Testudo's Tales from 2013

Vol. 7 No. 63 -- I Am Still Here December 29, 2013 x When the crystal ball in New York's Times Square drops at the stroke of midnight Wednesday morning, I will not shed a tear for the year gone by. For many, 2013 was, at best a mixed bag.  I'd like to remember it for the love and support received from family and friends, as well as the long-awaited publication of my book about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. However, I'll also remember it for the horrible three-month siege when my life and livelihood were threated by intolerance, ignorance and fear. Some may not have agreed with the content or tone of my Navy Yard tweet in September - but I had a moral and constitutionally protected right to say it. Unfortunately, it exposed an ugly truth in America: For many, the love of freedom is selective, as if the Bill of Rights is a menu rather than a list. On the political front, 2013 saw the Republicans shoot themselves in the foot over Obamacare, only to be bailed out by the Obama Administration's inexplicably incompetent roll-out of the Affordable Care Act. Internationally, there was good news and there was bad news: We avoided - at least for now - a war in Syria, but only because Vladamir Putin exposed the toothless and spineless nature of American foreign policy. Even China, a country that I am still convinced will collapse under the weight of its bipolar approaches to capitalism and communism, chose to challenge the United States. Two positive signs: We are talking to Iran and the Castro brothers can't live forever. Domestically, stocks are soaring and the economic indicators are moving in the right direction for the first time in a long time. But there are still too many people unemployed and underemployed. Culturally, there was Mylie Cyrus. Need I say more?  I tend to be an optimistic, the-glass-is-half-full kind of person. The year now ending certainly tested my faith in myself and in all I believe. But that which does not kill us makes us stronger - and I am still here. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 62 -- The Snowden Dilemma December 19, 2013 x A federal judge ruled this week that it is likely that the National Security Agency violated the Constitution with its indiscriminate and warrantless collection of metadata generated by millions of telephone calls of Americans.  The NSA's intrusion into private lives has been suspected for some time.  However, no one was able to prove it in a court of law until previously secret documents about the government's intelligence gathering efforts were leaked by former CIA employee and NSA contractor Edward Snowden.  A reasonable person - even one inclined to grant that the NSA's intentions were meant to serve a greater good - has to be shocked at the level of intrusion into our private lives committed in the name of national security. And there are some who believe the court ruling exonerates Snowden and that he should be granted amnesty from prosecution. Snowden, himself, is trying to arrange a safe harbor for himself in Brazil by offering to help that nation counteract American spying. However, before we schedule a ticker-tape parade for America's most wanted whistle blower, let's take a step back. Edward Snowden is not a hero, nor does he act like one. Let's not forget that his actions are, in the minds of many, treasonous. Nor should we forget that when Snowden decided to take flight with America's secrets, he sought refuge within the borders of two of this nation's greatest antagonists, China and Russia.  (I am surprised he didn't include a stopover in North Korea or Iran.) And now he is trying to wrangle a deal to ensure his freedom by trading secrets for refuge.  Snowden's actions more closely resemble those of a mercenary than those of an ideologically driven transparency advocate.  And who knows the degree to which his reckless release of top secret documents have put the American people at risk?  And, by the way, does anyone believe that the foreign leaders protesting these revelations of American spying -- such as ubber-sensitive Angela Merkle of Germany -- are not engaged in their own intelligence-gathering operations against the United States? If you believe that the U.S. is the only nation that spies on friends and foes alike, pray tell me the color of the sky in the universe where you live. Snowden's actions may result in much-needed NSA reforms.  However, we shouldn't forget that he violated his oath and federal law and should not, under any circumstance, get a free pass. As was the case with Private Bradley Manning, if you get caught doing the crime, you have to do the time.  We can't turn a blind eye to people who unilaterally decide to cripple America's intelligence gathering capabilities.  Let's not forget that for all its faults, the NSA has helped to keep us safe.  And it can't contine do it without some level of secrecy. As I see it, Snowden has two choices: Live his life in exile out of the reach of the American justice system he says he is trying to protect or to return home, face the music, and put his trust in that same system. Snowden cannot be considered a hero if his actions are without consequences. Unless he takes the moral high ground of standing up for what he believes at the risk of his own freedom, he holds the same moral standing as anyone who steals secrets under the cloak of darkness and then pedals them like trinkets in a bizarre in pursuit of quid pro quo. He can't have it both ways. Nor should we let him. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 61 -- Mr. Success December 12, 2013 x Francis Albert Sinatra was born on this date in 1915. His life's journey was truly remarkable.  When he first burst upon the music scene, he was the idol of youth and the bane of their parents' existence.  By the time he died in May 1998, that equation had been reversed. Sinatra was controversial if for no other reason than he was Italian.  He was reputed to have connections to organized crime, as did anyone of Italian descent or who frequented the old Las Vegas scene. He also received scorn in certain circles because he received a medical deferment from military service during the Second World War.  He, like Ronald Reagan, had a ruptured eardrum.  However, Reagan wore the uniform and Sinatra did not.  However, Sinatra served the war effort in his own way by entertaining troops overseas and raising millions of dollars in war bonds.  More than a crooner, Sinatra proved himself on the silver screen. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Male Actor in a Leading Role in 1965's Man with a Golden Arm, a controversisal film for its time about heroine addiction.  While his acting was a bit uneven in The Manchurian Candidate, it is still one of the great cinematic thrillers of all time. By the mid-1960s, Sinatra was as much known for his Rat Pack lifestyle, a sort-of cocktail and cigarette swigging swinger. However, that persona reached its peak at the very moment America's youth culture began rejecting the materialism that lifestyle represented.  I was one of those people who thought Old Blue Eyes was beyond relevance. However, I'd like to think wisdom and perspective come with the passage of time.  Sinatra has been gone 15 years, but I enjoy his music now more than ever.  Sure, I enjoy the Sinatra classics, such as My Way, That's Life, New York New York and Witchcraft.  However, I am especially fond of lesser-known Sinatra standards such as Here's that Rainy Day, where he displays the full range of his vocal genius. So, on what would have been his 98th birthday, it is fitting to lift a Martini and light up a smoke - at least symbolically - in salute to Mr. Success. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 60 -- On Forgiveness December 8, 2013 x In an April 11, 2010, blog post (Vol. 4  No. 14), I quoted a song verse by Mary Chapin Carpenter: "Forgiveness does not come with a debt." On that occasion, the controversy was over still festering wounds from the American Civil War. I have been reminded of that quotation this week with the passing of Nelson Mandela. Jailed and brutalized by the South African system of apartheid, he could have come out of 27 years of imprisonment with a vow to seek vengeance against his oppressors.  Instead, he rose to the presidency of his nation and choose to use his power to heal a wounded land. Forgiveness is a powerful weapon against evil, which is why evil vigorously resists it.  It was Abraham Lincoln's intention to follow a policy of conciliation toward the South. But his murder denied us his leadership, and the country was plunged into a century of hate and recriminations. I think it is important to remember that forgiveness is a two-way street.  Before you can forgive someone, you have to be willing to forgive yourself. That requires an admission that that you bear some measure of responsibility for the state of affairs in which you find yourself and have a willingness to take corrective action.  Then you have to remember that forgiveness doesn't guarantee reciprocity. Those upon whom you grant forgiveness may not recognize their need to be be forgiven and/or are too cold-hearted stubborn to admit it. And that's what makes forgiveness so difficult. In the final analysis, for forgiveness to be a meaningful act, it has to reside within one's heart.  I think that's something Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela understood.  It is a lesson we all -- this writer included -- need to learn. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 59 -- Being Thankful - And Bacon November 28, 2013 x Today is that very American holiday, Thanksgiving.  And I feel somewhat obliged to write about all of those things for which I give thanks. (If I don't, I might seem ungrateful - or at least thankless.) I guess I should start with the Big Three: family, friends and country. Otherwise, I might appear to be a friendless and orphaned traitor. I could do what every athlete does in his or her post game interview and thank God or whomever he or she envisions the Almighty.  However, shouldn't believers be giving that kind of thanks daily and not wait until the fourth Thursday of November?  I know of three things I expressly want to give thanks for: border collies, springer spaniels and golden retrievers - the greatest dogs in the world.  I am not thankful for cats. It's not that I don't like cats, but it is hard to give affection to something that is more judgmental than I.  I am thankful that I got to see Johnny Unitas and Brooks Robinson in their prime. I am thankful that Juan Dixon carried my alma matter to its only NCAA men's basketball title in 2002. I am thankful for the late Tom Clancy and the still vibrant (and cute) Doris Kearns Goodwin. And bacon -- must not forget bacon. Speaking of foods, I am thankful for steamed crabs and Old Bay seasoning, ginger snaps and Maryland fried chicken. If it seems as if I am bordering on silliness -- another thing for which I give thanks -- its because I want to make a point. Even at those times when life hands you a crap sandwich, there are positive things on which you can focus. Did I mention bacon? Everything is better with bacon. And at this moment, I am also thankful for stream-of-consciousness writing. And bacon. x That's it for now. Happy Thanksgiving. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 58 -- Through the Eyes of an 11-Year-Old November 20, 2013 x Through the eyes of an 11-year-old, the President of the United States was bigger than life.  He was handsome and had a beautiful wife.  They seemed to be around the same age as my parents and had two children.  For reasons I did not fully comprehend, my mother and step-father didn't like the president.  And who didn't try to mimic his Boston accent? ("Pahk yah cah en Hahvard Yahd.") However, through the eyes of an 11-year-old, he seemed to be the right man at the right time for the right job.  He could be tough, as he had shown the Russians through the Cuban missile crisis.  He could be compassionate, as shown by his support for civil rights. And, as we would witness in his live televised news conferences, the man had a sense of humor. On November 22, 1963, I was watching a film strip along with the rest of Rachel Donahue's sixth grade class when the announcement came over the public address system that the President of the United States and the Governor of Texas had been shot while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. Following that announcement, Mrs. Donahue grew silent and hurried through the remainder of the film strip. It was now 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time, time for recess. During those 15 minutes in the school yard, my friends and I speculated about what was going on and what might happen next.  "Was it the Russians?," some speculated.  Others wondered if there would be a war. By 2:30 p.m., we were back in our seats. We had a lot of questions and, for once, Mrs. Donahue had no answers. Then came the second P.A. announcement: President John F. Kennedy was dead. Lyndon Baines Johnson would be our new president. At this point, Mrs. Donahue gave up all pretenses of trying to teach and sent the class to the St. Michaels (Maryland) Elementary School library, where we sat out the remaining hour of our school day in a so-called "study hall." As this 11-year-old sat in the library pondering the future of our country - "We really have a president named Lyndon?" - I could see through the library window the flag of the United States of America being lowered to half-staff.  The bell rang and we headed to our buses for the trip home into a much different world than the one we left that morning. It was sunny, but chilly.  Within hours, it would start to rain. That night seemed particularly dark. Fifty years may have passed, but that horrible day remains burned in my memory. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 57 -- When Less Was More November 17, 2013 x In life - and even more in death - Abraham Lincoln was a big man. A self-educated and awkward-looking man, his appearance and voice often caused the people to underestimate the depth of his character and intelligence. Lincoln was a story teller - almost to a fault.  But Lincoln knew that the stories he told might seem silly and meaningless on the surface, but were purposeful in the message they delivered.  One hundred fifty years ago this coming Tuesday, President Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to deliver a dedication speech for a cemetery at the site of the Civil War's most famous battle. In the days before any of the mass media we know today, these events were as much public entertainment as they were in serving a solemn public purpose. Speakers were expected to be effusive, demonstrative and long-winded. Edward Everett, a noted pastor, politician and orator of the day, delivered a two-hour stem-winder as a lead-in to the President's remarks.  In contrast, President Lincoln's 268-word address was so short that it was over before many in the crowd knew it had begun. Some journalists covering the dedication panned the speech, including the newspaper in nearby Harrisburg.  Significantly, the successor to that paper last week published what is believed to be the most belated retraction in newspaper history. That is because we now know what Lincoln knew in the moment, that there are times when less is more.  The rail-splitting story-teller's eloquence is unlike any other moment in American history.  His brief, two-minute speech summed up the entire American experience and provided a justification for what remains America's bloodiest and most moral war. Perhaps it was false modesty when Lincoln suggested that people "will little note nor long remember what we say here." Nevertheless, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address stands within the highest echelons of human oratory. And that is why, 150 years later, his words remain relevant and ethically directional. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 56 -- Greatness Requires Greatness November 14, 2013 x There is a YouTube video circulating these days, one in which a network anchor played by actor Jeff Daniels decides to go against the popular conventional wisdom that the United States is "the greatest country in the world." The anchorman didn't as much say that the U.S. is not "the greatest" as he did to force those making such a claim to define what it means to be "the greatest." It is a fair question.  I believe, on the whole, that the United States of America has a record of achievement unmatched in world history.  I believe the American Constitution and the values it champions are models other nations envy. But I also know that what we have isn't perfect and that there are some areas in which the record of other nations is more admirable.  As the anchorman portrayed by Jeff Daniels noted, American educational achievement doesn't always stack up favorably to many nations.  