The second day of the Republican National Convention produced no surprises, which is good for the GOP but not necessarily good for the country.
It definitely was no place for a political vegetarian last night in St. Paul as former U.S. Sen Fred Thompson and Sen. Joseph Lieberman delivered the traditional red meat to the party faithful. But criticism of the news media is getting a bit tired. Journalists should always be skeptics, although there is some truth in that the media's negative eye casts more on the GOP than the Dems.
Sadly, President George W. Bush used the forum of the White House for very partisan purposes in expressing his support for Sen. John McCain and labeling liberals negatively. That was most unfitting and certainly not indicative of McCain's record of reaching across the aisle.
It certainly was telling that Bush did not make the speech from where it belonged, at a political convention. But his unpopularity looms large, historically and politically. He cannot be ushered out of office fast enough for the good of the country.
Of course, the Dems at their convention only featured former President Jimmy Carter by video, then had him walk across the stage and wave quickly lest voters at home realize he is still around. Political conventions express more propaganda than Pravda in its Soviet heyday.
Sen. Thompson showed last night that he is most effective with a written script. Lights, camera, action! Sen. Lieberman performed well as the headliner in affirming McCain's maverick history. Never has one Democrat done so much damage to his own political party.
But the theme of the night was being an American first. POWs on hand from the Vietnam War was moving, as was McCain story of his five years at the Hanoi Hilton. God blessed America with servicemen like these.
But patritoism too often can be a last refuge for scoundrels, as the old saying goes. I love the flag as much as anyone. I fly one in front of my home everyday. Too much flag-waving, however, can be used to cool off the surroundings after a lot of political hot air has been released. The GOP is caught somewhere between the extremes.
The additional theme of public service was well-chosen. Cindy McCain's story with Mother Teresa and the adoption of children from Bangeldesh was not widely known publicly. That was a political plus. In addition, the story of the generosity and involvement of evangelical Christians with the marginalized of this world was fitting for the night. And it is true, from my first-hand knowledge here in predominantly Republican and evangelical Williamson County.
Here's the rub, however. Public policy offered by governments is not some foreign agenda or virus. It is the will of the people, as expressed through their elected representatives. More than any church, faith or no religious belief at all, public policy is the most powerful and meaningful statement of the values of a community, state and nation.
The absence of universal health care in this country is a moral outrage. And effective public policy covers where charitable hands cannot reach to every emergency in every corner of this nation. There is no greater fear in this nation than to be without health care coverage, or to fear the policy you have will not be adequate. I know that truth from personal experience in fighting leukemia for the past two and two-thirds years.
It is tragically true that nearly every American family is one debilitating illness from the financial brink. I also know that from exprience. And when you're on this precipice, low tax bills don't mean one damn thing. Take that truth from someone who lives in Brentwood, where keeping tax bills low is a crusade.
The failure of the GOP to even mention universal health care last night was inexcusable and telling. Public service can never make up for inadequate public policy. If this nation is indeed under God, then this void cannot be ignored. Yet it is, in McCain's candidacy and Sen. Barack Obama's as well. The Dem's plan, as Sen. Hillary Clinton accurately pointed out during the primary fight, is not universal care. It makes health care more affordable and accessible, although it mandates coverage for children.
So do we wait for Hillary in 2012, or vote now for the better of the candidates?
If this nation indeed is under God as last night's convention participants claimed, then universal health care is indeed WWJD. Yet shockingly during the closing prayer delivered last night at the convention, some delegates and attendees were shown heading toward the doors. How is that when it comes to believing in a higher power and purpose?
Last night had its very high and very low moments. Some things said were very difficult to believe. Others were most inspiring.
Tonight, the GOP will reach the zenith of its appeal with the speech by VP pick Gov. Sarah Palin. The former sports broadcaster will be in her element as she delivers the largest chunk of red meat to the hungry delegates. She will barbecue the media for its coverage of her candidacy and the pregnancy of her daughter. And she will show how deep a bite she can deliver to the Obama campaign with her attack-dog teeth.
It will be a political moment not to miss and may approach Obama's viewership numbers from his DNC speech last week. It certainly will eclipse McCain's speech tomorrow night.
No one could have dreamed of scripting Palin's speech, which will bring favor to the GOP in this hotly contested presidential race. The campaign is becoming more carnivorous with each turn. Chomp! And beware.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Battle against cancer by young woman at Vanderbilt Medical Center puts all things in perspective; pray for her and the good doctors
With all the focus on the Republicans, Gustav and college football, it's hard not to lose one's focus on what matters in the moment -- because that really is all that any of us have.
In a Vanderbilt Medical Center room, a young Nashville woman in her early 20s is dying from bone cancer. She is in pain, as is her mother at her bedside who recently had a double mastectomy for breast cancer.
