Street Jazz

Hear that? That’s the collective sigh of relief heaved by the U.S. media this week, when the Reverend Wright once again decided to make an appearance - or rather, several appearances.

There was some danger - no matter how slight - that serious issues might have to be discussed, issues that actually matter to the American people. You know the ones - the issues that require answers that can’t easily be fitted onto a bumper sticker.

Panic in the newsrooms! Especially in the newsrooms of cable news networks. But modern American journalism has been saved at the last minute.

Now it’s Jeremiah Wright, Morning, Noon and Night.   We are literally drowning in a sea of irrelevancy.

I think I’ll shoot my TV.

******

Lucas Roebuck puts on his very own “Kick Me” sign

Did Lucas Roebuck actually write these words in today’s issue of the Northwest Arkansas Times?

How many abuses of the Patriot Act have been documented?

This is sort of  like the scene in the courtroom movies, when a dumb lawyer is admonished - after the fact - “Never ask a question you don’t know the answer to.”

Well, just for Lucas, here is just one site (among many) that he can go to and read at his leisure.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Patriot_Act_abuses

No doubt several letters to the editor will result from this silly column today.

*****

Maybe more people knew his name than he thought?

Getting a haircut yesterday, I heard two of the barbers lamenting the fact that Jeff Koenig had dropped out of the race for mayor. Wow, I thought, some people really do miss the days when men like Fred Hanna, and maybe even Fred Vorsanger, were mayor of Fayetteville.

rsdrake@nwark.com