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| 4 November 1992 |
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| Cheryl B. Horton Criminal District Court, Section "A" 2700 Tulane Ave. New Orleans, LA 70118 |
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| Re: Current Events |
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| Dear Cheri: |
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| THE BAD NEWS |
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| Hurtling along an ancient path through our inner solar system is a chunk of ice and dirt, six miles in diameter, known as the Swift-Tuttle Comet. It is heading straight for that small greenish planet -- third from the star called Sun -- named Earth. More correctly, this hunk of icy rock is heading toward a spot where the Earth will be shortly. It is cruising along at about 37 miles per second (somewhat faster even than a wheeling dealing Fast Eddie), and it is about the size of East Jefferson. Its impact with this planet will surely mean the extinction of Homo sapiens. |
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| As you read this, government and privately funded scientists are running computer programs and communicating quietly with one another in an effort to determine the optimal time, place, and method of moving Swift-Tuttle off its course with a nuclear nudging. |
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| Within the next sixty days, the Swift-Tuttle Comet will become visible in the night sky to the naked eye. |
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| THE GOOD NEWS |
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| There is no immediate need to confect a suicide pact or plan a doomsday party. The odds of the comet colliding with our planet are only 1 in 10,000. Of course, this is 700 times more probable than your winning the lottery. In other words, if you buy 700 quick-picks next week, then the odds of your winning the lottery will be the same as Swift-Tuttle slamming into Nebraska or Afghanistan and putting out the lights. Do you ever get a feeling that it might be your time when the ping-pong balls roll out of the bingo machine on Saturday night? How lucky can you get? |
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| THE BEST NEWS |
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| The shooting speck of stardust will become visible within the next two months, shortly after it makes its closest pass to Earth on this orbit. Next time around, however, look out. Its next pass may be no pass at all, and if there is a winning ticket among the 700 quick-picks, it will mean the end of mankind, on 14 August 2126. |
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| THE OTHER NEWS |
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| Last week, Spike Lee announced he wanted to be interviewed only by African Americans. Lee explained that he was throwing his Hollywood weight around in a fair exercise of his prerogative to help his brothers and sisters in journalism find work. |
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| This week the movie-maker said A.I.D.S. was a government-engineered disease, aimed at gays and minorities, which got out of hand. |
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| Also this week, in a lucid interval, Lee said, "You may think I'm crazy." |
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| MORE NEWS |
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| One of the pleasures of childhood was surprise holidays. If it snowed, if it froze too long, if a President got shot in the head, there would be an unscheduled closing of school. Although it is likely that many of the children do not know why, there are children playing in the streets and yards and fields of Baghdad today, feeling joyous about their unexpected holiday. The half-million adults partying in the streets in a staged celebration know exactly what the hoopla is all about: The unseating of a U.S. President. |
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| ELECTION COMMENTARY |
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| In March of 1991, 8.8 of any 10 people asked gave Bush a thumbs-up. Although the country struggled with a recession and ballooning deficits (trade and budgetary), Poppy rode a wave of approval which welled up out of his taking back oil wells from Saddam. With his overwhelming popularity, Bush could have strolled over to Capitol Hill with a real plan to get the economy back on track under his arm, and Congress would have been hard pressed to ignore it. Instead, he did nothing at all. |
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| Poppy's inaction could have been interpreted as merely the hands-off, get-out-of-the-way government which he favors, but I don't think so as things turned out. If he really believes that a tax reduction on capital gains and a line-item veto would help our economic woes (as well they might), why did he not seize the opportunity and fight for them at his strongest? Instead, he did nothing at all. |
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| Back when I watched hour upon hour of Stormin' Norman using his pointer to show what we had blown to hell and introducing little videos of bridges and buildings being tumbled, I would not have believed that Bush would try idly to ride that tidal wave of approval to a second term. But that it what I now believe he mistakenly tried. |
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| When the wave petered, his call for support was to "stay the course." That battle cry was fine until Hussein put a match to all the oil wells in northern Kuwait and went home. Then the "course" for many Americans was a bleak one which they obviously wanted to change. Bush was told that in no uncertain terms. He garnered less electoral support than that Horton-hugging, tank commander who is the son of Greek immigrants. |
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| THE LIVING ARTS |
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| Tonight there is Tosca! |
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| More Later, |
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| David J. L'Hoste |
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| DJL/djl |
| cc: Bernard A. Horton Russell B. Ramsey Denise F. L'Hoste Paul D. Cordes |