In Other News ...
A new survey on drug use has found that June and July are the most popular times for teens to try marijuana for the first time. Wow, drug use goes up in the summertime? Imagine my surprise!
The survey also found that first-time use of cigarettes and alcohol also increases in the summer. First time alcohol use also peaks in December and January, during Christmas, New Year and the Super Bowl.
Your tax dollars at work.
Drug czar John Walters made the announcement at a news conference before a group of high school kids. This is nothing new, but I always felt a drug czar should be in charge of selling drugs to kids rather than keeping it away from them. From a news story, "None of the students were surprised by the findings." The story doesn't say how many of the kids were stoned at the time, but the survey indicates it could be as high as one third.
The government is responding to the findings by running a new ad campaign.
Meanwhile, a recent YMCA survey found that 14.3 million kids are unsupervised outside school, and that number triples in the summer. No new funds have been earmarked by the federal government for community centers or after school programs.
*****
Speaking of your tax dollars: At the end of April, the State Department released its "Patterns of Global Terrorism Report," which indicated that terrorist attacks fell to 190 last year, their lowest since 1969, from 198 in 2002. It also stated that the number of deaths had dropped from 725, including 27 Americans, in 2002, to 307, with 35 US citizens, in 2003. The report was cited as evidence that Washington was winning its war on terror.
Yesterday, the Department announced that the number of attacks and resulting deaths were wrong and that both figures had in fact risen.
One would think the President was doing the math.
*****
I was once told by a wise relation that some women don't care who they marry, they just want to get married.
Jennifer Lopez must be one of them.
After 18 months as a part of "Bennifer," the single state proved too much for her to handle. Last weekend she married Latin songster Marc Anthony.
Maybe.
Suddenly, everyone's mum. Anthony, who has two albums coming out, made the rounds of the talk show circuit earlier this week. He told Matt Lauer of Today that he refused to discuss his personal life and later told the hens of The View that he doesn't understand the "morbid fascination with celebrity." I love it when celebs play coy. As if the burden of fame is so difficult to dodge. On The Early Show, Anthony said he spent the weekend with his family.
The title of Anthony's newly released Latin album, "Amar Sin Mentiras," translates as "To Love Without Lies." There's a joke here somewhere.
Meanwhile, Lopez's manager, Simon Fields, says "We don't comment on her personal life." Since when? If you take away J. Lo's personal life, what career does she have left?
Not that I can't understand her concern. No matter how much Lopez loves to get married, she doesn't like to stay married. Her first marriage, in 1997, lasted just over a year; her second, in 2001, nine months. Anthony's not much better, having managed to squeeze in a divorce in the Dominican Republic last week, just in time for the wedding. He has a child from a previous relationship.
Third time's a charm?
*****
Ray Charles died this morning at age 73. I can't stop loving him.
A Pepsi spokesman said, "First Pepsi Blue, then this!"
Not to be left out of the limelight, Britney Spears hurt her knee during the filming of a new music video.
The survey also found that first-time use of cigarettes and alcohol also increases in the summer. First time alcohol use also peaks in December and January, during Christmas, New Year and the Super Bowl.
Your tax dollars at work.
Drug czar John Walters made the announcement at a news conference before a group of high school kids. This is nothing new, but I always felt a drug czar should be in charge of selling drugs to kids rather than keeping it away from them. From a news story, "None of the students were surprised by the findings." The story doesn't say how many of the kids were stoned at the time, but the survey indicates it could be as high as one third.
The government is responding to the findings by running a new ad campaign.
Meanwhile, a recent YMCA survey found that 14.3 million kids are unsupervised outside school, and that number triples in the summer. No new funds have been earmarked by the federal government for community centers or after school programs.
*****
Speaking of your tax dollars: At the end of April, the State Department released its "Patterns of Global Terrorism Report," which indicated that terrorist attacks fell to 190 last year, their lowest since 1969, from 198 in 2002. It also stated that the number of deaths had dropped from 725, including 27 Americans, in 2002, to 307, with 35 US citizens, in 2003. The report was cited as evidence that Washington was winning its war on terror.
Yesterday, the Department announced that the number of attacks and resulting deaths were wrong and that both figures had in fact risen.
One would think the President was doing the math.
*****
I was once told by a wise relation that some women don't care who they marry, they just want to get married.
Jennifer Lopez must be one of them.
After 18 months as a part of "Bennifer," the single state proved too much for her to handle. Last weekend she married Latin songster Marc Anthony.
Maybe.
Suddenly, everyone's mum. Anthony, who has two albums coming out, made the rounds of the talk show circuit earlier this week. He told Matt Lauer of Today that he refused to discuss his personal life and later told the hens of The View that he doesn't understand the "morbid fascination with celebrity." I love it when celebs play coy. As if the burden of fame is so difficult to dodge. On The Early Show, Anthony said he spent the weekend with his family.
The title of Anthony's newly released Latin album, "Amar Sin Mentiras," translates as "To Love Without Lies." There's a joke here somewhere.
Meanwhile, Lopez's manager, Simon Fields, says "We don't comment on her personal life." Since when? If you take away J. Lo's personal life, what career does she have left?
Not that I can't understand her concern. No matter how much Lopez loves to get married, she doesn't like to stay married. Her first marriage, in 1997, lasted just over a year; her second, in 2001, nine months. Anthony's not much better, having managed to squeeze in a divorce in the Dominican Republic last week, just in time for the wedding. He has a child from a previous relationship.
Third time's a charm?
*****
Ray Charles died this morning at age 73. I can't stop loving him.
A Pepsi spokesman said, "First Pepsi Blue, then this!"
Not to be left out of the limelight, Britney Spears hurt her knee during the filming of a new music video.
posted by John Bliss at
12:45 PM
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