Bill Lucey's News Chronology Weblog

2004-01-23T15:14:00.000-08:00

Sunday, November 23, 2003
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep.
From: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' (1923)
-Robert Frost

***

He had come a long way to this
blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.
He did not know that is was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.
From: The Great Gatsby -
F. Scott Fitzgerald

****
In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, here are a few facts about the assassination, the legacy that JFK left behind, and some of the major issues facing the nation 40 years ago.

-Bill Lucey

****

The Assassination: November 22, 1963: Questions and Answers

What type of gun was used to kill Kennedy?

It was a 6.5 millimeter Mannlicher-Carcano: Serial No: C2766

Where is the rifle now?

It is stored at the National Archives in College Park, Md., along with Kennedy's suit, shirt, the original windshield of the limousine, and the wrapping used to support his back.

Where is the limousine today?

It is at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

What was the limousine License Plate No? The Presidential limousine was assigned SS 100X; license plate no: GG300 D.C. License Plate

How many passengers were in the limousine?

6.
The driver was Secret Service agent Bill Greer, age 44. Seated next to him was Roy Kellerman, 48, special agent in charge of the White House Detail; behind him was Texas Gov. John Connally and his wife Nellie; and in the back was President Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy.

How many of those passengers are living today?

1.
Nellie Connally, age 84, is still living.

How long did the shooting last?

4.6 seconds.

How long did it take to take to transport Kennedy to Parkland Memorial Hospital?

6 minutes

What happened when Kennedy entered the hospital?

He was assigned to Trauma Room No. 1

How many doctors examined Kennedy?

3.
Charles J. Carrico, a second year surgical student, was the first to examine him followed by Marion T. Jenkins, chairman of the hospital's department of anesthesiology. Kennedy was pronounced dead by Dr. William Clark.

Which was the first network to announce Kennedy had been shot?

At 12:36 CST, Don Gardiner of ABC interrupted local programming to make the announcement. CBS followed at 12:40, when Walter Cronkite broke into the soap opera: ``As the World Turns''; NBC was the last to go live at 12: 45 when they broke away from a fashion show.

Who administered the last rights to Kennedy?

Father Oscar Huber of Holy Trinity Church in Dallas recited the words: ``Si capax ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis, in nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, Amen'' (``If it is possible, I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and the son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen'')
Jacqueline Kennedy followed with the words: ``And let perpetual light shine upon him''.
NOTE: Father Huber died on January 21, 1975

How many Pulitzer's were awarded for the Kennedy Assassination?
2.
Merriman Smith of UPI, who was riding in the White House press pool car; and Robert H. Jackson of the Dallas Times-Herald for his photograph capturing Jack Ruby plugging bullets into the chest of Oswald.

How many books have been written about the JFK assassination?

There are 368 books in the Library of Congress' collection.

How many Secret Service Agents were there in 1963?

There were 320 agents worldwide. 41 were assigned to White House detail.
NOTE: Today, there are over 3000 Secret Service agents worldwide.

What became of the Texas School Depository Building in Dallas?

The Texas School Book Depository Company moved out of the building in 1970 and relocated to North Dallas.

In 1989, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza opened to the public, which houses more than 20,000 items related to John F. Kennedy, including newspapers, books, magazines, video and audio tapes

What happened to Jack Ruby?
He died on January 3, 1967, in a Dallas hospital from lung cancer. He was 55.

What was the name of the $3.01 an laborer who dug JFK's grave and became the subject of a Jimmy Breslin story that appeared in the New York Herald Tribune on November 26, 1963?

Clifton Pollard.

Who were the members of the Warren Commission charged with investigating the assassination of JFK?

Chief Justice Earl Warren, Chairman
Senator Richard B. Russell
Senator John Sherman Cooper
Representative Hale Boggs
Representative Gerald R. Ford
Mr. Allen W. Dulles
Mr. John J. McCloy
J. Lee Rankin, General Counsel

How many of those members are living today
1
Gerald R. Ford

Who were the original cabinet members of the Kennedy Administration?

