When presidents are under onslaught at home, they like to make trips abroad. In the recent past, Fayetteville mayor Dan Coody has become inordinately fond of traveling. Comrade Coody has been under a lot of fire lately, and his response seems to be to get the hell out of Dodge.

This is probably not the right time for trips, even if they are for the most noble of purposes. There is grumbling among budget watchers that Coody’s place is here, helping to shepherd the new budget through.

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But . . .

There are those who feel that Dan may choose not to run for mayor in 2008 and instead will either:

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a) run for city council – a step down, perhaps, but might get him a city pension for ten years of service?

B) might actually change his residence so that he can run for a seat in the state legislature.  In that case, these trips might look good on his resume.

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A number of people have suggested both possibilities to me over the past few weeks. A few have also made this observation:

If former mayor Fred Hanna were making all of these trips at a time when the city needs him here,  Dan Coody would be leading the troops in a rebellion. Funny how time change, isn’t it?

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Gamma Girl

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If people knew about Chernobyl, they would think twice about bombing nuclear facilities. Extreme danger of nuclear contamination is present regardless if nuclear power plants or nuclear weapons production is the target. Our world has grown too small for bombing atomic reactors. Bombing nuclear facilities in Iran to make the world “safer” is insane – an oxymoron similar to “Holy war” or “fighting for peace”  – March, 2007

This is from an incredible website run by a young woman, Filatova Elena Vladimirovna, who also writes under the name of “Gamma Girl.”  She rides into Chernobyl on her motorcycle, and takes photos, which she posts on her website, along with her journal. She also takes along a Geiger Counter, so she knows exactly how safe an area might be.

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It makes for fascinating reading. She is a lot braver than I am.

In contrast the half-life of useful service for a politician can be measured in mere months, and most can not see any problem that exists beyond the length of this period. Let me drive home one more example to explain how small and miserable are the ambitions of our politicians: If the Romans had invented nuclear power and later someone would bomb their reactors, this land would still contain traces of radioactivity and we would still, 2000 years later, have armed militias guarding their dumps of high-level nuclear waste.
March, 2007 
 

http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/journal/volume3.html

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Fayetteville Anime Festival

This might be fun. I got a notice about an Anime Festival, which will be held in downtown Fayetteville in a couple of weeks. While not on the scale of Bikes Blues and BBQ, it is still something pretty cool. Events like this are also good for Fayetteville – and we should thank them for coming here.

November 17 – 10am-midnight

Cosmopolitan Hotel on the Square

Guest Speaker:

Voice Actor/Animator – Samantha Inoue-Harte

credits include: “Trinity Beach”
“Wedding Peach”
“Get Packers”
“Final Fantasy: Unlimited”

There will also be anime activities, video games, viewing rooms, tabletop gaming, guest panels, local artists and Japanese food.

For more information:

myspace.com/arkansasanimefestival
Or
www.arkansasanimefestival.com.

Email address: 
 arkanimefestival@aol.com

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On the Air with Kyle Kellams

Next week I’ll be interviewing Kyle Kellams, News Director of KUAF, and host of the popular long-time program, “Ozarks at large.” Many of us have been on Kyle’s show, but this is a chance to see the tables turned, and see Kyle answering questions.

I enjoyed the interview, and I think that others will, as well.

Days and times:

Monday – 7pm
Tuesday – noon
Saturday – 6pm

For more information on Community Access Television, check out their Website at: http://www.catfayetteville.com/

What? Your community doesn’t have public access yet? Who benefits from that, other than elected officials who don’t like criticism?

rsdrake@nwark.com

 

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