I make NO apologies for wanting this kid and everyone involved in this mind-numbing circus OFF THE AIR! IDONT CARE WHAT HAPPENS ! HAs this country got NOTHING BETTER to worry about ?!?!

And those of you phonies who claim concern "its for the child" - I have a question: When was the last time you protested a child having its brains sucked out in partial-birth aboprtion ? GET THIS KID OFF THE AIRWAYS!

-- spare.me! (fed-up@to.the.back.teeth), January 26, 2000

Answers

He's important. The very excessiveness of the coverage on such a non-issue of no social, political, moral or historical significance whatever, beyond Elian's own life and that of his family, is PROOF that there are bigger things going on and the bigger the BIG THINGS get -- for some reason -- the smaller and more insignificant the cover-storeis grow.. The bathetic media drivel runs thinner and thinner every month now. Treacle for the mind.

>"<

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.cellrelaytower), January 26, 2000.

This is the kind of drivel that made me stop watching tv other than Hockey on Sat. nights. Gotta have my Leafs fix :)

-- justme (justme@myhouse.com), January 26, 2000.

Tanya Harding . . . O.J. Simpson . . . Monica Lewinsky . . . Welcome to "Freedom of the Press". "Free" in the sense that it doesn't cost you anything (at the door!). The new definition of The First Amendment (IF your speech fits the party-line THEN "freedom of speech" ELSE zero distribution END IF), "Free Enterprise" (ditto) running our media and Wall Street convincing you that you're a fool if you are not fully invested (including fully leveraged home equity loans) in the stock market (see CNBC daily). I used to think (way back in 1999) that the media was Y2K up. Now I know that Y2K is just the "tip of the iceberg." God help us all!

-- Paranoia Will (Destroy_Y@BlackCopters.com), January 26, 2000.

That is hilarious. Those are my sentiments exactly. You come to the realization that the whole point of the television news is to inject you with mind numbing trivia to the point that we lose all sense of what is really going on. What is so pathetic is that the typical American imagines himself to be well informed if he gets his daily dose of newsroom anasthetic.

-- O Yeah? (worldpage@aol.com), January 26, 2000.

Watch the BBC news, forget USA. BBC tends to give very good coverage of world events. The USA has been Ophra-ized.

-- carolyn (carolyn@luvmyhub.com), January 26, 2000.

Let the kid go back home with his Grandma's.

-- Who said we (arethebestfor@llmankind.com), January 26, 2000.

carolyn, interesting point. My Canadian sattelite provider (Bell ExpressVu) started feeding me BBC World News in about 10/99. I loved it . . . it was 'round the clock news (with a few awesome (way better) "Larry King"-like interview-talk shows). BBC World News disappeared a couple of days into this year. I've repeatedly sent eMails to Bell ExpressVu asking "What the Dilly - Yoh?!" No response as yet. I think North Americans are the same mushrooms we pitied/hated from the Reagan-era Soviet "Evil Empire" having no choice but to read Pravda!

-- Paranoia Will (Destroy_Y@BlackCopters.com), January 26, 2000.

Try living in Miami with all this going on!

-- E.T. (phone@Home.please), January 26, 2000.

justme, The Leafs Suck Big-Time! The Habs have won ten (count them . . . '68, '69, '71', '73, '76, '77', '78, '79, '86 & ' 93) since your last Cup win in '67. Ha Ha!

Sorry to all innocent bystanders but the Toronto Maple Leafs really do suck while the Montreal Canadiens are the greatest professional sport franchise in the history of North America.

Go Habs Go!

-- Paranoia Will (Destroy_Y@BlackCopters.com), January 26, 2000.

Elian has become media property by proxy---political proxy. The kid needs to go home.

-- Carlos (riffraff1@cybertime.net), January 26, 2000.

This is the part where the government increasingly tells parents and guardians what "rights" they have regarding their children. That's the "lesson" we're supposed to learn from this ridiculously over- promoted and drawn-out circus.

-- Nathan (nospam@all.com), January 26, 2000.

Spare.me, that's it! The perfect solution! Suck his brains out and send the body back to Cuba. Liberals will be happy because he's back in Cuba, and shouldn't (if they're consistent) object to the late- late-late-term abortion. And conservatives should be happy because the Cubans won't be able to brainwash him with their communist ideology.