Secretary of State: Dean Rusk
Secretary of Treasury: C. Douglas Dillon
Secretary of Defense: Robert S. McNamara
Attorney General: Robert F. Kennedy
Postmaster General: J. Edward Day (1961-63); John A. Gronouski, Jr (1963)
Secretary of the Interior: Stewart L. Udall
Secretary of Agriculture: Orville L. Freeman
Secretary of Commerce: Luther H. Hodges
Secretary of Labor: Arthur J. Goldberg (1961-62); W. Willard Wirtz (1962-63).
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: Abraham A. Ribicoff (1961-62).
Anthony J. Celebrezze (1962-63)

How many have died since then?

5
Robert F. Kennedy: 1968
Luther Hodges: 1974
Arthur Goldberg: 1990
Dean Rusk: 1994
Anthony J. Celebrezze: 1998

***
Select minute-by-minute timeline of the assassination (eastern standard time)
1: 30 p.m. Lee Harvey Oswald shoots JFK from the 6th floor of the Book Depository
1: 34 p.m: First UPI flash
1: 38 p.m. Parkland Memorial Hospital admits case ``24740'' described as a white male suffering from ``gunshot wound''.
1: 57 p.m. Father Huber arrives at hospital
2:00 p.m. JFK is pronounced dead
According to poll conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), 75 million Americans knew of the assassination at this time.
-Robert McNamara summons the Joint Chiefs
-Washington phone system breaks down.
2: 05 p.m: Robert Kennedy learns his brother is dead.
2: 32 p.m.: UPI quotes Father Huber: ``He's dead...''
2: 33 p.m.,: LBJ boards- Air Force One
2: 40 p.m: Oswald enters a Texas movie theater: ``War is Hell'' is showing.
2: 50 p.m: Oswald is arrested
3:06 p.m: LBJ phones lawyers in an attempt to locate the oath of office
3: 14 p.m. The Associated Press erroneously reports a Secret Service Agent was killed
3: 38: LBJ is sworn is as the 36th President of the United States.
4: 15 p.m. Networks report Oswald has been arrested.
8:00 p.m: Autopsy on JFK commences.
8: 50 p.m Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of John and Jacqueline, is informed of her father's death by Miss Shaw.

Source: As recorded in William Manchester's Book: ``The Death of a President''

Other Kennedy's who have died since November 22, 1963:
Robert Francis Kennedy: Died: June 6, 1968
Joseph Patrick Kennedy: Died: November 16, 1969
David Anthony Kennedy: Died: August 25, 1984
Stephen Edward Smith: Died: August 19, 1990
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onasis: Died: May 19, 1994
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy: Died: January 22, 1995
Michael LeMoyne Kennedy: Died: December 31, 1997
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr: Died: July 16, 1999
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: Died July 16, 1999

Kennedy Years: Legislative Scorecard

87th Congress

1961: President Kennedy submitted 355 legislative proposals. 172 were approved by Congress, giving him a 48.4 percent approval score
1962: President Kennedy submitted 298 legislative proposals. 133 were approved by Congress, giving him a 44.6 percent approval score.

88th Congress

1963: President Kennedy submitted 401 legislative proposals. 109 were approved, giving him a 27.2 percent approval score.
Source:
Congressional Quarterly tabulations

***
1963: A Look Back
Major News Events:

April 1, 1963: New York Newspaper strike ends

April 12, 1963: Martin Luther King Jr., along with 60 others, is arrested in Birmingham Ala., after leading an anti-segregation drive.

May 12, 1963: President Kennedy sends 3,000 troops to Birmingham to maintain order.

June 3, 1963: Pope John XXIII dies at age 81 during the 5th year of his reign.

June 11, 1963: When confronted by National Guardsman, Gov George Wallace of Alabama allows 2 black students to enter the University of Alabama.

June 19,1963: President Kennedy proposes aggressive civil rights legislation.

June 19, 1963: Two Soviet cosmonauts, one being a woman, launches into space.

June 26, 1963: President Kennedy delivers his spellbinding ``Ich bin ein Berliner'' speech in West Berlin.

July 8, 1963: The United States bans financial dealings with the Castro regime.

July 25, 1963: The United States, along with Great Britain and the Soviet Union, reach agreement on a test ban treaty, which calls for the end of nuclear testing on land, in space, and under water.

August 27, 1963: Congress passes a bill prohibiting a national railroad strike when it imposes compulsory arbitration, the first time such an act was imposed in U.S. history.

August 28, 1963: 200,000 persons make a peaceful pilgrimage to the nation's capital to push for civil rights legislation.

September 15, 1963: A bomb exploded in an Alabama church, killing 4 black girls.

