Vol. 3
No. 49 -- December 21, 2009
The Best of
Times,
The Worst of Times
It is the last Christmas season of the
first decade of the new
millennium. In a little over a
week, it will be 2010. Amazing.
And what can one say about the
now-fading millennial decade? One
is tempted to evoke Charles Dickens :
"It was the best of times, it was
the worst of times." Unfortunately, it
seems as if there was a lot more
of the "worst" than of the "best." The
decade started with a crazy
presidential election and hanging chads
in Florida. The terror
attacks of 9/11 were less than a year
later. Wars in Afghanistan, Iraq
and Capitol Hill soon followed. On
a personal level, it was a
decade of great personal loss: my
colleague John Katich and my best
friend's father in 2001, my
sister-in-law Linda in 2002, my
mother-in-law Rita Fillman, father
Arthur Southard and cousin Joe
Fillman in 2006, my wife Jan in
2007, my colleague Christy
Bradford in 2008, and my friend Larry
Schmitz this year. While
all were painful losses, I am sure you
will understand when I say that
the sudden loss of my
wife remains the most
difficult tragedy
with which I have had to cope. However,
as I indicated at the outset,
there is a Dickensesque flip-side.
I am in a much better frame of
mind this Christmas season than I have
been since Jan's passing.
The passage of time and the loving
support of friends, family and
colleagues have helped me adjust to a
much different life than I had
known. My daughter has been a
major part of my "recovery."
Helping her has helped me and vice
versa. I am also in a growing
and satisfying relationship which has
helped me find peace. I
don't know what the future will bring.
But at least I am looking
ahead toward it. (Oh, by the way: If
Nostradameus, the Mayans and Incas
were correct, the world is supposed to
end three years from today.
Therefore, the future may not be what it
is cracked up to be.) As for
the millennial decade now ending, it was
the best of times, it was the
worst of times - and now it is over.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 48 -- December 13, 2009
Not in My
Name
Sadly, you usually do not find the words
sports
and journalism
in the same sentence. Too often,
sports reporters believe their
journalist responsibility is limited to
that which happens on the field
or court of competition. When
sport leaves the arena and moves
into the business or social aspects of
real life, these so-called
reporters are often reduced to either
unfounded speculation or mindless
cheerleading. That's why I like to
watch ESPN's Outside
the Lines,
a serious attempt to peel away the
rah-rah and to expose the sports
world for what it really is. This
morning's edition of OTL
was particularly enlightening. It
showed how Florida State's
football program has made a mockery of
higher education. For
example, OTL reported that
FSU, a school where the grade point
average of incoming freshmen is
3.7, admitted a football player on a
special waiver with an IQ of 60.
Through a cozy relationship with
an off-campus psychologist using
questionable methodology, OTL
also reported that more than one-third
of the football team and
three-quarters of the basketball team
have been diagnosed with learning
disabilities (LD). "By comparison,
experts estimate that 5 to 10
percent of the general adult population
has a learning disability,"
reported ESPN's Tom Farrey. With the LD
designation, these so-called
student athletes are granted special
privileges and the use of
resources not available to other
students. According to OTL,
FSU was able to play fast and loose with
academics until the NCAA
identified 61 Seminole athletes in an
academic-fraud scandal that
included "access to test answers and
tutors who edited and typed
papers." Head football coach Bobby
Bowden, who denies any
responsibility in the matter, is seeking
to have 14 vacated football
victories reinstated. I know
college athletics is big business.
I also know that special
accommodations are often made for
student athletes. But the scope of
the farce committed at FSU is
shocking. Does it happen here at
KU? I honestly don't think
so. I know that the Athletic
Department actively monitors the
classroom attendance and progress of its
student athletes. While
I have not witnessed any evidence of
academic malfeasance in my 19
years on campus, I also remember that
the Jayhawk football program was
placed on probation and lost
scholarships a couple of years ago for a
similar "loss of institutional control."
While KU's transgression
did not approach the scope the FSU
scandal, any
violation of NCAA rules is unacceptable
- not in my name. It may come
as a surprise to deep-pocketed wannabes,
boosters, vendors and
erstwhile athletic supporters.
However, the academic integrity of
any university is infinitely more
important than bowl-bids and
NCAA-tourney spots. As for Bobby
Bowden, who retires after his
team's New Year's Day bowl game, don't
expect me to get teary-eyed
about the end of his legendary career.
While some sports reporters may
evoke memories of FSU glory and speak
wistfully of the end of an era, I
will sum up my feelings about Bowden in
two words: good riddance.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 47 -- December 4, 2009
Big Lew
Mark Mangino was fired, er, excuse me,
resigned as head football coach
at the University of Kansas last night
after allegations that he had
been abusive to his players. The
decision to resign came after
the Kansas University Athletics
Corporation - which I will from this
point on will
refer to as "Big Lew" in homage to KU
Athletics Czar Lew Perkins -
conducted a secret internal
investigation into allegations of player
abuse. The alleged investigation
was the "stick" that Big Lew
used to force the Big Guy to accept the
"carrot" - a contract buyout.
If Big Lew had fired Mangino
without cause, the coach would have
received a $6.2 million golden parachute
under the terms of his
contract. Were there instances
of abuse of players by the
coach, or was this really about the
Athletic Czar's lust for power?
Perkins didn't hire Mangino.
Certainly, a seven-game losing
streak to end the season didn't help the
Big Guy's case. It also
hurt Big Lew's fund-raising efforts to
build the Gridiron Club, a
palace for the well-connected. Never
mind that any fool could have told
you that you don't launch a
gazillion-dollar fund-raising effort in
the
midst the deepest recession in nearly 80
years. However, it is
likely we will not get any answers to my
question. Big Lew operates as
a private corporation with few
disclosure requirements. This legal
dodge is, of course, a joke. How can
anyone with a straight face
suggest that a corporation using public
facilities at a public
university is private? More than that,
Big Lew also uses - some say
exploits - student athletes in order to
financially support some of the
highest administrative and coaching
salaries in all of intercollegiate
athletics. Big Lew also uses the
"Kansas" brand to raise money for
fat-cat boosters to sit in
climate-controlled comfort while KU
administrators face the prospect of
slicing academic programs because
of a budget shortfall. Does the
word obscenity
come to mind? It is time that the Kansas
Attorney General challenge Big
Lew's claim that KUAC is a private
corporation operating outside of
public oversight. The current
system of intercollegiate athletics
in this country is a breeding ground for
nepotism, cronyism and fraud.
In the end, this is not about Mark
Mangino's shotgun buyout.
It is about the people's right to
know what is being done in
their name.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 46 -- December 1, 2009
Tiger's
Tale
I have resisted the urge to pile on
Tiger Woods for the past four days.
Everyone, included gifted
athletes, makes dumb mistakes.
In fact, Tiger has acknowledged
that his post-Thanksgiving run-in
with a fire hydrant and a tree near his
Florida home was just that - a
dumb mistake. I don't necessarily
disagree with his desire to keep this
embarrassing moment "a private matter."
In a statement released by
Woods on Sunday, the beleaguered golfer
said, "Although I understand
there is curiosity, the many false,
unfounded and malicious rumors that
are currently circulating about my
family and me are irresponsible."
Woods went on to say, "I deserve some
privacy no matter how intrusive
some people can be." But here's the rub.
Curiosity aside,
reasonable people can question
whether Woods and his supermodel
wife lied to the police. The facts, as
presented to the police,
do not ring true. And after three
attempts to interview Woods to
clear up discrepancies in his account,
the golfer and his lawyer have,
in essence, told police that they will
get no further cooperation from
him. He is within his rights to take
this position - if
he did not initially lie to police.
But if he did, this becomes a
criminal matter. And that's why I feel
compelled to speak out. Tiger
should remember that folks like Al
Capone, Martha Stewart and
Scooter Libby did not go to prison for
the crimes for which they were
initially investigated. They went
to jail because they lied to
the authorities. Legal issues aside,
Woods and his attorneys are
foolishly engaging in wishful thinking
if they believe they can
"control" this story. Woods needs to get
out ahead of it, much like
David Letterman did when faced with an
alleged extortion plot. Sure,
Letterman had to air the dirty laundry
about his relationship with a Late Show
staffer. But the storm quickly passed.
Until Tiger has his Oprah
or Barbara Walters moment, his
reputation is going to bleed from a
thousand tiny cuts. I would like
to believe that Woods is
faithful to his wife and a man of good
character. If he is that
man, then why not clear the air? And if
he has made a very human
mistake, don't compound it by first
lying about it then trying to
obscure it with silence. While it
is certainly true that Woods
risks damaging his reputation by
admitting to any human failings he may
have, there's something to be said for
dealing with the consequences of
one's own actions. There's an old
saying in law enforcement
circles: If you do the crime, you do the
time.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 45 -- November 19, 2009
Culver Kidd
I have been reminded that today is the
146th anniversary of Lincoln's
Gettysburg Address - perhaps the
greatest oratory in American history.
However, whenever I think of
November 19, I remember a day 33
years ago. It was on that date
that Culver Kidd, a powerful
Georgia legislator representing the
district in which I lived and
worked, was indicted on federal
influence pedaling charges. At
the time, I was news director of WXLX-AM
in Milledgeville. I'd
like to think that I had earned a
reputation as a tough, but fair
reporter. In that capacity, I had
a professional relationship
with Senator Kidd. It is because
of that relationship that on the
day he was indicted -- this day 33 years
ago -- Senator Kidd called me
to tell me to inform me of his legal
difficulties. In a recorded
interview with him, the embattled
senator gave me the
most memorable quote of my
journalism career: "Dave, I want to the
tell the people of Milledgeville, the
people of Baldwin County, the
people of Georgia and the people of the
United States that Culver Kidd
has done nothing wrong. We have never
done anything wrong. We are
beyond reproach." The senator went on
trial in an Atlanta federal court
about six months later and beat the rap.
Kidd was later indicted
on federal conspiracy charges, and
President Jimmy Carter actually
testified against him. Once again, he
beat the rap. Culver Kidd served
in Georgia's legislature for 42 years.
