Wednesday, April 19, 2000
Wednesday, April 19, 2000 |
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new national news By PAT NEWMAN I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some new news. All I've heard about for three weeks is Elian Gonzales, the NASDAQ and Jon Benet Ramsey's parents. Our morning routine starts with Cheerios and the “Today” show. (Did you hear about the blonde who peered into a box of Cheerios and announced, “Oh look! Donut seeds!”) Every day I've heard about dear little Elian. Everybody from Castro to the fisherman who plucked him from the Atlantic has had an opinion about this long-running scenario. Now it's my turn to weigh in on the matter. I'm siding with the Miami relatives and Elian. After spending five months in the United States, it makes sense that he stays. He's already become Americanized. He's been to Disney World, probably eaten more than his share of McDonald's Happy Meals and has become a junior celebrity, thanks to the media. A return to Cuba and a life of rice and beans will certainly diminish his future. After talking with the neighbor of the check out girl who works in the market where Elian's Miami relatives shop, it's clear that he should remain. “The relatives... ah, they are lovely people,” she reported. As for Elian's father, his wife and children, let them stay too. Miami is a big city. Certainly there is room for several more Gonzaleses. On to the NASDAQ. Friday's stock plummet has investors reeling. Buy? Sell? Jump? This week's Wall Street activity should tell us more, and more and more. As a long term investor, I would rather remain semi-ignorant and assume I can still retire in less than 10 years. The tragedy of JonBenet Ramsey's murder is still being played out by the parents, John and Patsy, who now have a book out and are negotiating with Denver police over arrangements to take a lie detector test. Does America still care about this? It's still painful to watch that beautiful little girl sashay across the stage in footage shot during one her pageant performances. I'm all for new news. What's going on in the rest of the world? If we have to rely on national media, we'll never know. But turn on one of the major networks and you'll get an up-to-the-minute report on Elian, John and Patsy and the NASDAQ.
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