-- King Solomon (king_solomon@royal_court.gov), January 26, 2000.

Latest T shirt legend spotted in Buffalo, NY: Wide right No goal Forward lateral screwed again I agree, I am sick to death about hearing about that kid. Send him back to his father.

-- Shoo (flyonthewalls@yahoo.com), January 26, 2000.

King Soloman - You're a ROYAL IDIOT.

-- Paranoia Will (Destroy_Y@BlackCopters.com), January 26, 2000.

All this media coverage makes me wonder if Klinton is the father.

-- justwondering (justwondering@sickofmedia.com), January 26, 2000.

Excuse me King, not to be confused with KOS, you a bit late, on showing up, on this Forim. Where the Hades, did you whence forth?

-- We had (Kings@foreyee.com), January 26, 2000.

Paranoia, you left out JFK Jr. King Sol, thou seemest to be somewhat apolitical....right on! The Elian coverage is nothing short of mind- numbing....I thought I had seen it all.

-- Kyle (fordtbonly@aol.com), January 26, 2000.

AND to ADD INSULT TO INJURY a passel of fat 300lb broads, who are relatives of this kid, are appearing before a CONGRESSIONAL COMMITEE tomorrow !!! IS THIS WHAT WE PAY THESE BUMS FOR ? TO EMULATE OPHRAH FREEKIN WINFREY !!!!??????!!!!??????

-- spare.me! (fed-up@to.the.back.teeth), January 26, 2000.

We seem to have a concensus of agreement but what can we do about it. Not much except grouse and wait for the next "human interest" story that the media thinks sells papers.

Pablum for the masses.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), January 27, 2000.

The media overkill I'm tired of is Jane Pauley's Time and Time and Time Again and Again. Especially the JonBenet Ramsey case and the case of the mother in North?South? Carolina who drowned her children. Is there anyone on the face of the earth who ever watches television who has not seen her coverage of these cases at least five or six times? I pretty much stick to C-Span, but check MSNBC and CNBC occasionally, and it seems as though they show those several times a week. I can hardly stand CNN, but do check out Larry King, who is interesting.

-- Connie (hive@gte.net), January 27, 2000.

As a dad who wound up with custody of my son after his mother went off the deep end 5 years ago, all I can say is..

SEND THE BOY HOME TO HIS DAD AND GRANDMA"S WHERE HE BELONGS!!!!!

Thank you very much....

-- Carl (clilly@goentre.com), January 27, 2000.

Paranoia Will:

Back during the Cold War there was a witticism making the rounds:

The meaning, in Russian of 'pravda' is 'truth' and the meaning of 'izvestia' is 'news'. There were two well-known newspapers who went by those names. The witticism:

"There is no truth in Pravda and no news in Izvestia!" ;-)

Your mentioning Pravda in your post brought that to mind.

-- Connie (hive@gte.net), January 27, 2000.

From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr (pic), near Monterey, California

The way I heard it is "There's no news in the truth and no truth in the news."

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage), January 27, 2000.

spare.me! couldn't agree more!

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 27, 2000.

Send Elian back to his family in Cuba. Send all of Congress with him. Solves many problems for both countries. Next question?

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), January 27, 2000.

Dancr:

Both are amusing. Thanks.

-- Connie (hive@gte.net), January 27, 2000.

"Elian phone home." Then go home.

-- (I'm@pol.ly), January 27, 2000.

I hate this kid and the circus that flows in the mired-muck of the shit-eating media. I say we keep the kid and send the media to Cuba. Let Castro deal with them. Revenge for the 80's Mariannas Boat lift when he dumped his 'undesireables' on us.

-- Billy Boy (Rakkasan101st@Aol.com), January 27, 2000.

Just wondering - How many illegal immigrant children are deported from this country each year? So why the big media deal about this one? I'm sorry about his Mom, but he needs to go home!!!!! Just like all those other illegal immigrants.

-- Carolyn (artchicks@yahoo.com), January 27, 2000.

It's simple. Trade him for Castro.

Elian (anagram for "alien") returns to Cuba. Castro leaves the island & never goes back. Communism ends. The embargo is lifted. Everyone's happy.

-- is this (really@so.complicated), January 27, 2000.

