Some of the news that is fit to print

Culture wars

NYT columnist Frank Rich has another in what has been a series of columns about the gaging of our culture -- not by people, but by the government. In fact, Rich notes this week that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) this week even threatened to go after cable and satellite radio, which perhaps demonstrates how insane the discussion on this issue has become.

Never mind that anyone can keep pay TV at bay by not purchasing it, and that any parent who does subscribe can click on foolproof blocking devices to censor any channel. Senator Stevens's point is to intimidate MTV, Comedy Central, the satellite radio purveyors of Howard Stern and countless others from this moment on, whether he ultimately succeeds in exerting seemingly unconstitutional power over them or not.

In it, he recommends the HBO show, Deadwood, which apparently has more crude language then almost any program on TV. But Rich argues that Deadwood reminds us where we come from.

Even indecency is part of an American's birthright. It also, if inadvertently, illuminates the most insidious underpinnings of today's decency police by further reminding us that the same people who want to stamp out entertainment like "Deadwood" also want to rewrite American history (and, when they can, the news) according to their dictates of moral and political correctness. They won't tolerate an honest account of the real Deadwood in a classroom or museum any more than they will its fictionalized representation on HBO.

One of my co-workers recently derided Rich for repeatedly focusing on this issue, but I really think this is one of the most important issues we face. It defines freedom and what kind of country we want to live in. Right now we are in the mode of increasing government intervention in these issues. Perhaps I am more of a traditional conservative, but I don't want the government involved in these kinds of issues. The simple fact is if you want to avoid that language, ones dollars speak much louder than any law. Howard Stern survives because he is popular. And if one doesn't like it, they should turn it off. And if you have children, one should take responsibility for their kids and not expect Big Brother Government to do it for them.

Is it simple or easy? Hell no. I sometimes feel as if we take freedom for granted. Freedom, free speech, freedom of religion and assembly -- these ideals are easy to say, and we do it in this country all the time -- but they are very difficult to live.

We once had a family friend who said that newspapers should tell people "the truth." By that, of course, she meant the truth as she saw it. And then we were in Progue a few years ago where our friends were helping citizens get ready for a market economy and entry into the EU. They told us that people were confused by the amount of choice we have in the United States. Why, after all, does one need 17 different types of toothpaste? And, the natives argued, health care in the U.S. is confusing or non-existent. All of which is true.

Freedom is not simple. It doesn't mean easy answers. It means that you have to watch out for your children. It means making choices. There is so much good that comes from that. We have had to pay so little for those freedoms. It seems that whenever payment time comes, we happily give up on them rather than taking responsibility for good and bad that comes with them.

How's that for a Sunday morning thought.

Crash test dummie dies

Samuel Anderson, the inventor of the dummies used to test car safety, has died, the LAT reports. He was 90.

First ammendment shifted to 32nd

Yet another attack on our freedom of speech as lawmakers are set to raise fines for indecency.'
 

House Poised to OK Indecency Fine Increase [AP via Yahoo News, 2.16.2005]

House members are looking to hit broadcasters where it hurts — the pocketbook — to crack down on racy programming.

I just do not understand the entire brouhaha over indecency. Particularly these days, there are literally thousands of media outlets. So if you truly want to avoid indecency -- however one may define it -- you can. You don't like Howard Stern? Turn it off! It really is that simple. Yes, I know -- the children! This is one of these situations where we are outsourcing parental responsibilities. And, shockingly, it is conservatives who are pushing for this interventionist government.

THE vote

So they came and they voted... in larger numbers than expected. As one who has little good to say about this war, clearly Sunday was a proud day for Iraq and for the Bush administration. Slate.com's Today's Papers rounds it up this way:

According to the Post's ambitious lead—which wraps together reporting from several staffers and 12 Iraqi stringers in eight cities—the battle-weary country "took on the veneer of a festival, as crowds danced, chanted and played soccer in streets secured by thousands of Iraqi and American forces." Everyone notes that many voters ventured to the polls in their best clothes, often accompanied by their children, and returned proudly brandishing their indigo-stained fingers. In a Baghdad scene piece, the NYT's John Burns writes, "Foreigners who have been visiting Iraq for 15 years and knew the tension that crackled under Mr. Hussein could remember no other day when the city, in wide areas, seemed so much at ease."

