Barney

He’s back………..

Whitewater, Friends of Bill, Hillary, Monica, impeachment, the alleged RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY.

It’s all back for, at least, the next few weeks as Former President Bill Clinton hits the big time book promotion tour. From 60 Minutes to Larry King and Good Morning America. Like an old rash... he is back.

Well, it is to be expected. The fine folks at Knopf Publishers have coughed up a lot of greenbacks and have also printed over 1.5 million copies of “MY LIFE,” a thousand pound, I mean, page memoir that has been long awaited by many.

Amazon.com says ‘the new Clinton book is the biggest pre-order in history and may even sell more than Hillary’s book.’

Oh, well, read on, patriots! After all, this is the same country that made stars of Donald Trump and Paris Hilton. We all love the silver-tongued devil. The affable cad. The charismatic fool. I would imagine we all have that gene buried somewhere within our very nature.

Live and learn. Forgive and forget. We all have short memories, anyway. In fact, all of the talk about Bill Clinton #42 and his book will be a fad that will pass in about three weeks.

I am thankful for this. I would have preferred that he stay at home and vacuum the house! But for now, all of the talking heads are bellowing once again about Bill Clinton, and he has given them enough fodder to chew on.

“My affair with Monica is indefensible…. I did it because I COULD!”

Huh? What? What else did the president do because HE COULD?

How about hold up air traffic at LAX for two hours, while he got a haircut on Air Force One? Because HE COULD?

In all honesty, folks, this opens a huge can of worms that he should have left sealed up tight. But, hey, presidential memoirs don’t normally sell in big numbers. They end up on the library shelf. So Monica it is… what a legacy!

Oh yeah, we will learn of his rise to power in Arkansas, being a Rhodes Scholar, being elected twice to the highest office in the land, blah blah…

But it will be Monica, the cigar, and impeachment that will make Mr. Knopf his dollars on this one.

And what about impeachment? Clinton says that avoiding being impeached is his “badge of honor.” The evil Ken Starr lost in the end, and that is what matters to William Jefferson Clinton. Breaking the law and lying to the entire constituency of the United States and the world doesn’t seem to matter.

We all remember that wagging finger in our face. A LIE!Hillary Pure and simple. THAT is what it is! I guess he did all of that… because HE COULD!

How about this one… in a speech yesterday Mr. Clinton said that, “Once the Republicans didn’t have the Cold War to fight anymore, HE became the enemy. It defies all logical thinking. I will say no more. YOU think on it!

I met Mr. Clinton twice. Once at a show in Little Rock, when he was governor (that wasn’t Hillary on his arm either), and once at the President’s Summit On Volunteerism in Philadelphia.

I will admit that I was moved by the man. He DID have a presence. A rare charisma. He filled up a room.

What a shame for all of us that he blew it!

If I could ask him a question at a town meeting or book signing I would ask, “Why, when our troops were outnumbered and being hammered in Mogadishu, Somalia, did you refuse to send A-130 gunships to their rescue?”

“Thanks for asking Joe,’ he might say, ‘the honest answer is that I couldn’t have those bad boys blowing up a bunch of black people in front of the world. Even though they were backed by that fanatical group, ummmm what’s the name? AL QAEDA. It just would not have looked very good. Very politically incorrect to have called down that kind of firepower. Not a good move for the nation’s first black president.’ Heh-heh….

I’ll bet that honest answer is NOT in the book!

At a recent birthday celebration for former President George Herbert Walker Bush, there stood a circle of men who once were world leaders. There was Mikhail Gorbachev, John Major of Great Britain, Shimon Peres of Israel, and Bush #41, as well as his son #43, our current president. All standing in a semicircle and laughing and hugging.

It was quite a site for a Country-singing, banjo-playing guy from Philadelphia to behold! Our long time keyboard player, Ron Fairchild, said, “Wow, amazing isn’t it? Some of us follow a musical dream and some men become that… look at them, just some human beings who took a different road.”

Very wise, piano boy, except for one thing. They may do the one leg at a time thing like I do but, at one time, this little group wielded EXCALIBUR and actually had it within their power to destroy our planet!

So, yes, we should learn about the men who would lead us into the future and NOT wait for the memoir. There is another big election coming this fall and, to this boy, the choice is clear.

There is a stark difference between the philosophies and leadership goals of John Kerry and President George W. Bush, and I come down pretty hard in favor of low taxes, a well-armed military, freedom and HONESTY sprinkled with INTEGRITY.

I am not very politically correct, and I count on our government to find those who would desire to harm us and blow them up! But I encourage everyone to pay strict attention to both men and then VOTE with your heart. Our future and safety may really depend on this, folks, so don’t shirk the duty this time around.

