the American people to the ‘misery index.’ Reagan asked the American public ‘Are you better off now that you were four years ago?’ Now ask yourself these questions for our Clarion Issue 2004 Misery Index Poll.

1.
2. How have my investments (stocks, mutual funds, CDs, bank accounts, bonds, 401Ks. 403Bs and IRAs) faired over the last 4 years. Have I made any real money in these funds for my retirement?
3. Do I feel my 401k, 403B and IRA retirement accounts are safe from corporate greed and misuse? (Remember Enron and other corporate scandals and bankruptcies these last 4 years that wiped out retirement accounts, stock portfolios, and 401Ks.)
4. Has my children’s college savings funds grown by 20% these last 4 years. College tuition and expenses have gone up that much.
5. How is my health plan lately? Does it cover what it did 4 years ago? Do I pay more for a doctor visit and prescriptions? Has the cost of health insurance, prescriptions and health care gone up in relation to inflation (2%) or has it gone up more?
6. Have my elderly relatives (parents, aunts, and uncles) done well on their retirement these last 4 years or has their spending power gone down?
7. Did I really profit from the Bush tax cuts or did the tax cuts go to the ‘haves and have mores’ (Bush’s words, not the Clarion Issue’s). Will my children have to pay for the deficits run up by Bush’s wars and tax cuts?
8. Who really profited from the Iraq war? Was it the common American or big business like Halliburton, and big oil and energy companies? Has gas gone down like Bush promised it would? Was the war with Iraq worth the cost in American lives and billions of dollars of debt?
9. Has the Bush administration’s alienation of our allies helped or hurt our ability to win the global war on terror?
10. Has the Bush administrations preemptive attack on Iraq made us safer or has it created a new generation of terrorists to take arms against us.
Has ‘No Child Left Behind’ really improved my child’s school? Or is it another underfunded mandate burdening local school systems with unreasonable regulations and high stakes testing?

Finally, over forty years ago, as President John F. Kennedy was rallying support from America’s allies during the Cuban missile crisis, General Vernon Walters was sent to Paris with the U-2 photographs of the Cuban missile bases The General offered to show the photographs to French President Charles De Gaulle. De Gaulle waved Gen. Walters away saying, “I do not need your photographs, Walters. This is serious, and when the United States asks France for her support on a serious matter, she will give it. Just tell me what you want France to do.” Then he added, “France does not need evidence to take the word of the president of the United States.” Ask yourself, would any world leader accept President Bush’s word today?

It is my firm belief that America needs a different vision, a different hand on the helm, to meet the challenges it faces at home and abroad. On November 2nd, instead of voting for the incumbent, I think I’ll reach for another lever.

GEORGIA GIRLS

Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had set their new wives straight on their duties.

The first man had married a woman from Pennsylvania. He bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning that needed done at their house. He said that it took a couple of days but on the third day, he came home to a clean house and the dishes were all washed and put away.

The second man had married a woman from Ohio. He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes, and the cooking. He told them that the first day he didn't see any results, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done, and he had a huge dinner on the table.

The third man had married a Georgia girl. He boasted that he told her his house was to be cleaned, dishes washed, the cooking done and laundry washed. And this was all her responsibility. He said the first day he didn't see anything. And the second day he didn't see anything. But by the third day some of the swelling had gone down so he could see a little out of his left eye!

PHONE PROBLEMS

An elderly lady phoned her telephone company to report that her telephone failed to ring when her friends called, and that on the few occasions when it did ring, her pet dog always moaned right before the phone rang. The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see this psychic dog or senile elderly lady.

He climbed a nearby telephone pole, hooked in his test set, and dialed the subscriber's house. The phone didn't ring right away, but then the dog moaned loudly and the telephone began to ring.

Climbing down from the pole, the telephone repairman found:

1. The dog was tied to the telephone system's ground wire via a steel chain and collar.

2. The wire connection to the ground rod was loose.

3. The dog was receiving 90 volts of signaling current when the phone number was called.

4. After a couple of such jolts, the dog would start moaning and then urinate on himself and the ground.

5. The wet ground would complete the circuit, thus causing the phone to ring.

Which demonstrates that some problems CAN be fixed by pissing and moaning.

