The View From the Outback

• Thoughts While Staring at the Ceiling Fan
• Sniper Rifles, Profiles, Eyewitnesses, and Media Experts
• Eyewitness Testimony is Problematic
• How Do They Know That They Have Hit a Home Run?
• Who Is Behind Door Number Two? Linda Gray?
• Dr. Phil and Road Rage
• The Media Trial of Dr. Steven J. Hatfill
• Suggested Reading From Past Columns

Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota died in a plane crash on Friday, Oct. 25. I share in the grieving for his death. Although I did not know much about him, from what I saw of him on the Senate floor, he cared deeply about people and their problems. I attended the University of Minnesota and spent several summer vacations on the lakes around Eveleth, Minnesota where the plane went down. So, I do feel some connection to the incident, peripheral as it might be.

In the Outback of Sept. 14, 2002, I mentioned that all the new network shows might produce some new stars. Of the shows I have watched, Ashley Williams (Dylan), as the hair stylist on "Good Morning Miami," is the brightest new talent in years. It is her first time in a prime-time show. If this show bombs, which I hope it does not, a network could write a new show around her and be on pretty solid ground. She has the effervescent quality that Mary Tyler Moore had in "The MTM show." As Lou Grant might say, "Ashley, you've got spunk. I hate spunk."

Sales of Flat-Panel (LCD) monitors will increase dramatically in the next year. Some CRT plants are already closed. The demise of CRT (glass TV-type) monitors is predicted within a few years by some experts. I run dual monitors on a Windows XP computer. One is a CRT, the other an LCD. The LCD is wonderful for text and graphics. But, quickly scrolled images and fast-moving graphics objects, such as in games, smear. In addition, LCD monitors offer the best character-resolution only at their "native resolution." On a 17, 18, or 19-inch LCD monitor, characters might be too small at the native resolution to be viewed comfortably. You can compensate by increasing the size of the characters displayed, but that is a hassle - and less text is then displayed. Before you invest in an LCD monitor as your only monitor, go to a store or use a friend's LCD monitor and check out the kind of programs you will be running. Until LCDs can handle fast-moving objects on the screen without smearing, and adapt well to different resoltuions, having at least one CRT will still be a necessity for many, if not the majority of users.

In an article in The Wall Street Journal  about wine, a wine director in Mississippi was quoted as saying that he had seen diners order a $600 to $800 bottle of wine and leave three-quarters of it. There is something wrong in our society when there are a substantial number of people who can afford an $800 bottle of wine with dinner. I may start voting Democratic and join their campaign of taxing the rich and redistributing the money to the poor. Or maybe I should quit reading the WSJ, which I have done for nearly 30 years. The cheap Merlot from Italy that I was drinking went up dramatically in price. I am now working on a case of red wine from Australia that a wine expert in Dallas described to me as "What Merlot wished it was." It is "2000 Shiraz" from Heritage Road vineyards in South Australia, at under $10 a bottle. It's very good. When we lived in Europe, we drank some pretty good wines. No wine is worth $800 a bottle, except to a collector. It is just rich people showing off in restaurants. At home while watching TV, they probably drink the $15-dollar-a-bottle stuff - and can't tell the difference. Unless the door chime rings. Then they quickly reach in the wine rack for a $300 bottle of wine.

In the Outback for Oct. 12, 2002, I wrote about "The Mail-In Rebate Scam." I got bit again! I sent in one of those tiny rebate forms for some software from Microsoft. I also enclosed a copy of the information that I typed and printed in 14-point type, including my rural route box number, which is the only physical address I have. I got a letter from the rebate folks telling me that they could not send the rebate check to a PO Box, and to please provide a physical address. Well, I wrote them and told them what they could do with their rebate and with the company in general. I enclosed a copy of the typewritten information I had originally enclosed with the rebate form. Also enclosed was the "Rebate Scam" article. One more needle in my eye from Microsoft. I had intended to favorably review the software I bought, but now I don't think so. Damn, I forgot to tell them that the memo and letter were written in WordPerfect. I'm losing my touch.

