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THE SANDBOX Archive ~ 1999 (part 2 of 2)
MAR, 1999 ~ #33, #34
APR, 1999 ~ #35, #36, #37
MAY, 1999 ~ #38, #39
JUN, 1999 ~ #40, #41, #42, #43
JUL, 1999 ~ #44, #45
AUG, 1999 ~ none
SEP, 1999 ~ #46, #47
OCT, 1999 ~ none
NOV, 1999 ~ none
DEC, 1999 ~ #48
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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #33 ~ March 9, 1999
USA Today has come out with a new
survey: Apparently three out of four people
make up 75 percent of the population.
~~ ~~ ~~
Sharing Your Ideas, Your Opinions, and Your
Responses With Richland Alumni Worldwide!
MailTo:THE_SANDBOX@hotmail.com
~~ ~~ ~~
Correspondents:
Patty de la Bretonne (65), Dick Epler (52),
Lloyd Swain (66), Anthony H. Tellier (57),
Glenda (Jane Rollison) Hightower (52),
Dick Epler) (52), Mike Franco (70),
John M. Allen (66), Steve Carson (58),
James M. Vache (64), Jim Russell (58),
Mary Collins Burbage (63),
Mina Jo Gerry Payson (68),
Jeannie Walsh Williamson (63)
~~ ~~ ~~
For all you folks who wondered what happened to
Bomber Baby Boomer Trivia #26, Here it is, now
appearing in THE SANDBOX for the first time ever:
"Liar, liar, _ _ _" (3 words) And it's not a Jim Carrey
movie!
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Patty de la Bretonne (65) BrassEar@aol.com
Subject: The Boys Are Fighting!
The boys are fighting, the boys are fighting!!!! Get
over it you two! (You know who you are) Trivia; the
American way, Joe Namath (old something or other?),
'Cause I eat my spinach, Mary Martin(the best!),
PLASTICS!, Richard Nixon.
Thank you.
Patty
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Dick Epler (52) depler@pdx.oneworld.com
Subj: Myths of Social Security and the Budget Surplus
Myth #1: Social Security can be "saved," by somehow
dedicating a portion of the "surplus" (up to 100%) to
this end.
Myth #2: There actually is a surplus.
Myth #3: Your payroll contributions to Social Security
(and Medicare) actually belong to you.
Myth #4: It's possible to "save" Social Security in its
present form.
Myth #5: The Government knows how to spend your
money better than you do.
I'm hoping to make this relatively brief, given the
sophistication of the Bomber Alumni ... three things:
First, Social Security is organized as a pyramid, or
Ponzi, scheme, illegal anywhere in the world. It's
dependent on an ever increasing influx of productive
payees to fund non-productive retirees. Currently, the
ratio is about three to one; by 2030 it will have fallen
to two to one (in 1950 it was 17 to one). It's a matter
of demographics. Without either a dramatic increase in
the birth rate, or a decrease in the number of retirees,
the system MUST fail eventually.
Since pyramid schemes are illegal, the P.C. term for
this is a "pay as you go" system (since 1939). In 1997,
the system received about $409 billion in FICA
contributions. It paid out approximately 90% of that
to existing retirees. The difference, $39 billion, was
added to the existing Trust Fund balance of about
$600 billion. By law, this was immediately made
available to the Treasury for use in balancing the
budget. Second, know that the law requires that all
Trust Fund monies be "invested" in special
non-marketable Treasury Bonds. While this sounds
like an "investment" it really isn't! Bonds that aren't
marketable can only be redeemed by the issuer, and
you have no real control over whether you'll ever get
your money back. It's exactly as if I took your
hard-earned money in exchange for giving you an IOU,
which only I can redeem. You can't sell my IOU to
anyone else to get money. Later, after I've spent all
your money, and it turns out that I can't easily get any
more, you may never get paid. That's a fair analogy.
Now this is very important. There is NO "money" in
the Trust Fund … The Government has essentially
spent it ALL. The Trust Fund is comprised of paper,
essentially worthless, that can only be redeemed by
increasing taxes, or by selling real (marketable) bonds
on the open market (which, of course, increases the
Federal debt). Both are getting to be major problems.
This practice, of converting an unfunded liability into
an asset for use in balancing a budget, is illegal for any
business entity in the world.
This last year, for the first time, the Trust Fund, at
about $800 billion, was finally sufficient to allow
Clinton to say we have a "surplus," under current
Government accounting rules. We will probably
continue to have such "surpluses" until sometime
between 2013 and 2024 (lots of assumptions here), at
which time a portion of the Trust Fund bonds will have
to be redeemed to meet obligations. Again, that will be
a big problem. To continue to pay retirees, it will be
necessary to dramatically increase the national debt by
selling offsetting (marketable) bonds, while
immediately raising taxes by as much as 30%. Of
course, that's on top of all other taxes, which,
considering all Federal, State and Local taxes, are
currently around 47%.
Again, the fictional "Trust" Fund is no more than an
accounting device for the convenience of our
Government. However, if the Trust Fund were
separate from the Federal Government, and any
surpluses were invested in marketable assets, the
yearly Federal deficits, and the amount of Treasury
debt required to be sold to the public, would have been
much larger. IT WOULD THEN BE OBVIOUS
THAT THERE IS NO EXISTING SURPLUS AND
NO HOPE OF A SURPLUS IN THE FUTURE!
Indeed, the total non-funded long-term liability of the
Social Security system is roughly $5.5 TRILLION,
which is greater than the recognized national debt
itself. So this is the first problem that has to be fixed,
but it's not a complete solution.
And third, understand that NO ONE has a specific
Social Security account that "belongs" to him/her. This
is not to say that one can't get "numbers" to support
the "insurance" illusion. However, the fact is that
whatever numbers you get today can be revised
downward by subsequent law to lower your benefits
by the time you're due to receive Social Security. The
first time this was done was in the early 1980s when
future benefits were re-indexed for lower payouts – it
has not been the last. Again, the problem is that the
Trust Fund is NOT set up to provide future benefits.
As currently structured, future benefits can ONLY
come from levies on future workers (or, if not
sufficient, other taxpayers, and/or from borrowing).
Because of this simple fact, it is NOT possible to
"dedicate budget surpluses" to "saving" social security.
From an accounting standpoint, the ONLY thing that
can happen is to reduce the national debt. But the fact
remains that taxpayers of any particular year, say,
2015, will still have to provide ALL the revenue to pay
that year's retirees!
In truth, Social Security is no more than an "income
transfer" program (from producers to non-producers)
that operates on a year-by-year basis. What confuses
most people is that the program has appropriated the
language of finance to support the illusion of a
long-term personal retirement program. But you can't
have "insurance" without underwriting, or genuine
reserves. There can be no "trust" fund that isn't
explicitly tied to future benefits for individuals. The
elaborate system for recording individual contributions
is a simple artifact to camouflage the details of the
underlying pyramid scheme. Your contributions are
NOT assigned to a personal account in your name;
they're merely recorded for the subsequent purpose of
calculating a benefit ... a calculation whose
"breakpoints" change from year to year to correspond
to the Government's concept of "fairness." The
Government wants to ensure no one ever gets more
than their "fair share." It's set up so that poor people
win more than rich people ... but the breakpoints
between the two are continually changing. Again, your
FICA contributions are NOT yours to control.
These misconceptions are the chief obstacles to
constructing an honest income transfer program that
addresses the real issues: 1) how to take care of the
elderly who fall through the cracks of our capitalist
system; 2) what level of support should be provided;
and 3) what is the best way of financing the transfer
payments. Of course, the Government also needs to
allow individuals to provide for their own retirement
(not currently possible for individuals - that's only
possible for proprietors of business organizations who
can take advantage of Keoghs or defined-benefit
plans).
To conclude, it appears that Clinton's call for
dedicating the "surplus" to Social Security is just a
ploy to prevent Republicans from reducing taxes (a
consequence that could conceivably lead to more
Republican seats in Congress). Moreover, Clinton's
spending plans should be a dead give-away that he has
no intention of not spending every penny he can get his
hands on!
There are only three choices for the surplus money:
Use it to fund an honest accounting system (really fix
Social Security -- very painful); give it back to the
taxpayers; or let Clinton use it to buy votes. It's your
choice ... a decision necessarily dependent on whom
you trust.
Dick Epler - Mt. Vernon, Oregon
depler@pdx.oneworld.com
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Lloyd Swain (66)
ReplyTo: Lswain6680@aol.com
Subject: Trivia
Answer to Trivia #16 is: The American Way.. I used
to come home every day from school and watch
George Reeves as Superman uphold truth and
justice... How could anyone forget the intro..?
— Lloyd
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Anthony H. Tellier (57)
Tony_Tellier@compuserve.com
>1. What do you think about the policy of "social"
promotion in school? Does it serve the student?
Does it serve society?<
What IS "social promotion"?
[Are there any teaching professional, school board
members, or anyone else out there who would like to
answer Tony's query, "What Is Social Promotion?,"
along with any pros and cons you see? I believe it has
something to do with advancing students who are
actually failing the subject matter so they don't fall
behind "socially," something unheard of when I went
to school. If I were not acting as a more or less
neutral moderator here, I would say that idea and
practice is totally counterproductive and against the
best interests of students, schools, teachers, and our
entire society. -ap]
About Gun Makers:
Gun makers should not be sued any more than
manufacturers of other items that can be dangerous.
Sue the user ... not the builder. UNLESS the item
is defective and that results in injury, death, destruction
Year 2000? Whoopin it up ... maybe on the beach in
San Felipe, Baja CA, MX. And not getting wrapped
around the axle about the (artificial) changing of the
year. The number of the year is a construct of man,
anyway. No like the frequency of red light of the
atomic weight of Argon ...
About Dams: Sure, tear the suckers down and enjoy
the flushing of the rivers and no flood control, etc. etc.
I have just seen an article about this in Outside
magazine but it was too much fluff. Who wants this?
Why? Salmon runs? What about irrigation ... or rather
the loss of same? Do they want to reduce
Hoover/Boulder Dam to rubble? Grand Coulee?
Aswan? HOW?
Tony Yuma `57
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Glenda (Jane Rollison) Hightower (52)
RepyTo: grh@titan.com
Subject: Save The Dams
Anyone who lives in the western United States should
read "Cadillac Desert" by Mark Reisner. Anyone who
lives near the Columbia River should be aware that
Southern California wants your river.
As a Bomber who now lives in San Diego, California, a
desert made green with imported water, I am fully
aware of the benefits of dams on the rivers of
Washington. The beautiful Yakima Valley farmlands,
the vineyards of the Columbia Basin, Richland itself
would not exist. But you must remember to cherish
and protect your water supply. It is a regional treasure.
A decision made now to restore the river to
free-flowing status and save the salmon harvest would
also hamper plans to move the water of the Columbia
River south. A decision to keep the present dams and
build more would help justify a major project to use
the Columbia River to develop agricultural and
metropolitan areas in California. This problem will
never go away; it will be waiting for our
great-grandchildren.
It's always a pleasure to read the Sandbox. The entries
are certainly a cut above the letters to the editor in my
local newspaper. Are Bombers just smarter or what?
Glenda (Jane Rollison) Hightower
~~ ~~ ~~
Subj: Ray Well's (54) challenge re Executive Orders
From: depler@pdx.oneworld.com (Dick Epler) (52)
Ray, you asked if I might reconsider my position on
EOs [Executive Orders] after reading the text of EO
13107 (Implementation of Human Rights Treaties). To
reiterate: my position was that EOs are necessary to
allow Presidents' (and State Governors') to initiate
required action in advance of Congressional
deliberative action (which can take years, if ever, to
accomplish). I believe that was the original purpose of
EOs, however, over the years the use of EOs, like
most things, have become highly politicized, beginning
with the Kennedy Administration.
Generally, non-activist Republican Administrations
have been comparatively true to the original intent.
The Reagan Administration, for example, only wrote a
hand full of EOs (less than 10, I believe), mostly
dealing with the requirements of FEMA (Federal
Emergency Management Agency) and the EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency).
Activist Democratic Administrations, on the other
hand, tend to write EOs for all kinds of things.
Kennedy wrote 214. Clinton has written 277 EOs
(through 1998). Several of Clinton's EOs canceled or
drastically modified Reagan's EOs as he sought to
change the direction of Government dramatically. I
should mention that many of Kennedy's EOs were also
revoked by Nixon and Reagan.
So that's an important point. While EOs can survive a
Presidency, those that deal specifically with the
"purpose and direction" of Government often don't
survive beyond a significant change in power.
EO 13107, which you referred to, Ray, is titled:
Implementation of Human Rights Treaties. It
essentially sets up an "Interagency Working Group" to
coordinate the response of the U.S. to HR complaints,
filed by the rest of the world, to various International
agencies (including the U.N.). I'm afraid that I couldn't
find any specific references to the charge that this EO
would require the "actions of all Government within
the United States to come under the review and veto
of the U.N."
Having said that, however, I admit to being a neophyte
in this area, and it's quite possible that, in the overall
scheme of things, this EO might provide some
justification for a shift of power from the U.S. to the
U.N. As the House Impeachment Manager's kept
warning us, it's important not to "compartmentalize"
Clinton's actions. It's really important to look at the
big picture by connecting the dots. Clinton has proved
himself to be the master of deceit by orchestrating events
beyond the point of no return to achieve a "done deal"
that couldn't have otherwise been justified by a honest
presentation.
Presumably the next step is the appropriation of money,
by Congress, for the enforcement of EO 13107. This
can't happen with a Republican congress, but if Clinton
can get a very loyal, highly partisan (don't vote your
conscious), Democratic congress elected, along with
Gore as President, then EO 13107, and all it implies,
has a chance of becoming a reality.
My answer, then, is that we're dealing with the wrong
question/problem. EOs aren't the problem; corrupt
government is the problem. While I continue to
believe EOs are a necessary requirement for good
government, they are not beyond misuse by a corrupt
Administration ... indeed, nothing is ...
— Dick Epler - Mt. Vernon, Oregon
depler@pdx.oneworld.com
~~ ~~ ~~
Marc Franco (66) mfranco@uswest.net
Subject: Clinton Haters
Ray Wells made a well- thought out commentary that
he has never really known an actual "Clinton hater" as
opposed to the vast majority of people who may or
may not like the President and what he has done.
However, with all respect to your commentary, Ray,
which I would normally agree with, there actually ARE
Clinton haters out there. One of them, John Allen,
writes frequently in this forum and has frequently said
that he HATES Clinton- not dislike, not disapprove,
not- will vote against him- but HATES. Having read
his and other peoples commentaries in this forum,
there is probably little doubt that there is real hate out
there, such as most of the rest of us would feel for
serial rapists and those racists from Jasper, Texas.
Speaking of Clinton, though- what is to be made of the
latest allegation that he actually raped a woman? One
can no longer shrug off these various accusations,
because there are so many of them, but why would
she wait 20 years to come forward? She does have an
official police document- or some such thing- that no
rape occurred. Which is the true version- the one that
she claimed for twenty years, or the one that she
comes forward with now.
Marc
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Mike Franco (70) Bmbr70@aol.com
Subject: Doesn't Anyone Care About Tax Cheats?
"...another day, another lesson learned.."... "honorable
man"...."extremist witch hunt"..... is this more pinko,
bleeding hearts defending Clinton ??? noooooooo,
it appears Newt is as pure as the driven snow !!!!
paleeeeeeeez....This is a great example of the question
I keep asking....doesn't anyone out there care about tax
cheats......I am sure Newt is as "honorable" as John
claims he is.....but how about all of us, is cheating on
our taxes ok ??? do you mind picking up the tab on all
the deadbeat taxpayers out there ? Is it ok, even good
policy that wage earners pay taxes at a higher rate than
stock or land investors ? (and wage earners contribute
no less to our economy than buyers/sellers of land &
stocks) Any opinions out there ???? Oh yeah, I saw
Jesse (Ventura, not Jackson !) on C- Span.....Libs and
Repubs should listen !
Mike
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Anthony H. Tellier (57) Tony_Tellier@compuserve.com
Subj: Answers to Bomber Boomer Baby Trivia
#14. "War, uh-huh, huh, yeah, what is it good for? ..." (2 words)<
Ansr: absolutely nuthin
#17. Who came from the
University of Alabama to become one of the greatest
QB's in NFL history and appeared in a TV commercial
wearing women's pantyhose? (But do you know his
nickname!)<
Ansr: Broadway Joe Namath
Bomber Baby Boomer Trivia #13. "I wonder, wonder,
wonder, wonder who ..." (6 words)<
Ansr: who wrote the book of love
#16. Superman, disguised as Clark Kent, mild
mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper,
fights a never ending battle for truth, justice, and ..."
(3 words)
Ansr: The American Way
#21. In 1962, a dejected politician, having lost a race
for governor, announced his retirement and chastised
the press saying, "Just think, you don't have ... to kick
around any more." (2 words) And he lied!<
Ansr: R. M. Nixon
Bomber Baby Boomer Trivia #20. In "The Graduate,"
Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) was advised
about his future and told to consider one thing. What?
Ansr: Plastics
#15. Where have all the flowers gone?
Ansr: gone to graveyards ... everyone
#19. Who played Peter Pan before all these other
imitators?<
Mary Martin
#18. "I'm Popeye the sailor man! I'm Popeye the sailor
man! I'm strong to the finish ..." (5 words) "I yam what
I yam."
~~ ~~ ~~
Subj: BB Trivia Quiz Answers 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, & 28
From: beaubar@effectnet.com (John M. Allen) (66)
Reply-to:miles2go@cheerful.com
Al, Here are my offerings for the questions in Issue
#32. I think Question #26 got lost in an administrative
error. By the way, what IS the answer to #2?
22. Big John. (I hardly deserve credit for this one."
23. On Blueberry Hill
24. .......wherever you are."
25. "Good night, David."
27. "You're on Candid Camera."
28. "Who was that man (I'd like to shake his hand),
that made my baby fall in love with me?"
---JMA
~~ ~~ ~~
From: James M. Vache (64)
ReplyTo: jvache@lawschool.gonzaga.edu
Subj: Regarding Prepositions As No Place To End A
Sentence At'
Hello, all.
Mr. Allen, (Class of '66), in instructing Mr.
Franco on good communication) writes : "Finally,
NEVER end a sentence with a preposition! I realize
that in general, following rules is more of a
Conservative than a liberal 'thing'..."
This very topic came up at our dinner table last night.
My sophomore just learned about not ending sentences
with a preposition. I am glad to know that some rules
about composition are still being taught in some
schools, but as a "not-conservative", I could not resist
quoting Winston Churchill, that old reprobate, who
once said, in responding to an awkwardly written
sentence, awkward because the writer was trying to
avoid ending with a preposition: "This is the sort of
English up with which I will not put." Churchill, was,
of course, a dyed in the wool liberal, I suppose.
Now, if Mr. Allen is prepared to take on the use of
CAPITAL letters as a means of emphasis, or if he is
going to instruct us all on the proper use of the
apostrophe, I at least, will be all eyes.
Regards, Jim Vache, ('64).
Professor of Law
Gonzaga University School of Law
POB 3528 Spokane, WA 99220-3528
jvache@lawschool.gonzaga.edu
509.323.3727
FAX: 509.323.5840
www.law.gonzaga.edu
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Jim Russell (58) stjohns9@email.msn.com
Subject: Jim answers the very Question that only
the Answer to Bomber Baby Boomer Trivia #13 is
able to ask:
Who Wrote the Book of Love?
The ultimate answer: Vatsysayana - (Kama Sutra)
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Mary Collins Burbage (63)
SLBURBAGE@aol.com
Trivia #13 - who wrote the book of love
Trivia #16 - the American way
Trivia #17 - "Broadway Joe" Nameth
Trivia #18 - because I eat my spinach
Trivia #19 - Mary Martin
Trivia #20 - Plastics
Trivia #21 - Richard Nixon
How did I do?
[You done good!]
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Steve Carson (58)
SteveNitro@aol.com
I believe the Clinton Spinmasters created the "Clinton
Hater" term and introduced it to define their
position as if little Billy is being unfairly treated.
In the long run, this episode is now for history to judge.
The lesson we, as an electorate, can take away is.....
character counts. At least that is my prayer.
Steve Carson (58)
~~ ~~ ~~
From: Mina Jo Gerry Payson (68) payson4@owt.com
Subj: Answers to Bomber Baby Boomer Trivia:
22. Big John,. Big, bad John.
23. On Blueberry Hill, along with Richey Cunningham.
24. wherever you are.
25. Good night, David.
What happened to 26?
27. you're on Candid Camera.
28. Who put the ram in the ram-a-lam-a-ding dong?
Who put the bomp in the bomp-da-bomp-da-
bomp? Who put the dit in the dit-di-dit-di-dit? Who
was that man? I'd like to shake his hand. He made
my baby fall in love with me.
~~ ~~ ~~
Subj: Trivia
From: Jeannie Walsh Williamson (63)
bwilliamson@ci.simi-valley.ca.us
Blue Berry Hill Big John!!!
~~ ~~ ~~
That's it for this issue of the Sandbox Folks, Running
out of cyberspace--- so... See You Next Time! We'll
plan on continuing with the Y2K info, other continuing
items, and more great stuff from you, then!
--Al Parker, Thought Catcher.
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-33-
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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #34 ~ March 22, 1999
"One isn't born one's self. One is born with a mass of
expectations, a mass of other people's ideas--and you
have to work through it all."
--- V.S. Naipaul, quoted by Mel Gussow in
New York Times Book Review.
~~~~~
Sharing Your Thoughts With Fellow Richland Alumni
Worldwide! Opinions -- Ideas -- Current Events.
MailTo:THE_SANDBOX@hotmail.com
~~~~~
This Issue of THE SANDBOX Also Features:
Continued Assesment of Y2K Compliance and
Readiness of Critical Services.
This Issue's SANDBOX Correspondents:
Bronyn Bennett Mosman (71), Ray Wells (54),
MikeTumlinson (64), John M. Allen (66),
Gene Trosper (84), Jenny Page (87),
Patty de la Bretonne (65), Patti Snider Miller (65),
John M. Allen (66), John Northover (59)
~~~~~~
From: Bronyn Bennett Mosman (71)
ReplyTo: bronyn@quicktel.com
Subject: Spudnuts
After all the talk about spudnuts, I couldn't take it
any more, so I picked some up on the way to work
Wednesday. As expected, they were a big hit and didn't
last long. Believe it or not, there are actually a few
unfortunate people in the Tri-Cities who have never
experienced them. A new addition to our office has been
converted.
My older (10 months) sister, Ells Ann Bennett Riehle
(70) is wondering if anyone has started working on their
30 year class reunion? She's looking forward to it
being in the year 2000? I told her I'd ask. She'd be
more then happy to help mail information out, if needed.
She hasn't joined the internet crowd yet, but will be in
the future.
— Bronyn Bennett Mosman (71)
~~~~~
From: Ray Wells (54) ray@oneworld.owt.com
Subject: High Flight
In order to establish that I am more than a political
activist, I thought I'd introduce a subject that is dear
to my heart, that causes many of your hearts to race,
flying a small airplane. The Parade magazine in
Sunday's Tri-City Herald, features "Ask Marilyn," and on
Sunday (Feb. 28, 1999), Marilyn included her favorite
poem (and mine), "High Flight." It brings tears to my
eyes every time I read it. You can read it on this web
site:
http://www.lakesuperior.com/186vwpt.html
My wife and I are both pilots, and we own a small plane.
We have been piloting for 11 years. Our longest trip so
far was from Kennewick to Albany, NY. In spite of the
fact that we have been downhill skiing all over the west
and northwest during the past 25 years, flying is and
continues to be the most exciting, most enjoyable, and
most rewarding thing we have ever done. Only 1/2 of 1%
of the U.S. population have a pilot's license. This
leads me to the question, why are so many of you afraid
to try it? You may not realize it, but as long as you
check your gas tanks before you take off, and avoid
flying into "known bad weather," flying a small plane is
as safe as driving.
We were at the Walla Airport, General Aviation area and
saw the following posted on the front door:
FLYING IS THE 2ND GREATEST THRILL A PERSON CAN HAVE.
LANDING IS THE FIRST!
- Ray Wells
~~~~~~
>From MikeTumlinson (64) floors@bigfoot.com
Subj: Living In Canada
To my Fellow Bombers,
It has been fun to read some of your running comments in
the Sandbox although I have to admit that I deleted a
big swack of it by mistake.
I have been living in Canada now for 28 years and for
all of you who are probably wondering, but were too
polite to ask: No, I wasn't a draft dodger. I failed
my draft physical after graduating from university and I
have to admit that I was happy not to have to go and
participate in a war that I did not support .
After graduating, someone offered me a job in Canada and
since the Canadian government's policy was opposed to
America's involvement in Viet Nam, immigration laws of
the day were basically a red carpet for Americans. (It
certainly isn't like that now.)
I have been a citizen of Canada now for 19 years. Being
in Canada, I think, offers a real advantage in terms of
one's perspective on world events . With more open ties
to Europe and many other parts of the world, I think
that you are exposed to a broader perspective on world
events and issues. Canada of course has its problems
but hey, its not a perfect world. Certainly Canada has
sustained good neighborly relations with the United
States, although occasionally there are differences in
opinion. That is to be expected .
It is hard to describe how strange an experience it is
when I visit places that I used to live in the United
States as a citizen of another country. Even though it
is sometimes initially awkward, I have always been
overwhelmed by the goodwill and fellowship of the people
I meet .
I feel so lucky to have been able to live in Richland
and go to Col Hi (and also attend Spaulding for 3rd, 4th
and part of 5th grade). Since dad worked for the
government it seemed like we were always moving every 2
½ years or so, allowing me to spend time in places like
Tokyo and Washington DC in my growing up years. I
attended Kennedy's Inauguration and lived through the
Cuban missile crisis while living in DC. In Tokyo we
lived next door to a family with four daughters who
lived very simply and inconspicuously. The youngest
daughter is now Emperor Akihito's sister-in-law
(Princess Hanako). We never dreamed that this was one
of Japan's wealthiest families.
My years at Col Hi though were some of my happiest times
though, and it was a chance to 'touch the earth' in a
way that I hadn't been able to in some of the other
crazy places I had lived. Part of it too, in retrospect
at least, is to have taken part in a bit of history:
the seldom verbalized recognition of how our mothers and
fathers participated in one of the best-kept secrets of
World War II and the strategic importance they played in
bringing the war to an end . I was struck by the
political overtones of so much of the dialogue that I
was reading in the Sandbox and quite frankly I hope that
I can steer clear of political commentary particularly
since I am now a citizen of another country. I
initially thought that as my contribution to this
collective dialogue I might offer a short, thumbnail
sketch of the political arena here in Canada as there is
a common criticism of US citizens when they visit here
that they know little about the Canadian political
scene. As I started to do an outline I realized that
even the briefest sketch would probably be the longest
note the Sandbox had ever received. Let it suffice to
say that politics in Canada is very different than it is
in the US and there is a colorful cast of characters,
some of whom are quite brilliant, others you wonder how
they could ever have been elected to a public office....
The system is different too and just describing the
difference of the structure of government would require
a lot of space. There are all sorts of great stories
about political aberrations. For example in recent
political history, did you know that Canada's one and
only female Prime Minister, Kim Campbell after a very
brief term was removed from office when she lost her
seat in parliament to an unknown Jamaican immigrant
(Hedy Fry) who ran for the seat on an opposition party's
platform. Hedy now holds a cabinet position in Prime
Minister Chretien's government!
Let it suffice to offer my assistance if any of you
would like to write with questions about Canadian
politics and I will do my best to give you my best, and
hopefully non-partisan view as a response.
Canadians in general are very proud of their identity as
citizens of this country but it is not the nationalistic
pride as you might see in the United States. Canada has
an amazing history and draws its pride from the
colorfulness of its past and cultural diversity .
Vancouver, where I have lived for 23 years, is a
kaleidoscope of ethnic diversity as well as being a very
beautiful city .
I'm not sure if I will be able to get down to Richland
for the '64 35th Reunion, but I will try. If any old
friends might be coming up to Vancouver, B . C., let me
know and I will buy you a beer! My phone number
(unlisted) is (604) 683-1624 or use this e-mail address.
By the way, I noticed that the class of '64 is trying to
find, (among other people) Mary Massey. I don't know
where she is but here is a hint at least of how she
might be found: I know that her mother, when she moved
from Richland moved to Vancouver, Washington and
attended the Church of Christ there. Perhaps the
minister might be able to give you some clues as to how
she could be found.
Wish you all the best.
MikeTumlinson (64) floors@bigfoot.com
~~~~~
From: John M. Allen (66) miles2go@cheerful.com
Subject: Praise Where It's Due
To Margaret Hartnett ('72):
Along with a fellow named Pat, who moonlights on his
Administrative Law Judge job as a barman at my local
watering hole, you have my admiration and my amazement
for at least two reasons. The first is for the utter
honesty and even pride with which you admit to being
either Socialists or Communists. Not many people would
have the nerve to admit such a thing even this many
years after the literal and well deserved political
death of Joe McCarthy. The second reason is your "never
say die" loyalty to an economic philosophy that has been
so thoroughly proven, over such a long period of time,
to be entirely without socially redeeming value or
practical merit. I know, I know; "It WOULD work, if
ONLY someone would do it right." And of course you,
with your self-described velvet hammers, are just the
ones to do it. But what would happen after you're
gone? Who would be the first pig from the Animal Farm
to replace youz. Margaret, almost all of Europe is
Socialist, and the French had a 12% unemployment rate
when last I was there a year and a half ago. I don't
think THIS crummy capitalist country has seen a number
like that since the Great Depression. The only way
capitalism will destroy us is if we continue to tolerate
(and even defend) high government officials like Bill
Clinton who are perfectly willing to sell their souls
ALONG WITH our national security to the highest bidder
in order to be President. In the coming weeks and
months, remember where you heard that.
---John Allen ('66)
~~~~~
From: Gene Trosper (84) trosper@ez2.net
Doesn't Anyone Care About Tax Cheats?
(In reference to comments in an earlier Sandbox from
Mike Franco (70) where Mike said, in part-
"...but how about all of us, is cheating on our taxes ok
??? do you mind picking up the tab on all the deadbeat
taxpayers out there ? Is it ok, even good policy that
wage earners pay taxes at a higher rate than stock or
land investors ? (and wage earners contribute no less to
our economy than buyers/sellers of land & stocks) Any
opinions out there ???? Oh yeah, I saw Jesse (Ventura,
not Jackson !) on C- Span.....Libs and Repubs should
listen !"
Good subject, considering it's now tax season once again
(UGH!)
First, let me qualify what I'm about to say by stating
that I am NOT encouraging or condoning specific behavior
or choices. That being said, here goes...
I do not believe in the term "tax cheats" simply because
the money we earn hrough our labor is OURS, not anyone
else's. So, how can anyone "cheat" on taxes when it's
forcibly taken from them each year?
Whether one chooses to pay taxes (some or none), is a
moral decision and I refuse to judge someone harshly for
that choice. All they are doing is protecting their
money, plain and simple.
Yes, it may create a greater tax burden upon myself in
the short term, but in the long haul, I sincerely
believe the current tax code will be wiped away
completely and replaced with a much better alternative.
I completely understand the motivation behind such
choices and it's not greed, it's the protection of an
individual's or family's economic freedom.
I pay my taxes...I have to pay over $800 this year (my
wife just wrote the check yesterday) and believe me, I
sure could use that money! Instead, the money is going
to be used to pay for Clinton's legal bills, corporate
welfare, social welfare, Teddy Kennedy's limo driver,
Political party conventions...you get the point.
To me, the politicians and bureaucrats are the real tax
cheats, they spend our hard earned money on absolutely
silly, stupid, crazy, outrageous and downright
frightening things, instead of sticking to funding
constitutional and essential government functions.
That's the real rub in the tax debate.
--Gene Trosper
PS: Oh yeah...I'm a Libertarian (I'm chairman of my
county Libertarian central committee..
http://users.ez2.net/freedom I'm aware of Gov Ventura.
Makes me wish he were Gov. of California!!!
Incidentally, he came close to running as a Libertarian
last year.
~~~~~
From: Jenny Smart Page (87) jpage@3-cities.com
Subject: Dam Breeching
The problem with tearing down the dams is that "they"
are trying to solve a serious problem with the most
drastic solution first! Before we go blowing these
puppies out of the water, lets first try a reduction in
fishing/netting, in both the river and the ocean, by
everyone, including the native Americans and commercial
fishermen. Breeching the dams will have a profound and
destructive effect that will ripple throughout the world
(i.e. higher fruit/produce/wheat costs) and will destroy
God-knows- what when the river floods. Isn't it ironic
that there is talk about reducing the levee heights
along the very same stretches of the Columbia River that
fall below the same dams they want to breech? Won't
that make downtown Richland pretty each spring during
the snowmelt run-off....the new amphitheater, so-called
"arts district" and soon-to-be new senior center will be
simply lovely under three feet of water.
Saving the salmon is important. But lets first try some
things that aren't so drastic. We can always go back and
easily restore "fishing rights", its not so easy to
restore a handful of dams.
Jenny (Smart) Page (87)
~~~~~
WRAPPING UP THE TRIVIA
From: Patty de la Bretonne (65) BrassEar@aol.com
Subject: De la Trivia
Big Bad John, Blueberry Hill, Wherever you are,
Goodnight David, Goodnight David, (*you asked it twice),
You're on Candid Camera, Who put the ram in the ram lama
ding dong? Thank you.
[*You've a keen eye, Patty]
~~~~~
From: Patti (Snider) Miller (65) TME391@aol.com
Trivia #22 Big John
Trivia #23 On Blueberry Hill
Trivia #24 Wherever You Are
Trivia #25 Good Night David
Trivia #25 Repeated
Trivia #27 You're On Candid Camera
Trivia #28 She
~~~~~~~~~
From: John M. ALLEN (66) miles2go@cheerful.com
Subj: Trivia
26. ......pants on fire!
~~~~~
Subj: Regarding Clinton Haters"
From: ray@transc"ribing.com (Ray Wells)
In response to Marc Franco's (mfranco@uswest.net)
comments in Sandbox Issue #33:
I believe that there is a terrible dislike for Bill
Clinton, but if there are any true Clinton haters out
there then why have there been no assassination
attempts? We know that they took out Kennedy and tried
to take out Reagan and Ford, so why is Bill Clinton
still walking around?
Twenty years ago when Clinton allegedly raped Juanita
Broaddrick, most rape charges against men were
dismissed, and the raped women were ridiculed and
ostracized for making the charges -- the prevailing
attitude was that "they were asking for it." What
chance did Ms. Broaddrick have 20 years ago, especially
against a prominent politician? And, assuming the
charge is true (and I personally think it is), Clinton's
standard operation has been to threaten his accusers
into silence.
This week I heard the following comments about Bill
Clinton:
"I'll say this for Clinton, when he gets bought, the
sonofabitch (sic) stays bought," G. Gordon Liddy
referring the Red Chinese campaign contributions to the
democrats and the soon to happen visit of Red Chinese
engineers to look at more of our military secrets.
My Richland High School Class of '54 are ready for the
Red Chinese. We were trained in how to "duck and cover"
during the cold war. Thanks to Clinton, we may see the
necessity of doing this. But what the hey, the economy
is good.