SPEAKIN’ SOUTHERN

A SOUTHERN LOOK AT ELECTION 2004

J’vote? – Did you vote?

Nat/shion/nel debt – Money the government owes to somebody like one of them

A’rab Sheiks or to Hally/burr/ton (Halliburton).

High/breed car – What ya get when you cross a class/sick (classic) car like a Z-28

with Bubba’s mor/de/fried (modified) 1994 Chevy S-10.

Blue State— A state where them voter folks go into the polls, read the ballot and

vote for that Kerry feller.

Red State— A state where them voter states go into the polls, read the ballot and

vote for that Bush feller.

Redneck State— A state where them voter folks go into the polls and are so

ig/ner/rant (ignorant) they can’t read the ballot.

Tax cut— A cut that is worser than an ax cut.

OPEC— Something the eye doc/ter (o/pec/tic/shion) gives ya so you can’t see the prices at the gas pump.

Usage:

Bubba— “Hey Skeeter! J’vote?”

Sketter— “Yea Bubba, I sho’ nuff did.”

Bubba— “Who’d ya vote fer?”

Skeeter— “I ah voted fer that thar Nader feller. He promised everybody ah organic

chickun in every pot and ah highbreed car in every garage.”

Bubba— “Gee Skeeter, I thought they man/u/fractured cars. I didn’t know they

breed ‘em.”

* * * * * *

Linda Lou (a talkin’ on the tel/lee/phone) — “Hey Ruthey Belle, ya’ll a watchin’ the

‘lection returns.

Ruthey Belle— “Naw, Billy Ray’s a watchin’ a football game. Who’s ahead?” Linda Lou— “Well, that there Kerry guy has 10 Blue States, and that there Bush

feller has 10 Red States.”

Ruthey Belle— “How’d Are/kain/saw (Arkansas) vote?”

Linda Lou— “Oh, we’s what they’s a callin’ a Redneck state.

Ruthey Belle— “How come that?”

Linda Lou— “They can’t tell how we ah voted yet. Seems like a lot’a us’en

Are/kain/saw folkes figuered them there new fancy votin’ ma/cheens was ATMs

and voted for $100. Them voter folks is sho’ ‘nuff ig/ner/rant”

Ruthey Bell — “Well, they’ll probably say them’s Bush votes, cause of all his tax

cuts.”

Linda Lou — “Well, I reckon it beats an ax cut. Who’s a winnin’ the football

game?”

Ruthey Bell — “I don’t a know. It’s Toe/lee/der (Toledo) again’ Miami of Ohio at

Yager stadium.”

Linda Lou— “Lordy Ruthy Belle. Them mens of us’ens will watch anything.”

* * * * *

Goober— “Slick, ya seen the prices at th’ gas pump.”

Slick— “Naw Gube, I use these here OPECs. I got’em from the o/pec/tic/shion. They’s sorta like blinders for a mule. Ya don’t see the price, but ya can still get $5 worth.”

Did He Say That?

“We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.”

Pres. George W. Bush, Sept. 23, 2003

TEXAS COPS CREATE HAVOC IN MAJOR HIBISCUS BUST

Police in Houston, Texas, caused major havoc in a northwest Harris County neighborhood when they raided the home of Blair Davis, a landscaper, in early August. In what turned out to be a major embarrassing raid, the police seized Texas Star hibiscus plants that Davis was growing in his yard mistaking the plant for marijuana.

According to Davis, “All of a sudden, they burst in with their guns loaded, pointing at me, screaming, 'Get on the floor! Get on the floor!' I just put my head down, shook it and said: 'Guys, you are making a terrible mistake. That is Texas Star hibiscus, not marijuana.' But they just told me to shut up.” Later in the raid, the officers discussed whether the bamboo in the window might be pot as well and they also asked him what he planned to do with the watermelons and cantaloupes growing out back.

The Texas cops, however, thought they'd made a major drug bust when they raided the home northwest of Houston on August 3, 2004. After all, it looked like there were huge marijuana plants growing in the front yard.