It seems fair to assume from the accumulated evidence that washing your hands with anti-bacterial soap could add to antibiotic resistance. Not good when you need a dose of antibiotics. A surgeon insisted that I wash and shower for a week prior to surgery with an expensive anti-bacterial soap from the pharmacy, which I did faithfully. Later, I read reports that washing with liquid dish soaps was superior at killing germs to the fancy "medicinal" soaps. Consider using standard liquid soap in the kitchen, not the anti-bacterial variety. And it is a good soap to use when you wash your hands, which you should do periodically at the office, every time you come home, after you pet the dog, or after you handle food on a cutting board, especially meats - or shake anybody's hand during cold and flu season. You will touch your nose, I guarantee you.

A very close friend from the Baltic states has been working in Israel for about a year. Recently, he informed me by e-mail that he had a choice to stay on in Israel or move to Moscow. I advised him to get out of Israel and go to Moscow, but added, "Of course, you might get run over by a bus in Moscow." To that I can now add, "You might get killed as a hostage in a Moscow theater - and don't ride the bus." Today, my e-mail to him in Israel bounced back. I hope he is not in Moscow at the theater.

Richard Helms, director of the CIA from 1966 to 1973, died at age 89. He was the first career spy to head the Agency. I met Mr. Helms only once. He attended an office Christmas party at the Technical Services Division. Helms had been a journalist and gained notoriety for his exclusive interview with Adolph Hitler. He was dismissed as CIA director by President Richard Nixon when he refused to help Nixon block the FBI investigation into the Watergate break-in. In my first novel, I said that there was a great similarity between journalists and spies. Each was seeking information, but their audiences were different. Thus, a good reporter ought to make a good spy - and vice versa. Developing sources and getting exclusive information. That's what it is all about. Richard Helms worked both sides and no doubt understood the common bond between spies and journalists. Of course, I generally favor spies over journalists. Spies usually have scruples. Seriously.

When I am FTC Commissioner, no TV shows will be allowed to bill themselves as "Smash Hits" unless they are in the Nielsen Top 20. Otherwise, it is false advertising. Note to Susan Lyne at ABC. None of your "Smash Hits" were in the Nielsen Top 20 for the week Oct. 14 to Oct. 20, 2002. Where does false advertising end and lying begin? There is no shame in TV promotions. The letter I sent to Susan Lyne, ABC Entertainment President, addressed to ABC in Century City, California, came back unopened, marked "Return to Sender." She may not work there. ABC may refuse all viewer mail. Or, they found my column and have put me on the "blacklist." Whatever. One more reason that TV executives are so isolated from public opinion and viewer insight. Their problem, not mine.

I always admired the work of Harrison Ford. Now that he is dating Calista Flockhart, my opinion of him has been downgraded. During the talk shows I saw her on, she was defensive and thin-skinned. Taken together with her apparent eating problem, she is no gift package. She is strung tighter than Andrea Agassi's racquet. Given the considerable difference in their ages, maybe Harrison has taken her on as a "project" - to get some meat on her bones and get her to loosen up - like any good father would do.

WordPerfect 10 Service Pack 3 is available at www.corel.com as a free 83.6 MB download (WordPerfect Office 2002). It updates WP10 to version 10.0.0.719.

In an earlier Outback, I mentioned that Tom Brokaw on NBC news was making entirely too many verbal miscues for a network anchor. I suggested that he might be having some "cognitive problems." And I know what that is like! And I love Tom. He is the only network anchor I will watch. On a recent newscast, Mr. Brokaw was referring to our planes attacking installations on the ground who had been shooting at the planes in the Iraq Northern No-Fly Zone. He said that our pilots were responding to "anti-artillery fire from the ground." Nope. They were responding to "anti-aircraft fire." Artillery pieces shoot at things on the ground. I sent an e-mail to NBC news in which I said that if someone wrote "anti-artillery" for Tom to read, they should be fired. Otherwise it was another in a pattern of recent verbal miscues on the air. On the next night, the following flashed across the screen during the newscast: "Commercial Position #2 Cued." Come on folks, this is big-time broadcasting. Push the right buttons. Mr. Brokaw's delivery that night was flawless. Maybe they starting having rehearsals.