September 20, 1963: In a speech before the U.N. General Assembly, President Kennedy proposes a joint U.S Soviet expedition to the moon.

October 13, 1963: Hurricane Flora kills over 1,000 persons in Cuba.

November 1, 1963: President Diem along with his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu are assassinated when a military coup uproots the government of South Vietnam.

November 18, 1963: The Baath regime in Iraq is overthrown.

1963 Footnotes:
-Sidney Portier wins the Academy Award for Lilies of the Fields, a film that cost $250,000 to make and was filmed in just 14 days.
-Richard Nixon appears on the Jack Paar show in March and plays the piano
-William Faulkner wins the Pulitzer for fiction for ``The Reivers''
-Cincinnati Reds 2nd Baseman Pete Rose is named Rookie of the Year
-There were 4, 200 computers (all large main frames) in the U.S.

***
1963: Demographics
National Debt: 315 billion
Employed: 70 million
Unemployed: 4, 292,000
Per capita annual income: $2,500
Gross National Product: 600 billion
Defense Spending: 52 billion

a 4 pound can of Honey Glazed Ham was selling for $3.99
A McDonalds hamburger costs 15 cents
A 19' Brand New Portable TV was selling at the Bell Electric Co in Fort Lauderdale for $138.88
Grand Mercedes 600, Germany’s Daimler-Benz (300 h-p engine) was selling for $23,000 in Manhattan.

***
News Magazine Cover stories that never went to press due to the Kennedy Assassination
Life Magazine originally planned a cover splash on Navy quarterback Roger Staubach, including 22 pages of text and pictures.

-Time Magazine discarded their cover feature on jazz musician Thelonious Monk

***

Odds and Ends
-Church attendance in 1963 stood at 46 percent, according to a Gallup poll
-In the November 22, 1963 issue of Time Magazine, Republican presidential front runner Barry Goldwater was quoted from a speech he had given at the Better Business Bureau Banquet in Chicago as saying: ``The New Frontier has produced 1,026 days of wasted spending, wishful thinking, unwarranted intervention, wistful theories and waning confidence''.
-The Best Selling Book listed on Time Magazine's Best Selling List in the November 29, 1963 issue was Victor Lasky's: JFK: The Man and the Myth.
NOTE: Immediately after the JFK assassination, Macmillan Co., cancelled the promotion and distribution of Lasky's book due to its critical assessment of the Kennedy administration.

Sources:
Information was gathered from the Kennedy Library in Boston, The National Archives in Washington D.C., the U.S. Sercret Service, the Library of Congress., and the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas,

Reference Materials
Books:``The Way We Were: 1963'' By Robert MacNeil, the ``Kennedy Women'' by Lauren Leamer , and
``The Death of a President'' by William Manchester

Newspapers/Magazines: the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and the Fort Lauderdale News for 1963, Congressional Quarterly (1961-63), and the New York Times Year in Review for 1963

2004-01-23T15:09:00.000-08:00

2003-12-31T20:52:00.000-08:00

2003: The Year in Quotes

Here are quotes from 2003 that were attributed to some of the bigger newsmakers of the year in the fields of politics, entertainment, business, and sports.

-Bill Lucey

Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY)
January 12, 2003 Sunday

"What we had to do was make a decision, and up until that decision we had to be prepared to take whatever course. I've been coming to a point where I could make a decision over the last couple of weeks, but I made a final decision in the last 24 hours."

-Tom Daschle D- S.D. announcing he's not planning to run for president in 2004

***
Daily Press (Newport News, VA)
January 18, 2003

"Every stadium around the league has a certain distinctive quality. In Kansas City, it's the smell of barbecue from the tailgaters. In old Baltimore Memorial Stadium, it was the smell of crabcakes. At the Vet? It's the smell of urine."

--STEVE SABOL, president of NFL Films, on Veterans Stadium:

****
San Antonio Express-News (Texas)
January 25, 2003,
These turnaround artists have the life-expectancy of a first lieutenant in combat."
-Judith Fischer, managing director of Executive Compensation Advisory Services, about Kmart Corp.'s former CEO James Adamson, who stepped down after less than a year as CEO and was replaced by Julian Day

***
News and Observer (Raleigh, NC)
January 26, 2003
"I just want to be No. 1 with my wife, my daughters and my dog. As long as I'm doing that,
I'm in a good place on this Earth."
- Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski after his team's first loss of the season to Maryland.
Commenting on the possibility that the loss might also mean the
loss of the No. 1 ranking

***
Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL)
February 3, 2003
'Economics is nothing more than common sense made difficult.'
-Mark Vitner Senior economist, Wachovia Corp.