The tall plants with the narrow leaves arranged in a fan pattern were not pot plants at all, but specimens of Texas Star hibiscus plants that Davis grows for his landscaping business.

The police were acting on a tip from a concerned citizen who had seen the hibiscus plants, thought they were marijuana, and tipped off the authorities. The Texas Star hibiscus has little white flowers and smooth green leaves while marijuana has rough leaves and dense flowering buds. While the neighbor may have made a mistake, the police should have known the difference. However, Police spokesman Lt. Dan Webb said, “My guys went out there, and they looked at the plants and stuff, and they believed them to be marijuana.”

After about an hour, the officers decided the search was over and gave Davis a “citizen's information card” with the words “closed-report” written on it. Lt. Webb continued to defend his officers saying, “I'm sure it was traumatic, Any time there's a search warrant served at your house, there's gonna be some trauma involved.”

But Davis complained that there was “No apology, no nothing. I realize they have a job to do, but this seems a little bizarre.” Davis believes the police need a little more training. “If they don't know what a marijuana plant looks like, maybe they should bring a picture with them before they invade a citizen's home.”

SOCIAL WORK DISRUPTED BY EXPLODING PANTS

Three Walker County social workers in LaFayette, Georgia, were visiting Daniel Gabriel Doyle, 39, on August 3, 2004, when his pants exploded as he sat in their car filling out paperwork. Apparently, Doyle had combined red phosphorus and iodine, two chemicals used to make methamphetamine, in a film canister and stuck the canister in his pocket when the social workers showed up.

According to Patrick Stanfield, commander of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force, Doyle “ kept fiddling with his front right pants pocket. All of a sudden, a loud bang happened, and fire shot from his pocket. It damaged the inside of the state vehicle and burned clothing on the case workers.”

The reaction of the two chemicals heats up to about 278 degrees Fahrenheit before exploding, Stanfield said, “He didn't know what he was doing, and it started boiling on his leg.”

The Clarion Issue plans to nominate Doyle for a “Darwin Award.” The Darwin Award given for abject stupidity to those who are too dumb to live long enough to pass on their genes.

PUPPY CLAIMS SELF DEFENSE IN FLORIDA SHOOTING

Jerry Allen Bradford (37) of Pensacola, Florida, was shot in the arm by a puppy as he was trying to exterminate a litter of unwanted shepherd-mix puppies. Bradford was shooting seven puppies on September 6, when one of the litter stood on his .38 caliber revolver's trigger and exacted revenge for the shooting deaths of three of the litter.

Authorities say Bradford was holding two puppies, one in his arms and another in his left hand, when the dog in his hand wiggled and put its paw on the trigger of the .38-caliber revolver forcing the gun to discharge. Bradford was treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound to his wrist.

Bradford indicated he decided to shoot the three-month-old shepherd-mix dogs in the head because he couldn't find them a home.

Escambia County Sheriff’s Deputies found three of the puppies in a shallow grave outside Bradford's home. The four other puppies and their mother appeared to be in good health and were taken by Escambia County Animal Control, which planned to make them available for adoption.

Authorities in Escambia Co. indicate that hundreds of calls have come in wanting to adopt the puppies and inquiring about the health and well being of the puppies. The authorities also report that no caller inquired about Bradford. Bradford faces charges of animal cruelty for killing three of the seven pups. No charges have been filed against the puppy who claimed self defense in the shooting incident.

A LOSS IN THE TRIBE; BOBBY BOWDEN’S GRANDSON KILLED IN STORM RELATED CRASH

Bowden Madden, a 15-year-old grandson of legendary FSU football coach Bobby Bowden, and his father, John Allen Madden, were killed in an accident on Interstate 10 during Hurricane Frances. The accident occurred on the night on Sept. 5, 2004, near Quincy, Florida, a city west of Tallahassee.

It appeared that the Maddens' car bumped a van as the two were heading west on the interstate. Due to the wet pavement caused by the storm, both vehicles veered across the highway median. The Maddens’ car then struck a Texas utility truck, driven by Danny Headley, heading into Florida to help with Hurricane Frances power outages.