Recently, I have been having trouble sleeping, but it has been on sporadic nights. I finally figured it out. It is on the nights that Dave Letterman does the "Will It Float?" bit. When the blonde Will-it-float model, Nadine, comes on the screen, my heart starts skipping beats. Later, I am so restless than I cannot sleep. Nadine is the linchpin of the 50 to 106 year-old CBS demographic for the Letterman show. Anybody with a pulse cannot help but react to this gorgeous woman. Forget the fruit cake and the ties. I now know what I want for Christmas. Dreamer. But, dreams are healthy.

An oral book review took place in a tent in Washington, D.C. to a modest-sized crowd. A lady was "signing" for the deaf. I wonder if these people ever start by signing "Are there any deaf people in the audience? If so, please raise your hand." Or do they just keep signing because that is what they are there for? In two online "sign language" dictionaries, I could not find a sign for "hearing-impaired." There was "deaf" and "hard of hearing." There are possibly 421,000 people in the U.S. who are deaf in both ears, and about 1,152,000 who can hear speech if shouted in their better ear. There are about 20,000,000 people who classify themselves as "hard of hearing." All 20 million could be considered to be "hearing-impaired." We ought to forsake the PC term of "hearing-impaired' and use common-sense terms like "deaf" and "hard of hearing." I have substantial high-frequency hearing loss in one ear (guns and airplanes). Am I "hearing-impaired"? I don't think so. Dogs barking 1/3 mile away keep me awake at night.

Morgan Fairchild has been doing some commercials lately. At first, I did not recognize her. I met her about 19 years ago in Dallas at a media cocktail party. She looks younger now than she did then. It is amazing what getting proper rest and drinking spring water can do for you.

Years ago, I wrote a letter to a female news anchor in NYC whom I was seeing on satellite TV. I paid her some compliments and asked a couple of questions. She phoned me and we had a nice chat and exchanged some notes over the years. She sent me a photo with a personal message on it. We lost the NYC feed for some time, but it has been back now for quite a while. I wrote my friend a while back to let her know that I still caught her news show from time to time and passed my regards to one of the reporters with whom I had corresponded about reporting on gun crime. I got a handwritten reply from this lovely and gracious lady. It made my day here in the Outback. Yes, there are some nice people in the major Eastern Media. At least one that I know of. Of course, she is the only person in the Eastern media that I can ever recall paying a compliment. No wonder I don't get more phone calls and lovely notes.

Sniper Rifles, Profiles, Eyewitnesses, and Media Experts

During the reign of terror of the sniper(s), I did not watch any cable TV shows - or CBS news, who have a history of hyperbole and distortion about gun crimes. I watched only the NBC Evening News and read news on the Internet. I knew that on cable there would be a parade of experts who would probably not get anything right. After reviewing what has been written about the media coverage, I was right. None of them had a clue.

On the night of the day of the arrests, I clicked onto a cable show that was going to have two psychologists on to discuss what might have motivated the killers. Good God, why do you watch these people? Somebody is watching. It ain't me. Read a book. Give your wife a foot massage. Anything but watch the constant parade of experts and the constant output of nonsense and drivel.

On April 3, 1984, I wrote an article in The Dallas Morning News   about the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. There was no psychobabble, just observations from years as a Federal agent and a CIA agent - and some personal experiences from everyday life. It has stood the test of time and the text is replicated in the next topic in this Outback. Of the 74 convictions overturned by DNA evidence, 80% were obtained by mistaken eyewitness testimony.

In the sniper case, there were eyewitnesses who saw the killers in a white van and a white truck, and who gave varying accounts of his (their) ethnicity. Eyewitnesses are an investigator's worst nightmare, unless they actually write down a license number correctly. When I was a Federal agent in Philly, even our investigators argued a lot about what kind of vehicle they saw a suspect driving. I contacted the PR departments of the major car makers in Detroit and compiled a "Vehicle Identification Book" which contained several views of all popular makes of American vehicles. It was adopted by the Treasury investigative branches. I got some kind of certificate for that effort and I think a check for 10 bucks. Wow, the perks of being a Federal agent.