But mom, as all moms, will not be torn away from her child now of all times.
The two have fought the bone cancer for seven years now, between trips to Vanderbilt, MD Anderson in Houston and an oasis of alternative cancer treatment in Mexico.
The young, beautiful woman with blonde hair and a model's face has faced down death twice before. And through the grace of God she has survived.
But determining God's will has never been easy for any mortal. The prayers continue for her recovery. The prayers continue that she will still be able to become a mom herself, as she first wished more than a decade ago. The prayers continue that God will raise her here on this earth to lead a long life of being such a positive influence to all with who she had come in contact.
So many hearts are breaking. Yet so many of us continue to pray. We ask you at this moment whereever you are reading this blog post to say a prayer for her, too.
This brave young woman is on morphine to cut back at least some of her tremendous pain. She wants to stay in the hospital and have the medicine increased so she can still fight no matter the odds. Hospital officials, her family says, want to send her home. Of course that is just family's side of the story. And VUMC cannot talk to someone like me legally outside of the family about the case. All I know from my experience fighting cancer there is that VUMC officials are most compassionate.
It is my prayer that the doctors and family and the young woman can come to agreement to let her stay in the hospital, even if to the end.
Across this nation on Friday, an unprecedented telethon will be held on the three major networks to raise money for research to more effectively fight cancer. It is a most worthy effort. Please watch and offer your support.
And if you are reading this blog post, say a prayer now to a God of such sovereignty that he still would rescue this young woman even at this most desperate moment. And please say a prayer that the good Vanderbilt doctors will let her stay in the hospital to fight to the very last moment, as has been her inspiring way for the past seven years.
O, God, have mercy. Amen.
In a Vanderbilt Medical Center room, a young Nashville woman in her early 20s is dying from bone cancer. She is in pain, as is her mother at her bedside who recently had a double mastectomy for breast cancer.
But mom, as all moms, will not be torn away from her child now of all times.
The two have fought the bone cancer for seven years now, between trips to Vanderbilt, MD Anderson in Houston and an oasis of alternative cancer treatment in Mexico.
The young, beautiful woman with blonde hair and a model's face has faced down death twice before. And through the grace of God she has survived.
But determining God's will has never been easy for any mortal. The prayers continue for her recovery. The prayers continue that she will still be able to become a mom herself, as she first wished more than a decade ago. The prayers continue that God will raise her here on this earth to lead a long life of being such a positive influence to all with who she had come in contact.
So many hearts are breaking. Yet so many of us continue to pray. We ask you at this moment whereever you are reading this blog post to say a prayer for her, too.
This brave young woman is on morphine to cut back at least some of her tremendous pain. She wants to stay in the hospital and have the medicine increased so she can still fight no matter the odds. Hospital officials, her family says, want to send her home. Of course that is just family's side of the story. And VUMC cannot talk to someone like me legally outside of the family about the case. All I know from my experience fighting cancer there is that VUMC officials are most compassionate.
It is my prayer that the doctors and family and the young woman can come to agreement to let her stay in the hospital, even if to the end.
Across this nation on Friday, an unprecedented telethon will be held on the three major networks to raise money for research to more effectively fight cancer. It is a most worthy effort. Please watch and offer your support.
And if you are reading this blog post, say a prayer now to a God of such sovereignty that he still would rescue this young woman even at this most desperate moment. And please say a prayer that the good Vanderbilt doctors will let her stay in the hospital to fight to the very last moment, as has been her inspiring way for the past seven years.
O, God, have mercy. Amen.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Another death of a Hispanic human being in detention is a shame this nation must finally end
In jails, people are dying under the custody of law enforcement officials.
The death toll is mounting. Victims include a Baptist minister and the latest being a 44-year-old woman.
Yet this terrible tale has not continued to emerge from China -- but in the United States of America. The human beings dying are not people armed to do violence against this nation or any citizen. They're simply people seeking a better life in America, which has a statue in New York Harbor asking for the world's huddled masses yearning to be free.
But we know there is no Statue of Liberty for immigrants on the southern border of the United States. Hispanic human beings have had to cross the border under the threat of violence from criminals and supposed law-abiding American citizens. Still, they come and oontribute much more than will be recognized by the news media or politicians.
The following story of another death was published last week. Go to http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/4303391 to read about the death of a 44-year-old woman in county custody in Shelbyville, Ky.
State police are investigating the death as a suicide. Her family believes otherwise and has hired an attorney to help investigate. The family includes a 92-year-old mother here and a brother who is a local restaurant owner.
The deportation of human beings under the 287g program continues to produce such incidents in the land of the free and the home of the brave. In Metro Nashville, we've seen a woman three days from delivering her fourth child arrested and tortured during and after delivering her son under law enforcement custody.
