The Clarion Issue

As 2003 comes to an end, the American nation braces itself for another presidential election. Preceding the main event, held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November as prescribed in the US Constitution, is a host of uncoordinated and disjointed state primaries where delegates are chosen to the national conventions of both parties to select the parties’ nominees for president and vice-president. It is the contention of the editorial staff of the Clarion Issue that the individual state primaries should be consolidated into regional primaries. These consolidated primaries would allow concentrated campaigning, and therefore valid and rational discussion of the issues, rather than the monetary, fund raising-spending based primary system that now plagues the nation.

Even before the first primaries held in late January and early February of an election year, the candidates and national media are drawn to the Iowa Caucuses, held in that Midwestern state with only seven presidential electoral votes in its pocket. While the Iowa Caucus is little more than a “beauty contest,” it attracts a tremendous amount of attention in mid-January. Iowa law mandates the caucuses be held on a Monday evening, eight days prior to any other state’s nominating event. The major event leading up to the caucus is the Iowa State Fair held during the summer outside the state capital of Des Moines. Here the candidates set up their circus tents and entice prospective caucus members to hear their message, often delivered in person, as voters drift from one candidate’s tent to another and then to the livestock privation where they see and hear more bull. If the voters miss the Iowa State Fair they need not worry because all the candidates will make repeated return trips to the Buckeye State trying to win, place or show in this fairly irrelevant state’s caucuses. Yet voters across the land are inundated with news from this “beauty contest” in a state with only seven electoral votes.

Then the real primaries began with the totally unimportant state of New Hampshire. Here the people “live free or die” and attempt to set the political temperature of the nation in late January of presidential election years. The candidates and news media descend on this small state, with only four electoral votes, like Sioux and Cheyenne warriors descending on the 7th Cavalry making its last stand on Custer’s Hill at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The winner is promptly declared the “front runner” or the “man to beat” for the rest of the primary process despite the fact that the final nominee of the various parties will pay much attention to the state in the campaign during the general election. The New Hampshire Primary is the “Granite States” moment in the sun, or since it is held in January, the snow.

In early February the primary circus moves on to a block of states that are widely scattered geographically throughout these United States. Just one week later, on February 3, 2004, the states of South Carolina (8 electoral votes), Arizona (8 electoral votes), Delaware (3 electoral votes), Missouri (11 electoral votes), New Mexico (5 electoral votes), and Oklahoma (8 electoral votes). Here the candidates run around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to grab sound bites for local and national TV audiences or write off states that are too small to matter in the big picture of the primary or electoral college system. There is little discussion of real issues or regional needs in the now fly by night to get somewhere else campaign.

After this debacle there are here and there primaries for a few weeks, Michigan, Utah, Maine and Tennessee to name a few, until the ‘Big Primary Day’ March 2nd. On this day voters in the two big states California (54 electoral votes) and New York (33 electoral votes) and various states in-between, Ohio (21 electoral votes) Georgia (13 electoral votes), Hawaii, Minnesota, and three New England states vote in various primaries. The candidates are trying to be everywhere during the preceding week, but most of the voters only see appearances of the candidates in large cities, usually at $2,000 a plate fund raising dinners, or in 30 to 60 second TV commercials. The average voter never sees a candidate nor does a candidate get a real chance to see or hear the average voter.

March 2nd usually sets a winner, the man likely to be the party’s nominee, although many states, including Florida (25 electoral votes), Texas, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and North Carolina, have not voted. The problem America faces in its primary is how to fix the system so that the voters’ needs and issues are heard and addressed, and the states have an equal voice in the nominating process.

The solution to America’s Primary Dilemma lies in holding regional primaries. These primaries, held on the same day in several states that are linked culturally and geographically, would allow for concentrated and regionally focused campaigning for the candidates. The campaign in each section would last for two weeks allowing centralized campaigning in a restricted area. The South, where the winter weather clears first, could have the first set of primaries, called the ‘Boll Weevil Primaries,’ in late February. Then the campaign could move on to the Middle Atlantic States for two weeks with the vote coming in this set of states, called the ‘MAP’ vote (Middle Atlantic Primary vote) during the second week in March. The primary campaign could then shift to the Southwestern states, for the ‘Salsa Primaries,’ and then it is on to the ‘Midwest Cheese & Beer Primaries.’ New England could then host the next set of primaries, the ‘Bean and Molasses Primary,’ followed by the ‘High Plains Primaries’ of the central plains states. The primaries could then finish with the ‘Left Coast Vote’ of the Pacific States by late spring.

Holding primaries in this fashion would curb the cost of the candidate’s campaigns. Bus tours and trains could be utilized as the candidates ‘whistle stopped’ around the region speaking to the crowds in small towns. The cheaper costs for contenders would allow them to concentrate on issues rather than raising the funds needed to jet set all over the nation to participate in the multi state primaries we have now in place. Candidates could visit blue-collar diners, eat and rub elbows with common people who can not afford $2000 a plate fund raising dinners, and listen to the concerns of the common man.

The regional primary system would allow for extensive regional coverage of the campaign on local and regional TV, radio, and newspaper outlets. Instead of the tacky 30-second political ads the region would experience an intensive and through discussion of regional, national, and world issues that face both the candidates and voters in the primary elections. Real debates and in-depth interviews would replace sound bites and (heaven forbid) mud slinging, name-calling and other types of ‘negative campaigning.’

Regional primaries would help off set an incumbent’s advantage in the primaries. The President’s use of Air Force One to jet set around the nation (at the taxpayers expense) would be negated by the confined area of the primaries.

Regional matters are important. The Confederate Flag Flap caused by Howard Dean, Vermont’s M.D. turned politician, on November 1st in a statement to Des Moines Register is a prime example of candidates not having time to familiarize themselves with the people and issues of a region. A southerner is just as apt to see an SUV, newly designed Volkswagen, or a sports car as a pickup truck. Furthermore, more southern vehicles carry Free Tibet bumper stickers, my kids play soccer window signs, and NASCAR logos such as 3 or 24, than Confederate Battle Flags (the proper name of the banner that Dean was referring to) and gun racks. On the other extreme of the Confederate Battle Flag debate, Richard Gephardt made several condescending statements about the controversial ensign and its place in history as he tried to drum up support for his candidacy in early 2003. These incidents prove that Dean, who is from New England, and Gephardt, who is from Missouri, need to spend more time in the Deep South in order to get the pulse of the common voter than pandering to stereotypes of the various regions and special interest groups inside their party.

America can fix its primary dilemma. A few states may get their feelings hurt in the process, but the regional primaries could help fix several problems associated with America’s method of selecting our Chief Executive.

THE MEDIA VS IRAQ: WHAT THEY ARE NOT TELLING US
By Sam Merier

Back to Top

Most everyone watches the news, listens to radio, and/or reads the newspapers or newsmagazines. Judging by most of the media reports ever since the beginning of the war, it would seem apparent our troops are doing terribly according to most of those sources. They report that our troops are bogged down in a quagmire, and they are being killed at an astronomical number of one (now more) a day. The news media are comparing Iraq to Vietnam and indicating that the Iraqi people don’t like or want us there. I am quite sure you have heard most of these terms and many others.

Recent media reports have reporters admitting that the news they are telling does not reflect the reality of what is actually going on in Iraq. ABC News President David Weston admitted the news from Iraq was too negative. Fox News Molly Henneberg acknowledged media distortion. Dan Rather stated “…television sometimes has trouble with perspective…”. There are a few others in the media that admit it is happening.

