Category: Grave

Courtesy of New York Times writer James Barron, and his account of brain-injured firefighter Donald Herbert’s remarkable recuperation from his decade-long comatose state, we’re treated to this handy, pocket-sized, sentence-length compendium of the events of the past ten years in American History (After Sudden Lucidity, Firefighter Is Less Animated, May 5, 2005):

Dr. Ahmed said Mr. Herbert thought that it had been only a couple of months since the accident, not a decade – in which a president was tried for impeachment; e-mail and cellphones became popular; and his hometown football team, the Buffalo Bills, made the playoffs four times.

Clinton’s impeachment, technology’s growth and proliferation, etc…This seems to cover all the bases, for the most part.
Shit…Wait, wait, something’s missing, right? What the fuck else has happened in the past ten years? Maybe George Pataki can help us out here:

“We will never forget the individual lives that were lost, the tremendous personal sacrifices and the countless acts of heroism that will forever mark September 11, 2001 as a day the world changed forever,” Governor Pataki said. “Those heroes will be forever in the hearts and minds of people throughout New York State and around the world.”

There you have it: Bills quarterback Doug Flutie, forever in our hearts and minds.

Hooked: Lynndie and Carter Allan England, left (via AFP); Ride ‘N Stride 2-Way Safety Harness (via Baby Catalog of America).

REUTERS/Jeff Mitchell
RELATED: Judge Rejects England’s Guilty Plea in Abu Ghraib Case, NPR
EARLIER: Number 2 at the Box Office? “Man on Fire”

President Bush’s daughter, Jenna, bottom left, watches the game between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets with unidentified guests at RFK Stadium, Saturday, April 30, 2005, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz Ghanbari)
EARLIER: Jenna Bush and the oh-so-delicate return of the Associated Press’ “unidentifiable male friend” and Young Love, Republican Style

Stand-up Guy: George W. Bush, captured by Reuters‘ Jason Reed, April 29, 2005.
Related: Blue Collar TV.

Above, Vladimir Putin, Cairo April 27, 2005 (via Reuters); Below, Malcolm X, 1964 (by John Launois/Black Star)

Good news, Jeff Gannon! According to today’s New York Times‘ report, Pentagon Considers Changing the Legal Definition of Sodomy, by John Files:

The office of the general counsel at the Pentagon has proposed decriminalizing consensual sodomy among adults, a change to its 55-year-old policy on sodomy that would bring the military legal code more in line with laws that govern civilians, according to a memorandum sent to Congress.
[…]
The changes proposed by the Pentagon’s lawyers would narrow the definition to prohibit acts of sodomy with a person under age 16 or acts “committed by force.” Their memorandum says this would “conform more closely to other federal laws and regulations.”

Recruitment will surely go up—or, at least, recruits will go down—now.
Related: Anyone else enjoying Sundance Channel’s The Staircase, which also features a plot twist involving a military M4M escort? This documentary series is so good and so suspensefully constructed, it makes every iteration of Law & Order look like The Stick Figure Players Do Bad Twist Ending Theater.

Heil, Mary: Achtung, Ratzy!
New Pope Appears, Asks World for Prayers, Reuters, April 19, 2005.

Up top, “Blake Sanford, 6, son of South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, waits his turn to shake hands with President Bush, far right, as he arrives in Columbia, S.C. to deliver a speech on Social Security reform Monday April 18, 2005. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)” and at the bottom, well, that famous JFK, Jr. pose at his father’s funeral.