And then Mrs. Juana Villegas' (DeLaPaz) son was taken from her while he was still in need of milk from his mother to build his immune system. Mrs. Villegas was not allowed to express milk for him.
The heinous program 287g program -- enabled by the current Republican Bush administration but built by the Democratic Clinton administration -- must be ended. This nation's human rights atrocities have become difficult to differ from China, or Iran or Saudi Arabia.
Another death under detention in an American jail has become one too many, unless the United States decides to demolish its Statue of Liberty out of shame for betraying its promise to the world's masses longing to be free.
The death toll is mounting. Victims include a Baptist minister and the latest being a 44-year-old woman.
Yet this terrible tale has not continued to emerge from China -- but in the United States of America. The human beings dying are not people armed to do violence against this nation or any citizen. They're simply people seeking a better life in America, which has a statue in New York Harbor asking for the world's huddled masses yearning to be free.
But we know there is no Statue of Liberty for immigrants on the southern border of the United States. Hispanic human beings have had to cross the border under the threat of violence from criminals and supposed law-abiding American citizens. Still, they come and oontribute much more than will be recognized by the news media or politicians.
The following story of another death was published last week. Go to http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/4303391 to read about the death of a 44-year-old woman in county custody in Shelbyville, Ky.
State police are investigating the death as a suicide. Her family believes otherwise and has hired an attorney to help investigate. The family includes a 92-year-old mother here and a brother who is a local restaurant owner.
The deportation of human beings under the 287g program continues to produce such incidents in the land of the free and the home of the brave. In Metro Nashville, we've seen a woman three days from delivering her fourth child arrested and tortured during and after delivering her son under law enforcement custody.
And then Mrs. Juana Villegas' (DeLaPaz) son was taken from her while he was still in need of milk from his mother to build his immune system. Mrs. Villegas was not allowed to express milk for him.
The heinous program 287g program -- enabled by the current Republican Bush administration but built by the Democratic Clinton administration -- must be ended. This nation's human rights atrocities have become difficult to differ from China, or Iran or Saudi Arabia.
Another death under detention in an American jail has become one too many, unless the United States decides to demolish its Statue of Liberty out of shame for betraying its promise to the world's masses longing to be free.
First hearing on lawsuit against Metro's decision on English-First referendum slated Thursday
The NashvillePost.com reports that a lawsuit against Metro Nashville for blocking an English-First referendum Nov. 4 will have an expedited, initial court hearing Thursday.
The Metro Election Commission voted 3-2 last month not to allow the referendum on the ballot. That decision was wrong. The court should overturn the decision and allow the referendum on the ballot this November.
Let both sides battle before voters, not the courts, concerning the issue of making English the only language for Metro operations.
The Metro Election Commission voted 3-2 last month not to allow the referendum on the ballot. That decision was wrong. The court should overturn the decision and allow the referendum on the ballot this November.
Let both sides battle before voters, not the courts, concerning the issue of making English the only language for Metro operations.
Sorry, UT fans, but loss to UCLA ends national title hopes and program's upper-tier status in SEC
I started my journalism career as a sports editor at a small newspaper north of Oklahoma City.
Why? Like most every other child in Oklahoma, I worshipped in my formative years at the altar of Big Red, University of Oklahoma football. Seven national football championships have been won there. I can quote you stats and highlights like a Bible verse.
OU fell on hard times in the 1990s. But the program rose again with a national championship in 2000 and subsequent unsuccessful appearances in BCS title games. The Sooners are in the top five this year, but the program is in decline as far as ever winning any more national titles. Fans there don't want to acknowledge it. But the truth is in every BCS Bowl Game scoreboard.
UT fans will have a tougher transition. Last night's loss to UCLA signals the program's decline to second-tier status in the SEC besides future national title hopes. UT already spends the most of any university for football recruiting. But the results are not comparable.
Florida and LSU are not even in the top 10 for spending. Yet their fame is enough to get the best players. USC in Los Angeles recruits nationwide. The Crimson Tide is rising again. Never forget those pesky Commodores. And now Georgia is threatening to regain its fame of the Herschel Walker days.
UT's games will still be most enjoyable. I've discovered more exciting and hard-fought SEC games in my 12 years of living here than I saw in my 25 years of following the Sooners and the then-Big 8. There is no weekend off in the SEC schedule. The Big 8 now Big 12 still has Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. And Oklahoma State is very inconsistent. These programs would not survive in the SEC, which remains the best football conference in the nation.
But the heady days of the recent past will not return to Knoxville. Notre Dame fans at South Bend realize that truth with their program. So does poor NBC. Tennessee head coach Phil Fulmer, a great guy, should not have to suffer for this transition and lose his job.