We have a far higher rate of violent crime and incarceration than most supposedly advanced nations.  Our environmental policies have improved in the last four decades, but still have a ways to go.  We are still struggling with race at a time when the demographic/ethnic composition of the United States is dramatically changing. In terms of civility in the conduct of government and personal affairs -- need I say more?  The group that Tom Brokaw rightfully terms "The Greatest Generation" didn't earn that honor just because they kicked Adolph Hitler's butt.  It is what they did when the came home that defined their greatness.  I believe my generation, the Baby Boomers, could earn the title of "The Greatest Generation."  But greatness requires greatness - and, in so many ways, we have yet to show it.  I agree with the true sentiment of the Jeff Daniels video that we should stop bumping our chests, shaking our fists and shouting about our greatness. Instead, let's address those issues I mentioned - and so many others - in a civil and sane way.  You see, greatness is a constantly redefining goal.  It is not a destination in which we can claim permanent occupancy. Greatness requires greatness. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 55 -- Bullies November 9, 2013 x From schoolyard playgrounds to NFL locker rooms, there's a growing public debate about bullies.  The debate has gone to the extreme - even to the point where a Texas mother is suing another team's coach because her child's football team was at the receiving end of 91-0 rout. And there there's the disturbing case of Miami Dolphins rookie Johnathan Martin who left the team after alledged bullying that included extortion, racial slanders and death threats. The fact is that bulllies are not just a football or sports phenonenom.  There are everywhere, even in academia.  From my experience, these are individuals who feel they have something to prove. They need to show they are as smart as their colleagues with more advanced degrees.  Or perhaps it is because they are short in stature - a sort of Napoleonic complex.  Sometimes it has something to do with a warped need to show that he or she is just as good as a more accomplished sibling.  There can a be a million perceived afronts or injustices that breeds bullying. Whatever the motivation, these bullies feel it is their right to have things done their way and to make the lives of those around them miserable until they do. Bullying, whether it be in the NFL or in the halls of ivy-covered buildings, is made possible by enabling administrators unwilling to tackle the problem head-on.  Instead, they usually take the path of least resistence - which is exactly what the bully expects.  Administrators will let the bullies have their way or give them placating honors in an effort to mollify them. Unfortunately, this kind of approach is as successful as giving crack to a crack addict. Until someone in authority, be it a football coach or a school administrator, is willing to take the bully by the horns, bullying will continue along on its self-prepetuating cycle. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 54 -- Nostalgia November 7, 2013 x Maybe it is because of the changing of the seasons. Perhaps is it linked to yet another birthday that arrives tomorrow.  I suspect some of it has to do with my recently changed role on the KU campus, one that keeps me away from Mount Oread. For whatever the combination of reasons, I find myself nostalgic for my days on Maryland's Eastern Shore.  It's been 43 years since I pulled up my Eastern Shore stakes and moved on to college. It's funny how time changes perceptions.  I look back fondly at my childhood in Talbot County -- despite the fact that it wasn't a particularly happy childhood.  My parents were drunks, the family was dysfunctional and I lived my last four years of high school separated from my parents, siblings and classmates I had known all my life. I went to a different school where I didn't know any one and never really felt at ease. My experience at the University of Maryland wasn't much different.  It's a mightly big place for a small town boy who had learned that the safe play was to stay quiet and melt into the background. I cultivated a sense of humor - not as a expression of happiness but as a mechnism of self-defense. However, the good news is that we all mature and grow out of most of our childhood traumas. Yet some of that baggage stays with us. For whatever reason - and I have learned the hard way that you can't take anything KU says at face value - my current administrative duties keep me away from students and colleagues and pretty much all human contact.  Call it house arrest for someone who broke no rules. Perhaps that's the reason behind my current nostaglic wave. These times seem a lot like those times.  Ironically, those times seem more patalable and friendly. And they weren't all that good. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 53 -- On the Record November 3, 2013 x There is a quiet movement afoot in our land, one I heartily applaud.  Recently, our local newspaper joined a growing number of news organizations that will no longer allow anonymous online posts. Traditionally, these organizations have not published anonymous letters in their print editions. However, they had treated the Internet as a sort of "Wild West" where anything goes.  However, in today's poisonous political environment, these organizations have begun taking ownership of their role in social discourse. While there is an argument to be made that anonymous posts allow people to say what is on their mind without fear of retribution, this lack of personal accountability has resulted in a tidal wave of unverifiable, inaccurate, mean spirited and ocassionally threatening diatribes. Absent accountability, these anonymous posts tend to generate more heat than light. Based on what I have read in the local paper, these posts frequently devolve into an online shouting match between anonymous commentators that have nothing to do with the subject at hand. I put my name on everything I write and take accountabilty for it.  It is really hard to respect the opinions of the people who don't. That journalists are now extending their traditional gatekeeping role to their websites is a good thing. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 52 -- The World According to Jack Webb October 30, 2013 x The story I am about to tell is true.  The names have been changed to protect the innocent.  I recently ran across an old friend, Sgt. Joe Friday of the Los Angeles Police Department.  You can find him in the late afternoons on ME-TV (Memorable Entertainment Television).  For the young and uninitiated, Joe Friday is a character created and played by the late Jack Webb on both radio and television versions of Dragnet, the quintessential police procedural. There have been four television series with the Dragnet brand covering 16 seasons.  What made the show successful was its black and white, my way or the highway approach to modern society. Webb's weekly morality plays tapped into an American desire for those simpler times when it was easy to distinguish between right and wrong.  (Of course, those times never really existed. We just like to think they did.) Through a series of simple declarative sentences, Sgt. Friday disarms wrongdoers and the audience with hardscrabble homilies. Take for example the teenage boy who wants to expand his mind through the use of LSD. "If you want to expand your mind boy," Sgt. Friday says, "then go to the library." In another episode, Friday tells a suspect "One of us is right and it ain't you." We all loved the way that Sgt. Friday wanted "just the facts." Through 782 episodes (radio and TV), Dragnet showed us a world as it ought to be, one where good always triumphs over evil and the path to goodness is unobstructed.  Unfortunately, we live in a world where the opposite it true.  There's a fine line between good and evil - so fine that it is often indiscernible. And if the path to goodness was clear, we probably wouldn't need police.  But it isn't and we do. That's why Americans of a certain age will flock to ME-TV to spend a few minutes in a black and white world shown in living color. And they can spend a few minutes escaping reality by watching the adventures of straight-arrow Jack Webb and saying to themselves, "thank God it is Friday." x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 51 -- Sacrificial Lambs October 24, 2013 x It doesn't matter which party is in power in Washington.  There comes a time in the life of every presidential administration that the howling mob demands red meat in the form of a forced resignation of an administration official.  For George W. Bush, it was Donald Rumsfeld. For Bill Clinton, it was Vince Foster and Webster Hubbell.  While George H.W. Bush's cabinet was reasonably stable with only one member, Lauro Cavazos, forced out of office, Ronald Reagan's cabinet room had a revolving door.  The point: This happens to every president. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is currently the most likely candidate to serve as Obama's sacrificial lamb.  After all, it is her department that is responsible for the sloppy implementation of the Affordable Care Act a/k/a Obamacare. And republicans are not the only singers in this chorus.  Congressional democrats worried about the mid-term election are seeking salvation through resignation. This is not to say that I think Sebelius's forced resignation is justified.  Should you force out the head of an agency because some geek messed up writing software code?  I suspect her critics want her head on a platter out of their aversion to Obamacare more than anything Sebelius has done.  We see this pattern in every administration. After a period of post-election stability, politicians shift the battlefield to the president's cabinet foot soldiers. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would have been the first Obama administration forced resignation if she hadn't made her departure known before the Benghazi debacle.  As it is, the tragic murder of four Americans may become the albatross that denies her the presidency. David Patraeus's resignation as CIA chief doesn't count - he stepped down for sexual improprieties before anyone knew anything about them.  That leaves Sebelius as the target du jour. Will she go?  I don't know. This is one time Obama's stubborn streak may serve him - and the country - well.  If she does go, it will be more about cutting the administration's losses than it is about a poorly designed website. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 50 -- The New NCAA October 22, 2013 x There's a new NCAA, where the initials now stand for "Not Caring About Athletes." This change is evident in light of the slap on the wrist the NCAA handed out to the University of Miami today. Significant NCAA violations involving illegal payments to players in several sports with the knowledge of coaches and administrators were uncovered in 2011.  Those allegations included the securing of prostitutes by coaches for recruits. Implicated in this mess was former Miami basketball coach Frank Haith, now coaching at the University of Missouri.  Specifically, Yahoo Sports reported that Haith had knowledge of a $10,000 payment to secure the signing of a player at Miami. Haith, in a news release at the time, said much of the reporting by Yahoo Sports was in error but did not explicitly address the allegations against him.  According to ESPN, today's decision comes  eight months after the NCAA said the Hurricanes did not "exercise institutional control" over booster Nevin Shapiro's interactions with the school's football and men's basketball teams.  Shapiro is serving a 20-year sentence for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme.  Miami's football program already sat out two bowl games and last season's ACC championship game in an effort to lessen its penalties.  At the time, ESPN college football analyst Mark May said that even if one-third of the allegations against the University of Miami prove true, the Hurricane athletic department deserves the so-called death penalty. However, Miami's unethical president and athletic department are being let off the hook with the loss of a few scholarships and, most notably, no bowl ban. As for Haith, he will have to serve a five-game suspension, meaning he will have to sit out games during Mizzou's pre-conference schedule's parade of cupcakes. This lighter-than-deserved treatment is due, in part, because the NCAA acknowledges that it bungled its own investigation and broke its own rules when gathering evidence. This is a case of where two wrongs don't make it right.  The University of Miami Athletic Department is the closest thing college athletes has to the Mob and the NCAA the closest to "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight."  This is clearly a case of where money talks and justice walks.  It is also a case of where Miami deserves the athletic equivalent of the death penalty and the NCAA should be put out of our misery. x That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. x Vol. 7 No. 49 -- Leadership in Name Only October 15, 2013 X Leaders are recognized as leaders because they act on their values, communicate those values and encourage others to follow those values. Unfortunately, American society - including business, industry, education and government - appears to be facing a leadership deficit.  It is as if we have confused cautionary reaction for leading.  When one looks at what is happening at the local, state and national levels, the same sad pattern emerges: Advocates with an agenda raise an issue by distorting the facts and framing it in a narrow, self-serving way.  Those who fancy themselves as leaders then react -- not to protect their values, but to protect their leadership positions. In doing so, they forget a simple, elegant truth: When you fail to stand for something, you stand for nothing. This is leadership in name only. It is one thing to consider public opinion. It's another when one surrenders to a mob which, by definition, is leaderless.  There are a lot of qualities that go into being a leader, including compassion, inclusion and clarity of purpose.  However, one quality seems sorely lacking in today's chaotic environment, the courage of one's convictions. Without that, then what's the point of leading? X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 48 -- Two Wrongs October 9, 2013 X Either our parents or teachers told all of us when we were kids that two wrongs won't make a right. That's a lesson sadly lost by our elected leaders during this unnecessarily and harmful federal government shutdown. The political tradition in this country for the past two centuries has been that you debate an issue and, if necessary, adjudicate that issue.  But once it is law and the Supreme Court says it passes constitutional muster, the debate ends and we move on to other things.  However, the republicans in Congress have shutdown the government, are threatening to to place the U.S. government into default and seem willing to wreck the economy over Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act). Speaker John Boehner's "majority of the majority" rule - he won't put forward a continuing resolution until a majority of republicans agree - not only ignores two centuries of precedents but, in my view, is a violation of the equal protections clause of the Constitution. It would be easy to heap all of the blame on republicans for this mess. However, we should also pin the tail on the donkey, as well. The democrats - specifically President Obama - is using the same hostage-taking tactics to score political points.  Why are open-air monuments that require no special staffing such as the Lincoln Memorial closed?  Why are already existing website databases such as that of the U.S. Census Bureau off line?  And why has the Defense Department stopped paying emergency benefits to the family of American soldiers killed in action - even though a recently passed authorization bill gives it the flexibility to do so? The answer to all of these questions is the same: The Obama administration has chosen to put pressure on republicans by denying taxpayers access to all aspects of government - including those things for which they already bought and paid. This cynical squeeze play is as morally bankrupt as that used by the republicans. Two wrongs won't make it right. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 47 -- Give Them Their Due October 4, 2013 X National Capitol Police did their jobs yesterday, protecting the White House and U.S. Capitol from an intruder.  We may never know what caused a Connecticut woman to ram a White House barricade with her car. And it is tragic that police had to shoot her. But they did because her actions posed a very real threat to national security.  