George Foster

Random Thoughts George Foster How did weddings suddenly become a high-end, growth industry?
In the 1960s and 1970s, most marriage ceremonies I attended consisted of  barefootin’ on the beach and other creative, casual affairs. The newlyweds gratefully received my standard gift of freshly baked, whole-grain bread along with candles, incense, and love beads from others. 
By 2005, though, more than two million weddings were performed in the U.S. with an average price tag of $25,000 each. Just try bringing a gift of homemade bread to one of these costly, highly choreographed events now. 

Random Thoughts George Foster December 11, 2005 - Sydney, Australia: A mob of five thousand whites roam the beaches, trains, and shopping malls chanting racist slogans, waving national flags, and assaulting Middle-Easterners. Scores are injured.
On the next day, hundreds of young Arab men drive to Anglo suburbs with cricket (baseball) bats, smashing the windows of neighborhood cars and creating havoc. It is thought to be the worst race riot in Aussie history.

Random Thoughts George Foster When President Bush recently sent White House staff officials to required classes for ethics instruction it raised many questions.
After reaching middle age, will completing a course in good behavior change someone who has not exhibited ethical conduct before? Specifically, what are the ethical violations of the White House staff that the
Bush administration acknowledges led to such remedial study for its officials? Just what is to be done with any staffer who fails an ethics class?
In part, the President must be requiring such courses because a majority of Americans now say the indictment of White House aide Scooter Libby is an indication of wider ethical problems in the Bush administration. The same polls also show that nearly half of Americans believe that honesty in the government has declined since President Bush took office.
The following is a list of appropriate courses and instructors for the White House staff.

Random Thoughts George Foster It is about time someone put their foot down and forced those gangsta’ professional athletes to clean up their act. Right?
When NBA commissioner David Stern indicated that a dress code would be instituted for all NBA players in public, requiring a collared shirt, sport coat, and no jeans - many fans rejoiced. Predictably, though, a majority of players groaned.
It will be interesting to see how the notoriously dressed-down Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers will react. Soon, he will not have the freedom to wear his do-rag, chains, baggy shirts and pants, and expose his numerous tattoos on the streets as his peers do.
David Stern must know what he is doing, though. By emulating Iverson and others, can you imagine millions of kids in the inner-cities discarding their hip-hop attire while aspiring to buy expensive Armani suits? Expect gangs and the drug-culture to soon evaporate as a result of basketball celebrities’ conversion to the GQ look.

Random Thoughts George Foster Do you ever get informational mass emails from friends that sometime seem like a chore to read… if you even bother? Recently, I received an article written by radio personality Paul Harvey from a well-meaning Christian friend who probably didn’t expect anyone on his email list to actually reply. He sent me an opinion piece about Harvey’s outrage leveled against a court decision that disallowed organized prayer before one town’s high school football games.
Since I also need to fill space for this column, here was my friendly email response:

Random Thoughts George Foster First Lady Laura Bush was only partly right when she suggested the next Supreme Court justice should be a woman.
Come on, Mr. President. The U.S. has nine justices that serve on the highest court in the land. After Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement, one woman remains. The fact that only two females have served in over two hundred years of Supreme Court rulings is shameful. Hundreds of male justices have been confirmed, but only two women?
The best solution is to appoint women for the next four openings on the bench. A five to four majority favoring female justices would help make up for past discrimination. The following are my choices for the next four Supreme Court vacancies.

Random Thoughts George Foster Images of hurricane victims fighting for their lives in rising waters of the Gulf Coast, while looters rape the cities, will not soon be forgotten - if ever.
But what did you expect? The Lone Ranger riding into downtown New Orleans to save the good guys from the bad? Superman using his super-breath to dry up the flood-waters before carrying the victims to safety?

Random Thoughts George Foster I know what you are thinking. Those miserable Detroit pussycats, masquerading as professional football players, have about as much chance of winning the Super Bowl as the price of gas returning to $1.50/gallon.
If you saw the Lions being pummeled by the Rams in a nationally televised exhibition game last week, you are probably laughing at the idea of any Lions success. Well now, you are hopelessly misinformed, my friends. Here are just some of the reasons why Detroit will make the playoffs this season and make a run for the Super Bowl itself.