The feds couldn't beat
him, but redistricting did. Culver Kidd
was denied the Democratic
nomination in the 1992 primary. He
died three years later at the
age of 81. The Culver Kidd I knew
was a powerful - potentially
dangerous - man with a compassionate
side and a fondness of loud
clothing and strong cologne. As I
journalist, I have had the
privilege of meeting a lot of famous
people, including two future
presidents (Carter and Clinton) and a
lot governors. However, the most
interesting politician I ever met was
Culver Kidd. After all, he was
"beyond reproach."
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 44 -- November 11, 2009
Incrementalism
As we today commemorate the service -
past and present - of the men and
women who have served our nation in
uniform, a drama is playing itself
out in the White House. We have
been led to believe that the
Obama administration is about to
announce a decision on America's
future course in Afghanistan. Different
versions of what are supposedly
the President's options have been
leaking out for days. CBS News
reported Monday that Obama has decided
to send 40,000 troops spread out
over a year or so. CNN reports
this morning that there are four
options on the table, including the
deployment of 33,000 troops in
various stages to the most troubled
spots of that loose confederation
of tribes and thugs we laughingly refer
to as a nation. Of course, the
White House is denying all of this -
despite the likelihood that it is
the source of the leaked reports.
I suspect the White House
doesn't know how to navigate the waters
between expediency and
necessity. I know it is not fashionable
to praise former President
George W. Bush, but his surge strategy
in Iraq worked. It was based on
the idea of a massive infusion of troops
at once. This is in
sharp contrast to the incremental
approaches the current administration
is considering. To me, that's little
more than throwing a six foot rope
to a man drowning 10 feet off shore and
claiming to have met him more
than half way. Let's be clear on this
point: This is no longer George
Bush's war. Barrack Obama is now in
charge. As I have already
stated in this space (Vol. 3
No. 35),
I do not favor halfway measures when it
comes to risking the lives of
our young men and women - especially in
the ungovernable cesspool that
Afghanistan has become. Let's drop the
pretense of building a free and
democratic society. And it is not like
we can bomb the Taliban into the
Stone Age. For them, that would be
progress. Instead, we should
punish those jihadist bastards by
killing as many of them and those who
supported them as we can, declare
victory, and come home. This is
not incrementalism, Mr. President.
It is common sense.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 43 -- November 9, 2009
A
Slice of American
Pie
In his ode to rock and roll history,
American Pie,
Don McLean wrote that the "players
tried to take the field, but the
marching band refused to yield." Last
Saturday, I witnessed such a
spectacle in Jefferson City, Missouri.
I traveled to the Show Me state
capital to watch my nephew's Kentucky
Wesleyan College Panthers take on
the Lincoln University Blue Tigers in
Division III football action.
I wouldn't say that pigskin
fever gripped the LU campus - the
band members outnumbered the rest of
the home crowd on a glorious
Saturday afternoon. Perhaps the fact
that the home team hadn't won a
game this season had something to do
with it. However, I wasn't
prepared for what happen after a
fairly normal halftime show - marred
only by the lady band P.A. announcer
who was compelled to squawk over
the band's performance. Halftime may
have been over, but the Big Blue
Tiger Band wasn't done. Instead,
the drum line formed a
gauntlet through which band
members danced their way into the
stands to the drummers' rhythmic beat.
It was cool - for the
first five minutes. Unfortunately,
this sideshow went on for another 15
minutes after that. It continued
past the second half kickoff. At
one point, a game official had
to tell the band's director to
tone it down or face an
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
(I was
told that the band had been penalized
two years earlier for that very
infraction.) The volume of the drums
subsided, but the "Dancing with
the Stars" routine continued for
another five minutes. Once the
band exited the playing field, it
disappeared for the rest of the third
quarter. Not another note was heard
until midway in the fourth quarter
when, for a moment, it looked like the
home team had scored a
touchdown. The band broke into
what I assume was the school fight
song - paying no attention to the
touchdown being nullified by a
holding penalty. Then, inexplicably,
the band launched into a series of
show tunes that had absolutely no
connection to anything happening on
the field. It was a surreal experience
- a place where the band bullies
the football team. I guess that
explains why the Blue Tigers still
haven't won any games.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 42 -- November 3, 2009
Obama's
Landslide:
One Year Later
It has been a year since the memorable
election of 2008. One year
since Barrack Obama accepted the
congratulations and adoration of a
million people in the Chicago night. One
year since the Republican
Party was declared dead on arrival.
What a difference a year
makes. Republicans tonight
reclaimed the governorships of
Virginia and New Jersey - two states
that were decidedly blue just a
year ago. Does this mark the beginning
of a Republican revival?
Possibly. It is hard to tell because the
Democrats fielded severely
flawed candidates in both states. Is it
the beginning of the end for
President Obama? Probably not,
considering that a poll released today
said he still has a 54 percent approval
rating among the American
people. If anything, tonight's
election results should give pause
to Democrats, who are frittering away a
historic opportunity to realign
the body politic. Much of Obama's
ambitious agenda remains in limbo,
despite large Democratic majorities in
both houses of Congress. The
Democratic leadership - if that's the
proper word to describe the
bungling Harry Reid and Nancy
Pelosi - are courting electoral
disaster. The only thing that may
save Democrats from themselves
is the civil war raging among
Republicans. As for President
Obama, I still support him. While his
has been far from a virtuoso
performance, he still has three years
and three months left in his term
of office. Judging him on less
than a year in office - and
over-analyzing off-year election results
- is ridiculous. The
reasons I left my own party to support
his candidacy (see Vol. 2 No. 26)
are still valid. However,
President Obama's best chance of
success is to continue to pursue a
bipartisan path. If this means
moderating some of his proposals,
especially in the area of health
care, so be it. The zealots on the right
and the left may not follow
his lead, but the American people will.
In fact, they are already
there in the political middle. If the
Democrats and Republicans in
Congress do not abandon their bickering
and do not start attending to
the people's business, incumbents on
both sides of the aisle may be in
for a bloodletting in next year's
midterm elections.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 41 -- October 27, 2009
Welcome to
My New
Home
You may not have noticed - especially if
you clicked in from my KU Web
site - that Snapping Turtle
has a new home with its own URL:
snappingturtle.us. I made the move to
a new server yesterday for three
reasons. The main reason for the
move from the University of Kansas
server to a private site was an
effort to preserve my political and
legal independence. Please
let me make it clear that no one - and I
mean no one - suggested I make
this move. Nor has KU been anything but
an amiable computer host of my
Web activity since 1997. However,
it occurred to me that if
anyone at the university should have a
objection to any of these
commentaries, someone might try to pull
the plug on the grounds that
this blog falls outside KU's intended
mission. The creation of
the separate Snapping Turtle Web site
allows me to separate personal
matters from my academic life, thus
removing potential potholes from
the road ahead. The addition of this new
Web site also affords me
additional server space, allowing me to
upload future video content.
And yes, since I teach Strategic
Communication, the idea of
branding this blog with its own URL is
appealing. I will continue to
maintain my KU Web site and it will
continue to link to this blog.
I intend to weave the two Web
sites together through hyperlinks.
For most people, this will be a seamless
transition. While I have
technically and legally distanced myself
from KU in the administration
of this blog, everything else will
remain the same. I'd like to
think that the people who grace this
site come away with a belief that
it was time well spent. If nothing
else, I hope it gives my
visitors something to ponder. And if I
brought to them a smile - or at
least a knowing nod - then it is worth
the effort.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 40 -- October 20, 2009
Garbage In,
Garbage
Out
The hot story on the Internet and in the
liberal media outlets today is
the 30 Republican senators who voted
against Senator Al Franken's
(D-Minn.) amendment to an appropriations
bill. The amendment
denies defense contracts to companies
that force their employees to
take sexual assault allegations to
private arbitration - a process that
stacks the deck in favor of companies.
The amendment is based on the
2005 gang rape of a Halliburton/KBR
worker in Iraq. Because the
rape occurred on foreign soil, it was
outside U.S. legal jurisdiction.
To add insult to injury, the employee
was unable to sue Halliburton/KBR
because of the conditions of her
contract. The Franken amendment passed
the Senate 68-30, with all of the
opposition coming from Republican
lawmakers. Their argument - one I
don't fully understand - is
that the government shouldn't interfere
in private contracts. On
principle, I understand their concern.
However, I think
that any contract involving the people's
money, even that which passes
through an intermediary such as
Halliburton/KBR, is
the people's business. That is
where I find myself in agreement
with liberals critical of the GOP.
However, being on the right
side of the issue was not good enough.
Liberals have been quick
to skewer the GOP for taking such a
dogmatic approach. They have
created a mock Web site,
www.republicansforrape.org. But while
liberals
demagogue this issue, they need to check
all of the facts.
According
to the Huffington Post,
the so-called "Republicans for Rape" had
an important ally: The Obama
Administration. It seems that the
President's own Defense Department
sent a message of opposition to the
amendment on October 6. "The
Department of Defense, the prime
contractor, and higher tier
subcontractors may not be in a position
to know such things," the Obama
Administration told the Senate.
"Enforcement would be problematic." The
DoD went on to suggest that different
legislation, that which would
make all
such contractual
restrictions illegal, might be a more
appropriate remedy. So, I
ask my liberal friends: When can I click
on the "Obama for Rape" Web
site? Then there's news that
Democrats locked Republicans out of
the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee room because the
GOP had the gall to videotape a public
meeting of the committee - one
the Dems had failed to attend. The
Republicans are trying to
force an investigation of alleged
sweetheart deals made by Countrywide
Mortgage to - wait for it - Democrat
lawmakers. The morale of our
story: A pox on both their houses.
Neither liberals or
conservatives, Democrats or Republicans,
red staters or blue staters
have the corner on moral leadership.
Until they sit down and engage
each other in meaningful
political debate, the story in
Washington will remain the same it has
been for a generation: Garbage in,
garbage out.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 39 -- October 14, 2009
No
Competition,
No Service
I have had a couple of reminders this
week of just how bad customer
service is when there is no competition.
My first experience was
with a mini-Axis of Evil: the University
of Kansas IT department, KU's
human resources department and the
personnel folks at the State of
Kansas. To make a long story
short, I spent close to two hours
trying to do something that should have
taken only 10 minutes. Through
a combination of poorly designed
software, badly written e-mails and a
series of seemingly endless
closed-looped voice mails, I struggled
to
complete my reporting responsibilities
in connection with the open
enrollment period for state employee
health insurance. It's not
like I was trying to change my health
insurance coverage. No, some
genius somewhere decided that I had to
file a declaration that I do not
smoke cigars, cigarettes or Tiparillos.