John A. Madden was a former son-in-law of Bobby Bowden and a former Florida State center who was coached by Bowden. Madden married Bowden's daughter, Ginger, in 1981 and they were divorced earlier this year.

The accident occurred just days before the FSU Seminoles were scheduled to play Miami in their season opener, which had been postponed because of Hurricane Frances.

The Clarion Issue expresses its condolences to the Bowden and Madden families in their tragic loss of their loved ones.

The Nation           Back to Top

TWO NEW MEXICO COPS CHARGED IN THE LINE OF DUTY

Two police officers were struck by lightning while they were helping motorists on New Mexico’s state road 206 while the road was flooded by a thunderstorm. Both men stayed on the job and continued helping motorists until the water started to recede.

Officers Clint Varnell and Lance Bateman were sent to help people in about 15 vehicles stalled by a flash flood on July 20, 2004, about five miles south of Portales, in eastern New Mexico. Lt. Jimmy Glascock, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Police said, "Varnell took the direct hit of lightning and Bateman took a side hit of lightning." They were struck after rescuing a woman and three small children from a vehicle in a ditch.

Bateman indicated, "I was knocked off my feet and I don't remember much. I remember I was laying in the water when I came to and he [Varnell] was standing over me. We couldn't go anywhere anyway. The road was impassable for a while."

Officers Bateman and Varnell eventually drove themselves to the hospital in Portales and were transferred to Covenant Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, where they were treated.

"All I have is a headache and a sore shoulder," said Bateman, but he also stated that he did not consider his work heroic, he was "just earning my pay." Besides, he added: "We needed the rain."

The road where they had been working remained closed the next morning.

Portales farmer, Ralph Allison, admits he's never seen anything like the rain on June 20th in his 40 years living in New Mexico. Overnight a lake over 30 acres appeared on his 150-acre farm. "It rained and hailed awful... the worst I've ever seen." Allison said.

BUSH DECLARES WAR ON TERROR UNWINNABLE!

On August 30,2004, President George W. Bush declared the War on Terror unwinnable. In an interview on NBC-TV's “Today” show Bush was asked “Can we win?” the War on Terror. Bush then replied, “I don't think you can win it.” The interview was given as Bush was making his way to New York for the Republican National Convention. He left the studio for a campaign swing through New Hampshire and Michigan before arriving in New York.

The admission from Bush that the war was unwinnable provoked a response from Democratic Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards. Edwards said, “After months of listening to the Republicans base their campaign on their singular ability to win the war on terror, the president now says we can't win the war on terrorism.”

On August 27, 2004, Bush also admitted that he made a “miscalculation of what the conditions would be” in Iraq after the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein. That miscalculation has cost the US over 7000 causalities in Iraq, a battle in the War on Terror, that Pres. Bush now admits we can not win!

For over a year President Bush has said, “We are winning the War on Terror,” but now he admits that it is an unwinnable war!

MIKE WALLACE ARRESTED IN NEW YORK

CBS news patriarch Mike Wallace, famous for his appearances on the newsmagazine “60 Minutes,” was arrested for disorderly conduct in New York on August 10, 2004. The incident occurred during a confrontation after Wallace emerged from a midtown Manhattan restaurant to find the two Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) officers questioning the driver of his car. According to the police, the car was double-parked. Wallace, who is 86, was handcuffed and hauled to a police station.

TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg said Wallace approached the inspectors and became “overly assertive and disrespectful,” interfering with their ability to perform their duties. The inspectors said they asked Wallace to step away from the car. Wallace refused to move and lunged at one of the inspectors. Fromberg went on to explain that “the other inspector feared for his partner's safety.”

Wallace had a good laugh at the accusation saying, “I'm an 86-year-old man. For whatever reason, this guy and his buddy were intent upon telling me that I was interfering with the execution of the law.” Wallace asserted his innocence and denied that he had lunged at any officer.

Luigi Militello, the manager of Luke's Restaurant and a witness to the incident, said that the inspectors had definitely “manhandled” Wallace.

