In his first bestseller, The Greatest Generation, Tom Brokaw captured the essence of growing up in one of America’s most defining eras.
In Boom! Brokaw achieves the same with another captivating era in American history. Evoking images of rebellious youth, angst filled soldiers, and revolutionary idealism, you can almost detect the smell patuli oil and burning bras.
Boom! is a must read.
Republican Fred Thompson compared his Democratic rivals to NASCAR drivers who only know how to turn left.
“It’s like they’re all in training for the NASCAR, you know, nothing but a left turn, just steady as she goes, all the way around.”
The Democrats were quick to respond, noting that three lefts equal a right.
Joe Francis, millionaire producer of the Girls Gone Wild series, has accused guards of denying him food and blankets and threatening to strip him naked to a chair for 48 hours.
Father’s of daughters featured in Francis’s series couldn’t be more delighted.
Thanksgiving is a time for family, a time for reflection, and a time to take a break from the fast pace of every day life and rest in preparation for America’s busiest shopping day, ‘Black Friday’.
But where did this tradition come from?
By some accounts, ‘Black Friday’ is a product of post-World War II consumerism that arose as America recovered from the Great Depression. In the struggle to cope with the atrocities of war and newfound financial stability, many Americans are said to have sought refuge with early morning, deal buster department store sales.
This seems an unlikely catalyst though, as most department stores remained confined to only the biggest of cities.
Another, more likely, account suggests ‘Black Friday’ stems back to the very first Thanksgiving. After the bountiful shared feast between Native and Pilgrim, it is said the English Colonists retired home early to rest for what would evolve into what we know today as ‘Black Friday.’
The first ‘Black Friday’ didn’t consist of department store sails and extended shopping hours though. Instead, it is believed, it consisted of rampant pillaging and early forms of white supremacy.
Experts believe the Pilgrims reacted negatively to excessive amounts of the foreign chemical tryptophan found in wild turkey, leaving them with an unrelenting desire to acquire new consumer goods at greatly reduced prices.
When no consumer goods were to be found, it is said that desire turned into murderous rage and the beginning of Westward Expansion.
Due in part to the Indian Removal act of 1830 and the Natives’ low tolerance to foreign disease, this tradition would eventually morph into what we know today – a reason to wake up at 4:00 am for 50% Haggar slacks.
Former White House Press Secretary, Scott McClellan, publicly released an excerpt from his new book “What Happened,” set to be released in April.
The excerpt reads:
“The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White House briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.
“There was one problem. It was not true.
“I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president’s chief of staff, and the president himself.”
In response to McClellan’s excerpt, Current White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, said in exasperation, “Son of a bitch…”
The USA Today reports that improved relations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders may be cause for optimism regarding the outcome of the U.S. hosted Mideast talks next week.
President Bush stated in July that he would like to see a Palestinian state by the time his second term ends in January of 2009.
News Column analysts suspect resolution to the cross-generation, faith based political conflict, and sometimes holy war, is a mere Mission Accomplished banner away.
Polygamist sect leader and ‘prophet’ Warren Jeffs used his religious influence to arrange the marriage of an unwilling 14-year-old girl to her 19-year-old cousin.
Jeffs will face a minimum of 10 years in prison on two counts as an accomplice to rape.
Early reports suggest fellow inmates will arrange a ‘polygamist-inspired-relationship’ for Jeffs in the showers, one which he will unwillingly be forced to enter.
A survey by the Associated Press and Yahoo News finds that Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani have the best chance of capturing the presidency, but other candidates lead the polls in other categories.
48-year-old Republican Donald Stokes said he would vote for Republican Rudy Giuliani but would pick Democrat John Edwards to take along on his family vacation.
30-year-old physician’s assistant Jasmine Zoschak said she’s backing Republican Mike Huckabee, but would rather invite Democrat Barack Obama to dinner.
48-year-old, retired landscaper, Charolette Thompson said she is backing Obama, but would chose Republican Mitt Romney for a bowling partner.
When reached for comment, Edwards Obama, and Romney each said, “Are you serious, this is a real survey?”
The survey also found that while a majority of individuals wouldn’t vote for Democrat Denis Kucinich, they would choose his wife to come over for a sleep-over.
An Iraqi government investigation echoes the initial incident report of the U.S. Central Command that indicated Blackwater’s men were unprovoked in the Sept. 16 shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians.
Analysts suggest that this should come as no surprise, as contractors are notorious for underestimating the total cost of most projects.
A Blackwater spokesmen said, “If a painter says it’ll take a gallon of paint to finish your room, and it takes 17 instead, what are you going to do, leave the room half painted? This is no different.”
A federal grand jury is said to be looking into the matters.