ABC's #1 flip-top head converts
Damn Canadian. *snickers*
Jennings Becomes an American
Canadian-born ABC News anchor Peter Jennings says he had long pondered becoming a U.S. citizen but was finally moved to do so, in part, by a newfound "sense of community" he felt after the Sept. 11 attacks on America. "There's only one absolutely practical reason to become a citizen, and that's to vote," Jennings, who turns 65 later this month, said Tuesday.
"It's an emotional decision you make," he said. "I've been here a long time, I have a lot to be thankful for, I have a deep love for the country.
It certainly has a lot to do with gratitude." Jennings took his formal oath as a U.S. citizen during a routine swearing-in ceremony on May 30 but did not go public with the news until this week. Jennings said he had contemplated U.S. citizenship for "many, many years," but acknowledged "it would not have made my mother happy." That problem vanished after her death a number of years ago, he said. Jennings' national origin emerged as an issue last summer when country music star Toby Keith was dropped from the performance lineup of a Jennings-hosted July Fourth music special on ABC.
Keith accused the network of dumping him because of Jennings' objections to the strident lyrics in the hit song he wanted to perform. As a result, Jennings and his Canadian citizenship became targets of scorn leveled on talk radio shows and the Internet.
--(Reuters) (Hollywood Reporter, 7/9/03)
courtesy Ideanet