Most of these reports came forward after Congressman Jim Marshall, Democrat Representative from Georgia’s Third Congressional District, returned from Iraq. He commented on the media being so negative in its treatment of Iraq. The Congressman also commented on the “Can do!” spirit, all of the accomplishments, and the great job being done in Iraq by America’s Armed Forces.

How much has been mentioned of the progress being made and in such a short amount of time in Iraq by the mass and admittedly biased media? Let’s take a look at a few items and what has been accomplished in Iraq. Since the conflict, peak electricity generation has risen threefold, reaching over 4,400 megawatts in early October, when it exceeded the pre-conflict peak. Increased public health spending has increased to over 26 times what it was under Saddam Hussein. The US has opened all 240 hospitals and more than 1200 clinics in Iraq. Doctors’ salaries have increased are at least eight times what they were under Saddam. Pharmaceutical distribution has grown from essentially nothing to 700 tons in May to a total of 12,000 tons. The US has administered over 22 million vaccination doses to Iraq’s children. Most importantly, there is no evidence of any epidemic in Iraq. All 22 universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges were opened, as were nearly all primary and secondary schools. Over 1,500 elementary schools have been rehabilitated. At liberation teachers were paid as little as $5.33 per month. By October they were earning 12 to 25 times their former salaries.

Iraq’s water distribution has also improved. The total irrigation canals in Iraq is 27,000 Kilometers. 20,000 Kilometers of canals were in need of repair in May 2003, By Sept. 27 at least 14,500 KM had been cleared. Iraq’s canals are being cleared at a rate of 500 Kilometers per week. Along with irrigation canals, Iraq’s drinking and household water has improved drastically since the end of the war.

Please note that this is only some of the things that have been and are being accomplished in Iraq. The data is courtesy of The Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq. You can visit their web site http://www.cpa-iraq.org/index.html for more details and updates.

Our troops are being killed by mostly non-Iraqi people. People from elsewhere, i.e. terrorists. Terrorists that must be fought somewhere. Where would you, the average American, rather fight them? On American soil, in our streets and cities, or in Iraq? That would cost more American and civilian lives? It would cause untold injuries and damage to more Americans. What options do the Anti-President Bush crowd offer other than condemnation? Certainly if America were to pull out of Iraq we would be handing victory to the terrorists. To leave Iraq in the hands of the UN is the same as to abandon the Iraqi people to the terrorist and Islamic extremist. Surely no one really wants that other than the terrorists.

The loss of lives of our troops is heartbreaking and tragic, for the families and friends involved and for America. Thankfully that loss is being kept to a minimum. Currently our troops are all in “Can do!” spirit and are doing a tremendous job in an incredible short time. All of our troops are volunteers, and all knew when they volunteered they faced war and fighting. Killing or being killed are a part life in the military. No one wants this to happen, but everyone realizes it can happen.

Congressman Marshall speculated in his comments that the attacks are being increased by all of the negative publicity of the media. The negative reporting without telling of any of the many accomplishments and mission successes of our troops does not do our troops any good at all, in fact it does quite the opposite. It turns people against the situation in Iraq without showing all the facts and telling the real story. It is creating division and that is a sign of weakness to be exploited by the enemy. It tells the enemy America does not have the guts to tough it out and complete a job. It bolsters the morale of the terrorists making them bolder and increasing their attacks to gain more publicity for their cause that is to increase division in America. It is also blood money for the media who fail to report the real truth. The blood of our troops and coalition forces. After all, bad news sells!

Here is a quote from Katie Couric: “Forty Americans have been killed in the last 10 days, over 400 killed since the war began - more than the number lost during the first three years of Vietnam. Would you concede that things are very dangerous and continue to be extremely messy and difficult in Iraq?” (NBC’s Katie Couric to Ambassador Paul Bremer on the November 17th Today show.) The number of U.S. troops in Vietnam in the first three years was 17,000, a small fraction of the 130,000 presently serving in Iraq.

The War in Iraq is part of the War on Terror, this means we are actually into our third year of the war. Perhaps Ms. Couric does not consider this to be so. Perhaps Ms. Couric needs be reminded of who started the war initially, and how many Americans and others lost their lives on American soil in New York City, over the fields Pennsylvania, and in Washington, D.C. on September 11th. Perhaps she cares to explain why so many non Iraqi terrorists are the ones killing our troops and coalition forces in Iraq.

It is interesting to note that not all reporters are negatively biased against the war, neither are the Iraqi people. Some are trying their best to get the real and unbiased picture out. Here is a quote from Bob Arnot and an Iraqi Citizen on MSNBC News. “This is one of the most beautiful mosques anywhere in the world. It’s the main mosque in the holy city of Kazimayah, third most religious city in Iraq. We’ve been invited here by the Ayatollah. Why? He is furious at the press coverage. He says not only American television, but Arabic satellite TV, such as Al-Jazeera and the Abu Dhabi station, have misportrayed the great success that is Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Everyone we talked to agrees the Arab media is not telling the truth about what’s happening here, and Al-Jazeera tops the list. What do you think of Al-Jazeera?” The unidentified Iraqi man replied, “I hate them!” (MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, Nov. 12.)

Please take time to pray for our troop’s safety, their families, and for them to successfully complete their mission and objectives. We at the Clarion Issue would like to salute all of our troops and coalition forces for the job well done so far and to keep up the great attitude and “Can do!” spirit. We also would like to thank Congressman Jim Marshall for calling the media on the issue of the negativity of the reports from Iraq. We also add thanks and our deep gratitude to the reporters who are doing their best to get the real and unbiased story to the people of the world out of Iraq.

TOUGH TIMES OFFER OPPORTUNITY
By Ga. Senator Eric Johnson, President Pro Tem, (R-Savannah)

Georgia’s “family” has 8,700,000 people. One of them is a schizophrenic suicidal teenager whom I will call Amy. She is a patient at Savannah’s regional mental health hospital – a facility that the Department of Human Resources is proposing to close in an effort to cut $100 million from its budget. Amy is one of our family members who is at the center of a pending emotional debate over spending priorities.

Georgia is slowly beginning to rebound from its worst economy since the Great Depression. Even though a recovery is under way, government won’t reap the benefits of people going back to work for at least another year. When the legislature convenes in January, we will be facing a budget that has a projected deficit of between $700,000,000 and $1 BILLION. Georgia can and must live within our means. Unlike Congress, we are required by law to balance our budget.

Tough choices lie ahead.

As we begin to debate how Georgia will balance its budget next year, we must keep people like Amy in mind and not focus on numbers, percentages, statistics and accounting theories.

Education and health care consumes 77 cents of every dollar in the state budget. Public safety takes up another 10 cents. Debt service – which cannot be touched – is 4 cents. That leaves just 9 cents for economic development, transportation, parks and recreation, and the protection of our environment.

We could point the finger of blame at someone else and run from our responsibilities as elected officials. We could thoughtlessly cut spending and ignore the effects on our neediest citizens like Amy. Or, hopefully, we can use this situation as an opportunity to reform the budget process, eliminate corruption, and improve efficiency.

First, we must be honest with our Georgia family. They need to know that cuts MUST be made – that jobs will be lost and programs will be cut or eliminated. There is no easy way out. Higher taxes are off the table.