Wallace indicated that it was the first time he had been in handcuffs since the 1968 Democratic convention, when he was arrested while covering a Vietnam War protest. He will have his day in court in October.

EPA ANNOUNCES FISH ADVISORIES

On August 29, 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its 12th straight summary of information on locally issued fish advisories and safe-eating guidelines. This information is provided to EPA annually by individual states. The States monitor their waters by sampling fish tissue for long-lasting pollutants that accumulate in the fish found in their boundaries.

More than one-third of the nation's lakes and nearly one-fourth of its rivers contain fish that may be contaminated with mercury, dioxin, PCB, and pesticide pollution.

The number of fish advisories is increasing. In 2003, 48 states and the District of Columbia issued 3,094 fish advisories, 280 more than in 2002. With these additions, 35 percent of the total lake acres and 24 percent of the river miles in the nation are now under advisory. Since 2002, the number of lake acres under an advisory increased by two percent, river miles by nine percent and coastline by four percent. A large part of the increase in lake acres and river miles under advisory occurred in Montana and Washington, which issued statewide advisories for all their lakes and rivers in 2003. Hawaii issued a statewide advisory for its entire coastline.

States usually issue fish consumption advisories if elevated concentrations of chemicals such as mercury or dioxin are found in local fish. As new waters are tested and results added to previous years’ findings, the number of fish advisories continues to rise.

A proposal by the Bush administration earlier this year seeks require utilities to cut mercury emissions by 70 percent by 2018, a deadline environmentalists say is too generous to the industry and too risky for public health. The nation's 1,100 coal-burning utility plants emit about 48 tons of mercury annually, making them the largest unregulated U.S. source of the toxic substance.

This year, 21 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, had statewide advisories for mercury in freshwater lakes and rivers. In Maine, House Speaker Patrick Colwell indicated that “89 percent of the fish sampled had levels of mercury that were above what the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) deems safe to consume. He added, “action needs to be taken now to prevent irreparable damage to our ecosystem.”

Environmentalists in North Carolina feel partially hard hit. They contend that a Bush administration proposal to regulate mercury from power plant emissions ignores more than 60 other toxins that threaten public health, many of them emitted from 14 coal-fired plants in North Carolina. The Bush proposal would allows the continued release of high levels of the pollutants in North Carolina, including tens of thousands of tons of arsenic, lead, dioxins, and other pollutants, according to a report commissioned by a coalition of environmental advocacy groups.

Environmentalist groups described the latest figures as very troubling. According to Felice Stadler of the National Wildlife Federation, “From Maine to Montana, from Florida to Washington, people can't eat the fish they catch without risk.”

MUNCH’S SCREAM SNATCHED FROM AN OSLO MUSEUM

A version of Edvard Munch’s masterpiece “The Scream” and another famous painting by the same artist was stolen from an Oslo museum by two armed and hooded robbers on Sunday, August 22, 2004.

Witnesses indicated and police verified that the two armed art thieves struck Oslo’s Munch Museum in a bold daylight raid while it was packed with tourists. The two masked robbers ran into the Museum, threatened the staff with a handgun, and forced people to lie down before grabbing “The Scream” and “Madonna.” According to witnesses the men yanked the masterpieces from the wall, walked out the front door, and escaped in a black Audi car driven by a third man who had been waiting outside. Stunned tourists said they feared they were victims of a terrorist attack.

The paintings were later cut from their frames, which were found smashed and scattered in an Oslo street. The car was found abandoned a few miles away.

Munch, a great Norwegian artist and one of the founders of modern expressionism, lived from 1863 to 1944. He grew up in Christiania (later Oslo), Norway. He lost his mother and sister to tuberculosis while he was very young and impressionable and his father was mentally ill. The death and mental illness in his family profoundly affected Munch.

Munch studied at the Royal School of Design of Christiania. While in Oslo, Munch became a member of ‘Christiania's Bohemia,’ a group that was concerned with political, social, and ethical questions. This group was named after the novel Christiania's Bohemia by Hans Jaeger, an anarchist and a leader of the group. In 1889, Munch traveled to Paris to study on a government scholarship. It was there that Munch was exposed to the Impressionist works, which laid the groundwork for the School of Expressionism. Munch’s paintings echo deep personal statements about his troubled life. Munch is quoted as saying, “Sickness, insanity, and death were the angels that surrounded my cradle and they have followed me throughout my life.”