Today, workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are being asked to respond to another threat, a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico. I have no doubt they will do their jobs as they always have, as professionals dedicated to serving people in need. Something the National Capitol Police and the FEMA workers have in common is that they are not being paid because of the federal government shutdown. I could weigh in here with my views on the politics of the shutdown, but I am going to save that for another occasion. For now, let's focus on its victims, the hard-working people whose job it is to see that the functions of government from which we benefit are carried out. It is easy to be cynical to say that public employees are lazy and wouldn't survive in a public sector job.  As one who has been on both sides of that equation, I know that assumption just is not true. In fact, many federal workers could easily get higher-paying jobs in the private sector but value their role in public service even more. It is also important to remember that the government shutdown is not just a Washington problem. Only 20 percent of federal employees work in the area of the District of Columbia.  These furloughed workers are actually your friends and neighbors who have done nothing to deserve the disruption that has been imposed upon their lives.  If you want to vent frustration at the state of the union, please direct it at the 436 people responsible, the Congress and the President of the United States.  Talk is cheap and the work done by these public servants is of considerably greater value.  Let's give them their due. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 46 -- Forty Octobers Past October 1, 2013 X October 1973 was one of the most memorable months of my life.  It was my final semester in college. I was living life to its fullest and in a good place.  Heck, I even had a girl friend (notice the past tense). But world events would intervene and place my little universe into greater perspective. The first in a series of shocking events occurred on Saturday, October 6.  My brother Howard and I were leaving Baltimore's Memorial Stadium after watching the Orioles beat Oakland 6-1 in the first game of the American League Championship Series. (The Birds would eventually drop the series three-games-to-two.) Outside the ballpark, newspaper vendors were shouting the news about the outbreak of war in the Middle East.  The so-called Yom Kippur War would not end until October 25. In the interim, a surprised Israel was walloped to the brink of defeat, only to rally to subdue its neighbors. It was also during the crisis that President Nixon reacted to a Russian threat of intervention by placing our armed forces on their highest alert level since the Cuban Missile Crisis. It also resulted in an oil embargo by Arab nations against the West starting October 16 and began our experience with long gas lines and higher prices. The domestic scene was just as frenetic as foreign affairs.  Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned on October 10 after pleading no contest to taking bribes from contractors while governor of Maryland. Two days later, President Nixon nominated House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford to replace Agnew.  Ford was not Nixon's first choice.  However, I think history shows that Ford was, in fact, his best choice. A little over a week later on October 20, President Nixon fired Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox in what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre.  Nixon was angry that Cox would not compromise on the release of secretly recorded White House conversations - tapes that would eventually show that Nixon was involved in a cover-up of the Watergate break-in from the beginning. The two top officials in the Justice Department resigned rather than follow the president's orders to fire Cox. It was left to Solicitor General Robert Bork, the acting head of the Justice Department, to do the dirty deed. That action launched a firestorm against Nixon that would eventually lead to his resignation. The event also created a schism with my mother. My politics in those days reflected hers and we were Nixon supporters.  The first vote I ever cast was for Nixon in 1972.  I thought he was a brilliant leader. But after his actions on that Saturday night, I made it clear in to my mother in no too uncertain terms - as young people are known to do - that Nixon had to go. My youthful brashness created a chill in our  relationship. It wasn't until I telephoned my mother on the day of Nixon's resignation (August 8) to tell her how truly sorry I was that things had gotten to the point of resignation that a rapproachment began. As for Bork, it was the bitter battle over his unsuccessful Supreme Court nomination in 1987 - in part due to his role in the Saturday Night Massacre - that sparked an age of political disfunction. Even now, with 40 Octobers now past, the shock waves of that chaotic time still reverberate. Those days helped shape these days. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 45 -- Bookmarks September 22, 2013 X I suspect most people may not recognize the name John Ondrasik, but they know his music. In fact, many people think he is a group of people. He has been on the nation's musical radar for more than a decade as "Five for Fighting," a term he borrowed from his passion for Los Angeles Kings ice hockey. He rose to prominence with this album America Town in 1999. It featured the melancholy Superman, which showed that even the mythical Man of Steel has self-doubts.  His most successful song, 100 Years, chronicles our brief journey through life - challenging us to make the best of the time we have. Ondrasik just released his sixth album, Bookmarks, a remarkable commentary on the state of our world. The first song on the album is Stand Up, which his website describes as "an anthem for those of us who - all of us, ultimately - who have to bounce back after adversity."  There is also the inspirational What If.  Again quoting Ondrasik's website, the song is "a clairon call to rise above what divides us."  The album closes with The Day I Died, the story of a man at the end of life's journey - a theme similar to that of 100 Years.  That song's signature lyric, "I was alive until the day I died," is a challenge to live life to its fullest.  For me, Ondrasik's music resonates in much same way as did that of the late Jim Croce, who died too young in a plane crash 40 years ago this week.  The music of Five for Fighting both inspires and soothes wounded souls in our age of cynicism and strife. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 44 -- Where Do You Stand? September 16, 2013 X I am angry, frustrated, sad and determined.  The news of the senseless slaughter today at Washington's Navy Yard has me again questioning how we can let this madness continue.  Frankly, I don't care if I am criticized for being too quick to judge, too harsh in my criticism or too strident in my tone. The time has passed for niceties and tact. The blood spilled today is on the hands of the National Rifle Association.  I don't care how the NRA tries to spin this. One fact is undeniable: The NRA has championed a gun culture that is shredding our nation's moral authority like armor-plated bullets ripping through flesh. Is that imagery too graphic for you? It is no worse than what we are seeing every night on our television screens. Do our citizens have a right to bear arms? Certainly, that's what the Constitution says.  But as it is with every other right enumerated in the Bill of Rights, there are limits. A person's right to go about his or her job at the Navy Yard - or for that matter to attend an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut - trumps any individual's right to stockpile weapons of mass destruction in the name of personal freedom.  I don't wish what happened today on anyone.  But if it does happen again - and it likely will - may it happen to those misguided miscreants who suggest that today's death toll at the Navy Yard would have been lower if the employees there were allowed to pack heat. Those fools don't get it. If the price of "security" is to turn every workplace into an environment that can erupt into a Dodge City-like shooting gallery with the slightest provocation, then we have really missed the point. There is no justification for the widespread sale of assault weapons, high-volume magazines or hollow-point bullets. In fact, their sale is a well-documented threat to national security. Enough is enough. Lynn Jenkins, my congressional representative, is going to hear from me.  And if she fails to support reasonable restrictions on these murderous munitions, I am going to give my money and vote to someone who will.  There are two sides to this debate: The side of angels and the NRA. Where do you stand? X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 43 -- Making Lemonade Out of Lemons September 10, 2013 X President Obama's apologists will claim that tonight's speech to the nation about the Syrian crisis was shining example of statesmanship.  Obama-haters will claim that he is indecisive, weak and lacking a global vision.  I don't count myself in either camp. However, this administration's clumsy handling of the Syrian crisis during recent weeks reaffirms a feeling that I have had for a long time, that this President just isn't up to the job. Granted, he is a masterful politician who used tonight's speech to suggest that his policies have forced Syria to admit it has chemical weapons and may be willing to place them under international control. This, of course, is a lie. Despite administration protestations to the contrary, that position was never seriously considered until Secretary of State John Kerry put his foot in his mouth and opened that door.  Kerry's statement, in effect, contradicted President Obama's much ballyhooed "red line" proclamation of last year - which we now know he didn't really mean. The President tonight claimed that his decision to seek Congressional approval for military action is something his predecessor did not do.  That, too, is a lie. President Bush got congressional approval - look it up. And Obama originally had no intention of seeking Congressional approval - he was forced to by both his right and his left. If not, why else does Obama the president still claim he doesn't need such approval when Obama the candidate said he did? Now, because of events outside of the President's control, Obama now is asking Congress to hold off doing anything until the erratic and unreliable Russians and United Nations play their cards.  What we saw on television tonight was a President trying to make lemonade out of lemons. His is being forced by events to take actions he did not contemplate. And in the end, maybe Vladimir Putin will win a Nobel Peace Prize for averting a war. Unlike President Obama, if Putin does win one, he would have actually earned it. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 42 -- Dear Mr. President September 2, 2013 X As Oliver Hardy used to say to Stan Laurel, "This is another fine mess you've got us into."  Try as you might, you can't blame this one on George W. Bush.  You were the one who drew the infamous "red line" over the use of chemical weapons in Syria.  That rhetorical flourish has now grown into something much bigger. You have literally placed America's -- and your -- credibility on that line.  But what is done is done. And frankly, your instincts are correct.  Bashar al-Assad's use of chemical weapons against his own people is morally reprehensible. So is Vladimir Putin's support of the Assad regime. We are used to Russia's leaders acting like the southern end of a north-bound mule.  But we are uncomfortable with a President who thoughtlessly places American prestige on the line, runs up to that line and then stops short of it.  Don't get me wrong: I think you are correct in seeking congressional approval for the use of force.  After all, that's the kind of behavior on which your 2008 campaign was based. However, that's the kind of thing you should have said at the same time you were rhetorically committing the United States to military action.  Think of how much stronger your moral position would have been if you had said at the start, "I am going to ask Congress to authorize military force should Assad cross the red line and use chemical weapons against his people."  Now your congressional request is seen for what it really is, the desperate act of a weak president.  I know that you think you are clever placing the onus on Congress.  But let's make one thing absolutely clear: This one is on you. And if we do attack Syria, please don't adopt the spineless Bill Clintonesque approach of lobbing in a few cruise missiles at meaningless targets.  Those bombs should target Assad, himself. After all, as a democrat once famously said of President Reagan during the Iran-contra mess, the fish rots from the head. If we have to do this -- and your big mouth apparently assured that we have to -- then let's do it right.  Otherwise, it will be the White House, not Damascus, reeking like a fisherman's wharf. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 41 -- Once Again We Do Our Dance August 25, 2013 X With the resumption of classes tomorrow, I start my 23rd year at the University of Kansas. In many ways, it promises to be unlike any other. For one thing, I will be on a research sabbatical during the Spring semester.  That marks the first time that I will be allowed to exclusively focus on my research and writing, things I truly enjoy.  I consider the creation of knowledge to be one of the perks of the job and do not understand those who view it as drudgery.  I also start this year with an awareness that the end of my career is closer than its beginning -- probably an artifact of turning 60 last November.  If I can maintain my health and my passion, I am still several years away from retirement.  However, for the first time in my life, the subject is no longer abstract. Some people see retirement as the beginning of a new stage in life.  Others see it as the start of the end of life.  I hope that when the time comes, I will see it as the former rather than the latter.  There is nothing sadder than seeing someone no longer effective in his or her job holding on for whatever reason.  Sometimes these people hang on for financial reasons.  Others can't image their working world going on without them. Still others fear that the working world will, in fact, go on without missing a beat - or them. For those who cling to a job after their effectiveness and/or passion disappears, the risk of a forced and embittered departure increases. While my current teaching evaluations are good and research productivity is solid, I know that my time for diminishing returns is inevitable.  The passage of time stops for no one.  That's why I hope that I have enough self-awareness to exit the stage with grace and gratitude when that time comes. I owe that to my students, my employer, my family and myself. But that's for another time. School is starting and once again we do our dance. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 40 -- The Sons (and Daughters) of Anarchy August 20, 2013 X Once again, the limpid left has proven that it can be just as reactionary as the radical right. Several self-proclaimed "public interest groups" have announced their opposition to the use of drones in the People's Republic of Lawrence.  Never mind that we don't have any nor plan to have any in the near future. To be fair, they are not entirely opposed to the introduction of drones - they are limpid, not ludites. But they are laying down their markers on how they believe the local police should behave should this technology become available. Ironically, these so-called advocates have alligned themselves with the radical right, which has had a long-standing opposition to the use of traffic cameras by law enforcement.  What the limpids and the radicals have in common is a dangerous strain of libertarianism, one that trusts no one in power and is, therefore, decidedly anti-democratic. American democracy has a system of checks and balances designed to avoid the concentration of power.  It's not a perfect system, but it hasn't worked that badly, either.  Name one other political system on earth that has allowed people to come so far so fast. It is a system based on trust. We trust that the people can choose their own leaders.  We trust that our leaders will keep faith with the founding principles of the nation. And we have checks and balances to deal with those situations where our trust has been violated. Unfortunately, distrust is the default position for the limpids and the radicals. It is a position that can lead to a breakdown of social order faster than any force they fear. To the limpid left and the radical right - these self-appointed Sons and Daughters of Anarchy - I have a simple message: Chill out.  