And I have to file such a
declaration every stinkin' year. If I
don't, the state automatically
increases my health insurance payments.
I am not certain which
offends me most, the Bumbling Bozos of
Bureaucracy who turn the
simplest task into a latter-day Spanish
Inquisition or the presumption
that I am a foolhardy tobacco fiend
until I declare otherwise.
Meanwhile, I am writing this blog
while waiting for my Internet
and cable television provider to restore
service to my home. The
nice lady at the cable company - for
whom I had to wait five minutes in
Muzak Hell before she finally came on
the line - tells me her service
people will get on my problem. Right
away. Tomorrow. Sometime in the
afternoon. Maybe. Do you think I would
be treated this way if the
mini-Axis of Evil and my Internet/cable
provider had real competition
for my dollars? For all of you
folks who like the idea of a
"public option" in health care reform,
you may want to re-think that
strategy.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 38 -- October 9, 2009
A Tarnished
Honor
If the United States government heaped
praise on a foreign leader for
things he has promised to do in the
future, gave that leader a
medal and awarded him or her a $1.4
million cash award, the U.S. would
be accused of meddling in the internal
affairs of another nation.
That, in essence, is what the
people who award the Nobel Peace
Prize have done in giving this year's
prize to President Barrack Obama.
Geir Lundestad, director of the
Norwegian Nobel Institute, told "Good
Morning America" this morning, "We
feel he has emphasized
multilateral diplomacy, he has addressed
international institutions,
dialogue negotiations. He has inspired
the world with his vision of a
world without nuclear arms. He has
changed the U.S. policy
dramatically. There's a whole list."
Impressive, especially when you
consider that Obama had been in office
only 11 days when the
nominations for this year's prize
closed. So, we are giving the Peace
Prize for good intentions? By that
standard, George W. Bush, the
compassionate conservative, would have
earned the 2001 Peace Prize.
After all, his first 11 days
weren't all that bad. Don't
get me wrong. I voted for Obama
(Vol. 2 No. 26). I want the
guy to succeed. I still support
him. I just wonder how
things are going to look in Oslo in
December when Obama accepts his
prize in the shadow of ongoing U.S.
military operations in Afghanistan?
The Nobel Peace Prize, which was
severely diminished with the 2007
award to Earth Tone Al Gore (Vol. 1, No.
3), has been further devalued
by this clumsy political statement.
Sure, I am pleased that
President Obama won the Nobel Peace
Prize. I only wish he had
earned it.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 37 -- October 6, 2009
The
All-Purpose
Apology
It sure seems like a lot of folks
recently have found themselves making
embarrassing public apologies for bad
behavior. David Letterman
has joined Kanye West, Serena Williams,
Mark Sanford and Joe Wilson
(half-heartedly) for trying to explain
away inappropriate behavior.
The so-called celebrity
apology has become a cottage industry.
Hardly a day goes by without a
high-profile mea culpa. As a
public relations practitioner
specializing in crisis
communications, I have realized
that I am
in a special position to perform a
valuable public service. So, if you
find
yourself on the wrong side of bad
publicity, please feel free to use
the following all-purpose apology. Just
pick-and-choose the options (in
blue) that fit the
particulars of your sticky situation: "Recently,
I did [something bad]
with/to/for/from/at [someone
I
now wish I never met]. I was
[wrong/stupid/misguided/drunk].
For that I apologize. I [promise/pledge/hope/pray]
to never do that again. It is
with the
strength of [God/Allah,/Jehovah,/my
shrink] that I will get
through the difficult [days/months/weeks/litigation]
ahead. There is really no reason
to dwell on my [situation/misery/transcript/videotape/arrest
report/paternity
test]. As I move forward from
this [incident/tragedy/conviction/divorce],
I believe that I have become a better
[man/woman/weasel/inmate].
I
hope the public and the media will [respect
my
family's privacy/burn in hell for
tormenting me/will suffer
collective amnesia]. Thank
you for [understanding/nothing]."
And
if you use my all-purpose apology, let
me know how that works
for you! You can [thank/pay]
me later.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 36 -- October 5, 2009
With All
Due Respect
I am not in the habit of telling
four-star generals to "shut your
yap." However - and with respect -
that is my message to General
Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S.
commander in Afghanistan. McChrystal,
who took on the Army's hottest job in
June, recently sent a report to
the Pentagon that has stirred up a
hornet's nest in Washington.
In it, he said he needs up to
40,000 more troops in Afghanistan
to carry out his mission. McChrystal
said inaction risks failure. I
have no problem with the candor of his
report. The President -
the Commander in Chief - requires the
best - a/k/a most honest - advice
from all of his advisers. Anyone who
surrounds himself with a bunch of
"yes men" is a fool. Nor do I
necessarily dispute his advice.
As I stated in my September 30
post, the U.S. needs to either
take decisive action or go home. My
problem with General McChrystal is
that he has gone outside his chain of
command to lobby for his
position. "We need to reverse current
trends, and time does matter," he
said in a London speech last week.
"Waiting does not prolong a
favorable outcome." He then made
the same point in a 60 Minutes
interview. I may not have gone to West
Point - and I have nothing but
respect for those who have.
However, I know that complaints go
up
the chain of command, not down.
McChrystal's is an important
voice which deserves President Obama's
attention. However, the
President is obliged to listen to other
voices, as well. That
includes the concerns of the people who
elected him. President
Obama has some very tough decisions to
make. It doesn't help when
one of his field commanders, no matter
how well-intentioned, goes
outside of channels to pressure his
boss. My advice to the good
general is to give the President his
best advice and then give the man
some room to make a decision. I also
suggest he take some time to
Google the name "Douglas MacArthur."
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3
No. 35 -- September 30, 2009
Obama's
Choice
I do not know with moral certainty that
all wars are immoral. But
I do know that half-hearted attempts are
waging war are. To use a poker
term, when you go to war, you have to go
"all in." You do not
place the young men and women of our
nation in harm's way if the
objectives are not clear and public and
congressional support is
wavering. President Obama is
huddled with his national security
advisers today trying to determine our
future course in
Afghanistan. As a counterpoint to
these discussions, we hear some
Democrats using the "Q" word, quagmire,
and the "V" word, Vietnam,
while urging us to cut-and-run.
Afghanistan is not Vietnam, nor is it
even Iraq. We know why we are
fighting there: They are the
bastards that harbored the scum that
killed our people on 9/11. I have
no problem bombing the crap out of the
Taliban or even the civilians
near them. When you are at war,
everyone is a combatant.
Certainly, our enemies feel this way. It
is regretful that so many
civilians died during the Second World
War. But does anyone
seriously believe that the defeat of
Fascism wasn't in our best
interests? Would we have hastened
victory - or made it an
unlikely outcome - if we had not been
willing to bomb military targets
surrounded by civilians? Remember
how the 1973 Vietnam Peace
Accords came about? Nixon bombed
the crap out Hanoi until the
North Vietnamese cried "uncle." Of
course, North Vietnam
eventually prevailed. But that
outcome was guaranteed when
Congress removed all real threat of
retaliation against treaty
violations with the passage of the War
Powers Act. Vietnam
provides another lesson from which we
should learn: By limiting the
scope of ground operations to south of
the border, we placed ourselves
in a defensive position and needlessly
sacrificed young American
lives. As I see it, President
Obama has two options. The first is
to go "all in" and commit the troops and
the weapons - including
nuclear weapons - necessary to clean out
that rat's nest of a nation.
And if that means pursuing the bastards
into weasel-infested Pakistan,
so be it. The second choice is to
bring the troops home
now. Halfway measures being
considered, such as those proposed by
Vice President Joe Biden, will
accomplish nothing but to squander the
resources of our nation and spill the
blood of our heroes.
That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
X |
Vol. 3 No. 34 --
September 22, 2009
The Loyal Opposition
Dole Institute of
Politics Director Bill Lacy asked the
most telling question of the
evening - "Where is the intellectual
center of the Republican Party?"
Lacy tonight moderated the 2009 Muncy
Journalism and Politics Lecture
at the Institute. He moderated a
discussion with Kathryn Jean
Lopez, online editor of the National
Review, and Stephen Dinan,
head of the Washington Times
congressional bureau. The theme
of tonight's lecture was "The
Loyal Opposition," and focused on the
role of conservative media during
a period that liberals are in control
of Congress and the White House.
In answering Lacy's question, Lopez
and Dinan were in agreement - there
is no intellectual center of today's
GOP. Unlike the past, when
observers could look to the late
William F. Buckley and to the National
Review
to gage the state of conservative
thought, today's conservative moment
is fragmented. Lopez said the fact
conservatives don't speak with one
voice is a sign of success - although
she wasn't clear why she sees it
that way. Dinan said liberals have a
similar problem, noting that the
late Senator Ted Kennedy served as a
sort of "cheat-sheet" for gaging
liberal sentiment. Both conservative
commentators said they doubted
that President Obama will be able to
win congressional passage of a
broad-based health care bill this year
-- primarily because he has to
deal with the framentation within his
own party. Lopez suggested
that the Democrats may be satisfied
to let health care
legislation fail so they can blame the
Republicans. But Dinan
said he doubted this strategy would
work, given that the Democrats
theoretically have the numbers to pass
any legislation they want.
Because the President has staked
so much political capital on
health care reform, Dinan thinks a
scaled-back bill will eventually
emerge. Perhaps the most refreshing
moment of the evening came when
Lacy asked his guests about their
expectations for the 2010 midterm
elections. Their answer, in
essence: We don't know. It's
much too early. Imagine that:
something on which everyone
can agree.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 33 --
September 14, 2009
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
Forrest Gump was
right: Stupid is as stupid does. We have
been reminded several times
during the last week that even famous
people should take advantage
of opportunities to keep their big, fat
mouths shut.