It is just like $100 a barrel oil. Change happens.
How fans here adjust to it will be the toughest contest UT's program faces this season.
Why? Like most every other child in Oklahoma, I worshipped in my formative years at the altar of Big Red, University of Oklahoma football. Seven national football championships have been won there. I can quote you stats and highlights like a Bible verse.
OU fell on hard times in the 1990s. But the program rose again with a national championship in 2000 and subsequent unsuccessful appearances in BCS title games. The Sooners are in the top five this year, but the program is in decline as far as ever winning any more national titles. Fans there don't want to acknowledge it. But the truth is in every BCS Bowl Game scoreboard.
UT fans will have a tougher transition. Last night's loss to UCLA signals the program's decline to second-tier status in the SEC besides future national title hopes. UT already spends the most of any university for football recruiting. But the results are not comparable.
Florida and LSU are not even in the top 10 for spending. Yet their fame is enough to get the best players. USC in Los Angeles recruits nationwide. The Crimson Tide is rising again. Never forget those pesky Commodores. And now Georgia is threatening to regain its fame of the Herschel Walker days.
UT's games will still be most enjoyable. I've discovered more exciting and hard-fought SEC games in my 12 years of living here than I saw in my 25 years of following the Sooners and the then-Big 8. There is no weekend off in the SEC schedule. The Big 8 now Big 12 still has Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. And Oklahoma State is very inconsistent. These programs would not survive in the SEC, which remains the best football conference in the nation.
But the heady days of the recent past will not return to Knoxville. Notre Dame fans at South Bend realize that truth with their program. So does poor NBC. Tennessee head coach Phil Fulmer, a great guy, should not have to suffer for this transition and lose his job.
It is just like $100 a barrel oil. Change happens.
How fans here adjust to it will be the toughest contest UT's program faces this season.
Day 1 from the RNC: Brief speeches and convention are to GOP's advantage
National political conventions are corporate-donminated functions for the most ideologically biased people in the nation to gather and convince normal folks that they really care about them.
That's you and me watching on television -- C-Span for some political devotees such as myself and CNN, FOX and the other major networks for others. So how readily those of us at home drink the Kool-Aid or nectar matters most.
The Republican Party has been fortunate, actually, in that its convention has been abridged by its nominee, Sen. John McCain, out of concern for Gulf Coast residents due to then Hurricane Gustav. Less air-time means less opportunity to make mistakes. And the Democrats made many in Denver last week.
Accordingly, Dem nominee Sen. Barack Obama got the least bounce out of a gathering of political donkeys in recent history. Even President Jimmy Carter in his disastrous 1980 re-election campaign got a bigger bounce.
Day 1 at the RNC was short with brief speeches by First Lady Laura Bush and Sen. McCain's wife, Cindy McCain. These remarks mostly called for public response to the victims of Gustav.
Tonight brings President Bush, by long distance, and former Sen. Fred Thompson and Sen. Joe Lieberman to the convention podium. Look for Lierbeman, a former Dem VP nominee now turned political independent, to deliver the biggest blows to Obama's campaign and the Dems.
Tomorrow night, GOP VP pick Gov. Sarah Palin will speak and effectively wipe out any meaningful lead Obama has in the Gallup Daily tracking poll. She already has delivered $10 million in new donations to McCain's campaign over the past few days.
Gov. Palin will load the bases for clean-up batter Big John, who will deliver the GOP into the lead in presidential polls after Thursday.
Sure, it's still early. But who would have believed it for September?
That's you and me watching on television -- C-Span for some political devotees such as myself and CNN, FOX and the other major networks for others. So how readily those of us at home drink the Kool-Aid or nectar matters most.
The Republican Party has been fortunate, actually, in that its convention has been abridged by its nominee, Sen. John McCain, out of concern for Gulf Coast residents due to then Hurricane Gustav. Less air-time means less opportunity to make mistakes. And the Democrats made many in Denver last week.
Accordingly, Dem nominee Sen. Barack Obama got the least bounce out of a gathering of political donkeys in recent history. Even President Jimmy Carter in his disastrous 1980 re-election campaign got a bigger bounce.
Day 1 at the RNC was short with brief speeches by First Lady Laura Bush and Sen. McCain's wife, Cindy McCain. These remarks mostly called for public response to the victims of Gustav.
Tonight brings President Bush, by long distance, and former Sen. Fred Thompson and Sen. Joe Lieberman to the convention podium. Look for Lierbeman, a former Dem VP nominee now turned political independent, to deliver the biggest blows to Obama's campaign and the Dems.
Tomorrow night, GOP VP pick Gov. Sarah Palin will speak and effectively wipe out any meaningful lead Obama has in the Gallup Daily tracking poll. She already has delivered $10 million in new donations to McCain's campaign over the past few days.
