Oct. 15, 2005

The day after President Bush advised Americans to deal with skyrocketing gas prices by avoiding unnecessary driving, he flew to New Orleans for a photo-op, burning up about 11,437 gallons of jet fuel, worth over $24,000. Apparently, it all depends on what you consider “necessary.”

Maybe Bush and his in-group thought they could slide Harriet Miers onto the Supreme Court with nobody asking questions.

If George W. Bush’s speech last week to the National Endowment for Democracy were a Broadway play, it would’ve closed after opening night: All but his most slavish supporters panned it, and the general public yawned.

Letters to the Editor

The “American” way of life hangs in the balance. The threat: Terrorism? Hurricanes? Disease? Drought? No. The repeal of what helped make the U.S. the “land of the free to pursue your place”: the estate tax.

In modern capitalist society we are separated from family, friends and neighbors. Sometimes I get the feeling that people don’t really seem interested in getting to know each other. Do we view other people as important resources in our life?

At a news conference in Havana Sept. 27, Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez introduced a 63-page report his country is submitting to the UN General Assembly on the U.S. blockade of Cuba.

Okay, I have a confession to make — I have a minor fascination with celebrity gossip. I know, it’s silly, and I’m not proud of it. When I read the Sunday paper, I always check out the “Personality Parade” by Walter Scott in Parade Magazine. There are photos of celebrities, PR flack questions, simple answers, and that gives me a gossip fix without taking up much time or money.

Science fiction, when it’s done right, is a terrific vehicle for developing ideas that apply to the real world. “Serenity” is done very well. The ideas it develops are good news for all of us — and terrible news for George W. Bush and all of them.

Admirers of playwright August Wilson vowed Oct. 8 at his funeral to ensure that future generations are exposed to the Pulitzer-prize winner’s tales of Black struggle in 20th century America. Wilson died of liver cancer Oct. 2 in Seattle. He was 60.