First there was Congressman Joe
Wilson's infamous "you lie" shout
out at President Obama during a joint
session of Congress. The
South Carolina republican apologized to
the President, and then
launched a major fund raising effort
supported by his fellow
reactionaries. Wilson isn't smart
enough to realize that his
boorish behavior has energized the
opposition and further damaged the
already-feeble GOP. Then Serena Williams
- usually as serene as her
name suggests - launched into a
profanity-laced tongue-lashing of a
line official at the U.S. Open in
New York. The profanity
was bad enough. However, she threatened
the official. (Don't parse
words with me: saying you want
to ram a ball down the official's throat
is the same as saying you
will
do it.) Since the unfortunate incident,
Williams has been anything but
contrite in public. She avoided the
issue during post-match news
conference and then laughed it off as
"old news" when interviewed at
center court today. Instead, she
cowardly posted an apology on
her Web site. She's been fined
$10,500 - but that's not enough.
You can't threaten officials.
A suspension is in order.
And then there's that great
American treasure Kayne West, who
made a total ass of his drunken self
during last night's MTV Video
Awards. He took it on himself to
right a perceived wrong by
interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance
speech and announcing that
Beyonce, not Swift, deserved the award
for the best video. Of
course, this is the same clown who
engaged in an inarticulate and
rambling "George Bush hates black
people" speech during a Hurricane
Katrina telethon in 2005.
According to MTV's Web site,
"During
the 2007 VMAs in Las Vegas, West
delivered another rant and lost his
temper after he was displeased with his
performance being set inside a
hotel suite rather than on the show's
main stage." MTV has also
reported West "memorably took the stage
at the American Music Awards in
2004, declaring he was robbed of the
Best New Artist nod." At
least Wilson and Williams face potential
sanctions for their stupidity
under fire. I am not certain what
can been done about West.
Judging by the online reaction to his
rant, even the normally lenient
hip-hop culture is getting tired of
West's narcissistic act.
However, there's a ray of hope out
there. When Beyonce won
an award later in the evening, she
demonstrated great class when she
invited Swift to join her in the
spotlight. It was a
simple act of compassion that put the
Wilsons, Williames and Wests to
shame.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 32 --
September 9, 2009
The Obama Health Care Plan
Like millions of my
fellow Americans tonight, I listened
intently the President Obama's
speech to a joint session of Congress on health care reform.
For the most part, I
received his remarks favorably.
I agree with him that every
American should have access to
affordable health care. Nor am I
opposed to a federal
government-run health care option - just
as long as I have the choice
of choosing my own plan. I thought
the closing moments of the
speech where he quoted from the late
Senator Ted Kennedy's commentary
on the American character were
particularly powerful. I also
agree that there is too much
disinformation being tossed about, and
that we, as a nation, should have a
civil debate on this topic.
That having been said, I am not
certain that the President was
completely truthful with us tonight.
He said his $900 billion
plan would not "add a dime" to the
nation's debt. So where,
exactly, does the money come from?
Does it come from people who
supposedly can't afford to pay health
care premiums in the first place?
Does it come from the insurance
companies? The President also said he
was not trying to run insurance
companies out of business. I believe
that. However, his
proposals mandate they cover a
range of health
care expenses that - at least to the
untrained ear of someone who
doesn't claim to be a financial wiz -
have the potential of bankrupting
the insurance industry. His claim
that his plan wouldn't cover
illegal aliens doesn't ring true,
either. We are already
providing them services - how would this
be any different? Is he
seriously proposing that he is going to
turn his back on one of the
Democratic Party's biggest
constituencies? (By the way, let me be
absolutely clear on one point: I did not
like it that Rep. Joe Wilson
(R-S.C.) shouted "you lie" when the
President made
that particular statement about illegal
aliens. Such behavior in
that place at that time is
unacceptable.) And while President
Obama did indicate a willingness to look
at tort reform - popular among
Republicans, but poison to most
Democrats relying on attorney campaign
contributions - he did parse his words.
It wasn't exactly a
ringing endorsement. All in all, I
give the President good marks.
But, in the end, there's one harsh
reality he has to face - if
health care reform fails, it will not be
a Republican failure.
President Obama and his fellow
Democrats have the votes.
Ultimately, he has to harness them and
bring them home. FDR did with
Social Security and LBJ did it with
Medicare - both of which President
Obama cited in his speech tonight. If
the President doesn't get his
numerical majority to work to his
advantage, he has no one else to
blame
but himself. Editor's
note:
This post was updated 9/11/09 to
identify Rep. Wilson and correctly
quote his inappropriate outburst.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 31 --
September 4, 2009
The Media's New World Order
There's a lot
of
teeth-gnashing these days about the
future of media. We've seen
all of the headlines about newsroom
layoffs, plummeting advertising
revenues and newspapers abruptly
folding. However, its not so
much that we have reached the end of
the mass media age as it
is that the media are adjusting
to a new world order. Yes,
the days of fat newsroom budgets and
obscene profit margins are
probably gone, but there are a lot of
media companies still making good
profits. The demand for local news is
greater than ever. While the idea
of the "citizen journalist" keeping an
omnipresent eye on "the powers
that be" is a romantic notion, it is
also unrealistic. Most
people don't want to do the hard work
that comes with gathering the
information required for a fully
functioning democracy. And for
the cynics who think the people don't
really care about the world
around them, I ask them where have
they been during the last couple of
years? People are tuned in --
figuratively and literally -- to the
events around them. Whether it is
political, financial,
environmental, scientific or
cultural news, people rely on
journalists to gather the facts for
them. Sure, they also want
the mind-candy of sports,
entertainment and
pseudo-celebrity news.
But when it all hits the fan and
they really need to know
what's going
on, do you honestly think the people
are going to expect content and
context from a gum-popping
teenager with a I-phone? The news
business is going through a
metamorphosis, and this transformation
is
incredibly exciting. As was noted
today by a television executive
visiting with KU's journalism faculty,
future news hounds will have to
adjust to a different media culture
and workplace regimen. They
will have to keep up with the
ever-evolving technological landscape.
But some things will not change,
such as a commitment to good
writing, balanced and accurate
reporting, and ethical
decision-making.
If anything, there will be a
greater demand for storytelling
specialists who can marry the
message and the medium to create a
product that the ever-inquisitive
public both wants and needs.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 30 --
August 29, 2009
Small Victories
It
doesn't matter who you are: rich or poor,
powerful or weak, young or
old, PC or Mac. There are times life can
be pretty tough. Even
even when things are going good, a variety
of aggravations can conspire
to take the shine off an otherwise
brilliant day. It is like being
nibbled to death by ducks. That, of
course, assumes you are having a
good day. When the sweetness of life goes
sour, those annoyances are
like pouring salt on an open wound.
One of the things I have
learned during the past three years is to
look for small victories that
help salvage even the lousiest of days.
These small victories include
having all of the socks match when they
come out of the dryer. How
about finding a good parking space? Then
there is having the right tool
for the right job in the right place right
when you need it.
Things such as carrying the correct
change or toting an
umbrella when you need it are worth
celebrating. Don't you love it
when your team wins a game it had no
business of winning or you get the
letter to the mailbox seconds before the
postal carrier arrives? And
let's not forget bacon, canceled meetings
that you didn't want to
attend in the first place, and the
unconditional love of a dog.
These little gifts may not balance
life's ledger, but anything
that smooths the rough edges should be
considered small blessings.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 29 --
August 27, 2009
Ted Kennedy
I
have greeted the news of Senator Edward M.
Kennedy's passing this week
with a swirling mix of emotions.
There is a lot to admire in his
47-year career in the U.S. Senate. I
also admire how he served as
the glue that held the Kennedy clan
together in wake of tragedy piled
upon tragedy. The manner in which he
conducted himself since
learning of his terminal illness was both
courageous and admirable.
However, we are also reminded that Ted
Kennedy was quite human with
attendant faults that come with that
condition. While he has been
praised - with some justification - for
his bipartisan approach in
Congress, one can argue that his
orchestration of the
vigorous and, at times, vicious
attacks on unsuccessful Supreme
Court nominee Robert Bork in 1987 launched
the poisonous acrimony that
has infected Capitol Hill ever since.
Kennedy was a tireless
champion of health care. However, even he
has admitted that the
nation's health care system would have
been in much better shape today
if he had been willing to compromise with
President Richard Nixon on
the issue. His personal failings and
moral lapses have been well
documented. However, to his credit,
he appeared to be a changed
man after his marriage to Victoria Anne
Reggie in 1992. Yes, there is
much to admire and much to hold in
contempt. However, with his
death, I choose to honor the passing of a
great American who spent most
of his life in service to the country he
loved and the beliefs he held
dear. When it came to public policy, Ted
Kennedy and I may not have
agreed on a lot of things. But the
things in which we were
agreement are sufficient for me to join
with the millions who mourn his
passing and honor his service.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 28 --
August 19, 2009
A Darker Shade of Blue
Bernadette
Gray-Little, the 17th chancellor of the
University of Kansas, formally
introduced herself to the KU community
tonight with an address at the
university's 144th Opening Convocation.
She comes to Lawrence
from a place and a state I know well, the
University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill. There, she
rose from the ranks of an
assistant professor to become UNC's
executive vice-chancellor.
She hails from Washington, North
Carolina - a place Carolinians
refer to as "Little Washington."
Since I was out of Lawrence when
she was introduced at a news conference
last May, this was my first
opportunity to listen to her. As one
might expect, she spoke in
generalities about some of the issues
facing KU and higher education.
At the outset of her administration,
she said her priorities were
to increase KU's graduation rate, increase
research productivity
(especially undergraduate research), and
to secure the resources
necessary to achieve KU's mission.
My first impression is
favorable. She strikes me as being a
humble person - not a bad
quality for a leader. I was also
impressed that there was
absolutely no mention of the fact that she
is a trail blazer as KU's
first female and black chancellor -
perhaps another sign of progress.
She joked that she still has some
things to get used to --
including a wardrobe with a darker shade
of blue than she was used to
at Carolina. I should clue her in -
the barbecue here is a lot
different than what she was used to Down
East (that's Eastern North
Carolina to the home folks). It
would be foolish for me to make
grand pronouncements about KU's new leader
based on one speech.
But first impressions are important,
and I think she made a good
one. I wish her the best in her new
adventure.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
|
Vol. 3 No. 27 -- August 17,
2009
Doctors Versus Lawyers
I
weighed
in on the politics of the raging health care
debate in my last post (see Vol. 3 No. 26).
Since then, I have sought to better
understand the various
aspects of the issue. Upon reflection, I can
tell you without
reservation that I don't know a heck of a lot
about health care.
