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*********************************** Go Forth and e-Multiply If you know someone who might like to receive News & Views, you can sign 'em up at: http://www.chuckmuth.com. *********************************** Freepers Tracked Doomed Flight "It's said that journalism is the first draft of history. If so, the Internet sometimes affords us a glimpse at history's rough outline. At 8:38 a.m. EST yesterday, a reader of the Free Republic Web site started a discussion thread for shuttle enthusiasts: "'Space Shuttle Columbia is in a decent for the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and will pass over the San Francisco Area around 6:00 AM Pacific Time. Route will take the Shuttle over Las Vegas, Flagstaff, etc. NASA has still not decided which runway will be used. Landing will be at 9:16 AM Eastern.' "Other Freepers joined in, describing the view of the descending shuttle from the West Coast--then gradually realizing something was amiss. Someone asks at 8:58 a.m. EST, 'Was it glowing at all?' The first clear sign of trouble comes in a post at 9:05 a.m. We won't quote any more than this, because you really have to read the full thread to appreciate the drama [http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/833885/posts]. "But it's worth noting that the first word of trouble didn't come across the Associated Press wire until 9:16, the scheduled landing time. Free Republic scooped the AP by at least 11 minutes--which is an eternity in the competitive world of wire-service reporting." - James Taranto's " Best of the Web," 2/2/03 *********************************** Celebrating Columbia's Loss "Immediate popular reaction in Baghdad yesterday to the loss of the U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew was that it was God's retribution. 'We are happy that it broke up,' said government employee Abdul Jabbar al-Quraishi." - Washington Times, 2/3/03 *********************************** The Case for Knocking the Snot Outta Him "Yes, I feel sorry for the Iraqis. Their leader is a tyrant who is denying them the adequate food, jobs, and freedom they deserve. The state media are all controlled. There are no civil liberties as we know them. The crime of THEFT is punishable by DEATH. When you get arrested they don't read you your rights because you haven't any. The economy is paralyzed because Saddam won't comply with U.N. resolutions dating back to 1991. "Never mind that Saddam's first job was as an assassin. Never mind that he participated in the attempted assassination of Iraqi leader Abdul Karim Kassem in 1959. Never mind that he staged a coup and removed his predecessor at gun point. Never mind that in 1987 and Iraqi jet launched two French-built EXOCET missiles, hitting the U.S. Navy frigate USS STARK and killing 37 American sailors. Only the heroic action of the crew saved the ship. Iraq said, 'Oops, sorry,' and we let him off the hook. "Never mind that Saddam waged an eight-year war with Iran. He killed about 90 percent of the prisoners his army captured. Never mind that we know Saddam has trained terrorists and that terrorists with medical needs go to Baghdad for free treatment. Never mind that he killed hundreds of innocent civilians, the Kurds. . . . Saddam attempted to eliminate the entire tribe, men, women and children, with chemical weapons. "...In August 1990, Saddam staged a completely unprovoked attack on his neighbor, Kuwait. . . . The Iraqi Army raped and pillaged its way across Kuwait. Thousands of Kuwaitis are still unaccounted for. We think they are all dead. "When faced with war in 1991, from a coalition of allies south of Iraq, Saddam attacked Israel with SCUD missiles. This too was an unprovoked attack upon a helpless bystander. Saddam knew the president of the United States had persuaded Israel to stay out of the war. "...The president of the United States is right: Saddam must go. Even if the U.S. needs to act unilaterally. . . . Saddam, as he now stands, poses the imminent threat. To America. To her neighbors, like Israel and Kuwait. And other freedom-loving nations. Iraq poses a clear and present danger. Saddam can place weapons of mass destruction on any doorstep. At any time. And that is intolerable." - Desert Storm veteran John E. Carey, Washington Times, 2/2/03 ************************************ Not Waiting 'til It's Too Late "(President Bush's) critics demand a smoking gun (before attacking Iraq), but the problem with waiting till one is found is that a smoking gun has just been fired. It will be too late." - Columnist Paul Greenberg *********************************** The Un-Clinton "(U)nlike William the Zipper (Clinton), who pondered issues of war and peace in late-night pizza party rap sessions with 20-something interns in the Oval Office, President George W. Bush intends to do more than 'think' about the threats that imperil liberty and world order. 