The “Scream” and “Madonna” were painted as parts of a series about love, anguish, and death. Other important works by Munch include: “Vampire,” “The Sick Child,” and “The Dance of Life.”

Art experts speculate the thieves might demand a ransom because the works are too well known to be sold on the open market. One Norwegian art expert estimated “The Scream” would bring $60-$75 million if legally sold at auction while “Madonna” would sell for over $14 million.

CAPED CRUSADER HANGS OUT WITH QUEEN

On September 13, 2004, 33 year old father Jason Hatch used a ladder to climb up to the ledge next to the main balcony of Buckingham Palace where he unfurled and hung a banner saying: "Super Dads of Fathers 4 Justice. Fighting for your right to your kids." Super Dads may have been an understatement as Hatch was dressed as the Superhero, Batman. A five hour standoff developed as police cordoned off the area and tried to coax the protester down. The stand off ended when Hatch surrendered to police after ample photos had been taken by British and international news agencies.

Hatch and his accomplice Dave Pyke (48), dressed as Robin for the occasion, climbed a ladder in to the palace grounds at about 1:45 p.m. Hatch indicated in a later interview that, “The only security was a four-foot fence. We used a ladder to get onto the roof of a palace building which was just 10 yards from the road.” It was “unbelievably easy” he said for the pair to get into the palace grounds. Pyke agreed to come down when police shooters on top of the building threatened to open fire if he continued climbing.

Eventually Hatch felt that he had made his point and got onto a cherry picker the police had brought in. After he was eased to the ground Hatch was rushed into a police van amid cheers from onlookers, many of them fellow protestors that had created the diversion on the other side of the palace that allowed Hatch and Pyke to enter the palace grounds. One observer noted that he could have stayed longer but probably needed to come down to use the batroom.

Hatch was a member of Fathers 4 Justice, a group that represents fathers who never get time with their children even though the courts have ruled they can see and visit their children. Matt O'Connor, who set up Fathers 4 Justice, said Hatch was prepared to go to prison for the cause. “He has not seen his children pretty much since they were born,” O'Connor said. “He has been to court and got court orders but they have not been enforced. He's been back time and time again and like a lot of guys he had just had enough.”

Fathers 4 Justice, founded in 2002, has become more vocal and daring in its protests lately. One of its members was charged Sunday with creating a public nuisance after he climbed the London Eye, the jumbo Ferris wheel on the banks on the River Thames, dressed as Spider Man.

Hatch and Pike were freed the next day; however palace officials promised tighter security after the prank.

Queen Elizabeth II and many of the royal family were on holiday at Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands and were never in any danger. There was no comment from the palace authorities on the whereabouts of Camilla Parker Bowells during the incident involving the ‘Dynamic Duo.”

CHESS KING BOBBY FISCHER CHECKMATED BY AUTHORITIES AFTER A 12-YEAR STALEMATE

Bobby Fischer, former world chess champion, was arrested and held in Japan at Tokyo's Narita airport after trying to leave Japan with a cancelled passport on July 16, 2004. The 61-year-old chess expert, widely considered one of the sport’s most brilliant minds, has been wanted in the United States since 1992 for breaking an international embargo on the former Yugoslavia in 1992.

Fischer’s problems stem from his exhibition battle in Yugoslavia with the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky, which earned him $3.5-million. Yugoslavia at the time was a federation unraveling in civil war, and Fischer’s appearance violated United Nations sanctions and an American business embargo signed by President George H.W. Bush (41). Fischer, who was reportedly broke at the time due to his eccentric lifestyle, came out of retirement to play the rematch with his long time Russian rival.