Some will claim that we can balance the budget by cutting waste. And we will continue to eliminate waste when we find it. However, every agency has already had “austerity” cuts of between 5 - 10%. Over the past 2 years, we have reduced spending on a per capita basis by 4%. If you add inflation, we have already cut spending in Georgia by 10%. These are real cuts that affect real people.

We have cut most of the fat. This year, we will hit bone.

Others will say that we can balance the budget on the backs of state employees. This year, we gave no pay raises to teachers or state employees - zero. Like the rest of us, their share of health insurance costs has increased which means they had a cut in take home pay. There are 800 fewer state employees and 7,000 unfilled vacancies across this state. Like the private sector, public employees are being asked to do more work for less money. Teachers and state employees are already sharing in this crisis and deserve our gratitude.

Second, we must reform the method that we use to determine spending. For the first time in history, Governor Perdue’s upcoming budget will reflect each and every program that the state offers and who it serves. This new format will allow us to assess the efficiency of each program and set priorities. Georgia must deliver better services for less money.

Third, we must eliminate abuse. Corrupt politicians and their powerful friends also have had their hands in the taxpayers’ pockets. With our first Inspector General, financial audits, and ongoing criminal investigations, this is coming to a screeching halt!

Finally, we must eliminate programs or services that are not central to our core principles. This will be painful. Every program has a constituency and a history. But times like these demand that we separate the “wants” from the “needs.”

We will give priority to those who need government spending to live, not to those who make a living from government spending. This is a dramatic cultural shift that will have defenders of the status quo squealing … and taxpayers cheering.

In Governor Perdue’s “new Georgia,” we will focus spending on programs that produce results. We must use this deficit as an opportunity to remake government so that service matters, not spending.

Throughout the next few months, we will be tested. But I believe we are up to the task. We have to be. We are a family.

Editor’s note: Senator Eric Johnson’s district includes most of coastal Georgia, including parts of Glynn, Camden, and Liberty counties. The Clarion Issue is pleased to run his Op-Ed editorials, and those of any other elected official, candidate, or concerned citizen.

GEORGIA POLITICS AT A GLANCE

Governor- Sonny Perdue (R)

Lt. Gov.- Mark Taylor (D)

Sec. of State- Cathy Cox (D)

State School Superintendent- Kathy Cox (R)

Attorney General- T. E. Baker (D)

Comm. Of Agriculture- Tommy Irvin (D)

Comm. of Labor- Michael Thurmond (D)

Ga. General Assembly:
House of Representatives- Total 180

Speaker of the House- Terry Coleman (D)

Democrats- 107

Republicans- 72

Independent- 1

Ga. Senate- Total 56
Pres. Pro Tem- Eric Johnson (R)

Democrats- 26

Republicans- 30

Local Area (Southeastern GA.)
Ga. Senate- Peg Blitch (D)- Dist. #7
Eric Johnson (R)- Dist. #1

Ga. House of Rep. Cicely Hill (R)- Dist. # 147

It was the last play of the last game of the season when Nate Haasis, quarterback for Springfield’s Southeast High School, went back for a pass. Although the season had not been as successful as the team had hoped, Hassis had one more opportunity to break a Central State Eight Conference passing record if he completed a pass for at least 30 yards. The pass was completed for 37 yards and Haasis went into the record book, but he noted something was fishy about the play.

As a matter of fact, there was something fishy about the last few plays of the game. Southeast High’s opponent, Cahokia, had scored on the preceding play following a time out and “huddle” of the two opposing coaches. Cahokia’s defensive players had not rushed the passer and had stayed in a deep “prevent” defense until the necessary 30 yards had been obtained. Haasis became the new all-time passing champion of the Central State Eight Conference, breaking the record set by Griff Jurgens of Chatham Glenwood High, who threw for 4,998 yards from 1996 to 1998. But there was a question in Haasis’ mind concerning the last few plays of the game.

After the game, that Cahokia won 42-20, Haasis and others realized what had happened. The coaches fessed up to fixing the last few plays of the game so Hassis could have a shot at setting the record. Now Haasis wants his name expunged from the record saying, he “didn't want to be remembered for a 30-yard ‘given’ pass; he wanted to be remembered for the yards that he actually earned.”

The young athlete, who is a top student and wants to play football at an Ivy League school, has written a letter to the conference asking that the last play and pass be ignored and his name not be included in the record. Haasis indicated he wanted “to preserve the integrity and sportsmanship of a great conference for future athletes.” He also stressed that to let the play and record stand would short the accomplishments of Jurgens and his teammates.

The Clarion Issue is proud of this young man and the integrity he was demonstrated through the entire incident. Many young men and women spend countless hours of grueling practice and training to participate in high school sports, which is perhaps the last real level of nonprofessional sports left in America. Here they learn the value of hard work, teamwork, sportsmanship, and integrity. They suffer sore muscles, bumps and sprains, and physical and mental stress, but they take away lasting friendships and a feeling of representing school and community with dignity and pride. They learn to be gracious in victory and to maintain self-respect in a losing effort. And finally they learn to move on to the next challenge with an open mind and sense of expectation that all obstacles can be met and overcome with the proper preparation and attitude.

The editors and staff of the Clarion Issue salute all high school athletes and wish all of them personal success in the larger game of life.

A woman walks into the drugstore and tells the pharmacist she wants to buy some arsenic.

"I want to kill my husband because he's cheating on me by having sex with another woman," the lady replies.

"I can't sell you arsenic so you can kill your husband, lady, even if he is having sex with another woman," the pharmacist says.

The woman then reaches into her pocket and pulls out a picture of her husband having sex with the pharmacist's wife and hands it to him.

Sunday School Teacher: “Now tell me Johnny, Do you say a prayer before you eat?”

A cardiologist died and was given an elaborate funeral. Many of his fellow doctor friends were present at the big send off. A huge heart covered in flowers stood behind the casket during the service.

Following the eulogy, the heart opened, and the casket rolled inside. The heart then closed, sealing the doctor in the beautiful heart forever.

At that point, one of the mourners burst into laughter. When confronted, he said: “I’m sorry, I was just thinking of my own funeral-- I'm a gynecologist.”

At that point, a proctologist who attended the funeral and was seated right behind the gynecologist fainted.

“Natural gas is hemispheric. I like to call it hemispheric because it is a product we can find in our neighborhoods.” Pres. George W. Bush

SPEAKIN' SOUTHERN, ADDITIONS TO YOUR SOUTHERN VOCABULARY
A SOUTHERN LOOK AT DISTURBANCES

A CANIPTION [pronounced CA/NIP/SHION] (a conniption): A fit thrown by an individual akin to a hissy fit, only worse. A true southerner knows the difference between a hissy fit and a caniption.

A FRACUZ [pronounced FRA/CUZ] (a fracas): A loud argument that ends in a fight or other violence.

A ROOBARB (rhubarb): 1) a fight, usually at a sportin’ event like a football or baseball game, between players from each side, fans supportin’ different teams, or little league parents in the stands. 2) a pisenous (poisonous) plant eaten by Yankees usually in the form of a pie.

A QUIETUS [pronounced QUI/ATE/US]: A fight that occurs to shut up someone who is running his mouth.

A STAUBIN’: An underhand cut with a knife.
A JAUBIN’: An overhand cut with a knife.