Then there were the "expert" profilers. They never came close, as they kept saying that the shooter was a white guy.

A $500,000 reward was offered for information leading to the snipers. Given all the complexity of the tips and leads received in this case, there will no doubt be legal battles over the reward money. Count on one thing. Lawyers will get a substantial chunk of that money.

And now comes the cry from the gun-control folks about "assault weapons" like the Bushmaster XM15 semiautomatic .223 rifle used in the killings. On the NBC Evening News for Oct. 25, 2002, as they talked about the Bushmaster XM15, they actually showed a closeup of a "Colt AR- 15." They zoomed in tight on the Colt logo and the words "Colt AR-15." The gun used in the crimes was not a Colt AR-15. Defamation by association. Couldn't you at least borrow a Bushmaster from a gun dealer?

Then, without any logical extension of the discussion of "The Weapon," as the NBC segment was titled, they launched into a discussion about the "classified-ad loophole." There is no background check or paperwork involved in the sale of a gun through a newspaper ad. That's true, but what did it have to do with the subject of "The Weapon"? Nobody in law enforcement had yet speculated on how the shooter came into possession of the weapon. NBC was doing what all the anti-gun people do. They inserted a pet gun-control issue in the middle of an entirely different discussion.

Stephen Manning of The Associated Press, referred to the sniper rifle as a Bushmaster and in a later paragraph as an AR-15. Early Bushmasters were known as AR-15s (as it was a kind of generic term for all AR-16 look-alikes), but the weapon used in the crime was identified by police as a Bushmaster XM15.

The ArmaLite division of Fairchild developed the AR-15 in 1959. They later licensed the rifle to Colt and Colt AR-15s for the civilian market came out in about 1963. It was basically a civilian semiautomatic version of the AR-16 (.223 caliber) used by the military. The military AR-16 can be fired fully-automatic or in short bursts of about 3 rounds, depending upon the model. On a semiautomatic weapon, like the Bushmaster XM15, you must pull the trigger for each shot.

After the assault-weapon ban passed in Congress, the whole area of M-16/AR-15 look-alikes got very muddy, as manufacturers, including Bushmaster, tried to find a way to modify the basic weapon to put it outside the reach of the statute. The Colt AR-15 is no longer sold to the public, only to law enforcement, but there is a line of similar Colt weapons in the line today - under different names, such as the Match Target HBAR. The "assault weapon" ban is one of the most confusing - and useless - exercises in gun control in our history. I followed the debate very closely and wrote about it several times in major newspapers.

I dread to think how CBS covered this. I have seen their act - and lies and distortions - when it comes to semiautomatic weapons and gun-crime in general. For example, when they were on the semiautomatic assault-weapon ban kick, they fired a fully-automatic AK-47 on camera and said that was the kind of weapon that was to be banned. The rapid firing on camera was very dramatic. I have a very long memory. I will never forget, or forgive, that intentional bit of inflamation of the issue. Fully-automatic weapons had been regulated by the Feds since the days of Al Capone. The issue was a ban on semiautomatic weapons.

Only a minuscule percentage of semiautomatic rifles are ever used in a crime. When the politicians were beating their chests about banning "assault weapons," they focused on the imported AK-47 and look-alikes. In deference to killing American jobs, not much was mentioned about guns like the Ruger Mini-30, which is probably better than an AK-47, and the Ruger Mini- 14 (.223 caliber). The Mini-14 Ranch Rifle is very popular in the Outback for killing coyotes and other predators. Many law-enforcement departments use the Ruger Mini-14 (.223 caliber) in their weapons arsenal.There are many other domestic .223 semiautomatic and bolt-action rifles, of which about 99.99965 % percent will never be used in a crime.