Gov. Palin will load the bases for clean-up batter Big John, who will deliver the GOP into the lead in presidential polls after Thursday.
Sure, it's still early. But who would have believed it for September?
Shooting death of Vanderbilt professor and his sister a tragedy for university and the world
The murder of Vanderbilt professor Pierre Colas a week ago shocked the university community. From the same home invasion incident, his sister died Sunday from a gunshot wound to the head.
The killings would be a tragedy for any family. But the loss of these keen minds to a world in need of enlightenment and tolerance across cultural and national barriers is staggering as well.
Pierre Colas had only been here two years. But he came with the knowledge of six languages and the field of Anthropology, particularly in linguistics. He also had the ability to thoroughly decipher hieroglyphic inscriptions of Classic Maya culture -- an ability shared by only a few people on the entire planet. Vanderbilt's Anthropology Department has geared its efforts toward Latin America.
His sister, Marie, was visiting him from Switzerland. She was in post-graduate studies. Four suspects were arrested in the murder of the brother and sister.
Vanderbilt has set up a place for people here and across the world to comment about Pierre and Marie Colas. Go to http://rememberingpierre.wordpress.com to comment or read comments left for consolation and strength.
Our condolences belong with the extended Vanderbilt family and the world over the loss of two kind and gentle people who offered the world enlightenment and good will.
The killings would be a tragedy for any family. But the loss of these keen minds to a world in need of enlightenment and tolerance across cultural and national barriers is staggering as well.
Pierre Colas had only been here two years. But he came with the knowledge of six languages and the field of Anthropology, particularly in linguistics. He also had the ability to thoroughly decipher hieroglyphic inscriptions of Classic Maya culture -- an ability shared by only a few people on the entire planet. Vanderbilt's Anthropology Department has geared its efforts toward Latin America.
His sister, Marie, was visiting him from Switzerland. She was in post-graduate studies. Four suspects were arrested in the murder of the brother and sister.
Vanderbilt has set up a place for people here and across the world to comment about Pierre and Marie Colas. Go to http://rememberingpierre.wordpress.com to comment or read comments left for consolation and strength.
Our condolences belong with the extended Vanderbilt family and the world over the loss of two kind and gentle people who offered the world enlightenment and good will.
Surge of news media analysis of negatives in pregnancy of Palin's teen daughter misses the boat on what ordinary American families face
The following column link on www.politico.com has been the most rationale examination of the announcement by GOP VP pick Gov. Sarah Palin about the pregnancy of her 17-year-old teen daughter.
Click on: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13062.html
Let me know what you think.
Click on: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13062.html
Let me know what you think.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Condolences due to former Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley over death of his son
Losing a child to suicide is perhaps the toughest thing for a parent to experience.
Early in my career, I watched the parents of a close friend and colleague go through this horror. And so it is with deep sadness that I learned of the death of the son of former Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley.
WSMV Channel 4 reported this evening that Headley's son, an education professional, apparently died Saturday from a self-inflicted wound from a gun.
Parents grieve, as much for the loss of their loved one as for what they believe was their failure to stop it. They should not feel guilty. They did all they could.
Since my colleague's suicide, I've studied the reasons behind suicide. I needed to know why, if that is really possible. Suicide ultimately is an act of anger, something the victim felt was their only response to life situations that had sent them deep into depression and desperation and a void without apparent solutions.
From my personal experience, I've seen suicide happen to families of governors and the working poor. Suicide does not discriminate.
I believe the souls of those who commit suicide are rescued by God, even after death. People make wrong choices in life. Suicide is one of them. The only difference is that you cannot take it back or embrace more understanding and treatment.
So to Sheriff Headley, I want to express my deep condolences and my hope for the grace of consolation and understanding upon him and his family. May your good son -- who simply made a bad choice -- rest in peace.
Early in my career, I watched the parents of a close friend and colleague go through this horror. And so it is with deep sadness that I learned of the death of the son of former Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley.
WSMV Channel 4 reported this evening that Headley's son, an education professional, apparently died Saturday from a self-inflicted wound from a gun.
Parents grieve, as much for the loss of their loved one as for what they believe was their failure to stop it. They should not feel guilty. They did all they could.
Since my colleague's suicide, I've studied the reasons behind suicide. I needed to know why, if that is really possible. Suicide ultimately is an act of anger, something the victim felt was their only response to life situations that had sent them deep into depression and desperation and a void without apparent solutions.
From my personal experience, I've seen suicide happen to families of governors and the working poor. Suicide does not discriminate.
I believe the souls of those who commit suicide are rescued by God, even after death. People make wrong choices in life. Suicide is one of them. The only difference is that you cannot take it back or embrace more understanding and treatment.