"I can't stand to be in the same room with him, much
less the same bed, " Hillary.
"...that lying, cheating, [*, *], horrible father,"
Roseanne.
Words to the effect that you can never trust Clinton to
mean exactly what he says -- George Stephanopolis.
"A liar's liar," Tony Snow, et. al (many et. als!)
"His followers are leaving him because they find have
found out the loyalty they gave him is seldom if ever
returned," Democrat strategist on Fox News.
"I predict that this president will go down as the most
dishonorable, most treasonist U.S. president in
history," A caller to the Hannity and Combs News Show.
[Editor's note: Two words attributed to Roseanne were
deleted here. I believe I heard those two words during
one of Roseanne's monologues myself, but the
implications are so terrible that I would have to hear
her repeat them again before passing the attribution
along. Suffice it to say that Roseanne Barr is very
willing to share with the world her highest disgust,
disdain and distrust for Mr. Clinton in his roles as a
president, a husband, a father and a man. --AP]
~~~~~
Subj: Y2K Resources (Continued)
From: John Norhtover (59)
ReplyTo: jnorthov@spawar.navy.mil
(This continues a series of Y2K questions and answers as
forwarded by John Northover, based on U.S. Navy
advisories to its personnel early in 1999. This info is
applicable to the civilian population as well.)
GUIDANCE ON YEAR 2000 (Y2K) RELATED ISSUES-UTILITY
SERVICES)
3. The following information is drawn from a variety of
private sector and official sources including news media
products and trade association surveys. It should be
considered to be reliable, but not necessarily
authoritative, as no one can predict future events with
complete certainty.
4. Responses 1 through 5 below are drawn from an 11 Jan
1999 status report and work plan prepared by the North
American Electric Reliability Council for the Department
of Energy.
Q1. What is the electric utilities industry goal for
Y2K?
A1. The goals of the electrical industry's Y2K program
are twofold: To provide electricity supply and delivery
to customers that are uninterrupted by aY2K condition or
failure, and to provide continuous operation of all
essential functions and services such as customer
response, business operations, supplies, and emergency
repair capability.
Q2. How will Y2K impact the electrical power
distribution system?
A2. No one is completely certain what the effect of Y2K
will be. The risk that Y2K could pose to electric
systems operations is real. However, most experts do
not predict widespread outages but agree that some
sporadic short-term outages are possible, just like the
possibility that earthquakes or severe weather could
cause electrical outages even before the millennium
arrives. In the case of Y2K, we have time to prepare. A
workforce of competent people understand and are working
hard to solve the problem.
Q3. Are electrical distribution systems Y2K compliant?
A3. Based on NERC North American Electrical Reliability
Council) 4th quarter 1998 statistics, 82 percent of all
domestic utility companies have completed the Y2K
assessment phase and 44 percent have completed
remediation. A general consensus is that nearly all
electrical systems necessary to operate the electrical
power grid into the year 2000 will have been tested,
remediated, and declared Y2K ready by 30 Jun 1999.
Nuclear generating facilities are expected to be
available and all safety systems are expected to be Y2K
ready. NERC anticipates the country will have
sufficient electrical generating capacity on 1 Jan 2000
and beyond. Transmission outages should be minimal.
Q4. Some reports predict widespread power outages
at the beginning of the year 2000. Is this true? A4.
These predictions are not based on facts or rational
analysis of information from the industry. Sporadic spot
outages in some areas is a far more likely scenario.
Prepare for this possibility as you would for an outage
caused by a winter storm. Have a flashlight with fresh
batteries available and plenty of warm clothing if you
live in a cold area. Most experts predict only short-
term power outages.
Q5. What can we, the customer, do to prepare for the
impact of Y2K on electric power?
A5. Check the Y2K information provided by your local
electricity provider on the internet or through
literature included with billing statements. If you are
not satisfied with the Y2K program of your electricity
provider, let them know. The web site
contains Y2K compliance
status on electric utilities in many areas of the u.s.
~~~To Be Continued- Next: Water Utility Readiness
~~~~~
NEWS YOU CAN USE
2:45 p.m. 25.Feb.99.PST
1. The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday
said even though Internet traffic is "largely interstate
in nature," dial-up connections to the Net should still
be billed as local calls.
~~~~~
Moderator's Notes: Yes, I realize there was a little
more "distance" time-wise between Sandbox #33 and #34
than usual. I want to thank all those who sent
flowers, thinking I might be dead. Usually there will be
four to six issues per month, but that isn't guaranteed.
Publication frequency depends both on the number of
contributions you send, and other things my own schedule
requires me to take care of. (Or, should I say, "things
of which I am required to take care.") It is very
satisfying and enjoyable to continue to see such truly
informative, insiteful, somtimes inciteful, often
humorous contributions, hundreds of them, made by so
many of you great Richland Bomber alumnuses and friends!
May they forever continue!
With best Bomber regards,
I remain, Your Friend and Mine,
Al Parker, Thought Collector
Here are some ideas you may wish to express your
feelings and opinions about in The Sandbox:
1. Should there be a National Identity Card issued for
every citizen of the United States? (Don't think that
idea isn't being discussed in higher echelons of
government.)
2. How about a "Drinker's License?" A license, similar
to, or part of, your Driver's License that has to be
"scanned" on a terminal at the cash register which will
put a message on the screen that says "Sale Denied" if
you have been convicted of Drunk Driving or other
violations that make you inelligible to buy alchohol?
3. What would you like to tell your mother on Mother's
Day. (Or any day) (If she is alive or if she were
alive.)
~~~~~~
-34-
***************************************
***************************************
********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #35 ~ April 3, 1999
"We'll burn that bridge when we come to it."
--- unknown
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sharing Your Thoughts With Fellow Richland Alumni
Worldwide! Opinions -- Ideas -- Current Events.
MailTo:THE_SANDBOX@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MISSING BACK ISSUES OF THE SANDBOX?
Sandbox Issues #1 - #34 can now be accessed on
the Internet via The Sandbox Links Page:
http://www.bigfoot.com/~THE._SANDBOX
(Thank you, Maren)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This issue of THE SAND BOX also features:
Continued Assessment of Y2K Compliance and
Readiness of Critical Services.
~~~~~
This Issue's Ten Bomber Correspondents Are:
Ed Borasky (59), Tony Sharpe (63),
Lee Johnson (54), John Allen (66),
Ray Wells (54), Arthur Roberts (48),
Alan Sargent (56), Daniel Henry (68),
Jim Hamilton (63), John Northover (59)
~~~~~
From: M. Edward Borasky (59)
znmeb@teleport.com
Subject: The Bomb as Mascot
Somewhere, if there are back issues of the Sandstorm,
check out the April Fool issue that I edited (I think it
was 1959). I wrote an article about replacing the bomb
as a mascot with an aardvark. Was I ahead of my time
or what?
And no, I don't have a copy of it.
--
M. Edward Borasky znmeb@teleport.com
http://www.teleport.com/~znmeb
If God had meant carrots to be eaten cooked, He
would have given rabbits fire.
~~~~~
From: Tony Sharpe (63) tonys@citylinq.com
Subject: Religious Conservatives have a right to
participate, so get over it
I guess that I've heard this complaint about religious
conservatives being "right wing hypocrites" and hate
mongers once too often. Coming from someone who
claims to be from the right side of the aisle, (Andy E.)
makes me think that you really belong on the other
side of the aisle anyway. I can understand this type of
rhetoric coming from a liberal who buys into the
journalistic garbage produced by the media, but not
someone who claims to be conservative.
#1 - Re; Separation of Church and State -- The more
correct phrase would be "No State Church", It was
never intended by our founding fathers that religion
and/or religious thought be removed from our
Government precesses. Just read some of our
forefathers' writings, and note the foundations of their
moral code.
#2 - When religious conservatives, who had stood on
the political sidelines, became tired of our continuing
moral decline, and decided to become more involved,
they chose the party that most closely matched their
conservative moral and fiscal philosophy. The fact that
they became a strong voice should be a challenge to
the more "moderate" elements of the party to get
involved, rather than be "quitters" and get out, as some
have chosen to do.
#3 - A right-wing hypocrite, (political), would be
someone who is opposed to abortion, and sends money
to Planned Parenthood, and I know of none. Now a
religious-hypocrite is someone who claims to be sinless
and then calls another Christian who dares to speak
out about his/her moral conviction a hate-monger, and
there are obviously many of those. Personally, as a
religious and fiscal conservative, I don't hate liberals
and their values or ideas, I just consider many to be
misguided and their ideas to be morally destructive.
And yes, there are liberal hypocrites too.
(Billy walks out of Church on Sunday holding Hillary's
hand and then calls Monica in for a consultation on
Monday.)
Tony Sharpe ' 63
~~~~~
From: Lee Johnson (54)
Subj: Check out DOE Openness: Human Radiation
Experiments.
This may be of interest to yawl...
http://tis-nt.eh.doe.gov/ohre/
~~~~~
From: John M. Allen (66) beaubar@effectnet.com
Reply-To: miles2go@cheerful.com
Subject: Again, FOR THE RECORD !!
To Marc Franco: Since, as you point out in the last
issue of the Sandbox, I am a frequent submitter to this
forum, you should have no problem pointing out to all
its readers, in which issues I have used the word "hate"
to describe my feelings toward Bill Clinton. Perhaps
you could even quote a few of the examples for all to
see so they don't have to search through old issues. In
the alternative, you owe me nothing less than a full
apology for your VICIOUS, LEFT-WING
EXTREMIST LIES. Your decision to follow the
example of that paragon of virtue and truth, William
Jefferson Clinton, is COWARDLY and BENEATH
CONTEMPT. Marc, do you even remember what
research is and how to do it?
To Jim Vaché: Had you noticed the sentence (ending
in a preposition) which immediately preceded the
ADMONITION about ending a sentence with a
preposition, you would have likely drawn the
CORRECT conclusion that I was attempting to inject
just a little humor into the mini course on effective
writing. As verification that this error was no
accident, feel free to inspect my previous submissions
to the Sandbox for even one other such example.
Consider too, that I AM shining the light on an error
which you failed to notice. You might also have given
some lengthier consideration to my expressed
sentiment that one first needs to learn the rules
BEFORE beginning to break them. I'm sure that in
order to graduate, your law school required you to
learn the law as it was at the time, rather than how you
might have wished it to be. As for the use of capital
letters, where E-mail is concerned, it is the only way I
currently know to give emphasis to any word, phrase
or sentence that I submit to this forum. As Maren
explains it to me, italics, emboldening and underlining
do not survive the journey from one E-mail program,
through Al Parker's machine, and on to other E-mail
programs. I do want to thank you however, for
causing me to ask Maren how to add foreign accent
marks to individual characters in E-mail.
To Mike Franco: Don't feel left out, I'll catch you next
issue when I haven't already run on too long.
John Allen (66)
~~~~~
From: Ray Wells (From Arthur Roberts (48)
FluffDry@hotmail.com
Subj: End Game: Stop The Genocide in Five Days!
By now, the current U.S.- driven NATO strategy of
bombing areas of Yugoslavia "in order to force
President Milosevic to order a halt to the raping,
murdering, village burning, identity destroying ‘ethnic
cleansing" rampage by Serbs against Albanians, will
have proven only to have intensified, rather than to
have stopped, or slowed, the atrocities. The Director
of President Clinton's own Central Intelligence Agency
told Mr. Clinton this would be the result should
Clinton choose the course that he has.
Are we bombing too little, too much, or just putting
all of these marvelous munitions in all of the wrong
places? Now that we are into this ghastly ordeal, are
we out to win it, or are we just going to keep playing
with the fireworks, (with honorable intentions, of
course), hoping we don't get our own little fingers too
badly burned?
I am intrigued by "Late Planet Earth" author, Hal
Lindsey's comment (3/29 or 3/30 on TBN), when
asked what could be done to end the Crisis in
Yugoslavia. He said, (to paraphrase), that
the bombing, the bloodshed, the "ethnic cleansing"
could all be ended in five days simply by going forward
with the following plan::
1. Drop leaflets all over Belgrade, the capitol of
Yugoslavia, governed by the Serbs, announcing:
"Get Out of Town! At the end of five days the entire
city will be leveled." That's it. Simple. Precise. Not
at all ambiguous or mis-interperatable. Then stand
ready to do the follow-through.
Immediately, the population supporting mass genocide
of others, will begin to feel and understand themselves
what it is like to have to choose between losing their
homes, becoming unwanted and hapless refugees,
or staying, only to become slaughtered by a superior
power. The main difference however, between their
plight and the plight of the ethnic Albanians is, the
Serbs will have a chance to save themselves.
Under this mandate, only full retreat by the aggressors
and full and immediate compliance with NATO
mandated peace accords will keep Belgrade from
completely disappearing from the face of the earth.
That is an "End Game" I think everybody can
understand. In the meantime, there is no end game,
and no viable exit for NATO and the U.S.
Hal Lindsey does not impress me as a person who
loves war.. But he did indicate, (again, to
paraphrase), "When our leaders decide to risk our
young men and women's lives and our nation's
treasury for a cause, they'd better know what that
cause is, what the objectives are, and give the people
assigned to do that job the full backing and power of
the nation to commit to, and complete that task fully,
forcefully and decisively. We used to call that
"winning the war."
-Arthur Roberts (48)
~~~~~
From: Alan Sargent (56) yo11@telisphere.com
Subj: Request for help
Recently I've had some sort of glitch which kept me
from receiving E-mail.
I was lost without my daily dose of "Sandstorm,"
"Sandbox," offers to call "800-Hot-Babe" and
assorted Spam. Not being particularly technical, I
called my friendly Server and was transferred to a
Tech-Rep. After explaining my problem, this highly
trained, advanced degreed, well paid tech told me, "It's
broke!"
That's why I'm writing [to] this forum. While I don't
always agree with the content, I am impressed with the
thought, passion and use of the English language that
is used by my fellow Richland educated peers.
Probably the result of a diet of Spudnuts, Cinnamon
Rolls and Chili. (By the way has anyone ever had a
"Miner's Burger" from "Miner's" in Yakima? To die
for!)
Can anyone out there (in simple English) explain just
what "It's broke" means to my computer's future?
Thank you, Alan Sargent
~~~~~
Subject: Spudnuts
From: Daniel Henry (68) djh@digisys.net
OK lets put it to rest. I was just in the Tri-cities this
weekend longing for a delicious doughnut. They just
are not what they used to be. They don't let them raise
enough. They've lost that lightness they > once had. I
don't know why they always have to mess with
perfection.
Signed, totally bummed.
[Editor's note: We are sending a secret agent into the
Spudnut Shop this morning to ascertain current
Spudnut quality. Should our agent return back safely,
and is able to file a report, we will make that
information available in the next issue of THE
SANDBOX, #36.]
~~~~~
From: Jim Hamilton (63) jhamilton@wspan.com
Subject: Now For Something Entirely Different.
The always lovely Miss Nancy ('65) and I recently took
a weekend trip to Vancouver Island, that I would
highly recommend to everyone. We took the
Tswassen ferry to Duke Point (Nanaimo) and then
drove to ToFino, just north of Pacific Rim National
Park Reserve and about halfway up the west coast of
the island. The road between Port Alberni and
Ucluelet is two lanes and not a terrific road, but the
drive is worth it.
We had reserved a room at the Wickaninnish Inn
(http://www.wickinn.com) and were absolutely floored
by the property. The Inn is only 46 rooms and all are
about 450 square feet, or larger. The first thing you
notice is the awe inspiring ocean view revealed by
floor to ceiling windows. Each room has a private
balcony, from which you can listen to the waves
crashing onto rocks just below. (We left the sliding
door open each night, and the sea overcame the
double-espresso.) The rooms come equipped with
everything you can imagine including TV, (I guess it
worked, never turned it on), and CD player (Jerry Jeff
Walker, never sounded better) and an incredible gas
fireplace. There is an oversized soaking tub in each
room, that has a to die for view of the ocean (see the
web site).
We can't say enough about the "Pointe Restaurant",
the food is among the best we've experienced, and well
balanced with the ambiance and service.
What did we do? We saw Grey Whale, Bald Eagle,
and Sea Lions. We hiked through the Rain Forest,
walked the beach and watched some winter storms.
Had we been so inclined, we could have played golf,
fished, sea cached or scuba dived. The town of
Tofino is unique and contains a couple of outstanding
west coast Indian art galleries. We experienced a
couple of other restaurants in Tofino, where they
cooked very well.
We'd go back faster than you can say, Zip's. I would
go for three nights, as the drive from Seattle (275
miles and a 2 hour ferry ride), more or less demands
the extra night. Rates are about $240 Canadian per
night and meals were very well priced, and an
outstanding value.
You can also fly into Tofino from Vancouver and
Victoria, should you choose to avoid the drive.
The Wickaninnish Inn is affiliated with Relais &
Chateaux, and is well worthy or their high standards.
Repeat clientele make reservations a premium, but
whatever the wait, it is worth it. Ask for a corner
room on an upper floor.
— Jim Hamilton
~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subj: Y2K Resources (Continued)
From: John Norhtover
ReplyTo: jnorthov@spawar.navy.mil
(This continues a series of Y2K questions and answers
as forwarded by John Northover, based on U.S. Navy
advisories to its personnel early in 1999. This info is
applicable to the civilian population as well.)
GUIDANCE ON YEAR 2000 (Y2K) RELATED
ISSUES-UTILITY SERVICES --Continued.
5. WATER UTILITIES: Responses 6 through 10 are
taken from survey data. More information, including a
survey of water utility providers, is available on the
American Water Works Association web page link at
.
Q6. How could Y2K affect the water utility?
A6. A typical water processing plant has flow
controllers, chemical pacing controllers, level sensors,
chemical monitors with feedback loops, etc. Each of
these may be operated by an embedded computer chip
that may have a real time processor or clock included.
If these systems are not capable of handling the date 1
Jan 2000, they could fail - and the failure mode may
shut the plant down or require manual intervention to
correct. Likewise, the distribution system may be
controlled by automatic valves, level or pressure
sensors, etc. All of these systems are potential sources
of failure. Prior testing and remediation are necessary
to ensure the public water supply remains safe and
dependable. Federal, state and local governments are
working with trade associations and utility providers
to ensure Y2K deadlines for critical systems are met.
Q7. What could the Y2K problem do to the water
supply?
A7. Most U.S. water utility providers use computers
as part of their supply and distribution operations.
That's why most utilities are already executing Y2K
compliance plans. Over half expect to be completely
Y2K compliant and most expect to have their mission
critical systems Y2K ready.
Q8. How are water utility providers preparing for
Y2K?
A8. Most providers are using a step by step process.
This involves an organizational assessment to identify
critical and non-critical systems. The next step is to
determine required material and personnel resources,
prioritize systems for remediation and take action as
required. Many utility providers are also planning for
contingencies by doing things like having backup
power generation and extra purification chemicals
available.
Q9. Will water utility companies be Y2K compliant by
2000?
A9. Most water utilities have comprehensive
Y2K-compliance programs underway and are working
aggressively to prepare their computer systems to
become Y2K-compliant or Y2K-ready. Virtually all
water suppliers will at least have all of their mission
critical systems (the ones that keep the water flowing)
Y2K compliant by dec 1999 so that continuous
operations are possible. An industry survey by the
American Water Works Association indicates over half
of the utilities surveyed expect to be 100 percent Y2K
compliant by the end of 1999, meaning every system,
both critical and non-critical, will be remediated.
Q10. Will there be safe drinking water at the tap on 1
Jan 2000, and each day thereafter?
A10. The answer is yes, in the United States. Water
purification systems receive high priority as utilities
work toward compliance. A water utility's
Y2K-compliance program must be designed to ensure
safe drinking water is provided to customers. This
important consideration plays heavily into the
decision making process as utilities prioritize systems
for Y2K remediation.
Next Y2K Issue: Oil and Gas. (To be continued)
~~~~~
Send Us YOUR STUFF!
(Your Opinions, Ideas, OR: What's Happening
Currently In Your Life, OR: Comments on World or
Local Events.) Your contributions can be, but certainly
don't have to be, argumentative or rhetorical! See Jim
Hamilton's entry as good example of variety.
I eagerly await more interesting contributions
from all of you. Until next time...
-Al Parker (53)
Sandbox Moderator and Collector of your thoughts.
Don't let cobwebs obscure your brain waves! That
can lead to congestive brain failure. Start punching
out something on your keyboard now and send it to:
THE_SANDBOX@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-35-
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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #36 ~ April 10, 1999
"People who like this sort of thing will find this
the sort of thing they like."
-Abraham Lincoln
(Judgment on a book. G.W.E. Russell, Collections and
Recollections, ch 30.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sharing Your Thoughts With Fellow Richland Alumni
Worldwide! Opinions -- Ideas -- Current Events.
MailTo:THE_SANDBOX@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MISSING BACK ISSUES OF THE SANDBOX?
Previously published Sandbox Issues can now be accessed
on the Internet via The Sandbox Links Page:
http://www.bigfoot.com/~THE_SANDBOX
(AOL'ers be sure to copy and paste the full address into
your browser in order to access the site.)
This Issue of Your Sandbox Also Features: Continued
Assessment of Y2K Compliance and Readiness of Critical
Services.
This Issue's Correspondents: (Nine Bombers and one
Bomber Spouse) Jerry Swain (54), Lloyd Swain (66),
Lee Johnson (54), From: Patty Stordahl (72),
Mike Swallow (69), Anthony H. Tellier (57),
Stu Osborn (71), Lee Ayers (Bomber Spouse),
Vera Smith Robbins (58), Dick E. Nelson (59),
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: Jerry M. Swain (54) jmswain@boeing.com
Subject: Hot topics for alums.
Sandbox,
I made a trip back to Richland via the Internet and the
Bomber Links web page and found Sandbox! What a Gas! I
agree about the fun of flying, its much better than
working! I've made a few cross country trips myself and
find air travel from the front of the bus is best. I
also appreciated the comments about Canadian residency.
I lived in Canada for almost three years (not enough
time to understand their politics). I don't know about
B.C. but Ontario is a hotbed of loyalist socialists who
are always afraid the USA is going to "take them over"--
whatever that means.
I think I am too late to predict the events in 1999 but
I bet at the turn of the millennium we will still be
battling in Kosovo and wondering how to get out of it.
(Easy- throw out the Democrat president!) I have
decided not to talk about Monica or Bill, Hillary,
Hitler, Eva Braun or Darth Vader, we've been slimed
enough.
Keep this forum alive for the Bombers!
Jerry Swain (54)
~~~~~~~
From: Lloyd Swain (66) LSwain6680@aol.com
Subj: Live TV Debate Proposal
HEY!... what a great publication here... If all you
folks want to get together this summer when we have the
Millenium reunion..... I can provide a TV studio and
airtime to host a debate regarding any issue you may
wish to discuss..... we can go live.. take calls... and
provide a real forum where views are heard..... it will
be on Falcon Cable Channel 3... and I am sure would be
interesting and lively... think about it...
So.. hey all you folks... I am running.... working for
ESPN today in Spokane.... it's olympic wrestling with
the US team vs Iran..... live to tape...
You all take care.
Lloyd Swain (66)
[To all readers: The Sandbox welcomes your comments and
thoughts regarding Lloyd's proposal. Please also send
copies of all your comments regarding the debate
proposal to Lloyd, Lswain6680@aol.com so he can be
kept up to date on your degree of interest.]
Especially important: If you are personally interested
in taking part in the proposed event, please contact
Lloyd directly as soon as you are able so he can begin
to put the program together. His E-mail address again,
is: Lswain6680@aol.com
~~~~~
[Moderator's Note: Prior to publication of this Issue of
THE SANDBOX, I circulated Lloyd's proposal to a few
Sandbox subscribers to see what kind of feedback the
idea might receive.
One correspondent in a personal letter to me felt such
an event would not be a good idea because some of the
participants, even if adapt at expressing themselves in
a forum such as The SANDBOX, might not be equipped to
handle the challenges of a public debate environment and
could become embarrassed.
Comments from two others regarding the proposed
Millenium Debate are contained in the next two Sandbox
Entries: -ap]
~~~~~
From: Lee Johnson (54) BeegByte@aol.com
Subject: Re: LIVE TV DEBATE PROPOSAL
I say...go for it. -Lee
~~~~~
From: Patty Stordahl (72) DZIGNRITE@aol.com
Subject: LIVE TV DEBATE PROPOSAL
Lloyd: what an interesting & stimulating idea. I may
just have to dig into my proverbial political Pandora's
box to make sure my thoughts & facts are correct for
this one. I for one would love to find out why Clinton
is so up in arms to create his own moral genocide of the
Serbs when he has no morals of his own??? I may not
agree with war in general but when you are going to make
a move like NATO has we should just do it till the job
is done & done right. Not pull out or play games like
Viet Nam My blood still runs cold when I think of Nam &
Jane Fonda. No ground troops. Just bomb the hell out
of them & get our boys back home & who made our country
so noble & pure that we can in-force our way of life on
every other country. Maybe it is the old theory. My
bomb is bigger than your bomb so I am the right one.
Kind of like my dad is bigger than yours my car is
faster, it's my bat & ball.
I think it is a male orientated control issue of some
base nature & need to conquer. Close all borders & let
us mind our own business, try to get back to home land
issues & problems & fix us internally before we fix
every one else. Am I right or am I just a PMS woman???
- Patty
~~~~~
From: Mike Swallow (69) mswallow@fiber.net
Subject: Cultural War
I have not been keeping up on all of the discussion so I
hope you will all forgive me if this has been hashed
over. For sometime I have squirmed in my discomfort in
dealing with the "politically correct" paranoia that has
been inflicted upon me (us). I think it is good, right,
certainly safe, to be sensitive to what and who we are,
singularly and collectively. But it seems that the
pendulum has swung well beyond reason.
Sensitivity is no longer sufficient. In our dealings
with others in the workplace and generally in society we
have to guard our every word and action, motivated by
self preservation. It is not safe to be spontaneously
human.
I have attached a speech given by Charlton Heston at the
Harvard Law School Forum which I felt to be valuable
reading. It is lengthy, but worth the time.
[Moderator's note: because of the length of Heston's
speech entitled "Winning The Cultural War," given at the
Harvard Law School Forum on Tuesday, February 16, 1999,
the speech will not be shown here.
However, you may view Heston's speech in it's entirety
at the following web site:]
http://www.us-webmasters.com/Rush_Limbaugh/
~~~~~
From: Anthony H. Tellier (57)
Tony_Tellier@compuserve.com
Subj: Y2K is OK Here.
Rest easy, travelers. Last week our flight test program
(Boeing 717) synthesized the transition from 12/31/99 to
01/01/00 on the Flight Computers and nothing happened:
engines kept on engining; flight continued to fly, plane
stayed planar ... and, most important, the toilet
flushed "out" not backwards. We did not explode,
implode or otherwise overrode the avionics and control
systems.
Phwew ... dodged another bullet!
Tony Yuma
BMW/Rolls-Royce Aero Engines
~~~~~
From: Stu Osborn (71) sdosborn@email.msn.com
Westside Radio People Raise Eyebrows at Bomber Name and Mascot
I was listening to my favorite sports talk radio station
KJR-AM a couple of days ago and they actually mentioned
the Bombers. I thought [the rest of you] would be
interested in what the West-sider radio personalities
think about the school's team name and mascot. Well, it
was during discussion of their "Bigger Dance" feature, a
kind of sweet-64 tournament of the most beautiful women
in sports, show business and local TV/Radio female
personalities as voted by the listeners, mostly men. One
of the places they said was the "home" of one of the
tournament brackets was, "Tri-Cities" and the discussion
turned to the individual towns. Mitch Levy, the host of
the "Mitch in the Morning" show on KJR was told by one
of the other hosts that the Richland team name was the
"Bombers" and Mitch immediately shouted, "No-way! I
can't believe that!" When the other host said no it was
true and that the mascot is a bomb and that there's a
big mushroom cloud on the Richland logo, Mitch said, No
way!" again and actually sounded flabbergasted on the
radio saying, "What's the team name for Kennewick, the
Kennewick Mutants? How about Pasco, is it the Pasco
Downwinders?!!!
It just caught me as funny but kind of tragic that
people forget that if it hadn't been for the work on the
bomb at Hanford, Japan or Germany would've beat us to it
and America would most-likely have lost W.W.II and those
radio guys would probably be somewhere near the Arctic
circle (the real one) working in forced-labor camps as
political prisoners because they certainly would've
gotten in trouble with their big mouths.
Thanks to all the scientists and laborers and a host of
others descending on the little town of Richland in the
early 60's we have a free country and I try not to
forget that unlike many people who are too young or to
stupid (as in Mitch Levy's case) to understand why the
Richland people are so proud of their history. Long live
the mushroom cloud! Go Bombers!
Stu Osborn (71)
~~~~~
From: Lee Ayers ayers@halcyon.com
Hello!
I am married to a Richland "Bomber" - Judy Cameron (60),
so I read The Sandbox everyday, and enjoy it very much.
It's so enjoyable to read accounts of people's lives
when they were in > high school; remembering the things
that most of us went through, regardless of where we
went to school.
One thing I've noticed in The Sandbox is the lack of
response from athletes, or at least regarding athletic
experiences. It seems most of the responses deal with
the things that all of us experienced while going
through the development of social skills that are a very
important part of our lives during those years. And
these challenges and experiences, regardless of the
school and the generation, are the same for us all
during the middle-to-late teen years.
I would venture that The Sandbox has also served as a
therapeutic tool for many. As the years pass, we all
have different experiences: Some good, and some not so
good. Being able to reach back and remember doing
things with those persons with who we developed some of
our strongest and life-long friendships brings instant
pleasure from happy memories that occurred, for many of
us, long ago. So even though I'm not a graduate of your
high school, the events I read about are the same as
those at just about any school. Only names of the
places where events occurred is different.
I would like to set up the same type of thing for my
high school - Edmonds - but I don't know the procedures
involved in developing a home page.
Would you, when you have time, send me an e-mail
providing me with the necessary instructions?
Thanks, in advance, for your help.
Lee Ayers ayers@halcyon.com
~~~~~
[You will probably need more than just an E-mail to get
you started on your home page project, Lee. However,
some of those reading your letter may be able to send
you some good tips and resource info. Some Internet
service providers have tutorials to help get you
started.
If yours does not, there are a number of good books
that could be very useful and a number of information
sources and free places on the Internet to help get you
started. CREATING WEB PAGES FOR DUMMIES, by Bud Smith
and Arthur Bebak might be a great place to start,
published by IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. Such books will
be available at most larger book stores or on the net at
Amazon.com or Buy.com. Various editing programs are
available also, to make your job as a Webmaster easier.
-ap]
~~~~~
Subj: "One Bad Spudnut (as reported by another
correspondent earlier), Does Not a Dozen Make!".
In Issue #35 of The SANDBOX we announced that we would
sent a secret agent to The Spudnut Shop to ascertain
current Spudnut Quality. This was in response to a
report from another correspondent who became despondent
after encountering and consuming a Spudnut that did not
meet his expectancy.
In a message dated 4/4/99 7:51:32 AM PST, our Secret
agent filed the following report:
Well, I'm happy to report that the Spudnuts are alive
and well and still living in Richland. I had 2 of them
AND a maple bar. Mmmmmmm good. The Spudnuts are a
littler smaller than they were 30 or 40 years ago, but
the rumors are wrong about them. They are DELICIOUS!
Signed,
Your SECRET AGENT in Richland
[After careful consideration, and because of the
positive nature of her findings, our brave, stalwart and
stealthy "SECRET AGENT" has chosen not to seek political
asylum in Canada after all. Even as we speak, she is
happily planning her return to the United States. With
great appreciation for her hard work in the field and
the personal sacrifice she has made for Bombers
everywhere by testing and tasting such a massive
quantity of Spudnuts, we are at last able to reveal her
secret identity. She is Vera Smith Robbins (58).
Goldi13@aol.com
Thank you Vee! Bomber Cheers, and pass me another
Spudnut, please! -ap]
~~~~~
From: Dick E. Nelson (59) diknelson@email.msn.com
Subject: Fwd: GAS-OUT!
If enough people do this, we might win. Pass it on:
[Moderator's Note: This is an idea that has been
circulated widely on the Internet. The Sandbox welcomes
your comments on the potential viability of the idea.]
THE GREAT AMERICAN "GAS OUT"
It's time we did something about the price of gasoline
in America! We are all sick and tired of high prices
when there are literally millions of gallons in storage.
Know what I found out? If there was just ONE day when
no one purchased any gasoline, prices would drop
drastically.
The so-called oil cartel has decided to slow production
by some 2 million barrels per day to drive up the price.
I have decided to see how many Americans we can get to
NOT BUY ANY GASOLINE on one particular day!
Let's have a GAS OUT! Do not buy any gasoline on APRIL
30, 1999!!!!! Buy on Thursday before, or Saturday after.
Do not buy any gasoline on FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 1999.
Wanna help? Send this message to everyone you know.
Ask them to do the same. All we need is a few million to
participate in order to make a difference.
~~~~~
Subj: Y2K Resources (Continued)
From: John Northover (59)
ReplyTo: jnorthov@spawar.navy.mil
(This continues a series of Y2K questions and answers as
forwarded by John Northover, based on U.S. Navy
advisories to its personnel early in 1999. This info is
applicable to the civilian population as well.)
GUIDANCE ON YEAR 2000 (Y2K) RELATED ISSUES-UTILITY
SERVICES --Continued.
6. Oil and gas. Responses 11 through 13 are taken
from information provided on government and commercial
web sites and from the federal government's toll-free
Y2K hotline number (888)872-4925. Additional information
is available at the American Gas Association web site
www.aga.org.
Q11. How could the oil and gas industry be affected by
Y2K?
A11. Electric utilities and the oil and gas industry
depend on each other. The electric sector depends on
oil and natural gas to generate electricity. The oil
and gas sector depends on electricity to power its
control centers, business functions, and marketing and
sales. Both sectors also heavily depend on the
telecommunications sector and the transportation sector
to move oil and gas from production areas to end users
nationwide. Because of this interdependency, the
president's council on year 2000 conversion established
an energy working group to track progress of the energy
sector in achieving Y2K readiness.
Q12. Will there be gasoline shortages because of Y2K?
A12. An industry survey by the American Petroleum
Institute indicates that oil companies should be well
prepared to continue refinery operations after 1 Jan
2000. 76 percent of companies surveyed reported they
will have their embedded systems Y2K ready by Jun 1999.
73 percent reported they will have contingency plans in
place by Jun 1999. Contingency plans address things
like identifying alternate electrical power sources and
transportation vendors ahead of time. Year-end gasoline
lines and shortages at the pump could result from large
numbers of people all attempting to fill up their
vehicles just before the new millennium arrives. Many
oil companies intend to increase reserves to address
this possibility. Most major oil companies have posted
year 2000 readiness disclosures to their web sites.
Q13. Will there be Y2K related problems with natural
gas supply?
A13. An industry survey of municipal natural gas
distributors Shows 55 percent of those surveyed report
they have no electronic Systems whose failure would
affect their distribution operations. Of the 45 percent
who report potential Y2K impacts, all but 6 percent
Expect to be Y2K compliant by Jun 1999.
Q14. Is 1 Jan 2000 the only day that utilities could be
affected?