Billy Ray: “Oh yea, right outside Jim’s ‘Dew Drop Inn’ Ka/re/o/key (Karaoke) Bar ‘n

Lawyer: “And how many of these here fracuzez has Tommy Lee been involved in?”

Billy Ray: “Only two that I know of, and that’s the one he was born with and his wife’s.”

Slim: “Hey Linda Lou. If ’n me and Bud goes huntin’ this weekend you gonna pitch one

Linda Lou: “Not if ‘n you kill some’em. But if yer don’t me and Pearl’s gonna throw

High School Football Coach J. B. Rowland: “Now I don’t want no roobarbs out there

Yankee student on the team: “Coach, when did they start selling pies at the concession

Boo: “Oh yeah. Goober took out his blade and did a stauben’ on old John Boy in the

Boo: “Yeah. He slung the blade underhanded, sorta like he was a pitchin’ a softball. He

opened up ol’ John Boy like a can opener.” Yez, ol’ Goob sho’ ‘nuff pig stuck John

Boo: “Oh yez sah! Ol’ Goober sho ‘nuff slapped a real qui/ate/us on ol’ John Boy.”

An Army couple on leave from South Korea purchased the winning lottery ticket in the Mega Millions multistate lottery in early October winning $150 million. The Fitzderald, GA, couple, Danielle and Tirrell Moore, opted for the one time payment of $88.9 million.

The couple plan to ask the Army for releases now that their financial situation has changed. “It makes no sense to stay in the Army,” Tirrell Moore said shortly after winning the lottery. “I have loved it. I’m just going to relax and get my head together.” Danielle Moore added: “I love the military. I’m not so sure if it’s as easy for me to give it up as it is for him, but I have to go with my heart and my husband.”

Both Tirrell and Danielle are staff sergeants. Tirrell Moore is a chemical decontamination specialist with the 520th Maintenance Company. His wife has served as a helicopter electronic technician with C Company, 52nd Aviation Regiment. The couple got married in a civil ceremony eight years ago while stationed at Fort Drum, N.Y. With the lottery money now safely tucked away, Danielle, a 27-year-old from Tampa, Florida, said she wants to renew their vows in a church. Tirrell indicated that he wanted to spend a lot of time fishing.

The Clarion Issue wishes the nuevo rich couple much success and happiness, and we especially wish Danielle good luck in getting Tirrell off the river for enough time to participate in her dream wedding!

The Texas 3rd Court of Appeals, in Austin, Texas, has ruled that “shooting a bird” or “giving someone the finger” is a rude and crude gesture but not illegal. The case involved Robert Lee Coggin in a driving incident on US 183 almost two years ago. Coggin was cited for inciting “an immediate breach of the peace” when he made the gesture at a slow moving vehicle driven by John Pastrano, a Caldwell County jailer. Coggin was tried, convicted, and fined $250 for the offense.

The Texas Court indicated that “the evidence was legally insufficient to establish that (Coggin's) gesture tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace,” and they reversed the conviction and ordered acquittal. However, the court didn't stop there, but offered context and history to the ruling. The court's majority opinion quoted a Merriam-Webster OnLine definition of the “bird” as “an obscene gesture of contempt made by pointing the middle finger up while keeping the other fingers down.” The judges also explained that “the middle finger jerk was so popular among the Romans that they even gave a special name to the middle digit, calling it the impudent finger or “digitus impudicus.” The bird was also known as the “obscene finger,” or the “infamous finger,” and there are a number of references to its use in the writings of classical authors.

The middle-finger jerk has survived for over 2,000 years and is still current in many parts of the world, especially in the United States. It is a common means of conveying anger, dissatisfaction, and contempt, especially in minor cases of “road rage.”

Coggin said, “It vindicates me,” and he felt exonerated. He indicated that he didn’t regret spending the money on the case.

On October 29, 2003, employees of Jones/Hill Pest Control Company in Pensacola, Florida, received a call they never expected and never want to receive again. The call indicated that a six-foot tall Emu, a flightless bird from Australia, was running amok in the woods near the city.

The bird led six pest control workers on a 90-minute chase in the woods and brush near Perdido Bay, west of Pensacola, before the workers caught up to the bird, gang tackled it, and wrapped it in a blanket secured with duct tape.

Gene Ham, a pest control worker who spoke to reporters after the chase and capture of the errant Emu, said he had caught raccoons, opossums, squirrels, foxes, coyotes, and other animals before but this chase was his first encounter with an Emu. According to Ham, “That was by far the toughest thing we've ever caught. It was quick, and it put up a tough fight once we caught it.”

The Emu was taken to a zoo near Gulf Breeze where it will be quarantined for at least 30 days and get veterinary care before joining other Emus in the zoo.

Authorities speculate that the bird may have escaped from an Emu ranch, or the bird may have been deliberately released. Emus are raised mainly for their lean but beef-like meat. Oil made from the birds' fat can be used to treat joint swelling and stiffness and as a skin thickener to reduce the appearance of aging.

In the wild Emus feed on grass, insects, and sometimes they may eat small reptiles. They can run up to 40 mph and can deliver lethal blows with their strong legs and feet.

Several rubber bathtub toys lost at sea in the Pacific Ocean over ten years ago are expected to show up on the Atlantic coast of Canada and the Unites States. The toys include rubber frogs, beavers, turtles, and the ever-popular rubber ducks.

Twenty containers of the rubber toys were washed off the rear end of a cargo ship in 1992 during a violent storm in the Pacific Ocean. The toys were traveling from China to Seattle, Washington, when the storm washed them overboard. The shippers manifest reports that some 29,000 of the rubber toys were lost at that time. A $100 Savings Bond is being offered as a reward for each toy by First Years Inc., the company that manufactured the bath toys.

However, the company may have some serious competition for an authenticated toy. Since the first toys have appeared near Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Island off Canada, and Kruzof Island in Alaska, a cult like complex has developed around the lost toys. Collectors of rubber bathtub toys are extremely interested in the rubberized water fowl, amphibians, and mammals that have had the stamina to survive the rigors of over ten years in the ocean. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has also expressed interest in the track of the toys in order to gather important information on wind and ocean currents in the North Pacific, Arctic, and North Atlantic.

Scientist suspect that most of the toys still afloat have passed through the Bering Strait and are making an over the pole passage locked in the Arctic icepack. Within a year the toys are expected to complete this passage and emerge in the North Atlantic around Greenland. From Greenland the toys should began to hit the East Coast of North America and even Great Britain this year or next year. With all their travels behind them the price of the rubber toys should escalate into the four or five figure range.

The rubber toys will have First Years Inc. on the toy and also contain the company’s logo. So if you see a rubber toy on a beach some where check it out. The smile on the toy’s face could transfer to yours if the toy morphs into big bucks. If it’s the right toy, the song “Rubber Ducky I Love You” could take on an entirely new meaning!

NEW BOARD GAME, “GHETTOPOLY,” UNDER FIRE FROM AFRICAN AMERICAN CLERGY AND LEADERS

Leaders of the African American community expressed outrage at a new game being marketed by the clothing company Urban Outfitters. The game, Ghettopoly, is the latest in a long line of spoofs of the popular board game Monopoly that became popular during the depression years of the 1930s. Other takeoffs on Monopoly have included Easy Money and Anti-Monopoly.

