Putting together issue 49 was a lot of fun. After all, we have the best talent online. Oddly, it didn’t even register that the next issue would be a milestone. It never even occurred to me what that meant until a few weeks ago. And that’s when I sat up and took notice. Hey, this is our fiftieth issue! So what does that mean exactly?

Some say the world is getting better; others say it’s the worst it has ever been in the history of civilization. Hard to believe it’s the worst. The Black Death killed two thirds of the world’s population. Because there was no way to spread news like today, people got away with murder, rape, you name it. Before fingerprinting was invented, convictions were based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence.

If you’re Christian it’s a person at conception. If you’re just moral it’s a person once it forms fingers, toes and a face. If you’re a democrat it’s a welfare check. If you’re republican, it’s a means to control a woman’s place. Women still make only 56% of a man’s salary doing the exact same job. Oh yeah . . . we’re all equal. Just sayin’!

When the verdict was read, that’s when all hell broke loose! South Central became the scene of riots, fires, and deaths. I remember. I witnessed it as a passenger in a friend’s car while on the freeway peering into the war zone, where violence and looting erupted almost instantaneously upon the broadcast news that four out of the five cops were found “not guilty.” The Blacks of Los Angeles had finally had enough!