Mullings by Rich Galen | Secret Decoder Ring for June 7, 2000

The Mayberrys, RFD Wednesday, June 7, 2000

TITLE: "The Mayberrys, RFD" A play on one of the the several titles of "The Andy Griffith Show," "Mayberry, RFD." Another title was "Andy of Mayberry."

"RFD" Rural Free Delivery: From the Encyclopćdia Brittanica: Service begun in the United States in 1896 to deliver mail directly to farm families. Before RFD, rural inhabitants had to pick up mail themselves at sometimes distant post offices or pay private express companies for delivery. Free mail delivery began in cities in 1863, but it took more than 20 years of agitating by the National Grange for the service to be extended.

In 1898 officials of the Post Office announced that any group of farmers could have free delivery merely by sending a petition--along with a description of their community and roads--to their congressman. The flood of petitions was overwhelming, and by 1905 the Post Office was serving 32,000 RFD routes.

"…and insert, in lieu thereof …" The wording in many amendments to legislation in the Congress. When a bill is completely amended by a substitute the wording is, "Delete all after the enacting clause and insert, in lieu thereof, the following:" which can be 3,000 pages of a re-negotiated appropriations bill.

"when they Alpha Maled themselves…" Last fall the Gore campaign was in the dumper - worse, even than it is today. Bill Bradley was raising more money than Gore and was getting much, much better press. Gore decided he needed a change of tectonic proportions and moved the campaign to Tennessee leaving most of the high-priced Washington talent behind.

It came to light, at that same time, that Gore had hired Naomi Wolf, a well-known feminist writer, who told him he was a beta male in the Clinton orbit and needed to become an alpha male.

It is amusing that in the logic of Gore-world, a highly publicized feminist was hired to teach him how to be a man, but there you are.

"grazing herds of Big Time Lobbyists." Which is why they are sometimes referred to as "The K Street Crowd."

"Lie back. Smile." "And think of England" was the original version.

"Ashmolean's 'Featured Exhibit of the Month' is a coin similar to this:

"Bellerophon slaying the Chimera" Ok. Greek mythology time.
Bellerphon was a grandson of Sisyphus (of rock 'n roll fame). His horse (which later turned on him) was the famous Pegasus (of Mobile Oil fame).

The Chimera was a monster which had fore part of a lion, the tail of a dragon, and its third head, the middle one, was that of a goat, through which it belched fire. This creature devastated the country and harried the cattle because it had the power of three beasts.

Bellerphon, according to legend, slew the Chimera from Pegasus.

Hence, Bellerphon slaying the Chimera"

Thus endeth the lesson.

"…pretend they just inherited the Clampetts …" Clampett was the family name of the "Beverly Hillbillies" The lead character, Jeb Clampett, was played by Buddy Ebson.

Here's a bit of trivia for you: Ebsen was the original Tin Man in the "Wizard of Oz," but he fell ill due to the poisonous silver makeup used which infected his eyes and his lungs. As a result, he was unable to complete production and the role was recast. The anniversary reissue of the "Wizard of Oz" video contains a dance number with Ebsen as the Tin Man. - from the "Official Beverly Hillbillies" website.

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Texas under Governor Bush:

1st in student improvement on test scores, especially for African-American and Hispanic students.

1st in reducing the amount of releases and disposal of toxics - more than all 49 other states combined.

1st in the nation to allow a patient to appeal an HMO's decision to deny care.

1st to create a prison ministry to help offenders reintegrate into society.

1 of only 3 states to require reductions of harmful pollution from older, unpermitted utility plants.

1 of only 10 "highly successful" states in reducing welfare rolls between 1995 and 1998.

4th in growth in total personal income.

9th in teacher pay, when adjusted for cost of living and teacher experience.

$1.8 billion investment in healthcare initiatives.

1.2 million jobs created, representing more than 10 percent of new jobs created nationwide and 48,000 new businesses.

Lowest unemployment rate in twenty years -- 4.7 percent.

Doubled the number of adoptions of abused and neglected children in Texas.

America under Clinton-Gore:

The number of uninsured Americans increased by more than 8 million.

Almost 70 percent of fourth graders in the highest poverty schools cannot read at basic level.

Teachers were victims of 1.8 million crimes at school, including 657,000 violent crimes.

Illegal drug use among high school seniors increased 78 percent.

Federal prosecutions of gun-related offenses decreased by 46 percent.

More than 12,000 U.S. soldiers are on food stamps.

Enacted a $115 billion tax increase on Social Security enefits.

Federal government is the nation's largest polluter, costing taxpayers nearly $400 billion for cleanups.

45 convictions, 72 indictments/misdemeanor charges, and 8 imprisonments related to the 1996 campaign finance scandal, improper conduct by Clinton-Gore cabinet officials, and Whitewater.

What did Arkansas look like when Al Gore joined Bill Clinton in 1992?

50th in environmental policy initiatives.

47th in per capita state spending for education.

43rd in per capita spending for higher education.

41st in citizens living in poverty.

45th in children living in poverty.

47th in children without health insurance.

45th in children living in hunger.

43rd in infants born with low birth weight.

47th in personal income.

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