Ghettopoly was created by David Chang and is being marketed as a ‘Stolen Property Fencing Game’ by Urban Outfitters. Chang admits the game is stereotypical but denies it is racist. “It draws on stereotypes not as a means to degrade, but as a medium to bring together in laughter. If we can't laugh at ourselves ... we'll continue to live in blame and bitterness.” said Chang.

The game features properties such as Westside Liquor, Harlem, The Bronx, and Long Beach City. Other squares include Smitty's XXX Peep Show, Weinstein's Gold and Platinum, and Tyron's Gun Shop. Players draw “Hustle” and “Ghetto Stash’ cards with directions like, "You're a little short on loot, so you decided to stick up a bank. Collect $75," and "Steal $$$ if you pass Let$ Roll" instead of “Chance” and “Community Chest” cards. The game features buying stolen property, pimping hoes, buying crack houses and projects, paying protection fees, and getting car jacked. One of the features of the game insists that if you don’t have the money you owe the loan shark you may wind up in ‘da Emergency Room.’

The game costs $29.95 (plus shipping and handling if purchased at the games web site) includes the Game Board, Loan Shark Tray, 40 Crack Houses, 17 Projects, Pink Slip Cards, Ghetto Stash and Hustle Cards, Counterfeit Money, 2 non metallic Dice, and 7 Game pieces. Game pieces include a Pimp, a ‘Hoe,’ a Machinegun, a Marijuana Leaf, a Basketball and a Crack vial as playas’ tokens.

African American leaders are encouraging people to boycott Urban Outfitters until the game is discontinued and removed from the stores. The leaders point out the game intentionally misspells the names of prominent Civil Rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. According to Rev. Glenn Wilson, pastor of the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, “This is beyond making fun, to use the caricature of Dr. King in this regard. There's no way that game could be taken in any way other than that this man had racist intent in marketing it.” Other clergymen are just as outspoken concerning the game.

The leaders of the African American community need not be so upset. According to the Ghettopoly web site, www.ghettopoly.com, other stereotypical games are on the way. The site announced that Hoodopoly, Hiphopopoly, Thugopoly, and Redneckopoly, are coming soon!

At the time the Clarion Issue was researching this article the makers of the game, Urban Outfitters, and the Ghettopoly web site, were sold out of the product, and we were unable to purchase one in order to experience the game for ourselves. However, the editor’s birthday is January 9th, so if you are looking for a birthday gift for the editor, the web site promised to restock for the Christmas shopping season. God bless capitalism.

OUTHOUSE RACERS PRIVY TO LOADS OF FUN IN VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADA

On October 13, 2003, a throng of spectators stood on the same boardwalks that a young Mark Twain walked 140 years ago and watched the 5th annual World Championship Virginia City Outhouse Race held in Virginia City, Nevada. Many of the onlookers had to duck for cover as the unwieldy, often brakeless privies careened out of control as they raced down Main Street in search of the first place Royal Flush Trophy, which features a glass outhouse.

This year’s event featured some 22 outhouses of various descriptions. All entries had to be over 6 feet high, weigh at least 200 pounds, and have a 9-square-foot floor area. There is a 50-pound penalty for outhouses not weighing in at 200 pounds or more. The 50-pound penalty is a sack of manure that must be carried in the outhouse during the race. In addition to these requirements, all entries had to have a toilet and toilet paper. The toilet could be pushed by no more than three people.

The Virginia City and Gold Hill Chamber of Commerce sponsor the competition. It commemorates the time, years ago, when Storey County banned outhouses, and the citizens protested by putting their outhouses on wheels and parading them down Main Street. The racecourse runs up Main Street, or C Street, from the Bucket of Blood Saloon's parking lot to the Delta Saloon's parking lot.

Entries included the ‘Pee II,’ the ‘Urinator’ (named for Arnold Schwarzenegger's ‘Terminator’ movies), the ‘Flaming ButtHutt III,’ and the ‘Ole Tyme Saloon’s Classic.’ Eddy Talamante, whose outhouse ‘Only in America’ won Best in Show in last year’s competition, built a chopper motorcycle-style outhouse with an extended front fork called the ‘Iron House.’

The crew of the ‘Flaming Butthutt III’ was extremely light hearted about the race for the Royal Flush Trophy. While lounging with beers before their race, outhouse pusher Brett Olsen of Reno told reporters “I've been training for 12 months. I like to do 12-ounce curls,” he said raising a can of Bud Light, the undisputed “breakfast of champions.” Kevin Moore, 24, a carpenter with Verdi-based Sierra Builders, designed the ‘Flaming Butthutt III’ that won first place for the last two years. Moore indicated he looks forward to the event because, “I can bring my own refrigerator and own beer and drink in the street and not get arrested like in Reno.” The Clarion Issue is sure they will continue to win as long as they keep “pumping that aluminum.”

The races were started with a gunshot fired by Thomas “Pinky” Filiatreau. Pinky was all decked out for the occasion in Buffalo runner boots and Garcia spurs. He used a borrowed a 50-caliber, black-powder plains rifle he acquired from his good pal Slowhand (not Eric Clapton). After the event, the residents of Virginia City considered changing “Pinky’s” name to “Bluey” after the bruise the 50-caliber rifle left on his shoulder.

The cost to register an outhouse for the race is $75 for the first outhouse and $50 for each outhouse after that. All proceeds benefit the Virginia City and Gold Hill Chamber of Commerce.

Virginia City is 23 miles South of Reno and 14 miles North of Carson City, Nevada. It is near the site of the famous Comstock Silver Mine that produced a large amount of the nation’s silver in the 1880’s and 1890’s.

Members of Girl Scout Troop 34 in Anchorage, Alaska, have deviated from the normal Girl Scout stereotype of selling cookies, cooking smores, and making sit upons and birdhouses. Instead they have began to trap and skin beaver in the Anchorage area; although, there is no merit badge for the activity.

In the spring of this year the troop responded to an invitation from the Alaska State Department of Fish and Game to help curb the population of the pesky rodents. Beavers dam up the streams and rivers in the “State of the Midnight Sun” causing local floods and other problems in certain areas of the state.

The Girl Scouts signed on for the state’s Take a Kid Trapping program. Dona Boylan, the leader of Troop 34, indicated she wanted to impart lessons in responsible game management to troop’s members, who are basically city girls. “Trapping may not be pretty, but the girls understand the seriousness and huge responsibility of taking a life,” Boylan said. The girls need to “ understand that when humans impact their environment, they become ultimately responsible for maintaining a healthy population of the animals they have to coexist with in these urban centers.”

PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, opposes the Troop’s participation in the program. Spokespersons for PETA indicated that the Girl Scouts need to become “stewards of wildlife, not abusers.”

Alaskan headquarters of Girl Scouts of America indicated that the trapping was a “non-issue” due to the state’s long history of the fur trade of which trapping is an integral part. National headquarters in New York had no commit on the Troop’s participation in the Take a Kid Trapping program.

The girls are carefully supervised during the trapping and skinning process. Mike McDougall, a local trapper who worked with the scouts said, “I feel like PETA doesn't have a concept that trapping is considered a heritage here in Alaska. These kids are learning more than just how to take an animal. They're learning about ecology. They also got a definite sense of respect for the animals.”

So far only a few animals have been harvested by the girls. The troop plans to trap and skin about a dozen beavers and make hats and mittens from the hides. They also plan to cook the meat at a later date.

