• Lance Armstrong maligned; Hurricane Katrina Lance Armstrong maligned; Hurricane Katrina The Indianapolis Star, Aug. 29, 2005 Cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has performed miraculous feats both on and off the bicycle. But it may
• Lance Armstrong maligned; Hurricane Katrina
Lance Armstrong maligned; Hurricane Katrina
The Indianapolis Star, Aug. 29, 2005
Cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has performed miraculous feats both on and off the bicycle. But it may be beyond the ability of this incredible athlete to disprove a negative — that he didn’t cheat by using a red blood-cell booster in 1999.
Never mind that the charges against him are being made by a French sporting tabloid that has never hidden its dislike of Armstrong. Or that its evidence of doping is contained in coded tests of six-year-old frozen urine samples by a lab whose testing procedures and chain of custody can’t be authenticated. Or that the lab’s testing procedures for the banned substance, which sometimes generates false positives, were experimental.
The seeds of doubt have been sown. One of the world’s most tested and scrutinized athletes is being judged guilty until proven innocent, although no other test has shown he cheated in any other competition, including six other Tours.
But until far firmer evidence is produced against Armstrong than what the French sports daily L’Equipe is pedaling, we’ll continue believing in what millions of fans have seen and celebrated — a gifted athlete over-coming deadly cancer and torturous mountains to reach the top of his sport.
The Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester, N.Y., August 30, 2005
Katrina’s too genteel a name for the calamity that struck the Gulf Coast. In the hours and days ahead, people from Alabama to Texas will have to pull together with uncommon courage.
State and federal governments must lead the way. Homeland Security was created in part to coordinate the work of federal agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The new department performed well in the evacuation. But the harder work lies ahead.
President Bush has pledged aid to the vast areas affected by this storm. The price tag could top $20 billion. The cost must not deter either the president or the Congress.
And both must deal with the inevitable impact on oil prices from this storm, which disabled Gulf Coast refineries. …
It has taken south Florida years to recover from 1992’s Hurricane Andrew. Katrina might not have quite that impact. But it surely was storm enough to evoke our sympathy and new commitments from government.