Take a nap.  Let the adults take care of things. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 39 -- Drunk History August 15, 2013 X The City of Lawrence, Kansas, is gearing up to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Quantrill raid, the cold-blooded murder of 164 civilians by a group of pro-slavery guerrillas led by the cowardly bushwaker William Clarke Quantrill.  People on the other side of the Kansas-Missouri border will use the occasion to commemorate Order No. 11, when Union forces forced the evacuation of four western Missouri counties in response to the Lawrence massacre.  Here's what makes history so interesting: People in Missouri are acting as if there is a moral equivalence in these heinous events. Those poor souls have never figured out that they were on the wrong side of history and that the people of Lawrence were right and that Missourians are - and will perpetually be - wrong. As one who reads, writes and teaches about history, I understand that history is in the eye of the beholder and undergoes constant reinterpretation. For example, take my hometown of St. Michaels, Maryland.  It prides itself as "The Town that Fooled the British" during the War of 1812. By blacking out the town and hanging lanterns in the trees, the good people of St. Michaels caused a British naval bombardment to overshoot the town - save one house, the appropriately named Cannonball House. However, there is almost no recognition within the town of its most famous resident, slave turned civil rights activist Frederick Douglass.  That's a part of its past the folks would like to forget.  The fact is that every town, state and nation have their moments of pride and shame. Both should be remembered and taught.  However, we are a nation of cognitive dissonants who choose to glorify the good and rewrite the bad.  This takes me back to Missouri.  Yes, you are the home of Mark Twain, Walt Disney and Harry Truman. But you are also the home of William Quantrill and Frank and Jesse James. So when you tell the story about Order No. 11, tell the whole story and not the drunk history you laughingly pass off as truth. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 38 -- Richard Nixon in a Pants Suit August 7, 2013 X A lot of Americans seem to be infatuated with the thought of Hillary Rottweiler Clinton as our President. They yearn for the return of the Bubba prosperity of the 1990s - forgeting that it was the Clinton administration's loose banking policies that led to the Great Recession and non-existent foreign policy that led to 9/11.  Just like the current White House occupant, Bill and Hillary are content to lay all of the nation's problems off on George W. Bush  But before we crown Hillary the Queen of America, let's not forget the true nature of this woman.  This is the same woman who turned a $1,000 investment in cattle futures into a $100,000 windfall and dubiously claimed she did it by reading The Wall Street Journal. (At least she didn't claim she'd stayed in a Holiday Inn Express.)  By the way, her broker was suspended from trading for a year for manipulating the futures market. There was Whitewater, where Hillary managed to keep her skirts clean while everyone around her went to jail.  In one deposition in the case, Hillary used the phrase "I don't recall" more than 50 times. After a lengthy search for her old law firm's records, the special prosecutor found them squirreled away in the White House. There was Travelgate, where she falsely accused members of the White House Travel Office of embezzlement - that's a jury's judgment, not mine - so she could get "our people" in office. There was Filegate, a breach of confidentiallity involving the FBI files of 900 former Reagan and Bush administration officials.  Not only did she bungle the Clinton administration's health-care initiative, but the task force she led was fined $286,000 for keeping the public's work secret.  What about Hillary as Secretary of State?  Even I was skeptical about the initital claims that her incompetence led to the deaths of four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador, in Benghazi.  But the more we learn about what the State Department did and did not do, the less innocent she seems.  And consider this: How is it that Secretary of State John Kerry has been able to bring the Israelis and the Palestinians back to the bargaining table just six months after taking office? Where has Hillary been? Despite her much ballyhooed world travels, cite one tangible accomplishment of Hillary Clinton's four years as America's chief diplomat.  This woman showed her true colors in 1998 when she willingly accepted the humiliation dished out by her philandering husband to remain in power -- only to use public sympathy generated by Monicagate to grab a U.S. Senate seat from New York (a place she had never lived) two years later.  I know a lot of people view Hillary Rottweiler Clinton as a knight in shining armor. However, when I look at her, all I see is Richard Nixon in a pants suit. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 37 -- A Season of Reunions July 30, 2013 X Just as spring is a season of renewal, summer is a season of reunions. Across the nation -- and the pages of Facebook -- families are getting together to renew their ties and strengthen their bonds.  In some families, it is more than a ritual.  It is a right of passage.  I attended the annual reunion of the Fillman family last weekend in Monmouth, Illinois.  The family has been gathering at state parks, on family farms and in motels for more than a half-century -- no one seems to be sure when it began. The old hands in the family - and I am getting to be one of the them - still refer to it as the family camp out, even though we haven't "camped out" in years. One can mark his or her life's journey by these gatherings.  At my first "camp out" at the Brown County State Park in Indiana in 1976, I remember two diapered baby girls in a crib.  One of those girls, Amy Fillman Tierney, hosted this weekend's gathering with the cooperation - and patience - of her amazing husband John. The other girl in that crib, Julie Fillman Williams, also has organized these special gatherings. Unfortunately, several of those present at my first camp out, including my wife Jan, mother-in-law Rita and cousin Joe, are no longer with us.  This year was the first year without Janet, whose relationship to the family I have never been quite sure of, but always enjoyed her sunny disposition and penchant for fabulous baked goods.  However, this year's reunion included new cast members, including pair of eight-day-old twins and and my Aunt Louise's new husband, John.  The faces and places may change, but the spirit of love and fellowship remains unchanged.  Yes, I know that this doesn't happen in every family.  Even absent conflict, you have to have the right balance of distance and proximity to make an annual family reunion tradition viable.  If the family lives in the same geographic area, much like my wife Maureen's family, there's no real need for a reunion.  (However, a journey to the lake in Minnesota often feels like one.) If family members are scattered, much like my own family, it is difficult to get together. Those families that have been able to create and sustain an annual family gathering without need of a wedding or funeral as an excuse are truly blessed. For in a world of great uncertainty, there's always one thing they can count on: Each other. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 36 -- The Localization of Network News July 19, 2013 X It is summer and it is hot.  It is supposed to be hot. But to listen to the national television news networks, we are in the midst of a historic heat wave that threatens humanity's very existence. However, the problem is that what we are experiencing, by any reasonable measure, is a normal summer.  There have been no record temperatures set.  No rash of heat-related deaths. No massive power outages. Nothing. Nada. Just heat. So why the angst?  Simply put, all of this heat without light is another sign of the localization of national news. For decades, news ratings consultants have been telling the Kens and Barbies of local TV news to give the public what it wants - weather, human interest stories, a spattering of sports and celebrities -- and did I mention weather?  They've also been told to use the evening newscast as a promotional platform for other programming. "Tonight on (name any TV news magazine), we'll have more of our interview with Joe and Joanne Celebrity," says our nightly news anchor.  What he or she doesn't say is that the stuff not worthy of airing on the nightly newscast is what we used to call outtakes. A major reason that the national news is looking more like local news is economics.  It is a lot cheaper to have your on-staff meteorologist explain the heat dome gripping the East than it is to report on the civil war in Syria.  These news rating consultants have also told newscasters that people don't want listen to complicated issues at the end of a long day at work. That's why covering a local murder trial in Sanford, Florida, is much more aesthetically pleasing than reporting on the complicated issues surrounding our changing environment. I used to watch Brian Williams on NBC Nightly News. He's intelligent, likable and, by all measures, a solid journalist. But I have switched stations because Nightly News more and more resembles a cross between the local "Action News" team and TMZ.  When he's not turning to Jim Cantore of the NBC-affiliated Weather Channel for the latest weather twist, he's promoting a segment in tonight's Dateline.  At least Scott Pelley at CBS reported this week on U.S. troops preparing for possible military action in Syria -- kind of important, don't you think? But even the CBS Evening News has led its newscast all week with "it's hot in New York."  Guess what, Scott?  It is July.  It is supposed to be hot. And by definition, that is not news. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 35 -- Misplaced Outrage July 15, 2013 X If you read my last post, you would know that the last thing in the world I want to write about the Trayon Martin - George Zimmerman case.  However, so much smoke has been blown into the national conversation since the Zimmerman was found not guilty that I want to clear the air. First, this case was about these two people and nothing else. There are people with an agenda who would like this to be about race.  Martin was black. Zimmerman is a Hispanic and white.  I suspect that if the roles were reversed, it would have been the Hispanic community up in arms about race. It seems that as a society, we are wired for racial conflict - even when it doesn't exist. As I said before, this was a case about a cop wannabe and a foul-mouthed kid with an attitude. Based on the conflicting evidence presented, I don't see how any jury could have come up with a verdict other than not guilty. There was more than enough reasonable doubt -- which is why the Sanford police didn't charge Zimmerman in the first place. This was a political prosecution fueled by Democratic party politics. And the now the Justice Department is threatening to retry Zimmerman on civil rights charges using the same political reasoning. Eric Holder's actions are arguably more criminal than George Zimmerman's.  But if you want to be outraged, focus on the guns.  Zimmerman probably wouldn't have gone anywhere near Martin if he hadn't been packing heat.  Instead, we had two alpha males squaring off and an ensuing tragedy.  As long was we treat handguns as if they are constitutionally sacrosanct, this sickening drama will continued to be replayed on the streets of every American town.  If you want to be angry, be angry at a gun culture that made this tragedy possible. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 34 -- Cheap Entertainment July 11, 2013 X The trial of George Zimmerman is about to go to the jury. Zimmerman is charged with murder in the death of an Sanford, Florida, teenager, Trayvon Martin. It is a case that has brought out the worst in American journalism. You couldn't watch cable TV news this summer without running smack-on into this case.  It's been held up as test case for racial justice in America. At least that's what cable TV news directors with an eye on ratings would have you believe.  If you bothered to wade through the testimony in this case, you'd discover that this is nothing more than a hyped-up local news story. It is the story of a cop wannabe getting into a confrontation with an angry, foul-mouthed kid that tragically escalated. It is also the story of a couple of hysterical attorneys and a hyper-sensitive judge who apparently checked her professionalism at the door. It's great television, but its not really news. It certainly doesn't merit the hours of coverage it has received. However, it gets this kind of treatment because it is cheap entertainment. When the nation's courts began opening the doors to television cameras in the late 1980s, it was hailed as bringing transparency to our courts. But there were unintended consequences. Coinciding with the growth of cable television and online media  outlets, it didn't take very long for news organizations to realize that live court coverage is a lot cheaper than doing real journalism. Stick a camera in the courtroom, hire a couple legal pundits with good hair and shazam! You have in-depth legal coverage. Never mind that there's a lot of things going on in this world that are not getting covered so we can watch George Zimmerman sweat in his cheap suit. It's these same economics that have made reality shows like Jersey Shore and Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo as welcome as jock itch in a summer camp. And, unfortunately, the public is beginning to see our court system less as an arbiter of justice and more as a source of amusement. As a First Amendment advocate, I do not want to see cameras removed from courtrooms.  But I would like to see journalists - especially those on cable television -- make better use of this access. Cover the case, but skip the theatrics. There's a lot more important stuff going on than this over-hyped local trial. Let justice take its course - just not on my television. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 33 -- Change, For Some July 2, 2013 X Last week, the United States Supreme Court threw out portions of the Defense of Marriage Act, a/k/a DOMA. If the polls are to be believed, it was a move supported by a majority of Americans.  And while gay couples cannot legally marry in states like Kansas, at least the federal government will recognize them for benefits.  The Supreme Court also threw out portions of the Voting Rights Act -- portions that required southern state governments to get prior approval before changing election districts and regulations.  I applaud this move. The south has dramatically changed in the nearly 50 years since that law was created.  As Chief Justice Roberts noted, black voter turnout is higher in Mississippi than it is in Massachusetts.  The first Reconstruction ended after 12 years.  Isn't it time for Reconstruction II to end, as well?  Probably not in the the minds of some liberals.  This past week also saw Southern cuisine chef Paula Deen eviscerated because she acknowledged having used the "N-word" three decades ago.  The fact that she says she has changed over the years -- as have millions of Americans -- isn't enough for the vindictive and self-righteous.  However, it is curious that these same liberal bigots have had nothing to say about one of their own, the potty-mouthed Alec Baldwin.  The marginal actor with the inflated ego and bad temper launched a stream of homophobic remarks at the reporter last week.  So where's the outrage?  Why is he still employed by Capital One? (Which, of course begs this question of the bank: "What's in YOUR wallet?")  My hypocrisy detector is pinging loud and clear: People are allowed to change -- but only if they are liberal. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 32 -- To the People of Stilwell, Kansas June 26, 2013 X It is my sad duty to inform you that you have sent to the Kansas House of Representatives an idiot.  Or a liar. Or both. Take your pick.  My blood boiled this morning when I picked up my morning paper, brushed the dew off the plastic sleeve it came in, and unfolded it. There, screaming at me, was the headline, "Lawmaker berates KU, Regents over spending." It seems the man you sent to represent you, Ray Merrick, seems to think that KU and other state universities are just wasting state money on lazy professors and overpaid administrators. And to think Merrick is actually Speaker of the House.  