To date, troop leaders have not commented on which Girl Scout Cookie makes the best trap bait, but the editorial staff of the Clarion Issue suspects the prime bait used by the girls is Tag Alongs.

The World

NEW PURPLE FROG DISCOVERED IN INDIA

Scientist have announced the discovery of a new (actually very old) species of frog found on the Indian subcontinent. The frog, named Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, is a purple, fat, round, seven-centimeter (three-inch) amphibian that resembles a grape jelly donut. It has a long nose, small eyes, and a face only another frog could love. The scientific name is derived from the Sanskrit words for nose (nasika); batrachus (frog); and Sahyadri, the name for the hills along the western Indian coast that are also called the Western Ghats (pronounced gots, as in “He gots $50.” or “He gots malaria.”).

The frog was discovered and identified by S.D. Biju of the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute in Kerala and Franky Bossuyt. The scientists indicate that N. sahyandrensis’ DNA shares a link with sooglossids, a small family of frogs that live across the Indian Ocean, in the Seychelles Islands over 2000 miles from India. It is believed that the frogs are descendents from the exact species that lived with the dinosaurs during the Cretaceous period more than 100 million years ago.

The genetic resemblance of this unique family of frogs supports the theory that, millions of years of ago, the ancestors of both frogs lived on Gondwana, a "supercontinent" in which the Earth's continents were glommed together. Eventually, Gondwanwa split up into two landmasses, one comprising Africa and South America, the other comprising Australia, Antarctica and Indo-Madagascar. The Nasikabatrachidae/Sooglossidae ancestors were on the Indo-Madagascan fragment. This landmass broke up and drifted apart to form the Indian subcontinent and islands in the Indian Ocean, and the frogs evolved separately. The Indian frog rode the India plate to its present location and has stayed hidden from humanity in the Western Ghates of India since the evolution of modern man.

The discovery of a new species of frog may have negative repercussions at the Calaveras County Jumping Frog Contest next spring. Should a new event be opened for Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis and other ‘ancient frogs’? Should these ancient species be allowed to participate in the event at all? Our California reporter has indicated that the Jumping Frog Contest has not made any decision on these perplexing questions. When the Clarion Issue contacted the newly elected governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, commonly known as the Gropinator, he indicated that while the contest is good for business and tourism, he did not intend to interfere in the decision making issues concerning the contest citing budgetary concerns, female groping, and body building as taking precedent over the Jumping Frog Contest.

Clarion Issue research has also failed to uncover any attempts of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to protest or disrupt the Calaveras County Jumping Frog Contest. However, if the contest’s authorities decide to include N. sahyadrensis in the festivities, PETA is sure to protest the decision, and the Clarion Issue will be there to cover all the controversy over the decision for our faithful readers

WORLD CELEBRATES WORLD TOILET DAY ON NOV. 19

Nations across the world celebrated World Toilet Day on November 19, 2003 in an effort to help create “better public toilets and happier people.” A major sponsor of the activity is the World Toilet Organization based in the Asian city-state of Singapore.

This year’s meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, allowed the expansion of the 17 member organization, which includes toilet organizations in the United States, China, Singapore, Japan, and Great Britain, to include toilet associations in Thailand, Hong Kong, Mexico, France, Germany, Sweden, and Spain.

The World Toilet Organization is gearing up for its 2004 meetings to be held in Beijing, China, on Nov. 19, 2004. The event will feature academics, sanitation experts, toilet designers and environmentalists from around the world. Beijing is working on improving its hundreds of public toilets before it host the world at the 2008 Olympics.

The driving force behind the World Toilet Organization is the Restroom Association of Singapore and its President, Jack Sim. Singapore began its “Happy Toilet Campaign” earlier in the year. This campaign rewards the best-designed and maintained public restrooms with a five-star rating. The Association hopes to award a loo of the year award to the best restroom in the city-state at the end of the year. Of special interest to restroom aficionados is Singapore’s Zoo Loo, recognized for its ambiance and cleanliness around the world. Singapore also fines restroom users who do not flush after using.

To encourage international participation in the drive to clean up the world’s public toilets, the World Toilet Organization posted a top ten tips list on its web site to help educate people about the use of toilets and to encourage improvements in the design and service of public restrooms. These are the top ten restroom tips.

1.Wipe clean the toilet seat before to ensure hygiene, and after use as a courtesy for the next toilet user.
2.If the toilet is not clean or well maintained, tell the toilet owner.
3.Similarly if the toilet is well kept and maintained, praise the toilet owner for his efforts. Do more, tell it to everyone!
4.Use half-flushes to save water, and don’t forget to flush too.
5.Give way to the old and disabled, and help them if possible.
6.Give suggestions to the toilet owner on how to make the toilet more cheerful and user-friendly.
7.Treat the public toilet you are in, as if its your own at home.
8.Do not be seated for too long, as the next person using waiting outside was just as anxious as you were before.
9.Keep the floor dry by wiping hands or using the hand dryer after washing.
10.Tell the next person about World Toilet Day, and why it is so important to carry out the nine things above.

World Toilet Day was judged a flushing success around the world! Perhaps one day World Toilet Day will be a national holiday in the good ol’ U.S. of A.

County officials of Gordon County, Georgia, have purchased a key portion of the historic Resaca Civil War Battlefield in North Georgia. Alvin Long, vice chairman and spokesman of the Gordon County Board of Commissioners, stated that “Resaca is the diamond in the necklace of all the (Georgia) battlefields.” The county acted to save the battlefield after it became apparent that the State of Georgia had no interest in the preservation of the historic site. Georgia’s Governor Sonny Perdue (R) refused to include the preservation effort in the State’s budget plans citing budgetary constraints the state has been facing for several years.

Gordon County reportedly paid $195,000 for 65 key acres of the battlefield. Friends of the Resaca Battlefield, a Virginia based group, secured a grant of about $50,000 and also contributed $2,500 of its own funds to help purchase the land. The site marks one of the early battles of Union General W. T. Sherman’s 1864 Georgia Campaign that ultimately doomed the South during the Civil War.

The Battle of Resaca was the first major battle in Union General William T. Sherman’s Atlanta/Georgia Campaign launched in the spring of 1864. At the Battle of Resaca Sherman was faced by Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston. By early May of 1864, General Johnston had withdrawn from northern Georgia to the hills around Resaca. He positioned his forces along a ridge that lay between the Oostanaula River and the Conasauga River just north of the town.

On the 13th, the Union troops tested the Rebel lines to pinpoint their whereabouts. The Union troops discovered that General Johnston had reinforced his army with Confederate General Leonidas Polk's Army of Mississippi. The next day, 14 May 1864 full scale fighting occurred, and the Union troops were generally repulsed except on the Rebel right flank where Sherman did not fully exploit his advantage. The Union advantage on the right was won by Sweeny's Division of the XVI Corps that moved several miles south to Lay's Ferry. Late in the afternoon Sweeny pushed back a small complement of Confederate cavalry and crossed two regiments, in pontoon boats, to the Oostanaula's southern shore. Confederate General William Walker's Division was sent to intercept. Upon learning of Walker's Division being en route, Sweeny pulled back across the river. When Walker arrived and found no enemy, he drew back to the east and left the ferry unguarded. The stage was set for the final day of battle.