A14. No. The date 1 Jan 2000 is not the only date of
concern. Especially for embedded systems, other dates
can impact when a unit might fail. Some computer
programs have used special codes to communicate with
host computers. Codes such as 9999 often mean "the end
of a file or data transfer." 9 Sep 1999 could show up as
9/9/99, and be read as 9999 by some older systems.
Also, 9 Apr 1999 is the 99th day of 1999, and could also
be coded as 9999. The following dates are significant
to all systems potentially affected by Y2K:
1999-04-09 99th day of 1999.
1999-09-09 9th day of 9th month year 99.
1999-10-01 government's fy2000 begins.
2000-01-01 overflows 2-digit years.
2000-10-10 first 10-character date.
2000-02-29 leap year.
2001-01-01 first day of 21st century and start of a new millennium.
2019-12-31 yy-date limit of Microsoft Excel 95.
2029-12-31 yy-date limit of Microsoft Excel (next major version).
2049-12-31 date limit of Microsoft Project 95 & previous versions.
7. The president's council on year 2000 conversion
maintains a highly informative Y2K web site at
additionally, The white house has established a federal
year 2000 Information Center which operates a toll-free
Y2K hotline. The hotline Number is 1-888-872-4925. The
hotline is manned by Information Specialists on weekdays
between 0700 and 2000 (EST) and provides recorded
information 24 hours a day. Sailors and family members
Are encouraged to use these excellent resources.
8. Commanding Officers and Officers In Charge should
continue to remind their people to beware of Y2K scams.
The associated press recently reported on con artists
who persuade people to withdraw money from the bank to
avoid computer glitches and invest the money with them.
Another common scam is unsolicited e-mail encouraging
people to invest in companies or products billed as
miracle fixes to the Y2K problem. A credit card scam
recently surfaced in which "credit card insurance" or
"Y2K-compliant magnetic strips" for credit cards are
offered to victims via telephone solicitation.
Typically, a victim receives a call from an individual
claiming to be with a bank or other credit card issuer.
The caller offers to make the victim's credit card "Y2K
compliant" and immune to potential millenium-related
problems by mailing a new magnetic strip the victim can
affix to the card. The victim is then requested to give
the credit card number to the caller. Other related
scams include offering "credit card insurance" to
protect card holders from any Y2K-related problems. Two
fraudulent companies associated with this scam are
"Credit Card Securities" and "National Credit Card
Protection." There are also scams which purport to
protect bank accounts, investments and other financial
assets. Credit card, bank account, financial or personal
information should never be given over the telephone to
unsolicited callers. Anyone receiving such solicitations
should contact NCIS, a local law enforcement agency, or
the national fraud information center at (800) 876-7060.
The nation's bankers recently told Americans not to
panic over the year 2000 date change, promising that
ATM machines, credit cards, checks and banking
services will be functioning normally. - Associated
Press, Tuesday, 9 Feb 1999. (Remember, it is always a
good idea to maintain copies of financial statements and
account records.)
The federal government is expected to report to congress
(in mar 1999) that 75 percent of mission critical
systems are now Y2K compliant. - Matt Ryan, Senior
Policy Director, House Government Reform and Oversight
Government Management Information and Technology
Subcommittee.
DOD's Y2K problem will be more a nuisance than a crisis.
- Deputy Defense Secretary John J. Hamre.
Panic, greed and ignorance can all lead people to make
stupid mistakes - something con artists know well.
[Moderator's Note: FAA and Nationwide Energy Plant
systems were Y2K tested during the past week and were
reported as Y2K-OK. Still waiting for tests on grid
systems and whether railroads will be able to deliver
coal to coal fired power plants.]
~~~~~
That's it for this issue of the Sandbox fellow Bombers.
Let us know what you want to talk about. Send your
opinions, ideas, comments on current happenings in your
life or in the life of the world to:
The_Sandbox@hotmail.com
See you next time everybody.. In the meantime, please
do what you can to make this world a little nicer place
to live in than it would be if you weren't here.
--- Al Parker, Gatherer of Your Thoughts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-36-
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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #37 ~ April 17, 1999
"You shall see them on a beautiful quarto page, where a
neat rivulet of text shall meander through a meadow of
margin."
--- Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1751 - 1816
(Referring, in anticipation of course, to your own
personal comments soon to be read in a Forthcoming issue
of The SANDBOX. These Words were repeated by Sheridan
after a recent time machine visit to our current time
and space continuum.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sharing Your Thoughts With Fellow Richland Alumni
Worldwide! Opinions -- Ideas -- Current Events.
MailTo:THE_SANDBOX@hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MISSING BACK ISSUES OF THE SANDBOX? Previously
published Sandbox Issues can now be accessed on the
Internet via The Sandbox Links Page:
http://www.bigfoot.com/~THE_SANDBOX
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Issue's Correspondents:
Norma Loescher (53), Geoff Rothwell (71),
Patty Stordahl (72), Jerry Lewis (73),
Sherry Nugent (62), Michael Curtis (70),
Richard Pierard (52), Eva Clark (49)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: Norma Loescher Boswell (53) boswelln@oneworld.owt.com
Subj: GasOut Plan Propsed in Sandbox #36
One gasless day will not work to reduce gas prices,
especially if the boycotted gas is bought the day before
and after. What might work is a consumer boycott over a
longer period. That means consumer sacrifice— walking,
car-pooling, taking public transportation. Long-range,
it could mean buying smaller cars, so the auto industry
knows we're serious about getting better mileage for our
gas dollars.
~~~~~
From: Jerry Lewis (73)
Reply-To: jlewis@owt.com
Effect of The Bomb on WWII, GasOut & Y2K
Stu Osborne said: "It just caught me as funny but kind
of tragic that people forget that if it hadn't been for
the work on the bomb at Hanford, Japan or Germany
would've beat us to it and America would most-likely
have lost W.W.II and..."
Actually, we beat Germany into submission and they
surrendered before the bomb was finished. Afterwards, we
discovered that they were way behind on developing the
bomb. Japan was also way behind us, and it's very
unlikely they would have been able to develop it in time
to make any difference in the WWII. There is no doubt
that the production and use of the bomb accelerated the
end of the war with Japan, and got us the unconditional
surrender that we were demanding. Check out "The Making
of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes for the details.
Also, I've kept my silence about this Gas-out message
that's been floating around the net, but it kind of
annoys me. I doubt that it would have any effect on
prices even if a large number of people didn't buy gas
on one particular day. It's a fairly harmless message,
I suppose, but I get tired of that kind of post.
Lastly, the Y2K info may have given the impression that
Excel can't handle dates beyond 20** (whatever it was,
depending on the version). Excel can handle dates far
beyond 2030 that are input in the full four digit
format. The problem is the windowing it uses for dates
that are input in the two digit format. This is a
solution that a number of programs use, but there are a
number of different windows used, so you have to be
careful when transferring data stored in a 2 digit
format, or if you type it in the two digit format. One
program may cut off at 2030, another at 2040. The first
program would interpret the two digit date 35 as 1935,
the second as 2035.
Jerry Lewis (73) jlewis@owt.com
http://www.owt.com/users/jlewis/
~~~~~
From: Sherry Nugent Dupuy (62)
Reply-To: Granshery@aol.com
Regarding a comment in Sandbox 36 by Patty Stordahl:
<< I think it is a male orientated control issue of
some base nature & need to conquer. >>
Patty.......interesting thought, but what do you make of
Ms. Albright? She is quite the "hawk-ess." . Remember
the phrase..."Make love, not war"?? Think of it on the
same page as our President. Monica is gone, Hillary
has most likely froze him out, and he is being watched
closer now than anyone in the country. In other
words........no "stuff", so bombs away!
Sherry
~~~~~
From: Geoff Rothwell (71) rothwell@leland.Stanford.EDU
Subj: "If it hadn't been for the work on the bomb...?"
(Responding to Stu Osborn's (71) comments in Sandbox #36
Stu, Are you willing to discuss the sources of your
conclusion, "that if it hadn't been for the work on the
bomb at Hanford, Japan or Germany would've beat us to
it?"
I realize that plutonium bombs are a source of pride to
many of the early Richland residents, but there is no
reason to glorify weapons of mass destruction by
assuming that if the US had not been able to use them in
Japan, that we would have lost WWII. WE BEAT the Germans
and Japanese with conventional weapons. The bomb had
been designed to use against the Germans. We used it
against the Japanese for many reasons. We dropped it
WHEN we did to stop the Russians from invading Japan and
ending the war with a divided Japan. Why do we need to
keep telling ourselves that we saved millions of
AMERICAN lives by killing 100's of thousands of Japanese
civilians? It was RUSSIA that was going to invade Japan.
Why aren't the Cold War reasons for the bomb good enough
to justify Richland pride in its existence (decades of
deterrence)?
Geoff Rothwell (71)
~~~~~
From: Eva Clark Perry (49) jeperry@dmi.net
Subj: Wants to share an article.
When I read this article, thot I would like to share it
with you all. Sure fits my place in life.
-Eva
[Sorry, Eva. I wasn't able to download the article you
sent. Perhaps I had too many programs open at the time
and not enough memory. I'll plan on trying again
later. In the meantime, please keep in mind that I have
to be very careful regarding any republication of
copyrighted articles. It is always best, if you wish to
share ideas with us from articles you have read, if you
can either summarize your own personal impressions of
the subject or pass along a web address, (URL), we can
go to should the article happen to be posted somewhere
on the net. The Charlton Heston Speech referred to in
Sandbox #36 would be one example of this. Your input is
always appreciated.
-Al Parker (53) for The Sandbox]
~~~~~
From: Patty Stordahl (72)
Reply-To: DZIGNRITE@aol.com
Re: Gas-Out IRS-Out & Tea Anyone?
Regarding the Gas Out. I feel the same way about the
IRS. Just one year don't send it in. Your self
incriminating information which as far as I can
remember, I was taught that it was my legal right not to
incriminate myself. Wonder if we can unite for gas how
many brave souls out there would unite for a flat
percentage tax & no loop holes or tax credits. Lets
make life simple again 10% cross the board. Don't get
me wrong I pay my fair share & then some & I know our
government must have someone pay for all those $3,000.00
screw drivers. I for one need gas to run my car. I can
fill up on the 29th or the 1st of May either way every
one who abstained from gas purchasing on the 30th will
eventually have to come sputtering in to the gas
station. If we are going to do it realistically, we
should all buy a bicycle & ride to work for the entire
summer. Great benefits would be: 2-3 months without the
average Joe buying gas would help the environment with
car pollution. Stop many DUI's. Who would be able to
give you a ticket for peddling while under the
influence? Think of how many lives would be saved with
no car accidents. 2-3 months with every one riding a
bicycle would probably add 10 years to our hearts & trim
our waistlines. That would be great then we could keep
in touch longer. 2-3 months would put most gas moguls on
their proverbial ass financially & then we would be
considered without having to stage a boycott.
Anyone want TEA?
- - P. Stordahl
~~~~~
From: Michael Curtis (70)
mailto:michael.curtis@courts.wa.gov
Subject: Curious.
I am curious to know how many of my fellow classmates
have "come out" since our high school days. I'm aware
of at least 3, but given a class of over 600 and the
10% estimated ratio... there are about 57 others out
there.
~~~~
From: Richard Pierard (52) hipier@ruby.indstate.edu
Subject: Re: THE SANDBOX /// LIVE TV DEBATE PROPOSAL
I don't know what you have in mind about a TV debate or
when it would occur, but keep me posted. Sounds
interesting. Dick Pierard
Prof.Dr. Richard Pierard
Department of History
Indiana State University
Terre Haute, IN 47809 U.S.A.
e-mail: hipier@ruby.indstate.edu
~~~~~
That's it for this Sandbox, folks. Remember, your
contributions are what makes this hummer tick!
Talk with us about anything you want to talk about.
Here are some ideas:
What should we, as a nation do about Kosovo? How deeply
should we get into this? What ought to be our goals?
How do we get out?
Read any good books lately? Movies, good or bad?
What would you do if you won the Lottery?
Planning a vacation? Where? Why there?
Is there going to be a one-day teachers' strike in you
community? What do you think about that?
See you next time!
For The Sandbox,
Al Parker - Thought Catcher
Find the FIRST Bomber Alumni Site at
http://users.colfax.com/bjangary/
The ALL Bomber Alumni Links site has had over 34,612 hits.
Find it at: http://www.bigfoot.com/~RichlandBombers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-37-
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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #38 ~ May 13, 1999
"It takes two to speak the truth, ---
one to speak,
and another to hear."
Henry David Thoreau 1817 - 1977
Correspondents: John Allen (66), Lee Johnson (54),
Jim Bobo (56), Sandy Bronson (Bomber Spouse),
Leonard Huesties (70), David Rivers (65), Jon Berry,
Dick Harris (49), Marriem (Sampson) Bradford (68),
Geoff Rothwell (71), Bob Hodgson (61),
Anthony H. Tellier (57)
Please send all replies to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
~~~~~
Of All We Are: We are he who is concerned about the
effect of the media on the attitudes and actions of our
youth. We are she who is concerned about the cost of
living and the price of gas and solutions offered that
really might not work. We are those who are
wondering if our children or grand children will be sent
to fight in a current or future war. We are she who
is a Victim's Advocate in Littleton Colorado, holding
the hand of a young man who is weeping because the
girl he had taken to homecoming last fall has just been
murdered in a high school massacre. We are all of this
and so much more. We are scattered all around the
world but we are gathered together here. We are
Richland Bombers. We are family.
~~~~~
From: John Allen (66)
Reply-To: miles2go@cheerful.com
Subj: We Reap What We Sow
Tuesday, 20 April, 1999 - This afternoon in Littleton,
Colorado, the sorry EXAMPLE of a very large
segment of "adult" America arose to help murder
several of America's youth. Here's how.
There can be no question that the student killers in the
latest High School massacre had previously introduced
weapons through the doors of their school. Neither
can there be any question that many other students
were aware of that fact. But how many of these
students told their parents and/or school authorities of
the situation? My guess is that, while all who knew
SHOULD have been doing exactly that, very few if
any actually did.
AND WHY NOT? Consider this. Together with a
natural reluctance to break faith with their own age
group, today's teenagers are just now emerging from a
serious, year-long "education" in NOT snitching on
their friends; and it has been hammered into their
brains by a tremendously large percentage of American
adults, including the likes of Geraldo Rivera, Jay Leno,
Alec Baldwin, Senators Charles Schumer and Robert
Toricelli, and Congressman Charles Rangel - just to
name a very few of the glitteratti involved. The lesson
is quite simply that, if you see a friend doing something
seriously illegal or dangerous, or if a friend
wants you to participate in such activity, you should
remain silent at ALL cost. The "PRIME
DIRECTIVE" which may not be violated is, "Never,
EVER Snitch on a Friend."
"BUT," you say, "I don't remember any such education
being given to my child. I would never have permitted
such a thing, much less participated in it." Oh,
REALLY?? Try to remember the following sequence
of events. Linda Tripp was recruited by Monica
Lewinsky to participate in federal felonies (specifically
Perjury and Obstruction of Justice), and Tripp decided
to protect herself and her family by making audio tapes
of a very small portion of her conversations with
the person asking for her participation. For her good
citizenship; for doing nothing more than her DUTY
under the law, she has been thoroughly and tenaciously
eviscerated in our homes and gathering places, AND
on national television during the last 15 months. Do
we really believe our children were NOT taking notice
of this example set by so many of their primary role
models (read that "parents") AND their "gods?" If
we as adults want to protect our children and promote
their good citizenship, we must finally rid ourselves of
yet another of our MANY conveniently rationalized
child-raising philosophies called "Do as I say, not as I
do." I can already hear the renewed liberal cries for
more gun legislation, but a less popular, more difficult
and time consuming, and less "feel good" solution, is
the insertion of just plain "good EXAMPLE" into the
mix of parent/adult behavior. If we want our children
to learn to protect themselves by informing on friends
who introduce the instruments of their very death into
our schools, we CANNOT at the same time
demonstrate the opposite example. To defend the
current president, many so-called adults have resorted
to attacking whistle blowers like Linda Tripp, but is
defending a popular and charismatic president for his
atrocious personal behavior worth the life of even one
of our children? And how "adult" is the behavior
which beats a woman down by additionally castigating
her for her physical appearance? I began this rant as a
discussion of example, and because example IS the
most effective way to influence and protect our
children, is it so much to ask of ourselves that our
example be good? Or, in our current state of societal
"progression," have such concepts (like too many of
our children) become passé?
John Allen ('66)
~~~~~
From: Jim Bobo 56
darjim@uswest.net
Subj: Registering for Continued Service
Thanks, Al, for all the great work. I'd like to continue
receiving the SANDBOX please!
--- Jim Bobo
~~~~~
From: Sandy Bronson
sbronson@kctera.net
Subject: Gas Relief
This "gas boycott" of one day only will not make
any difference at all. You will have to buy the same
amount of gas the next day. Who thought this up
anyway?????
Yes....this is poor Richard Bronson's (59) whiny wife.
~~~~~
Subj: If We Were One Little Village
Forwarded by:: Lee Johnson (54)
Beeg Byte@aol.com
If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of
precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios
remaining the same, it would look like this:
There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere (north and south)
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non white, 30 white
70 would be non Christian, 30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual, 11 homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's
wealth, and all 6 would be citizens of the United States
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death, 1 would be near birth
Only 1 would have a college education, and
1 would own a computer
When one considers our world from such a
compressed perspective, the need for both acceptance
and understanding becomes GLARINGLY apparent.
~~~~~
From: Leonard Huesties (70)
1len@gte.net
Subj: Re-Subscribe
Al, Sign me up: Thanks.
~~~~~
From: David Rivers (65)
NeverTowed@aol.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
: The Weapons and Mind Sets of War
Referring to Geoff Rothwell's (71) comment: << WE
BEAT the Germans and Japanese with conventional
weapons >> Wow...I can't believe I'm reading
this stuff from people who are old enough to know
better..."peace, love and conventional weapons" You
don't "beat" the Japanese, the Vietnamese or any other
eastern "enemy" (past tense) with conventional
western anything. The Japanese were not going to
surrender..."beaten" or not. We found the same thing
in Vietnam. Yes, I'm a Viet.-vet...USMC, RVN
1967-68. The only way to deal with the eastern mind
is through eastern thinking and acting accordingly.
When we ran into something we couldn't deal with, we
would call in the ROK Marines...they knew what they
were up against and acted as the enemy did... it
worked very well. Of course there were various
political reasons for using the Bomb...but anyone who
thinks that American lives weren't saved, just has to
look at his fingers and toes and start counting. Wars
in which only fighting men and women die went out
with...gee was there ever such a thing? I really don't
think so...I'm very sorry that civilians had to die to end
that war, but it had to end and it wasn't going to end
by slugging it out from island to island. I served with
a lot of guys that had been in the islands during WWII
and believe me, we'd still have been doing it the old
fashioned way for a very long time before it would
have ended. We did it...we won...get over it!
David J. Rivers ('65; S/sgt. USMC 1966-1970; B.S.,
M.Ed.,J.D.)
~~~~~
From:: Dick Harris (49)
Harris1621@aol.com
Subj: The Greatest Generation
For some interesting reading, some of you
might enjoy Stephen Ambrose's "D-Day" and Tom
Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation." Many of us can
relate to some of the situations that Brokaw relates
and we can once more be thankful for all the sacrifice
during W.W.II and the reasons we were in Richland.
We need to be alert to opportunities to keep more
recent generations from rewriting that history!
A couple of my Rotarian friends have come up
with what I think is a great project for our community.
Taking a lead from the work of Brokaw in "The
Greatest Generation," they have created a project
involving both the Wenatchee and Eastmont High
School English Honors classes and the North Central
Washington Museum. The project involves these
students with members o the community who lived
their lives during the Great Depression and World
War II. The students are interviewing many of these
persons and getting their stories and recollections
down on paper and tapes in a program called "Honor
By Listening!" What a learning experience for these
kids! Although I consider myself having benefitted
from all the contributions of this generation and not
having contributed very much, the student that
interviewed me listened to amazement as I recounted
our family's experience of coming to Richland for that
very special and important work. I also told her that
we were the Beavers, before becoming the Bombers!
Dick Harris (49)
~~~~~
From: 3berrys@yvn.com (Jon & Kristy Berry)
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com (THE SANDBOX)
Subj: Re-Subscribe
I would still like to receive further editions of the
Sandbox please.
Thanks
Jon Berry
~~~~~
From: Marriem (Sampson) Bradford `68
Mbradf1301@aol.com
Subj: Here in Littleton
I am a Victim's Advocate here in Colorado and the last
week here has been the most heart wrenching
experience of my life. I have so enjoyed this Alumni
site but as I was holding the hand of a young man who
was weeping because the girl he had taken to
homecoming last fall, had died Tuesday at the high
school, I couldn't help but think thirty years from now
what memories he will have? I know that the happy
memories will be there, but I'm sure they will be
tainted with all of this sorrow.
Hug your kids and grandkids and any kid who needs to
know he or she is loved. Please say a prayer to
whomever it is you pray to for the healing to begin,
here in Littleton, Colorado and the rest of the country
and the world.
Marriem (Sampson) Bradford '68
~~~~~
From: Geoff Rothwell (71)
rothwell@leland.Stanford.EDU
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
I thought you all might be interested in my response
to Richard Lapchick's Op-Ed in the LATimes
(see www.latimes.com, search for Lapchick for the
original)
To the LA Times,
It is apparent from Richard Lapchick's defense of
athletes (May 3, 1999) that he never experienced "Jock
Abuse." As a straight-A student under 100 pounds
throughout junior high, I was physically abused by
athletes almost everyday. Most of the physical abuse
came during PE (Physical Education classes) either on
the mat, in the gym, on the field, or in the locker room.
I had my wrist broken, the wind knocked out of me,
my nose blooded, and deodorant sprayed in my eyes.
I was slapped, hit, smashed, punched, pounded,
pushed, and intimidated. My gym teacher watched
and laughed, thinking that this abuse would "make me
a man" and "put hair on my chest." Much of this
abuse was not done by varsity athletes, but by those
that didn't make the varsity teams. They were
frustrated with a star system that made them feel
substandard and I was an easy target.
I was confused, as were my talented, non-athlete
classmates. We were the brightest kids in school and
received praise from our individual teachers, but
received no support from the school as a whole or
from the social hierarchy that permeated it. Some of us
found refuge in our studies and became college
professors. Some of us were marginalized, became
drug addicts, and died. But none of us understood
how to change a social hierarchy with athletes on the
top of the social order.
Lapchick proposes a program that reenforces this
social order. Of course, the average student respects
the varsity athlete because the athlete is at the top of
their social system. Unfortunately, this order
marginalizes students who are not athletic.
Talented students wonder how a country that
specializes in science and technology can produce a
school system where they are "nerds," "eggheads,"
and "four-eyed gooks."
While employing student-athletes to prevent violence,
school teachers and administrators need to
de-emphasize athletics as the primary route to social
success. Schools need to reward all students for their
accomplishments, not only the athletes. Education and
extra-curricular activities should help students develop
all their talents. Until middle schools, junior highs,
and high schools encourage a more balanced student
social structure, some marginalized students will abuse
themselves or take out their frustrations on their
classmates.
Geoffrey Rothwell teaches economics at Stanford
University. (Class of '71)
~~~~~
Subj: Re-Subscribe.
Bob Hodgson (61)
Absozark@aol.com
Please subscribe.
~~~~~
Subj: THINK TWICE - At Least!!!
From: John M. Allen
Reply-to: miles2go@cheerful.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Monday, 26 April 99 - In a few short months (four at
most), the hierarchy of the Democratic Party is going
to begin steering Democrats and undecided voters
AWAY FROM the best candidate the Democratic
Party has had to offer since Adlai Stevenson. (For all
you youngsters, Stevenson ran twice against
Eisenhower in the fifties and later served as UN
Ambassador under Kennedy.) Voters will be told that
the country cannot survive without the "experience"
and "tested leadership" of Albert Gore, and all of that
propaganda will be pure HOGWASH. There is
another, MUCH BETTER CHOICE available and his
name is BILL BRADLEY. I encourage you all to
actually think about him before you allow yourselves
to be led down a primrose path. I won't tell you that
Al Gore is the kind of man Bill Clinton is, but I will tell
you he is NOWHERE NEAR the kind of man Bill
Bradley is. Bradley IS what Clinton has only
pretended to be for his disgraceful six plus years in the
White House. To begin with, Bradley is an
extraordinarily brilliant and gifted human being, not
just a man with the ability to memorize. After
graduating with honors from Princeton University, he
was not only awarded a Rhodes Scholarship as was
Clinton, but Bradley spent his time in England
studying, and UNlike Clinton, he actually graduated
from Oxford. After a storied career in professional
basketball during which his NY Knicks won a World
Championship with him as a starter, Bradley spent 18
years in the US Senate representing the State of New
Jersey. Unfortunately for BOTH Bradley and Gore,
their two personalities are roughly equivalent to a
fence post, but it can only be hoped that Americans
have finally come to the realization that, regardless of
political party, the ability (and inclination) to charm the
pants off of a large segment of female America, is
NOT the primary qualification we should be looking
for in our presidential candidates.
It can be justifiably argued that since his departure from
the US Senate, Al Gore has in no sense been a leader
but merely a follower. It's the job of VP as much as
the man, but you can be sure Gore hasn't blown his
nose without first asking for Clinton's "OK." It can
further be said that he has been more than a little
hypocritical with his practiced oratory about his sister's
death from smoking induced lung cancer, while fiercely
supporting tobacco growers for some years thereafter.
And finally, it can be argued that he was a little too
easily led by Der Schlickmeister down the path of
highly questionable financial practices during the '96
campaign. Nevertheless, Al Gore is NOT a sociopath
as is Clinton. The point is, do you Democrats want to
offer America chopped liver or filet mignon for a
presidential candidate. On the one hand you've got a
man who is untarnished by scandal, a Rhodes Scholar,
an NBA Champion, an 18 Senator and, oh, by the way,
an Olympic Gold medal winner in 1964. (I almost
hesitate to say it, but the guy is even an Eagle Scout.)
Finally, perhaps his most powerful qualification for the
Presidency is that HE IS NOT A LAWYER. On the
other hand, you've got Al Gore. It shouldn't even be
close. I am still proud to say that, although I had to
write in his name, I did vote for Bill Bradley for
president in November of 1980. Since that time, my
political views have changed and I might not vote for
Bradley again in a general election, but if he should be
elected president in 2000, I could be certain that this
decent and supremely qualified Democrat would never
make me gut wrenchingly nauseated by his very
presence in the White House. I certainly can't say that
about the current occupant. Wouldn't it be inspiring
for a change to have two candidates running for
president where each was the best his party had to
offer and not just the next in line for the job? Among
Bradley and a couple of the possible Republican
candidates, America could be assured of having a truly
top notch individual sworn into office on January 20,
2001.
---John Allen ('66)
~~~
From: Anthony H. Tellier (57)
Tony_Tellier@compuserve.com
Subj: Kosovo: How Do We Get Out?
(Regarding a question asked about an exit plan
when considering the sending of ground troops
into Kosovo.)
Don't go in ...
A. H. Tellier
Yuma, AZ USA
~~~~~
Thank you, everyone, for your excellent contributions
to this issue of THE SANDBOX. There is much here
for all of us to think about, talk about, and if you
should feel so inclined, even to pray about. We are
living in a time when things can happen very quickly
for good and for bad. We are all an important part of
this world scene and the open dialogue we can share
here is very unique, very special and very important to
all of us as we live and work and love, cope with, and
enjoy the challenges of each day. We all share a truly
unique Richland Bomber heritage You are among
friends here, so don't keep your thoughts to yourself.
We'd all like to hear from all of you frequently, about
your hopes, your dreams, your earnest concerns and
your current activities. Thanks to all who have sent in
your kind comments also, during our re-subscription
process. I'll be sharing some of those comments with
you in future issues of The SANDBOX.
Please remember to address all your contributions to
the new SANDBOX MAILING ADDRESS
WHICH IS:
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
See you next time!
Al Parker (53)
Your collector of thoughts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #39 ~ Published in Cyberspace ~ May 25, 1999
"Where so many hours have been spent in convincing
myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear
I may be wrong?"
--- Jane Austin 1775 - 1817
In Sense and Sensibility, ch. 31
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richland Bomber Correspondents For This Issue Are:
Mike Franco (70), Cyndy Cowman (68)
L. Alan McMurtry (61), Ray Wells (54)
Mike Pearson (74), Patricia de la Bretonne (65)
John M. Allen (66), Arthur Roberts (48)
Joy Stanfield (71), Ramona Miller (54)
Joseph Choate (60), Jack Clark (66)
Dave Miller (67), Bill Yandon (68)
~~~~~
The SANDBOX is an on-line open forum participated
in by hundreds around the world who have attended
Columbia High School (also known as Richland
High School), in Richland, Washington, USA. There
is no subscription price, but your participation is
essential in keeping this outlet alive.
The SANDBOX espouses no particular political slant
or topical agenda, but welcomes all viewpoints on an
unlimited number of subjects.. If your ideas and
interests are not being expressed in these pages,
perhaps it is only because you haven't been expressing
them here. Come on, now... We are listening!
Please send all submissions to:
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Thank you for being here and sharing your thoughts
with all the rest of us!
Wishing each of you the best,
Al Parker (Class of 53)
Your Sandbox Moderator
~~~~
Subject: Virus Alerts and Hoaxes
From: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html
(Reprinted with permission.)
Q: Which of these things is not like the others?
1. "Win a Holiday" computer virus alert
2. "Returned/Unable To Deliver" computer virus alert
3. "Join the Crew" computer virus alert
4. "Word.Concept" computer virus alert
5. "Penpal Greetings" computer virus alert
(Find the answer somewhere in this issue of
The SANDBOX)
~~~~~
Subj: Columbine Highschool Tragedy
From: Mike Franco (70) ~ Bmbr70@aol.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Following the tragic events in Littleton I continue to
be shocked at the number of people who think they not
only have all the answers for this tragedy but that those
answers all seem to be political. The whole event was
caused by the media, violent TV, working mothers, the
NRA, the conservatives, the liberals...and on and on.
John Allen, you started with these murders and ended
up with Linda Tripp as an honorable "whistle blower".
Your premise on "not snitching' and what goes on with
kids, and role models is way off target.
I have a thirteen year old straight A student in seventh
grade. They have had no weapons problems at the Jr
Hi she attends but I found a few knives and such have
been discovered. In each case the weapons were
reported by other students and the offenders were out,
period. My perspective is these kids are just like
normal kids but they are aware of this danger and don't
take it lightly. My daughter and her peers are much
more socially aware than I ever was at that age. My
daughter does not know who Linda Tripp is. Your
concern with our children's role models is a little
dramatic. Most of the kids in this crowd worship a
particularly handsome math teacher, their basketball
coach, the Backstreet Boys...In other words, the usual
and normal (to me) kinds of people to look up to. I
understand everyone's concern with politicians as role
models and I agree that Clinton, Ollie North, Newt,
Rostenkowski(SP), Spiro, Nixon, et al leave something
to be desired. But let me assure you.....most of the
youth I know utilize their all-American apathy to avoid
the pain that some of us here seem to suffer from.
John Allen and I agree on very little politically but I
was shocked to read your words about Bill Bradley. I
have always like him....does this mean we have
something in common? I really don't think Gore is as
bad as some think...but I also don't think he will win.
Anyway it will be a great campaign. The Chinese
demonstrations have those yearning for the cold war
all excited again.
Good wishes to Bombers everywhere. Take care of our
children and support our schools. There is no
substitute for being there !.
Mike Franco Class of 1970
~~~~~
Subj: The Sandbox
From: Cyndy Brooks Cowman (68) ~ cynbrooksc@yahoo.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
To Marriem (Sampson) Bradford `68: My heart goes
out to you as you personally endured the tragedy in
Littleton. It was hard enough for us who viewed it on
TV. I am sure they appreciated your support.
Still on the issue of the shooting in Littleton, CO, I
was sent this editorial which expresses still another
view to the occurrence:
[Excerpts from the referred to editorial appear below:
It is from OCWeekly, May 21-27, 1999. It was written
by Richard Goldstein. The URL, (Web Address) is:
http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/99/37/news-goldstein.sh
tml]
The Chickens Came Home to Roost at Columbine High
When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire in
their high school on April 20, they couldn't have
imagined how many people would benefit...
Law and order types found a platform for their
long-standing plan to turn high schools into military
camps, while liberals saw a powerful opening to pound
home their demand for regulating guns. The president
seized the triangulating moment, calling for both
stricter gun laws and a Hollywood summit on teen
violence...
What's missing from this litany is any sense of how the
culture on the ground contributed to the massacre at
Columbine High. It's easier to crack down on nose
rings than to confront a system that assigns status
in proportion to gender conformity, relegating boys
who can't meet the standard to the ranks of America's
most despised minority, that legion of failed men
known as "faggots." That's what the ruling jocks called
members of the Trench Coat Mafia...
... at Columbine no one dared to be openly gay. So the
"fag" treatment was reserved for kids like Harris and
Klebold who didn't make the macho grade...
...Take a kid who's seething with insecurity, bait him
on a regular basis, and you've given him a good reason
to celebrate Hitler's birthday.
Harris and Klebold responded to their degradation in a
typically compensatory way— they assembled their
own cult of rogue masculinity. But the jocks who
oppressed them didn't have to go in for Hitler or
Marilyn Manson. For these top men, homophobia was
a socially sanctioned way to rebel. It made them sexy,
proved their power over boys who had to take the
burn, and reclaimed the throne of a reviled masculinity.
Athletic achievement was only the surface sign of their
status; bigotry was what made these jocks local gods.
.....
When John F. Kennedy was murdered in 1963,
Malcolm X had a shocking reaction: "The chickens
have come home to roost," he said. It's possible to see
the massacre at Columbine High in the same unsparing
terms. But it's much more satisfying to round up the
usual suspects. After all, they're "faggots."
Research: Steph Watts"
Article forwarded by:
Cyndy Brooks Cowman Class of 1968
~~~~~
Subj: A Different Perspective about Columbine & America
From: L. Alan McMurtry (61) ~ lamc@hal-pc.org
Forwarding-
The following perspective about Columbine:
[Note: Selected excerpts are from an article written by-
- by Bob Lonsberry c 1999 ]
WHAT DOES COLUMBINE SAY ABOUT US?
The president said ... that the tragedy at
Columbine should make us look critically at ourselves
as a society and as a nation. That we should search out
our obvious weaknesses and failings as a people and as
a culture. The president saw Tuesday as a day of
national shame.
I don't see it that way at all. I look at Columbine and I
am proud to be an American. I am touched and
inspired by the goodness and courage of average
people, and the extent to which decency and faith
spring from the American breast.
I mean no disrespect, and I am not overlooking the
great pain Tuesday's carnage wrought on so many lives
and families, but as I look at what happened
in Littleton I see proof not that things are going wrong
in America, but that things are going right.
Countless people, from Joe and Betty America to their
politicians and commentators, have waxed gravely
about what the Columbine murders "say about us." A
Utah state legislator said it all started when "they took
prayer out of schools." Rosie O'Donnell ranted angrily
that we must "stand up to the NRA." A minister at a
Denver memorial service said "gun manufacturers
must be held accountable for this tragedy."