It is outside of my area of expertise -
and I feel confident that
I am not alone in this regard. In a
democratic republic, we rely
upon our representatives to do the heavy lifting
for us during public
policy debates by defining the options for us.
Needless to say, they
haven't done a particularly good job of it.
Instead of a
meaningful civic debate, politicians on the left
and the right are
spoon-feeding us mindless pablum long on
symbolism and short on
substance. The rhetoric of this debate
has been reduced to that
of the language on competing bumper stickers. At
this point I must
confess that I almost
contributed to this mindless static surrounding
the health care
debate. I was prepared to write a scathing
commentary demanding
that tort reform be a part of a comprehensive
health care reform
package. I was going to fire both barrels.
However, I felt a
journalist's obligation check my facts before
unleashing my salvo.
And like everything else in the health
care debate, I discovered
the issue of medical malpractice lawsuits is not
as black
and
white
as I presumed. Yes, a cap on lawsuits
would lower health care
costs. Doctors would not have to practice
defensive medicine - ordering
unnecessary tests as a shield against
speculative lawsuits by
ambulance-chasing lawyers. Good doctors would
not be penalized for the
actions of a few bad doctors. However, a
Harvard School of Public
Health study has shown that 80 percent of
malpractice claims involve
significant disability or death. An
argument has been made that
the threat of malpractice suits forces doctors
and hospitals to
exercise greater caution, thus improving
the
quality of health care.
While I still believe that measures are needed
to stop lawyers from
using the pain and suffering of people as a
gravy train to personal
wealth, I also believe doctors and health care
providers have to be
held accountable. My position is
apparently aligned with that of President
Obama,
who risks the wrath of his own party for even
considering limiting
lawsuits against doctors. My sense is that
not all lawyers are
bad guys and not all doctors are good guys - and
vice versa. And
while this "revelation" may not contribute
toward achieving a consensus
on health care, at least I am not joining those
within this debate who
have sought to generate more heat than light.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 26 -- August 9,
2009
Free Speech Rocks!
This
morning's newspapers and morning talk shows are
replete with confused
and hurt Democrats anguishing over public protests
about health care
reform proposals at town hall meetings around the
nation. They
rhetorically ask if the Republicans are behind the
unrest. I ask
a better question: Who cares? These same Democrats
didn't seem to care
when former President Bush and members of his
administration were
verbally harassed everywhere they went during the
previous eight years.
My favorite protests came a couple of years ago
when hundreds of
thousands of illegal aliens took to the
streets of American cities
in organized anger to fight for their right to -
wait for it - break
the law. (Keep in mind that my position on
immigration is close to that
of former President Bush and the Democrats,
limited amnesty.) More to
the point, any grade schooler can tell you that
there can't be
combustion without a source of heat. As a
reporter and public
official for two decades, my experience has been
that for every
successful protest mounted there have been 10 that
fizzled for lack of
public support. There's genuine anger out there
across the political
spectrum about the continuing impotence of our
elected officials to
deal with real issues affecting real people.
Protest - organized or not
- is as American as apple pie. Heck, I just got
back from Boston, the
home of the first organized political publicity
stunt, the Boston Tea
Party. To my friends on the left and the
right - assuming I have
any - I remind you that the freedom to redress our
grievances to the
government is an unalienable right of our American
democracy.
Free speech rocks! God bless America.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 25 -- July 28, 2009
Scooter and Charlie Hustle
There
was a sort of strange convergence yesterday: News
that two unrepentant
souls are seeking forgiveness. This week’s Time
cover story is about the White House infighting
during the last days of
the Bush Administration. Vice President Dick
Cheney pressured
President Bush to pardon I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby,
the Vice
President’s former chief-of-staff. Libby was
convicted in March
2007 for obstructing an investigation into the
outing of a covert CIA
officer’s identity. To paraphrase the article,
Bush was convinced
that Libby had lied under oath about his role in
the affair and
wasn’t inclined to let him off of the hook.
Cheney, for his part,
thought the conviction was political and that the
President had
dishonored himself by “leaving a soldier in the
battlefield.” Ironically, this came on the day the
news broke
that Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig
was considering a
reinstatement of Pete Rose, banned from baseball
and ultimately
imprisoned two decades ago for illegally betting
on the game.
Here’s the irony: Both men did the crime, but only
Rose has done
the time. I can support Selig’s “pardon” of
Rose on that basis – perfectly understanding that
the
Veteran’s Committee is under no obligation to vote
him into the
Hall of Fame. As for Scooter, he made his
bed. Now he
should lie in it. After all, he’s an expert when
it comes to
lying, isn’t he?
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 24 -- July 21, 2009
Beltway Buffoonery
In
case you missed it, former Representative Nancy
Boyda (D-Kan.) will not
be running to reclaim the seat in the U.S. House
of Representatives she
lost last November. She was the only
Democrat incumbent to lose
in the Obama landslide. No, she hasn't made a
formal announcement of
non-candidacy, per se. However, she was
sworn in Monday as the
new deputy assistant secretary of defense of
manpower and personnel
issues. Knowing the amount of money required
for another run at
the office - she spent $1.7 million in a losing
cause in 2008 - her dip
into the public trough can only be interpreted as
a throwing in of
the towel. (You can't raise campaign funds while
counting paper clips
in the supply room.) Of course, the great irony is
that the only way
she got
elected in a heavily Republican district in 2006
was by waging an
anti-war campaign. She was an ineffective and
practically invisible
congresswoman. I'm sure she's a perfect
fit for the Defense Department. While I am
on the subject of
Beltway buffoonery, here's a special shout-out to
Rep. Steve Cohen
(D-Tenn.). This legislative giant is turning his
laser-like attention
to the most important issue facing humanity, the
National Basketball
Association's requirement that a player must be at
least 19-years-old
and at least one year out of high school for
league eligibility.
Thank God someone is standing up for the
embattled
multi-millionaire season ticket holder! The
fact that the league
and the players union agreed to this rule is of no
consequence. I
agree with Rep. Cohen, we need more overpaid and
undereducated
teenagers to serve as role models for American
youth. I will
sleep better tonight knowing that Nancy and Steve
are on the job.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 23 -- July 19, 2009
One Small Step
For
one brief moment 40 years ago, the people of earth
believed that all
things are possible. On Sunday, July 20,
1969, millions - perhaps
billions -- of us gathered around our television
sets to watch grainy
images from another world. Two American astronauts
fulfilled one of
humanity's oldest dreams when they walked on the
surface of the moon.
No doubt, it was a geopolitical event: The
U.S. beat the U.S.S.R.
to the moon in a triumph of democracy over
communism (or something like
that). Politics aside, it was a truly wondrous
event. I often
think of my grandmother, born in 1875 (a year
before the telephone was
invented) and in her twenties when the Wright
Brothers first flew above
the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
What a life she led
and what history she witnessed! Of course,
we have continued to
write amazing history, especially in the area of
wireless digital
communications. The scientific innovation
that gave us the
historic flight of Apollo 11 laid the foundation
for the many
electronic gadgets and gizmos we today take for
granted. And what
comes next? I, for one, hope we engage in
further space
exploration. While some may argue that we
have more pressing
problems here on earth, what is to say that the
answers we seek do not
lie in the stars? The collateral knowledge and
amazing technology we
gained from the exploration of space has already
justified the expense.
Beyond that, we have to continue exploring
the unknown. It
is in our nature. Just as Lewis and Clark led a
Corps of Discovery to
uncover the hidden wonders of the American
Northwest just over 200
years ago, we need more Armstrongs and Aldrins to
help us expand not
only our knowledge of the universe, but how to
safely and peacefully
coexist within it. Forty years ago we took a
small step toward
interplanetary exploration. Let us continue
that journey.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 22 -- July 17, 2009
Salt Water Dreams
I
am very fortunate to live in one of the great
small cities in the
United States. Lawrence, Kansas, has been
named one of the top 10
communities under 100,000 in population - although
it probably won't
qualify for that status after the 2010 Census.
However, I used to
live in one of the top 10 towns under 10,000 -
Easton, Maryland.
While I love Lawrence and will likely retire
here, I miss Talbot
County and Maryland's Eastern Shore. Easton,
Royal Oak, St.
Michaels, Oxford and the other Talbot communities
have something
Lawrence lacks - salt water creeks, coves and
bays. I was
reminded of my affection for salt water when I
visited my sister and
her husband on one of New Jersey's barrier islands
earlier this month.
There was a certain smell in the air that
reminded me of my youth
on the water. We had a home on Goose Neck
Road on Tar Creek,
located just off of the Tred Avon River.
From our house,
you could see Oxford a little over a mile away by
water - 23 miles by
car or four miles by car-ferry. We could go
swimming from late April
until mid-June when the sea nettles arrived.
Even the smells of a
New Jersey boatyard evoked strong memories of
watermen toiling in
Chesapeake Bay waters for crabs and oysters.
One local
brewer dubbed the region "The Land of Pleasant
Living." Of course, this
is a somewhat idealized view of an area that, like
others, has its
strengths and its faults. If you wanted a career
in broadcasting -
which I originally set out to do - the Eastern
Shore was a starting
point and not a destination. My dreams once took
me away from the Shore
in search of that career. The search
resulted in an exciting
adventure with unexpected twists and turns. That
adventure continues to
this day. As I approach the final years of my
redefined career, my
dreams drift back to that place I still think of
as home - a salt water
haven where living is good and life is even
better.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol.
3 No. 21 -- July 12, 2009
The Wounds of Absence
I
met a hero this week on a flight from Philadelphia
to Kansas City.
I did not get his name. However, I
learned he was a First
Sergeant in the U.S. Army on leave from his second
tour of duty in
Iraq. He was given the opportunity to spent
a precious week on
home leave because he volunteered to escort a
wounded comrade home for
medical care at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was from
Atlanta, and the
vagaries of military regulation required him to
fly from Georgia to
Philadelphia to Kansas City so he could then
officially start his
return trip to the Middle East via Washington and
Frankfort. He
talked with pride of his family, how much he had
missed seeing his
basketball-playing daughter compete in the state
high school
championship game and how he had also missed
watching his boys playing
football. Most of all, he missed his wife.