Learn... pay attention to BOTH parties. And VOTE this November!

But for the next few weeks… Iraq and Afghanistan, the war on terror, George W. Bush and, to his dismay, John Kerry will be pushed back and away from the mainstream, as Bill Clinton and “MY LIFE” take the center stage.

Ah, back in the spotlight. We know enough about the man to know that he truly LOVES the attention.

It might surprise you to know that I had actually planned to buy and read this book. My thinking was that this memoir of a president covered eight years of my life, and I might really like to hear his side of things. But I have already heard enough.

I will NOT buy the book. I will not log on to Amazon.com, and I will pass by it at the grocery store... because I CAN!

The Clinton Piece (an addendum)
By Joseph S. Bonsall

The nice thing about having your own little, creative workshop, a.k.a. a website with its own commentary section, is that you get to write about almost everything from barn swallows to soldiers - from springtime to heroes. It is fun, stimulating, and hopefully.…. thought provoking!!

Mr. Clinton continues to blow me away with his way of thinking about himself. Just see the BBC interview. I find the man and his presidency rather astounding, and this new book thing urged me to write about him.

Nobody has to agree with me, that is for certain however..… it is MY feeling that we better look long and hard at this enemy we are facing and decide WHO is best to lead us into the future.

THAT is the thrust of my commentary. Clinton will fade..... and IS fading already. But the ruthless barbarians, who would like to see ALL of our heads cut off, need to be met with the most brutal show of force since D-Day. And hand wringing will NOT get it done. We need leadership that will get THIS job done.

I am not a gloom and doom kind of guy, and you all know this! But I fear that we may lose another piece of a city someday! If that happens, it will make "health care for all" and ABU GARIB seem like awfully small potatoes.

Just keep thinking and learning, gang. We have to be doing that. Every day and every moment, celebrate the life that God has given us. Enjoy family. Watch a little baseball...

But, in the outer recess of our being, in that holiest of places where our heart beats and our soul dwells, we had better keep a light on!

God bless us ALL.

Joseph S. Bonsall is a thirty-one year member of the American music group, The Oak Ridge Boys and the author of G.I. Joe and Lillie, published by New Leaf Press. His new books, An Inconvenient Christmas and The Oak Ridge Boys: An American Journey, will be published by New Leaf in the fall of 2004.