For two days on my radio show I have heard from
people who blame abortion, poor parenting, a lack of
personal responsibility, Bill Clinton, liberals in general
and a growing lack of spirituality in our society. Each
of them has seen some great flaw in the American
heart that gave rise to the butchers of Columbine.
And each of them has been wrong.
Because to see the two murderers and the evil they did
as a product of our national soul, and then to
simultaneously ignore the hundreds of heroes and
the goodness they did is to misrepresent the truth. If
the tiny evil minority is a product of this society, so too
is the overwhelming good majority. If you look at our
failures, you must also look at our successes.
I'm humbled to belong to a society which produced a
hero teacher who, shot through the chest, his lifeblood
glugging away, led a group of students to the
barricaded safety of a classroom. For three and a half
hours, as he knew he was dying, he calmed the
students, and gave them direction.
I am proud to know that my country raised the
youngsters who clustered around that teacher, tending
his wounds as best they could, keeping him conscious,
using a cellular phone to call paramedics for advice.
I am honored to share citizenship with the boy who
thought to pull out the teacher's wallet so that he might
look upon pictures of his family as he fought to stay
alive. It was this culture which produced another
teacher, his charges hiding in a room, brave enough to
stand with nothing more than a fire extinguisher to
drive away a threat to his students' safety.
The teen-agers who knelt to shield and comfort their
wounded classmates grew up in this society. As they
carried the injured to safety and stopped to pray
with the frightened, they were acting out of a set of
values they learned as Americans.
The president who saw no flaw in himself is too quick
to see a flaw in us. Those who hate our way of life, or
who seek to use tragedy to advance their political
causes, will see deep trouble in the American soul. But
their perception is not true. It doesn't reflect us, it
reflects them.
This is a good land. We are a good people. The
children we raise are overwhelmingly decent and pure.
For us to mistakenly assert otherwise is to deny them
and their virtue. It is to deny the testament of the
heroes of Columbine.
- by Bob Lonsberry c 1999
Sent by: L. Alan McMurtry Class of 61
Bob Lonsberry is a talk show host and commentator on
News Radio 1180 WHAM, in Rochester, New York.
He has received more than 70 awards as a journalist
and broadcaster, including two nominations for the
Pulitzer prize. He's a veteran of the U.S. Army, a
college drop-out, and in addition to his talk
show is a syndicated newspaper columnist.
~~~~~
From: Al Parker (53)
Mailto:THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Subject: Submitted Articles
Ordinarily The SANDBOX avoids extensive quotations from
sources not written by Richland Bombers themselves.
Although The SANDBOX is not a commercial venture, and
publication here is not likely to adversely effect the
economic well-being of outside authors, we still wish to
respect all copyrights and emphatically encourage the
original comments of our Bomber subscribers.
If you feel inspired, challenged, or even chagrined by
something you see in the media or in the life that's
happening around you, it would really be great if you
could tell just exactly how YOU feel about the issue
from your own viewpoint and from the depths of your own
heart.
Thank you for your support!
Al Parker - Class of 1953
~~~~~
Subj: Solving the "Littleton" syndrome
From: Ray Wells (54)~ ray@transcribing.com
I've read with interest, the analysis and suggested
solutions concerning what happened at Littleton,
Colorado. While these solutions all have merit, most
of them are "symptom" treatments, and few, if any,
will remove the cause of the problem.
Realistically speaking, we are not going to change the
way people feel about "snitching" on a peer, nor are
we going to convince a society who worships,
athletes and movie stars, that academic achievements
and other worthwhile contributions to society are just
as worthy.
You can only teach by example. We must each start
with ourselves. The old adage, "Tis better to light one
small candle, than to curse the darkness" really applies.
You, the individual, must emphasize and praise, that
which you would have the world embrace. As
Bombers, we are as guilty as the rest of the society
with our jock worship. If you have ever belittled
another person, for whatever reason, you have
contributed to the "Littleton" problem. As long as we
raise our children in a family atmosphere of
belittlement and celebrity worship, we can expect the
"Littleton" incident to be repeated over and over again.
It is time that we realized that everyone is important.
Some are important because of what they can and have
contributed to society in a positive way. All are
important, because any one of us is capable of
perpetrating enormous harm to society if when we feel
we are abused. When you abuse another person, you
may have just lit the fuse to a time bomb.
Ray Wells - Class of 1954
~~~~~
Subj" They Should Hide Some Tabloids Behind the Pornography.
From: Mike Pearson (74) ~ digress@ellensburg.com
If this is a lousy sand castle, sorry, but I'm a little upset.
This week's assault on the family Jean Benet Ramsey
( God rest her Soul ) _tests the limits_ of how
indifferent we are to billboards in the supermarket. In
recent weeks, they have declared, one by one, each
member of her family to have done the deed. This
week it is her brother. They figure we need to know
just what he looks like -- so we can be on the lookout,
maybe. This boy can't fight back. Moms in the
supermarket with their kids are confronted with a
picture of an ordinary little boy BRANDED a
cold-blooded killer with a sexual motif lingering in the
background, in that she was a little tot who wore a lot
of makeup etc. It's not just bad journalism, it's evil.
The supermarkets should hide this stuff. We can't put
everything in Alumni Sandstorm, but they can put
anything into millions of those tabloids.
Mike Pearson (Class of 74)
~~~~~
From: Patricia de la Bretonne (65)
BrassEar@aol.com wrote:
Subj: Not a favorite teacher.
Mr. B****** was not my favorite math teacher. Back
in the early 60s he was allowed to give "spats" for
things like not bringing your math test back, signed by
a parent, by a certain date. Up in front of the class,
bend over, get hit with a big wooden paddle. Give me
a break! Young adolescent boys and girls do not need
to be hit with a stick in front of each other. My Mom
wrote him a letter suggesting he "find another form of
punishment". Mr. B****** probably thought I was a
piece of work, but the feeling was mutual.
Patricia de la Bretonne '65
~~~~~
Subj: STANDARDS??
From: John M. Allen (66)
Reply-to: miles2go@cheerful.com
FOR THE RECORD:
Monday, May 24th, 1999 - Today the Supreme Court
of the United States ruled that one fifth grader may not
sexually harass another fifth grader, and if this happens
in a school environment, the school may be sued. Of
course, any popular, Democrat president with mostly
"good hair days" may do whatever he wishes, to
countless women, with absolutely no legal
consequence. From these situations we simply "move
on." Another great example we are setting for our
children. Where DO these fifth graders learn about
sexual harassment, anyway?
---John Allen
~~~~~
From: Arthur Roberts (48)
mailto:FluffDry@hotmail.com
Subj: How come?
How come, when you rent videos, that little window
through which you can view whether the tape is re-
wound or not, is always covered up by the sticker that
says, "Please Be Kind, Please Re-Wind?"
~~~~~
From: Earthtojoy@aol.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Subjects to Discuss:
Should the UN bombing continue?
Should we believe in Milosevicks concessions?
Could our government have prevented (or helped) this
situation?
Joy Stanfield - Class of 1971
~~~~~
Subj: Answers to "Virus Alert" Quiz:
From: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html
The Question Was:
Which of these things is not like the others?
1. "Win a Holiday" computer virus alert.
2. "Returned/Unable To Deliver" computer virus alert.
3. "Join the Crew" computer virus alert.
4. "Word.Concept" computer virus alert.
5. "Penpal Greetings" computer virus alert.
The Answer Is:
(4). The "Word.Concept" virus is real. The rest are
hoaxes designed to frighten you.
Don't panic about a virus alert...
Visit http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html and
http://www.kumite.com/myths for more information
about computer virus hoaxes and myths.
~~~~~
OTHERS HEARD FROM:
Subject: Re-Subscribe
From: Ramona (Miller) Garcia (54)
CADESNANA1@aol.com
Thanks for "resubscribing" me to the Sandbox.
I thought John Allen's contribution was great. Glad to
know someone else thinks like I do. I don't usually
print all the Sandbox but I did this one just to get his
portion. Good points all around to think about.
Ramona (Miller) Garcia
Class of 1954
~~~~~
Al:
Please add my e-mail address for the sandbox. Have
missed receiving it.
Bill Yandon
Class of 1968
E-mail address is Billyandon@aol.com
~~~~~
From: jchoate@cyberhighway.net (Josef Choate)
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Al,
you are doing a good job, I have been able to keep
abreast of all your moves and current changes.
-- Joseph 60)
~~~~~
Al-
Please add this address to the send list for THE
SANDBOX. Enjoy your vacation. Thanks.
Jack Clark. (66) anjclark@cris.com
~~~~~
Subj: no mail
From: UNCLED8102
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Where is the sandbox? No bomber news is not good for
my morning reading. Dave Miller 67
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Send Us YOUR STUFF!
(Your Opinions, Ideas, OR: What's Happening
Currently In Your Life, OR: Comments on World or
Local Events.) Your contributions can be, but certainly
don't have to be, argumentative or rhetorical!
I eagerly await more interesting contributions
from all of you. Until next time...
-Al Parker (53)
Sandbox Moderator and Collector of your thoughts.
Don't let cobwebs obscure your brain waves! That
can lead to congestive brain failure. Start punching
out something on your keyboard now and send it to:
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Find the FIRST Bomber Alumni Site at
http://users.colfax.com/bjangary/
The ALL Bomber Alumni Links site has had over
40,134 Bomber hits. Find it at:
http://www.bigfoot.com/~RichlandBombers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-39-
***************************************
***************************************
********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #40 ~ June 5, 1999
"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."
--William James
The SANDBOX is an open forum for Your Ideas,
Feelings, Opinions, Experiences and Perspective.
Published and circulated in cyberspace as a continuing
exchange between Columbia/Richland High School
Alumni, Richland, Washington. The SANDBOX
is one place where you can tell it "like it is," and how
you think it ought to be!
Please send all submissions and requests to be on or
off the mailing list to: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
~~~~~
Subj: Our Youth: Our Future.
From: Gayle Walley Burnhamn (79)~ dburnham@ms17.hinet.net
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
This is the first time I have written in, but I wanted to
say 'thanks' to L. Alan McMurtry for sending in that
commentary by Bob Lonsberry. And amen, amen,
amen to what he had to say. I fear that we in America
and in other parts of the world are becoming a society
that feeds too much on sensationalism; the more
negative, the more horrific, the more tragic the media
can make something, the more we hang on every
word. ( What about that influence on our young
people?) I didn't read this in any of the commentaries
that I read concerning the Littleton tragedy, but I think
it would behoove all parents to be aware of what
music their children are listening to, what programs
they are watching, what books they are reading. Most
of us are doing our best to teach our children to be
honest, caring, responsible, morally upright individuals
who can and do and will make positive contributions
to society. It was wonderful to read Bob Lonsberry
pointing out to us that many of us are succeeding in
our efforts--that the world is still full of great young
people. What about the parents of those two boys
who did the killing? I'm sure they had great hopes for
their boys as well. Their pain must be almost
insufferable. But we're all asking ourselves, what
happened? And, of course, nobody really has the
answers. But if the parents of those boys didn't teach
them the things that brought them to the point of
killing others--and I don't believe they did--where were
they learning the beliefs and attitudes behind their
eventual actions? Many people believe that the fact
that those two boys were made fun of and ostracized
and picked on were their motivations for what they
did. What about you? Have you ever been made fun
of, or ostracized, or picked on? I have. Lots of
people have. There will always be unthinking,
immature, selfish individuals in the world who don't
understand the hurt they cause others until 'what goes
around, comes around'. But kill those who taunt you?
There were other choices. They could have dropped
out of school, ignored the tormentors, etc. It's not like
they were trapped. At least they had each other, so
one was not alone without a friend. They had cars to
drive and were well provided for. But where did they
come up with the idea that killing these 'problems' in
their lives was the reasonable answer? I'm sure their
parents didn't teach them to solve their problems with
murder. But that is the message played over and over
again in much of the music available to teens these
days and in many of the programs they watch
(including cartoons), and is the subject of many
modern day novels and writings. Hollywood loves to
glorify the 'bad guys' and the teens love to watch those
kinds of movies. I'm not saying I know this is the
reason behind what went wrong, but just offering food
for thought. I have 3 teenagers of my own, and
though I do my best to give them standards and
guidelines of behavior to model to keep their minds
and actions 'out of the gutter' so to speak, I am aware
that they are bombarded continually by music and
other influences that do not support what I am doing.
Sometimes I'm sure my voice is only like a whisper
amongst a myriad of loud voices in the world
clamoring for their attention. So that's why I say I
think it wise for all parents to be aware of what voices
in the world your children are listening to so you can
keep encouraging them through a good and positive
course. We must believe in our youth and glorify their
goodness. They are our future.
--Gayle Walley Burnham (79)
[Note: ...Gayle is the daughter of Linda Anderson and
Galen Walley who also attended Col-Hi. We have lots
of second and third generation Bombers writing to The
SANDBOX. It would be interesting to include such
information when you send your us your letters.!]
~~~~~
Subj: There is Wellness, Too!
From: Barbara Chandler (59)
BCHANBCJR@aol.com
To: Alan Mc Murtry
Re: Your article by Bob Lonsberry
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I needed to hear
what he had to say. It is the absolute first "anything" I
have read in the media or otherwise (leave it to the
Sandbox to let it be viewed) that had anything to say
about what went right about the tragedy in Littleton.
It made me think of many kindnesses, small acts of
courage, love made known I have witnessed in my 58
(oh God) years on this planet. It brought tears to my
eyes and uplifted me from the dregs of that awful
sinking feeling I get when horrible atrocities are visited
upon our lives. I just wanted to tell you that I, for one,
appreciate your thoughtfulness in sharing something
that we needed to hear. Like I have witnessed many
times in my life, it is not the "uglyness" that is a part of
life that we need to hear over and over, but humanity's
"wellness", how we react and overcome that will help
us to be a better society. I'm not good with this,
words are so hard to express the very deep feelings
that were evoked, but I needed to, again, thank you for
sharing something that I needed to hear. Thanks,
Alan.
Barbara Chandler - Class of 59
~~~~~
Subj: Information: Am I a fool in Paradise?
From: Mike Pearson (74) ~ digress@ellensburg.com
This Internet could be such a beautiful world.
It's not there yet. For example, my incoming email
could have been lost, and how would I know?
With that, are the Constitution and our modern world
in danger of being overrun by power-mad Old World
mind sets?
The following opening paragraph is from an article
on a U.S. Army web page at
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/milrev/English/SepNov98/
carver.htm
I think we have a serious challenge.
--- Mike Pearson (74)
**** Opening paragraph ****
Information Warfare:
Task Force XXI or Task Force Smith?
by Major Curtis A. Carver Jr., US Army
The US Army is on the verge of suffering its greatest
defeat in history; a defeat that will redefine revolution
in military affairs on the informational battlefield. Why
will this defeat occur you ask? Because the United
States is not taking the defensive steps necessary to
limit the effectiveness of a sophisticated, coordinated
cyberwar attack, despite the availability of proper
tools. This article examines the growing potential for
an informational disaster by ex-ploring recent cyberwar
attacks and the threats posed by these attacks. After
winning the first information-age war in the Persian
Gulf, the United States could well be the next victim of
information warfare.
******
Subj: MEA CULPA (or NOT)
From: John M. Allen
Reply-to: miles2go@cheerful.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
FELLOW BOMBERS: I find that I must make a
terrible confession, and I can only hope that you will
see fit to extend your forgiveness to me. I am forced
to admit that, prior to composing and submitting my
rant on "Example" to Issue #38 of the SANDBOX, I
did NOT consult with Mike Franco's 13 year-old
"straight A" daughter. Certainly no attempt at logic
which has not been previously cleared with a 13
year-old girl has any chance at validity. I should have
been more truthful with you about this failure to
adequately research my conclusions.
Come on, Mike! Do you really believe that if YOUR
13 year-old doesn't know something this year, then
most teenagers of any age also don't know it? And do
you believe that whatever happens in her school is
first, last and always cleared through YOUR daughter?
What incredible pressure she must endure!! Good
grief, Mike! Jonesboro, Springfield, Paducah, Conyers
and Columbine are not cities on some other planet.
Your daughter's experience aside, it is infinitely more
reasonable to assume that the vast majority of high
schools (and a significant number of grade schools) in
this country, HAVE had firearms pass through their
doors in the possession of students, and that most
children who know about them, choose not to tell their
parents for any number of reasons - especially if those
parents don't encourage their children to inform. Even
from the way you wrote about the knives in your
daughter's school, it sounds as though you didn't
initially hear about them from her. And if you didn't,
what else might she have chosen not to tell you? If
anyone OUGHT to understand about teenagers trying
to keep their parents in the dark about certain things,
it's YOU.
There are things that parents, whether they like it or
not, simply don't get to decide for their children. For
example, they DON'T get to decide what is and is not
"quality time," and especially WHEN that occurs.
Those are decisions that only the child can make.
However unfair it may seem to parents, in the eyes of a
child, there are some absences parents can never make
up with the parents' version of "quality time." Of
equal importance, parents DON'T get to decide what a
child will tell them. They can encourage their children
to tell them difficult things, and by their EXAMPLE,
they can make it easier for children to open up, but it
will always be the decision of the individual child. To
believe otherwise is simply to continue with the
delusions and rationalizations too often typical of Baby
Boomer parenting. I stand by every word I wrote
about "example" in Issue 38.
Mike, as for the progression from Columbine to the
demonizing of Linda Tripp, I can only say that it is
well that you are not involved in law enforcement. If
my 4-5 step trail was too difficult or convoluted for
you to follow, try reading Vincent Bugliosi's book,
HELTER SKELTER, so we can have you tell us all
how Charles Manson couldn't possibly be guilty of the
Tate-LaBianca murders.
Finally, I'm sorry you seemed to have missed my
mention of parents as the PRIMARY role models for
children. You DO believe in that, don't you? In any
event, aside from having your head conveniently buried
in the sand content-wise, I must say that your last
submission shows significant improvement in terms of
its literary construction. Keep it up!!
--John Allen ('66)
~~~~~
Subject: Try This:
(Forwarded by Ray Wells (54))
ray@transcribing.com
This was funny! Try this it worked for me. Here is
proof that either Bill Gates has a sense of humor or
that he is part of that right wing conspiracy Hillary
keeps talking about.
1) Open a new Microsoft Word document
2) Type the phrase: I'd like Bill Clinton to resign
3) Highlight this phrase as if you we're going to check
for spelling
4) Select: Tools - Language - Thesaurus
[Moderator's Note: Alright... not all of us have
Microsoft Word installed on our computers, so please,
will some of you who do use WORD, Please write
and let us know tell us what you get when you do as
prescribed above? Inquiring Bombers want to
know--- (maybe)]
Credit:
Flower Essence Pharmacy www.FlowerEssences.com
800-343-8693 (toll-free in the USA & Canada) or 503-
668-7160. Fax: 503-826-1408 PO Box 1147 Sandy,
Oregon 97055 USA
~~~~~
Subj: PUT UP OR SHUT UP !!
From: John M. Allen (66)
Reply-to: miles2go@cheerful.com
To: MIKE FRANCO (and other flaming liberals). You
have no idea how encouraged I am to see that you are
a Bradley supporter and so, in the furtherance of
EXCELLENCE (as opposed to mediocrity or worse)
in government, I am publicly challenging you to match
just HALF of my $1000 contribution to the Bradley
for President campaign. You have a good job, so
here's your chance to put your money where your
mouth is. The man needs your money early (read that
NOW), not next year when the primaries are all over
by March. If he wins the primary, you can contribute
again up to $1000. According to his official web site
at http://www.billbradley.com, your check should be
made out to BILL BRADLEY FOR PRESIDENT.
Mike, you send me your CASHIER's CHECK (my
requirement) to mail for you, and I'll send you mine to
mail for me - or vice versa, if you like. I'll be
contributing even if you are too...............tight to do
the same. As a died-in-the-wool Republican, I feel I
can be a credible clearing house for publicizing those
Democrats who are serious about who their next
president might be. By the way, anyone who wishes
to contribute more than $200, please go to the Bradley
web site mentioned above to print out, and then fill
out, the contribution form to send along with the
check. However, according to the official RULES
(FEC Law, which we REPUBLICANS try to abide by)
you may not contribute more than $1000 per candidate
per campaign. Unfortunately, your contribution(s)
will have to be from pure conviction because federal
campaign contributions are NOT tax deductible.
Contributions to the Gore campaign count ONLY
toward furthering mediocrity in government, so don't
bother to forward any checks for his campaign.
VOTE BRADLEY; the candidate for the THINKING
(as opposed to the emotional/feel good) liberal.
---John Allen ('66)
~~~~~
Subj: Whoa! What a Concept!
From: Eva Clark Perry (49) ~ jeperry@dmi.net
Whoa! What in the world is happening with our kids
today? Let's see...I think it started when Madalyn
Murray O'Hair complained that she didn't want any
prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone
said you had better not read the Bible in school-the
Bible that says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal,
and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said, OK.
Remember Dr. Benjamin Spock, who said we
shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave,
because their little personalities would be warped and
we might damage their self-esteem? And we said, OK,
we won't spank them. Then someone said that
teachers and principals better not discipline our
children when they misbehave. And our administrators
said whoa, no one in this school better touch a student
when they misbehave because we don't want any bad
publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued. Then
someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if
they want, and we won't even have to tell their
parents. And we said, that's a grand idea.
Then someone else said, let's give our sons all the
condoms they want, so they can have all the "fun"
they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents.
And we said, that's another great idea.
And then some of our top officials said that it doesn't
matter what we do in private as long as we do our
jobs. And we said, as long as I have a job and the
economy is good, it doesn't matter to me what
anyone does in private. So now we're asking
ourselves why our children have no conscience, why
they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't
bother them to kill. Probably, if we think about it
long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it
has a great deal to do with "we reap what we sow".
Whoa! What a concept!
~~~~~
Subj: Passing On
From: Kevin Ott (81) ~ kott@przm.com
I'd like to send my condolences to my dad, Don Ott,
Class of '61. His father, Donald Lewis Ott, my
grandfather, passed May 12, 1999 at Kadlec Hospital
in Richland. "I'll miss the smell of your pipe tobacco,
Grandpa."
Kevin Ott
Bomber Class of '81
~~~~~
That's all for today's Sandbox, folks, so what do you
want to talk about next? Here are some things you
might wish to consider:
1. Do we really need to be all that concerned about
saving the whales? Don't they consume a lot of the
ocean's resources, after all?
2. What did you see in the news during the past week
that upset or pleased you the most?
3. Do you have faith that the State Initiative now being
petitioned for, reducing vehicle license tabs to $30
annually with the proviso that citizens must approve
all future tax increases has merit and that it will work?
Should the heavier and more expensive road users
really pay the same as the less expensive and lighter
compact vehicles?
4. As the situation in Kosovo proceeds, do you believe
now, that it was a good or a bad idea to intervene
along with other NATO nations as we have? Do you
have a different opinion now than you did have earlier?
5. How many of you are going to reunions this
year? Is there anybody in particular, or others in
general, you would like encourage to come? Are you
going to "crash" another class's bash?
See you all next time...
Al Parker (53)
Collector of Your Thoughts
Send Your Thoughts...
Opinions
Responses
Ideas
Comments
Feelings
Insights
Interesting Experiences
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Find the FIRST Bomber Alumni Site at
http://users.colfax.com/bjangary/
The ALL Bomber Alumni Links site has had over
41,736 Bomber hits. Find it at:
http://www.bigfoot.com/~RichlandBombers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-40-
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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #41 ~ June 8, 1999
A Richland Alumni Online Forum
"A soft answer turneth away wrath."
Proverbs 15:1
Contributors to Issue #41 are:
Steve Carson (58), John Adkins (62),
Vernon Blanchette (64), Mike Franco (70),
Arthur Roberts (48) Mike Pearson (74)
Barbara Seslar Brackenbush (60)
Subjects Include: The development of grandchildren,
Lessons on leadership, A path away from vilolence,
Common logical fallacies, Some fun with Bill Gates
and A SANDBOX Farewell.
~~~~~
From: Steve Carson (58)
SteveNitro@aol.com
For: Gayle Walley Burmham (79)
Well said! We are now participating in the
development of our GrandChildren and if you want to
have an interesting conversation with them ask them to
give you an example of some things that are wrong and
some things that are right.
It sparks an interesting conversation and you will have
the opportunity to explore their value system. It has
become a game we play with our 10 GrandChildren.
Steve Carson - Class of 1958
~~~~~
From: John Adkins "62" ~ ml_adkins@msn.com
It says "I'll drink to that"
John Adkins "62"
[Would you care to elaborate a little more on what you
are drinking to here, John? We might want to
join you!] -ap
~~~~~
Subj: The Core of Us All
From: Vernon Blanchette (64) ~ vernon@digital.net
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
There is a message in the violence in our high schools
As many of the Sandbox readers have pointed out it is
not a matter of gun control or laws. There are roots of
this event inside each of us... deeper than human laws
can fix. Until we seek these roots out and get them
right we can fully expect to see non-heavenly things
break out in seemingly safe places. Consider this:
"Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him
while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and
the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to
the Lord, and He will have love and mercy for him,
and to our God, for He will multiply to him His
abundant pardon. For My thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the
Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so
are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts
than your thoughts. For as the rain and snow come
down from the heavens, and return not there again, but
water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that
it may give seed to the sower and bread to eater, so
shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth; it
shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that
which I please and it shall prosper in the thing for
which I sent it. For you shall go out from the spiritual
exile caused by sin and evil into the homeland with
joy... and be led forth by your Leader, the Lord
Himself, and His word with peace...". (Isaiah 55)
The violence we see begins in the natural human
condition of all of us and will reign in each of us
uncontrolled. This will be true as long as we have not
recognized our fallen state, our separation from the
Being who created this world, and repented of our
own sins. There is a path to safety and joy, where
people do not murder other people.
Vernon Blanchette - Class of 64
~~~~~
Subj: Bill Gates and BC
From: Barbara Seslar Brackenbush ~ radman@gte.net
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
I had a really good laugh over this one. Thanks!!!
I guess I laughed for two reasons: My son was
working for Microsoft as a "temp" for a couple years;
and I guess I'm part of that right wing conspiracy
Hillary keeps talking about. BTW, I never did
anything that she says I did.
haha
Barbara Seslar Brackenbush (1960)
[Note: For those of you who did not follow through on
what Barbara is talking about, here is a repeat of the
item from SANDBOX #40:
"Here is proof that either Bill Gates has a sense of
humor or that he is part of that right wing conspiracy
Hillary keeps talking about."
1) Open a new Microsoft Word document
2) Type the phrase: I'd like Bill Clinton to resign
3) Highlight this phrase as if you we're going to check
for spelling
4) Select: Tools - Language - Thesaurus"]
~~~~~
Subj: Comments on Good Leadership
From: Vernon Blanchette (64) ~ vernon@digital.net
General Colin Powell recently spoke as part of his
Outreach to America program at the SEARS
Corporate Headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.
Lesson 1
"Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off."
Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare
of the group, which means that some people will get
angry at your actions and decisions. It's inevitable - if
you're honorable. Trying to get everyone to like you is
a sign of mediocrity. You'll avoid the tough decisions,
you'll avoid confronting the people who need to be
confronted, and you'll avoid offering differential
rewards based on differential performance because
some people might get upset. Ironically, by
procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to
get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally
"nicely" regardless of their contributions, you'll simply
ensure that the only people you'll wind up angering are
the most creative and productive people in the
organization.
Lesson 2 "The day soldiers stop bringing you their
problems is the day you have stopped leading them.
They have either lost confidence that you can help
them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is
a failure of leadership."
If this were a litmus test, the majority of CEO would
fail. One, they build so many barriers to upward
communication that the very idea of someone lower in
the hierarchy looking up to the leader for help is
ludicrous. Two, the corporate culture they foster often
defines asking for help as weakness or failure, so
people cover up their gaps, and the organization
suffers accordingly. Real leaders make themselves
accessible and available. They show concern for the
efforts and challenges faced by underlings-even as
they demand high standards. Accordingly, they are
more likely to create an environment where problem
analysis replaces blame.
Lesson 3
"Don't be buffaloed by experts. Experts often possess
more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred
that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as
soon as they are nicked by the real world."
Small companies and startups don't have the time for
analytically detached experts. They don't have the
money to subsidize lofty elites, either. The president
answers the phone and drives the truck when
necessary; everyone on the payroll visibly produces
and contributes to bottom-line results or they're
history. But as companies get bigger, they often forget
who "brought them to the dance" things like all-hands
involvement, egalitarianism, informality, market
intimacy, daring, risk, speed, agility. Policies that
emanate from ivory towers often have an adverse
impact on the people out in the field who are fighting
the wars or bringing in the revenues. Real leaders are
vigilant - and combative - in the face of these trends.
Lesson 4
"Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their
own backyard."
Learn from the pros, observe them, seek them out as
mentors and partners. But remember that even the
pros may have leveled out in terms of their learning
and skills. Sometimes even the pros can become
complacent and lazy. Leadership does not emerge from
blind obedience to anyone. Xerox's Barry Rand was
right on target when he warned his people that if you
have a yes-man working for you, one of you is
redundant. Good leadership encourages everyone's
evolution.
Lesson 5
"Never neglect details. When everyone's mind is
dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly
vigilant."
Strategy equals execution. All the great ideas and
visions in the world are worthless if they can't be
implemented rapidly and efficiently. Good leaders
delegate and empower others liberally, but they pay
attention to details, every day. (Think about supreme
athletic coaches like Jimmy Johnson, Pat Riley and
Tony La Russa). Bad ones - even those who fancy
themselves as progressive visionaries - think they're
somehow "above" operational details. Paradoxically,
good leaders understand something alcyon obsessive
routine in carrying out the details begets conformity
and complacency, which in turn dulls everyone's mind.
That is why even as they pay attention to details, they
continually encourage people to challenge the process.
They implicitly understand the sentiment of EO-leaders
like Quad Graphic's Harry Quadracchi, Oticon's Lars
Kolind and the late Bill McGowan of MCI, who all
independently asserted that the Job of a leader is not to
be the chief organizer, but the chief disorganizer.
Lesson 6
"You don't know what you can get away with until
you try."
You know the expression "it's easier to get
forgiveness than permission?" Well, it's true. Good
leaders don't wait for official blessing to try things out.
They're prudent, not reckless. But they also realize a
fact of life in most organizations you ask enough
people for permission, you'll inevitably come up
against someone who believes his job is to say "no."
So the moral is, don't ask. I'm serious. In my own
research with colleague Linda Mukai, we found that
less effective middle managers endorsed the
sentiment, "If I haven't explicitly been told 'yes,' I can't
do it," whereas the good ones believed "If I haven't
explicitly been told 'no,' I can." There's a world of
difference between these two points of view.
Lesson 7
"Keep looking below surface appearances. Don't
shrink from doing so (just) because you might not like
what you find."
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is the slogan of the
complacent, the arrogant or the scared. It's an excuse
for inaction, a call to non-arms. It's a mind-set that
assumes (or hopes) that today's realities will continue
tomorrow in a tidy, linear and predictable fashion. Pure
fantasy. In this sort of culture, you won't find people
who proactively take steps to solve problems as they
emerge. Here's a little tip. Don't invest in these
companies.
Lesson 8
"Organization doesn't really accomplish anything.
Plans don't accomplish anything, either. Theories of
management don't much matter. Endeavors succeed or
fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting
the best people will you accomplish great deeds."
In a brain-based economy, your best assets are
people. We've heard this expression so often that it's
become trite. But how many leaders really "walk the
talk" with this stuff? Too often, people are assumed to
be empty chess pieces to be moved around by grand
viziers, which may explain why so many top managers
immerse their calendar time in deal making,
restructuring and the latest management fad. How
many immerse themselves in the goal of creating an
environment where the best, the brightest, the most
creative are attracted, retained and-most potently-
unleashed?
Lesson 9
"Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to
nothing."
Organization charts are frozen, anachronistic photos
in a workplace that ought to be as dynamic as the
external environment around you. If people really
followed organization charts, companies would
collapse. In well-run organizations, titles are also
pretty meaningless. At best, they advertise some
authority-an official status conferring the ability to give
orders and induce obedience. But titles mean little in
terms of real power, which is the capacity to influence
and inspire. Have you ever noticed that people will
personally commit to certain individuals who on paper
(or on the org chart) possess little authority-but instead
possess pizzazz, drive, expertise and genuine caring for
teammates and products? On the flip side, nonleaders
in management may be formally anointed with all the
perks and frills associated with high positions, but they
have little influence on others, apart from their ability
to extract minimal compliance to minimal standards.
Lesson 10
"Never let your ego get so close to your position that
when your position goes, your ego goes with it."
Too often, change is stifled by people who cling to
familiar turfs and job descriptions. One reason that
even large organizations wither is that managers won't
challenge old, comfortable ways of doing things. But
real leaders understand that, nowadays, every one of
our jobs is becoming obsolete. The proper response is
to obsolete our activities before someone else does.
Effective leaders create a climate where peoples worth
is determined by their willingness to learn new skills
and grab new responsibilities, thus perpetually
reinventing their jobs. The most important question in
performance evaluation becomes not, "How well did
you perform your job since the last time we met?" but,
"How much did you change it?"
Lesson 11
"Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest
fads. The situation dictates which
approach best accomplishes the team's mission."
Flitting from fad to fad creates team confusion,
reduces the leader's credibility and drains
organizational coffers. Blindly following a
particular fad generates rigidity in thought and action.
Sometimes speed to market is more important than
total quality. Sometimes an unapologetic directive is
more appropriate than participatory discussion. To
quote Powell, some situations require the leader to
hover closely; others require long, loose leashes.
Leaders honor their core values, but they are
flexible in how they execute them. They understand
that management techniques are not magic mantras but
simply tools to be reached for at the right times.
Lesson 12
"Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier."
The ripple effect of a leader's enthusiasm and
optimism is awesome. So is the impact of cynicism and
pessimism. Leaders who whine and blame engender
those same behaviors among their colleagues. I am not
talking about stoically accepting organizational
stupidity and performance incompetence with a "what,
me worry?" smile. I am talking about a gung ho
attitude that says "we can change things here, we can
achieve awesome goals, we can be the best." Spare me
the grim litany of the "realist;" give me the unrealistic
aspirations of the optimist any day.
Lesson 13
"Powell's Rules for Picking People" Look for
intelligence and judgment and, most critically, a
capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also
look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a
balanced ego and the drive to get things done.
How often do our recruitment and hiring processes
tap into these attributes? More often than not, we
ignore them in favor of length of resume, degrees and
prior titles. A string of job descriptions a recruit held
yesterday seem to be more important than who one is
today, what she can contribute tomorrow or how well
his values mesh with those of the organization. You
can train a bright, willing novice in the fundamentals
of your business fairly readily, but it's a lot harder to
train someone to have integrity, judgment, energy,
balance and the drive to get things done. Good leaders
stack the deck in their favor right in the recruitment
phase.
Lesson 14
(Borrowed by Powell from Michael Korda) "Great
leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can
cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a
solution everybody can understand."