So to Sheriff Headley, I want to express my deep condolences and my hope for the grace of consolation and understanding upon him and his family. May your good son -- who simply made a bad choice -- rest in peace.
Avoiding stories about failures in politicians' families and relationships is tough call to make
I never wrote about former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his recent misstep in his marriage. That is between him and his courageous wife and not for purient public consumption.
Call it censorship, but each media outlet needs standards as to the information the public needs to know.
As for blogs, that is still a gray area. I'm not a media outlet. But the information put out across the Internet sometimes forces the actual media to cover rumors to see what's accurate.
That's what happened with a story that emerged today about the daughter of GOP VP pick Gov. Sarah Palin being pregnant. Liberal bloggers started spreading the rumor that became truth. But they also speculated that the governor's 17-year-old daughter was the mother of Palin's newborn.
The girl is 17 and five months pregnant. The child is five months old. So the biological math here does not work. Palin is the mother of her newborn.
I'm not condemning bloggers. Sometimes the smoke they produce does signal fire. I'm not condemning the media, either. The Internet does sometimes force coverage of a story they'd rather avoid.
I'm just explaining that I would have written about Palin's daugther earlier. But as with John Edwards, I just don't believe such personal family matters are newsworthy when it comes to the fitness of someone to serve the people.
And they're certainly not enough to take needed space and airtime on issues public servants should address if elected.
Call it censorship, but each media outlet needs standards as to the information the public needs to know.
As for blogs, that is still a gray area. I'm not a media outlet. But the information put out across the Internet sometimes forces the actual media to cover rumors to see what's accurate.
That's what happened with a story that emerged today about the daughter of GOP VP pick Gov. Sarah Palin being pregnant. Liberal bloggers started spreading the rumor that became truth. But they also speculated that the governor's 17-year-old daughter was the mother of Palin's newborn.
The girl is 17 and five months pregnant. The child is five months old. So the biological math here does not work. Palin is the mother of her newborn.
I'm not condemning bloggers. Sometimes the smoke they produce does signal fire. I'm not condemning the media, either. The Internet does sometimes force coverage of a story they'd rather avoid.
I'm just explaining that I would have written about Palin's daugther earlier. But as with John Edwards, I just don't believe such personal family matters are newsworthy when it comes to the fitness of someone to serve the people.
And they're certainly not enough to take needed space and airtime on issues public servants should address if elected.
Outdoing Ms. Cheap on getting the best price
One of the MVPs of The Tennessean is columnist Ms. Cheap, who does get out into the real world to provide real-world, cost-saving tips to readers.
But I've gone one step further to save. She recommends canceling your newspaper subscription and just buying The Tennessean once a week at Walgreens for 99 cents. Coupons in the Sunday newspaper would then pay for the cost of the newspaper and more as well. Good info.
But I discovered that if you go to Walgreens on Mondays and buy the Sunday newspaper, you get it for 50 cents. And the same coupons are in it.
When I went into my local Walgreens today, the employee noted that The Tennessean had just delivered more Sunday newspapers by mistake. So I got to take advantage of the 50-cent cost. I hope Ms. Cheap will share this this tip to readers for even more amazing savings.
But I've gone one step further to save. She recommends canceling your newspaper subscription and just buying The Tennessean once a week at Walgreens for 99 cents. Coupons in the Sunday newspaper would then pay for the cost of the newspaper and more as well. Good info.
But I discovered that if you go to Walgreens on Mondays and buy the Sunday newspaper, you get it for 50 cents. And the same coupons are in it.
When I went into my local Walgreens today, the employee noted that The Tennessean had just delivered more Sunday newspapers by mistake. So I got to take advantage of the 50-cent cost. I hope Ms. Cheap will share this this tip to readers for even more amazing savings.
The Tennessean again ignores the positive Hispanic presence in Middle Tennessee
The point I try and make to Democrats and liberals -- who claim to know better about how Hispanics should be treated as human beings -- is the following:
If the people who claim to be tolerant about Hispanics end up ignoring our needs and contribtions such as those who hate us, then there really is no difference between the two sides. In fact, I prefer the haters because they are at least honest in how they feel about people who look like me. I then can deal with them.
So consider this morning's Tennessean and its feature on ordinary people doing extraordinary things in their jobs and lives. Just as with the newspaper's July 4 feature on ordinary patriots, today's Labor Day feature did not have one Hispanic face among the seven people profiled.
How in the world can one separate Hispanics and labor in Middle Tennessee and this nation? Hispanics do the most visible and most arduous work in lawn and garden care and in building large homes and stadia like the place where the Titans play.
