Quotes & amp;amp; Notes

by Inlander Staff


The Anderson Center? -- When we caught up with Pastor Percy "Happy" Watkins this week (see Best Spiritual Leader in our "Best Of" section), he told us about the ongoing fundraising for a statue of astronaut Michael P. Anderson, the Spokane native who was killed when the space shuttle Columbia exploded in the Texas sky last year.


"We need to raise $125,000 by May 31," says Watkins. "Today, we are close to the $12,000 mark, but we haven't really approached any corporate sponsors yet. This is a community-wide effort, and we wanted to make sure that regular people got a chance to be in on it as well."


Watkins says he hopes the statue will find a home in Riverfront Park.


"They are talking about naming that new science center after Michael P. Anderson. [The statue] could be placed around there," says Watkins.


To donate or help with the fundraising, contact Watkins at New Hope Baptist Church at 535-1336.





Correcting the Record -- Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist has published a book. But it's not any book, mind you. No, this is a book about the disputed election of... 1876? That's right, Rehnquist has recently published Centennial Crisis, and many are quipping that it's proof of a guilty conscience. Rehnquist cast the deciding vote in 2000 that had the presidency decided, for the second time, not by the voters but by the Supreme Court. You see, the same thing happened in 1876, and Justice Joseph Bradley cast a similar vote, putting "Rutherfraud" B. Hayes in office. Historians have not been kind to Bradley for doing it, and Rehnquist seems to be trying to rescue the man's honor. Or is he simply making an argument for future historians to consider when they judge him?


It won't help, says the New York Times' Adam Cohen: "Mr. Rehnquist cannot turn the 1876 election into a justification for the ruling that will no doubt define his place in history."





Spying Made Easy -- Who needs the Patriot Act when you can just log on to fundrace.org and find out the political proclivities of your friends and neighbors? The Web site allows you to check up on them using their names and addresses. You can find out how much they have donated to political causes, and which ones they support.


As reported on Salon.com, celebrities are fair game, too -- as long as you know their addresses. One enterprising Web wanderer discovered that Mary Hart supports the president; Charlize Theron has donated to John Kerry; Leonard Nimoy was part of the Dean machine; Debra Messing was a Lieberman lover; and Casey Kasem gave it up for Dennis Kucinich. Hey, wait a minute -- now that you think about it, has anyone ever seen Casey Kasem and Dennis Kucinich together in the same room? Hmmm...





Publication date: 03/25/04