Effective leaders understand the KISS principle, or
Keep It Simple, Stupid. They articulate vivid,
overarching goals and values, which they use to
drive daily behaviors and choices among competing
alternatives. Their visions and priorities are lean and
compelling, not cluttered and buzzword-laden. Their
decisions are crisp and clear, not tentative and
ambiguous. They convey an unwavering firmness and
consistency in their actions, aligned with the picture of
the future they paint. The result? Clarity of purpose,
credibility of leadership, and integrity in organization.
Lesson 15
Part I "Use the formula P 40 to 70, in which P stands
for the probability of success and the numbers indicate
the percentage of information acquired."
Part II "Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range,
go with your gut."
Powell's advice is, don't take action if you have only
enough information to give you less than a 40 percent
chance of being right, but don't wait until you have
enough facts to be 100 percent sure, because by then it
is almost always too late. His instinct is right. Today,
excessive delays in the name of information-gathering
breeds "analysis paralysis." Procrastination in the name
of reducing risk actually increases risk.
Lesson 16
"The commander in the field is always right and the
rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise."
Too often, the reverse defines corporate culture. This
is one of the main reasons why leaders like Ken
Iverson of Nucor Steel, Percy Barnevik of Asea
Brown Boveri, and Richard Branson of Virgin have
kept their corporate staffs to a bare-bones minimum.
(And I do mean minimum-how about fewer than 100
central corporate staffers for global $30 billion-plus
ABB? Or around 25 and 3 for multi-billion Nucor and
Virgin, respectively?) Shift the power and the financial
accountability to the folks who are bringing in the
beans, not the ones who are counting or analyzing
them.
Lesson 17
"Have fun in your command. Don't always run at a
breakneck pace. Take leave when you've earned it.
Spend time with your families." Corollary: "Surround
yourself with people who take their work seriously,
but not themselves, those who work hard and play
hard."
Herb Kelleher of Southwest Air and Anita Roddick
of The Body Shop would agree. Seek people who
have some balance in their lives, who are fun to hang
out with, who like to laugh (at themselves, too) and
who have some non-job priorities which they approach
with the same passion that they do their > work. Spare
me the grim workaholic or the pompous pretentious
"professional;" I'll help them find jobs with my
competitor.
Lesson 18
"Command is lonely."
Harry Truman was right. Whether you're a CEO or
the temporary head of a project team, the buck stops
here. You can encourage participative management
and bottom-up employee involvement but ultimately,
the essence of leadership is the willingness to make the
tough, unambiguous choices that will have an impact
on the fate of the organization. I've seen too many
non-leaders flinch from this responsibility. Even as you
create an informal, open, collaborative corporate
culture, prepare to be lonely.
~~~~~
From: Mike Franco (70) ~ Bmbr70@aol.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Re: "Put Up or Shut Up" in Issue #40
I can't think of anything more refreshing than being
lectured by a former close family friend on the state of
our children by one who has none.....My intent here
has always been to discuss, debate and attack issues
not each other. John, you have now done to me here
what you did a while ago in person. Anyway, I will
continue to read this once in a while but I will bow
out. There is no "exchange" of ideas going on
here....and this is not the first time this individual has
felt it appropriate to use someone's 13 year old in the
attack. See ya folks....this "forum" no longer works
for Mike Franco.
~~~~~
Subj: Put Up or Think Up ~ Issue #40
From: Mike Pearson (74) ~ digress@ellensburg.com
John Allen's bluster raises the topics of Logic and Good
Government. Both require arduous mental work, and
both can be interrupted by hasty generalizations. One
who uses the term "Logic" would do well to be able
to recognize common logical fallacies:
1. An argument based on an over generalization (Dicto
simpliciter)
2. Hasty generalization: Too few instances to support
a generalization.
3. After this, therefore because of this (Post Hoc, Ergo
Proper Hoc)
4. Appeal to sympathy instead of reason. (Ad
Misericordiam)
5. False analogy: ignoring context when situations are
quite different.
6. A concept with ideas which, upon closer attention,
contradict one another.
7. Starting with untruth or false information and
drawing conclusions from it.
8. Evaluating a whole system without considering its
working parts.
9. Loose connection between established fact and the
next idea (Non Sequitur)
10. Attacking the person, not the ideas. (Argumentum
Ad Hominem)
11. Ignoring proportion and point of view in assessing
cause.
12. Ignoring major material facts in favor of unproven
principles
13. Settling an issue by debate when persuasion rather
than substance is emphasised.
14. In settling matters not of agreement or law, it is
illogical to choose merely the argument from
temporary authority, whether or not claiming to
represent a deity.
These fallacies are no excuse for smugness in either
side in a discussion because what is at stake is our
good future...or none.
Best Wishes,
Mike Pearson - Class of 1974
~~~~~
From: Arthur Roberts (48) ~ FluffDry@hotmail.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Pray for Peace.
Pray for Love.
Pray for a kinder, gentler John Allen
~~~~~
What did you talk about around the dinner table last
night, at the coffee shop, or with the folks at work?
Maybe you'd like to share it with us right here in
The SANDBOX. We're waiting to hear from you.
Send all your good stuff to:
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
-ap
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-41-
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THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #42 ~ June 20, 1999
"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we
look forward to a world founded upon four essential
human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and
expression--everywhere in the world."
President Franklin D. Roosevelt ~ 1882 - 1945
Address to Congress, Jan. 6 1941
Participants in this issue are:
Al Parker (53), Jim Fowler (72), Joe Ford (63),
Tom Storms (69), Ron Richards (63),
John Allen (66), Tom Hann (61),
Vern Blanchette (64), Vera Smith Robbins (58),
John Adkins (62), Ralph Myrick (51)
~~~~~
Subject: The SANDBOX and Free Speech
From: Al Parker (53)
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
The right to Free Speech in America seems ever
more endangered with the passing of time. In recent
weeks your Free Speech Rights in The SANDBOX
have become endangered as well.
Should the SANDBOX remain an (almost) unbridled
bastion of Free Speech, or should certain guidelines,
such as "the amount of rudeness allowed" become
imposed? During the past several weeks there seems
to have been a growing consensus that some form of
control should be exercised over submissions that are
published in The SANDBOX.
Therefore, a SANDBOX Neighborhood Protocol and
Standards Criteria is now undergoing careful
consideration. But before this is all laid out, I'd like
you all to consider just a few things:
1. What does Free Speech really mean to you?
2. What does Free Speech mean to Americans today?
3. Where would our nation be now, had Free Speech
not taken place during the molding of America?
4. How much are you willing to have your own Free
Speech rights and privileges limited? (Here, in The
SANDBOX, or anywhere else.)
5. What are you willing to do today to help preserve
this marvelous Freedom so vital to America, for you
and for your prodigy? What are you willing to
sacrifice? What degree of discomfort are you willing
to endure in order to keep that Freedom alive? Would
you rather "separate the tares from the wheat" for
yourself, or have someone else do that for you?
6. If something is said here, in substance or method,
with which you disagree, would you rather articulate
your own feelings on the matter, give some thought to
it, just let it pass for now, or abdicate altogether your
opportunity to redress or "hear" the views of others
and talk about things important to you?
6. If you want me to exercise any form of SANDBOX
censorship, where do you want it to start? Where do
you want it to end?
Perhaps I will have more to say and more to ask you on
this subject as time goes on. Most importantly,
though, I want to hear from you.
With the utmost sincerity, I remain,
(and only God knows why),
Your SANDBOX Moderator.
Actually, on reflection, I do know why I keep on doing
this. It's because I still believe The SANDBOX is an
important forum and a tremendous Great American
Participation Opportunity for us all.
There's been a lot of useful information and some very
thoughtful insight already published and discussed in
The SANDBOX during it's relatively young life. From
time to time there's been entertainment, too, and for
better or worse, some things that may have raised your
blood pressure a notch or few. Many have been
inspired by some of the things you've said here.
Several of you have placed articles here as good or
better than anything seen in national publications, but
with insights from your own experiences that the
nationals so often lack. (That doesn't mean you have
to be polished and professional to talk with us here,
however. Please don't get that idea.) So many of you
have, in your own way, contributed so much of value
that it would take hours to enumerate it all. Let
me express my personal thanks right now for all of
that. Hundreds of your worthwhile entries have been
posted here. Please keep it up!
When all is done and said, The SANDBOX will always
be be just as good, but only as good, as what you are
willing to share with us.
Oh, yes... there's one more reason at least, why I'm
still here. I enjoy you all and just happen to care about
every one of you!
Thus I remain, and still maintain:
"If anything you have to say is worth saying anywhere,
it's well-worth saying here!"
And let me say this too, before I go: Because this is
YOUR SANDBOX, whether YOU agree or disagree
with anything that's said in this little microcosm of
America, or even in how it is expressed, YOU will
always have the Freedom to Reply! Pray, if you do
pray at all, that Our America at large may continue
also, to retain that same very rare and precious
liberty— The Right to Reply, the Right to Speak Out!
Don't you dare give up that right! It's inalienable! I
believe our Creator and Founding Fathers delineated a
very clear choice for US to make regarding the
continuance of all the precious Freedoms they've so
generously handed down to us, at so great a price
and risk to ALL of them!
That very clear choice is simply this:
EXERCISE or ATROPHY!
Yes, I am shouting now!
I certainly must agree with Franklin Delano Roosevelt
that the foremost of all our freedoms is the freedom of
speech and expression. Without that freedom, all our
other freedoms are doomed! We must never let that
freedom die. Exercise it!
Winston Churchill spoke eloquently when he charged
his people to fight with all their might to preserve
Britain during the horror of World War II. I would
apply those same words and energy to doing all
that is necessary to preserve Free Speech in
America: "We shall go on to the end,...we shall fight
on the seas and oceans... we shall defend our island,
whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the
beaches we shall fight on the landing grounds, we
shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight
in the hills' we shall never surrender." Among those
things we must never surrender, is our inalienable right
to free speech and expression! Exercise it!
If you value this precious heritage as much as I, you
will never, ever, let any mere mortal, through
inconsiderate remarks or by any other means, turn
you away from any opportunity to speak from your
heart. Not in this world. Not in America. Not in
This SANDBOX!
Of course there will be times when something is said
that will not be worth replying to. But don't give up
the right to choose when, from your heart or from
your conscience, or from the very core of your
basic intelligence, you have something you need or
want to share with your extended Bomber Family here.
Don't be driven off. Don't deprive us. Let your
voice be heard!
I will let the rest of this issue of The SANDBOX speak
for itself, as it expresses and addresses YOUR
interests and YOUR concerns.
O.K. One more thing. Politeness and respect
toward your fellow alumni does count toward
more effective communication and is very much
appreciated by most of us, including me. If all of us
can make the effort to treat each other humanely,
without demeaning or disparaging, as we champion
the values we hold dear and express our feelings about
things that are of interest to us, maybe we can avoid
the awesome and awful specter of SANDBOX
sanctions and censorship. That may require some
thoughtful self-editing for some of us, but quite worth
the effort, wouldn't you agree?
One thing I learned during several years as a member
of Toastmasters International, is that your powers of
persuasion are generally not enhanced anyway, when
you begin by "pissing people off."
Let's try to use all of our freedoms responsibly. Long
live The SANDBOX. Long live AMERICA!
— Al Parker (Class of 1953)
Still living and learning and lovin' it at age 63
~~~~~
Subj: Over The Line
From: Jim Fowler (72) ~ JHFowler@Earthlink.net
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com, Bmbr70@aol.com
John Allen has gone way over the line. Either he
should apologize [not some holier than now phony
bullshit apology] or he should be kicked out of this
forum. Unlike Flag burning, his behavior is akin to
yelling fire in a movie theater. Bye Bye John.
Jim Fowler "72"
~~~~~
From: Ron Richards (63) ~ G1A1S1@aol.com
To: SANDBOX Members
CC: Bmbr70@aol.com
If Mike Franco doesn't participate here any longer, a
fairly significant part of the intelligent commentary will
have been lost. Maybe the supportive comments from
Mike Pearson and Arthur Roberts will cause Mike to
reconsider. For those of you who missed it, here is
what Arthur wrote:
Pray for Peace.
Pray for Love.
Pray for a kinder, gentler John Allen
I would join in Arthur's prayer. I would also add that a
lot of the problems that Mr. Allen knows so much
about are caused by people like Mr. Allen. Too little
analysis. Too many pat answers. Too little
compassion.
Ron Richards ('63)
~~~~~
Subj: Take me off the list
From: joe@jbford.com (Joe Ford) (63)
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Sandbox maintenance;
I got on this list when the Richland folk felt that
"controversial topics" should not appear in messages
posted to the original e-mail list.
I've discovered that the Sandbox doesn't do much
for me. For some reason, John Allen apparently feels
he's got to lecture all of us, and he's simply rude. I'm
tired of reading his rants and attacks.
Take me off the list.
Thanks in advance.
--Joe Ford
~~~~~
Subj: Re: To Mike Franco and Mike Pearson
From: Tom Storms (69) ~ STORMSY@aol.com
Mr. Franco,
You judge an entire forum by one person's response.
That's like labeling the Sandstorm as a sports site
because you only read Phil Jones' contributions. No
offense Phil. Don't bow out, you have too much to
offer in these discussions.
Mr. Pearson Can you explain it to Mr. Allen in lay
terms. I'm sure he didn't get it.
Tom Storms-Class of 69
~~~~~
Subj: LIBERAL WHINE (Ouch....Ouch Ouch!!)
From: John M. Allen (66)
Reply-to miles2go@cheerful.com
All you Bomber sports fans, particularly those
aficionados of the National Basketball Association, will
probably remember Bill Laimbeer, the infamous center
for the Detroit Pistons who played in the 1980s and
early '90s. Laimbeer's infamy came in large part, due
to his much chronicled ability to make it appear that
the man he was guarding, OR the one who was
guarding him, had committed a foul upon his
completely innocent person. Refined basketball fans
would frequently watch a Pistons game, focusing not
on the ball, but rather on Laimbeer, to marvel as game
after game, he raised this technique to a true art form.
It became known in NBA parlance as the "flop." The
"flop" was all the more effective because Laimbeer
was a great shooter and he scored a large percentage
of his points at the foul line, isolated in the
spotlight/TV camera and unencumbered by annoying
hands in his face. In addition to his ability to fake being
fouled, he was equally unsurpassed at surreptitiously
throwing elbows and hips, thereby causing his
opponents a maximum of physical pain. The guy was
very simply THE master at what he did, and except at
The Palace in Auburn Hills (where the Pistons play),
Laimbeer was roundly booed at every arena in the
NBA.
Now, I have no idea whether or not he was/is a
Democrat, but in '89 & '90 when he was helping the
Pistons to two NBA World Championships, Bill
Laimbeer was certainly better know throughout the
land than was Bill Clinton. I make this point only as
likely evidence that IF either one learned from the
other, it was probably Clinton who learned from
Laimbeer. Certainly no one can dispute that with or
without consulting Laimbeer, Clinton transported the
"flop" into the political arena and has carried it to even
greater heights. As examples, I offer you the "Vast
Right-Wing Conspiracy" which he somehow
snookered the wife he repeatedly humiliates, into
proclaiming, and "The Politics of Personal
Destruction" which he submitted to the nation (in lieu
of his official AND criminal behavior) as explanation
for his impeachment by the House of Representatives.
But the comparison goes even further. Just as
Laimbeer subtly directed hips and elbows at basketball
opponents, Clinton has been unequaled in going after
political opponents, employing James "Corporal
Cueball" Carville and Sid "Vicious" Blumenthal as his
political Hatchet Men-in-Chief. Recipients of their
attentions have been Paula ("Trailer Trash") Jones to
whom Clinton paid $800,000 as settlement in a civil
lawsuit, and Monica Lewinsky who was in the
process of being nationally trashed as a "nut case" until
Jacky Judd of ABC News gave Clinton pause by
reporting on "The Stain." Through his henchmen,
Clinton even attempted to malign the military record
(can you believe it, the MILITARY record) of a
Congressman from his own party who dared to
criticize Clinton's concept of "telling the truth." As
with Lewinsky, some fast backpedalling was required
when the Congressman's record, unlike Clinton
himself, proved to be unimpeachable. Of course
these were only small fry compared with Ken Starr and
Linda Tripp who received almost hourly attention
throughout the media for over a year.
I could bore you with MANY more examples of this
analogy, but my point is, that after 6+ years of the
"Man from Hope," an alarming number of otherwise
normal Democrats have begun to reflexively ape the
"flop" technique of their fearless leader. If anyone
dares to disagree with their political point of view or
their logic, or even worse, has the unmitigated gaul to
point out actual DETAILS of the disagreement or
flawed logic, then that person is immediately accused
of attacking them personally. If someone has the
impertinence to express disgust or revulsion at the
behavior of the president they helped elect, then that
is immediately labeled as "hate." Disagreement, and
pointing out actual details of disagreement, are NOT
synonymous with personal attack or hate. As a more
specific example of this behavior, in issue #39 of
the "Sandbox," liberal Mike Franco first invoked the
knowledge and experience of his 13 year-old daughter
to "attack" the comments I had made in a previous
issue. When I then suggested that his daughter
might not be the sole clearing house for all teenage
knowledge and experience, he "flopped" and cried foul
that I was somehow attacking his daughter (who, from
my limited observation, is a truly wonderful girl). It
makes one wonder if there is no cheap shot (elbow)
that a good liberal won't take (throw). ANY time a
racial, religious, ethnic, sexual or unsubstantiated
personal epithet is flung your way (let's say, just for
example, "hate monger"), then you liberals have every
right to cry foul. However, when in the course of a
debate you find yourselves flush with emotion but
fresh out of logic, certain of you need to be grown up
enough to admit it instead of "flopping" and then
running home with your ball.
---John Allen ('66)
~~~~~
Subj: PRAYER IN SCHOOL
From: Thomas C. Hann (61) ~ ThomasC@Hann.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WRITTEN BY A 12 YEAR-OLD-GIRL in Boston
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule.
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites
It violates the Bill of Rights.
Anytime my head I bow
Becomes a federal matter now.
The law is specific; the law is precise.
Praying out loud is no longer nice.
Praying aloud in a public hall
Upsets those who believe
in nothing at all.
In silence alone we can meditate
and if God should get the credit--great!
They are bringing their guns,
I don't dare bring my Bible,
To do so might make me liable.
So, now Oh Lord, this plea I make;
Should I be shot in school,
My soul please take. Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was found on the web and sent to me by a friend.
I sure thank GOD for being raised in Richland and for
the times I was raised in. What a sad commentary this
Prayer is for the times now. The problems now are
so complex that there is no one single answer. The
solutions are complex and need to be interwoven in all
our lives in the times now. With GOD'S help we must
prevail in these times and our continued daily prayers
must be interwoven into our daily lives and those lives
that we touch. These are exciting times now and I for
one do not wish to go back to the times that I was
raised in. I look forward to every issue of The Sandbox
and the memories that come with reading it. God Bless
you all. < Tom Hann, class of '61
PS. Appreciate any e-mails from those I knew in
Columbia Hi; Carmichael; Marcus Whitman
ThomasC@Hann.com
— Class of 61 --
~~~~~
From: Ralph Myrick (51) ~ tigersan1@bigfoot.com
[Note: this appeared in an earlier SANDBOX, but we
will run it again for any who may have missed it. The
entry following this one gives us the answer. -ap]
Since the following has to do with political opinion,
I decided to put it here.
This is funny. Try this. It worked for me. Here is
proof that either Bill Gates has a sense of humor or
that he is part of that right wing conspiracy Hillary
keeps talking about.
1) Open a new Microsoft Word document.
2) Type the phrase, I'd like Bill Clinton to resign.
3) Highlight this phrase as if you we're going to check
for spelling.
4) Select: Tools - Language - Thesaurus
~~~~~
Subj: What It Says---
From: John Adkins (62) ~ ml_adkins@msn.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
You all asked what happens with MSWord if you check
the Thesaurus against a phrase something like "I Wish
Bill Clinton would resign" - well it says "I'll drink to
that."
John Adkins "62"
~~~~~
Subj: RULES FOR BETTER WRITTING..........
From: Tom Hann (61) ~ ThomasC@Hann.com
Have noticed that our writing skills have not improved
since English class in Columbia Hi. I offer some rules
for our consideration when sending in articles to the
SANDBOX
1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid clich_s like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are
(usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than
necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary.
Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in
commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would
suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use
them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to
put forth earth shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it
when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson
said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand
times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can
use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid
colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be
derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than
understatement.
..........NOT .
-Anonymous
Tom Hann Class of 1961
~~~~~
Subj: Congress - who's doing what
From: Vernon Blanchette (64) ~ vernon@digital.net
You may wish to bookmark this site -- it carries the
records of some of the subjects under debate in
Congress, and who's doing what. (For example, John
McCain's amendment to let cable companies
keep raising rates.)
http://www.opensecrets.org/diykit/
~~~~~
Subj: Re: VIRUS ALERT from The SANDBOX
From: Vera Smith Robbins (58) ~ Goldi13@aol.com
Thanks for the warning. I hate it when you can't just
get online and enjoy yourself. You always have to be
watching for crazies.
~~~~~
From: Mike Pearson (74) ~ digress@ellensburg.com
Subj: Response to Vernon Blanchette (64)'s posts
(& various good posts)
Schoolkids today are like we were...in need of a Good
Education. My opinion was fresh and fun when I
wrote it... & maybe you can revive the poor thing by
smart reading.
I like the combination of Bible and military quotations
you sent and I remember they flourish within the Prime
Directive -- the U.S. Constitution and Amendments,
including the Bill of Rights. They're great for
thoughtful reading! I believe, based on history, they
protect freedom of religion better even than religion
itself does. Why do we fly only the flags 100 feet
high? We could post 100 foot-tall copies of the
Constitution and Amendments -- the product of
centuries of management research and experience!
You wrote "There are roots of this . . . inside each of
us..." (we agree!) and quoted General Powell on
leadership -- (excerpt):
"...blindly following a particular fad generates
rigidity in thought and action . . . management
techniques are not magic mantras but simply tools
to be reached for at the right times." (Lesson 11)
These are true and grand except with respect to the
U.S. Constitution and its Amendments . . . which
protect freedom of management better than
management itself does, by providing peaceful
transfers of power and protecting people with rights in
any process. Alternative systems produce much more
turbulent and quixotic power struggles (in which they
lose sight of the original intent of obtaining the reins of
management).
Kids today are deprived of learning the wonders
inherent in Constitutional law. The teachers could
read aloud to high school students (with a theatric
air?) a fair sampling of law cases and their resolution
and they'd be better served than being kept in the dark
about the true basis of modern civilization. Any lesson
plan can be made interesting, and this lesson plan
deserves more attention than it's getting. If school
kids knew their rights and learned the true dimensions
of them, wouldn't they be inclined to practice those
freedoms with more self-respect and respect for the
welfare of others?
We could show films like _The People vs. Larry
Flynt_ in upper high school and it would help!!...
Why? Well, have you seen that film? The U.S.
Supreme Court and other courts are well portrayed.
Unfortunately, as in real life, Larry Flynt is shot and
paralyzed, and his wife dies tragically from drug abuse.
You quoted Isaiah 55:
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways My ways, says the Lord."
With the exception of (__________ (fill in the blank)
no human is allowed an exception or "Lordship" status
by the U.S. Constitution whether they be a priest or
priestess, minister, rabbi, mullah, swami or other
"spokesperson" for the Lord. They must manage with
freedom of religion speech, assembly, press, trade etc.
without violating or usurping the rights of others
granted by the U.S. Constitution. I hope you agree...
it's consistent with what you were saying.
Mike Pearson (74)
Science does not consist of proving things true but in
testing and criticizing them. -- Karl Popper
~~~~~~
Subj: Spike Lee, CBS News Anchor
From: Mike Pearson (74) ~ digress@ellensburg.com
Free press used to mean some abuse. Readers might be
swayed by false info or purple prose or sensational
headlines. But at least there was a "press." With TV
and radio, there is only the seductive voice in our ear
and the handsome talking head to deliver a party line.
How much analysis occurs with 15 stories of 100
words each? A lot! They're manipulatin' the heck out
of us, or tryin', with neurolinguistic programming,
clever wording, color tampering, and subliminal visual
undertones behind the words. These folks average
four years of college, mostly in journalism. What is a
journal? Just whatever they write in it. The movie
about Malcolm X was kinda inspiring, but I never like
the Leninist quote on the movie't tee shirt -- "by any
means necessary."
With a press, they had to gather information
and publish tens of thousands of words daily
that could be clipped by anyone's Granny for
future criticism.
With TV and radio, they seem to have no limits
and no accountability -- and they're never
sorry if they get it wrong. Am I a critic?
Just being their detractor -- does that make
me a critic?
It looks like TV and radio news' motto is
"We spy and pry and if necessary, lie, to
get out the gossip as quickly as we hear it...
or whatever it is we're trying to accomplish."
And if you think they're muddled, wait'll ya
see how they handle rejection! Tell a millionaire
anchor he's a no-good lazy dumb gossipin'
interloper and he'll really turn red.
Thanks for the forum...I'm Mr. Popular.
Mike Pearson (74)
~~~~
That's it for this issue of The SANDBOX, folks. Thanks
to all of the contributors for sharing their thoughts with
all of us.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy paraphrased John Greenleaf
Whittier when he said: "My fellow citizens of the world:
ask not what America will do for you, but what together
we can do for the freedom of man."
And I might suggest along that line, "Ask not what the
SANDBOX can do for you, but what together we can
do to make The SANDBOX the truly fine forum that
ALL OF US would like it to be.
Thank you for your support!
--Al Parker
"Education is what survives when what has been
learnt has been forgotten."
B.F. Skinner 1904 -
Think about it. Talk about it. Send us your stuff.
-42-
***************************************
***************************************
********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #43 ~ June 27, 1999
Dedicated to a Diversity of Opinion,
Useful Information and Personal Experience
"I wish I was as cocksure of anything
as Tom Macaulay is of everything."
--- Lord Melbourne 1779 - 1848
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
This Issue's Contributors:
Carol Hodgson (66), Rick Maddy (67),
Joy Stanfield (71), Carolyn Carson (60),
JoAnn Dresser (61), Ron Richards (63),
Marc Franco (66), David Rivers (65),
Andrew Eckert (54), Arthur Roberts (48),
Ray Wells (54), Patricia de la Bretonne (65),
Stephen Lewis (69), Margaret Hartnett (72),
Eva Clark (49), Mike Pearson (74),
John Allen (66), Millie Finch (54)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subj: Brain Cells Revitalized
From: Carol Hodgson Neupert '66
Cneupert@aol.com
Am enjoying the memories and the revitalization of
some brain cells I thought were lost. Thanks to all
who share their thoughts and memories. And no, I
don't always agree with things that are said in the
Sandbox, but thank God somebody's thinking out
there. Just stimulates me and others to review our
values and priorities. Keep up the great work.
-- Carol Hodgson Neupert '66
~~~~~
Subj: Wants Out
From: Rich Maddy (67)
tyedyed@earthlink.net
First Amendment Rights concerning the Sandbox: You
mean it's okay to say "**** ***." in here?
[No, it's not -ap]
This went from the Sandstorm trying to get many
people, like me, saying mundane controversial stuff
like, "what was with the bottle of my ole man's piss in
the lead container, or whatever it was, on the front
porch if it was so safe out there?" Or the subjective
notion that, "...the mushroom cloud on the high school
emblem is actually a peace symbol, however peculiar it
may appear, and contrary to belief, is not an insignia
from hell.." Or, " I remember FBI agents coming to
my parents home asking about neighbors during the
security clearance days."
And because I said this, and it sure wasn't just me,
people actually wrote to me saying what a pity it was I
didn't have a good life growing up in Richland. And
too bad about my "woe is me" problem. An
unbelievable assumption. Where do people come up
with this? Having a bad life in Richland had never
came close to crossing my mind, even when trying to
conjure up the wickedest of scenario's.
At 50, and not needing this type of stimulation, there is
little in here of interest to read for me. Almost nothing
concerning growing up in Richland. Knowing that even
the wisest of men will be made to look like fools,
what's the point? I'll stick with making a fool out of
myself in the Sandstorm.
Please remove me.
Rick Maddy (67)
[As you wish, Rick. I don't believe, however, that
anyone around here is fool enough to think of you as a
fool. If so, that is that person's problem, not your's
or ours. But watch out! At any moment, when you
least expect it, an irresistable idea, insight or even a
current hometown concern may suddenly enter your
brain that you will want to share right here with
the rest of your Bomber family. In any event, (or no
event at all), your ideas, viewpoints and personal
experience are always welcome! -ap]
~~~~~
Subj: Wants In
From: JoAnn Dresser Nai-che
ripnai@gte.net
Please add me back on the mailing list. Thank-you
. JoAnn (Dresser) Nai-che
[Thanks for asking JoAnn. Welcome! -ap]
~~~~~
Subj: Here's to you Al
From: Joy Stanfield (71)
Earthtojoy@aol.com
Dear Al:
I want to thank you for the SANDBOX. I especially
enjoyed the last issue (#42). You are a very smart
man. I 'wanna be' like you when I grow up. (lol)
I guess because you graduated the year I was born I
get to feel like a little kid next to you. That's nice
because sometimes I feel so old. My age is pushing 50
and female. Yikes!!!
Thanks again Al,
Joy (71)
[Fair lady, you make me blush! -ap]
~~~~~
Subj: Freedom of Speech
From: Carolyn (Carson) Renaud (60)
seattlecarol@yahoo.com
Free Speech. Yes, Al, free speech is and should be
valued. But, you know, it is too bad people cannot
exercise that free speech without being rude and nasty.
I guess there are just people out there who are angry
and want to let everyone know it. The good thing?
I don't have to expose myself to it and neither does
anyone else. That is what the "delete" button is for.
I guess if a person isn't intelligent enough to articulate
their opinions on an adult level, they can be just as
nasty as they want. I once heard an adage: Better to
keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to
open it and remove all doubt."
Have a great day!
Carol (Carson) Renaud '60
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com wrote:
"In the future days, which we seek to make secure,
we look forward to a world founded upon four
essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of
speech and expression--everywhere in the world."
---President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
[Thanks Carol. Let's ALL have a great day, and many
more to follow with true appreciation, as we remain
free to celebrate another anniversary of this great
nation on July 4, 1999. May there be many more such
celebrations in our country's future! Happy Birthday
to you all! -ap]
~~~~~
Subj: Joe Ford
From: Ron Richards ('63)
G1A1S1@aol.com
CC: joe@jbford.com
Joe Ford:
Don't let John Allen get the best of you. The more
he writes, the more he hurts his own causes - unless
he forces people like you to stop participating.
Hang in here!
-- Ron Richards ('63)
~~~~~
Subj: Re: Liberal Whine
From: Marc Franco (66)
Reply-to: mfranco@sttl.uswest.net
I just can't stand it any more. I usually try not to
respond to anything John Allen says, because 1) it's
hopeless, 2) he is so wrapped up in ideology that he
simply has no room for facts, and 3) I really, really do
not want to get caught up in a shouting match, which I
know is going to happen. But I can't stand it any more.
"Clinton has been unequaled in going after political
opponents" well, this is surely true for John, but many
of the rest of us who try to stay in the middle and
recognize virtues and faults on both sides will
remember Lee Atwater, a total political hatchetman
for George Bush, a good man who could have been a
good president. Atwater's attacks were so savage on
political opponents that, later, as he lay dying from a
brain tumor, he actually called in those opponents to
make deathbed apologies to the people he had
wronged. John Allen apparently does not see anything
wrong with what Atwater was doing (after all, Atwater
was a Republican and therefore cannot be
wrong {comments like that are meant to parody John-
they do not truly represent my views in either direction}).
"If somebody has the impertinence to express
disgust or revulsion at the behavior of the president
they helped elect, then that is immediately labeled as
hate." No, John, as usual you have missed the point
completely. I labeled your views as hate because of
material you have written here in the Sandbox, such as
the following-
"Moreover, having been caught like a rat in a spotlight
during a Saturday night's sport at the local dump, he
has sent forth his lesser rats to offer the American
people the most pitiful of justifications for retaining his
services."
You have made numerous comments just like this
about Clinton- to disagree with him- of course- go for
it. To make comments like the one above and
numerous others- well, yes, that seems like hate to me.
FURTHERMORE, John Allen dared to label me as a
left- wing extremist liar, because I mentioned in one of
my letters that there are people in the country who
truly hate Bill Clinton, and that one of them, John
Allen, is on this forum. What makes John's accusation
truly remarkable is that he has told numerous people,
including myself, my brother, my parents, and
numerous friends who were forced to listen to it, that
he HATES Bill Clinton. John has said this many times.
John, please explain on this forum, where you made
the accusation that I am a left- wing extremist liar,
why any of that applies when all I did was to quote
something that you have said many times, not to
mention all the comments like the one above that you
have sent into the Sandbox.
Why John thinks that I or anyone else has defended
Clinton in his actions is also beyond me. I have written
several times in this forum that I do not approve of
and condemn Clinton's actions concerning Monica and
numerous other things. John wrote in his last letter
that Clinton tried to smear some congressional critic
by attacking his military record (of which Clinton had
none). Well, I don't approve of that either. John is
clearly unaware that both parties do that kind of thing,
and both parties should be condemned for it, rather
that picking out only the party you like and
condemning the other. Wrong is wrong, and I don't
care who does it.
The latest thing that has my anger up is the
revelation that when the Senate tried to shoot down
the gun control bill a couple of weeks ago (John
had accused that liberals would try to make a gun
control bill in the wake of Columbine high school-
poor John is unaware that 70 % of the country has
stated a desire for some gun control- you don't have to
be a liberal to want fewer guns on the streets- but
John's ideology interferes with such facts), it was
revealed that 48 of the 50 Republican Senators who
voted against the bill were receiving money from the
NRA. I was wondering of John would comment on
that, since I know he would have of Democrats had
been doing that. But, of course, since these were
Republicans, then it's perfectly ok. John has made no
comment about it. Those of us who are more
moderate and centrist would condemn such behavior
in either party, and both parties DO do it. It's not just
the Republicans. But it's wrong for both parties.
This is an extremely long letter, but like I said
earlier, I simply can no longer tolerate John's one-
sidedness and intolerance. I was bemused a little while
ago when John tried to say something nice about Bill
Bradley, a Democrat. However, as painful as that must
have been for John in his attempt to show his fairness,
it does not erase the dozens and dozens of comments
that he has made over the months in this forum and
elsewhere. In using the "H" word, please do
understand that I am only quoting what John
himself has said- John- please try to restrain your
hatred on this board and elsewhere, because it detracts
from your credibility. If you don't like Clinton- fine-
lots of people don't like Clinton. Your hatred goes
beyond that.
-Marc Franco (66) - moderate liberal (ouch....ouch
ouch)
~~~~~
Subj: A weenie is still a weenie.
From: David Rivers (65)
NeverTowed@aol.com
I find it interesting, that some guys and gals have
become upset with a certain fellow who has,
apparently dominated the Sandbox, with tirades and
lectures. When we were in school there were groups of
kids that ran together and pretty much stayed that
way. The kids I ran with, I still run with we just don't
see each other as often. Once a year now instead of
once a day. Over the years our groups have expanded
in some ways and we've come to know others we
didn't know very well in school. Likewise, we have
dropped some we no longer enjoy. Some people
considered cool in school, we may no longer consider
so. Some we considered square, we've learned to
admire and sought the pleasure of their company. But
remember, we needn't tolerate intolerance. Nice thing
about computers is the delete feature. Whether it's
Ballpark or Hebrew National...A weenie is still a
weenie!