***
The Boston Herald
February 3, 2003
You have a choice between looking in a mirror and saying, 'God, I need to lose weight in my thighs!' or 'You know, I'm looking good!' It's important to concentrate on what you like about yourself."

-Actress Sigourney Weaver

***
Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
February 9, 2003,
"I find it alarming that all the campaigning for Oscars is getting like a political campaign. . . . It is really distasteful. It won't be long before they start paying for television commercials for Best Picture, Best Actor and all those things."

-Actress Meryl Streep

***
Sacramento Bee
February 16, 2003
God says, 'You should pick up arms and kill those who are infidels.' We want to be liberated from the slavery of America. We have to fight this war."

- tape believed to be from Osama bin Laden

***
The Arizona Republic
March 13, 2003
I guess I'll have to find something else to do with my duct tape and plastic sheeting."
-- Tempe City Council member Barb Carter, who noted the downgraded terrorist alert from orange to yellow during a recent council meeting.

***
Copyright 2003 Journal of Commerce, Inc.
Traffic World
March 17, 2003, Monday
Our strategy is don't take the cheese off the pizza. If you take the cheese off the pizza, you end up pretty crusty."

-- Jack Boisen, Continental Airlines vice president for cargo, on the company's commitment to customer service.

***
Des Moines Register
March 23, 2003
"Consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148) I now inform you that pursuant to my authority as commander in chief and consistent with the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1) and the Authorization for use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), I directed U.S. armed forces, operating with other coalition forces, to commence combat operations on Mar. 19, 2003, against Iraq."

-President Bush in a letter to Congress, Friday.

***
Sacramento Bee
April 7, 2003, Monday
I guess I'm living on borrowed time."
- Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg reacting skeptically to anti-gay rights groups' contention that the gay lifestyle reduces longevity to an average of 45 years for lesbians. Goldberg is 58.

***
Des Moines Register
April 13, 2003
I'm just sorry we repealed the law on dueling. I'd have shot a couple."
-Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, speaking after a meeting with members of the House Appropriations Committee who objected to Senate items in a war spending bill.

***
Alameda Times-Star (Alameda, CA)
April 13, 2003
"I'm guessing it's probably because I stink right now. I did shower, but I still stink."
-- Angels first baseman Scott Spiezio, on why he was benched last week.

***
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
April 15, 2003
"They should look up 'voluntary' in the dictionary. I volunteered to be
with my family this weekend."
-- Cincinnati running back Corey Dillon, on being criticized by Bengals
officials for his decision to bypass the first "voluntary" mini-camp under new
Coach Marvin Lewis

***
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
April 27, 2003
Nobody is happy, so I think we've reached the middle ground on this compromise."
-- Senate Majority Leader Tom Price, R-Roswell, on negotiations in a General Assembly conference committee

***

The Boston Herald
May 5, 2003 Monday ALL EDITIONS
"I feel patriotic - and strong. We will continue to be who we are. People think this'll scare us and shut us up, and it's gonna do the opposite. They just served themselves a huge headache."

- Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines, 28, in an exclusive Entertainment Weekly story about what has happened since she told a London audience, 'We're ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas."

***

Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
May 25, 2003 Sunday
"I hope my feet are still hitting the ground when I'm 72."
- Larry Bowa's reaction to 72-year-old Jack McKeon being named manager of the Florida Marlins.

***
Star-News
May 29, 2003
I climbed as high as I can. It was worth every step of it. I won't do this again, but I'll always remember it."

- Annika Sorenstam after she missed the cut at last week's Bank of America Colonial tournament.

***
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
May 30, 2003 Friday
"Don't believe everything you read in the newspapers."
-- Former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair refering to stories about himself.

***

The Associated Press.
June 6, 2003, Friday, BC cycle
"I just apologize. That's the only thing I can say, from the bottom of my heart."
- Sammy Sosa, after he was found to be using a corked bat in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and was ejected.