On the 15th, Sherman ordered Sweeny back across the river. Sweeny crossed the river with his whole division. Next Gen. Sherman shifted Hooker's XX Corps to attack the Confederate right and exploit the Union advantage there. Hooker's three divisions initially overran Captain Maxillian Van den Corput's Cherokee Georgia Battery, but the attack stalled in front of Brown's, Cumming's and Reynold's Brigades' of Confederate infantry. However, the Union success at Lay’s Ferry threatened Johnston’s railroad supply line; Johnston was flanked and forced to retire from the field.

Resaca, the first major battle of the Atlanta Campaign, involved 110,123 men for the Federals, and 54,500 men for the Confederates. The Battle of Resaca was one of the largest engagements of the war in Georgia and is estimated to have cost the Federals some 4,000 causalities and the Confederates nearly 3,000 men. Some estimates are even higher.

The Battle of Resaca featured several famous Confederate regiments, units, and officers including Kentucky’s Orphan Brigade, Captain Maxillian Van den Corput's Cherokee Georgia Battery, Gen. John Bell Hood, and Gen. Leonidas Polk, the Episcopal Bishop turned General.

The 65-acre site includes Fort Wayne, a key point in the Battle of Resaca, originally built by the Georgia Militia.

Resaca has a rich Civil War history. The Great Locomotive Chase of 1862 passed through the town. It was at Resaca where William Fuller in the ‘Texas’ chased Union spy James J. Andrews and his men in the ‘General’ off the main tracks and onto a side rail. The pursuit of the stolen locomotive and the Union spies ended a few miles up the tracks at Ringgold, Ga.

Gordon County was named for John B. Gordon. General Gordon’s troops led the heroic Confederate defense of the Bloody Lane at Antietam in 1862. General Gordon directed the last attack at Appomattox in 1865, and led the Confederate troops at the surrender at Appomattox Court House. He later served as Governor and US Senator from Georgia.

Salvage crews working off the Georgia coast near Savannah discovered part of the cache of gold lost when the SS Republic sank during a hurricane in 1865. The discovery was reported in early November by spokespersons for Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc.

The Republic was carrying $400,000 in $20 gold coins to be used in reconstruction of the South after the Civil War. The coins are thought to be worth at least $120 million to today’s collectors.

The Republic sank in a two-day battle with a storm in October 1865. Most of the estimated 80 passengers were rescued from the ship, a side wheel steamer of that era, but the gold was lost at sea until its discovery in November. The coins are being carefully excavated from the wreck to preserve their mint condition value.

In 1917 as a young intelligence agent in Switzerland, Allen Dulles, turned away a young man due to a prior engagement. Who did he turn away?

A.Adolph Hitler
B.V. I. Lenin
C.Mikhail Bakunin
D.Leon Trotsky
E.Albert Camus
F.Michael Collins

Answer B
Dulles failed to meet with V.I. Lenin because he had a tennis date with a young lady. Lenin later boarded the infamous “sealed train” for his historic trip through Germany and into war weary and revolutionary Russia. The rest is history. Dulles later admitted he always wondered what Lenin had to say.

"Beirut Marine and Tornado Survivor Returned Home to the South to Visit Ghosts from the Past"

I am Paul Peirce - a Marine Corps veteran who was deployed to Lebanon in 1984 as part of the 24th MAU (Marine Amphibious Unit) while I was in Company I, 3rd Battalion 8th Marines in the 2nd Marine Division. I was one of the many Marines that attended the events on and around October 23, 2003 - the 20th Anniversary of the terrorist bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. There was another reason, however, for my visit to Camp Lejeune and Jacksonville, North Carolina...

...it was the first time in more than 16 years that I visited the site where my sister and niece died in a terrible wind storm that some argue was likely a tornado. Whatever it was, it murdered the last vestige of my innocence as well as my best childhood friend.

At the time, I was on "Alpha Increment Air Alert," a term that evoked gripes and groans from Marines and Sailors alike. It meant, quite simply, that you went nowhere and had no fun. If you lived in the barracks, you stayed around the barracks. Brown-baggers (Marines that live off-base) were able to go home, but they couldn't venture out of their doors until it was time to report for duty. (Don't even think about that loaf of bread waiting for you at the corner store!) The reason? If the President called and wanted the Marines somewhere fast, we were the ones to go.

It seemed just a normal day, July 2, 1986, and we were dismissed from formation late that afternoon. I had ten minutes to get home, and that meant a brisk little PT run through the rear gate on Camp Geiger. I passed that short period of time, on my way to the Triangle Mobile Home Park, trying to think of some way to "make-up" with my sister, Lisa. We had a terrible fight the day before on my birthday, and I felt like a real crumb. Upon my arrival at home in the mobile home park, nestled between the converging routes 17 and 258, I took a deep breath, then walked in the door.

As I entered, I saw my month-old infant niece, Amanda, and stopped to play with and talk to her in the manner that everyone is most accustomed. Amanda was lounging in her carry-cradle at one end of the couch. My sister, Lisa, sat beside her in a chair. I bent over Lisa where she sat. With a kiss on her cheek, I told her I loved her, and that I was very proud of her.

Shortly afterward, the storm began. No big deal...we'd been having thunderstorms at least once a week for awhile. The four-year-old that Lisa was babysitting, Debbie, sat quietly on the couch across the room. My fourteen-year-old brother, John, assisted me in closing all the windows when the lights went out. We had left the front door open because it gets hot during the North Carolina summers, but now it was pouring out. The rain was coming in pretty hard, and as I was trying to close the last window in the living room (of course it was stuck), while my brother was valiantly fighting a wind to shut the front door. The unthinkable then happened. My mobile home shifted off its cinder blocks with a shuddering thud. Lisa and I looked quickly at one another...for the last time, and the _expression of terror on her face etched itself in my mind.

I felt the house tip, and to my utter horror, I saw the window falling past me before my head went through the ceiling! As I felt the impact of a ceiling joist against my shoulder, I realized we were rolling. "OH GOD!" I screamed in my mind! Images too numerous to count flashed through my mind! They were not those of MY life, but of those I loved. The last one was that of Lisa's face frozen in terror.

When I regained consciousness, I was covered with debris; sheet metal and wood. My left shoulder felt like it was filled with twitching worms, and I couldn't move my arm. Crawling out of the rubble, I stood up, calling everyone's names several times with no response, before running for the mobile home park office.

The lights were out everywhere, for as far as I could see. I must have been quite a sight, for upon entering the office, the woman behind the counter screamed, "HE'S BLEEDING...!" Sure enough, wearing nothing but a pair of Wrangler Jeans, I could see that I was standing in a small puddle of my own blood. Two Privates who were students (Boots) on Camp Geiger, turned around, saw my condition and grabbed hold of me before I slipped and fell in my own blood. I told one of them where my unit was on Geiger, and he took off running to notify my Command. I showed the other young Marine to the scene where we found my younger brother, John. He was laying across one of the "I" beams that run the length of the chassis. When no one else could be found, we realized my sister and the children were still underneath the mobile home as it lay "belly-up." The young Marine ran to contact an Ambulance.

As passers-by and Emergency crews arrived, I tried to tell them of the unseen casualties. Told to lie down so as not to compound my injuries, two firefighters, wearing turn-out coats bearing EMT patches, attended me as I told them about Lisa and the kids under the wreckage. I was put on a backboard and placed in the corner motel room adjacent to my rented lot. It was then that HN John Langley and HM3 Tyrone Kelly burst through the door of the motel room, having broken restriction. They stopped as they saw me, and I could see pain briefly register in their faces. HN Langley was sent to see what he could do to help outside, and Doc Kelly whirled upon the EMT taking my vital signs.