When he gets back, he
will be responsible for the safety of 32 soldiers
in his platoon. The
decisions he makes may determine whether he and
those he commands
survive this conflict. The First Sergeant's tour
in Iraq is scheduled
to end this fall. He is about 18 months shy
of retirement with 20
years of service to the people of the United
States. When we
parted, I thanked him for his service and wished
him well. Afterward, I
thought of how much I take for granted. I
also reminded myself
that I should not take my uniformed friend - or
his colleagues - for
granted. We hear a lot about the battlefield
casualties, but do
not think as much about the wounds caused by
absence from home. I
thank him for his service and pray that soon he
and others will return
safe and secure to the arms of their loved ones.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 20 -- June 27, 2009
The
Meandering Moron of
Immorality
The
saga of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford would
be funny if it
weren't a blatant breach of public trust. Sanford
is - or at least led
people to believe he is - a visionary leader with
pro-family values and
a strong streak of fiscal conservativism. He
was also was getting
buzz as a potential Republican 2012 presidential
nominee. But all of
that was before the wandering governor went AWOL,
disappeared for days
without his security detail and left everyone,
including his family and
staff, wondering where we was. The
governor's staff told people
what Sanford had led them to believe, that the
wandering governor was
taking a few days to hike the Appalachian Trail.
What we didn't
know was that the Appalachians apparently stretch
from Maine to
Argentina, where the wanderer had a honey on
the side. And now
Sanford is apologizing to everyone for his
indiscretion and
promising to reimburse the state for any money
used to fuel his
fanciful flight from fidelity. He also vows to
remain on the job, ala
Bill "I did not have sex with that woman" Clinton.
However,
Clinton and his legion of puppy-dog followers
didn't get it back in
1998, nor does Sanford get it today. People
don't give a damn
about a politician's martial vows. That's
something the happy
couple has to sort out for themselves. It is
the oath of office
we care about. And when a politician's reckless
behavior is accompanied
by lies and the use of public resources to cover
one's tracks, it's
resignation or impeachment time. Sanford has
only himself to
blame for his current sorry state. But the people
of South Carolina
will have to live in their own sorry state if that
meandering moron of
immortality is allowed to remain in office.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 19 -- June 21, 2009
My Fathers'
Son
It
is fitting that I take time out today, Fathers
Day, to reflect on the
men who have assumed paternal leadership in my
life. My real
father, Evan Carey Guth, passed away
from the effects of
alcohol abuse in 1960 when I was only seven and he
was only 46.
While I do not remember him treating me
badly, that was not true
for others. I believe the only thing of
consequence I got from
him was a nasty temper, something I have battled
all my life. (Thanks,
Dad.) Even before my father's death, he was out of
the house and
replaced (so to speak) by my step-father, Bill
Connolly. In hindsight,
I know him to have been a hard-working and
well-intentioned man who
gave my mother the love she deserved. My
relationship with him
wasn't all that good, but was repaired and in good
standing at the time
of his death in 1984. Arthur E. Southard did
not become my father
by bloodline or marriage - he earned the title.
He had been my
Scoutmaster and a family friend when he
volunteered to take me in as
ward in 1966. I was a rebellious teenager at a
perilous fork in the
road and he led me down the right path.
Although he never
married, he mastered fatherhood better than most.
He passed away
in 2006. I would be remiss if I didn't
acknowledge Francis "Pudge"
Fillman, who has been my father-in-law since 1975.
He
is kind, generous, loving and the
common-sensical leader of a
family I have grown to love and in which I have
taken great pride to be
consider a member. Pudge and I also share a
common bond, having
been widowed within seven months of each other.
(We both married very
well.) He, too, has earned the mantle of
fatherhood. On this
Fathers Day 2009, I realize that I am my fathers'
son.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 18 -- June 11, 2009
Legislative
Shenanigans
There
is chaos in the New York State Senate. OK, that's
not real news.
What is news is why - senate republicans
this week seized
majority control of the chamber when two
disaffected democrats switched
sides and joined the GOP caucus. The democrats are
denying reality and
trying to repeal the laws of mathematics at the
same time. They turned
off the lights and locked the senate chamber doors
to keep the
republicans from acting. This is somewhat
reminiscent of the Texas
legislature in 2003, when state democrat lawmakers
fled the state in an
effort to deny republicans the quorum they needed
to vote on a
controversial redistricting plan. As way
back as 1833, Maryland
democrats forced the state senate into recess for
months by their
refusal to appoint electors needed to complete the
election process of
that time. These legislative shenanigans failed in
both Maryland and
Texas, as they will in New York. However, if
the U.S. Congress
turned out its lights, locked its doors and went
home, would anyone
notice?
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 17 -- June 7, 2009
The Very
Least
Sadly, I didn't catch his
name. He had to be in his mid-80s.
He was frail, sitting in
the shade with his oxygen tank just a few feet
away from the Dwight D.
Eisenhower statue. He had come to the Eisenhower
Center in
Abilene on a warm June 6 afternoon for the same
reason I had, to join
in the commemoration of 65th anniversary of the
D-Day
invasion. He was
wearing a U.S.S.
Arizona
cap, which prompted me to ask him if he was a
Pearl Harbor survivor.
He said he wasn't - his son gave him the
hat after a recent visit
to Hawaii. However, I also learned that he
had served in the
Pacific during the Second World War, first in
New Guinea, followed by
the Philippines and then Japan. He is one
of a dwindling number
of surviving veterans of that conflict - members
of what Tom Brokaw
called The Greatest
Generation.
He wasn't there to relive the glory of
battle. He was there
to remember with whom he served, especially
those who did not return.
As we talked, two young boys - I am
guessing they were 10 or 12
years old - came up to the veteran and
told him "We want to thank
you for your service" and shook his hand. This
scenario was repeated
throughout the day, as people sought out the men
and women who came to
the defense of their nation at its moment of
greatest peril.
World War Two was a so-called "good" war,
where the differences
between good and evil were well-defined.
However, not all wars
are just. Not all wars are popular.
Not all wars are
necessary. And none should be
characterized as good. Wars
are the ultimate failure of civilizations to
resolve their differences.
Dwight Eisenhower understood that when, in
his farewell address,
he warned of the dangers of the influence of the
military-industrial
complex.
However, the people of our armed forces do not
get to pick and choose
when and where they will fight. They do
not establish policy.
What they do is answer the call and, all
too often, give the
ultimate sacrifice. As a free people, we
have the right to
support or protest our nation's use of arms.
We do not have to
support every war. However, regardless of
our feelings for this
policy or that policy, we should follow the
example of those two young
boys in Abilene and thank those who serve or
have served in defense of
our nation. It is the very least we owe
them.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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|
Vol. 3 No. 16 -- May 25, 2009
The Real
Reagan Legacy
We may be headed toward a
historic political meltdown. The
Republican Party is at war with
itself and it is getting personal. On one
side is the party of
Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh. These are
the so-called
"neocons," ideologically driven social
conservatives who believe that
the government should stay out of the private
lives of Americans -
except when it comes to matters of the bedroom.
On the other side
are Tom Ridge, Colin Powell and, until recently,
Arlen Specter.
These are the so-called "country club
Republicans," pragmatic
champions of the free-market - except when that
free market works to
the disadvantage of favored constituents.
Starting with the 2006
midterm elections and continuing through Obama's
inauguration, the
Grand Old Party has engaged in what amounts to a
circular firing squad.
The irony of this uncivil war is that both sides
in their own way have
laid claim to the legacy of Ronald Reagan.
Keep in mind that I am
a Republican who never voted for Reagan, but
have grown to appreciate
the job he did as President. Ronald
Reagan would have had you
believe that he was a simple man - and often
lured his opponents into
believing it to their own detriment. He was a
sophisticated politician
with a solid grasp of strategy and game theory.
Yes, he was
ideologically driven. But he was also a
pragmatist. Because
of that, Reagan got things done and was in the
eyes of most of the
American people a successful President. And
that's the essential
element missing from today's GOP. The
neocons and the country
clubbers need to focus less on process and more
on results. That
means finding common ground with President Obama
when values coincide
and coming up with constructive alternatives
when they do not.
(By the way, those constructive
alternatives do not include tax
breaks when the government is running a
gazillion-dollar deficit.)
Until the Republicans stop eating their
young, the only ones left
to claim the Reagan legacy of plain-speaking
pragmatism and problem
solving are - surprise - the Democrats. (Yeah, I
can't wait to see how
that works out, either.)
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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|
Vol. 3 No. 15 -- May 18, 2009
All Good
Things...
I have decided to step
down as associate dean of the William Allen
White School of Journalism
and Mass Communications effective June 30.
I will continue in my
role as an associate professor. As my
closest friends can tell
you, this is a move I have been contemplating
for some time. This was
my decision, one reached after consultation with
the dean. Being an
associate dean is a demanding job – one that my
colleagues
perceive to have power but really has
none. Being wedged
between “the boss” and “the rank and file,” one
often
feels isolated and frustrated. I vividly
remember losing the friendship
of someone of whom I thought highly on the day
after being named
associate dean in 2004 simply because I had
become
“management.” And while my colleagues have been
supportive
since my wife’s death in 2007, it is really
tough to come home to
an empty house at the end of a hard day. There
have been a lot of hard
days recently, as I have had to deal with
budgetary, personnel and
enrollment issues. I have been spread thin by
personal and professional
obligations. So now it is time to let go and
turn attention to the
things I came here to do 18 years ago, teaching
and research. I thank
the dean and the school for the opportunity to
have served. And I wish
my successor Barbara Barnett, another UNC
Journalism grad, great
success. She has my full support.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 14 -- May 15, 2009
The
Question
It was the most famous
question of the most famous political scandal:
"What did the President
know and when did he know it?" It was
asked by then Senator
Howard Baker (R-Tenn.) during the Senate
Watergate Hearings in 1973.
Since then, that question has been the gold
standard by which we judge
the actions of our elected officials.
Well, almost.
Republicans are expected to answer The
Question. Democrats,
on the other hand, get a pass. Presidents
Nixon, Ford, Reagan and
both Bushes were peppered with The Question in
its many variations
during their terms of office. The record shows
that each answered The
Question - although often in an unsatisfactory
matter. And each
paid a price either personally or politically.
