Suddenly, Current Affairs - Ahem - Are Must Reading
An Idaho Spokesman-Review colleague and I debated Monday why our special “Starr Report” edition is a runaway hit. By midafternoon Monday, we’d sold out all 2,000 copies, including 500 at the Idaho office at $2 a pop.
I took the high road. I figured all of you wanted to get your hands on a historic document. The other office wag took the low road. He believed you’re all interested in how a cigar can be used as a “sex prop.”
Maybe there’s a middle road. Maybe you’re all tired of having this thing filtered through the media and want to see for yourself what Slick Willie did. Right?
On Thursday, I mentioned my likes and dislikes about Oregon after vacationing there recently. Now, Doug Burr checks in with his own Oregon oddities: A sign on the IGA store in Waldport, “No bottle/can counting after 8 p.m. Kite dogfights. License plates on state vehicles that say, “Publicly Owned Vehicle” (but just try, as a member of the public, to drive off with one). And (drum roll, please) campgrounds with showers.
I can’t figure out Clinton’s high performance ratings, when 72 percent of 165,539 web surfers who responded to an MSNBC poll Monday said Bill should go. Anyone?
Mayor Steve Judy has picked up a bad habit if he appoints only those who agree with him to city boards and commissions. Case in point: Jeanne Beamis. Beamis is an outspoken critic of attempts to redesign McEuen Field. In fact, the former Parks and Recreation commissioner spoke up loudly against attempts by Duane Hagadone to unofficially annex the public area for a botanical garden. Now, Judy has decided not to reappoint Beamis to the commission. Former Mayor Ray Stone used to fill city boards and commissions with yes men and women. It doesn’t make for healthy debate.
It’ll be interesting to see if Rep. Helen Chenoweth recovers from the mess she’s gotten herself into this time. Goofy statements about salmon, American Indians and Hispanics are one thing. Hypocrisy is another. I’ve received calls and e-mails that indicate constituents are angry about her disclosure of an old love affair with a married man, after she’d blasted Slick Willie in an ad for his serial philandering. Whether you’re a politician or a columnist, you have to have your own house in order before you criticize others. That’s why you’ll never hear me blasting President Clinton’s military record. Or lack thereof. A student deferment and a high lottery number kept me out of the Vietnam War. I don’t have the moral authority to criticize someone for getting out in another way.