"What the (expletive) are you doing to MY MARINE!?!" the enraged HM3 Kelly shouted before barking a series of commands at him. That civilian EMT shot out of the room to carry out those orders faster than a scared Recruit, while I told Doc Kelly about my sister and the kids. Running out of the room, Doc returned shortly thereafter with the EMT and continued patching me up. As for what happened outside, Doc wouldn't say...except that someone had a tow truck hooked up ready to drag the overturned mobile home off the lot, and the three remaining casualties still underneath. Assured that the Corpsman had taken care of it, I allowed them to finish with me, and pack me into the ambulance.

As I was being transported to the Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital, nearly 100 Marines, Sailors, and civilians actually LIFTED the destroyed mobile home off of my sister Lisa and the children. An event I was only able to see in the newspaper later on.

Lisa "coded" three times at Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, before she died of massive blunt trauma. Her infant daughter, Amanda, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her tiny skull was split open from the parietal to the occipital (from her temple to the back of her head). And the sweet little four-year-old Debbie was dead on arrival at the hospital. My brother John was in critical condition, his neck broken and he remained in a coma. They said he would never walk again. I was treated and released From the Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital with a shattered shoulder, scheduled for surgery at another time. I was then driven by friends to Onslow Memorial to meet up with my mother and help identify the bodies.

I was given a Disability Discharge, under Honorable Conditions - Service Connected and In Line Of Duty. They said I would not be able to carry a combat load again in the foreseeable future. Nightmares still plague me, and my brother John is a quadriplegic.

Every once in a while though, when I close my eyes, I can still see my sister's face frozen in terror. It is then that I remind myself that I was able to kiss her goodbye. Even still, this visit to the site of the incident was the hardest thing for me to do since my sister's death. It had to be done though, because Marines don't back down.

My health was the reason I had to travel to the reunion, both to remember my fallen brothers and to grieve for my sister. The luxury of closure is not something I have had, and I believe this was one of the reasons I have been plagued with nightmares. What I did not told anyone before is the fact that my immediate family had not been supportive. Denial and the placement of blame had always been their focus.

You see, I have always tried to help my family. During my first deployment to the Mediterranean (Lebanon) in 1984, I was surviving on approximately forty dollars per month while the rest of my paycheck was being sent to my mother and my sister Lisa in the form of dependent allotments for $200 per month, each. When things got really bad for them, they moved into my mobile home in Jacksonville with me. At the time of the incident, my brother Joseph was staying overnight with a friend; my mother, I am ashamed to say, was dancing for money at a bar on Route 17 just outside of Camp Geiger. This is how they were able to escape injury.

Lisa had wanted for a while to leave joint household with my mother due to mom's substance abuse and hypochondria. A full week before Lisa and her baby died in the incident, she had stated in frustration that the only way she felt she could get away from our mother would be to die. Ironic, no?

The funeral home visitation was a complete waste, as my mother audibly cried about "Her Trailer" and "Her TV" - with my sister and the baby not five feet away in an open casket (which really should have been closed)! I didn't care about these items that had actually belonged to me, for they weren't going to bring back the dead.

After a disability discharge, I soon picked up where Lisa left off - trying to take care of and help my mother. What it got me was years of abuse and blame for Lisa's death, with such drunken taunts as "You killed your sister! You ran away!" and "Look at what you did to your brother - you crippled him!" In the early 1990's, I wanted to die but I didn't have the guts to kill myself. So after checking myself into the VA Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, I found that even five weeks there didn't give me any peace or closure.

I was told I have PostTraumatic Stress Disorder - I don't know if I do or not, nor do I care. I only knew that I had to visit my old home and fully grieve after all these years. I was hoping to be able to do so with my Navy/Marine Corps. Family - the only family that counts for me anymore aside from my wonderful Wife. My sister Lisa is gone, my brother John moved as far as he could away from our mother, and my Wife has never experienced such tragedy and so is not able to understand nor comfort me.

So, it was with a heavy heart that I returned to visit a City that I once called home - a visit during which I mourned the loss of members of two of my families. My Sister, Niece and Beirut Marines. The visit, however, produced a couple of surprises...

...A sad surprise, we found that the lot where my mobile home once stood is now paved over, done so when it was clear that none wanted to rent that lot anymore, but the memories were very strong and vivid still.

...A wonderful surprise, I didn't have to undergo the visit alone. One of my fellow 3/8 Veterans, Pat Rice, went with me to the site of the incident. While I described through a fog of emotion the events locations and people of that night, I looked up to see my old India 3/8 Company Gunny, Mr. Jenkins (now a retired First Sergeant), as he strode across the parking lot. Gunny Jenkins was often viewed as a battle-hardened old salt and Vietnam Veteran that would chew concertina wire and spit bullets. Now a sweet, soft-spoken man, the Marine I used to know as Gunny Jenkins still cared about his Marines and made the time to be there for me. He had learned of our plans the previous night.

After recounting the events of that night, and prayer led by Mr. Jenkins, we laid down our flowers and embraced. We embraced one another, memories, the present and the future. The nightmares still come and I wake up to the strange surroundings of my own bedroom, though not nearly as frequently as before. They may never go away entirely, but I'm okay with that now.

Great Love is demonstrated by many Marines, young and old, everyday, both at home and abroad - the efforts of Marines to liberate and protect Iraqi citizens is evidence of this today. What I demonstrated for both my fallen Brethren in Beirut and my Sister and Niece during my visit was no great feat, and certainly does not hold a candle to the Love they showed everyone by giving all. (John 15:13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. -KJV)

NOTE: Pat Rice is now a Seminole County Deputy Sheriff in Florida, and Mr. Jenkins is a counselor with the "Order of the Purple Heart", and also a substitute teacher in Onslow County North Carolina.

OUR ON LINE SPONSORS

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The Southern Calendar

JANUARY
Last Saturday
Rattlesnake Roundup at Whigham, Ga.

Small town festival with food, arts & crafts, and the star of the show Rattlesnakes.
Whigham is 10 miles west of Cairo, Ga. on Hwy 84. www.bainbridgegachamber.com click on festivals

FEBURARY

Mid-February
Daytona 500 Qualifying and Race, Daytona, Fla www.daytonaintlspeedway.com &
www.nascar.com

Bike week-week after Daytona 500 at Daytona, Fla. www.biketoberfest.org &

www.biketoberfest.com

Presidents Day Weekend
The Battle of Olustee Festival at Olustee, Fla.
A Civil War Reenactment of the largest Civil War Battle in Florida. Event lasts all weekend.
Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park is on Hwy. 90 about 2 miles east of Olustee, Fl. http://extlab7.entnem.ulf.edu./Olustee

Last Weekend
The Battle of Aiken, S.C. at Aiken, S.C.
A civil war reenactment. Aiken is 20-30 miles east of Augusta, Ga. and e-z to access of I-20. www.battleofaiken.org

Register your town's festival with The Southern Calendar by sending your festival's information to apearson@ClarionIsh.com . Be sure to include place, date or weekend, a short description of the event, and a web site and email address where more information may be found.

TO PLACE YOUR TOWN’S EVENT ON THE SOUTHERN CALENDAR
Email the information to: apearson@ClarionIsh.com