A FEW FOOTNOTES

O.T. FORD
2001 November 25

1.   The following appeared in, of all publications, the 2001 November 15 edition of the Economist:

An election correction

In the issues of December 16th 2000 to November 10th 2001, we may have given the impression that George Bush had been legally and duly elected president of the United States. We now understand that this may have been incorrect, and that the election result is still too close to call. The Economist apologises for any inconvenience.

2.   Devoted followers of profound oratory no doubt appreciated last week’s radio address from the White House, a detailed explanation from Laura Bush on how the Taliban oppress women. This, you will recognize, was another installment of the administration’s hard-hitting exposé series, Shocking Things We Just Read About in People® Magazine. There is nothing more presumptuous than proclaiming “a worldwide effort” to educate people about the Taliban’s “brutality”, as though this were a secret known only to well-educated US executive wives; and there is nothing more useless than laying bare the Taliban’s great flaws after they have been defeated. If George and Laura Bush want to enlighten the public, they should consider talking about the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia.

© O.T. FORD