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Show PAGE 2 THE ZEPHYRDECEMBER 1991 so must we now stand united in these difficult times and pay the price for the greed and avarice of the Reagan-Bus- h era," said Cuomo. the highest since 1982, But barely a year after Cuomof s election, unemployment stood three a years before the next end confidence in the new president plummeted. On January 20, 1998, full Louisiana Governor David Duke announced his candidacy for President in the '20s, aLl03, page two neo-nd- zi Jim Stiles For better or worse, die elections are over. The Gty Council contest was one of the cleanest, most civilized I've seen in a long time. All six candidates deserve our thanks and appreciation for running such a decent campaign. Congratulations go die winners, of course. To die incumbents, Terry Warner and Bill McDougald, and especially to newcomer Dan Mick. When Dan first told me, over two years ago, that he planned to run for a Coundl seat one day, I really didn't take him seriously. I've seen too many people who decide to get involved in government and then quickly discover they have neither the endurance nor the stomach to stay with it But I was wrong. Dan rarely missed a Council meeting. He followed every issue as any elected official I've ever seen. I dosely and, as a result assumes office as don't always agree with Dan, but I'll always feel he's done his homework when he makes his well-prepar- presidential inauguration, background faded to keep voters from electing him governor in year 2000. Duke, whose, racist, the hood and gown of the 1991, had done little to quell fears that beneath his designer suits, he still wore Ku Klux Klan. And yet his mesmerizing oratory continued to draw supporters, much like another fiery speaker, Adolph Hitler, more than 60 years before. It was Duke who first suggested that the federal government had become too unwieldy to " Duke encouraged function, and that "dissolution of the Republic may be our last hope to save ourselves. a "tax revolt against the Feds" as a means ofbankruptcing the United States Government. Incredibly, by 1999 over 30 mdlion Americans refused to file federal income taxes. The Internal Revenue Service could do little if anything to enforce the tax laws against such a vast number of dissenters, end on June 13, 2000, the federal government ran out of money. The chaotic presidential election of the same year saw the emergence of Duke as the Republican r, although his opponents, without exception, condemned his political philosophy and campaign tactics. Cuomo's defeat was almost a certainty, even before his party reluctantly renominated him in August. His plea to the American people that they "bite the bullet" fell upon an unreceptive electorate. Cuomo received less than 40 of the popular vote on November 7, 2000. Within months of his inauguration, Duke set the wheels in motion that would ultimately abolish the highest office in the land - his own. Opponents of Duke, however, fear that his only real motive is to remove the constitutional processes that can remove him from office; that, in fact, Duke's only true interest is in establishing himself as the undisputed dictator of this fragmenting republic. President Duke joined a group of supporters yesterday to toast the secession movement. "This is a grand day for Christians and the White Race," exclaimed the 51 year old president. "..and the other people too," he added. ed decision. I'm still struggling, however, with the courthouse vote. Last year. Grand County defeated the Bond Issue by 56 votes; this year, it was approved by 23 votes. As far as I'm concerned, the nays still have it by 33 votes. I think Gty Councilman Dave Sakrison has the best idea. "Manuel and David are sporting gentlemen," says Dave. "Let's go 2 out of 3r Why not, indeed? Or how about 4 out of 7? The irony of it is, had the voters defeated this Bond Issue, we would have had another vote. I think we were going to be asked to vote until fin the Commission's eyes) we got it right. In fact, on election day before the polls had dosed, David Knutson made it dear to me that the vote was not if we were going to approve the expansion, but rather, how we were going to pay for it. Anyway, we can all look forward to the new facilities. Perhaps when the jail is completed, we should celebrate by getting good and drunk in a public place. It's the only way I can think of to actually use what we've just spent $4 million to build Cheers. 