But Fischer’s problems with the US government runs far deeper than his refusal to abide by President Bush’s (41) ban. Fischer has been exceedingly critical of American policies on his personal web site and in radio interviews delivered from various points of exile. His philosophy has been punctuated by ferocious anti-Jewish diatribes, despite the fact his mother was Jewish. In an interview on Philippine radio on Sept. 11, 2001, Fischer exulted in the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, praising the horrific events as “wonderful news,” and declaring that America got what it deserved for supporting Israel. Fischer indicated that, “I want to see the U.S. wiped out.”

Since 1992 Fischer has traveled frequently between Tokyo, Hungary, and the Philippines. Fischer frequently passed through immigration controls, and in 2002, he bragged to a radio interviewer that the “U.S. hasn't got the guts to catch me.” Fischer’s passport was revoked in December 2003. Fischer's passport was accepted as valid when he entered Japan on April 15 on a 90-day visa, but he was detained when he tried to leave in July.

Bobby Fischer was born on March 9, 1943, in Chicago. His father was the German physicist, Robert James Fischer. After his parents divorced, his mother moved to Brooklyn, New York. At the age of six his elder sister introduced him to chess which swiftly became his one and only passion. At 14, he won junior and senior US championships. A year later Fischer became the youngest contender for a world championship. In 1959, he dropped out of school, deeming it a waste of time, to turn professional. His IQ reportedly was higher than that of Albert Einstein. His success as a child prodigy and his impressive earnings helped earn him star status. After a poor showing in 1962, he accused the Soviets of conspiring against him and soon thereafter joined a sect called the Worldwide Church of God.

In 1968 he began a year-and-a-half time-out to prepare to take on Soviet rivals who had dominated the chess world since 1948. His comeback was successful, and his showdown with Spassky at the 1972 world championships in Reykjavik, Iceland, marked the height of his career.

Fischer became a symbol in the United States of the Cold War-era struggle against communism. His victories over the communist chess champions drew more attention to chess than at any time before or since. However, in 1975 Fischer contested federation rules for the game, and lost his title to Soviet Anatoly Karpov. For 15 years, nothing could lure him back into international chess. By 1990, Fischer was broke and needed the money a rematch (or “revenge match”) with against Spassky would provide. In 1992 he accepted the invitation (and three million dollars the match provided) even though the match was to be held in Montenegro, Yugoslavia, despite the UN and Presidential embargo in effect at the time.

After the 1992 rematch, US authorities charged him with a transaction in violation of sanctions and issued an arrest warrant. Fischer became an American exile and virtual recluse. Fischer traveled often between Europe and Asia particularly to the Philippines and Japan where he often lived for extended periods. He avoided most contact with the media but posted editorials critical of American policy on his web site.

During Fischer’s Japanese detention he began appealing for political asylum in a “friendly third country,” according to postings on the web site ChessBase .com. Another web site, established by Miyoko Watai, the head of the Japan Chess Association and a ‘great and good friend’ of Fischer, indicated that Fischer did not want to return to the Jewish-controlled United States where he would face “a kangaroo court, 10 years in Federal prison, and a likely early demise or worse on trumped up political charges.” The site added, “Nor does he wish to remain in a hostile, brutal, and corrupt US-controlled Japan.”

After a two-day hearing in late July, Japanese immigration officials rejected Fischer’s appeal against deportation for attempting to travel on the invalid US passport. At the hearing Fischer labeled his detention “a kidnapping,” indicated that he had been “seized,” and had been subjected to a completely illegal procedure on both the American side and the Japanese side.”

In early August Fischer appealed the Japanese deportation ruling hoping to obtain a German passport, based on the fact that his dead father was German. However, if Fischer asserts his right to German citizenship, he could face arrest in Germany because he has publicly denied the Holocaust ever took place.

On August 6th Fischer submitted a letter to the U.S. embassy in Tokyo announcing his intent to renounce his U.S. citizenship. According to a Fischer spokesperson, “Bobby Fischer is sick and tired of how he has been treated by the U.S. for the past 12 years. The letter is a statement of renunciation of U.S. citizen ship by Bobby Fischer, and he issues that statement unilaterally.” On the same day Fischer's Japanese attorney, Masako Suzuki, filed suit against Tokyo immigration officials seeking to overturn cancellation of his permission to land in Japan and the deportation order.