However, whether it be
on the topic of Monicagate, the sale of
sensitive defense technology to
the Chinese or his failure to deal with Osama
Bin Laden when he had his
chances, Bill Clinton has been allowed to avoid
The Question. The
republicans were pilloried for even raising The
Question. And now we
have Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who
yesterday so much as admitted
that she lied to the American people about her
knowledge of
waterboarding of terror suspects by the Bush
Administration. No, she
didn't admit to lying when she disclosed during
a "clear the air" news
conference that she had been informed of the
so-called enhanced
interrogation techniques as early as September
2002. Instead, she
accused the CIA officials who conducted the
briefing for congressional
leaders of - wait for it - lying to her.
Nor did she adequately explain why, in the
face of the moral
outrage she said she has for the practice, she
did nothing, nada, zip.
She didn't even write a letter. When
asked about the
Speaker's weasel-word performance at her news
conference, House
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) initially
avoided piling on the
CIA, saying "I have no idea of that - don't have
a belief of that
nature because I have no basis on which to base
such a belief."
However, it didn't take long for Hoyer to
fall in line with the
party line and defend Pelosi. I guess he
got the memo - Democrats
don't have to answer The Question.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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|
Vol. 3 No. 13 -- April 29,
2009
Arlen
Specter
The last time – in
fact the only time – that I have mentioned Senator
Arlen Specter in
this blog, was to mock him (see Vol. 2 No.
4).
I will not mock him today. The
Pennsylvania senator has made the
difficult but politically necessary decision to
abandon his life-long
commitment to the Republican Party to join the
Democratic caucus. He
has been under fire from conservatives for being
one of only three
Republican senators to vote with the Democrats
for President
Obama’s stimulus package. That decision
has been unpopular
among Keystone State Republicans and has made it
unlikely that he could
win the party’s nomination for another term next
year.
Predictably, some conservatives have chided
Specter’s decision to
switch sides as an act of political expediency.
Perhaps it was.
But it was also courageous. It isn’t easy
to jump to the
other team after a lifetime in the GOP.
However, as a person of
principle, he felt he had no other choice.
The irony is that just
a few months ago, the standard-bearer of the
Republican Party –
my party – ran under the mantra of “Country
First.”
However, it is ironic that when a lifelong
Republican made the decision
to place the interests of the nation ahead of
scoring a few political
points, the neo-cons ran him out of the party.
And they wonder why
people don’t trust them.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 12 -- April 22,
2009
It's Not
Easy Being
Green
The very first Earth Day
was celebrated April 22, 1970. It was the
brain child of U.S.
Senator
Gaylord Nelson.
More than 20 million people throughout the
nation participated in a
series of events that Senator Nelson would later
write "organized
itself." I was one of them. On that ocassion, I
was senior at Easton
High
School
on Maryland's Eastern Shore. I was also
among a group of
dedicated students who decided that as members
of the new generation of
soon-to-be high school graduates - and,
therefore, about to righteously
assume the reigns of power in society - that it
was up to us to save
the planet. Working with some very intelligent,
dedicated and, in
hindsight, underappreciated teachers, we
organized a "teach-in" at our
school. That evening, students and
teachers made solemn
presentations to parents and interested public
about the sorry state of
Mother Earth and the things we needed to do to
save the planet.
We thought we were saving the world. That
was then and this is
now. Today, it is all about being green.
Unlike 1970, the 2009 edition of Earth Day
has a strong corporate
feel to it. Almost every company is
telling us how using its
products will help save Mother Earth.
Heck, even the producers of 24
remind us that they run a "carbon-neutral set."
(If Jack Bauer is on
our side, how can we lose?) Others seek to
remind us how they have been
good stewards of the Earth. Cynics call
this attempt by corporate
America to drape itself in an environmentally
friendly cloak "greenwashing."
In
some cases, that is undoubtedly true.
However, some
companies are acting on their values when they
seek an eco-friendly
route to profits. What is wrong with that?
Who loses when
everybody wins? It's better than being like Daniel San
Diego,
the self-styled animal rights activist who just
yesterday earned
himself a spot on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted
Terrorist" list. His
idea of saving the planet is blowing up
buildings. I'm certain
his mother is real proud of him. Back in 1970,
the seniors of Easton
High School thought we could nip this
environmental thing in the bud. I
guess we didn't. But at least we tried.
And it was a start.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 11 -- April 13,
2009
Asymmetrical Warfare
The United States Navy
struck a blow for truth, justice and our way of
life yesterday when it
snuffed out three Somali pirates holding an
American merchant marine
captain for ransom. A fourth lowlife, who
was attempting to
negotiate with the Navy when snipers did their
job, is now in
custody. This was a “happy ending” in the
latest
chapter of a troublesome trend. We are seeing
increasing American
involvement in what is known as asymmetrical
warfare, conflict between
two or more belligerents where their relative
military power differs
significantly. To put is another way, a
David versus Goliath kind
of war - perhaps the very first asymmetric war.
Sometimes it is as
simple as partisans versus the
establishment. It can also be wars
fought by proxy, such as the Spanish Civil War,
where the Nazis
bankrolled Generalismo Francisco Franco.
The thing about
asymmetrical warfare is that, from Goliath’s
point of view, it is
utterly infuriating. Goliath thinks David is
nuts and doesn’t
have a chance. And more times than not,
Goliath is right.
However, if you remember your Bible, David won.
So did the Mujahadeen
against the Russians in Afghanistan, the Viet
Cong versus the Americans
and, lest we forget, the colonists against the
British Empire in 1776.
The War on Terror is an asymmetric war.
It’s a messy
business and wholly unsatisfying. You never know
when it is over until
long after its over. And even then, you can’t be
sure.
Yeah, we beat the pirates on Easter
Sunday. Unfortunately, this
will not be the end of it. That’s the nature of
asymmetrical war.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 10 -- March 25,
2009
Another Bonehead Jurist
There was an item in the
news this week that caught my attention: A
federal court judge threw
out a Bush administration rule against the sale
of the so-called
"morning after" abortion pill to minors.
The judge's reason: the
decision was made on a political rather than
scientific basis.
While I am, in general, pro-choice, I am
not in favor of leaving
those kind of decisions in the hands of minors.
However, that is
not what has me steamed. All policy
decisions in a democratic
society are, by their nature, political.
We elect our leaders to
make these
judgments. If they make bad decisions, we
elect someone else.
However, there are too many examples of
activist - and unelected
- judges substituting their will for that of the
people. The
future of this policy was the Obama
administration's decision - not
that of some unelected judge. The fact
that Obama might have
imposed the same result is not relevant. Judges
should decide matters
of law and not
dictate public policy. We had a case here
in
Kansas a few years ago where the Kansas Supreme
Court not only ruled
that the General Assembly had failed to meet the
constitutional
requirements for providing a quality public
education, but then
prescribed
exactly how much money the state should spend on
its schools.
Excuse me, but
setting appropriation levels is the purview of
the legislative branch
of government, not that of the judicial branch.
The court clearly
overstepped its constitutional authority and the
legislature (if it had
had the chops) should have -- diplomatically,
but forcefully - told the
court to go to hell. At a time when faith in
public institutions is at
a
new low, we do not need another bonehead jurist
imposing his unelected
personal opinions on public policy over those
elected to make those
decisions.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
X
|
Vol. 3 No. 9 -- March 15, 2009
Two Years
This week marks the
second anniversary of the passing of my wife Jan.
A lot has happened during the past two
years. It has been a
time of grieving, reflection, anger and healing.
This is not to
imply that I have followed a particular process
and that the process is
now complete. I continue to grieve at some
level, and suspect I
will for the rest of my days. I cannot
imagine a day that I will
not miss her. However, at other levels, I have
started the next phase
of my life. I have resumed work on my Chesapeake
Bay Bridge book, which
was put on hold with Jan's death. I have
been taking better care
of myself by watching my diet and doing some
exercise. (I had
lost as much as 50 pounds, but gained some of
that back during the
winter months. As the weather improves, my
exercise will
increase.) I have also begun a social life - a
story unto itself that
will not be recounted here. Let's just say that
dating as a 56-year-old
widower is not the same as being 17 and in high
school. The most
important thing I have done in the past two
years is to continue to be
a parent to my daughter. She's doing fine - and,
as always, is quite
capable for speaking for herself. I also
know that I have been
the beneficiary of the love and acts of kindness
of many people -
family (the Guths and the Fillmans) and friends.
Clearly, my state of
mind is better today than it was for the first
anniversary (see
Vol. 2 No. 8).
And on this somber ocassion, that's about as
good as it is going to get.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 3 No. 8 -- March 10, 2009
A Box of Chocolates
I had an amazing dream
last night. For one thing, it wasn’t your
typical
fantasy-based dream. Instead, I relived one of
the most important
moments of my life. It was 1962 and I was in the
fourth grade of St.
Michaels Elementary on the Eastern Shore of
Maryland. Every school in
county did a special activity that spring to
commemorate Talbot
County’s Tri-centennial. Along with my
first “best
friend” Mark Aydellote, I had been picked to be
a reader for a
special program where each class depicted an
important moment in county
history. This event became memorable
because Mark and I were the
only fourth graders asked to read – the rest of
the readers were
sixth graders. I even remember the first
line of my script:
“Along the shores of the bay called Chesapeake,
life for the
colonists began to change.” The fact that we had
been so
precocious was a real boost of confidence. For
perhaps the first time,
both of us knew there was something we did
better than most. It
shouldn’t be a surprise that as adults, Mark and
I both had radio
careers. And my radio career sent me on a
path that resulted in
me meeting my wife, having a daughter, and
eventually joining the
faculty of the University of Kansas. Perhaps
this is an application of
chaos theory or, as Forrest Gump so profoundly
noted, proof that life
is like a “box of chocolates.” However, I
feel
blessed that for at least one night, I could
revisit a turning point of
my life.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 3 No. 7 -- February 27,
2009
In Defense of Newspapers
Another great newspaper
has rolled off the presses for the last time.
The
Rocky Mountain News
ceased publication today, just two months shy of
its 150th anniversary.
The Rocky was a victim of new age
technology and old age
economics. Of course, the current economic
downturn accelerated
the paper's demise. There are also serious
environmental
questions surrounding the materials used in
producing newspapers.
However, more to the point, 21st century
newspapers are struggling to
find their niche in the Digital Age. The
Internet has siphoned off
readers and, more importantly, advertising
revenues. As Time
noted in a recent article, the growth of the Web
created an expectation
that news content should be both free and
available around the clock.