***
Des Moines Register
June 8, 2003
"Gulping for air, I started crying and yelling at him, 'What do you mean? What are you saying? Why did you lie to me?' I was so furious and getting more so by the second. He just stood there saying, over and over again, 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was trying to protect you and Chelsea.' "

-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in her new memoir, recalling the moment her husband acknowledged for the first time he had been intimate with Monica Lewinsky. A copy of the book was leaked to the Associated Press.

***
Tampa Tribune (Florida)
June 22, 2003,
I don't think younger kids know much about [Larry] Doby. I don't think they know enough about Jackie Robinson, either. That's unfortunate to me. You don't just play for the moment. You play for history, too."

-ELLIS BURKS Indians outfielder, lamenting the relatively obscure legacy of Doby, the first black player in the AL who passed away this week

***
The Boston Herald
June 30, 2003
I've said all along that I want Harry to grow up in a realistic way, which means hormonal impulses, and it means a whole bunch of adolescent angst and anger, actually. Harry's a lot more angry in Book 5, which I think is entirely right, given what he's been through. It's about time he got angry about how life has dealt him."

- J.K. Rowling on the dark tone of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in last week's Newsweek.

***

Centre Daily Times
July 4, 2003
"Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I've had my share. But whatever happens to you, you have to keep a slightly comic attitude. In the final analysis, you have got not to forget to laugh."

-- Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003)
NOTE: Katherine Hepburn passed away on June 29th of this year.

***
The Associated Press
July 11, 2003
"Maybe in my next life, I'll have a better life. And that's why I'm just looking forward to go to the other world. Cause I really hate the way I live now. And I hate my life now."

- Mike Tyson, in an interview for an episode of Fox Sports Net's "Beyond the Glory".

***

Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia)
July 19, 2003
"Can we be sure that terrorism and weapons of mass destruction will join together? Let us say one thing: If we are wrong, we will have destroyed a threat that, at its least, is responsible for inhuman carnage and suffering. That is something I am confident history will forgive. But if our critics are wrong, if we are right ... and we do not act, then we will have hesitated in the face of this menace when we should have given leadership. That is something history will not forgive."

-Prime Minister Tony Blair's address to Congress

***
Des Moines Register
July 27, 2003
McDonald's has opened a place in Baghdad. The kitchen there is the closest we've come to finding a bioterror lab."
-Late-night talk show host David Letterman, quoted in the Hotline.

***
Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia)
August 2, 2003 Saturday
"I dare say, we of the Church in the United States, could not have imagined just how important this gesture of asking forgiveness would be for us. Little did we realize the dimensions of the problems that beset us. As Catholics, each time we celebrate Mass we begin by asking forgiveness of our sins. We are sinners, and we say that we are sorry. For us Catholics, the third millennium has opened with a long penitential rite. And, at the beginning of this installation ceremony, I again ask forgiveness for all the harm done to young people by our clergy, religious, or hierarchy."

-Sean O'Malley, Boston's new archbishop

***
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
August 3, 2003
"I'm a better coach than I was a half-hour ago, and we're a lot better team."
- Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk after center Mario Lemieux announced he will play the upcoming season.

***
Visalia Times-Delta (Visalia, CA)
August 8, 2003
"More than 300 people are now prepared to file for Governor of California. That's more people than saw the movie 'Gigli' this weekend."

- Jay Leno of the Tonight Show, in his monologue of Aug. 5.
NOTE: Gigli was Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's motion picture flop which earned a paltry $3.8 million in its opening week.

***
The Dallas Morning News
August 15, 2003,
If he wanted to go to Senegal and Goree Island, which I've visited several times, to talk about slavery, he could have talked about it in South Carolina. He could have talked about it in Dallas."

- Actor Danny Glover on President George W. Bush's journey to the slave center in Africa.

***
Providence Journal-Bulletin (Rhode Island)
August 17, 2003
Did you hear what's going on? . . . There's no power, there's no trains moving through New York . . . I may not get home . . . I don't know what I'll do tomorrow. I didn't bring anything."

-RANDI HERSHGORDON, of Trenton, N.J., at the Providence train station Thursday.
****

The New York Post
August 31, 2003
"Well it's certainly something to aspire to."
- Philadelphia Stock Exchange boss Sandy Frucher on Dick Grasso's $140M retirement package.

***

The Associated Press
September 5, 2003, Friday
"I don't know if Rush Limbaugh knows the difference between a screen porch and a screen play, but we'll see." - Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe about the radio talk show host, who is on ESPN's "NFL Sunday Countdown" show this season.