Features George Foster Coach Bill Borre of the Traverse Bay Blues is looking for YOU to fill a position on one of his rugby teams. No experience
is necessary.
According to Borre, the Blues have had no shortage of success since the original team laced up their boots in 1972. It is just that the club can always use new players since it is now fielding four different squads: (1) men’s team, (2) alumni club, (3) under 19 boys, and (4) under 19 girls. Steffenie Kehrer coaches the ladies.

Random Thoughts George Foster
Certainly, you believe Cindy Sheehan must be one brave woman for her recent confrontation in Crawford, Texas with the most powerful man on earth: George W. Bush. Or maybe you think her actions are akin to traitorous in the scathing verbal attacks she has levied on the policies and motives of a president while at war.
Tragically, Ms. Sheehan’s son is one of almost 2,000 American lives that have been lost in the Iraq conflict since 2003. Though Bush met with her immediately after her son’s death, she says she decided to demand another meeting when hearing President Bush say that our troops have died for a noble cause. “What is that noble cause my son was sacrificed for?” she reportedly has asked.
Sheehan had to know she would be subjected to personal attacks when she parked herself next to the President’s ranch until he agreed to meet with her. She had to know it is unlikely Bush would arrange a meeting since his administration is notorious for being ultra-insulated. What she couldn’t have bargained for was her resulting international celebrity status, the beginning of an emotional debate on the war in Iraq that had been relatively muted, and supportive anti-war groups popping up all over the U.S.

Random Thoughts George Foster By the time you begin reading here, the First Annual Traverse City Film Festival will be history. Judging by the enthusiasm generated by the movies I have attended so far, this event is best thing to happen in Northern Michigan since the ice age left behind Lake Michigan.
In two short months, filmmaker/author Michael Moore and the festival committee performed a major miracle by renovating the State Theater, bringing in over two dozen new independent films, providing top-of-the-line projection equipment for all venues, and somehow rounding up hundreds of volunteers to do the work. Unbelievable - and a little overwhelming to ponder what future festivals could become with a full year of planning.

Random Thoughts George Foster Surely, we can’t be the idiots our government officials think we are.
CNN’s recent interview with Dick Cheney was jarring in the utter absence of reality on the subject of Iraq from the vice-president. His insistence that the insurgency in Iraq is in its last throes, proved once again how cavalier guys in the White House tend to become. How many times during this conflict have we heard that terrorists are now spiking up the violence in Iraq because they are on their last legs and democracy is breaking out all over the land?

Random Thoughts George Foster Thirty-some years ago, the identity of Deep Throat was the hottest issue from the most sensational scandal of the 20th century. In that spirit, here are the greatest unsolved mysteries and a stab at the answer by a noted clairvoyant - me.
Where is Osama bin Laden? The notorious terrorist is last known to have evaporated in the mountains of Tora Bora, Afghanistan. Why the world’s most famous face can’t be sniffed out by the biggest manhunt in history and a $25 million reward is a bigger mystery than his whereabouts itself.
The answer is obvious to me: bin Laden has shed his robe and turban, shaved his beard and is living a decedent life at various Club Meds under the alias of doorknob salesman Sam Laden. As a former rich playboy, bin Laden knows this fast lane as well as the Khyber Pass. In his former life bin Laden dedicated himself to booze and broads before he converted to bombs and Allah.

Random Thoughts George Foster So, we got what we wanted. The defending NBA champs Pistons eliminated Indiana last night as expected.
The two best teams in the Eastern Conference, Detroit and Miami, will play for the right to move on and play in the NBA Finals. Hey, we’ve got a rivalry here: Big Daddy Shaq vs. Big Ben Wallace, South Beach glitter vs. factory blue collar, Flash Wade vs. Rip Hamilton, North vs. South.
Relatively trim at 7’2” 325 lbs., Shaq O’Neil is the key to the series. With an injured thigh muscle, O’Neil has missed several games down the stretch of this season. I believe he will suit up for every game, though probably at about 50% to 75% of his ability.

Random Thoughts George Foster What we can learn from our Latin neighbors

I hope your Cinco de Mayo was a happy one.
Cinco parades are now a fixture in such diverse places as Detroit and Rupert, Idaho. In recent years, raucous parties celebrating May 5th near the University of Cincinnati campus forced police into riot gear amid fires and flipped-over cars.