Slate also notes that the editorial pages come out in favor of democracy, while attempting to weave yesterday's events into their respective master narratives.
" The WSJ clucks at liberals who it says opposed the election. The NYT rejoices in Iraqis' courage but reserves "grave doubts about the overall direction of American strategy." Meanwhile the WP distills a welcome moral to the story:

Yesterday, however, Americans finally got a good look at who they are fighting for: millions of average people who have suffered for years under dictatorship and who now desperately want to live in a free and peaceful country. Their votes were an act of courage and faith—and an answer to the question of whether the mission in Iraq remains a just cause.

My hope is that this will represent a turning point for that country. My gut tells me something else, however. And even if Iraq proves successful, I don't think the way justifies the means. In the end, not unlike in ones personal life, one has to take responsibility for themselves. And I still believe there is a long way to go. I'm sure we will all be staying tuned.

Feb. 4 is Red Dress Day

This coming Friday -- Feb. 4 -- is Red Dress Day, as Poynter's Al Tompkins notes.

It is part of what is called "The Heart Truth" campaign, aimed at highlighting the problem of heart disease in women. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has some useful press materials to get you started. I suspect your local heart surgery hospital could help you find ways to localize the story. The campaign is especially aimed at women ages 40 to 60, the time when a woman's risk of heart disease starts to rise.

Here are some stats:

           o Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of American women.

           o One in every three women dies of heart disease. One in 30 dies of breast cancer.

           o Women's heart disease risk starts to rise in middle age.

           o About 3 million American women have had a heart attack.

           o Two-thirds of American women who have had a heart attack don't make a full recovery.

           o Nearly two-thirds of American women who die suddenly of a heart attack had no prior symptoms.

           o Americans can lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 82 percent just by leading a healthy lifestyle.

           o Awareness of heart disease as the leading cause of death has increased from 30 percent in 1997 to 46 percent in 2003.

           o Only 13 percent of women consider heart disease to be their own greatest health risk.

I assume guys can wear red that day too, right... bonus points if you wear a red dress?

Troubled times

The last few weeks have been difficult. One of my employees suddenly went missing. She left for a business trip to California in mid-December and then was scheduled to be on vacation just before the holiday. But then she was due back the week after Christmas. She sent in a note saying she was not feeling well. Fast forward a week -- the first week of the new year -- and we get an overnight call on Monday night/Tuesday morning saying that she is still sick. Then again no word for the rest of the week. Week three and we again get a overnight call on Sunday night/Monday morning saying that her time is all messed up.

Throughout this period, we are very worried. Our initial concern is that she was hurt. Then after we would get the calls, we would just be angry that we had spent this much time worrying. We called family. We spent time with the company's employee assistance program. After all, I'm not expert in how to deal with these situations.

Finally, we had a friend who just went to her place. (We had been advised not to do that ourselves precisely because we are not trained to deal with such situations. Therefore, it could result in some kind of liability to the company or ourselves... and it isn't a good situation to put either us or her in.) They found her making herself a sandwich. We eventually met with her and, in my untrained opinion, she is deeply depressed. If you look at the symptoms of depression, it is something of a checklist description of her situation.

All of that being said, my own therapist, Patrick Gleason, has what I call "Patrick's rules." Among them:

* Healthy people have healthy boundaries, which help them define who they are but also helps keeps your issues separate from others.

* Healthy people live in the present.

* Healthy people are integrated.

Also, healthy people must be responsible for their own health. I have become a strong believer in that. In a way, many of these problems -- like depression and alcoholism -- are somewhat similar. A critical and important first step is that people recognize their own situation and only when they ask for help can it be offered.

Regardless, it is very difficult to see somebody you know and care about wallow. And having been there before, I know how painful it can be. Yet, for me, that pain was a powerful motivator. Those feelings drove my long path to becoming more healthy.

If my now former employee ever reads this, I again offer to help however I can.