The Bushmaster, Ruger Mini-14, AR-15, (.223 caliber) et al., are probably not the best choice for a one-shot sniper. A bolt-action rifle has a couple of advantages for a one-shot sniper. A better- grade bolt action rifle is probably more accurate than most semiautomatic weapons. Real police and military snipers use bolt-action rifles. With a semiautomatic Bushmaster, a Colt AR-15, a Ruger Mini-14 (.223 rifles), etc., a cartridge case is expelled after the round is fired. You either have to hunt around for it, and that can be a rather large area to cover, or leave it behind as evidence. With a bolt-action rifle, the cartridge stays in the chamber after a single shot, unless you cycle the bolt back to feed another cartridge. Apparently, some of the sniper shots came from inside the car trunk. That would contain the spent shell casing, but that was a pretty unique situation.

So, as we listen to the uproar over the "Bushmaster Assault Rifle," put it in perspective. Try to mentally delete the word "assault" and you will be closer to reality. It is largely a hunting and sporting weapon or used in law-enforcement. All guns are "assault weapons." We got into some ridiculous semantics years ago that produced some poorly-crafted legislation.

It took me over a day to finally get into the busy Bushmaster.com Web site to download their current XM15 rifle information. I wanted to make sure they were not selling a model called an AR-15, which as noted, is a Colt trademark. What this activity tells me is that they will have a hard time keeping up with demand. People will want the kind of weapon that became so famous.

I have a theory. I think that firing big-bore handguns and semiautomatic weapons at targets, especially those that break up or tip over, is a healthy release for frustrations and anxieties. This type of sport shooting probably prevents more acts of violence than it promotes. Try shooting at a one-gallon plastic milk jug filled with colored water - with a .45 pistol or .357 Magnum or a Bushmaster, Ruger, or Colt .223 rifle. You might be surprised at your reaction. Especially if you "hate" guns and have never fired one in your life - like so many of the journalists and do-gooders who write about the subject.

A pet peeve with media gun coverage: Several times this week, in talking about the police investigating the sniper case, reporters spoke of the police or Feds carrying "machine guns." It's a small point, buy they carry "sub-machineguns." Not so small a point if you compare a 9mm sub-machinegun to a military .50 caliber machine gun. The public often equates "machinegun" with the big military weapons. I refer all to my "Media Guide to Reporting on Guns and Gun Crime" at www.home.earthlink.net/~rickhgtx/mediagun.html, which was (is?) used by several major news outlets as a guide to reporters - many of whom have never held a gun in their hands. If you know a reporter, tell them to download my Guide. Thanks.

Most anti-gun people say that the 2nd Amendment "right to bear arms" relates only to the Militia, not to individual citizens. In the climate of fear from terrorists that we now live, each of us who owns, and is skilled in the use of, high-powered semiautomatic weapons is in fact part of your Militia. Granted, suicide bombers strike with stealth, and guns are not much of a defense. But, there are many other scenarios that could play out in a disarmed society. In a country that has millions of unidentified people roaming around with impunity. Think about that long and hard and what disarming legitimate gun owners might mean in the long term.

Eyewitness Testimony is Problematic

(The following is the text of an article I wrote in 1984)

By RICHARD C. RHODES

The Lenell Geter case has focused attention on eyewitness testimony. Of course, this is not the only case in which the reliability of such testimony has been called into question.

Courts are divided on the use of expert testimony concerning eyewitness accounts. Many judges say eyewitness testimony relates to matters within the common experience of jurors, and thus exclude testimony from psychologists and other such "experts."

I can share a judge's skepticism about having psychologists testify as experts in this area. Theories about memory and the effects of stress don't get to the heart of the question. A more realistic approach would be to seek expert testimony from people who have been involved on the street with the criminal justice process.

I don't agree that eyewitness testimony is within the "common experience of jurors." Most jurors have never given the matter a thought.

In the first place, there is a definite problem with cross-cultural identifications. The old saying by Caucasians that blacks "all look alike" to them is more truth than fiction. The reverse is also true.

Recently I made three trips to the same 7-Eleven to see if the Sunday New York Times  had arrived. The black woman behind the counter talked with me on each of the first two visits. I was wearing a leather jacket. On the third trip I had changed to a bright sport shirt. When I asked "Have they come?" she just stared at me. "The New York Times," I said.

