Good ol� George Ryan did commute the death sentence for the 167 prisoners on death row to life in prison, but I hold the ever-optimistic opinion that he didn�t do so out of any strong-held belief that innocent people would be killed, but rather that he knew he had to do something dramatic to take our attention off the scandals, say the drivers license for bribes scandal, that rocked his short administration. In spite of the tremendous national good will generated by his commutation of the death sentences, that is not what the man represents to the people of the state.
Now to the point. Our local newscasters were all pumped for George. Last night on the evening news, one of the local stations sought out the two university professors who�d just won Nobel prizes in physics and medicine, asking them whether they thought George should win the peace prize. One was polite; the other mumbled unintelligibly, eyes on the floor. Perhaps I�m projecting, but both seemed slightly confused and irritated. Was there a story on their accomplishments? Nope. Their prizes were mentioned in passing with no detail, as if only to set them up as expert witnesses, simply for having some sort of Nobel Prize.
Morons. I should know better than to watch the local news, but once in awhile, I like to see what visitors would think of us, if they tuned in. Thanks, WICD for making us look like fools.
�Visitors��that just sounds creepy. Heh heh.