***
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
September 14, 2003
"Kickers should speak only when spoken to."
-Bucs DT Warren Sapp

***
Des Moines Register
September 21, 2003
"Honey, I think I just shut down Washington."
-National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Travers, arriving at home Wednesday night after predicting Hurricane Isabel might hit Washington earlier than expected. Travers' forecast triggered the arguably premature shutdown of the Metro system and the federal government, according to the Washington Post.

***
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
September 21, 2003
"It comes into City Council meetings with me, because I don't know what kind of idiot is going to come in and start shooting. I want to be able to shoot back, and I'm too old to grab a ball bat and start swinging."

-Cleveland City Councilman George Poe, on why he carries a concealed handgun.

***
The Associated Press
September 26, 2003, Friday,
If Arnold Schwarzenegger can run for governor in California, then who knows? I have the muscles."
- Martina Navratilova, a Czech-born U.S. citizen who plans to get into public service after she retires again from tennis after the 2004 season.

****
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
September 28, 2003
We don't even have a typewriter."
--Debbie Smith, Meigs County Circuit Court clerk, on the need for a computer in her office

***
Sacramento Bee
September 29, 2003,
"In Texas, the price of gasoline has gone up so high, women that want to run over their husbands are carpooling. "
- Ann Richards, former governor of Texas

***
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
October 11, 2003
There are two ways for you to have lower prescription-drug costs -- one is you can hire Rush Limbaugh's housekeeper," said Kerry, pausing for laughter in the audience. "Or you could elect me president of the United States" -- no laughter.

-John Kerry, who addressed a woman asking presidential candidates about the cost of health care in their Arizona debate:

***
The Associated Press
October 11, 2003
``The biggest difference between this and high school is that I don't have to go to class any more.''
- Lebron James, after his first NBA preseason game.

***
The Washington Times
October 12, 2003
"The current explanation [for the failure of the Red Sox to win the World Series since 1918] is the Curse of the Bambino, which supposedly changed the fortunes of both teams when the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees. A more likely problem, at least until recently, is that the Red Sox were the last team in the big leagues to hire black players. Call it the 'Curse of the Albino.'"

- Jim Bouton in a guest column for the Boston Globe

***
The Washington Post
October 15, 2003
"What we have in Iraq is a rich country, which is temporarily poor. It has oil, it has water and it has an energetic smart population. But it has big problems with the economy, and it has no government -- you know, it all reminds you of California."

- Tom Korologos, senior counselor to Iraq viceroy L. Paul Bremer, testifying last week before the House Government Reform Committee

****
The Baltimore Sun
October 16, 2003
"I'm famous, but I'm not famous like freaking Brad Pitt or Jennifer Aniston"
-- Britney Spears

***
The Associated Press
October 16, 2003,
"It has nothing to do with the curse. It has to do with fan interference and a very uncharacteristic error by Gonzalez. History has nothing to do with this game."

- Cubs manager Dusty Baker after a bizarre eight-run eighth inning helped Florida force a Game 7 of the NLCS. The Marlins' rally included a fan deflecting a foul ball away from left fielder Moises Alou and an error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez. The Marlins beat Chicago 8-3.

***
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
October 18, 2003
"Some accuse us both of not being able to speak the language."
- President Bush, when asked what he and Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger of California have in common:

***
Providence Journal-Bulletin (Rhode Island)
October 19, 2003,
'Pedro wanted to stay in.''
GRADY LITTLE, Red Sox manager.

***
The Associated Press
October 24, 2003,
Every day is a bad day."
- Kobe Bryant.

***
The Herald-Dispatch (Huntington, WV)
October 29, 2003
We weren't going to lay down and die just because some other people thought we couldn't win."
- Josh Beckett, Florida Marlins pitcher.

***
The Baltimore Sun
October 30, 2003
"I'm no stranger to suffering. My suffering has come from external circumstances in my life and hers from internal."
-- Gwyneth Paltrow, on playing Sylvia Plath, to Associated Press Television News

***
Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah)
November 2, 2003,
His work is by nature controversial and provocative. He wouldn't be him if he didn't leave a few people offended, a few delighted and a few people ecstatic."

-- Actress Uma Thurman, talking about her "Kill Bill, Vol. 1" director, Quentin Tarantino.