I spent about 2 weeks in Miami last July (first time there). The evening news amazed me. The two main subjets were local homicides and boat loads of Cubans landing on the beaches. It appeared that if the Cubans were turned back while they were still afloat, they were sent back to Cuba. But if they made it to dry land they got to stay. On the west coast it does'nt work that way for Latino's or Canadians. You sneak in to the country you are an illegal.PERIOD... I may be slow, but just dont understand the dual standards..

-- Capt Dennis (capden@hotmail.com), January 27, 2000.

Kyle, I'm not apolitical at all, but thanks for the thought. I'm just another one of those leftist/socialists out there, except they want to see the boy reunited with his father, whereas I want to see him reunited with his mother.

-- King Solomon (king_solomon@royal_court.gov), January 27, 2000.

For those who'd like to see him back with his father...don't you think you'd want to take into consideration the conditions of the country we'd be sending him back to?

Now, I don't know the conditions in Cuba right now -- this is really a general question.

-- eve (123@4567.com), January 27, 2000.

I think that there are some things amiss here in what has NOT been said.

1. Everyone here was very upset about the children who died at Waco. They are continually aware of and complaining about government interference with our individual and family rights, and vowing to do something about it, either with their next vote, guns, etc. Some just like to rant on about it and intend to do nothing.

Here is a case of incredible government interference with parental and grandparental rights, and the life of a small child hangs in the balance, as the politicians are using him as a political football, sucking up to the Miami Cubans who want this child kept here as an icon to their old, old "cause." If Elian were an American child and his mother kidnapped him from his father, his photo and hers would have been on those postcards we get weekly in the mail saying, "Have you seen this child," along with the photo of the guilty parent. These are put out by The Center for Missing and Exploited Children! Instead, here we are seeing governmental interference of a very serious sort here...and all anyone can say is nasty stuff about this little boy and his plight!

2. Elian IS a human interest story, for that very reason: he is a helpless child, kidnapped by his mother and her criminal boyfriend, taken on a badly constructed and overweighted boat to danger, rescued by Americans, and now being held captive by distant relatives, their Cuban Miami community and certain politicians here.

Please...if you aren't interested in seeing the end of this story come out favorably for this family, don't complain about it here. No one is forcing you to watch the news either.

I personally wrote to those two aching grandmothers (neither of whom are 300 lbs.!!), c/o the Council of Churches in NYC, encouraging them to know my prayers are with them. It might be more kindly if you all would do the same. It's called COMPASSION. What is happening to this forum?

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), January 27, 2000.

P.S. If he were an AMERICAN kid being held hostage in CUBA, you'd damned well be glued to your set, and writing your representatives in outrage, wouldn't you?

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), January 27, 2000.

Elaine,

With all due respect, what if his home country was Ethiopia? Or Bosnia? I'm really not kidding -- should you not at least take into consideration the conditions of the country he'd be going back to?

-- eve (123@4567.com), January 27, 2000.

Eve,

All we know about CUBA is what we see from the media. Ever think maybe you were brainwashed into thinking Cuba is a BAD place...just like Elian is being brainswashed by his relavites.

-- (I'm@pol.ly), January 27, 2000.

This one is difficult. My heart says he should go back to his father in Cuba. My head wonders if the father is being coerced. I f the father and his new family could come here to speak with the boy and the authorities to find out exactly what the boy feels, that would be best. Does the father NOT WANT to come, or is Castro preventing it?

In this country, though, we really don't let the child decide at age six what is best for him, do we?

Solomon, where are you? What is in the best interest of this boy?

-- Connie (hive@gte.net), January 27, 2000.

I'm a Polly,

Please try to focus on the questions I posed, rather than looking to see how you can attack me personally.

-- eve (123@4567.com), January 27, 2000.

Eve, I don't think you were being attacked in that response.

My response is this: the Cubans who are still in Cuba, including Elian's own mother, are quite often dedicated Communists themselves. Her mother said she was a leading person in some Communist organization there. She left suddenly (having purchased 2 wks. of groceries the day before!) because her live-in, worthless, criminal-record boyfriend pushed her to it.