A few days later on Aug. 10th, Fischer’s former rival, Spassky, wrote President George W. Bush asking that he show mercy toward Fischer by not seeking his extradition. Spassky told Bush that if Fischer were extradited and convicted he'd like to go to jail with Bobby Fischer as long as they could take along a chess set. Spassky indicated that, “Bobby and myself committed the same crime. Put sanctions against me also. Arrest me. And put me in the same cell with Bobby Fischer, and give us a chess set.”

On the same day Spassky sent the letter to Pres. Bush, Japanese immigration authorities transferred Fischer from the Immigration Bureau facilities at Narita International Airport in Tokyo to the East Japan Immigration Center in Ushiku. This move indicated Fischer’s stay in Japan would be prolonged.

On August 17th, Miyoki Watai, president of the Japanese Chess Association, announced that she and Fischer intended to get married. She announced that they had had a long-term romantic relationship and had been “living together as man and wife” for the past four years. The couple indicated that they hoped that the marriage would help them get back to a normal life. However, other Fischer watchers have indicated that the marriage move just may be a real life instance of Fischer “queening a pawn” in his bid for freedom.

On August 20th, despite his pending nuptials to Miyoki Watai, a Tokyo court rejected Fischer’s request to stop deportation procedures. On that same day, the American embassy agreed to send a representative to visit Fischer in detention at Ushiku so he could renounce his US citizenship by telling a official face to face as required by law. Later that day, Fischer spoke to a Philippine radio station from his detention center. Fischer said, “Hopefully, I'll be out of this stinking hole soon,” and he littered the hour-long phone interview with anti-Semitic and anti-American remarks. During the interview, when Fischer was asked to talk about “pleasant things,” Fischer said: “Here's something pleasant. I want to talk about the destruction of the USA.” He went on to criticize America’s foreign policy. The former chess champion also lashed out at Japan for getting involved in Iraq and the Philippines for its high crime rate.

Four days later, the Japanese justice ministry, headed by Daizo Nozawa, rejected Bobby Fischer's request for protection as a political refugee saying, “the charges outstanding against him in the United States are not political in nature.” Fischer was informed that he would be deported immediately. Fischer’s lawyer filed for an injunction against Fischer’s deportation as soon as she learned the government had rejected the appeal for political asylum.

However, by the end of August Japanese authorities had decided to deport Fischer. Fischer again told Philippines radio that he would be “tried, convicted, sentenced, imprisoned, tortured, and murdered” if Japan deported him to America. Fischer went on to add, “I spent $350,000 here in Japan. I gave them my time, I gave them my money, spent a fortune going to Japanese mineral baths. But just one call from the US embassy and they are sending me to prison in the US to die.”

On Sept. 8 a Japanese court issued another stay in Fischer’s deportation pending its decision in another hearing on the case. At the time the Clarion Issue went to press Fischer was still in Japan awaiting the final disposition of his case. There had been no official announcements of a date for the marriage between Fischer and Miyoki Watai, Fischer’s ‘bride to be.’ Authorities had refused to grant a marriage application due to the lack of necessary documentation, including Fischer's passport.

Fischer, the legendary enfant terrible of chess, has been known as an eccentric for a long time. At times Fischer’s movements over the last ten years have been hard to trace. During the rematch in Yugoslavia with Spassky, Fischer demanded that the toilet seat in his hotel room be higher than any other toilet seat in the hotel. However, there were have been no comments from Miyoki Watai about the toilet height arrangements in the couple’s planned love nest.

Clarion Issue Trivia

A major member of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ is Eritrea. Where is Eritrea?

1.
2. In the Caribbean Sea
3. Near the Black Sea
4. On the coast of the Red Sea
5. Central Africa
6. Polynesia
Near New Guinea

Answer C. Eritrea was once the coastal area if Ethiopia that separated from that ancient country in 1993. Its capital is Asmara. Eritrea has a population of about 4.5 million people in a country of 46,842 square miles. Ethiopia is also a member of the ‘Coalition of the Willing.’

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