To those concerned, re: Jan. 14 editorial letters from the gentlemen Roth and Boggs.
From time to time I peruse the Times-Union's several news sections and I was interested today because one pertained to events here in Arizona.
This is day seven and we are about tired of all the repetitive harangue that has been constant and was old news by 4 p.m. last Saturday. We actually have a weather report at the normal time for two whole days.
There were two funerals today. There's another tomorrow. We've respected the privacy of 13 wounded warriors until such time as it was OK to reveal who they were. There were some neat things that helped relieve the tension from time to time and I want to mention them.
The president and first lady were greeted with respect and dignity. We had helicopters drop their anchors on our roof for the duration. Tomorrow, hopefully, we'll beat the rust and banana at the same venue. Some things don't change, y'hear?
But first, I want to speak for the benefit of Mr. Roth. Hey! Ain't grandkids great? I had to hike all the way to Opelika to see the first grandchild. Her father was a $7.50 Army brat. We got our money's worth out of that one. And I want you to know that your message of condolence to Christina and her family are well known and received here. They've come from a long ways away. Thank you.
And to Mr and Mrs. Boggs: When I read about the law promulgated by our liege, I thought, Hey, hey. Good deal. And then I thought, "Why only 300 feet? Hell. That's not even a football field." But the kids in Phoenix acted fast, with good spirit, stuck on the emergency clause, the gov signed it and it's law even while the ink dried. But here's the rest of the story.
What actually happened today was two radio talk show hosts invited and coaxed the very offensive Christians from Kansas to hold forth on the airwaves. The representative[s] bit on the chance and they simply disappeared altogether. Great trick.
The spirit of the law was timely, quickly done and very well meaning. Three hundred feet doesn't do anything to quell a disruption. One bull horn will fix 300 feet instantly. My thought upon reading the article presenting the news about the talk show hosts was, "Hey, someone get a radio. If you receive the station inside the 300-foot limit, send the U.S. Marshal over to the station and hand cuff the pig[s], put them on the 3:10 to Yuma and lock them up in the Territorial Prison until at least next October 15th."
In closing, I want to point out that in Arizona we have a law to control the insanity plea. One of four states with this puppy. We sentence convicted people as guilty but insane. When [expletive deleted] decide that a junior bird man/woman in question is now sane, he/she goes directly to prison/jail to serve out his/her sentence without parole. They can't even pass GO. There will be two trials here. The federal process has been started. The state one will be successful because the sheriff and his men did their job. The liege is the liege is the liege... One-hundred days...! Three trillion...?
A really happy moment for all this week was when the social secretary and I were watching Brian cover the national news from a half mile up the street. He introduced his trusty sidekick, Savannah Guthrie, to the national audience from a different point of view. Savannah was the weather reporter on one of our TV stations and now she works from the White House. Our hearts just leapt when she appeared dressed in her Levi 501s. That was so Tucson...
Bill Chinworth
Tucson, Ariz., via e-mail
Editor's Note: This letter was editied to conform more closely to the 500-word limit stated in our "Letters Policy."