He is really the Speaker with a Forked Tongue. As one who is putting in 50-60 hours a week this summer -- on half pay, mind you, -- to make a summer online course successful, Merrick's bovine dung remarks are insulting. He stakes his claim on the fact that some professors don't teach.  But he either it too lazy to learn or has deliberately ignored the fact that those professors, engaged in research, create real wealth for the state of Kansas - a claim Merrick can not make for himself.  Just the KU Medical School in Wichita -- a small very part of the university -- generated nearly $50 million a year in economic activity. As for the so-called overpaid administrators, perhaps he should walk a day in their shoes.  Then he would find what an honest day's -- and night's -- work really is.  I will grant the Speaker with a Forker Tongue one point: Giving the Chancellor a $60,000 raise, no matter how well deserved (and it is) at this particular time, was a poor political move.  As I have noted before (Vol. 4 No. 47), tuition now pays for the majority of KU's operating expenses. That would be OK if this were a for-profit business.  But what Merrick and his narrow-minded cronies don't realize is that KU provides a powerful economic stimulus to this state, educating a highly talented work force, generating economic activity in terms of tax revenues and financial investments, and attracting revenue-generating businesses to come here.  Merrick the Mindless, do you think Cerner would be building a facility at the Legends if KU did not have one of the best pharmacuetic schools in the country?  If your answer is "yes," then please tell me the color of the sky in the world in which you live. To give tax breaks to businesses by eviscerating one of the state's most powerful economic engines is insane. To the people of Stilwell: I hope you will continue to send your best and brightest to KU. You certainly can't say the same for the quality of people you sent to Topeka. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 31 -- Sweet Satisfaction and Humility June 22, 2013 X Five weeks ago, I used this space to wax philosophically about rejection.  I had just had a paper rejected for a conference I really wanted to attend. To be honest, it was really depressing. However, I put on a proper British "stiff upper lip" and kept plugging away as I should. In that May 14 post, I was almost prescient when I wrote: "In my case, every paper I have had rejected was later published. I will admit it has been much tougher facing the rejections I have received for a book manuscript I have been peddling. When you work that long on something -- in this case years -- rejection letters are like daggers in the heart. However, the knowledge of how sweet it will be when a publisher says 'yes' is enough to sustain me." That moment came last Monday morning when I received an e-mail from the owner of Old Line Publishing of Hamstead, Maryland, informing me that he wanted to publish my book.  The subject line of the e-mail said, "CONGRATULATIONS!!! Your manuscript has been accepted!"  When I saw it, there was a moment of disbelief.  I wondered whether I had read it correctly. And as I read the e-mail, I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I printed the e-mail and calmly walked it to my wife. At first she was confused as to why I wanted her to read the document.  But once the meaning of the message became clear, she burst into a smile bright enough to light up mid-America.  I knew I would be pleased, but wasn't prepared for what happened next. Within minutes of announcing the good news on Facebook, congratulations came in from dozens of people. I was deeply touched by the outpouring of support. That feeling of sweet satisfaction turned to one of gratitude and humility.  And I was reminded that we do not travel on this journey alone. In the face of rejection, one's determination to succeed is fueled by the encouragement of others. For that, I am eternally grateful. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 30 -- Whom Do You Trust? June 12, 2013 X First it was Private First Class Bradley Manning.  Now it is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old government contractor, who has joined the "I will commit treason in the name of the people" club.  Manning is facing a court-martial. Snowden is reportedly hiding in Hong Kong. Both took it on their own authority - that is to say without any authorization - to release U.S. government state secrets.  Manning released secret U.S. diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks founder and accused sexual offender Julian Assange. His action probably caused the death of some of America's friends. Snowden released information documenting the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance of telephone calls. It is too soon to say what damage he has done. Manning and Snowden, both misguided miscreant members of the most self-indulgent generation, decided on their own that they were the "chosen ones" to release top secret information in the name of the people.  Instead, they have given aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States during a time of war. In Snowden's case, he has overplayed his hand and has been caught in several lies. Several national security and technology experts told NPR's Morning Edition today that Snowden overstated his position at NSA. "Not all analysts have the ability to target everything," Snowden told The Guardian."But I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authority to wiretap anyone from you or your accountant to a federal judge to even the president if I had a personal email." Carrie Corderro, the director of National Security Studies at Georgetown and, herself, a former intelligence officer, said, "The notion that this individual has the authority to go ahead and quote-unquote wiretap people is just ridiculous." It has also been noted that the broad outline of the NSA's efforts have been going on with Congressional knowledge for years. Manning and Snowden said they violated federal law because they thought that we, people, need to know what's happening.  But who gave them the moral authority to do so?  How do these minuscule players in our national security apparatus presume that they are in a position to determine the consequences of their reckless actions? It comes down to whom do you trust - the government or a couple of lone wolves?  I know it is fashionable to bash the government, but let's be real. In a democratic society, we, the people, empower the government to use surveillance tools to protect us under proper court supervision. No evidence has been presented that the NSA has violated either the law or our trust. And just today, the head of the NSA told Congress that his agency’s extensive electronic surveillance programs have played a critical role in thwarting “dozens” of terrorist attacks on American soil.  In the final analysis, it was we, the people, who gave the NSA the tools to do their job -- and it is doing it well. On the other hand, we did not empower Manning and Snowden to act as they please. They violated their public trust and, in turn, violated each and every one of us more than any NSA data-mining operation ever could.  Editor's note: This is the 300th Snapping Turtle post since this blog began on September 28, 2007. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 29 -- Team Boomer June 9, 2013 X You may not realize it, but we are all members of Team Boomer.  For the uninitiated, Boomer put the "golden" in golden retriever.  I have been in his full-time employ since he adopted my family in November 2004.  My job is to feed him, walk him, groom him, and chauffeur him. I am his social secretary, press agent, financier and purchasing agent.  If you have ever been owned by a golden retriever, you will know that dogs of that breed consider themselves to be the center the universe. In Boomer's world, all exist to serve him. And that includes you. He has his own doctor, weekend vacation spa, groomer and support staff.  When family comes to visit, all are expected to "heel." When his people are away, others come to his house to serve his needs. Boomer doesn't ask for very much -- he just expects it all. And he gets it.  He commands me, my wife, my daughter, her boyfriend, their dog -- everyone and everything.  Please don't get me wrong.  Boomer provides a valuable service: He's my buddy.  Around here, we refer to him as "Homeland Security." Truth be told: There hasn't been a single Al Qaeda attack in West Lawrence since he began his security sweeps - or is it security sleeps -- in 2004. (I can never tell if he is sleeping or just has his ear to the ground listening for intruders.) And according to his glossy media kit and accompanying DVD bio-pic, Boomer is a great humanitarian -- or is it canine-itarian? Anyway you look at it, he is a "good boy."  Just ask him. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 28 -- The Day I Grew Up June 1, 2013 X The good people of Oklahoma have had a bad couple of weeks. Last month, a monster tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people.  Last night, another twister claimed another nine lives in the same area. The reason more people did not die is because of improved forecasting and warning systems. The recent outbreak of severe weather takes me back to the tornado outbreak of April 3, 1974.  I was just out of college and working my first job at WKCM-AM in Hawesville, Kenrtucky. The station was a 500-watt modern country music daytimer. We had faced violent weather only two days earlier.  But this day was unlike any other I had experienced - 148 tornadoes in 13 states, killing 330 people and injuring 5,484 others. Just before I was supposed to begin my air shift, I heard on the the police scanner that a tornado had struck a school bus across the river in Perry County, Indiana. I was faced with my first real-life news dilemma - report what I had heard or wait and confirm. I waited: It's foolish to report what you hear from police scanners. I also didn't know whether the bus was going to school to pick up children or was already loaded with its precious cargo. As it turned out, there were no students on board. But the school bus driver was killed. A few minutes later, a more frightening report came from just a few miles north -- downtown Brandenburg, Kentucky, was in ruins. Thirty-one people were killed in the small town of about 1,500. Another tornado ripped through Louisville, destroying Cherokee Park and damaging Freedom Hall. WHAS-AM traffic reporter Dick Gilbert tracked that tornado from his traffic helicopter - an act of courage that saved many lives and earned him National Pilot of the Year honors.  Many people and communities have since fallen victim earth's most evil wind. Every time I hear of twister touchdown, my mind goes back to April 3, 1974. It was the day I grew up. College was over. Reporting on matters of life and death for the first time had changed me forever.  X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 27 -- The Value of a Human Life May 23, 2013 X If I came up to you - or to any public official - and asked about the value of a human life, I would probably be told that you can't place a dollar value on human life. I would then tell you (or that public official) that you are wrong and that you have already made hard choices about the value of human lives. It has been 25 years since I took a graduate-level course on public policy analysis at North Carolina State University, and its lessons have stayed with me. Tragically, seven children were killed this week when a tornado ripped through Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore, Oklahoma.  The school did not have a safe room. Moore school officials estimated that one would have added $1 million to the cost of the facility. To be fair, there's no guarantee that a safe room would have saved lives in that school. It was a horrific and gigantic twister. Nor did school officials consciously calculate the value of human lives when deciding not to build safe rooms. But they did. The equation isn't all that complicated: Costs divided by human lives lost. In this case, the cost of saving a child's life would have been $142,857.14 for each child - and that, apparently was too high. Of course, there are 31 schools in Moore. If we calculate the added construction costs to the district at $31 million, then the cost of a human life would be over $4.4 million each. That seems pretty high.  But our calculations are not complete. According to the 2010 Census, there were 55,081 people living in Moore.  The cost of building safe rooms would be an additional $80.40 per resident. I'll bet you that the overwhelming majority of Moore residents would be willing to spend an additional $80.40 per household member to save a child's life. However, Moore officials didn't calculate cost-benefit in those terms. They do what most public officials do: Look at the high cost of doing something, shrug their shoulders and say that it costs too much. And they do that because, as citizens, we do the same. Please don't stand there and tell me that it is impossible to place a price tag on the life of a child. We do it all of the time. And in Moore, Oklahoma, that price tag was $80.40. I wonder if the folks there feel as if they got their money's worth? X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 26 -- "There's No There There." May 17, 2013 X It seems that when our Presidents are besieged by scandals, they tend to deliver a quote that defines their scandal. Nixon said, "I am not a crook." Unfortunately, he was. Clinton said, "I did not have sex with that women." Of course, he did. For Carter, it was his malaise speech, where he mistook his own shortcomings for that of the American people. And now we have President Obama's pathetically weak defense of his administration's bungling of the Benghazi attack in which four Americans, including our ambassador, were killed by terrorists. Obama wants us to believe that the editing of talking points in the midst of a presidential campaign is inconsequential. "There's no there there," he told reporters. As it turns out, that phrase captures the essence of the Obama presidency. Obama's defense against the bungled Benghazi response, IRS targeting of conservative groups and the Justice Department's overreaching subpoenas of Associated Press telephone records has been that "the White House didn't know." If we take the President for his word, that response paints an even scarier picture. If the President didn't know, why didn't he know it? Who is running the government? Some Republicans have said the actions of the Obama administration are Nixonesque.  I disagree - that's an unfair characterization to both men. Obama hasn't, to the best of my knowledge, broken any laws. And for all his flaws, Nixon was a smarter, more effective leader of this nation than Obama can ever dream to be.  I like what Bob Schieffer of CBS News said yesterday. "This is not the Nixon administration," Schieffer said on CBS This Morning. "This is more a case of 'is anyone home?'" Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank pointedly said in a column this week that that the President needs to start participating in his own presidency. Readers of this blog may remember that as far back as 2008 I said that my major concern about Barack Obama was his arrogance (Vol. 2 No. 26). It appears those chickens have come home to roost. The man who wants to appear as a transformative change agent above the fray of the Washington drama is really nothing more than a hack Chicago politician out of touch and out of his league. Most presidents make these kinds of mistakes in their first term because of the presidency's steep learning curve.  But not this president.  It seems he is absolutely correct: There's no there there. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 25 -- Rejection: That's Life May 14, 2013 X It is never fun to be told "no." But that's a lot easier to deal with than "I don't want you." We all have to cope with rejection at some time or another. I have had a whole lifetime of rejections - and I am still here. When I was in high school and college, the pain of rejection was usually administered by some girl who said she'd rather do time in a Turkish prison than go out with me. Fortunately, that kind of pain is fleeting. And the only women who really mattered said "yes" when it mattered most. Of course, we all hear "I don't want you's" in a professional sense.  I heard it many times on the job trail when it was made crystal clear that I was, in fact, not the man for the job. I have also had the unpleasant experience of being told that I was no longer needed in the job I was holding at the time. Yes, that really sucks. But guess what? I always wound up with better jobs.  