Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(December 2003)
An ex-Brit gives his views-(without fear
or favor)---of the American Scene
Late breaking news.
Question: Was President
Bush's two hour stealth visit to American forces
in Iraq on Thanksgiving Day a hastily planned political
photo opportunity in order to counteract Hillary Clinton's
visit to Afghanistan and Iraq???
Thought for today:
In last months news letter I commented upon the
State visit of American President George Bush to England
and made a recommendation to Her Majesty that perhaps she
should consider accommodating Mr. Bush in the Tower of
London for a protracted time period.
Obviously she doesn't, or didn't, read my October 2003
newsletter for she didn't heed my recommendation. I'm
sure that her predecessors, King Henry the Eighth, and
especially King George the Third, would have been delighted
with the idea, and I can envisage shouts of, "Off with
his Head!", ringing throughout the Tower.
I had a comment from a relative in UK, which may amuse
you. Apparently an unidentified source was reported to
have said: "Your Majesty, you really must retrain your
Royal Artillery Regiments to aim more accurately, as
they fired a forty one gun salute in honour of American
President Bush and goodness gracious me they missed with
every round"!!!
Last word:
The haves and the have nots:
America is a divided country where a Presidential aspirant,
who did not gain as many of the popular votes as his opponent,
(by as many as 100,000, give or take a few), and then struggled
through a voting fiasco in Florida to eventually become
"selected" to
be President, (not elected), by a non-unanimous majority
vote of the seven members of the Supreme Court of the United
States.
This country, like many countries throughout the world,
is a country of haves and have-nots. For instance there
is a definite advantage for the rich embodied into the
legal system. By reason of their wealth they can hire
the best lawyers in the country, and also at the same
time, having friends in high places, (who can influence
the judicial system), is a definite asset.
Several cases come to mind where the wealthy have literally got away with murder.
It is also a land where 40 million people have no heath
care insurance. There is something radically wrong with
a political system where Congress can authorise $87B
to conduct a war against Iraq, but cannot finance an
"affordable" National
Health Care program, which would include prescription drug benefits. Disclaimer.
Some of the information gathered for this news letter
has been gleaned from American and International media
sources, (including the Internet), and as such is quoted
as accurately as possible. I try to obtain confirmation
from several outlets, so the text is a mixture of composite
news items and personal comments and therefore the reader
must make his/her judgement as to the reliability and
degree of accuracy of the subjects discussed.
Eric (Bill) Sykes. (California).
We welcome feedback about any of the
contents of these newsletters. Please send all correspondence
to
bill_sykes@huddersfield1.co.uk
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