Or how can one ignore Hispanics on July 4, considering that 44 human beings of this descent has received the Medal of Honor for service beyond the call of duty to this country?
Yet that is what The Tennessean has done.
LOBBYING NON-LISTENERS
Some very good people have lobbied Tennessean editors to recognize the contributions of Hispanics, citizens and non-citizens. Father Joe Pat Breen, pastor of St. Edward Catholic Church, has expended his valuable time to meet with The Tennessean's city editor and top editor. He has respectfully asked for inclusion of Hispanics, particurly the many heroic people he knows personally.
The Tennessean city editor, touted as a former LA Times staffer, told Breen he knew about the emerging Hispanic community, similiar to the one in Los Angeles 15 years ago. Actually, that kind of comment shows the city editor's ignorance. The Hispanic community in LA has never been emerging. Los Angeles was a Hispanic community, until white folks descended on the area in bigger numbers in the 1800s. Communities only "emerge" when the media establishment finally gets around to recognize them.
Tennessean editor Mark Silverman only directed his newsroom to write about the torture of Nashville mother Juana Villegas(DeLaPaz) and her newborn after Father Breen handed him a copy of original reporting by The New York Times about this human rights atrocity.
Tody's Labor Day package proves that the two editors are not listening. Of course, Tennessean staffers also know of frustration from dealing with these same editors. Many of these staffers have lived here for decades, so they know what is important and who is critical to making our communities better places to live. But their voices are not respected by their newsroom's leadership or the publisher who runs the whole operation.
ELIMINATING ELITISM
Perhaps Hispanics in middle Tennessee should not take the continuing and insulting slight of their positive contributions in The Tennessean personally. Perhaps they should not consider this kind of affront as bigotry, just a bunch of decisionmakers and columnists who do not know all the people of the area they're covering. Many Hispanics do know English. It was my first language in my household.
Yet I've had to go back to school to gain an initial capacity to communicate in Spanish. Each day brings more improvement. Each week brings growing respect for brothers and sisters in middle Tennessee of Hispanic descent. But you must get off your ass and go to them.
The Tennessean news decisionmakers, in my time here since 1996, have seen the newspaper as an institution to be served, not to serve. This kind of elitism is destructive. The only decent top editor of the newspaper in my time here was E.J. Mitchell, who ultimately left after a too-short tenure for New Jersey.
How ironic it is that the media here and across the nation question whether Sen. Barack Obama is suffering from a sense of elitism voters get from him. If the media would only look in the mirror and the product being produced, its members would discover the elitism plank in their own eyes.
CONSTRUCTIVE STEPS
To be constructive in my criticism to improve the newspaper and increase revenues, I'd recommend the following steps to Corporate Gannett overseeing The Tennessean:
* Get rid of Silverman.
* Bring Reno (NV) Publisher Ted Power back to Tennessee. Kick out current publisher Ellen Leifeld and replace her with Power. Then let Power hire a new top editor in his image of reaching out to the community and boosting his employees' morale.
* Get new newsside columnists who will get out of the office and into communities of all ethnicities and races too long ignored. Get a new African-American columnist who is not tied to the current and lackadaisical African-American leadership.
The Tennessean had a brilliant African-American reporter who wanted to join the editorial board and write opinion. He was told by the top editor then that he would first have to work on the copy desk.
What kind of career ladder is that? A stupid one.
So the young man, a graduate of Notre Dame University and son of college professors, left The Tennessean for a much smaller newspaper in Springfield, Mo. Readers lost out here and gained there. The journalist was simply one of at least seven African-American professionals I've known who have left The Tennessean newsroom in my tenure due to the inadequacy of the top newsroom leadership.
I worked with three African-American journalists there to try and get them advanced professionally in the 1100 Broadway newsroom. Two I was trying to make into columnists, not just because of their skills but their race and youth.
We were unsuccessful.
A POVERTY OF EXPERIENCES
Local and national media continue to be prisoners of the poverty of their experiences and the lack of needed diversity in their staffs and decisionmakers. Personnel lack diversity by politics, race, ethnicity and even income. And that shortcoming in diversity shows up in coverage that ultimately is most uninteresting.
Today's Tennessean is just indicative of a continuing decline in the quality of the product. But it is not the fault of overburdened and heroic staff members.
Blame belongs with the top editors and the publisher. And all of us -- not just Hispanics -- are being shortchanged when it comes to information we need to know and staffers desperately want to provde.
If the people who claim to be tolerant about Hispanics end up ignoring our needs and contribtions such as those who hate us, then there really is no difference between the two sides. In fact, I prefer the haters because they are at least honest in how they feel about people who look like me. I then can deal with them.
So consider this morning's Tennessean and its feature on ordinary people doing extraordinary things in their jobs and lives. Just as with the newspaper's July 4 feature on ordinary patriots, today's Labor Day feature did not have one Hispanic face among the seven people profiled.