"Oh," she said. "You changed your jacket." She didn't know me. She knew my jacket. Had I been a robber with a gun, she would have remembered the gun, possibly to the exclusion of all else.

Add in factors such as stress, poor lighting, fleeting glances, a long time interval since the event and you begin to see why eyewitness testimony is suspect.

As a young U.S. treasury agent, working in Philadelphia on cases involving the mob, I had to trail cars and conduct stakeouts. Not only did we often have trouble recognizing the people in the cars, but most of our agents had trouble identifying a Ford from a Chevy under stressful conditions. With the help of some folks in Detroit, I originated a "Vehicle Identification Book." Were we incompetent? No, just human.

Suffice it to say about my law enforcement experience that I have on many occasions been positive I had been identified in a particular operational situation, only to return and find I had not been recognized. Sometimes I made slight changes in my appearance, but I learned mainly to rely on the inability of most people to remember you for five minutes.

Have you ever been in a restaurant and asked the waiter, who had already been to your table three times, to find "your" waiter? It happens all the time.

Poeple think they "recognize" you in their daily brushes with you, but they know you in "context." That is, they know you when you are standing in "your" front yard, when you are driving "your" car, when you are wearing "your" normal clothing and so on.

Now, the piece de resistance.

Several years ago, I joined an athletic club. For months I jogged and walked and talked with an attractive young woman. For months! One day I asked her out for dinner. When I arrived at her house, she opened the door and recoiled as though she were frightened or surprised. "Something the matter? I asked.

"No. Not really. I just didn't recognize you with your clothes on."

If you ever serve on a jury and are asked to send someone to prison based solely on eyewitness testimony, I hope you will err on the side of skepticism. There are no doubt many innocent people in jail because jurors assumed too much about a witness' ability to remember what someone looked like.

Richard C. Rhodes is a Dallas author who served as a U.S. treasury agent and later as a CIA agent.

(Lenell Geter was a black man convicted of robbing a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Greenville, Texas. Only after "60 Minutes" on CBS brought attention to this case, did Mr. Geter get exonnerated. Actually, he was a graduate engineer and was completely innocent of the charges.)

(Now that DNA evidence is available, we find that of the 74 convictions overturned by DNA evidence, 80% were obtained by mistaken eyewitness testimony.)

How Do They Know That They Have Hit a Home Run?

In the World Series, Barry Bonds hit a home run 437 feet to center field. As the ball left his bat, he stood nearly motionless for a while, and then ambled down to first base. How did he know that the ball was a home run? If you have noticed, he is not alone. Most consistent home-run hitters pause after they hit a ball that is going out of the park by a decent margin. How do they know that the ball is a home run?

There are three factors. One is the sound the ball makes as it strikes the bat. There is an unmistakable sound when the ball hits full on the sweet part of the bat (about in the middle of the fat part). Second, is the feel transmitted to your hands and arms when you know you "got it all." Third, after a few hundred or thousand shots out of the park, there is a little computer in your brain that adds up the sound, the feel, the trajectory of the ball as it left the bat, the prevailing winds and the muscle memory of how it felt on previous home runs.

So, you stand there at home plate for a moment and say "Ain't that purty? I've done it again." I reviewed the most satisfying moments I had in playing six sports. The sound, feel, thrill, and satisfaction of hitting a home run is tops on my list.

Speaking of "muscle memory," this is why basketball players shoot the same shot thousands of times. Eventually, the body learns how it feels to make a certain shot instinctively. That also explains why a great floor shooter can have a 65% free-throw record. You get a chance to think at the free-throw line. The mind gets in the way of the body's learned activity of shooting a ball. That is also why football teams often take a time-out before another team attempts a field goal. They want the kicker to "think about missing." The bottom line. There is no room in sports for thinking. This shouldn't be much of a problem, given what we often hear in interviews with professional athletes.

Who Is Behind Door Number Two? Linda Gray?

Someday, I may post on my main Web page the story of my three years on the set of the TV show "Dallas" as an extra and my friendship with Linda Gray, Larry Hagman, and others. But, one story is so good that it stands on its own. This is for the grandkids file - to go along with all those VCR tapes with fleeting glimpses of Grandpa on "Dallas."