David Rivers (65)
~~~~~
Subj: Stressful Reading!
From: Andrew Eckert (54)
ECKERT1108@aol.com
I am compelled to add my voice to the growing
rebellion towards one individual's attempt to seize and
force this forum into an extreme right wing forum for
intolerance and hate dispensing. I have just realized
that with the past several issues of the Sandbox, I read
as far as to see who had submissions and promptly
tapped my delete key when the name John Allen
appeared. I as I'm sure many of you, have very little
capacity left for hearing this constant spewing of hate,
ridicule, distortions of anything political that Mr. Allen
does not find conforms with his very narrow, self
righteous, bigoted views. Actually I'm feeding him
just as he would have me do, I will have made Mr.
Allen's day with this. I understand that his
sanctimonious, right wing rantings are his way of
gaining attention and in his mind, perhaps stature. For
now he can pontificate on all of my misguided,
immature, rantings, so enjoy yourself John.
If Mr. Parker would consider rearranging the order,
placing John Allen at the bottom of the page, much of
the stress I attribute to his writings, could be avoided
more easily, and perhaps some of the writers with truly
enlightening and most thoughtful, at times even
inspiring, submissions from persons who do not live
there political agendas may return. I'll plagiarize a
writing from Vernon Blanchette Lesson 10.
> "Never let your ego get so close to your position that
when your position goes, your ego goes with it."
Andrew Eckert (54)
~~~~~
Subject Maybe just a shill?
From: Arthur Roberts (48)
FluffDry@Hotmail.com
Surely, "Right Wing Extremists" can't really be as bad
as Mr. Allen, by example, sometimes makes them out
to be? Have you not considered that he might actually
be a "shill" from the other side just trying to make so-
called right-wingers look bad? Or, perhaps it is a
personal condition rather than a political position that's
really being expressed at times?
I really hate political labels, in any case, which in my
opinion generally tend to conceal more than they reveal.
I prefer to measure each issue on it's own merits to the
best of my ability rather than measuring it against any
standard of presumed political "catechisms."
I appreciate it most when this forum offers opinions
and information that is helpful to me in making better
informed decisions for myself. I am sure there are
many more people, (fellow Bomber Alumni), out
there who could contribute greatly to this need.
- Arthur Roberts -
~~~~~
From: Ray Wells (54)
ray@transcribing.com
Subject: Freedom of speech
I am against censorship. Freedom of speech is our
constitutional right. Obviously there are limits as to
what is appropriate. It is not appropriate to yell
"FIRE" in a crowded theater, nor is it appropriate to
use the sandbox forum for character assassination or
pornographic stories. Anything that falls short of this
should be fair game.
I no longer bother to make contributions to the Alumni
Sandstorm, and I seldom read it, because Maren Smith
refused to print the following story:
Concerning Ray Juricich: We used to wait for him to
come down the hall, and when he was within hearing
distance, we would go through this dialog:
"Juricich?"
"No, mine don't itch. Jurs?"
Maren missed the point which was to poke fun at Ray's
last name, and she, from information supplied by her
own mind -- not the story, was sure that the point of
the story was to poke fun at Mr. Juricich's private
parts -- so she refused to print it. If I were to
encounter this type of censorship from the Sandbox,
I'd stop contributing to it and I'd stop reading it. Stick
to your ideals, Al.
- Ray Wells (54) -
~~~~~
Subj: Re: The Sandbox and Free Speech
From: Patricia de la Bretonne '65
BrassEar@aol.com
Al, I don't really feel it is necessary for you to censor in
any way. It seems on this site as on others of its type,
if someone is offensive, or just plain stupid, someone
else will tell her/him so. I think it's best if we just
monitor ourselves and each other, particularly since
this site was set up as an alternative to the arbitrarily
and whimsically censored Sandstorm. If this is
censored and edited, what's the point of having it as an
alternative site at all? thanks.
Patricia de la Bretonne '65
~~~~~
Subj: Feelings and Thoughts
From: Stephen Lewis (69)
wslgeo@yahoo.com
Having scrolled through the archives, it seems a shame
that some hard feelings have developed. Certainly,
people that want a warm and fuzzy place can stay with
the Sandstorm and people that want to get political
can hang out in the box.
However, I am a bit disappointed that there are not
more Richland-related political issues such as later
classes' beloved mushroom cloud, the thyroid study,
future uses of the Hanford Reach, or controversies
surrounding the Hanford cleanup.
[Excuse me for interupting... I would like to see a lot
more of that, myself, Steve. -ap]
A lot of what I saw in the archives, I can get by tuning
to 570 AM here on the wet side.
However, the snitching issue did remind me of the
exact moment when I learned that being a tattletale
was bad in Mrs. Warren's kindergarten class at
Jefferson.
Hello to any of my old friends that are still "in the box."
— Steve Lewis (65)
~~~~~
Subj: Re: The SANDBOX and Free Speech
From: Margaret Hartnett (72)
highdesert@theriver.com
(A modern hotel in a timeless town)
To: Al Parker
Al, thanks for sharing your thoughts and concerns
about Freedom of Speech and how it applies to the
SANDBOX. Your views and suggestions certainly hit
a resonant chord with me. I suppose I fall on the side
of protecting our Freedom of Speech by "whatever
means necessary", therefore I would vote against any
form of censorship. One of the things I have learned by
spending 20 years in the "hospitality" industry is that
there is no excuse for bad manners but they are out
there everywhere we look. I for one will miss Mike
Franco's contributions to the SANDBOX, and not
wanting to take up "public" space I have told him so
directly. I am also one of the people that John Allen
has taken to task in the past. The wounds are healing
nicely but it makes one less likely to say anything that
might catch John's attention. Is that John's fault? Not
really, but it does impact the concept of a free
exchange of thoughts and opinions. One of my
mother's favorite sayings that always comes back to
me at times like this was, "It takes the same amount of
energy to be nice as mean". So, maybe John could try
killing us with kindness for a while. On the other hand,
you might suggest to our fellow readers that we can
always scroll right by.
Margaret Hartnett (72)
[Thanks, Peggy, for suggesting "scroll" as an
alternative, rather than "delete." I still think it would
be great if we could have a big Bomber party at your
hotel some day! --ap]
~~~~~
Subj: Looking Beyond
From: Eva Clark Perry (49)
jeperry@dmi.net
Regardless of what all transpires, we are of a fleshly
nature and self never wants to admit "I" could be
wrong. Jesse Penn-Lewis once wrote, "If you
discover that you are disappointed in yourself, it is
simply evidence that self isn't dead". Surely, we from
the era of RICHLAND and the war etc.. should have
reached a point of looking beyond the flesh and to
what is yet to come. Really, I am Thankful to be able
to read and listen to what all are saying and just felt
that maybe we all ought to look beyond instead of
letting all these petty things ruin our minds. Love
and Prayer.
Eva Clark Perry (49)
~~~~~
Sub: We Grow Great By Dreams
From: Mike Pearson (74)
digress@ellensburg.com
My Mom sent this:
"We grow great by dreams.
All big men are dreamers. They see things
in the soft haze of a spring day or in
the red fire of a long winter's evening.
Some of us let these great dreams die,
but others nourish and protect them;
nurse them through bad days till they
bring them to the sunshine and light
which comes always to those who sincerely
hope that their dreams will come true."
-- Woodrow Wilson
Mike Pearson (74)
~~~~~
Subj: BAIT & SWITCH
From: John M. Allen (66) ~ miles2go@cheerful.com
A short few years ago, we had a Republican US
Congressman here in Oregon who had been claiming
for some time in his personal biography that during his
military career, he had been a member of US Army
Special Forces in Korea. It was eventually revealed
that there was some question concerning his veracity
in this regard. Finally, the hot light of publicity made
it clear that this individual had been lying through his
teeth about this AND other things regarding his
personal and professional life. He was forced from
office and another Republican who had formerly
represented the same district was appointed in his
place. Justice was served.
Unfortunately, we are in the process of seeing similar
behavior pop up again in the Northwest.
Representative George R. Nethercutt, Jr., another
Republican, has managed to come down with a severe
case of Potomac Fever and apparently plans to renege
on his solemn promise to serve a maximum of two
terms as Washington State's Representative from
the Fifth Congressional District. Perhaps his original
pledge was ill-advised (personally, I think a pledge for
a maximum of 6-8 years would have been more
reasonable), but HE made that pledge and most
importantly, he is easily capable of fulfilling it - even
now. This is simply a case of he doesn't WANT to
fulfill his promise. A man IS no better than his word
and now we see Nethercutt's word is worth very
little when it becomes painful to keep it. This is the
type of difficult situation where a man's true character
can best be evaluated and if Nethercutt continues on
his present course, he should be judged appropriately.
I hope that if conservatives in the 5th District have a
Republican alternative, they will vote for that
individual (there is still time to find one) and, as a last
resort, vote for the Democrat challenger. This kind of
dishonorable "promise them anything to get elected"
image is nothing the Republican Party needs to have
hanging around its neck. The opposition is good
enough at making something out of nothing; we don't
need to be giving them a slam dunk.
---John Allen ('66)
~~~~~
Subj: New Address / Likes Input
From: Millie Finch Gregg (54)
mmgregg@3-cities.com
I just wanted to notify the Sandbox that I have a new
e-mail. Please change the old to this:
mmgregg@3-cities.com. Thank you.
I like to read your input also. Have a great day!
Millie Finch Gregg (54)
~~~~~
Errors and Ommisions: Two articles included in Issue
#42 by Mike Pearson were inadvertently not attributed
at the top of the page. If you missed them, you may
enjoy going back to issue #42 and using your word
search function to find them by typing "Pearson" into
your word search field. If I goofed up anything sent in
by anyone else, either in that issue, or this, I
apologize for that as well. Thanks.
Thank you for all your comments in this issue. I hope
to see things continue in an ever more productive venue
involving the free exchange of Ideas, Concerns, even
Hopes and Dreams. And it sure wouldn't hurt to have
a little more Humor injected from time to time. What
is going on in your neighborhood that needs airing, or
weighing out? What things wonderful are happening?
What can we do to improve our quality of life? How
can we benefit others? Everybody's talkin' about the
weather, but what can we do about it? Is the human
race learning anything from history, or are we just
repeating it? What is missing in The SANDBOX that
You'd like to see here?
Here's an exercise you could try: Scan today's
Newspaper. Which three topics do you think are the
most important or life-affecting there? How would you
like to influence the outcome of any one of these items
if you could? O.K. think about it for a moment.
Have you thought about it? OK, then ...SHARZIES!
It's basically up to you folks to make this thing work.
What you are willing to contribute is precisely what I
am able to send out.
Until next time, I remain your faithful servant,
Al Parker (53)
May all your hopes and dreams, now and forever,
eventually an irrevocably come true!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-43-
***************************************
***************************************
********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #44 ~ Published in Cyberspace July 14, 1999
Dedicated to a Diversity of Opinion,
Useful Information and Personal Experience
"What is your sex's earliest, latest care,
Your heart's supreme ambition? --
To be fair."
- Lord Lyttelton George (1709 - 1773)
Advice to a Lady (1733)
~~~~~~
~~ Here's What We're Talking About Today ~~
Part A:
Inserts- One-liners sprinkled throughout.
Forwarded by Vera Smith Robbins (58)
Part B. Ins and Outs
with contributions from:
Brad Wear Rick Maddy
Tony Sharpe Larry Bruggeman
Patti Eckert Weyers Jay Siegel
Dennis Clinton
Part C. It's About Relationships:
Free Speech and Civility
Radiation and Coffee
(Drink lots of coffee before hand - but never after
you've been hit by the bomb!)
By Norma Loescher Boswell
Part D. Three Things About The Daily News
(It's not just about reading the funnies, folks!)
By Mike Pearson
Part E. SANDBOX Scoop!
Yakima Police Officer Retains Sense of
Humor After Being Shot in Chest.
By D.P. Clinton
Part F. Additional Commentary:
Mike Pearson on Free Speech
Jay Siegel on Pogo and the World We Have Built
Arthur Roberts on Principle Above Party
Maren Smyth on Names
Part G. Butterfly Collection
Responses To Butterfly Link
With: Jean Armstrong, David Rivers, Shirley
Collings Haskins, DPClinton, Patricia de la Bretonne,
Norma Loescher Boswell, Vickie Andersen Simmons,
Hugh Hinson, Ramona Miller Garcia
Part H. To Chat or Not To Chat
(Have you seen ICQ's "cop-out" clause?)
From PC World
Part I. Your Opinion Please!
(Questions for Your Consideration)
From The SANDBOX
Trivia: What is the longest word in the English
language you can type only using your left hand?
From Paul Harvey News
(Answer appears somewhere in this dispatch.)
Part B. Ins and Outs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Featuring comments by:
Brad Wear Rick Maddy,
Tony Sharpe Larry Bruggeman
Patti Eckert Weyers Jay Siegel
Dennis Clinton
Ins and Outs #1
Brad Wants In---
Subj: Add me to the list
From: Brad Wear (71)
Wear90@aol.com
Thank you for hosting the site, it's great. I found it
today (6/29) and now I'll have to read some of the
archived topics. I would appreciate being added to the
mailing list if possible.
[You're in, Brad. Welcome -ap]
Joy Stanfield--- you might be approaching 50
chronologically but it's all in the mind, I'm still 25 in
my physical endeavors. --Brad Wear '71.
~~
Ins and Outs #2
Rick's Still Out - But Says Nice Things
From: tyedyed@earthlink.net
Rick Maddy (67)
Al,
I forgot to mention thank you for all your work in the
Sandbox. Many accolades go out to Gary and Maren,
and rightfully so, but I needed to tell you how I (more
likely, WE) have appreciated your time and energy in
"The Box."
Being removed from the Sandbox isn't giving up my
rights on anything. I'm only exercising my right to not
receive it.
THANK YOU!!
--- Rick Maddy (67) ---
[O.K. EVERYONE - I really appreciate Rick's very
kind words. But since Rick probably won't be reading
this issue of The SANDBOX, he's bound to be feeling
lonely. So how about EVERYBODY send him a nice
little E-mail at tyedyed@earthlink.net just to say "hi!"
Hundreds of friendly notes are certain to brighten his
day! -ap]
~~
Ins and Outs #3
Jay Wants In!
Subj: Every day is an adventure!
From: JAZFUCHSIAS@prodigy.net
JAY A SIEGEL (61)
I don't know why I never visited the Sandbox before - I
can't remember the link before, but it is great. Please
start my subscription. - Jay Siegel (61)
You're in, Jay. Welcome!
~~~~
Ins and Outs #4
Tony Wants Out Unless Positioning Was an Accident
Subj: John Allen Banished to The Credits Section
From: tonys@citylinq.com (Tony Sharpe) (63)
Al, Surely you didn't succumb to the
Liberal/Moderate/Centrist whine and threats to leave
the forum because ol John got under their skin with a
few of the remarks in his various "letters to the editor".
Was John almost last and only before Millie's new
E-Mail address in Issue #43 by accident or are you
putting him there so those that really know what's best
for the rest of us won't have to scroll on by or use the
energy to delete before reading what is often excellent
political commentary. If that's just the way it worked
out this time, no problem, but if it's intentional, please
remove me from the list. I get enough of the lefty point
of view from the media in Seattle.
Ain't it fun being a publisher?
[Yes, it is, Tony... most of the time. By the way,
have you seen the movie, "The Paper?" A great one
to rent! -ap]
--- Tony Sharpe ' 63 ---
(Standing To The Right and Damn Proud of It)
Tony Continues:
PS my spell checker said that "ain't" ain't spelled
correctly. Is there any one out there who is gifted in
the King's English, who can enlighten me as to the
proper way to spell "ain't?" I feel that I must have
spent too much time at MOO U learning about
business, and not enough on dem liberal arts, where I
would know better spelling and such.
-- Tony Sharpe --
[In answer to Tony's query: After all is said and done,
"placement" of Sandbox Content, both in terms of
what contributors send in and how readers "read"
what's in The SANDBOX has a lot more to do with
each members personal choices than it does with me!
Placement of contributions is largely effected by
the order in which the items are received, but other
factors, such as how articles relate to each other and
the general sense of flow from beginning to middle to
end are sometimes considered as well. I may also at
times, all other things being equal, try to encourage
newer contributors by giving them some degree of
prominence. If contributions to a particular issue seem
to lend themselves to a kind of theme, I may try
to arrange the entries in an order that helps support
that theme. My real satisfaction as Sandbox
Moderator comes from Supporting ALL OF YOU, in
any way I can, to make this forum as informative,
stimulating and entertaining as possible.
Nobody gets hidden in the back pages here. There are
none. All the names are at the top. You can go directly
to any contributor you desire. You can scroll, delete,
word-search forward, or whatever. You can even
move the stuff at the end right up to the front if that
makes you feel good.. In almost every issue
somebody's entry is going to be last. I may intervene
if necessary now and then, to prevent the same person
from enjoying a "last word advantage" repeatedly.
But have you actually considered this: If you were
giving an important speech, would you not consider it
just as vital to have a strong, compelling, "inspire to
action" Ending as it is to have a "captivating attention-
grabbing" Opening? That is exactly where the talking
stops and the real action begins. That's a power spot!
The best bands and the best teams always play last and
are remembered the most. I'll take that position
any time, Tony. Wouldn't you? -ap]
~~~~
Ins and Outs #5
Larry's Turned On.
From: BruggemanL@aol.com
Larry Bruggeman (54)
I am one of the class of 54 survivors. Recently turned
on to the class 54 renown page, club 40 and
The SANDBOX.
Regardless of how many (or few) of the opinions I
agree with I would like to send my kudos to Al for the
faith and persistence to keep this forum going.
Al you are doing a great public service at the same time
threatening the livelihood of a growing number of
professional counselors who make there living
listening to and agreeing with the opinions voiced on
these pages. Keep the faith Al!
~~~~
Ins and Outs #6
Patti Wants Back In After Move
From: Patti Eckert Weyers (68)
RedMtnPatti@webtv.net
Please send the SandBox to me here now in the Tri
Cities: RedMtnPatti@webtv.net. I have been
forwarded several copies and would like to read this
from my own mail box now, thanks. Patti Eckert
Weyers (68) thanks !!!
~~~
Ins and Outs #7
Dennis Likes it Here
From: Dennis Clinton (Bomber Friend)
DPClinton@aol.com
Thanks for the site check, [butterflies] it's cool...
And thanks for keeping me on your mailing list.
Although it seems you have lost a few subscribers,
those of us who have a more open mind seem to be
able to accept the good with the bad. The whiners
are just as welcomed as those who praise.
--Dennis Clinton --
~~~~
One Liner: If all is not lost, Where is it?
~~
Part C. It's About Relationships ~~~~~~~~~~
Free Speech and Civility
Radiation and Coffee
(Drink lots of coffee before hand - but never after you've been
hit by the bomb!)
From: Norma Loescher Boswell (53 )
boswelln@oneworld.owt.co
Subj: Free Speech, Civility and Radiation Protection
I had the intention of writing to support freedom of
expression and lack of censorship, but packed my
suitcase and went to judge roses in Spokane instead.
Now I see that others have expressed my point of view
and taken off the pressure.
Nevertheless, I will add my plea for civility. We can
maintain civility by avoiding name-calling. It is fair play
to describe a situation, tell what happened, and give
one's personal feelings about it. It is unfair,
inflammatory--and untrue--to use "pigeonhole" words
like "bleeding heart liberal" and "right wing extremist"
to categorize another person. I have never known a
human being who fit a pigeonhole. We are
multi-faceted individuals, each one of us performing
both goodness and villainy. We will rarely be as good
as we could be, but we can often make good choices.
Let us strive for civility.
Now, with that off my chest, here is an interesting
nuclear-related oddity of a story:
Study Says Coffee Protects Against Radiation June 24,
1999 LONDON (The Independent) - If you hear a
warning that a nuclear attack is imminent, you should
hope that you have some coffee brewing. If you
manage to drink 100 cups before the bomb hits, you
might be able to survive an otherwise lethal dose of
radiation. Scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre in Bombay have discovered that rats injected
with caffeine are able to stand high levels of gamma
radiation. In a research program, rats injected with
100 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight an
hour before radiation exposure survived for more than
a month afterwards. Those with no caffeine, or lower
doses, died before that, the team reported in the
Journal of Radiological Protection. For a man
weighing about 175 pounds, the 100 mg-per-kilo
requirement would demand a coffee intake of at least
100 cups in a matter of minutes before the bomb hit.
But beware not to drink coffee after the blast. "Caffeine
administered after irradiation seems to induce
chromosomal aberrations rather than preventing
them," said Dr. Mike Clark of Britain's National
Radiological Protection Board.
Copyright 1999 The Independent. All rights reserved.
--- Norma Loescher Boswell (53) ---
~~~
One liner: It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.
~~~
Part D. Three Things About The Daily News ~~~~
(It's not just about reading the funnies, folks!)
By Mike Pearson (74)
digress@ellensburg.com
Al Parker wrote: Scan today's Newspaper. Which
three topics do you think are the most important or
life-affecting there?
Crossword Puzzle: Most people give us inadequate
clues: With courteous company excepted,
"A wienie is a wienie" is about typical of all
the advice we get. Yes, "a rose is a rose is a rose."
What's a word with 11 letters and begins with "x!"
The Horoscope: Pretend we know everything and
can give advice to everyone daily, Just like
real life -- the less we know, the simpler it all seems.
I don't want them flying me anywhere.
Want ads: Obviously a scam. They never read:
Wanted: Multi-millionaires with crazy life philosophy
to ignore the Constitution and impose various
errors upon folks too worn down by a lifetime of
work to resist or effectively question them. Also
seeking ambitious yes-men (& women) to be
unquestioning media spokespersons.
Adults and kids have something in common:
someone big is not telling us everything they should;
they're probably thinking of their own advantage
with all the depth of these three topics.
--- Mike Pearson (74) ---
http://www.ellensburg.com/~digress
~~
One Liner: If at first you do succeed, Try not to look
astonished.
~~
Part E. SANDBOX SCOOP! ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subj: News Behind The News
Yakima Officer Retains Sense of Humor
After Being Shot In Chest
From: Dennis Clinton
DPClinton@aol.com
[The following is in reference to Yakima Police officer
Doug Robinson who was shot during a routine traffic
stop in Yakima on June 24, 1999. He is now fully
recovered and back on duty, thanks to the protection
of a Kevlar vest. The 17 year old alleged assailant is
now in custody facing charges of first degree
attempted murder. -ap]
The officer who was shot was my *FTO during my
rookie year, he's quite a character. He called the
dispatcher a couple of hours after being shot, from the
hospital, requesting if he was clear to have his dinner
break. He has done other humorous things since then
to help all of us work through those little demons that
rise to the surface under these conditions. He is
actually one of our more humorous guys on the force,
he has a wicked since of humor, no doubt. And yes, we
all wear our vest and there wasn't too much he could
have done differently to avoid this from happening. It
is a dangerous job at times but one that has to be done
never the less.
--- Dennis Clinton ---
[D.P. Clinton is a Yakima Reserve Police Office and
worthy SANDBOX friend. In addition to his regular
job associated with the aeronautics & space industry, he
publishes the Yakima Reserve Officers Newsletter and
is active in a number of other community events.
[Interesting Side Light: Dennis graduated in 1972 from
William M. Neff High School in Los Angeles whose
teams, emulating UCLA, also adopted "Trojans" as
their team name. William M. Neff High School was
the film locale for the popular movie, "Fast Times at
Ridgemont High." The property has since become
part of an industrial park.]
[In a later conversation with Dennis, I learned that
one of Officer Robinson's earliest comments after
arriving at the hospital was, "Sure glad I was wearing
clean underwear." His wife then confirmed the fact
that, even after being shot, his shorts were still
clean. -ap]
*FTO: Field Training Officer
~~~~
One Liner: It was so different before everything
changed
~~
Part F. Additional Commentary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Pearson on Free Speech
Jay Siegel talks about Pogo
Arthur Roberts: Principle Above Party
Maren Smyth: Something About Names
Subj: There's Something to be Said About Free Speech
From: Mike Pearson (74)
digress@ellensburg.com
To Peggy Hartnett:
The idea of protecting freedom of speech "by any
means necessary" is new to me, but I like it. Is this
speech to be equally free, or are we protecting the
freedom of mass circulation media while allowing
well-informed individuals only the freedom to keep
their mouth shut when the group, claiming powers
beyond the Constitution, disagrees? By the way,
whose Constitution said, "If you don't work, you don't
eat?" The Soviet Constitution... the U.S. Constitution
would never say that. I have worked pretty hard much
of my adult life, but in the old Soviet Union, I would
probably have died in a Gulag by now.
The tyranny of percentile 64 has had much less power
here in the good U.S. of A.
~~ Mike Pearson 74 ~~
~~~~
Subj: A thought on the world that we built!
From: JAZFUCHSIAS@prodigy.net
Jay A. Siegel
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com (The Sandbox)
I really enjoyed Eva Perry's message in issue #40. There
have been many others that I have enjoyed or not
enjoyed, as the case may be, but I would like to add
this to Eva's.
I went into the Marines straight out of high school. It
was then that I realized that I had been raised in
"Eden." That is another story all together.
The Corps eventually sent me to Cherry Point NC
where I was effectively stationed for about 15 years. I
retired and spent another 6 years in North Carolina.
Cherry Point, NC is right in the middle of what is often
referred to as the "Bible Belt." I was an active church
member and became a member of an organization
called "The Gideons." For those of you not acquainted
with the group, their whole purpose is to place a Bible
in the hands of every person in the world.
Before I left to come back to Washington, the Gideons
were welcomed into nations all over the world,
including the Soviet Block nations.
When I arrived in Washington, I looked up the local
Gideons and made an astonishing discovery: we were
not allowed to enter the schools to distribute Bible to
the students. Why I asked, are we not under the same
Constitution as they are in other states. The reply that I
was given was that the State Attorney General at that
time had sent a letter to the various school districts
that "he personally felt that it was not in the best
interest of public education to allow the Gideons to
distribute Bibles in schools. The saddest part is that we
let his personal opinion override our Constitutional
rights and said nothing!
For those of you who remember Pogo, I remind you of
that acute piece of insight: "We have seen the enemy,
and we are they."!
This morning I was thinking about some article in the
"Alumni Sandstorm" and the thought struck me that
we were all so fortunate to have grown up in the "City
under the mushroom cloud." Then I was struck by a
great remorse that my grandchildren won't have that
opportunity - unless we are able to give it to them!
--- Jay Siegel (61) ---
~~~~
Subject: Principle Over Party
From: Arthur Roberts (48)
FluffDry@hotmail.com
John Allen's thoughtful, perhaps painful, but
certainly forthright and honest appraisal of
Nethercut's going back on his campaign promises
and running again could be summed up as
follows:
"Don't vote for someone who doesn't keep his
promises." Gotta give Mr. Allen credit for principle
over party on this one!
~~
Subj: About Names and Feelings
From: Maren Smyth (64)
mailto:vegas68@cheerful.com
TO: Ray Wells (54)
My last name is SMYTH.
Read my message to you again. I was NOT *sure*
of what you suggest. It's not nice to 'poke fun'
at anybody's name. I try to consider the feelings
of the person who is the object of the poking in
the Sandstorm.
-Maren Smyth (class of '64)
~~
Trivia Answer:
Trivia Answer to: "What is the longest word in the
English language you can type only using your left
hand?
Answer: "Stewardesses." (Heard on Paul Harvey,
6/29/99)
~~
Part G. BUTTERFLY COLLECTION ~~~~~~~~~~~
Subj: Responses to "Butterfly" Link
Sent by The SANDBOX on July 3
With:
Jean Armstrong, David Rivers, Shirley Collings
Haskins, Dennis Clinton, Patricia de la Bretonne,
Norma Boswell, Vickie Andersen Simmons, Hugh
Hinson, Ramona Miller Garcia
On July 3, 1999, The SANDBOX said:
"Sometimes it is helpful to add perspective to our trials,
our stress, our arguments with life. So, instead of
debating the heady issues of the day today, let's just
do this:
Click here: butterfly
http://www.bigfoot.com/~vegas68
Here are some of the responses received from Sandbox
subscribers who tried out the link:
From: Jean Armstrong, sweetgenie2@yahoo.com
Thank you, My Friend... You, too..
Happy Fourth..
~
David Rivers, NeverTowed@aol.com says--
Thanks, Al!
~
From: asking@worldnet.att.net
Thank you, Al! What a beautiful site!!!
May God bless you,
Shirley Collings Haskins, '66
~
From: DPClinton@aol.com
Ditto buddy... Have a safe and sane 4th.
thanks for the site check, it's cool, I did send
it along to a friend, just cuz
~
From: digress@ellensburg.com (Mike Pearson)
Thanks, Al!
~
From: sandi-c@uswest.net (Sandi Cherrington)
Just wanted to thank you for sending this out. The only
problem I have with the page is that I am unable to see
the floating butterfly. I get a couple of dots floating on
my screen where it should be. Wonder if anyone else
has had this same problem.????
--Sandi (66)
~
From: BrassEar@aol.com
Thanks Al.
Patricia de la Bretonne
~
From: boswelln@oneworld.owt.com
(Norma Loescher Boswell)
Wonderful suggestion, beautiful site.
~
From: vsimmons@mtaonline.net
Vickie Anderson Simmons (67)
Hi Al,
In response to your beautiful 'butterfly' message on the
4th, I hope you will enjoy the following site. It, too, is
beautiful and thought provoking. The musical piece is
one of my favorites. My daughter played it on violin
with her friend on flute - it was awesome. I hope this
is not presumptuous of me, just trying to share
something in return.
Vickie (Andersen) Simmons Class of '67
http://members.aol.com/Cuttyhunk/Angels.html
~
From: Hugh Hinson, (52), HINS34@aol.com
Al, thanks for the nice note. I liked it very much. Have
a great holiday. Hugh Hinson
~
From: CADESNANA1 (Ramona Miller Garcia) (54)
Thanks for butterfly...the butterfly message really
means so much to me right now. Thank you, I'll play
it again and again.
-Ramona....
~~~
One Liner: Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
~~~
Part H. To Chat or Not To Chat ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Have you seen ICQ's "cop-out" clause?)
From PC World
Subj: Do You Feel Lucky?
Source: PC World September 1998
"While it may be fun to chat in real time over the
Internet, chat programs such as ICQ and AOL Instant
Messenger expose your system to come serious
security risks. ... ICQ carries strong warnings in its
Terms and Conditions, including the following
statement. ‘...data and information on the ICQ
Services and Information may be subject to privacy
and security invading activities that include but are not
restricted to criminal acts such as electronic
trespassing, sniffing, spoofing, imposturing,
eavesdropping, breaking passwords, harassment, and
fraud." The cold, hard truth is that risk-proof chatting
over the Net simply isn't an available option. So the
question is, do you feel lucky? If not, don't chat."
[Note: if any ICQ users are aware of an updated ICQ
Terms and conditions statement that represents a
favorable change, please let us know. -ap]
~~
Did you know: Crocodiles, Tasmanian devils and
elephants are not allowed to be kept as house pets in
New York City?
~~
Part I. Your Opinion Please! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Questions for Your Consideration)
From: The SANDBOX
Just take your pick!
New topics added from time to time.
Exercise your brain! Keep in touch with what is
happening! Bridge the lapses between your synapses.
Alleviate your stress. Excrete some endorphins,
express yourself! This helps you to continuously
refresh the electrical energy that empowers you to live
a longer, more balanced, energetically empowered,
healthier, happier and more abundantly purposeful life!
It also helps you to stay young!
Pick One, Any One, of the following topics and tell us
what you think. There's bound to be something here
you are just aching to comment on. If you wish, you
may even discuss whether the long honored taboo
against ending sentences with prepositions is an
outmoded concept in this modern USA.
Should laws similar to laws regulating Internet
"spamming" also be applied to the US Mail?
Should Olympic Pipe Line be allowed to run a
pipeline through the Cascades to Pasco? (This is the
same company whose employees, (according to the
Seattle P.I.), are now "taking the fifth" regarding an
investigation of a recent pipeline rupture and fire that
killed three people.)
Any ideas about great vacations spots?
They're on the way: Honeymoon suites in space at
zero gravity, 400 miles up with a beautiful view of
earth and space! You will have a second room with
one-third earth gravity. Spent booster rockets linked
together will be retrofitted beautifully for your
comfort. Your host will be Hilton Hotels. When?
Possibly as early as four years from now. Souvenir
brochures are already being sold.
Tell us if you Wanna go!
More info: http://www.spaceislandgroup.com/
Do you believe the US economic "surpluses," so
widely discussed, are real? How should we spend
them, invest them, apply them, or hold them in
reserve and/or return some of the surplus to those who
paid the money in?
How should we fund prescription drugs, if they
are added to Medicare benefits?
What happens to all the above mentioned "goodies"
should our economy cycle into serious decline?
If you were suddenly appointed to the position of
United States "King or Queen for a Day," with
complete power to create and carry out a particular
national law, policy, action, or change of any kind in
how things are being done--- What would that be?
How about a world wide lottery to help pay down
the US national debt? Maybe this would also help us
with our international trade imbalances?
Do you ever worry about what some people,
suddenly enriched by huge lottery winnings, such as
"Power Ball," might do with the money that could
actually effect your own life adversely? What are some
of the things you would do should $141 million dollars
or so suddenly land in your lap?
What about school uniforms? Good idea or bad?
Speculation: Before being ejected from the garden,
did Adam and Eve use garden tools, or did they just
talk to the plants?
Any favorite web sites you'd like to recommend?
Should men carry handkerchiefs?
The Coral Reefs are Dying. So what?
How about picture ID cards for buying guns?
Anything else you'd like to talk about, ask about,
learn about?
~~~~
OK. #44 is ready to send. Now who wants to listen to
some Barry White Music with me? Or how about we
go listen to Vonda Shepherd as she belts it out so
eloquently in the bar downstairs in Ally McBeal's
building. Gotta be careful if Ling happens to be there,
though. She might want to sue me for what she is
thinking I might be thinking about her. Now there's
an idea for a song! Who wants to write that? Send it
in! And by the way, if you ever go near Ally's
building, please take some food to her! Now
everybody touch hands!
--- ap ---
The SANDBOX
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Wear something green and gold tonight.
********************************************
-44-
***************************************
***************************************
********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #45 ~ July 25, 1999
Dedicated to a Diversity of Opinion,
Useful Information and Personal Experience
"Matters of fact, which as Mr Budgell
somewhere observes, are very stubborn things.
Will of Matthew Tindal (1773)
~~~~~~
~~~~ Here's What We're Talking About Today ~~~~
Throughout This Issue: Unbelievably True Headlines
~ Area A: New Subscribers Welcomed!
Janell Johns Turrentine ('71) Bryon White (61)
Bonnie Timmerman Glover (63) Bill Wilborn (54)
~ Area B: Is The SANDBOX a Sex Site?