Now that I am in academia, it is not unusual for someone to tell me that my conference paper is not wanted. However, as anyone else in academia can tell you, whether or not the person who rejected your work actually read it is often an open question. In my case, every paper I have had rejected was later published. I will admit it has been much tougher facing the rejections I have received for a book manuscript I have been peddling. When you work that long on something -- in this case years -- rejection letters are like daggers in the heart. However, the knowledge of how sweet it will be when a publisher says "yes" is enough to sustain me.  Old Blue Eyes was right: That's life. And as funny as it may seem, some people get their kicks stomping on a dream. But I just can't let it get me down, cause this big old world keeps spinnin' around. I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king.  I've been up and down and over and out. But I know one thing: Each time I find myself flat on my face, I pick myself up and get back in the race. Cause that's life. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 24 -- The Season of Hope May 8, 2013 X I love this time of year. Spring is blossoming -- albeit it somewhat later than usual. The sounds of horsehide hitting ash and leather are in the air as baseball is, figuratively and literally, in full swing. It is a time when we reunite with our neighbors venturing into their yards after being huddled in their homes during the winter. However, there's something else that make this time of year special for me; the smiles on the faces of my students, many of whom are about to graduate and embark on life's great adventure.  There are few things more satisfying than to have a student rush up to you to excitedly announce that he or she has just gotten that dream job, treasured internship or acceptance into a much-desired graduate school. As a professor, I get to see these young women and men grow in ways their parents do not.  When they first arrive at college, they often think that life at a university is an extension of the high school experience.  They are quickly disabused of that notion. Teaching skills and concepts are not my only responsibilities as an educator. In that I teach in a professional school, I see my job as holding students accountable in ways they haven't been held before. I want them to walk, talk, write and comport themselves as professionals. And to their credit -- not mine -- almost all eventually do. That brings us to that special "I did it" moment, when the student tells the teacher that his or her journey along a long path of education has ended, and that a new path to the rest of his or her life has just appeared. At that moment, the world is open to endless possibilities.  It is a time of optimism in a season of hope.  It is my favorite time of year. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 23 -- The Cost of Living on Snob Hill May 1, 2013 X While many people may have been shocked by the banner headline in this morning's Lawrence Journal-World, the fact is that it should have come as no surprise. "Lawrence almost dead last in economic survey," screams out at the reader trying to getting through that first cup of coffee. The Milken Institute ranked Lawrence 178 out of 179 metro areas in its Index of Best Performing Cities. This comes just days after the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis ranked the community 339th out of 366 metro areas in gross domestic product.  City leaders may be scratching their heads over the dismal results.  But anyone who has paid attention knows the reason: The Snob Hill moniker often tossed by detractors toward the University of Kansas is actually a better fit for the community's business climate.  I have worked with a number of chambers of commerce across Kansas during my two decades at KU. Their leaders all say the same thing: Lawrence has a reputation for being anti-business.  Just recently, some city leaders have been throwing up roadblocks to keep Menard's from moving into Lawrence.  There was the absolutely ridiculous decision to block Lowes from building in a retail area that was well-suited for it and would have been welcomed by residents living nearby. And there's the $1 million in legal fees the city wasted trying to block construction of a Walmart willing to meet every city zoning requirement. While our high-minded liberal leadership talks a good game about making Lawrence a good place to live, the undeniable fact is that the city doesn't welcome any business that may attract blue-collar jobs.  While I love living in a college town with its high culture and public arts, Lawrence is home to more than just professors, college administrators and high tech entrepreneurs. It is also home to people who use their hands and stand on their feet all-day-long to make a living. Granted, there are those who say that every ranking has an inherent bias that skews the results. And there is truth to that statement.  However, there is an understanding within the social sciences that the more indicators point in the same direction, the more likely it is that those indicators are accurate. Despite all of the protests from those who would have you believe that this community is much too good to attract ordinary jobs, there is one clear and undeniable fact: Lawrence is not open for business. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 22 -- That Was The Week That Was April 21, 2013 X President Barack Obama expressed the sentiment of most people last Friday when he said it had been a "tough week." It started with the horrific bombings at the Boston Marathon and ended with the death of one and the capture of the other alleged bombers. Two pressure cooker bombs killed three people and injured more than 130 others. The Friday arrest came after the murder of a police officer, a wild chase and gunfight, and the lock down of a great American city. In between those events was a massive industrial explosion in West, Texas, that left approximately a dozen dead and the small town in ruins. There was also a political disaster, the U.S. Senate's failure to pass reasonable -- and relatively toothless -- gun control legislation. For the people in Lawrence, Kansas, there was the thing that didn't happen -- the President canceled his Friday visit to the University of Kansas because of the events in Boston. To give perspective on the past week: North Korea's bellicose pronouncements of a pending Armageddon that had dominated the news for weeks  hardly merited a mention this past week. It has been a stressful time for the American public. Unfortunately, we've gotten pretty used to it -- and it won't be the last. For example, there will be dire ramifications if it we discover that those two Chechen low-lifes accused of planting the Boston bombs had help. And, of course, Kim Jong-un is as much of a nut-job this week as he was last week. Speaking of nut-jobs, let me share three words with you: National Rifle Association.  Take a deep breathe. Last week is over. Who knows what's next? X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 21 -- Gun Pimps - Part 2 April 17, 2013 X Earlier this month I referred to the Kansas delegation in the U.S. House Representatives as "gun pimps" (Vol. 7 No. 18). I held off judgment on our two U.S. Senators, Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, because there had been indications that the Senate was working toward a bipartisan compromise involving background checks for gun purchases.  Tonight, our two senators joined the ranks of their Kansas house colleagues in pimping for the gun lobby. While the measure proposed by Senators Toomey and Manchin received a majority of 54 votes in the Senate, it fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed under the Senate's antiquated - some could say anti-democratic - rules. Four Republicans -- but not our guys -- defied the National Rifle Association and voted in favor of the Toomey-Manchin compromise. Four gutless Democrats voted against. (For procedural reasons that would allow him to bring up the matter again, House Majority Leader Harry Reid also voted "no.")  President Obama reacted angrily to the Senate's action, noting that an overwhelming majority of Americans favor reasonable gun control measures, including background checks and limiting the number of bullets gun magazines can hold. He asked, Who are we here to represent?" Who, indeed?   Meanwhile, Senator Roberts said he would co-sponsor a totally meaningless piece of legislation called "The Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act of 2013." It is nothing more than a classic case of political misdirection - proposing something that sounds good, but actually does the opposite.  When you dig down into the language of the bill, you'll find it is all rhetoric with no teeth -- kind of like Roberts, himself.  Roberts, Moran and every other Senator who stood with the gun lobby this evening have the blood of future innocent victims on their hands. No, they didn't pull the trigger. They just made it easier for the bad guys to get the guns. Shame on you. Shame on you. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 20 -- The Greatest Good April 13, 2013 X My family built a fallout shelter fifty years ago because of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Fortunately, the only use it now has the storage of canned goods and odds and ends.  The threat of thermonuclear war was very real in October 1962.  Today, North Korean dictator and wack-job Kim Jong Un is threatening us with nuclear annihilation. However, the public's attitude toward this mounting crisis is decidedly different than it was a half-century ago.  For one thing, no one believes that Un is stupid enough to pull the trigger.  Even he knows that would mean instantaneous regime change. The United States is in a position to rid the world of Un, his politburo and most of his armed forces in the time it takes to split an atom. There is also the realization that he hasn't the means to deliver on his threats.  Sure, he can cause a lot of damage. However, the American retaliation would result in his death as well as that of communism in North Korea. So why is has he ramped up the belligerent rhetoric? He is is looking for concessions and a end to international sanctions against his barbarous regime. President Obama should not give him anything. Doing so weakens our position in the world by rewarding bad behavior.  Our message to North Korea, Iran and anyone willing to get into bed with them should be simple: End your nuclear ambitions now or we will end them for you. It will gall a lot of people, but former President George W. Bush's doctrine of preemption was correct. The consequences of waiting for the other guy to attack us first is not only dangerous but immoral. I also believe it is immoral to send American troops into harm's way when our nuclear arsenal can accomplish the same thing in a lot less time. And for those of you who worry about the loss of a innocent Iranian and North Korean lives, ponder this: Who among them worries about the loss of innocent American lives?  The collateral damage in the Second World War was horrific. But without it, there would have been no D-Day, no V-E Day, No V-J Day and millions more of Jews and Chinese would have been slaughtered by the Axis powers.  You tell me what is the greatest good? X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 19 -- The Woeful Wizard of Oz April 9, 2013 X Sam Brownback, Kansas governor and unannounced candidate for President of the United States, got his moment in the sun this past weekend. With an evangelical zeal, he delivered the Republican's national weekly radio address. In it, Brownback said Washington was "broken" and that the American people should look to states such as Kansas for answers to its problems.  If you missed Brownback's broadcast, here's my favorite part of his speech: "Ha ha ha. Ho ho ho. And a couple of tra-lah-lahs. That's how we laugh our days away in the Merry Old Land of Oz." If that doesn't make any sense to you, you probably don't understand SamSpeak.  Allow me to translate: Brownback claimed that his administration eliminated a $500 million state budget deficit without raising taxes or cutting school spending. The Woeful Wizard of Oz did not mention that cutting the deficit had been made possible by the passage of a sales tax increase just before he took office and by slashing public education funding by $232 per pupil.  The first part of the Wizard's claim - no new taxes - can be excused as a clever manipulation of the language.  After all, he didn't raise taxes.  He just spent the money. But the second part - the part about not cutting education funding - is a outright lie. And what the national radio audience didn't hear last Saturday is that the Wizard and his gang of Flying Monkeys, otherwise known as radial Republican legislators, just adjourned their Topeka conclave by passing gun and abortion laws that are morally reprehensible and, in one case, challenges the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.  And unless some yet-to-be identified Dorothy drops a house upon the Wicked Witches of the West a/k/a the Koch brothers, the Woeful Wizard will continue to spin his black magic in an attempt to take up residence in the city after which L. Frank Baum modeled Emerald City, Washington D.C.  Yes, it's true: We are not in Kansas, Toto. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 18 -- Gun Pimps April 2, 2013 X It is shocking, albeit predictable, that Congress has been unable to enact sensible gun control in the four months since the senseless massacre of young children and their teachers in Newtown, Connecticut. It's not as if Congress has tried to revoke the Second Amendment. But anyone who tells you that restricting high-volume ammunition magazines and the sale of new assault weapons is tantamount taking away their guns has a perverse sense of self. Of course, many of these are the same folks who accuse illegal immigrants from taking away jobs that they would never accept in the first place. The Kansas delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives is in no hurry to bring sanity to gun laws -- especially while the National Rifle Association is happily filling their campaign coffers. Federal Elections Commission records show that during the last election cycle (2011-2012), Representatives Lynne Jenkins and Mike Pompeo each received $2,000 from NRA lobbyists. Tim "Tea Party" Huelskamp, who had no electoral opposition, collected $2,150. And Kevin "Buck Bathing in the River Jordan" Yoder, had only Libertarian opposition in the election and pocketed $4,000 from the gun lobby. In congressional fund-raising circles, those amounts of money are considered chump change.  That's appropriate, because only a chump would accept the NRA's change.  At least Jenkins, Huelskamp and Pompeo acknowledge that gun control is an issue on their official websites -- although they frame it as a "Second Amendment" issue. Why don't they call it what it really is, a "Slaughter in our Schools and Streets" issue. However, Yoder, the biggest recipient of blood money in the Kansas delegation, doesn't even mention guns as an issue on his website. I support your Second Amendment right to bear arms - or even to arm bears, if you get off on that sort of thing. But I don't defend anyone's right to possess the unregulated firepower of a private army. I also cherish my First Amendment right to call out these elected officials for what they really are: gun pimps for the NRA.  If that's what you want from your congressional representatives, fine. I just pray that no one you care about falls victim to this kind of legislative lunacy. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 17 -- Muddled Mission March 20, 2013 X Buried near the end of a Kansas City Star article on looming higher education cuts by Kansas's short-sighted legislature is a provocative quote from the head the state's largest community college: "Johnson County Community College president Terry Calaway said the college would need to look at eliminating some career and technical programs that tend to require more pricey equipment." The irony of such a statement did not escape me: JCCC is willing to cut the vocational classes essential to meeting its primary mission in order to preserve liberal arts programs that compete with colleges and universities. Hundreds of University of Kansas students take liberal arts classes at JCCC each semester because they are less expensive and have less rigor than those at KU. To make matters worse, the residents of Douglas County have to pay a stipend for every Lawrence student who takes classes at JCCC because there is no local community college. Never mind that fact that many of the so-called Lawrence residents are KU students from around the state and nation looking for an easier and cheaper path to graduation. It also ignores the fact that through the receipt of state funding, Douglas County residents are already subsidizing JCCC. And now, the totally redundant and unnecessary Kansas Board of Regents is urging the state's colleges and universities to allow for the transfer of more community college credits. All of this is part of a nationwide trend: Community colleges attempting to redefine their mission from vocational schools to wannabe academic equals of colleges and universities. Partly out of pride and partly because of economics, community colleges are abandoning their primary purpose, providing a post-high school education geared toward honorable and profitable  careers. At the risk of being labeled a "snob," let me point out the obvious: More than two decades of personal experience has shown me that students who take liberal arts classes at the state's community colleges tend to be less prepared for upper-level academic courses than those who took those same classes at KU. It seems ludicrous in this period of budget-cutting frenzy to rob Peter to pay Paul -- especially when Paul has no business being paid in the first place.  