***
The Associate Press
November 7, 2003
"The last time I looked there were some other coaches in worse shape than the Redskins. It's all comparative. We're not that bad off. We're pretty bad, but we're not that bad."

- Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier.

***
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
November 8, 2003
"They convinced themselves that if only we could get rid of Saddam, democracy would bloom in Iraq and across the Middle East."

-- Gen. Wesley Clark, speaking at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg

***
The Union Leader (Manchester NH)
November 9, 2003
"I thought sweat shops and slave labor went out under a previous administration. I didn't know the state was involved in that."

-Executive Councilor Ruth Griffin on learning that some nurses at the Department of Corrections work up to 70 hours a week, including double shifts of 16 hours a day.

****
Sacramento Bee
November 10, 2003,
"I hope to earn a little more money so I can afford her a little better lifestyle."
- Gov. Gray Davis, on plans for himself and his wife, Sharon, after he leaves office.

***
Biloxi Sun Herald
November 11, 2003
"When you enter a casino, remember that you are entering a place of business run by very shrewd business people who understand human emotions."

-Henry Tamburin.

***
The Associated Press
November 14, 2003
"Hopefully, this will, over time, allow us to completely eradicate the use of performance enhancement substances in baseball."

- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, about the start of drug testing with penalties next season.

***
Providence Journal-Bulletin (Rhode Island)
November 16, 2003,
``Obviously, I'm a risk taker. But this is a risk I'd rather not take."
-DEBORA DORMODY, a small business owner, on not having health insurance.

***
The Dallas Morning News
November 16, 2003
"It's the NBA; we weren't in there doing cartwheels or anything. I don't think I could do one, by the way."
-Miami's Stan Van Gundy, offering an interesting visual after getting his first coaching win following seven consecutive losses to open the season.

***
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
November 16, 2003
When was the "last time a restaurant asked you if you wanted to be seated in the asbestos section? "
-- Andy Lord, Georgia tobacco initiatives director for the American Cancer Society, comparing bans on tobacco and asbestos in public buildings

***
The Baltimore Sun
November 20, 2003 Thursday
"I saw this slightly overweight, unhappy looking, middle-aged man dancing completely out of time, and I will never ever dance again as long as I live."

-- Hugh Grant, on his solo dance scene in Love Actually, from Associated Press Radio.

***
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
November 22, 2003
"I have to admit that I am powerless over this addiction that I have. I used to think I could beat it with force of will."

-- Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh on his drug addiction

****
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
November 22, 2003
"Perhaps some think this is fanciful or poetic, but to an immigrant like me -- who as a boy saw Soviet tanks rolling through the streets of Austria, to someone like me who came here with absolutely nothing and gained absolutely everything -- it is not fanciful to see this state as a golden dream."

-- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California

***
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
November 23, 2003
Are we wearing those this week? Oh boy, I thought we were going to wear them for Halloween."
-Dolphin QB Brian Griese, on the debut of Miami's orange jerseys Sunday.

****
Des Moines Register
November 23, 2003
"I'm 86 years old, but Abraham lived to be 175. Isaac lived to be 180. Jacob lived to be 147. Moses, 160, and so on. So -was I wrong on that? All right, 120. The distinguished senator from -where is it? -Iowa corrected me. But he won't correct me on this bill."

-Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., dueling with Grassley over Medicare -and Moses.

***
The Associated Press
November 28, 2003
"It's a sad day in anyone's life when they can on longer do what they love, especially when they have no control over their situation."

- Pat Riley, Miami Heat president, about the retirement of New Jersey Nets center Alonzo Mourning due to kidney disease.

****
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
November 30, 2003
"You are going to be running from one to another and risk not fulfilling anything."
-Bradley Memorial CEO Alan Watson on setting too many goals

***
White House Weekly
December 2, 2003,
``We looked like a normal couple."
-President Bush, on how he thought he and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice looked as they were driven in an unmarked vehicle from the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, to a Waco airstrip, where Air Force One was waiting to take them to Baghdad. Both wore baseball caps, pulled low over their eyes.

***
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
December 6, 2003 Saturday
"He's proven to be a reckless radical. He took us to a war in Iraq that we didn't need to fight."
-- Wesley Clark, Democratic candidate for president campaigning in Charleston, talking about President Bush

Bill Lucey

2003-11-21T16:37:00.000-08:00