1 front-runne- This is where I woke up, or quit thinking. Pretty scary stuff. But I have to wonder, to how many people does this nightmare sound appealing? I wrote the preceding black fantasy a few days before election day, and for once I'm to have been so wrong about an election's outcome. I'm encouraged that almost two-thirglad d of the voters preferred a candidate with an admitted background of sleazy and David behavior to the of Duke. On the other hand, almost 700,000 citizens of likes unscrupulous Louisiana and 55 of the whites were willing to ignore Dukes racist, nazi background and cast their votes for the former Ku Klux Klansman, anyway. I rarely heard any of his supporters truly believe that Duke had transformed himself - that he had given up his evil past and been "bom again." Instead, they chose to ignore that past, shifting uneasily while they spoke, but insisting that despite Duke's despicable views, he represented them better than the other candidate. And while Duke may have lost fills election, don't think that he's going to disappear. first push for power ended in utter failure and humiliation. And we all know Hitler's Adolph remarkable comeback the Fuhrer made. No, Duke has touched a chord with a lot of what a he to our dark side. What's most frightening about Duke is that he is willing Vo appeals people do our dirty work for us. David Duke will be heard from again. ds thrice-indicte- . had a bizarre dream the other night. woke up in a cold sweat The next day, as contemplated my nightmare, I began to embellish and improve upon it as all writers are required to do. This is how it ended up... I I I December 1, 2001, Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah Governor Kart Malone signed legislation today allowing the Beehive State to secede from the United States of America. "This is an end, and a beginning, " said the governor in an emotional ceremony on the steps of the State Capital. Dateline: Utah becomes the 14th state to secede and the 11th this week after California's dramatic announcement on Thursday that the largest state in the union would file for independence. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., President David Duke has called for a Constitutional Convention to legalize the secession movement that appears to be sweeping the nation. To fully understand the extraordinary events of the last several weeks, it is necessary to go back to 1996 and Mario Cuomo's slim victory in the presidential election. When Cuomo assumed office in January 1997, the federal deficit had climbed in a single year by $400 billion. His austere budget proposals and dramatic tax increases stunned Americans. And yet, with half of each dollar in tax revenues being used to pay interest on the enormous federal debt, President Cuomo felt he had little choice. "As we Americans paid dearly in the '30's during the Great Depression for the excesses of the - no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themsdves; if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform thdr I know discretion. , . . . ..... . , . . I hate to fall back on a redundant topic; but I will anyway. A couple weeks ago, when the weather turned, I reluctantly fired up the gas floor furnace and accepted the reality that . summer was gone. When a furnace hasn't been used in six or seven months, it always gives off a bit of a smell, as it roasts an accumulation of dust and cob webs. But this year was worse. In fad, it was terrible. It stunk, and I began to wonder if I wouldn't prefer to be cold. And why would this year be worse than others? I pulled the grate off the floor and shined a flashlight into the dusty blackness. Crickets. Toasted crickets. There must have been 50 of them down there and one smelled just as bad as the next. I vacuumed up as many as I could reach, but a bunch will just have to fry until they say good-by-e. (Please note that I wasn't cooking these guys alive - they several weeks the ago) ghost gave up The smell has now subsided, but it occurs to me that I my be looking a gift horse in the mouth. With the possibility of tough economic times ahead, I may have an excellent source of protein right under my toes. I can see us now, huddled around the floor furnace, bobbing for memorable of the 90's. crickets, and uttering that soon-to-be "Dang.-that'- s catch-phra- se tasty." Thomas Jefferson THE CANYON COUNTRY ZEPHYR P.O. BOX 327 MOAB, UTAH 84532 subscribe to THE ZEPHYR MOAB, UTAH 84532 P.O. BOX 327 edited and published by JIM STILES (801 a subscription is still only 259-77- 73 12 DOLLARS production managers GARY AND SUSAN CLUM (1 year, 11 issues) contributing writers Jane S. Jones Ken Davey Jack Campbell B.J. Eardley historical photos poetry Herb Ringer Frank Lemon food iditof name address Winic Flocko 1991 The Canyon Country Zephyr all rights reserved ,The Canyon Country Zephyr is a monthly newspaper, published eleven times a year at Moab, Utah. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of its vendors, advertisers, or even at times of its publisher . renewal new subscription |