Linda Gray and I met and first spoke on the set of "Dallas" during a lull in the filming of the ballroom scenes. One night at a party honoring the director, Lenny Katzman, Linda was there with her son, Jeff. I chatted with them briefly. Then, I made one of my usual "off-the-wall" gestures. To a lady who was used to Caviar and Champagne, I said, "Let's go out for a pizza sometime." To which Linda replied, "I'd love to. Call me at the Mansion (a Dallas luxury hotel)."

Well, it is a long story. Out of town commitments for Linda on weekends, having to go to bed about 8:30 p.m. in order to make very early calls on the set, and so on. I sent a nice bouquet of flowers to her room. She called to thank me and we talked about how she might find time for the two of us to get together. We spoke often on the set of "Dallas." But, we never got together for that pizza. Actually, I had much better outings in mind. One was a romantic dinner at a French restaurant owned by a friend of mine.

Finally, I decided to give it my best shot. I wrote a note to Linda entitled "The Social Agenda for Sunday." In it I said that we would go to brunch at the finest place in Dallas. Then, we would attend a recital by a string quartet. Finally, we would end the day sitting by the pool at the country club drinking Champagne.

On Friday, I think it was, I drove to the Mansion and asked the desk clerk to put the note under Linda's door, since she might come in the back way and go right to her room. She agreed to have it done.

On Saturday, I got a call at home. The young lady, whose name I did not recognize, said that she did not think she knew me, but the schedule for Sunday sounded terrific. I asked her if her room was anywhere near Linda's room. She said that she was across the hall from Linda, and apparently the note had been slipped under her door by mistake. The young lady said that she thought Linda had been called out of town to make a PR appearance for "Dallas" and would not be in Dallas on Sunday. Bummer. Foiled again.

Then the surprise. "I am here producing a Pringle's commercial. I don't really know you, but the day you have planned seems so great, that I would like to take part with you." Since one of my best shots had gone astray, I thanked the young lady for her offer but said I'd rather not do that.

I've changed my mind. If the young lady who was doing the Pringle's commercial in Dallas at the Infomart reads this, I would like to spend a Sunday with you in Dallas. Call me. If you're not in a nursing home by now. That is, unless Linda wants to exercise her first option. I'll never know, unless she comes to Dallas. I don't get out much, especially to California.

If you think I make this stuff up, below is the photo Linda sent me.

The business about a "first kiss" came about this way. After a long day of shooting the "Dallas" ballroom scenes, Linda was saying goodnight and hugging a few of the cast and crew - and kissing a few on the cheek. I said, "Don't forget me." Linda walked over and kissed me on the mouth with more than a glancing blow. There were about 250 actors and extras in the ballroom. I reached for a tissue offered me by a makeup lady, but instead of wiping off the lipstick, I blotted the lipprint - and still have the tissue today. Quite some time later, I was in San Antonio, working on a book, and sent Linda one of my "head shots" my agent had taken of me. I signed it:

"Linda, In memory of our first kiss. Love, Richard."

And the above picture is what Linda sent back.

Actually, it is painful for me to look at the photo, considering what might have been. Linda, I will always love you. There, I finally got this off my chest. I'm not sure if I feel better or worse. Those were exciting times, never to be duplicated.

Dr. Phil and Road Rage

On a recent show, Dr. Phil ("Dr. Phil" on CBS) got up on his soapbox and ranted about as many evils in society as he could in one minute or so. Among them he talked about road rage and then said something like "and they let the people in my state (Texas) carry guns."

Here is the first sentence from a letter I wrote to Dr. Phil :

"I was a big fan of yours, Tex, until you made the ill-advised and unfounded comment about road rage and letting people in Texas carry guns."

I sent Dr. Phil a copy of my Outback comments of Sept. 30, 2002 (before he made the comments on TV about road rage) in which I noted that the alarmist predictions that people with concealed- weapons permits would engage in all kinds of road-rage shootings did not come to pass. I referred him to my long treatise on my Web page about the concealed-weapon law - to my Federal gun enforcement experience and 20 years of writing on the subject.