	Bill Clinton's “MY LIFE” By Joseph S. Bonsall He’s back……….. Whitewater, Friends of Bill, Hillary, Monica, impeachment, the alleged RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY. It’s all back for, at least, the next few weeks as Former President Bill Clinton hits the big time book promotion tour. From 60 Minutes to Larry King and Good Morning America. Like an old rash... he is back. Well, it is to be expected. The fine folks at Knopf Publishers have coughed up a lot of greenbacks and have also printed over 1.5 million copies of “MY LIFE,” a thousand pound, I mean, page memoir that has been long awaited by many. Amazon.com says ‘the new Clinton book is the biggest pre-order in history and may even sell more than Hillary’s book.’ Oh, well, read on, patriots! After all, this is the same country that made stars of Donald Trump and Paris Hilton. We all love the silver-tongued devil. The affable cad. The charismatic fool. I would imagine we all have that gene buried somewhere within our very nature. Live and learn. Forgive and forget. We all have short memories, anyway. In fact, all of the talk about Bill Clinton #42 and his book will be a fad that will pass in about three weeks. I am thankful for this. I would have preferred that he stay at home and vacuum the house! But for now, all of the talking heads are bellowing once again about Bill Clinton, and he has given them enough fodder to chew on. “My affair with Monica is indefensible…. I did it because I COULD!” Huh? What? What else did the president do because HE COULD? How about hold up air traffic at LAX for two hours, while he got a haircut on Air Force One? Because HE COULD? In all honesty, folks, this opens a huge can of worms that he should have left sealed up tight. But, hey, presidential memoirs don’t normally sell in big numbers. They end up on the library shelf. So Monica it is… what a legacy! Oh yeah, we will learn of his rise to power in Arkansas, being a Rhodes Scholar, being elected twice to the highest office in the land, blah blah… But it will be Monica, the cigar, and impeachment that will make Mr. Knopf his dollars on this one. And what about impeachment? Clinton says that avoiding being impeached is his “badge of honor.” The evil Ken Starr lost in the end, and that is what matters to William Jefferson Clinton. Breaking the law and lying to the entire constituency of the United States and the world doesn’t seem to matter. We all remember that wagging finger in our face. A LIE!Hillary Pure and simple. THAT is what it is! I guess he did all of that… because HE COULD! How about this one… in a speech yesterday Mr. Clinton said that, “Once the Republicans didn’t have the Cold War to fight anymore, HE became the enemy. It defies all logical thinking. I will say no more. YOU think on it! I met Mr. Clinton twice. Once at a show in Little Rock, when he was governor (that wasn’t Hillary on his arm either), and once at the President’s Summit On Volunteerism in Philadelphia. I will admit that I was moved by the man. He DID have a presence. A rare charisma. He filled up a room. What a shame for all of us that he blew it! If I could ask him a question at a town meeting or book signing I would ask, “Why, when our troops were outnumbered and being hammered in Mogadishu, Somalia, did you refuse to send A-130 gunships to their rescue?” “Thanks for asking Joe,’ he might say, ‘the honest answer is that I couldn’t have those bad boys blowing up a bunch of black people in front of the world. Even though they were backed by that fanatical group, ummmm what’s the name? AL QAEDA. It just would not have looked very good. Very politically incorrect to have called down that kind of firepower. Not a good move for the nation’s first black president.’ Heh-heh…. I’ll bet that honest answer is NOT in the book! At a recent birthday celebration for former President George Herbert Walker Bush, there stood a circle of men who once were world leaders. There was Mikhail Gorbachev, John Major of Great Britain, Shimon Peres of Israel, and Bush #41, as well as his son #43, our current president. All standing in a semicircle and laughing and hugging. It was quite a site for a Country-singing, banjo-playing guy from Philadelphia to behold! Our long time keyboard player, Ron Fairchild, said, “Wow, amazing isn’t it? Some of us follow a musical dream and some men become that… look at them, just some human beings who took a different road.” Very wise, piano boy, except for one thing. They may do the one leg at a time thing like I do but, at one time, this little group wielded EXCALIBUR and actually had it within their power to destroy our planet! So, yes, we should learn about the men who would lead us into the future and NOT wait for the memoir. There is another big election coming this fall and, to this boy, the choice is clear. There is a stark difference between the philosophies and leadership goals of John Kerry and President George W. Bush, and I come down pretty hard in favor of low taxes, a well-armed military, freedom and HONESTY sprinkled with INTEGRITY. I am not very politically correct, and I count on our government to find those who would desire to harm us and blow them up! But I encourage everyone to pay strict attention to both men and then VOTE with your heart. Our future and safety may really depend on this, folks, so don’t shirk the duty this time around. Learn... pay attention to BOTH parties. And VOTE this November! But for the next few weeks… Iraq and Afghanistan, the war on terror, George W. Bush and, to his dismay, John Kerry will be pushed back and away from the mainstream, as Bill Clinton and “MY LIFE” take the center stage. Ah, back in the spotlight. We know enough about the man to know that he truly LOVES the attention. It might surprise you to know that I had actually planned to buy and read this book. My thinking was that this memoir of a president covered eight years of my life, and I might really like to hear his side of things. But I have already heard enough. I will NOT buy the book. I will not log on to Amazon.com, and I will pass by it at the grocery store... because I CAN! The Clinton Piece (an addendum) By Joseph S. Bonsall The nice thing about having your own little, creative workshop, a.k.a. a website with its own commentary section, is that you get to write about almost everything from barn swallows to soldiers - from springtime to heroes. It is fun, stimulating, and hopefully.…. thought provoking!! Mr. Clinton continues to blow me away with his way of thinking about himself. Just see the BBC interview. I find the man and his presidency rather astounding, and this new book thing urged me to write about him. Nobody has to agree with me, that is for certain however..… it is MY feeling that we better look long and hard at this enemy we are facing and decide WHO is best to lead us into the future. THAT is the thrust of my commentary. Clinton will fade..... and IS fading already. But the ruthless barbarians, who would like to see ALL of our heads cut off, need to be met with the most brutal show of force since D-Day. And hand wringing will NOT get it done. We need leadership that will get THIS job done. I am not a gloom and doom kind of guy, and you all know this! But I fear that we may lose another piece of a city someday! If that happens, it will make "health care for all" and ABU GARIB seem like awfully small potatoes. Just keep thinking and learning, gang. We have to be doing that. Every day and every moment, celebrate the life that God has given us. Enjoy family. Watch a little baseball... But, in the outer recess of our being, in that holiest of places where our heart beats and our soul dwells, we had better keep a light on! God bless us ALL. Joseph S. Bonsall is a thirty-one year member of the American music group, The Oak Ridge Boys and the author of G.I. Joe and Lillie, published by New Leaf Press. His new books, An Inconvenient Christmas and The Oak Ridge Boys: An American Journey, will be published by New Leaf in the fall of 2004.