(Net Nanny Might Think So!)
~ Area C: Members' Commentary
Commandments of God
- Barbara (Seslar) Brackenbush (60)
Gideon Bibles and Nethercut
- Stephen Lewis (69)
Left-Bias / Right-Bias Media
- Marc Franco (66)
~ Area D: Some Very Kind Words and More
- Tony Sharpe (63)
- Margaret Hartnett (72)
- Norma Loescher Boswell (53)
- David Rivers (65)
~ Area E: Continued Members' Commentary
Bombers in Bisbee - Margaret Hartnett (72)
~ Area F: Members Recommend Web Sites
- Janet Voorhies McCord (61)
- Norma Loescher Boswell (53)
~ Area G: Some Other Things To Talk About
~ Area H: More Incredible Headlines!
~ The Final Word:
- Viloa A. Parker (Bomber Mom)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Read -- Enjoy -- Discuss -- Respond!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Area A:
Is The SANDBOX listed as a Sex Site?
One SANDBOX Subscriber's mail Returned
Subj: E-Mail Filter Violation
Date: 7/14/99 7:05:29 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: daemon@dns21.dfas.mil (System Daemon)
Filter rejection reason:
No rejection reason was found for this message.
[What? Too bashfull or ashamed to give the reason for
this painful and insidious rejection?]
[Could the "sex's" in the opening quote in
SANDBOX #44 been what activated the unknown
"filter" and kept The SANDBOX from being delivered
to this particular subscriber? Here is how that quote
appeared:
"What is your sex's earliest, latest care,
Your heart's supreme ambition? —
To be fair."
- Lord Lyttelton George (1709 - 1773)
Advice to a Lady (1733)
[As of now, we have no actual way of telling just
exactly what "caused" this alleged "filter violation,"
but please be assured, for your own safety and comfort
that it is not the intention of The SANDBOX to violate
anyone's filter. We believe that is entirely a private
matter between your filter and yourself. -ap]
~~~~~
~ Area B: New Subscribers Welcomed! ~~~~~~~~~
From: Janell Johns Turrentine ('71)
Reply-to: janellt@nventure.com
I like the site. Please add me to the list.
To: Brad Wear - In your comments to Joy Stanfield
regarding age, I agree. I believe our perception of age
is all in the mind. I too like to think that my physical
endeavors are equivalent to that of a 25 year old, albeit
spiced up with a lot more experience. I do have to
admit though that sometimes my aging body tells me
otherwise!
- Janell Johns Turrentine ('71)
[Welcome, Janell. Nice having you here!]
~~~
Court Rules Boxer Shorts Are Indeed Underwear
- Journal of Commerce, April 20
~~~
Subj: Please Add My Name.
From: Bryon White (76)
whitehse@owt.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Interesting discussions! Please add my name to the
distribution list. I generally have an opinion on most
everything, and feel others are entitled to it! (grin)
Bryon White
Class of '76
[Welcome aboard, Byron!]
~~~
How We Feel About Ourselves is the Core of
Self-Esteem, Says Author Louise Hart
-Boulder, Colorado, Sunday Camera, February 5
~~~
Subj: Mailing list
From: Bonnie Timmerman Glover (63)
RJGLOVER@aol.com
To: SendBOX
Dear Al.........My name is Bonnie Timmerman Glover.
Susan Warren (63) told me about your mailer and sent
me copies of it. Please put my name on your mailing
list. My E-Mail address is RJGLOVER@aol.com.
Thank you.......
[Gladly, Bonnie. Welcome!]
~~~
Fish Lurk in Streams
— Rochester, New York, Democrat & Chronicle,
January 29
~~~
Subj: Add me to list
From: Bill Wilborn (54)
darci.wilborn@gte.net
I was on list at one time but somehow got dropped.
Please add me back on list. Bill Wilborn (54)
[Sorry we lost track of you for a bit, Bill. Welcome
home!]
~~~
Lack of Brains Hinders Research
- The Columbus Dispatch, April 16
~~~
~~~~~ Area C: Members' Commentary ~~~~~~~~~
- Barbara (Seslar) Brackenbush (60)
- Stephen Lewis (69)
- Marc Franco (66)
Subj: The Commandments of God
From: Barbara (Seslar) Brackenbush (1960)
radman@gte.net (Brackenbush)
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com (Sandbox)
Dear Sandbox:
I have been wondering for some time what is so
offensive about displaying the ten commandments
upon a judge's wall or in the schools of America? I
would appreciate your comments.
The commandments of God
1. I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange
gods before Me.
2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in
vain.
3. Remember thou keep holy the Lord's day.
4. Honor thy father and thy mother.
5. Thou shalt not kill.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.
Respectfully,
Barbara (Seslar) Brackenbush (1960)
~~~
Bible Church's Focus is The Bible
-Saint Augustine Record, Florida, December 3, 1994
~~~
Subj: Gideon Bibles
From: Stephen Lewis (69)
wslgeo@yahoo.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Kudos to John Allen for consistency on the Nethercut
issue. He limited his service when he started the
campaign and folks in Spokane should honor his
original intentions.
Jay Siegel-
I am grateful that Jefferson Elementary never made me
feel uncomfortable just because my parents chose not
to send me to a church. I doubt that even in my day
they would have allowed distribution of bibles. Always
glad to find them in motel rooms though.
Stephen Lewis 69
~~~
Economist Uses Theory to Explain Economy
— Collinsville Herald-Journal, February 8
~~~
Subj: Left-bias / Right-bias media
From: Marc Franco (66)
Reply-to: mfranco@sttl.uswest.net
Tony Sharpe commented that he is a little tired of the
leftward bias in the Seattle media. Tony, are you aware
of KVI radio, 570 on the dial, which is pretty much
dedicated to right- wing conservative commentary. As
far as I know, KVI is much more right- wing than any
of the other stations are left- wing, (although I am
really not the one to judge), so that may be the thing
you are looking for. Right- wing commentary is out
there, even in Seattle.
- Marc -
~~~
Whatever Their Motives, Moms Who Kill Kids Still
Shock Us.
--- Holland Sentinel, date unknown.
~~~
~~~ Area D: Kind Words and More ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony Sharpe (63)
Margaret Hartnett (72)
Norma Loescher Boswell (53)
David Rivers (65)
Kind Words and More #1
Subj: And the last shall be first.
From: Tony Sharpe (63)
tonys@citylinq.com
Al, Thanks for the thoughtful reply to my comments on
Sandbox placement. It is quite true that the last to
speak may leave the strongest impression. I'm sure that
if I were a practicing litigator, that I would always
want the final closing argument. I am also sure that the
time you devote to this piece of journalism is a labor of
love and the rewards therein are few. I really
appreciate what you are doing here.
Tony Sharpe (63)
~~~
Survey Finds Dirtier Subways
After Cleaning Jobs Were Cut
--- The New York Times, November 22
~~~
Kind Words and More #2
From: Margaret Hartnett (72)
highdesert@theriver.com
(A modern hotel in a timeless town)
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Dear Al,
Thanks for the note and the Box, I like the format very
much. I had a feeling I had dawdled too long to get my
piece in and now I feel compelled to expand on my
ideas on the defense of free speech. Yikes! So, I
better get in the kitchen and do some prep work, that's
when I do all my best thinking and problem solving
(well my idea of problem solving!) but fear not, I'll get
back to the keyboard soon and prattle on. Did you
have a good Bastille Day? I think the Box is quite
fitting and I just knew you were a McBeal fan.
Secretly, I think Ling is fantastic and wish I could do
that growl without moving like she can, what a tool!
Best-Peggy
[Oops, I forgot all about Bastille day this year, Peggy.
Can't help wondering, though... had Ling been
standing in defense of that fortress named Bastille
when it was stormed during the French Revolution on
July 14, 1789, and done her little growl and said "that
word," maybe the outcome might have set the course
of history quite differently. Actually, characters on the
Alley McBeal show do have vividly illusional moments
all the time, don't they? Hmmm. Why not? Let them
play it out. Such a scene should fit into one of the
McBeal plots quite readily!]
[Speaking of illusionary moments, how about
Jack Nicholson in the movie, IRONWEED, with those
three dead guys following him everywhere! -Al]
~~~
Larger Kangaroos Leap Farther, Researchers Find
--- The Los Angeles Times, November 2
~~~
Kind Words and More #3
Subj: Bomber cheers!
From: Norma Loescher Boswell (53)
boswelln@oneworld.owt.com
To: THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Al, you have morphed the SANDBOX into a literary
magazine! May your talented and caring mind be an
inspiration to Bombers everywhere!
Bomber cheers,
Norma (Loescher) Boswell, 53
~~~
Study Finds Sex, Pregnancy Link
--- Cornell Daily Sun, December 7, 1995
~~~
Subj: Re: The SANDBOX ~Issue #44~ 7/14/99
From: David Rivers (65)
NeverTowed@aol.com
To: Al Parker
First let me say that you've become quite an editor in
your close to middle age years. I say close, because I
have not yet determined what age is middle age, but
I'm sure none of us from Col-High have reached it.
When we were 40, one of my partners and I decided
we would not wear Dockers till we were 45,
believing, I suppose, that 45 was old enough to stop
wearing jeans and start wearing grown up pants.
Over time the age has shifted and is about to shift
again as we approach age 55.
Second, If there is an economic "surplus", why is there
a national debt? I've played those games with my
check overdraft a time or two in my younger days with
astonishing results...that surplus was not so surplus
after all!
Finally, Who is Ally McBeal? I remember the days of
the guys hanging around the park across from my
house at Stevens and Van Geisen, hoping to get a
glimpse of one of the Parkers in her evening attire, but
don't recall this Ally person...
Again, Great job!
David Rivers (65)
[Thanks for the kind words and input, David. Ally
McBeal was not in my class or your class, nor in any of
the Col-Hi classes, so far as I know. Actually, I think
you'd have to put her in a class all by herself. She, as
well as the Miss Parker you remember, looks pretty
nice in evening attire, too. She really ought to try to
put more weight on though. You can find Ally in my
town, and in many other towns, on the Fox channel at
9 PM on Monday Nights. You might also enjoy her
various law associates as they litigate sometimes
bizarre cases and often mingle, reveal their deepest
secrets, and sing and dance together in their office's
unisex bathroom. Last I heard, Ling was getting ready
to countersue the environment. -Al]
~~~
'Light' Meals Are Lower in Fat, Calories
--- Huntington Herald-Dispatch, November 30
~~~
~~~ Part E: Additional Member's Commentary ~~~
Subj: Re: Bombers in Bisbee
From: Margaret Hartnett (72)
highdesert@theriver.com
(A modern hotel in a timeless town)
To: Al Parker
Well, I think it would be great if a mess of A-City
Youth wanted to descend on our quiet little spot on
the border, but bring lots of ID because we are
living in something resembling a police state with the
free reign given to the Border Patrol--I would love to
hear what people think about that topic.
I actually have an idea related to Bombers who might
be headed to the Southwest. When I moved out here I
contacted the Visitor's Information Bureau at White
Sands to see if/how it is possible to visit the Trinity
Site. I found out that it is open the first Saturday of
April and October-anyone want to go? My dad was
there several times and when he retired due to illness,
he went to Los Alamos to help de-classify the
mountains of records they had stored there. One of his
favorites had to do with how much toilet paper was
shipped to Hanford. I guess those crafty Russian
spies with advanced mathematics degrees from
Moscow State could figure out how many people
worked in the area by TP consumption.
Since there has been some interest expressed in
addressing issues related to Hanford. I had an
experience concerning my father's autopsy report and I
was curious if any others have had anything similar.
My dad handled plutonium for nearly 30 years and
understandably the government wanted his body when
he died. They took it and gave it back and when I said
I wanted the autopsy report, they weren't very
pleased. I think my siblings and I all expected to get
something back describing a scenario that reflected
how truly ill he had been. Instead we got a cause of
death-heart attack and some figures related to size and
weight of various organs. So I called and asked if that
was it. They said yes. I asked if they really thought he
"died" just from a heart attack (my dad weighed in at
88 pounds and had spent a good portion of his last 6
years in the hospital)-none of us were surprised that
his heart finally stopped but that sure didn't feel like the
whole story. Being the nag that I am, I took the report
to two people. One was Michio Kaku, he was at that
time a professor of nuclear physics at NYU and his
family died at Hiroshima. He has been involved in
disarmament issues. He was suspicious, but not being a
physician didn't feel confident to comment on specifics,
but recommended a doctor at the Rockefeller Institute
whose area is the effects of radiation. He felt the report
was intentionally obtuse, so that a lay person would be
confused, but that the weights and measures of some
of my dad's vital organs told a story of someone who
had long-term exposure at high levels- no surprise. So
I have always wondered why they didn't want to be
more forthcoming. Were they afraid we would try to
sue them? My dad was an intelligent man who knew he
had a risky job, but he chose it and stayed with it. It
isn't my place to sue anyone on his behalf unless he had
been lied to and misinformed in a significant way. That
one process stays with me, the questions linger and I
have a profound distrust that the government (under
any administration) in its bureaucratic form is likely to
be candid or truthful. I think organizations like the
Hanford Health Information Network are a start but
that what is known and what will be told are worlds
apart. So I was curious if anyone has had any similar
experiences.
- Margaret Hartnett (72) -
~~~
~~~ Area F: Members Recommend Web Sites ~~~~~
Subj: Beautiful Web Site!
From: Janet Voorhies McCord ('61)
kmccord@hiwaay.net (Janet McCord)
Check out the following web site and those contained
at the bottom of the site!! Great inspirational,
heart-warming messages for the spirit as well as great
graphics!
http://www.starvision.net/rmv/index.htm
Janet Voorhies McCord ('61)
kmccord@hiwaay.net
~~~
Official: Only Rain Will Cure Drought
- The Herald-News, Westpost, Massachusetts
~~~
Subj: Recommended Web Site
From: Norma Loescher Boswell (53)
Bombers interested in topics like Community Crime
Prevention, Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Energy
Efficiency and Land mines Ban might want to take a
look at the Online PEN (Peace and Environment
News). PEN is published ten times a year by PERC,
the Ottawa Peace and Environment Resource Center at
http://www.perc.flora.org/
Though the site originates outside the U.S.A., most
topics are universal in scope and any one of them
could provide an active springboard for SANDBOX
sharing.
- Norma Loescher Boswell (53) -
~~~
Clinton Pledges Restraint in Use of Nuclear Weapons
- Cedar Rapids Gazette, April 6 -
~~~
~~~ Area G: Some Other Things To Talk About ~~~
Your Opinion Please!
(Questions for Your Consideration)
Just take your pick!
New topics added from time to time.
Exercise your brain! Keep in touch with what is
happening! Bridge the lapses between your synapses.
Alleviate your stress. Excrete some endorphins,
express yourself! This helps you to continuously
refresh the electrical energy that empowers you to live
a longer, more balanced, energetically empowered,
healthier, happier and more abundantly purposeful life!
It also helps you to stay young!
Pick One, Any One, of the following topics and tell us
what you think. There's bound to be something here
you are just aching to comment on. If you wish, you
may even discuss whether the long honored taboo
against ending sentences with prepositions is an
outmoded concept in this modern USA.
Should laws similar to laws regulating Internet
"spamming" also be applied to the US Mail?
Should Olympic Pipe Line be allowed to run a
pipeline through the Cascades to Pasco? (This is the
same company whose employees, (according to the
Seattle P.I.), are now "taking the fifth" regarding an
investigation of a recent pipeline rupture and fire that
killed three people.)
Any ideas about great vacations spots?
They're on the way: Honeymoon suites in space at
zero gravity, 400 miles up with a beautiful view of
earth and space! You will have a second room with
one-third earth gravity. Spent booster rockets linked
together will be retrofitted beautifully for your
comfort. Your host will be Hilton Hotels. When?
Possibly as early as four years from now. Souvenir
brochures are already being sold.
Tell us if you Wanna go!
More info: http://www.spaceislandgroup.com/
Do you believe the US economic "surpluses," so
widely discussed, are real? How should we spend
them, invest them, apply them, or hold them in
reserve and/or return some of the surplus to those who
paid the money in?
How should we fund prescription drugs, if they
are added to Medicare benefits?
What happens to all the above mentioned "goodies"
should our economy cycle into serious decline?
If you were suddenly appointed to the position of
United States "King or Queen for a Day," with
complete power to create and carry out a particular
national law, policy, action, or change of any kind in
how things are being done--- What would that be?
How about a world wide lottery to help pay down
the US national debt? Maybe this would also help us
with our international trade imbalances?
Do you ever worry about what some people,
suddenly enriched by huge lottery winnings, such as
"Power Ball," might do with the money that could
actually effect your own life adversely? What are
some of the things you would do should $141 million
dollars or so suddenly land in your lap?
What about school uniforms? Good idea or bad?
Speculation: Before being ejected from the garden,
did Adam and Eve use garden tools, or did they just
talk to the plants?
Any favorite web sites you'd like to recommend?
Should men carry handkerchiefs?
The Coral Reefs are Dying. So what?
How about picture ID cards for buying guns?
Anything else you'd like to talk about, ask about,
learn about?
~~~
~~~ Area H More Incredible Headlines: ~~~~~~~~
Alcohol Ads Promote Drinking
- The Hartford Courant, November 18
Teen-Age Girls Often Have Babies Fathered by Men
-The Sunday Oregonian, September 24
Malls Try to Attract Shoppers
- The Baltimore Sun, October 22
Low Wages Said Key to Poverty
- Newsday, July 11
Man Shoots Neighbor With Machete
- The Miami Herald, July 3
Tomatoes Come in Big, Little, Medium Sizes
-The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia,
March 30
Man Run Over by Freight Train Dies
- The Los Angeles Times, March 2
Scientists See Quakes in L.A. Future
- The Oregonian, January 28
Wachtler Tells Graduates That Life in Jail is Demeaning
- The Buffalo News, February 26
Free Advice: Bundle Up When Out in the Cold
- Lexington Herald-Leader, January 26
Prosecution Paints O.J. as a Wife-Killer
-Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, January 25
Discoveries: Older Blacks Have Edge in Longevity
- The Chicago Tribune, March 5
Biting Nails Can Be Sign of Tenseness in a Person
-The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, New York, May 2
~~~ The Final Word ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If it isn't worth a Nickel, Don't pay a Dime."
- Viola A. Parker (Al's Mom)
********************************************
-45-
***************************************
***************************************
********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #46 ~ September 5, 1999
Dedicated to a Diversity of Opinion, Ideas
And What's Happening Today
Club 40 Event Reminder and
Update Included (Sep 10 -11)
Shilo Inn, Richland
The SANDBOX is
Published as Frequently
as YOUR Participation Permits.
~~~~~
Herodotus wrote "Very few things happen at the right
time and the rest do not happen at all."
-Sent in by Jim Russell (58)-
stjohns9@email.msn.com
~~~~~
Here's what we're talking about today:
1: WARNING: Is Your Toilet Paper Y2K compliant?
Received from: Maren Smyth (64)
With additional repartee
2: The Bomber Logo as a Symbol Of Peace?
Were We Playing God?
(An Online Conversation between
Norma Loescher Boswell (53)
Al Parker (53)
3: What About Tax Cuts? Marc Franco (66)
4. Devastated Area...?
Cecily Riccobuono-McClanahan (77)
5: Conservative Jokes John Allen (66)
6: Thou Art... Norma Loescher Boswell (53)
Express Your Anger Shakespeare Style
7: Senior Trees and Senior Citizens Ken Staley
8: Twas the Night Before Y2K Ruth Rawlins Hill (56)
9: Hey! What's this about Hanford Becoming
Portland's Garbage Site?
Em Dow (a.k.a. Marilyn DeVine) (52)
10: TEST YOUR COMPUTER FOR Y2K
11. CLUB 40 EVENT UPDATE (Sep 10 - 11)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WARNING: Is Your Toilet Paper Y2K Compliant?
From: vegas68@cheerful.com (vegas68)
(You all know who she is!)
Please take time out of your busy lives to check your
toilet paper stockpile. Make sure it's Y2K compliant!!!
Word has it, if it isn't, come Jan 1, 2000, it will roll
back to 1900, then turn into a Sears Catalog!!!!!
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!
[O.K., Maren- Thanks for the tip. But the question
everyone still is asking is this... To be Y2K compliant,
must the paper role over the front, or over the back?
Also, I have just learned that in order to be Y2K
compliant, all toilet seats must be left in the upright
position throughout the next millennium or terrible
things will happen somewhere down the line.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!
- AP -
~~~
NEWS ITEM:
Dateline: 08/07/99
Museum Store Pulls A-Bomb Earrings
By CHRIS ROBERTS
The Associated Press
KIRKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AP) _
Souvenir earrings with tiny silver replicas of the
atomic bombs dropped on Japan will no longer
be sold at the National Atomic Museum.
Friday's decision to pull the earrings comes on
the 54th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.
The earrings _ shaped like ``Little Boy,'' which was
dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and ``Fat
Man,'' which was dropped on Nagasaki on Aug. 9,
1945 _ had drawn protests from Gensuikyo, an
anti-nuclear group in Japan.
``The foundation (that operates the museum) just
decided since it's a sensitive day and there's so much
concern, it just wasn't worth the bad feelings,''
museum director Jim Walther said Friday. Museum
store manager Tony Sparks said the earrings were the
most popular jewelry item sold in the store. He said
the earrings were sold out Friday morning. Walther
said there are no plans to restock the earrings,
although customer orders received before Friday's
decision will still be filled.
Gensuikyo spokeswoman Naomi Kishimoto said
Thursday: ``It's not the sort of thing you should be
hanging from your ears or using to decorate your
desk.'' She called the museum's earring sales
``unforgivable.''
The Japanese group had learned of the earrings on the
museum's Web site, which also was revised to remove
mention of the earrings.
Other items in the museum store include desk
ornaments commemorating the bombing runs and
diagrams of the bombs. Walther said the museum
doesn't advocate war or the use of nuclear weapons
and that the items are simply souvenirs of museum
displays.
~~~
[Moderator's Note: I sent the following comments out
to several other Bombers to see if a conversation might
develop about the National Atomic Museum decision.]
To: Several Bomber Alumni
From: Al Parker (53)
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Hi, Fellow Bombers-
The above article, regarding what amounts to
banning the sale of ear rings depicting the bomb that
ended World War 2, left the following thoughts
"dangling" in my mind.
Perhaps a new item should be added to the alphabet
houses ornament list! Now who could possibly object
to hanging a peace symbol like that on a Christmas
tree? Yes, there is some tongue in cheek here but...
I can understand how that symbol must be offensive to
our Japanese friends today. It is ironic,
however, that many of these same descendants of
Japanese citizens who lived during World War II,
would themselves not even have been born had we not
dropped that bomb, rather than going in with a massive
"fight to the last man" land invasion.
We did what nations do when they need to win a war
and reestablish peace. We used the most powerful
weapon at our disposal to end that war in the quickest
way we possibly could.
,
So, to me, "That Bomb" and the city that built it have
always seemed to me as symbolic of ending a war, not
starting or prolonging one. "That Bomb," then, seems
kind of like a symbol of peace to me; the peace that
followed the war that was ended by that bomb. The
true shame that remains, though, is the fact that the
nature of man has not yet changed in such a way as to
bring all wars to an end, or to keep more wars from
happening. Wars will only end, some will say, when
we each trust God entirely to keep our enemies at bay.
In looking around the world, it doesn't seem like we,
as a people, as a nation, as a world, have yet reached
that level of trust in God, regardless of how any of us
might want to define (or redefine) that God.
~~~~
Now back to the alphabet theme:
It would also be cool to have ear rings, tie clips and
lapel pins depicting the alphabet houses we lived in,
"in those days." (In addition to the series of ornaments
already in the works.) It would be great fun to wear
these at Club 40 and other Class Reunion events.
Maybe some benefactor would like to fund a massive
"minting" of such a project. Then the jewelry could be
sold to benefit worthy Bomber causes through reunions,
local Bomber events, on the Internet, at Homecoming
Events, special Richland summer events, local fairs,
The Senior Center Gift Shop and at the Science Center.
Possibly a concise written history with each house
depicted would interest tourists as well.
And the *beat goes on....
(*The Richland Bomber pulse, that is.)
- Al Parker (53) -
Norma Loescher Boswell (53) responds:
From: Norma Loescher Boswell (53)
boswelln@oneworld.owt.com
Subj: Our Mascot The Bomb
At the impressionable age of eight I moved to Richland
with my family. We had air raid drills when a siren
wailed of impending doom, and children sheltered
beneath school desks. Booming squadrons of bombers
split the sky. Saturday newsreels at the Village
Theater showed bombs smashing London, British
children crouched in air raid shelters. When planes
thundered over Richland, I thought of the children. I
shivered, and my scalp prickled.
I knew the difference between allies and enemies. I
knew those raucous bombers in Richland skies were on
OUR side. But there was always a gut feeling that
what happened to kids and buildings overseas could
happen to me and my home, and I couldn't stop it. I
was intimidated by the sound of planes overhead. In
nightmares I huddled with the children who heard the
bitter rain of bombs.
When I got to Col-Hi, the war was over and we had
won. The bomb was praised proudly in our community
as the instrument of victory. At pep assemblies and
games our mascot was The Bomb, placed with
ceremony on court or field by the cheerleaders. The
Bomb was more powerful than any other symbol in our
league. Before I graduated, I wore a green bomb over
my heart on a gold Pep Club sweater. I was a
confirmed Bomber. The squeamishness of my
childhood was all but gone.
Then I read HIROSHIMA. Thus began the waking
nightmares where my heart raced and my head
exploded with savage images. The bomb that had
ended the war felt briefly, nightmarishly like it was
ending me. It developed a dual personality, both sweet
and sinister, like the cross of Christ--only this time WE
played God.
The bomb comes heavily freighted with memories.
Would I buy it as earrings or jewelry? Yes. When
would I wear it? When I want to set my feelings free.
When I'm ready to laugh and cheer. When I'm ready to
cry.
~ Norma Boswell Loescher (53) ~
P.S. I'd wear the alphabet houses anytime! Pray we find
a benefactor!
~~~
Subj: Tax Cuts
From: mfranco@uswest.net
Marc Franco (66)
Although I definitely have liberal tendencies, I do try to
be centrist and moderate where the political parties
are concerned, because I am extremely aware of the
flaws that can be found in both parties, as well as
virtues that can be found in both parties, and therefore,
it makes little sense- to me- to really advocate one
party over the other. However, sometimes I feel
despair over the activities of one party over the other. I
recently have felt this despair because of the
tremendous support that the Republican party gives to
the NRA, in exchange for the NRA's donations of
course, thwarting the desires of 70 % of the
population. However, this time I feel actual anger
because of what's going on now in (the other)
Washington. The Republicans are attempting to push
through a massive tax cut bill which would almost
completely wipe out the budget surplus for the
foreseeable future. The excuse given is that, if there is a
budget surplus, then taxes must be too high. Of course,
Republican attempts to initiate tax cuts began well
before the budget surpluses appeared. Perhaps some
of the strong conservative Republicans on this board
can explain this to me.
1. The economy is already so strong that the Fed is
threatening increased interest rates. Tax cuts in a
strong economy can do nothing but put money into
people's pockets, when the money is already there.
(We already have a strong economy, remember. If we
had a recession, that would be different.) Increased
money supply, plus an already overheating economy,
has ALWAYS spelled inflation- always, always,
always. Any sign of renewed inflation will surely be
met with higher interest rates. Higher interest
rates can often lead to recession. How are we
supposed to avoid this under the Republican plan?
2. Both sides, Republicans and Democrats, have
always fudged on their figures when it suited their
purposes. In this case, Republicans simply assume the
good times will roll for the next ten or fifteen years, so
let's cut taxes now. If the good times do not roll for ten
or fifteen more years, then- gee whiz, since the massive
tax cuts are already in place, then I guess we're
screwed. I think most of us are aware that, up until
right now, any budgetary surpluses were illusionary,
and we were even close, only because money was
stolen from Social Security. Both sides did this, and
both sides are guilty. If any normal corporation CEO
ever tried that with his company, he would go to jail.
But it seems extremely irresponsible of the
Republicans, now that we have the first genuine
surplus in thirty years, that they already want massive
tax cuts, even before seeing if the cuts are justified or
not. Of course, they have been trying this for six or
seven years now.
3. What the heck is wrong with paying off some of
the debt? Many people seem to have forgotten that this
country still owes one heck of a lot of money. Why do
Republicans object to paying off some of that debt? Do
they plan to begin payments when we have our next
recession? The $800 billion give back basically wipes
out most of the projected surplus for the next ten
years.
4. If this is such a good thing, why are the
Republicans arranging it so that most of it only kicks in
in five or six years? By that time, we will all have
forgotten whose fault it is, when the country really
starts needing the money. Why will we need the money
more in five or six, or in ten years? Because that's
when the baby boomers start to retire. The
Republicans want most of the effects of this tax cut to
come only later, when they won't be blamed for the
fact that all the money is gone, but they want the glory
now for giving tax cuts.
5. Has anybody noticed that there has been no
national demand for tax relief? Most people are on
record for wanting the debt paid down. The
Republicans have publicly stated that this tax cut bill
shows the differences between Republicans and
Democrats. This is correct. This tax cut bill is an
atrocity, and nobody wants it except the wealthy
Republicans who will benefit from it. Obviously, we all
can stand to save a little money in taxes. And there
ARE some good points in this tax bill- erasing the
marriage penalty, eliminating the inheritance taxes, and
so on. But this tax cut bill will save the wealthy a heck
of lot more money than it will save the middle
class or poor, and anybody who thinks differently
should read some history. Obviously, since the
wealthy HAVE more money, they will always benefit
more to a certain extent than will the other classes. But
sometimes it is just a travesty, and this tax bill is one of
those cases.
6. This tax bill is simply riddled with loopholes for
special interests. For example, 80 % of business
lunches are now tax- deductible, instead of the prior
50%. The National Restaurant Assn. had lobbied for
that for years but only for companies earning $5
million or less a year. The Republicans chose to apply
it to everybody. Maybe they just shouldn't tax
companies at all. That would REALLY help the
business climate in America. Of course, the
rest of us will have to pay the difference. The
Democrats have often, and rightly so, been criticized
for pandering to their special interests in some of their
budgetary bills. I look forward to hearing what some
of the arch conservatives say about THIS bill.
- Marc (66) -
~~~
Subj: Devastated Area....
From: Cecily Riccobuono-McClanahan (77)
mailto:CMccla7986@cs.com
I have so much fun reading the daily entries. [referring
in particular to Alumni Sandstorm] So many things
that I had forgotten. Some things that only a
true Richlander would know: green cans on the porch,
doors behind the sinks, prefabs, A & B frames. Some
things almost makes Richland seem like a "Stepford"
kind of place. My father, Phil Riccobuono, retired
from Hanford several years ago, but I remember so
well the green cans that would mysteriously show up
on the porch. I would ask my mother what they were
for, and she would always respond with the same,
"Just something for your father". I also remember the
badge he had to wear.
Behind it were all those weird looking squares. Some
were different colors. For years, I never really knew
exactly what my father's job was. Later I learned that
he was a Radiation Monitor, and I still really couldn't
tell you what he did. I know he got a lot of vacation
time!! Marjo Vinther talked about when Mr. McCluskey
got injured, and was taken to that "special"
place. He and my father were very good friends, and
my father was one of the monitors called to come
"clean up". I remember him telling me how eerie it
was being in there. He said that everyone was in
special gear that looked like something astronauts
would wear, and, in the middle of the room, was poor
Mr. McCluskey, lying on a special bed. He was
conscious, but not speaking. I remember mostly the
media blowing the whole thing way out of proportion.
Martha Brighton's dad was the acting Dr, and I
remember being at their house, and he was getting
calls from all the major networks to do interviews.
CBS wanted to fly over the devastated area. My
family got calls from relatives back east to see if we
were ok. I don't know if anyone recalls the article that
PEOPLE magazine did on the story. One when it
happened, then one when Mr. McCluskey died about
10 years after. He did die of cancer, not natural
causes, as some have thought.
On a happier subject. It's almost Fair time, and I'm
hoping to hear from more 77 alumni. It's my
understanding that Michael will be doing two shows.
Can anyone confirm this for me? Anyway, hope to see
ALL Bomber alumni there, and if all goes well, a class
of 77 get-together after the show, or the next day!!!!!
- Cecily Riccobuono McClanahan (77) -
~~~
Subj: More Conservative Humor
From: John M. ALLEN (66)
Reply-to miles2go@cheerful.com
For those of you who haven't seen these yet,
(even you libs) you should get a chuckle out
of them.
---John
TOP TEN CAMPAIGN SLOGANS FOR HILLARY
10. "Read My Lips - No New Interns"
9. "Reward Me For Putting Up With Bill's Crap For
So Long"
8. "Isn't It Time You Were Disappointed By A
Different Clinton?"
7. "Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You,
Ask How You Can Illegally Contribute To My
Campaign"
6. "Vote For Me Or My Husband Will Nail Your
Wife"
5. "You Give Me A Vote, I'll Get Vernon Jordan To
Give You A Job"
4. "Still Not Indicted As Of 1999!"
3. "From Perjury To Albany"
2. "Building A Bridge To The 21st Century, And
Pushing My Husband Off It"
And the NUMBER ONE Hillary Clinton Campaign
Slogan ...
1. "Oh Lord, Please Don't Make Me Go Back To
Arkansas"
~~~
Subj: Hey, What's This About Portland Sending
Their Garbage to Hanford?!!!
From: Em Dow (a.k.a. Marilyn DeVine) class of '52
emd@mtaonline.net
Hi---this is Em Dow (a.k.a. Marilyn DeVine) class of
'52. I didn't have time to read the WHOLE THING,
but I did find a few names I recognize!
Hey---what's this about Portland sending their
"garbage" to Hanford?!! I thought they "they" were
trying to clean the place up...? Oh well. "They" must
have gotten big bucks for taking it!
I was going to respond to a couple to questions/
remarks but can't remember what they were. DUH!!!
Oh, that's right: the memory is the 2nd thing to go...
Once in a while I get down to the Tri-Cities. Would
say just Richland, but brother Terry lives in
Kennewick. About the only thing I remember about
Kennewick is going to that cool night-spot. If I
thought about it long enough I'd probably even
remember the name! Oh well... Of my 5 kids and
(almost)13 grandis, 2 of the kids and 4 (5 next
month) grandis live in Richland and soon I'll have
grandis attending Col. Hi. Yeah, I know they
changed the name, but I can ignore that, can't I? My
kids live on Cottonwood---just 6 or 7 blocks from
where we lived in the 50's and 60's.
Special thanks to Luana (Ivers) Portch for telling me
about this site. And to Marilyn (Baird) for getting back
to it when I "lost" it!
More later. Regards, Em
~~~
Subj : Senior Trees vs. Senior Citizens
From: Ken Staley
kenstaley@hotmail.com
I see in the news that the old locust trees in Howard
Amon Park are 'diseased' and need to be removed.
Many of those trees are more than 60 years old. Pity.
I understand that the 'locust bore worm' has destroyed
many of the old trees. I've seen pictures of the 'rotted
and eaten' branches from those old trees, and
understand that the city does not want to be held liable
should one of those stately old souls collapse during
any sort of event.