Until our short-sighted and rudderless state leaders start holding community colleges accountable for this mission drift, that's exactly what is going to happen. XPeter to pay Paul That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 16 -- Habemus Papen? March 12, 2013 X I am not Catholic. Since I was confirmed in the Episcopal Church and have been a de facto Catholic through marriage for the past 38 years, I am, at best, "Catholic light." But I have more than a passing interest in what happens in the next few days in Vatican City. The cardinals are in conclave to elect a new Pope. And the new Pontiff will face the challenge of dealing with a church in shambles. Many of its problems stem from the church hierarchy's dogmatic adherence to secrecy. Almost every scandal linked to the Catholic Church has been made worse by cover up attempts. You can't blame the public for its skepticism in the face of the church governance's fundamental disconnect from its own stated values. All of this is complicated further by a lingering anti-Catholic bias within the United States. Too often, the church is being asked to abandon its beliefs in the name of political expediency. Don't get me wrong: I think the church should soften its stand on birth control and the ordination of women.  But I also believe that those are decisions that must bubble up from within the church and not be forced upon it by anti-Catholic forces outside the Vatican walls. I have often thought it ironic that Americans seem far more willing to tolerate Islam, a religion with which we have tangible conflicts, than it is to accept Catholicism, a faith which, on balance, is closely aligned with basic American values of social justice.  The selection of the latest successor to St. Peter will speak volumes about where the church sees itself going in the coming decade.  Just as the selection of John Paul II signaled the church's new direction in world affairs, one can only hope that the selection of a new Pope will speak to a desire to change the trajectory of cynicism and secrecy within the Vatican, itself. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 15 -- You Can't Have It Both Ways March 8, 2013 X It is easy to admire someone holding to his or her principles, even when you don't agree with those principles. However, there's nothing to admire in the Kansas legislature.  Those fools are all over the map when it comes to consistency in values. For example, a House committee yesterday passed sweeping anti-abortion legislation aimed at ensuring the state doesn’t subsidize abortions even indirectly through tax exemptions or credits. In its original form, a mother would have been prohibited from bringing cupcakes to her child's classroom if she worked in an abortion provider. That portion of the bill, prohibiting employees of abortion providers to volunteer in schools, was eventually removed - but not until legislative bottom-feeder Rep. Allan Rothlisberg (R-Grandview Plaza) said he didn't want anyone involved in "killing children or babies" volunteering in public schools. OK, I get it. These people view abortion as murder.  I don't agree, but I get it. What I don't understand is how the legislature can be so vehemently pro-life when it comes to abortion, but can't bring itself to reign in sales of assault weapons and high-volume ammunition magazines that are a clear and present danger to human life? According to federal statistics, Kansas has 9.7 gun deaths per 100,000 in its population - about 276 a year. These are tangible, living, breathing people. If our legislators believe life begins at conception, why don't we seem to care about those people that are actually born? These so-called leaders of our state say it is a matter of protecting one's personal freedoms. OK, I get that. Then why can't a woman make the personal choice of whether or not she carries a pregnancy to full term? And don't say life trumps personal freedoms unless you are ready to change gun laws. You can't have it both ways. Stop trying to play God. I suspect the real God looks down on that sort of thing. Oh, I forgot, we are supposed to separate church from state. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 14 -- The Age of Entitlement March 5, 2013 X A couple of seemingly unrelated incidents have caught my eye. First, there's an item in the paper over Tucker Carlson's indelicate slap at Wiccans. When he noted that their holy days had been placed on the University of Missouri's calendar of recognized religious observances, he evoked some inappropriate - albeit funny - caricatures of the members of the sect. He shouldn't have said what he said - mean-spirited stereotypes never play well in a fair-minded society. But his point was well taken. It is ludicrous that in our overly politically correct society that we feel compelled to place a minor and obscure pagan cult on a par with the world's major religions. Religious freedom and tolerance doesn't infer real or moral equality. Then there was last night's Daily Show with Jon Stewart, when the host took the weekend reemergence of Mitt Romney to once again take a slap at the former candidate's infamous "47 percent" remark. Like Carlson, Romney's remark was poorly framed. However, his point was spot-on. Recent events bear this out. On January 1, Republicans in Congress blinked and gave in to President Obama's demands for tax increases to deal with the deficit. However, they did so with an implicit promise that spending cuts would follow. Fast-forward to last week, when the sequester deadline came and went. For all the smoke and mirrors, it is an undeniable fact that the Democrats and the White House did not live up to their end of the bargain. And now they are trying to pin the blame on Republicans for the draconian budget cuts to social programs and the military. In this context, it seems that the only mistake Romney made was that his "47 percent" figure was too low. It may be that a majority of voters in this country have a warped sense of entitlement and believe that it is possible to clean up our nation's budgetary mess without any sacrifices. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Wiccans. In fact, they are so far below my radar that I pay them absolutely no attention whatsoever. And I also believe that spending cuts have to be coupled with tax increases to deal with the nation's budget deficit. But the continuing reaction to Carlson's and Romney's remarks has led me to believe that we live in an Age of Entitlement where there are no consequences for reckless behavior - especially for pagans or Democrats. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 13 -- Sequester March 1, 2013 X It was just two months ago that Congress faced and failed to meet a deadline for dealing with this nation's budget woes.  On that occasion, our so-called leaders fretted about falling off the "fiscal cliff." Draconian cuts in the federal budget were scheduled to take effect if the Congress and the White House did not reach some agreement on a package of tax increases and spending cuts to rein in the federal budget deficit. As you may recall, our elected leaders did what they do best -- nothing.  They kicked the can down the road by delaying the effects of the the so-called sequester until March 1.  That day has come, and still Congress and the White House have done nothing.  No, wait. That's unfair. They have done something -- they started to finger-point blame at each other for us reaching this point. But, just in case you haven't noticed, the tone in Washington is a lot different today than it was New Year's Day.  Back then, Washington was filled with Chicken Littles claiming that the sky is falling.  Today, our nation's capital is filled with purveyors of chicken dung more interested in scoring political points than fixing a problem they manufactured. At the top of that list I place the President of United States, who used his State of the Union address to lay out of vision of new spending programs without a plan for how we are supposed to pay for them.  And at a time when he is free of the constraints of electoral politics, his actions are more those of a hack Chicago politician than those of the visionary his rhetoric would have us believe he is. I am not an economist, but I doubt that the effects of the sequester will be as dire as our elected leaders say they will be. If there was no sequester and we continued along our current path, the economy would tank. If Congress and the White House had gotten together on a more refined and strategic package of tax increases and spending cuts, it probably would not have hurt the economy any more than the indiscriminate cuts of the sequester. The only difference is there would have been rhyme and reason to their actions. Something had to be done.  In the absence of real leadership from either end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the sequester will have do for now. Anyone who thinks that we are going to get this nation's fiscal house in order without some pain and sacrifice is smoking the dung that Washington has been dishing. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 12 -- Hypocritical Hypocrats February 24, 2013 X There are immoral and illegal drug cartels operating in your town about which no one dares to speak. They are led by highly paid pillars of our community who beneath a cloak of philanthropy and kindness are sucking the life out of the American economy. They do not work out of a bunker. They operate - figuratively and literally - in the community hospital. I invite you to read the March 4 cover story in Time by Steven Brill. In a thorough investigation of hospital billing practices, Brill exposes medical pricing schemes that would make the Pentagon blush. For example, the highly respected M.D. Anderson Cancer Treatment Center charges $1.50 for a single Tylenol tablet.  You can buy a bottle of 100 on Amazon.com for $1.49. It charges $283 for chest X-rays for people with health insurance. Those using Medicare, the cost is only $20.44. How about $77 for a box of sterile gauze pads that costs only $10? My favorite excess: $24 for a 500-mg Niacin pill that costs about a nickel each. It is easy to make so-called ambulance-chasing lawyers the fall guys for outrageous health care costs. However, the culprits are far more sinister: Doctors and hospital administrators who prey on their patients during their time of greatest need. Not only do these patients get their life blood sucked out of them by a criminal system of outrageous billing, they then get charged under pseudo-medical labels for the privilege - call it a "walletectomy" - hoping we are too stupid to notice.  The Hippocratic Oath says doctors should do no harm.  After reading Brill's article, you will come to realize that doing financial harm is what many of them do best. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 11 -- Phony Outrage February 19, 2013 X University of Miami President Donna Shalala is outraged. She bitterly complained yesterday that the NCAA's investigation into her morally corrupt football and basketball programs had gone on to long and that her institution should be cleared of all charges. I can agree with the first part - it's been approximately 18 months since it was revealed that a prominent Miami booster had been supplying athletes with money and prostitutes. I can also agree that the NCAA has badly bungled this investigation - not a first for that inept and impotent organization. But to get off scott-free for behavior that makes the Penn State scandal look like a minor misunderstanding? You can't help but wonder whether Shalala has any moral backbone. Oh, wait.  I forgot. This is the same Donna Shalala who allowed Bill Clinton to use her and other female members of his cabinet to front his defense against a sex scandal that led to his impeachment. When investigators found the infamous blue dress, proving that Clinton had lied to God and country, Shalala feigned outrage.  At a cabinet meeting, she demanded a explanation. Slick Willie quickly shut her down without even a hint of an apology. Any self-respecting person would have resigned in protest. Which explains Shalala's current statements in defense of the indefensible. When it comes to a loss of institutional control and prostitution, Donna Shalala has been there, done that. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 10 -- Gilbert February 16, 2013 X There are three plains of existence: The world that was, the world that is and the world that will be. It is only in the first one that we are powerless to change the course of events. I was reminded of that last night while watching The Ghosts of Ole Miss, an ESPN documentary on the events surrounding James Meredith's contentious admission to the previously segregated University of Mississippi in 1962. Two people died and dozens were injured when President Kennedy sent U.S. Marshals to the Oxford campus to enforce a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Meredith be admitted to the all-white school. One of the blowbacks from the segregationist rampage was that the school's undefeated football team was never recognized for its achievements -- as if the entire fall of 1962 never happened. Wright Thompson's excellent film got me thinking about the autumn of 1964, the first time that a kid with a black face showed up in my seventh grade class at St. Michaels Elementary School on Maryland's Eastern Shore. His name was Gilbert - I am sorry to say I don't remember his last name. We shared the same wood shop station. At first, we talked about stuff that young boys talk about, in those days mostly the Baltimore Colts. We also talked about his situation, a stranger in a strange and not always welcoming land. The more I talked with Gilbert, the more I learned that we were not all that different. In fact, the most significant difference was that I could go anywhere without fear. After the eighth grade, I transferred to another school and never saw Gilbert again. I since often have wondered if I had done right by him. After all, I carried the prejudices of my parents, who carried the prejudices of their parents and so on.  I couldn't change the world that was. But, after awhile, I began to change the world that is and will be, thanks in some measure to Gilbert. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 9 -- Moral Ambiguity February 7, 2013 X Am I a hypocrite for being thrilled that the Baltimore Ravens won this year's Super Bowl? Does the fact that I appreciate the skills that just-retired Ray Lewis brought to position of linebacker endorse every aspect of his life? These are real questions I have asked myself in recent days. And I have come to the conclusion, perhaps not surprisingly, that the answer to both questions is "no." Cheering for a team and the city or school it represents does not mean one buys into every aspect of that team. Respecting one's on-field talent doesn't mean I am giving him a pass on his lifestyle. Ray Lewis has had a stellar career in the National Football League, in part, because he was willing to hide the truth about the death of two men in Atlanta in 2000. The fact that he has several children from different women, none of whom he has married, is, in my sense of morality, nothing to admire. However, since Atlanta, Lewis has shown admirable leadership abilities on and off the gridiron. I believe one can compartmentalize to applaud and condemn at the same time. We live in a world without many absolutes. We all love our country, warts and all. We can enjoy the music of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and even the Beatles without condoning the drug culture that often fueled it. And one certainly can believe in God without buying hook, line and sinker into the polemics of self-proclaimed holy men and women. The fact is that we live in a morally ambiguous world and most of us try to muddle through it the best we can. I will lose sleep over moral questions that affect loved ones, friends, my profession and the innocent. But do I have to do a character check of every member of every sports team, music group, movie star or writer I support? You can if you so choose. It is, as they say, a free country. But I refuse to live in a hyper-judgmental state. I just don't have that much negative energy. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 8 -- Take a Bow, Then Go January 25, 2013 X U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton will recede into private life within the next few days for the first time since her husband became Attorney General of Arkansas in 1977. And while Bill Clinton climbed to greater heights, it has been Hilary Clinton that has won admiration from the public.  It hasn't always been that way. And if she uses her retirement as a launching pad for another run at the presidency, that public admiration will dissipate. That's because she has been, at times, as divisive a public figure are her controversial husband.  I remain convinced that the only reason she did not go to jail for the Whitewater scandal is that others, most notably Susan McDougal, were willing to take the rap for her. She badly mismanaged the health care debate during her husband's first term in office. And when Monica Lewinsky 's soiled blue dress emerged and her husband was impeached, she shamelessly channeled Tammy Wynette and urged the Philanderer-in-Chief to cling to power. However, the world saw a new Hilary as she emerged from Bill's shadows. Even her critics acknowledge her stellar service, first in the U.S. Senate and later in the State Department. Now, she is bowing out and moving on - but to where? Many close to her say she's eying a run for the White House in 2016. Her age and health may dictate otherwise. It would be a mistake for her to view her near-miss in the 2008 presidential primaries as a mandate to run again.  Those were unique political circumstances fueled by recession and war. Now that the democrats have taken ownership of both, Hilary would have a tough hill to climb. This is a great opportunity for her to take her bow and gracefully exit the public stage. But, again, that's never been her style. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 7 -- Mental Health and Guns January 25, 2013 X Senator Diane Feinstein, a person thrust into the national spotlight in 1978 because of a senseless act of gun violence, yesterday introduced legislation that would ban the future sale of assault weapons. It would not take away weapons from those who already own them. A refrain heard yesterday from those in opposition to the tightening on gun regulations is that we need to take a holistic approach to the problem of gun violence. They also say we need a stronger focus on mental health in America. Frankly, I couldn't agree more. It is very troubling that millions of our citizens are paranoid about the prospects of the government seizing our guns so that it can convert the United States into a communist-socialist-leftist-pinko state. Never mind that it is same government has spent tens of trillions of dollars and sacrificed hundreds of the thousands of lives over the past century to defeat that very form of tyranny. It is troubling that these same patriots feel they need their guns to repel an invasion. I have to admit that I saw "Mars Attacks" and it scared the heck out me. But with an ample supply of Slim Whitman records, we can stop anything that comes our way. And then there's the argument that the "only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." That kind of thinking comes out the Cold War strategy of Mutually Assured Destruction - with the appropriate acronym of MAD. Sure, MAD worked: But at what cost? Nations have huddled in fear and exhausted their treasuries to keep an uneven peace. And what did we get: A world where 19 guys with box cutters can ignite an asymmetric world war against terrorism. Is this the NRA's vision, where half-blind Mrs. Simpson, the crabby lunch lady in the elementary school cafeteria is packing heat? Need to ramp up mental health programs? Damn straight - starting with the afflicted folks that comprise the "from my cold, dead hands" lobby. If they think that providing lip service to mental health funding will solve the problem of gun violence, they are crazy. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle X Vol. 7 No. 6 -- Legacy January 20, 2013 X President Barack Obama enters his second term facing great challenges - some of his own creation. When he took office four years ago, the economy was in sorry shape. He chose to engage in an unprecedented orgy of government spending that may have temporary forestalled some of the pain, but also may have set the stage for an even bigger economic disaster. I have no problem with the hardball politics he practiced to earn reelection. As they say, you have to play to win. However, I cannot condone his conduct during the post-election period. (See Vol. 7 No. 5) It is as if there is no off-switch for David Axelrod and his cronies. And there are signs the President will remain in campaign mode going into the new Congress - a huge mistake if he really wants to get things done. Obama has roughly a two-year window of opportunity to tackle the issues he says are important and to cement his legacy in the history books. First, he has to inch us away from the fiscal cliff with a meaningful combination of tax increases and budget cuts.  Believe it or not, he can find some support from republicans willing to reject the single-minded Tea Party and who are trying to rebrand themselves as reasonable public servants. If he works with those people, he and his party will continue to succeed. But if he continues to act like a junkyard dog gnawing on an old soup bone, our nation may experience Meltdown II.  And make no mistake about, Obama's days of blaming George W. Bush are over. It is President Obama's  legacy that is now on the line. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. X Vol. 7 No. 5 -- What Barack Can Learn From Lance January 15, 2013 X There's a lot Barack Obama can learn from Lance Armstrong. Both are bigger-than-life figures who overcame adversary to become among the most-admired people in America. Their success brought hope to millions. And now, they are disappointing to legions of followers because they are much less than they said they were.  Armstrong's story is well-known and, until now, inspiring. He had overcome cancer and beat the odds to become a seven-time Tour de France champion.  But now, he tells Oprah and the rest of the world that he had a little help - doping. Think where he would be today if he hadn't cheated. He'd be more like Greg LeMond, another American who overcame physical adversity - in his case a shotgun accident - to win the world's most difficult bicycle race three times. To be sure, LeMond was less successful than Armstrong. But even if LeMond hadn't won, he would be a source of inspiration and admiration for having tried. And he quit racing when he realized that the only way he could win would be to cheat. This is where Armstrong's example can school Obama. Even with his reelection, Obama's first term was far from what was promised. But having been reelected, Obama should be free of electoral politics to work on the legacy he promised; that of unifying, bipartisan leadership. However, his performance since last November has fallen pathetically short of that mark. As recent as yesterday's news conference, Obama reverted to the arrogant, small-minded, "it's not my fault" rhetoric that characterized his first term in office.  He remains more interested in scoring political points than in doing the people's business. He talked about a "balanced" approach to deficit reduction during the campaign.  But every time  republicans rightly call for reduced federal spending, President Obama bristles. The fact that Meet the Press host David Gregory recently had to remind the president that he has a gun control agenda also makes you wonder if those were crocodile tears shed after the Newtown massacre? Is he really serious about gun control, or is he more interested in a conflict that seems to feed his polling numbers? I'd much prefer a president who puts more stock in doing what is right, like Greg LeMond, than one who follows a path of expedience, like Lance Armstrong. At the end of his second term, Obama will be more admired as a president who tried to bridge the partisan divide - even if he fails - than he will as a president who didn't fail because he didn't really try. If our president continues to act like just another small-minded hack Chicago politician, then he will be a lame duck president before he takes the oath of office for a second term. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. X Vol. 7 No. 4 -- Two Wrongs Do Not Make It Right January 12, 2013 X A three-judge panel ruled yesterday that the Kansas legislature has failed in its constitutional duties to provide suitable funding for public schools. However, when the court handed down a ruling prescribing a specific level of funding for the school, it did the same.  The ruling has the effect of requiring the state to spend another $442 million on education, which it already single-largest chunk of the state budget. The issue here is not school funding.  I agree it is too low and that our legislature, in its zeal to follow a right-wing agenda, has cut taxes without regard to the impact upon legitimate government services.  However, the ends do not justify the means. Under our system of government, the legislative branch -- and not the judiciary -- decides specific spending levels.  It has to be that way.  Only the legislative branch has the right to adjust state spending to meet current economic conditions. For the courts again to overreach in their constitutional authority is a dangerous precedent -- a form of legally sanctioned dictatorship.  I do not believe that Governor Sam Brownback is a bad person. But I disagree with this theory of government. My disagreement does not invalidate his approach to governing -- not, at least, until the next election. The same holds true for the legislature. The courts in Kansas have a moral responsibility to follow the law -- not create their own version of it. The court's reckless decision comes at a dangerous time. The governor and his supporters are looking at changing the way judges are appointed. The process they proposed would give the executive and legislative branches more power to to impose ideological standards. I need not tell you how dangerous that would be.  Yes, the governor and his allies have done a great disservice to the people of Kansas by cutting taxes at the expense of students. But the Kansas courts have done an even greater disservice by ignoring the constitution they are sworn to preserve, protect and defend. This is a classic case of where two wrongs do not make it right. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. X Vol. 7 No. 3 -- Dueling Dumbasses January 8, 2013 X One can't help but wonder if our nation has started its death spiral.  Usually, I am an optimistic guy and I'd like to think our best days are yet to come. But then, I see this, an absolutely revolting debate between CNN's fuzzy-haired and fuzzier-thinking Piers Morgan and Alex Jones, a jack-booted, gun-toting loud-mouth radio host. Talk about an interview that generated more heat than light! The whole thing was a waste of electrons. I have a few questions for both "gentlemen" - and I use the term advisedly. Mr. Morgan, why would you even think of putting a thug like Jones on the air? You might answer that by saying you wanted the American people to see Jones for what he is. But I'm not buying it.  I think you are nothing more than a John Bull version of Jerry Springer, trying to cloak your trashy talk show with a British accent. As for you, Mr. Jones, do you really enjoy looking like the southbound end of a northbound mule on national television? And why is it the Second Amendment is sacrosanct, but the First Amendment as practiced by Morgan not? Instead of trying to deport Mr. Morgan, why don't you leave the country? With your open-mindedness and rhetorical flair, you'd fit right in with the rest of those high-minded thinkers in North Korea. Hey, while you are at it, take your buddy Piers with you, too.  We need a serious discussion on gun violence in this country. We do not need dueling dumbasses.   I want assault weapons and large ammunition magazines banned.  But I am willing to listen to those with a different perspective.  After all, we do have a Second Amendment.  You know, the one that comes right after the First. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. X Vol. 7 No. 2 -- Shunning Neighbors in Need January 5, 2013 X After failing to pass a much-needed $9.4 billion aid package to assist the victims of last fall's Hurricane Sandy in the final hours of the impotent 112th Congress, the measure became one of the first pieces of legislation passed by the 113th Congress yesterday. The House passed the bill 354-67, with all of the dissenting votes coming from Republicans.  To my dismay, the entire Kansas congressional delegation voted against the package. Apparently, the Sunflower State is represented by people who do not understand that an appropriate role of government is to help our friends and neighbors in need.  As a journalist friend of mine has noted in her Facebook post, these people seem to forget that it was the federal government that came to the rescue of the tornado-ravaged Kansas town of Greensburg with $94.5 million in federal resources. Do you remember the analogy FDR used as a justification for the Lend Lease program that provided much-needed arms and supplies to a Britain under relentless Nazi assault? He said that when your neighbor's house is on fire, you don't squabble over the cost of lending your neighbor a fire hose - you give the neighbor the hose to put out the fire before it spreads to your house. I can't help but think that if the current Kansas congressional delegation was in office in March 1941, we'd all be speaking German by now. Should our representatives fight against bloated federal spending? Yes! But is aid to fellow citizens in need the place to draw a line in the sand? Absolutely not. Let's hope that the next time a disaster hits the people of Kansas, the rest of the country is not as callous and heartless as our congressional delegation. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. X Vol. 7 No. 1 -- Cliff Diving at Midnight January 1, 2013 X It's just after midnight in the Eastern time zone. The ball heralding the new year has dropped in Times Square.  But under the Capitol dome in Washington - let's just say the Congress has no balls to drop. The Senate swears it will vote on a compromise measure to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" sometime tonight.  The House will vote - maybe - sometime New Year's Day. But that's not the point, is it?  Our elected leaders set and missed their own deadline. Because of the gelatinous government we have in Washington, we start 2013 with a plunge over the so-called fiscal cliff. Of course, it is a crisis totally manufactured by the geniuses in Congress who artificially created this doomsday scenario.  Because of Congress's failure to enact a budget resolution before midnight, everyone's taxes have gone up and draconian cuts in the social safety net and national defense have been triggered. But wait - there's a catch: Thanks to a legislative sleight of hand, these same politicos will now vote to cancel the automatic tax hikes and then tell voters back home that they actually cut taxes. As for the spending cuts, there's talk that Congress is going to kick that can down the road and deal with it later - at the same time it will have to wrestle with the debt ceiling. Genius! Unfortunately, this kind of insanity is not limited to Washington. Here in Kansas, Governor Sam Brownback, the high priest of fiscal frugality, is about to cripple the state's education and social programs by dramatically cutting taxes. He is able to do this because of a mid-summer purge in which he chose to chase moderates from the Republican Temple. Some may say he is "priming the pump" of the state's economic engine by cutting taxes.  Others will call it "trickle down economics," a belief that those of us without inherited trust funds and Cayman Island accounts will eventually see our quality of life raised by economic growth among our "betters."  I have another name for this kind of thinking: "tinkle on economics," as the Governor and his minions apparently don't care who gets wet as long as the chosen few stay high and dry. One can only hope that the resilient American people can rise above this kind of misguided leadership we have in Washington and Topeka. However, don't hold your breathe. After all, we are the ones who put these mental midgets in office in the first place. It is hard to be optimistic about the new year we ring in today. But I'll try. Someone has to. X That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. X