Related but unrelated... I had one of those horrible 'it could have been anybody' moments this week -- Rusty Asher, who was a spokesman for the Office of Personnel Management, was found murdered in his DC apartment. I fully understand that people die every day, but I have dealt with Rusty a lot and he was a pro. Sympathies to his family and we hope the authorities find out who did this and why.

Inaugration jam!

So January 20, we celebrate democracy with the second inauguration of President George W. Bush and the newspapers have been keen to point out that this is the first post-9/11 inauguration. Unfortunately that has left the nation's capital in a state of siege. That became personal Tuesday night when I was returning from Capitol Hill was hindered by some crazy person threatening to blow himself up held police at bay for hours Tuesday blocks from the White House.

Then Wednesday night, the siege arrived literally at our doorstep when the Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball -- tickets cost $1,495 each -- was held in our neighbored and traffic has just about reached gridlock.

It is always fun for our city to be in the spotlight, but...
Of course, the city's first snowfall of the year did not help the situation at all.

If it's Sunday...

So once again, it was Sunday, so it Meet the Press time, this week featuring Dan Bartlett, counselor to the president, and Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Emanuel, who worked for former President Bill Clinton, is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party. But if Sunday's appearance is any indication, the party is in trouble.

What was up with him? I have heard him be coherent and effective before, but he was a mess on Sunday. He did manage to avoid Tim Russert's trap of putting forward a quote on Social Security without saying who it was from.

"...the looming fiscal crisis in Social Security.  ...If nothing is done by 2029, there will be a deficit in Social Security trust fund, which will either require...a huge tax increase in the payroll tax, or just about a 25 percent cut in Social Security benefits."

Guess what? It was Clinton!
But overall, he was all over the map... on Iraq... on Social Security... on deficits... As regular readers know, I'm harsh on this president, but the deficits are somewhat understandable. To say that Clinton had a surplus and Bush now has a deficit seems like a weak argument. After all, in between then and now, the economy slowed, September 11 occurred, and of course there is Iraq. But where could Democrats propose that Bush cut? And his solution to Iraq was for the president to put less of a positive spin on it? Now there is a platform the party can win on!

One final rant: I despise it when pols go on the Sunday public affairs programs -- programs that actually do focus on content, where policy wonks can find a home -- and say, "Well, we aren't doing to debate XXX issue here on television." Both these guys did it Sunday. Where are they going to debate it? Behind closed doors where they can't be questioned or where they public can't see what is going on? What better opportunity to actually discuss issues then on Meet the Press?

Stop the madness...

So the WP notes on its front page a story that seems to be getting little attention -- the WMD inspectors have given up and are coming home.

Slate.com's Today's Papers describes it this way:

The Post announces on Page One that the Iraq Survey Group, which when last heard from was still hot on the trail for banned weapons, has in fact folded its tent, and it did so about three weeks ago. (No, you didn't miss the White House announcement.) The "interim report" the group put out in September, which caused a big stink, will essentially be reprinted as the final report. The WP also notes that fulfilling experts' worries, "many" Iraqi scientists who worked on banned programs have now left the country, perhaps to peddle their skills elsewhere.

And...
Today's Papers also found this interesting letter to the editor in today's NYT:

Brainstorm for the unemployed and retired... A letter to the NYT:

To the Editor:

Re "Your Call (and Rants on Hold) Will Be Monitored" (front page, Jan. 11):

As a preventative measure against wrong information coming from hurried customer service representatives, I begin many calls to a call center with a "this call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes" of my own.

I ask the agent for permission to record the call on my end, as well.

They almost always say no and hang up.

Jon D. Morrow
New York, Jan. 11, 2005

And the NYPost notes that for the tabs, Brad and Jen is tantamount to a tsunami:

"For a celebrity weekly, this is our tsunami," said Kent Brownridge, general manager of Us Weekly parent company Wenner Media, in describing the Jennifer Aniston-Brad Pitt marital break-up, which prompted Us and People to unprecedentedly publish days early, the New York Post reports. "I can't think of anything bigger than the king and queen of Hollywood breaking up."

Happy election day...

Vote!