Of course, and purely by coincidence I'm sure, the city
also wants the land that most of those old trees sit on
for a new senior center!
- Ken -
~~~
Subj: Thou Art
From: Norma Loescher Boswell (53)
Despite my feelings about civility, there are times when
one must "vent."
Why not do it Shakespeare style?
To construct a Shakespearean insult, combine one
word from each of the three columns below, and
preface it with "Thou":
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
-------- -------- --------
artless base-court apple-john
bawdy bat-fowling baggage
beslubbering beef-witted barnacle
bootless beetle-headed bladder
churlish boil-brained boar-pig
cockered clapper-clawed bugbear
clouted clay-brained bum-bailey
craven common-kissing canker-blossom
currish crook-pated clack-dish
dankish dismal-dreaming clotpole
dissembling dizzy-eyed coxcomb
droning doghearted codpiece
errant dread-bolted death-token
fawning earth-vexing dewberry
fobbing elf-skinned flap-dragon
froward fat-kidneyed flax-wench
frothy fen-sucked flirt-gill
gleeking lap-mouthed foot-licker
goatish fly-bitten fustilarian
gorbellied folly-fallen giglet
impertinent fool-born gudgeon
infectious full-gorged haggard
jarring guts-griping harpy
loggerheaded half-faced hedge-pig
lumpish hasty-witted horn-beast
mammering hedge-born hugger-mugger
mangled hell-hated joithead
mewling idle-headed lewdster
paunchy ill-breeding lout
pribbling ill-nurtured maggot-pie
puking knotty-pated malt-worm
puny milk-livered mammet
qualling motley-minded measle
rank onion-eyed minnow
reeky plume-plucked miscreant
roguish pottle-deep moldwarp
ruttish pox-marked mumble-news
saucy reeling-ripe nut-hook
spleeny rough-hewn pigeon-egg
spongy rude-growing pignut
surly rump-fed puttock
tottering shard-borne pumpion
unmuzzled sheep-biting ratsbane
vain spur-galled scut
venomed swag-bellied skainsmate
villainous tardy-gaited strumpet
warped tickle-brained varlet
wayward toad-spotted vassal
weedy unchin-snouted whey-face
yeasty weather-bitten wagtail
- Norma Loescher Boswell (53) -
~~~
Subj: Twas the Night Before Y2K
From: Ruth_Hill@juno.com
Ruth Rawlins Hill (56)
Twas The Night Before Y2K
'Twas the night before Y2K,
And all through the nation
We awaited The Bug,
The Millennium sensation.
The chips were replaced
In computers with care,
In hopes that ol' Bugsy
Wouldn't stop there.
While some folks could think
They were snug in their beds
Others had visions
Of dread in their heads.
And Ma with her PC,
And I with my Mac
Had just logged on the Net
And kicked back with a snack.
When over the server,
There arose such a clatter
I called Mister Gates
To see what was the matter.
But he was away,
So I flew like a flash
Off to my bank
To withdraw all my cash.
When what with my wandering eyes
Should I see?
My good old Mac
Looked sick to me.
The hack of all hackers
Was looking so smug,
I knew that it must be
The Y2K Bug!
His image downloaded
In no time at all,
He whistled and shouted,
Let all systems fall!
Go Intel! Go Gateway!
Now HP! Big Blue!
Everything Compaq,
And Pentium too!
All processors big,
All processors small,
Crash away! Crash away!
Crash away all!
All the controls
That planes need for their flights
All microwaves, trains
And all traffic lights.
As I drew in my breath
And was turning around,
Out through the modem,
He came with a bound.
He was covered with fur,
And slung on his back
Was a sackful of virus,
Set for attack.
His eyes-how they twinkled!
His dimples-how merry!
As midnight approached, though
Things soon became scary.
He had a broad little face
And a round little belly,
And his sack filled with virus
Quivered like jelly.
He was chubby and plump,
Perpetually grinning,
And I laughed when I saw him
Though my hard drive stopped spinning.
A wink of his eye,
And a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know
A new feeling of dread.
He spoke not a word,
But went straight to his work,
He changed all the clocks,
Then turned with a jerk.
With a twitch of his nose,
And a quick little wink,
All things electronic
Soon went on the blink.
He zoomed from my system,
To the next folks on line,
He caused such a disruption,
Could this be a sign?
Then I heard him exclaim,
With a loud, hearty shout,
Happy Y2K to you all,
This is a helluva night!
~~~
Subj: TEST YOUR COMPUTER FOR Y2K
From: THE SANDBOX
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
At CNET.com you can find:
These free apps to test your hardware for Y2K compliancy:
Y2K Test
BugFix Year 2000 Solution
Cloktest 2000
OnMark 2000 BIOS Test and Fix
Ontrack Y2K Advisor
Y2K RTC Diagnostic
More Y2K Downloads
~~~
LATEST Y2K HEADLINES:
Russia works to avoid nuke misfire on Y2K
Banks may limit emergency credit ahead of Y2K
Government on guard for possible Y2K violence
~~~
Subj: Club 40 Events - Sept 10 - 11
From: boswelln@oneworld.owt.com
Norma Loescher Boswell (53)
Here's the updated agenda for this weekend's Club
40 events.
Friday registration begins at 5 p.m. The home football
game for those who wish to attend is Col-Hi vs. Pasco.
The Sock Hop/food (hamburgers, hot dogs, sodas,
etc.) commences about 7:30 and continues all evening.
Dress theme is (men) levis, white T-shirts & loafers
(and women) pleated, plaid skirts or poodle skirts,
pony tails & saddle shoes with bobby socks. The 49'ers
set up the theme, and it may be fun for you to follow,
but it's okay to come casual/contemporary. Suit
yourself!
Saturday:
6 p.m. Social Hour (no-host bar)
7 p.m. Dinner
8 p.m. Program
9 p.m. Dance with Live Band (20 piece, I hear!)
Dress for Saturday ranges anywhere between casual
and slightly dressy. Once again, suit yourself!
Richlanders tend to do their own thing.
*** due to the passing of some time since the last
SANDBOX, issue #45, was published, some items
in this issue may be a bit past date. Don't let that
happen to your milk! (Apologies for that.)
Remember- the frequency of publication depends
largely on your own vested interest in sending stuff in!
So--- Get it off your chest... Talk to us!
Send your stuff to:
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
Wishing the very best for you and those
you care about,
For Today-
For Tomorrow-
And for all of your morrows to Come!
-ap-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-46-
***************************************
***************************************
********************************************
Special Issue
THR SANDBOX EXPRESS ~ Issue #47 ~ 9/6/99
"Time and tide wait for no man."
Greetings Bomber Bretheren, All Around the World!
Sometimes it takes a while for enough contributions
to The SANDBOX to accumulate sufficiently to provide
sufficient "fodder" for a "standard" SANDBOX
issue. As a result, some items can lose some of
their "freshness," with the passage of time.
That can decrease both the interest and news value
of an item as well as making it less likely that other
members of this online forum will want to "rush"
their own opinions to the fore.
With that in mind, when a topic seem particulary
time sensitive, it seems like a good idea to put out
a "quickie," even if there are not a lot of items on
hand at the minute, ready to "send to press."
Indeed, there are occasions when "Time and tide
wait for no man." (Sometimes they won't even
wait for a woman.) Something to think about! I
remember that quote well, but can't remember
who the person is who should be given credit
for it. Do you? Let us know!
When you submit an item you think has
particular time-sensitivity, such as an opportunity
for readers to consider essential information and
respond to members of congress before an
important bill is to be decided on, or any other time-
sensitive issue that needs "quick exposure" to your
fellow Bombers, SAY SO! When you send your
submission to me at SendBOX@aol.com
I will then try to put it on the "fast track" and issue
a special Sandbox "quickie," to be otherwise known
as--- The SANDBOX EXPRESS.
Further note: Sometimes readers want to send me
personal notes, news items, or information
without necessarily wanting it to be published in
The SANDBOX. I am not always sharp enough to
discern your intentions unless you express
them to me.
In order to best serve your wishes, it would be
best to send all items you want to see published
in the SANDBOX to THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
If you have other mail or information you'd just like
to share with me personally, please send it to:
ADAMSTREET@aol.com.
If you send something to me at ADAMSTREET
that I think is SANDBOX-worthy. I will ask your
permission before using it. (Unless you have already
indicated to me that SANDBOX use is OK.)
Any time you send something to THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
I will assume you want to see it in The SANDBOX.
I received a couple of items from Dick Epler today
that I am including in this special
SANDBOX EXPRESS edition of The SANDBOX.
The first letter speaks for itself. I appreciate this
kind of feedback. Thanks Dick!
The second is very time sensitive, as you can
see, regarding an opportunity for you, as a
SANDBOX reader/contributor to react, and
possibly influence congress regarding imminently
pending legislation.
~~~~~
One reader asked, after reading the special "Update
for Club 40 Members," "What is Club 40?"
Club 40 is something worth getting older for! Each
member of each graduating Col-Hi/RHS class on
the 40th anniversary of his/her graduation becomes
elligible to join. A Club 40 newsletter, THE DUST
STORM, is sent out each year, and every year a
Club 40 reunion and party-heartily event is celebrated
in Richland. It's getting better and better every year.
The 1998 event featured and honored Fran Rish in
person, fantastic pictorial displays of all the classes
attending, group cheers led by "in the flesh"
cheerleaders from "those years," and much more great
stuff.
Members of Club 40 wanted to give Fran Rish a set
of golf clubs during his appearance at the event, but
couldn't afford that, so they gave him a box of golf
balls instead. Hilarity ensued!
Great memories, great conversations, great
updates. This year's gonna be great too. The event is
this weekend, Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th
at the Shilo Inn in Richland. Norma Loescher
Boswell (53), boswelln@oneworld.owt.com, has
beein seeing a lot of last minute sign-ups as the
interest grows, but take it easy on her, folks. I'm
not even sure that she's the official "order-taker,"
and she's got to go judge a rose show this week-
end.
Club 40 P.O Box 1832, Richland WA 99352.
Dues are $5.00 per year. I don't remember
the cost of the Friday and Saturday stuff.
Shoot, if nothing else, just crash the party, sweetie.
You can buy me a drink! Maybe even teach me to
dance. (If you are a girl, that is!)
~~~
When Issue #46 was mailed, I did not have the class
year available to include with Ken Staley's,
contribution, "Senior Trees vs. Senior Citizens."
Ken graduated in 1958.
~~~
Thanks for all your support an Interest in The
SANDBOX. But in all of the things you
remember, please remember this:
What you give is what you get!
Al Parker
Your Sandbox Moderator
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: Dick Epler
depler@pdx.oneworld.com
Hi Al,
I like your new format and appreciate the effort that went
into it.
In Issue #46, item 4, Devastated Area...? by Cecily
Riccobuono-McClanahan (77), had already been printed
in the Sandstorm (Volume II, Number 8, dtd
8/18/99) with follow-ups in the next issue (8/19/99).
I would suggest you ask your contributors NOT to
send their contributions both to you and to the
Sandstorm. In the above case, the news was not only
old, but included an incorrect statement which, if no
follow-ups are received, your readers might not see.
Just in case, I've included Debbie's
response of 8/19/99 below.
From: Debbie Lien Gieszler (69)
mailto:jade@urx.com
Re: Mr. McCluskey
It was interesting reading Marjo Vinther's (77) and
Cecily Riccobuono's (77) memories concerning Mr.
McCluskey's accident on August 30, 1976. I work in
the internal dosimetry group at Battelle, and my
coworkers monitored Mr. McCluskey after his
accident until his death in 1987. We have several
detailed files about his accident, and I read through
some of it today. For the technical information, I read
the article in the Health Physics Journal that Marjo
mentioned, which is vol. 69, no. 3, September 1995.
It stated that Mr. McCluskey's death was due to
cardiorespiratory failure, not cancer. It also mentioned
that he had several pre-existing health conditions at the
time of his accident. It is all very sad, but part of his file
contained articles and news clippings about Mr.
McCluskey, himself, and how he dealt with this disaster.
The one that impressed me the most was the article he
wrote to Guideposts. His article was full of hope, and how
his faith kept him going. From what I've read, he tried to
make the best out of a bad situation. He must have been
a very brave man. I wish I could have met him.
-Debbie Lien Gieszler (69)
Dick Epler
depler@pdx.oneworld.com
~~~~~
Subj: Tax Cuts 2
Date: 9/6/99 10:54:48 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: Dick Epler (52)
depler@pdx.oneworld.com (Dick Epler)
Like Marc Franco (66), I’m aware of the flaws of both
political parties. Unlike Marc, I do NOT try to be a
centrist or a moderate -- and judging by Marc’s
comments, I don’t really think he does either. Marc is
far too intelligent not to have strong opinions -- opinions
that would be anathema to a true “centrist.”
I’m guessing Marc just doesn’t like labels, such as
liberal and conservative, democrat and republican, and
so forth. I feel much the same way, regardless of my
particular affiliations. I belong to various “groups”
only because it seems necessary to support those
who do the most to minimize mischief. But my core
beliefs are all rooted in the principles of human
nature, also known as the “art” side of economics.
I also believe in common sense and in the individual
intelligence of people. All my opinions are a reflection
of these beliefs. Someday, I’d like to dedicate a piece
just to the Principles of Human Nature.
Speaking of which, one of the principles of human
nature is that people tend to believe what they want
regardless of facts. Marc’s recent criticism of the
Republican’s Tax Bill, along with their defense of the
2nd Amendment, is a case in point. Clinton’s
rhetoric on these two issues, though flawed, is
apparently close to what Marc wants to believe. But
I don’t want to be too critical of Marc. It may be that
Marc wrote his SandBOX piece some time ago
(Al was a bit slow in publishing #46) and might revise
it now that more facts have come out.
While I agree with Marc that the Tax Bill is riddled with
loopholes for special interests (as are all tax bills), I’m
guessing it’s a fairly even tradeoff between democrats
and republicans. Both are shameless when it comes
to giving our money to those who contribute to their
longevity incongress. And that leads me to the first
reason everyone should ALWAYS be for a peacetime
tax cut: real tax cuts can make government smaller
and that would be good!
Many believe that our government is now so large that
it’s unreasonable to have any expectations of integrity
and honesty from our elected representatives. And by
and large, we don’t! Such a huge concentration of power
and money is, if not evil, at least a big source of mischief.
Professional politicians like to tell us that it’s all our fault.
We keep asking them to solve more and more of our
problems, all of which requires more and more money.
But the fact is, in peacetime, the predominate use of
taxpayer money is to buy votes; if any problems are
solved, it’s purely accidental. Given that, all we can
look forward to in the foreseeable future is increased
government scandal and corruption no matter which
party is in office. Which is to say that if Marc and I
went to congress, I’m quite sure we’d both either
become corrupt or we’d be gone in short order.
Again, the only solution to this problem is to make
government smaller. Solve more problems closer to
home. Unfortunately, the republican tax bill won’t do
that. It does, however, have a useful theme, which is
to allocate more power to the individual over where
his tax dollars go. And that’s not all bad. The idea
that government can spend your money better than
you is wrong. No one knows better than you how to
spend your money.
The democrats say that allowing people to keep more
of the money they earn is inflationary (Marc’s first
point) and will lead to higher interest rates. There
was a time when that was true, primarily when
blue-collar jobs dominated America. But most
prominent economists now recognize that there is
no inflation when new money is used to increase
productivity. Reagan first demonstrated this with his
tax cuts of the early 80’s which gave high tech its big
boost (along with reduced regulation). As a result, tax
receipts and the stock market are still increasing. Were
it not for a spendthrift congress, which refused to approve
any of Reagan’s annual budget proposals, our national
debt would also be much smaller. In white collar
American, letting the people keep more of their money
simply provides more options for intelligent investment.
And this tax bill reflects that.
Marc’s next three points (#2, 3, &4) seem to question
the basis of the so-called “surplus.” And rightly so. By
any honest definition, there is NO surplus, not now and
not for the foreseeable future. What government calls a
surplus is simply a number in an accounting ledger that
continues to consider FICA contributions as current
income rather than as payments against an unfunded
liability (Social Security). Recall that Congressman
Livingston said that his first priority as Speaker of the
House would be to remove Social Security receipts from
the budget. If that had happened, we would not be
talking about a surplus today. In truth, we are still
spending more than we collect, and our national debt
continues to increase. The “surplus” everyone is talking
about is no more than excess Social Security money
after current retirees have been paid. There is no “money”
in the Social Security Trust Fund. Every year (since the
mid sixties) we spend ALL of the Social Security money.
The trust fund only contains IOUs that will have to be
redeemed sometime in the future by the open market sale
of government securities (just like all government debt).
Again there is NO surplus; there is NO trust fund! Marc
is right, if a CEO of any American Corporation used this
accounting scheme, they would be in jail! And we have
Lyndon Johnson to thank for this when he decided to
monitize the trust fund to make his budgets look better.
The lesson here is that our government accounting
system doesn’t use the same rules we do in managing
our checkbook. So when Marc asks what’s wrong
with paying off the debt, he’s thinking that such money
would go to retiring bonds. That is, government would
issue a call on your savings bonds thereby increasing
your bank account – which, of course, would be
inflationary per the democrat’s definition. But that’s not
what happens. All that happens is that the General
Fund, the government’s bank account, is a little larger
because of fewer withdrawals. Ideally that might mean
that the next Treasury auction would be smaller, but if
so, it would likely be only a temporary blip. In practice,
the chief effect would be to provide politicians with
additional money to buy votes. Again, the ONLY way
to solve this problem is by restricting the source of the
money. We need to work for meaningful Federal tax cuts
any time we get the chance (which won’t be often).
Marc wonders what we’re going to do when the baby
boomers start to retire in large numbers. Good
question. The implied assumption is that since the
“surplus” is due to FICA receipts, then if we remove
the surplus with a tax cut, there won’t be enough money
for the baby boomer’s retirement. Well, the fact is that it
doesn’t matter what we do with the “surplus” -- buy votes,
or give it back to those who earned it. There’s not going
to be enough money for the baby boomers anyway. The
Social Security problem is separate from the Income Tax
issue. As currently structured, Social Security is a
pyramid scheme and like all pyramid schemes, can only
be kept alive by increasing the base with new recruits or
by cutting off the top by eliminating benefits. Increasing
FICA is no longer viable. The demographics are not
favorable: Our Nation’s birth rate continues to decrease
while retirees are continuing to live longer. Social Security
is in big trouble regardless of this tax bill!
Next question: Do people want this tax bill? Recent poll
data says YES, once they know what’s in it. The previous
polls only asked whether you might favor saving social
security, paying off the debt, or whatever, versus getting
a nebulous tax cut. The more recent polls first tell you
what the tax bill is all about and then ask a similar
question. People aren’t dumb. The answer now is a big
YES to the tax cut.
So what’s in it? Marc mentioned two items, the
elimination of the inheritance tax and the marriage
penalty, but there’s more. There’s a reduction of one
percentage point for each tax bracket; A reduction of
the capital gains rate from 20% to 18%; A phase out of t
he Alternative Minimum Tax (which penalizes families by
minimizing the real value of family tax credits); An
additional exemption for individuals who care for elderly
family members at home; A 100% deduction for health
insurance premiums and long-term medical care
premiums when over 50% of the cost is borne by the
individual; A 100% deduction for health insurance
expenses for self-employed individuals (biggest worry
for those wanting to start their own business); Increased
incentives and savings options for future retirees
(expl. IRAs = $5000); Increased education savings
accounts from $500/year to $2000/year; Increased tax
credit for adopting special needs children from $5000 to
$10,000.
The chief effect of this tax law is to encourage individuals
to take care oftheir own welfare and to reduce
dependence on government. Which is why most
professional politicians hate it!
There’s more. I suggest you get on the web and
investigate (don’t believe Clinton’s rhetoric for the effect
of this bill on your welfare – decide for yourself). And,
as Marc mentioned, many of these cuts are phased in
over several years so you need to find out how that might
affect your plans.
Sooo … have I sold you on the merits of the tax cut?
Have I answered Marc’squestion as to whether a tax cut
makes any sense? Well, Alan Greenspan doesn’t think
so and neither do I. It just doesn’t make sense to propose
a tax cut when there is no surplus, when we’re still
spending more than we receive
(we added about six billion to the National Debt last year).
BUT, as Greenspan said, when specifically asked, given
the alternative between government vs. individuals spending
the money, the latter would benefit the economy the most
(less mischief). I agree with Alan.
*******
Only one last thing. Marc implied that 70% of the people
want Clinton’s gun control laws, but that NRA money
bought congress off thus thwarting the will of the people.
Now, that’s NOT a reasonable assertion for any intelligent
centrist to believe. Gun controls, like abortion, are highly
emotional and many faceted issues and we need to resist
any attempt to reduce them to that sort of managed news
media sound bite.
Here’s what we know about guns in America. First, the
right to own a firearm is provided by the 2nd amendment
to the Constitution. The original intent of the 2nd
amendment is to ensure the viability of all the other
amendments including the Constitution itself. For
confirmation, read the recent opinion of liberal Harvard
constitutional scholar Laurence H. Tribe. Second, bad
people will own and use guns illegally (and sometimes
legally). The only thing that stops bad people from using
their guns are the guns of the good guys. Third, police
can’t and won’t attempt to protect you until you’re
already maimed or dead. And finally, you have a
constitutional right and duty to protect yourself and your
loved ones from bad people.
Two comments. First, one of the reasons school
shootings like Columbine, Springfield, and Kansas
happen in upper middle class white schools is
because no one in their right mind would try that in
South-Central LA (or any other inner-city school). Those
people know how to protect themselves.
Second, there are several well-documented scholarly
studies that suggest that in places where law-abiding
citizens are allowed to carry concealed weapons, there
is a dramatic drop in violent crime. On the other hand,
violent crime is most rampant in those areas with the
most stringent gun laws (makes crime economically
advantageous). Perhaps the best-known scholar
in this area is John R. Lott, Jr. who has impeccable
credentials. Dr. Lott is a Professor at the University of
Chicago where he teaches criminal deterrence and
economics. He is a John M. Olin Law and Economics
Fellow. He was the chief economist at the United
States Sentencing Commission during 1988 and ‘89.
He has published over 70 articles in academic journals,
along with his most famous book “More Guns, Less
Crime.” Among the professors who recognize this
scholarly work include W. Kip Viscusi and Steve
Shavell, both of Harvard Law, Gary Kleck of Florida
State University, and Dan Polsby of
Northwestern University.
The big problem with guns in the hands of the people
is that they are sometimes a “final solution” for people
driven crazy by government policies that cause
unnatural distortions in the family, school and
workplace. This affects approximately one to two
percent of otherwise normal law-abiding citizens –
and so we have the “postal effect,” the Columbine
shootings, and various family/neighbor shootings,
which the media and government love to dramatize. T
he solution, however, is not to do away with guns,
but rather to do away with the source of the mischief,
i.e., misdirected government programs. But that can
only happen by making government smaller.
From:
Dick Epler (52)
depler@pdx.oneworld.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-47-
***************************************
***************************************
********************************************
THE SANDBOX ~ Issue #48 ~ Dec 13, 1999
Illuminated by the alumni of RHS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"There are more Sand Castles in a bucket of sand
than atoms in the universe."
--- The Internet Center For Sand
http://www.netaxs.com/~sparky/sand.html
This issue's contributors are:
Annette (Bradley) Forsythe (51)
We're Giving Away The Panama Canal
Norma (Loescher) Boswell (53)
Some Things to Think About
Dennis Robertson Beatty (Class of 60)
Memories and More
Al Parker (53)
We Can Build Sand Castles Here
The News From Shippenville Borough
Also: A Question for Your Consideration
"Should Perjurers Hold Elective Offices?"
And: How Do You Know If That
"Urgent" E-Mail Message is Only a Hoax?
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
WE CAN BUILD SAND CASTLES HERE
Al Parker (53)
A Sandbox is for building things-
Like roads
And bridges,
And Sand Castles,
And very important dreams.
A Sandbox is for finding things-
Big things,
Little things,
Very special things,
Even brand new things.
A Sandbox is for digging together in-
Uncovering things,
Discovering things,
Sharing things,
And learning things.
.
A Sandbox is for expressing things-
For shouting out what passion brings,
Exploring some new fashion things,
Sharing our compassion,
Bemoaning all the trashin.'
A Sandbox is for saying things-
And talking about the things
We want to change,
And things we want
To stay the same.
A Sandbox is for feeling things-
When we are laughing,
When we are crying,
When we are wondering why,
Or wanting to know how.
This Sandbox is for all of us-
Walking together,
Talking together,
Building together,
SAND CASTLES
That reach to the sky.
We Really Should Try!
- Al Parker (53)
Recommended Sand Castle Site:
http://www.netaxs.com/~sparky/sand_gallery.html
- - - - - - -
WELL, IT'S BEEN A WHILE, FOLKS, since Issue
#47 of The SANDBOX came out more than two months
ago. My computer is healthy again, the SANDBOX
address book has been reassembled, and Internet
access, with some difficulty, symptomatic to this part
of rural Pennsylvania, has been restored.
The 2400 mile journey from Yakima to Shippenville
Borough, PA, is complete, most of the stuff unpacked,
and another issue of YOUR SANDBOX is "going to press!."
I apologize for any of your SANDBOX submissions
that were inadvertently lost during the moving process
If something you've sent has not yet appeared in The
SANDBOX, please send it again, if you can.
Please send your SANDBOX contributions to
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com Personal mail not intended
for publication can be sent to me at Adamstreet@aol.com.
When you send something in by Friday, you should be
reading your words in The SANDBOX on the following
Sunday. That is the plan: Timelier, fresher, more
newsworthy. That's the SANDBOX goal.. Additional
Sandboxes may be issued between the Sunday editions
if you send me enough "sand."
Your comments can be about almost anything going
on in our world today. National, international or personal.
This is your forum. Say what you want: You can tell it like
it is. You can tell it how you'd like it to be.
You can tell us about places in the world or on the
Internet you'd like us to see. You can respond to what
others are saying here, or share an idea of your own.
Maybe you have an idea for us that none of us have ever
thought of before. You can ask your fellow Bombers
questions here, share information here and encourage
one another, too. It's entirely up to you. Common
courtesy, of course, and a mutual respect for your fellow
Bombers is always appreciated and enjoyed.
So, if we aren't talking about what you want to talk
about, who are you going to blame? Talk with us today.
We'd love to hear from you!
-ap
- - - - - - -
WE'RE GIVING AWAY THE PANAMA CANAL
From: Annette (Bradley) Forsythe (51)
annie@3-cities.com
There is so much patriotism among the grads of
Richland High School--so much pride in what part we
and our families before us brought about.
But as a nation we have many issues of great
importance. This issue came to my attention recently.
I offer it for any who would be concerned. The
Panama Canal is to be turned over to Panama on
January 1st, per the Treaty of 1977, ratified by the US
Senate and amended by the DeConcini Reservation
which stipulated that the US would have priority of
naval entry when requested and could use military
force to keep the canal open.
A Gen. Omar Torrijos signed the unamended
treaty for Panama. Under Panamanian Constitution,
ONLY the President of Panama has that authority.
Communist China is now operating the east and west
canal entrance ports. Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho
has introduced HJR 77 (The Panama Canal Treaty
Nullification Act. This declares the 1977 treaty null
and void, and would confirm the canal zone remains
US territory.
To support this Resolution, e-mail your
congressmen. For details go to
www.keepthepanamacanal.com. E-mail to:
www.jbs.org/congress. Call 202/224-3121 to connect
to the Capital switchboard. I credit Norm Fisler of
Richland, who wrote the Editorial in the Tri-City
Herald.
Annette (Bradley) Forsythe (51)
- - - - - - -
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Author unknown
Forwarded by: Norma (Loescher) Boswell (53)
boswelln@oneworld.owt.com
To the world you might be one person, but to one
person you might be the world.
Going to church does not make you a Christian any
more than going to McDonalds's makes you an expert
on hamburgers.
Real friends are those who, when you feel you've
made a fool of yourself, don't feel you've done a
permanent job.
A coincidence is when God performs a miracle, and
decides to remain anonymous.
Sometimes the majority only means that all the fools
are on the same side.
I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.
Lead your life so you won't be ashamed to sell the
family parrot to the town gossip.
People gather bundles of sticks to build bridges they
never cross.
Life is 10% of what happens to you, and 90% of
how you respond to it.
Life is like an onion; you peel off one layer at a time
and sometimes you weep.
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live
long enough to make them all yourself.
There are two things I've learned: There is a God.
And, I'm not Him.
Following the path of least resistance is what makes
rivers and men crooked.
Your worst days are never so bad that you are
beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days
are never so good that you are beyond the need of
God's grace.
- - - - - - -
MEMORIES AND MORE
Dennis Robertson Beatty (Class of 60)
knd_beatty@email.msn.com
I just discovered this site and realize again how varied
and diverse the Col-Hi gang always was. I read with
great interest and consternation the past issues of the
Sandbox and was quite amused.
For the last 7+ years I have lived, with my new wife,
here in Utah in the Salt Lake Valley. The dissertations
on politics were wonderful but from the point of view
of the residents of this state you were mostly off kilter
by 180 degree's. I have learned since living here that
Republicans act mostly like the Dem's in DC (Tax and
Tax and Tax and Spend) while the Dem's are almost
non-existent. In this state there is still literary
censorship in the schools, TV and radio as well as in
the Book Stores and supermarkets. For any given issue
of Glamour, or other such "ladies" magazines, you will
find pasted covers covering the too explicit body
views. On of the local affiliates (ABC) takes it upon
itself to censor the national network and what is shown
locally. It may offend someone of rather prurient beliefs.
Of course it is owned by "The Church" so they have
everyone's best interest at stake.
The political climate is very interesting.....Of the 100
State Rep and Congress persons, 98 belong to the
same church. The heads of all State Agencies, political
groups, and quasi-political groups all have the same
thing in common (white, male, LDS, republican). The
state liquor control board is 4 white-male-LDS-
Republican-lawyers and one female-Republican-LDS-
lawyer who all swear they have never taken a drink
and do not understand why anyone would want to.
The National Rifle Association lobbyist is also the
senior state legislator. The governor disbanded the
Department of Water Resources board when it filed
a complaint against his brother for letting
contaminated fish from the family hatchery into the
lakes at two large reservoirs. The governor and
the state legislature passed a law that stated the
Attorney General had to only pursue those cases as
assigned by the Governor. She is not allowed to
pursue polygamists, tobacco, NRA, or any of the other
areas causing so much trouble in the state. She is
allowed however, and directed, to pursue assisting
other states fighting abortion, same-sex marriages, or
other LDS belief's and help in their attempts to defeat
these measures.
Discrimination is a way of life in Utah. It is the rule
rather than an exception. You can get a ticket from
the police for walking across the tracks of the light rail
($175.00) but you can park with immunity and block
businesses, homes, whatever, if you are attending a
state event or a University of Utah or BYU event.
Polygamy is practiced openly and with impunity. Child
abuse and spousal abuse are a way of life in many of
the small communities in the state.
You wonder why the rambling......Reading, again,
about the Bomb symbol, tax cuts, and the cat fights etc
in past issues is alarming. We must all learn to let the
other person live in an environment free from harassment,
fear, ridicule and in peace. I lived near
Columbine and many of my friends had kids going to
that school. I have traveled all over the country the
last 40 years and in Europe for two of those years and
saw what bickering and discrimination can do to a
people. I currently have friends in Bosnia and
Kosovo and hear the stories they tell of conditions
there. A Bomb symbol, although maybe tasteless, still
was just a symbol. No more threatening that
the symbol of the Minuteman standing ready with his
rifle which has killed more than all the A Bombs ever
did.
The Sandbox is a great idea and should be used to let
everyone know what is going on in the world in their
own little corners. Share with each other the good
times, the pains, the disappointments, the shock, the
grieving, but lets not keep the jabs going at each other
over an anonymous medium.
Hope to see more about the Over 40 Club and
Reunions. We are having the Winter Olympics here in
16 months and will do what I can to get info for you
on this event if you wish.
Wishing all of you God Bless and have a Happy and
Joyous Holiday Season.
Dennis Robertson Beatty (Class of 60)
Remember......Life begins at 40 and we are just
Teenagers (Again)
- - - - - - -
A QUESTION FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:
Should Convicted Perjurers Be Disqualified From
Representing You and Making Laws that Govern You?
In Pennsylvania, no person convicted of perjury is
allowed to serve, or continue to serve, in the State
Legislature. Would you like to see a similar law
applied to national offices? Would our nation benefit
by such a law? Would national security be threatened
by such a law? If such a law were put into effect,
should prosecution for perjury be withheld until after a
term of office is complete? Should such a law apply
both to members of congress and to the Presidency?
What about members of the President's cabinet? How
do you think legislators from YOUR district would
vote if a bill were introduced barring anyone convicted
of perjury from holding either state or national offices?
Why do you feel that way?
Should any of you feel challenged to ask your elected
representatives how they would vote if should such a
law were proposed, either on a national level, or at the
state level where you live, please let us know. We'd
be more than happy to read your legislative
representatives' honest (or evasive) answers in The
SANDBOX.
- - - - - - -
THE NEWS FROM SHIPPENVILLE BOROUGH
Al Parker (53)
Shippenville is near the village of Marrianne, which is
not too far from Clarion Borough, which is adjacent
to, but not a part of, Clarion Township in Clarion
County, through which the Clarion River Flows, but
The Clarion Mall is in Monroe Township, not too far
from the townships of Elk and Paint which are
somewhere in the middle of all of this wonderful rural
Pennsylvania countryside.
That is where I am and I am lovin' it! The forests are
beautiful, the squirrels and chipmunks have lots of
acorns to eat and the friendly smiles are plentiful.
But even more exciting than all of that is this: My
most excellent daughter, Jennifer, who also lives in
Shippenville Borough, will be giving birth to my first
grandchild, Blake, before the end of this month.
More news from Shippenville next week
-Al.
- - - - - - -
HOW TO KNOW IF AN "URGENT"
E-MAIL MESSAGE IS ONLY A HOAX
From time to time you've probably received E-mail
messages saying things like, "I have it on reliable
authority," "Quick send this message to everyone in
your address book," "Such and such a game is a
Trojan Horse or has a virus that will send your
computer into orbit, set your house on fire and blow
up your car," "Bill gates wants to give you his
money," and other such messages just tingling with
"urgency."
Most so-called "urgent" messages are hoaxes and
serve only to congest the Internet. If you receive
such a message and would like to check out it's
authenticity before passing it on, several good sites
can tell you if the message you've received is a
hoax.
One of my favorite "Hoax and Virus information sites"
is The SARC Online Virus and Hoax Encyclopedia.
Its key word search engine helps you identify hoaxes
rapidly.
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html
- - - - - - - -
See you again next time, everyone. Remember...
Whatever comes in by Friday, goes out on Sunday.
Don't MAKE me send an Empty Box!
I'll send you the box. You put in the sand.
Together we'll build some Sand Castles!
THE_SANDBOX@bigfoot.com
--Al Parker (53)
Your Sandbox Moderator
Wishing you Peace, Love and Joy
For all the days of your life!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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End of MAR thru DEC, 1999
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JAN and FEB, 1999 ~ JAN thru MAY, 2000