It has also given rise to the so-called
"Citizen Journalist,"
where anyone with a computer and camera (or
camera phone) can reach a
worldwide audience. (Michael Phelps being
a case in point.) The
problem with this model is that most of these
so-called "I-witnesses"
neither have the training nor the desire to
provide the complete,
balanced and meaningful narratives like those
prepared by professional
journalists. And while there is some merit
in the argument that
media are biased, who believes the solution to
that problem involves
the silencing of journalistic voices? Keeping in
mind that my
background is in broadcasting, I feel that the
loss of a newspaper is
serious blow to any community. In the case
of the Rocky, it had
been a vital part of Denver's social fabric for
seven generations. It
chronicled the rise of a great American city and
the proud people who
inhabit it. And now it is gone. And what
will be next paper to
fold? Don't get me wrong - I think newspapers
are here to stay.
However, they will remain endangered until
someone figures out a
business model in which people are willing to
pay for news content and
that parent companies fully embrace the
social responsibility that
comes with publishing the news.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 3 No. 6 -- February 12,
2009
The Lincoln Mythology
There's a
certain irony that both Abraham Lincoln and
Charles Darwin were both
born on this date in 1809. Throughout the
years, the mythology
surrounding our nation's 16th president has gone
through a constant
evolution. Not unlike President John F.
Kennedy during my youth,
the years immediately following Lincoln's
assassination were a period
of martyrdom and canonization for the fallen
leader. Only after
the passage of time were people willing to assess
the whole man, warts
and all. This deconstruction of history
happens with all of our
leaders. For example, the martyred JFK was
probably an above-average
president, but not as great as his earliest
biographers would have had
us believe. Dwight Eisenhower, who was
painted by his
contemporaries as a mediocre transitional leader,
now appears from a
distance to have been an exceptional president who
gave the nation
much-needed stability after decades of turmoil.
Harry Truman and Gerald
Ford both engendered the respect of the American
people long after the
disdain of those same people hastened their
departures from the White
House. All of which takes us to Lincoln, a man who
freed the slaves but
believed whites were superior to blacks.
While prosecuting a war
in the name of preserving the Union, he frequently
ignored the
Constitutional liberties that supposedly defined
it. Lincoln was
a humble man, but incredibly image-conscious.
Truth be told, he
was neither a saint nor a sinner. He was a
man - albeit an
exceptional man who performed extraordinary deeds
in our nation's most
perilous times. To understand the true
Lincoln, a great man who
did even greater things despite personal flaws, is
to truly appreciate
him. Understanding Lincoln's humanity helps
us to embrace our
own. By knowing that he overcame his own fears and
frailties
to become our most beloved president
inspires us - using
Lincoln's own words - to follow the better angels
of our nature.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 3 No. 5 -- February 1,
2009
Old Habits Die Hard
There's a
reason the Republicans are out of power.
That's because they
appeared to be uncaring and out of touch with the
people. The
people kicked them out. However, it is also
important to remember that
there was a reason Republicans achieved power in
the first place.
That's because the Democrats also appeared
to be out of touch
with the people. Back in the days of Newt
Gingrich's "Contract
with
America," the Republicans promised to curb the
unrestrained
tax-and-spend tendencies of the Democrats.
Of course, the GOP
didn't live up to its promises (and supposed
principles) and eventually
got the boot. It's early, but that pattern seems
to be repeating
itself. Despite the fact the United States is
facing a severe financial
crisis, the Democrat-controlled Congress, which
took power on a promise
to
return discipline and integrity to government, is
treating pending
emergency relief legislation as if it were a
Christmas tree. There's a
gift under it for everyone. Granted, some of the
earmarks that have
been proposed - such as money for anti-smoking
programs and cancer
research - are worthy. But as economic
relief? President Obama
has asked the Congress to keep its eye on the ball
and stick to the
business at hand. Unfortunately, the Nancy
Pelosis and Harry
Reids are more interested in perpetuating business
as usual.
Isn't unrestrained spending a huge part of
what created this
problem in the first place? Let's hope that
moderates in both parties -
if any exist - can refocus the debate of what
really matters, the
economic well-being of our nation. If they
don't, we are in for
another long contentious period followed by a
Republican resurgence.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 3 No. 4 -- January 20,
2009
George W. Bush
George
W. Bush entered the White House in 2001 professing
to be a
“compassionate conservative” who would be a
“uniter,
not a divider.” However, as he leaves office today
after eight
tumultuous years, one wonders where his professed
instincts failed him.
He leaves office with the lowest approval rating
among modern
presidents. In fairness, the disputed 2000
presidential election raised
the toxicity of the American body politic to new
levels. Even with the
temporary truce immediately after 9/11, the well
of good will and
compromise had already been poisoned as Bush
entered office.
Blame for that falls as much on his critics as it
does on Bush. At the
end of the Bush administration, the ledger is not
entirely negative.
That the U.S. has not experienced another
terrorist attack since 2001
is a credit to Bush’s leadership. His
foreign policy toward
Africa was inspired. Even without adequate
funding, No Child Left
Behind finally addressed the need for
accountability in
education. History may also credit him for
his surge strategy in
Iraq as well as his initial response to the
current economic
crisis. However, the images of the Bush
years that we are left
with are the absence of weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq, a mission
not accomplished, torture in Abu Ghraib, the
drowning of New Orleans,
and a wounded economy. I don’t believe
history will
judge Bush as harshly as his contemporary critics
have. But one
fact is inescapable: A lot of bad things happened
on George W.
Bush’s watch. No amount of spin will change
that fact.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 3 No. 3 -- January 10,
2009
The Gettysburg Inaugural
I had the pleasure of
teaching the best class in my 18 years at KU
during the fall 2008
semester. It was called "Campaign 2008 -
The Media, Politics and
Persuasion." There were 104 students enrolled in
the class, and never
have I had a group of students more engaged in
discussion. The
final assignment for the class was to write an
inaugural speech for
President-elect Barrack Obama in 250 words or
less - ala Lincoln's
Gettysburg Address. Inaugural addresses
should bring the country
together, preview the goals of the new
administration, bring
comfort to our friends and warn our enemies.
The class did a
really good job on the assignment. In the
spirit of the
assignment, I shared my own version of
Obama's Gettysburg
Inaugural with my students:
My
fellow Americans...220
years ago…a Virginia slave owner took the oath
of office as our
first President. I have taken that same
oath. Not as a victory of
one man or of one party, but in fulfillment of
a promise made on the
day this nation was born. A promise that all
men are created equal. There
are forces that would deny our American Dream.
Our economy is
distressed. Our health care system is ailing.
Our planet is under
siege. And on distant shores…Americans are
serving…and
dying…to ensure that all people are free. Let’s
join together to build a new economy built on
the
productivity…creativity…and generosity of the
American
people…..tackle the challenges of health care
and the
environment with renewed vigor…and work with
our friends around
the world to eradicate ignorance…poverty….
disease and
terrorism. By harnessing the greatest
source of energy this world
has ever known…the human spirit…there are no
limits to
what we can accomplish. Some
may see this vision as being too
idealistic. But isn’t that
what some said when a Georgia minister stood
on this very same mall 46
years ago to proclaim that he had a
dream? A dream that people of
all races can live in harmony and share in all
the goodness this nation
has to offer? Today’s
ceremony bears witness to a partial
fulfillment of that dream.
There’s more to be done. But we can do
it…once we
get started…united in purpose…under God…and
with
an abiding respect for all people and for the
earth, itself.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 3 No. 2 -- January 4,
2009
Sleepless in Seattle
One of the networks
broadcast one of my favorite movies, Sleepless in
Seattle,
in prime time last night. This was a bit
of a surprise,
considering that the movie is 15 years old.
Perhaps it was a shrewd
counter-programming effort to draw an audience
away from the NFL
playoff game between Indianapolis and San Diego.
I had not been much of
a fan of romantic comedies until Nora Ephron's
funny, yet poignant story
of a Seattle widower (Tom Hanks) making a love
connection with a
Baltimore newspaper reporter (Meg Ryan). One of
the things that drew me
to the movie was the realization of my own
mortality. It was one
of the first times I had given serious thought
to what my life would be
like if I were to suddenly lose my spouse. Of
course, it was an
intellectual exercise. No one believes
that is going to happen to
someone they love. Besides, Tom Hanks didn't
seem to be doing so all
that bad -- he was living in the nicest
houseboat I had ever seen.
(Talk about waterfront property!) Now, nearly 22
months after the death
of my wife, Sleepless in Seattle
has a much different meaning for me. I
understand all too well the pain
of loss and the difficulty in restoring a
so-called "normal" life.
It marked the first time since Jan's death
that I could actually
bear to watch the movie. The timing of the
broadcast was ironic, coming
on the heels of a subdued and, at times, painful
holiday
season. The movie, itself, takes
place during this time of
year. Tom
Hanks' character
and I appeared to be in the same empty place.
I guess I was finally willing to watch the
movie because I knew
that Hollywood pain is nothing like the real
thing and that at least
this was one widower's story with a happy
ending.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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Vol. 3 No. 1 -- January
1, 2009
Time Will Tell
New Year's Day is the
third and last of the big year-end holidays.
For some, it is a
time of new-found optimism for better times
ahead. Certainly,
with the inaguration of a new president in less
than three weeks, there
are a great number of the American
people who believe that happy
days are here again. However, I am not
certain that I share in
such optimism -- and I even voted for the guy.
I like the
decisions President-elect Obama has made so far,
especially his "Team
of Rivals" approach to selecting a cabinet.
However, we are bordering
on a national emergency and I have severe doubts
that our elected
representatives - Democrats and Republicans -
are up to the task. Time
will tell. On a personal level, this New
Year's Day for me is
just like the Thanksgiving and Christmas
holidays recently past - just
another day on the calendar. I am not in
celebratory mood.
While the intensity of grief over the
passing of loved ones has
diminished during the past year, the pure joy of
living has not
returned. Don't get me wrong. These
are not days of
despair. There
have been
short-lived moments of happiness. However,
for the most part, there has been neither
sadness nor joy.
Emotion has been replaced with numbness of
just going through the
motions. Fortunately, there's still enough
of an optimist deep
inside hoping 2009 will bring positive
change. However, there is
also the pessimist inside reminding me that I
felt the same way on New
Year's Day 2008. Time will tell.
That's it for
now. Fear the Turtle.
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