How in the world can one separate Hispanics and labor in Middle Tennessee and this nation? Hispanics do the most visible and most arduous work in lawn and garden care and in building large homes and stadia like the place where the Titans play.
Or how can one ignore Hispanics on July 4, considering that 44 human beings of this descent has received the Medal of Honor for service beyond the call of duty to this country?
Yet that is what The Tennessean has done.
LOBBYING NON-LISTENERS
Some very good people have lobbied Tennessean editors to recognize the contributions of Hispanics, citizens and non-citizens. Father Joe Pat Breen, pastor of St. Edward Catholic Church, has expended his valuable time to meet with The Tennessean's city editor and top editor. He has respectfully asked for inclusion of Hispanics, particurly the many heroic people he knows personally.
The Tennessean city editor, touted as a former LA Times staffer, told Breen he knew about the emerging Hispanic community, similiar to the one in Los Angeles 15 years ago. Actually, that kind of comment shows the city editor's ignorance. The Hispanic community in LA has never been emerging. Los Angeles was a Hispanic community, until white folks descended on the area in bigger numbers in the 1800s. Communities only "emerge" when the media establishment finally gets around to recognize them.
Tennessean editor Mark Silverman only directed his newsroom to write about the torture of Nashville mother Juana Villegas(DeLaPaz) and her newborn after Father Breen handed him a copy of original reporting by The New York Times about this human rights atrocity.
Tody's Labor Day package proves that the two editors are not listening. Of course, Tennessean staffers also know of frustration from dealing with these same editors. Many of these staffers have lived here for decades, so they know what is important and who is critical to making our communities better places to live. But their voices are not respected by their newsroom's leadership or the publisher who runs the whole operation.
ELIMINATING ELITISM
Perhaps Hispanics in middle Tennessee should not take the continuing and insulting slight of their positive contributions in The Tennessean personally. Perhaps they should not consider this kind of affront as bigotry, just a bunch of decisionmakers and columnists who do not know all the people of the area they're covering. Many Hispanics do know English. It was my first language in my household.
Yet I've had to go back to school to gain an initial capacity to communicate in Spanish. Each day brings more improvement. Each week brings growing respect for brothers and sisters in middle Tennessee of Hispanic descent. But you must get off your ass and go to them.
The Tennessean news decisionmakers, in my time here since 1996, have seen the newspaper as an institution to be served, not to serve. This kind of elitism is destructive. The only decent top editor of the newspaper in my time here was E.J. Mitchell, who ultimately left after a too-short tenure for New Jersey.
How ironic it is that the media here and across the nation question whether Sen. Barack Obama is suffering from a sense of elitism voters get from him. If the media would only look in the mirror and the product being produced, its members would discover the elitism plank in their own eyes.
CONSTRUCTIVE STEPS
To be constructive in my criticism to improve the newspaper and increase revenues, I'd recommend the following steps to Corporate Gannett overseeing The Tennessean:
* Get rid of Silverman.
* Bring Reno (NV) Publisher Ted Power back to Tennessee. Kick out current publisher Ellen Leifeld and replace her with Power. Then let Power hire a new top editor in his image of reaching out to the community and boosting his employees' morale.
* Get new newsside columnists who will get out of the office and into communities of all ethnicities and races too long ignored. Get a new African-American columnist who is not tied to the current and lackadaisical African-American leadership.
The Tennessean had a brilliant African-American reporter who wanted to join the editorial board and write opinion. He was told by the top editor then that he would first have to work on the copy desk.
What kind of career ladder is that? A stupid one.
So the young man, a graduate of Notre Dame University and son of college professors, left The Tennessean for a much smaller newspaper in Springfield, Mo. Readers lost out here and gained there. The journalist was simply one of at least seven African-American professionals I've known who have left The Tennessean newsroom in my tenure due to the inadequacy of the top newsroom leadership.
I worked with three African-American journalists there to try and get them advanced professionally in the 1100 Broadway newsroom. Two I was trying to make into columnists, not just because of their skills but their race and youth.
We were unsuccessful.
A POVERTY OF EXPERIENCES
Local and national media continue to be prisoners of the poverty of their experiences and the lack of needed diversity in their staffs and decisionmakers. Personnel lack diversity by politics, race, ethnicity and even income. And that shortcoming in diversity shows up in coverage that ultimately is most uninteresting.
Today's Tennessean is just indicative of a continuing decline in the quality of the product. But it is not the fault of overburdened and heroic staff members.
Blame belongs with the top editors and the publisher. And all of us -- not just Hispanics -- are being shortchanged when it comes to information we need to know and staffers desperately want to provde.
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