The Elian Scam is Over.

[Foggy]

Bill, the entire quote is:

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose;
And nothing's worth nothing, but it's free.
Feeling good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues;
And feeling good was good enough for me;
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee."

"Dah dah dah dah dah dah dah etc"

Sung by the immortal, dead-far-too-soon-and-too-young, Janis Joplin.

[Foggy]

John, say what you will about "freedom" in America... I don't see Americans dying to get to a communist country's brand of it. I'll take what I've got... others can go to Cuba if they so desire.

No... there's no absolute freedom, and what little we have is constantly being eroded.

I agree that if whackos of all ilks had stayed out of it, it would have been resolved long ago -- but I include the pompous popinjay Castro among them.

And, say what you will, if that had been MY 6-year-old son... I would have been on the first canoe, if that is the only way I could have gone to him.

[johnstruthers]

Foggy, I really appreciate you. First, your scholarly, complete, and faithful rendition of Bobby McGee, and the appropriate lament about Our Janis, who indeed left us all too soon. Bravo!

And, I have to add that there are many good reasons that many people on this planet would love to live in the US, and those who do should appreciate it. I certainly do.

And I understand the bit about being on the first plane. But this thing got complicated right from the start, and Elian's father got here about as quickly as he could, considering the complexities that had been manufactured. Keep in mind, if you or I had a relative in another country that needed us, it might take us a couple weeks to crank up the paperwork, and find the money, to fly to their rescue.

I'm just glad the kid's in his father's care again, and most of all, glad that he survived the boat trip in the first place. Maybe this will have a happy ending for all concerned.

I wish the press would avoid interviewing his young aunt, Marislysia, or however it's spelled. As the NY Times said, she can summon up astonishing anguish "on cue" for reporters. She's the one, you will recall, who is regularly hospitalized for emotional breakdowns and "nervous exhaustion." If fate can limit Elian's exposure to this overwrought entity, he will be spared the immediate influence of someone who could turn his smiling visage into a bathos-scarred mask over time.

I have a brother who married one such, and he played King Lear to her Lady MacBeth for 25 years until he decided his drinking problem and his marriage were linked, and bailed out of both.

[Foggy]

Thanks, and amen. Let's let this tortured family put their lives back together.

[Johnson123]

Hmmm. Speaking of scams. I was wondering when the Bill ermm...BELLA scam would be over hahahaha???

REX xx