Elian's daily care had been being shared by his divorced parents, who remained friendly. This woman had absolutely NO right to kidnap her son from his father...period. This little child, now a pawn, was done MUCH MORE harm by her hasty decision (even after the boat had problems, and a wiser mother put her child ashore in Cuba before they departed!) than if he had been allowed to grow up in Cuba.

Due to my previous position, I have made a number of Russian friends, with whom I am in continual contact. Believe me, they prefer to live in their own country, "warts and all," without our conveniences, because it is their Mother Country and they identify with it. These people each suffered in one way or another under Communism, and now from various deprivations we do not experience in America. But that has not changed their loyalty to their nation as a homeland, nor produced a desire to leave it.

Cuba has a much kinder climate than Russia, thus less physical hardship, and certainly a more lax Communism now than these Russian adults lived under most of their lives. It didn't harm them as people, but if anything, they are among the strongest people I've known. One can scarcely compare Cuba with Ethiopia, where starvation has been and is again rampant, etc.

On "60 Minutes" we saw that Elian's father makes more money than most Cubans in a very secure, pleasant job. He has given the boy a fine home. The boy has a cousin who is like a sister to him. He has a dog and a parrot there. He had a clown perform at his last birthday party there, which is on film on TV. He was NOT in any need whatsoever.

BUT...even if he were...that is NOT the business of the government of the United States to decide. Period. He has a natural parent. Period. The rights of this parent were violated first by his ex-wife, and now by Miami Cubans with an axe to grind against Castro, and by our meddling politicians, anxious for the votes of that block of people. Period. And is being fostered by some pretty dumb do-gooders, who think it is their mission to rescue this child...from WHAT???

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), January 27, 2000.

As far as his father coming here, his grandmothers made it quite clear in their interview that he fears for his life from the radicals in the Miami Mafia Cuban community, and not without reason.

Isn't it enough that his TWO grandmothers came here on this child's behalf?

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), January 27, 2000.

Elaine,

Thanks for your civil response.

In no way am I trying to compare Cuba with Ethiopia. As far as I know, Cuba might be a fine place to live. I'm just trying to bring out that In general I think the conditions of the country should not be ignored. For example, if it were Ethiopia, or a country in which there is war or civil unrest, we could be sending him right to his death.

And I have no doubt that many people would prefer to stay in their homeland no matter what. But many others wouldn't.

Also, when someone accuses me of being brainwashed, -- yes, that is a personal attack.

But I do feel very sad that the boy has had to put up with so much.

-- eve (123@4567.com), January 27, 2000.

Let me RE-ITERATE to all you whingeing whining 'think of the poor child' retards out there: I DONT GIVE A DAMN WHAT HAPPENS TO THE KID! Why is that SO DIFFICULT to comprehend ? I want him and ALL HIS FAMILY to dissappers off the AIRWAVES ! GET It ? ELaine : You love kids ? Go protest outside an abortion clinic ! ANd I dont want tax-payer money, in the form of congreessional commitees being spent on this absurd nonsense!!! If you wanna make a contrbution, MAIL A CHECK!

-- spare.me! (fed-up@to.the.back.teeth), January 27, 2000.

Paranoia Will....

Did I say the Leafs DIDN'T suck?!? I just said I gotta have my Leafs fix. Besides, they're the only team we can watch on a regular basis on tv as we don't have cable, an antenna or subscribe to satallite programming. They come in on CBC, which is fine by me. When we can get a Canuks game, they are truly awesome. But, for now, will stay a Leafs fan. As youngest daughter says, "Hey, somebody has to watch 'em!"

-- justme (justme@myhouse.com), January 27, 2000.

If Elian's daddy wants him so badly, let Elian's daddy COME TO MIAMI & get him.

Seriously.

Why doesn't he...?

Hell, we all know the answer to THAT one.

-- because Castro (won't@let.him), January 27, 2000.

Pretty tough thread we got here. As one having had guardianship of my niece via a court order....I tell you what, Parental Rights are the ISSUE here. IF he WAS american, HE'd DAMN sure be with his daddy right this minute, I can promise you that. His father wants him, they have not disproved him as an abusive man, LET THE CHILD GO HOME. This is not his home, CUBA is, like it or not. I am sooo tired of this media blitz it makes me ill. And from the general consensus here and everywhere else, I'd say most are. Politics, pure and simple. Makes me sick.

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), January 28, 2000.