So now we find that the past administration was just doing its job behind the scenes while the other side "crowed" and "grandstanded" outside the White house about sex. This is not unusual in history. The ruler that the Duke of Mantua in the opera Rigoletto was patterned after was a good ruler who did a great many things for his people. He was, however, on the wrong side of Giuseppi Verdi. And then there was the Emperor during Mozart's time in Vienna. If you only know him through his wife's appearance in the Magic Flute or the stories that eventually led to "Amadeus" you would think he was a Fop and a Fool but he too did a great deal for the people of Vienna including the little people and then there was the case of poor Salieri. Salieri not only taught Beethoven and many of the great composers and singers of the day but he also started the Musician's Benevolent Society and set up structures that took care of those who couldn't survive humanely in their Elder years. Oh yes and he also wasn't half bad at composing himself. But the Media has made him a Fop and Fool as well. There is data and then there is the press.
Clinton did amazing things and could have done more. Bush seems capable of negotiating as was Clinton but his economic and (dare I say) "moral" impulse lends less to the sexual and more to the venal. Frankly I would prefer a sexey President male or female with less venality and caring more about us while they were in the White House. I have no doubt that many will claim that Clinton is plenty venal now and they will complain about his selling pardons to the wealthy but 1. knowing his worth as a private citizen is what most Republicans call "being American" and 2. the money for his library did not go to him but to a public institution that would, as all Presidential Libraries are, be a scholar's bank and open to the public. So he may have been crooked or not about those pardon's but it went to an institution and not to him personally as in the case of the current creepy bunch. That library will also bring in both prestige and wealth to the state of Arkansas since the Arkansan's political leanings and Clinton's reputation in the rest of the world are polar opposites, that would make it good for Arkansas but they would "hate it" all the way to the bank. Remember, both Clinton's gave more money to charity and were poorer than any President and First Lady in memory including the current one and his Venal VP. (VVP) As for the Shrubs, since when did Crony Capitalism become an American Ideal in economic schools across America? Ray Evans Harrell Dangerous Chickens This week's recall of 27.4 million pounds of cooked turkey and chicken products might have been avoided if the Bush administration had instituted rules designed to protect consumers from a dangerous bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes. The recall, by the Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, the largest in Agriculture Department history, followed an outbreak of Listeria in seven Northeastern states this summer that killed seven people and caused illness in dozens of others. After government inspectors found a Listeria infestation at the company's plant in Franconia, Pa., Pilgrim's Pride recalled all its cooked deli products made from May 1 to Oct. 11 and halted production at the plant. The Agriculture Department now says Pilgrim's Pride was a likely source of the summer outbreak. Even now, however, the department appears in no hurry to activate safety standards that could reduce the risk of future outbreaks. Under industry influence the administration has declined to adopt meat safety regulations readied for action at the end of the Clinton era. Had it moved forward with the rules, health and consumer groups argue, the Listeria infestation, as well as the subsequent illnesses and deaths, might have been avoided. The Clinton regulations would establish a mandatory testing regimen for Listeria monocytogenes. Though not foolproof, such testing, done with sufficient frequency, would reduce the risk of contamination. At the least, the department must end misleading labeling practices. Packaged deli and luncheon meats now labeled "cooked" and "ready-to-eat" can have dire consequences for pregnant women, the elderly and immune-suppressed people who eat them without reheating; the labels should say so. The Agriculture Department promises to convene a group of experts to study Listeria further. Although more study can't hurt, it is time that the department treated the entire matter with a sense of urgency. Most people with a healthy immune system can fight off the bacteria with little problem. Others are not so lucky.