Finally, I suggested that rather than make off-the-wall statements about people with gun permits and road rage that he do a program about road rage. Get some of the road-rage folks on the show, and not to forget the women, and try to come up with some constructive solutions for road rage.

So, if Dr. Phil does a show on "Road Rage," you'll know where he probably got the idea. It would be a great show and help a lot of people - myself included. Have you driven in Dallas lately? Or Boston? Or Philly? I thought Rome and Paris were bad.

The Media Trial of Dr. Steven J. Hatfill

In the Outback of Aug. 31, 2002, I decried the treatment that Dr. Steven Hatfill was getting from the Justice Department and the media. He was being tried and convicted by the media. It was, and remains, a shameful chapter.

C-SPAN ran a symposium at the Columbia School of Journalism. It was devoted to the question of how the media has handled the anthrax investigation coverage. The meeting was chaired by Floyd Abrams, a respected First Amendment lawyer, whom I have quoted in the Outback in the past - and with whom I had some acquaintance years back.

On balance, the panel thought that the media coverage of the anthrax investigation was poor and in particular that it was way out of bounds when it came to the coverage of Dr. Steven Hatfill, whom the FBI coyly described as "a person of interest."

One of the panelists, who had not originally been invited to speak, was Pat Clawson. Mr. Clawson is a big, obese, loud, threatening, somewhat crude and plain-spoken man who for many years has been an investigative journalist and private investigator. He has acted as a spokesman for Dr. Hatfill.

Pat Clawson began his remarks with a scathing indictment of journalists today. He said that they were lazy, that they printed rumor and innuendo as fact - and on and on he ranted. I mostly agreed with what he had to say. He implored those present from the Columbia School of Journalism to do the street work required to write a good story, not to sit around waiting for a press-release, or a press conference, a leak, or a handout and then reporting on it as gospel. All points well taken by me and many in the TV audience, I am sure.

Mr. Clawson was specific in some complaints. He pointed to a NEWSWEEK story about the use of bloodhounds to track a scent of anthrax. The story said that the hounds "went crazy" when they got around Hatfill's place. As Clawson and one other panel member of stature noted, bloodhounds sit quietly when they have identified a scent. They don't "go crazy." This was one of many stories that were either discredited or seriously challenged by Mr. Clawson and the panel.

Mr. Floyd Abrams, whom I greatly admire, is teaching the kiddos at Columbia about First Amendment rights. Maybe he can add a subtext to his classes about learning to develop sources and verifying information from more than one source - and not to print as gospel anything handed out as a press release, or heard at a press conference. Yes, most of today's reporters are lazy. That is how we get so much garbage printed and seen and heard on TV as "fact."

Maybe Pat Clawson should go on the road lecturing to every major journalism class in the country. He could even threaten to break their kneecaps if he ever caught them reporting rumor or innuendo as fact. And they would believe him. He is a scary guy. We need some scary guys pulling much of the media up by their lapels and slapping some sense into them. The feel-good, we-are-out-to-save-the-world, journalism schools don't seem to be doing their job. The reporting on Dr. Steven Hatfill - even if he turns out to be guilty - will for decades become a case study of journalism at its worst.

Future Attorney Generals and FBI directors should also use the Hatfill case as a textbook study of the evils of leaking investigative information to the press.

"Doctor" Hatfill claimed a Ph.D. from Rhodes University in South Africa, which he did not have. (I am not connected with Rhodes University, which was no doubt named after Cecil Rhodes, the founder of Rhodesia.) His resume apparently also claimed a medical degree from a Rhodesian university, which he did receive. He lied about his military service. Among other things, he claimed to have been a member of the U.S. Special Forces, which he was not. But, he never did work with anthrax in a lab. So, all we know for sure is that he is brilliant scientist and a liar.

Whoever sent the anthrax letters, one thing is certain. He or she targeted, among others, two U.S. Senators who have a lot of enemies, Sens. Leahy and Daschle. So, that would narrow the list of suspects to about 100 million people. Now you know why the FBI is not making more progress in the investigation.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Richard C. Rhodes

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