'Whatever action is required, whenever action is necessary, I will defend the freedom and security of the American people,' he promised. Terrorists will be brought to justice 'dead or alive.' Saddam Hussein will relinquish his dictatorship, voluntarily or involuntarily and 'free people will set the course of history,' Mr. Bush declared. Many in our media need to dust off their dictionaries and discover that this is the definition of leadership." - Columnist Oliver North *********************************** Oxymoron of the Day: "French Courage" "The French cater to Iraq and criticize America loudly in part because they know they can: Americans aren't going to threaten France, so why not make nice to the people who might hurt you? Even deeper, if the United States can be trusted to take action, why not indulge in doubts, second thoughts and moral quibbles?" - Columnist Maggie Gallagher ************************************ Long Savings on Long Distance Just 4.97 cents/minute (5.97 cents for some non-regional bell companies) * All state-to-state calls in the continental U.S. * Residential or commercial * 6-second billing increments after the first 18 seconds * 24 hours/day * 7 days/week * No access codes * No minimums * No activation fees * No monthly service charge unless your bill is less than $20.00 a month (then a $2.50 service charge will apply) * No need to change your local phone company * No hassles * Easy sign-up. *And a small portion of each bill goes to help continue publishing our FREE Chuck Muth's News & Views e-newsletter. go to <http://www.GOPLongDistance.com> today. ********************************** OBL and SUVs "The latest tack in the war on sport utility vehicles (SUVs) has been to imply that owning anything more substantial than a Toyota Corolla amounts to supporting international terrorists. "(But) we're not buying our unleaded from Osama bin Laden or Hamas, after all; we're buying it from Exxon-Mobil, Texaco, BP and various other multinational petroleum companies. These companies may be politically unpopular - 'big oil' - but they provide jobs for tens of thousands and are an absolutely critical leg of our economy." - Columnist Eric Peters ************************************ Lying About Breast Implants for Fun & Profit ".(W)ith the silicone breast-implant affair of the early 1990s, it became apparent that billions of dollars could...be extracted on a theory of product-related injury that was spurious from start to finish. Lawyers and their allies skillfully stimulated and kept going a baseless public panic to the effect that silicone breast implants were causing an epidemic of autoimmune disease in American women. "In due time, studies by leading medical institutions proceeded to set the concerns to rest. By that point, however, lawyers had succeeded in recruiting hundreds of thousands of claimants, soon driving the leading producer of silicone compounds, Midland, Michigan-based Dow Corning, into bankruptcy, and even after the scientific basis of the claims was refuted, obtaining an overall settlement package valued at $7 billion, including a couple billion in legal fees. "The implant affair drove home an important lesson: Publicity skillfully managed by trial lawyers and their allies, especially where juries and the public can be kept sufficiently confused about the state of the science, can fuel a mass tort despite weakness on the facts, the law, or both." - Author Walter Olson in his new book, "The Rule of Lawyers: How the New Litigation Elite Threatens America's Rule of Law" *********************************** Duck, Duck, Goose "In Florida, it's not unusual for alligators to pop out of the water -- they've even been known to attack humans. But that's not what bothered Darlene Griffin. The 30-year-old woman was in Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach, Fla., when she was 'attacked' by a different kind of water creature: a goose. "Griffin says she jumped between her young son and the bird to protect the boy, then fell down and broke her tailbone when the fowl tried to bite her. She has sued Palm Beach County for allowing the wild animal to roam free in a public park. She is asking for at least $15,000 to cover her medical bills, as well as her mental and physical anguish." - Randy Cassingham's "Stella Awards," 1/29/03 *********************************** Idea Who's Time Has Come "In a move that I hope catches on, Exxon is suing Greenpeace for a demonstration in Luxembourg, where demonstrators chained themselves to petrol pumps and shut down business. It is about time someone took on these environmental terrorists. There is no doubt Greenpeace uses illegal methods to promote its agenda, and it is only right that it should pay the piper, fuel of otherwise, for its actions." - Columnist Dick Boland *********************************** The Goldwater Doctrine "I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution, or that have failed in their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is 'needed' before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents' interests, I shall reply that I was informed their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can." - Barry Goldwater, "The Conscience of a Conservative" To help promote the "Goldwater Doctrine" in public policy and government, join the Goldwater Club by going to: http://chuckmuth.com/goldwater.htm ********************************* ********************************* Published by The Goldwater Club Chuck Muth Editor/Publisher P.O. Box 15307 Middle River, MD 21220 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The opinions and views expressed in Chuck Muth's News & Views reflect those of the writers, editors and columnists therein and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the sponsors, advertisers ... heck, even some of our readers. To be REMOVED, go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsletter/ and complete the removal request instructions you'll find there. Or send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # #
