MMMM #120 The Not So Diplomatic Service

    

 The New York Times uses almost 900 words in a note to readers to explain its decision to publish some of the diplomatic messages obtained originally by Wikileaks.com.
     Decisions like these date back to the earliest days of mass communications, though perhaps publication of The Pentagon Papers is still the hallmark event.
    The lamest excuse The Times uses to justify the publication this time around is a kind of "all the kids are doing it" comment:

For The Times to ignore this material would be to deny its own readers the careful reporting and thoughtful analysis they expect when this kind of information becomes public.

     There little or no danger that the story will be ignored, by the Times of anyone else. Either the Times has made the right decison or it has not. To say even if we don't do it, other will is, again, lame. If this were a NY Time exclusive would they hold off publishing it?
     The Washington Post is running a Bloomberg story based on the cables that has Arabian countries, including Saudi Arabia, siding with Israel against Iran!
     The Times makes it clear that they have gone to extraordinary lengths to protect information that deserves to be protected...informing the Obama Administration what it intended to publish and letting them argue for redaction. In some cases, the Times agreed. In others, not.
 
     The media question here is this: does the government have the right to keep anything secret? The quick answer is, of course.
     Even the staunchest advocate of freedom of information woudn't seriously argue that the names of espionage agents should be public (Valorie Plame might have some comment about that.)

     The media lesson here is that the hated MSM is alive and well....sorting through the quarter million cables and crafting stories based on their journalism ability. Even though Wikileaks got the material first, there's no question that it is via the MSM that virtually everyone will find out what's in there, and what it means.

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.]

  

The Passing of Sir Marvin

     Marvin Whiting was never knighted by royalty, so my use of "Sir" is strictly honorary, but he always sounded as if he had been!
Marvin was the first person ever named archivist for the city of Birmingham, and one of the first people I interviewed in the city when I moved there in 1976.
     His Virginia Tidewater accent, his beard, and his ever present pipe gave him an air of aristocracy, and lent gravitas (not that he needed any) to every story he told. And tell them he could!
     I learned more about the history of The Magic City from Marvin than any book I read.
    Marvin passed away on Friday at the age of 76.
    His obituary in The Birmingham News called him a passionate historian for the city, and of that there is no doubt.

   I tried in recent months to help him secure a copy of two silent movies with connections to Birmingham.
   One was the 1928 film Honor Bound. The other was Coming Through, another silent flick. Both were written by a Birmingham author...Jack Bethea.
   Marvin wanted them for the Birmingham-Jefferson History Museum.
   I'm sorry to say I was not able to find them.
   Some late in life photos of Marvin are here, though they don't show the smile that never seemed to be far away.One of them shows him in his impossibly crowded home on the Southside, packed with things he'd collected: books, of course, and art, and, well, stuff.
   If it's true that a library vanishes when someone dies, Marvin's passing means the loss of an entire library system. Rest in Peace, my friend.

Race & The Death Penalty

     Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens writes about his change of heart about the death penalty in an upcoming article.....and he may speak about it on 60 Minutes tomorrow when he is profiled.
    Stevens writes that racial disparity in the administration of Capital Punishment is critical proof of its unconstitutionality:

“That the murder of black victims is treated as less culpable than the murder of white victims provides a haunting reminder of once-prevalent Southern lynchings,” Justice Stevens wrote.

     That quote comes from a New York Times story about his conversion from death penalty advocate to opponent.

America Matches Russian Record

    One year ago, I posted about the U.S. in Afghanistan and a dubious record we were on our way to breaking. Now we're there. And just as the Obama Administration sets a course for departing by 2014.
   The U.S. has been in Afghanistan as long as the Soviets were.
   This weekend, we break that record.
   And we're apparently not leaving anytime soon.
   In fact according to a FOX News report, we're sending in tanks.
   My original posting is here,.
    On November 14th, Bob Davis wrote in an editorial in the Anniston Star that the U.S. is spending $6-Billion a month in Afghanistan. Even in terms of government spending, that's a chunk of money. Are we getting anything of substance in return? If this were just a dubious U.S. Government research program---like a giant Halogen Collider of our own beneath Nevada---it would be one thing. But every day we stay, the lives of American military personnel are lost or changed forever.
     And yet how often did you hear the word Afghanistan during debates leading up to the election? When I asked Congresswoman-elect Martha Roby a question about the war(s) during our pre-primary election OTR program, she seemed surprised, as if it were a literally foreign issue she would not have to deal with.
     Now the candiates who professed to be budget cutters are in charge. Will they cut Social Security? Or Mr. Karzai's personal retirement program...the same Karzai whose behavior is causing concern by NATO allies.

Sunday's On The Record: The New Legislative Majority

     Republican Senator Jabo Waggoner of Jefferson County and Representative Mike Hubbard of Lee County are the guests in a conversation about the new Republican Alabama State Legislature.
    
Here's a sample:
Will the GOP pay back the Democrats for mistreatment during the past decades?
Hubbard:  No...their bills will be given a fair hearing, and if a majority of  the legislature approves, they'll be passed.
Will they get any committee chairmanships?
Hubbard: No...there were no Republican chairmen when they were in the majority...

Those aren't exact quotes, but close.

     Watch On The Record at 5:30 on Sunday, just before 60 Minutes on CBS 8 in Montgomery.

But Santa! She's just a sick little girl!

The Washington Post's Hank Stuever  probably doesn't need to worry about his mailbox filling with holiday cards (Hallmark or otherwise) this year, not after his column in today's paper.
     He eviscerates the series of Hallmark Hall of Fame holiday movies (including the newest "Mrs. Miracles") as too sacrine for words.
     What do you think?

Alabama's Anti-Smoking (lack of) effort.

     As a former smoker, I try not to be too judgemental about those who continue the habit. Quitting is hard!
     But I can be plenty critical of the state of Alabama for it's dismal performance when it comes to advocating quitting.
     A new survey  from the campaign for tobacco-free kids shows the state ranked 44th in using available funds for that purpose. And that's actually an improvement over the previous year!
     According to that report, there are 10,700 Alabama kids who become smokers every year. But the state spends only a tiny fraction of the amount recommended by the CDC based on tobacco income to the state ($242-Million!). Why get kids to stop! Their new habit is bankrolling other state expenses.
     Interestingly, when the state imposed a new monthly fee on state employees who smoke, it had no impact on the per-centage of those who do smoke...thought that was certainly a factor in my own quitting!

Semmes Wins Poll

     The Captain of the CSS Alabama has been named best Confederate Navy Officer in a blog poll.

     Lots of folks didn't know there even was a COnfederate Navy, much less enough officers to deserve a vote!

Bad enough on the ground, but in the AIR??

As a confirmed snakeophobe, I was sure the story I noticed last week about the military studying "flying snakes" was a farce, a satire from some creative web site. But Noooooooooooo! Here's a National Geographic video about them. The video dialogue is not in English, but who cares. All I needed to see is that in Southeast Asia there are snakes that fly. And what you want to bet some of them are stowing away right this minute in the cargo hold of a plane, one that will make a stop at Maxwell AFB here in Montgomery. Happy dreams!

Literally Watch!

     I'm proud to say it is none other than Steve Flowers, columnist and CBS-8 political commentator, who presents an excellent correct example of using the word literally.
      In his latest column, he writes about the re-establishment of the Iron Bowl in 1948 after a decades long break:

      The contract was drawn up, papers were signed, and the rivals literally buried the hatchet. On the morning of December 4, 1948, the president of each school’s student body dug a hole at Birmingham’s Woodrow Wilson Park, tossed a hatchet in and buried it.

     "Literally" is one of the most misused words in the language, and this blog is on a mission to point out the correct and incorrect use when it appears in public.

[Thanks to our eagle eyed senior editor J.C. for spotting this example!]

A Very Happy Thanksgiving...

...and may your table be full of great food and even better people.

Historic Echoes?

     A quirk of fate has the new Republican majority Alabama Legislature meeting to organize itself on the 150th anniversary of another historic meeting of the same body...the session when the lawmakers voted to secede from the Union.

     January 11, 1861 - Alabama votes to leave the Union.

           January 11, 2011 - Alabama Republicans take control of the Legislature.

   

     I'm just saying.....

     Though you won't find many Republicans advocating Alabama leave The Union again, there was just such a proposal from Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry last year regarding his state, and there was an anti- Federal government theme among tea party members too, who at least infuenced some of the Repubicans elected to the new Alabama Legislature.
     By the way, The new Speaker of The House, Rep.Mike Hubbard, and the new Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Jabo Waggoner, are the guests on Sunday's On The Record on CBS 8 in Montgomery. 5:30pm, just before 60-Minutes!

Happy 3rd Birthday to this blog!

Three years ago today I started blogging. And I sincerely thank those who have come by this address once, or many times. Think of it as your anniversary too!

Tim

Us & the known universe.

Well, what can I say? A video that's already been seen by over 6.5 million people. I am truly late to this dance (-: But it certainly puts your daily problems (and everything else) in perspective!

MMMM #119 - Freedom of The Press

Check out this quote:

...said a... source who spoke on the condition of anonymity, for fear of reprisal.

     A North Korean source? An operative inside China? A Pentagon whistleblower? Nah, it's an employee of The Washington Times speaking to The Washington Post about the firing of the church-owned paper's top editor. Sun Myung Moon is back as the owner of the paper after his son failed to run it at a profit, and fired the Editor on Friday.

     I can see why newspapers and broadcasters would want to control the flow of information about themselves, but I'm always amused to see the same people who depend on people talking being so selective about who can say what.

Palin as Wallace

Frank Rich editorializes in today's N.Y. Times that critics inside and outside the GOP are helping Sarah Palin grow stronger, comparing her to George Wallace:

 "These insults just play into Palin’s hands, burnishing her image as an exemplar of the “real America” battling the snooty powers-that-be. To serve as an Andrew Jackson or perhaps George Wallace for the 21st century, the last thing she wants or needs is gravitas.

Designer of a "humble Masterpiece" dies.

They truly are everywhere. The designer of the "Polyprop chair" has died at 95.

...two more photos unearthed.

Early 1970's, the WTC towers rise in Lower Manhattan, one with an ominous tombstone in the forefront.

Second Look

I'm trying to clear some clutter, and came across some old photo albums. In one, I found the photo below. I took it in August, 1970 in Vietnam...but this may be the first time I've actually looked at it closely. I wonder why so many of the boys are hiding their faces?

Taking Rep. Jo Bonner to the woodshed....

...for taking Rep Charlie Rangel to the woodshed.
     That's what Salon.com did this week, blasting the North Alabama Congressman for a tirade against the already convicted Rangel.
     The column by the site's news editor suggests it is unseemly for a white Alabama Congressman to be attacking a black New York Congressman, especially since Rangel had already been found guilty by the House ethics committee, of which Bonner is the highest ranking Republican.

     It's Alabama's racial history at play here, of course.
     If he were a House member from New Jersey, Bonners rant probably would not have merited even a mention. But we in Alabama travel wtih some very heavy, very nasty baggage. And unless we manage to become a kind of model state for racial equality and fairness, we'll always be a target, an example for editorial writers.

I Feel Their Pain!

My FIRST 2010/11 Holiday Card!!!!!

Isn't it lovely???

...it's from Doug Harrison!!!!!

...owner of The Scooter Store!

JUST what I wanted!!!!!!



Just One Question.

Regarding this Kentucky story...the man forced to eat his own beard...what kind of wine do your serve with beard anyway?

The Mayor & his .38 Pistol

    

     Tonight and Tuesday night on CBS-8, an "Extra" report about the man who was Montgomery Mayor for 22 years, defeated by Bobby Bright in 1999.
      Emory Folmar was known to carry a gun during his time in office, but in an interview about his legacy, the 80-year old ABC Board Administrator told us he shot a suspect.

Q. Did he die?
A. I didn't care if he died or not, he shot two officers!

The Legacy of Emory Folmar

6:00pm and 10:0pm

Monday & Tuesday

on CBS-8, Montgomery

(This CBS News Extra will be available online after it airs at http://www.waka.com/. Use the pull down news menu to select "News Extra" stories.)

MMMM #118 --- MORE Media Training,

     When will schools (and businesses) learn that sometimes the fight isn't worth the fighting. Sometimes it's best to give it up.

     A Mississippi school (Why is i always Mississippi?) is being sued after a football player was thrown off the team for wearing pink cleats for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
      If only these administrators would either hire good PR people, or at least think ahead and consider how the story will play out, envisioning themselves standing in front of an armada of New Yawk media types trying not to look like local yokels...and then consider whether settling the issue would be a better course of action.
     There are issues you go to the mat for....issues you fight to the end.
     But doncha think the pink cleat battle against a photogenic jock could have been settled without a court battle? Or do they have a lot more money for education in Mississippi than we have in Alabama?
     At the very least, the Principal and his staff should have defused the issue by wearing pink sneakers every day to show the school supports the breast cancer issue...to make sure the affair is framed as a school discipline issue.
     But you have to know something about the media to make suggestions like that.

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.]

New Montgomery Public Safety Dir. on OTR

     The former head of the Alabama Department of Public Safety---Colonel Chris Murphy---is the guest on today's On The Record on CBS-8.

     Murphy is now Public Safety Director for the city of  Montgomery, in charge of the police, fire, and emergency communications departments.

    We discuss the funeral procession accident that left Corporal Dave Brown critically injured, Homeland Security issues, a new office to facilitate the reporting of misdeeds by officers, and just what motorists are supposed to do and not do when they are pulled over by police.

    Tune in at 5:30, just before 60 Minutes on CBS 8 in Montgomery.

Gomillion @ 50

     Fifty years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision on a case involving Tuskegee Alabama, a case that may have ramifications in 2011, as a new Republican majority takes control of the every-ten-year redrawing of voting districts in the state.
     Gommillion v Lightfoot stemmed from a decision by the Alabama Legislature to redraw the city's boundaries to eliminate black populations, preventing them from voting in city elections.
     The old city  lines were in a square. The new gerrymandered lines were a 28 point design that eliminated all but a few black voters, but no white voters at all.

The Square sides of the map show the original Tuskegee

limits, The lighter block shows the new city limits.

     The Supreme Court decision was unanimous...the Legislature's action was a violation of the 15th Amendment.
     78 year old veteran Alabama Civil Rights lawyer Fred Gray was a young man when he went before the Supreme Court to argue the case. He still practices law in Tuskegee and Montgomery today.
     You can listen to tape of his arguments before the court at the Oyez Project webpage here.
  

The Nazi Connection

     There is no reference to Huntsville's use of former Nazi scientists like Wernher Von Braun in rocket research, but a story in this (Sunday) morning's N.Y. Times delves into the U.S. efforts to shield and use some Nazis for the country's own purposes after WWII.
     A good read.

Scan THIS!

     A backlash is forming against increasingly personal body searches at airports...so much so that one outraged traveler is calling for fliers to "just say no" to intrusive whole-body scanners on the day before Thanksgiving, traditionally one of the busiest travel days of the year,
    Yes, he has a website. It decries the use of "Porno-scanners" and ultra-personal body searches (actual feeling as opposed to the lightly patting of private parts) by TSA agents for those passengers who refuse to go through them.
     The WaPo has the story this morning.
     I don't fly much, but I'm beginning to think the comedian who a few decades ago suggested a mandatory nudity regulation would solve the hijacking problem, was onto something,

Where is Fr. Damien, anyway?

     So the Catholic Church is feeling pressure from a growing number of requests for exorcisms? More demons? Less religion? More mental illness?

(Too Fast) Headline Reading

     I'm not sure what this posting says about the current political climate...or about me. But as I scanned the online NY Times a few minutes ago I came across this headline:

Would The South Really Leave?

...and I HONESTLY thought it was a current story about the political divide in the U.S. Then I saw the date: 1860. Part of the Times coverage of the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Civil War.

     But for a moment there......

Next: Bacon flavored bacon.

     TLC Editor Superior J.C. points to the development of the latest literally heart-stopping treat: bacon flavored soda.
    Oh yum! Just in time for breakfast the morning after Thanksgiving, just in case you haven't completely blocked your arteries.

Remember.

A Treasure Lost

     Longtime Alabama journalist and friend Kathy Kemp passed last night after a nine year fight against cancer.
     Words cannot express my sorry at the loss of such a fine writer and such a kind, thoughtful person.
      Journalism, and all of Kathy's many friends and family members are all poorer this morning.
     The online story at al.com includes links to samples of her fine work.
     Rest in peace, my friend.

Only in Alabama

     The same state that banned the sale of sex toys...and then went through a lengthy appeals court to defend it...is now home to the nation's first drive-through sex toy store. It looks like an old bank drive through with the pneumatic tubes and all...OK, I'll resist any comments. Enough said.

MMMM #117 -- The Impartial Media

     Keith Olbermann was suspended by NBC last week when it was disclosed that he made political contributions to two candidates for Congress.
     But as Salon and others are pointing out, the action raises questions about the entire GE owned NBC Media empire. Why do those same standards not apply at CNBC?
     Like the fired Juan Williams* on NPR, Olbermann doesn't claim to be an impartial reporter...he's a commentator!

     It is hard to take the high road! People start asking pesky questions about your "policies". So far as I can tell, NBC has taken a no comment stance about the issue, the ultimate irony, since the entire news business would be out of business if everyone just said no comment!

     True journalism hardliners argue that journalists should not only avoid making contributions, but shouldn't even vote, to remove them from the process entirely.

     It seems the network news operations are trying to set themselves up as somehow purer than their cable cousins, islands of truly impartial reporting. But the links and leaks between the two are much too frequent for that wall to stand. It has, or will, fall under the weight of a lack of consistency.

     I've never contributed to anyone's candidacy. But that hardly means my brain is in some kind of lock-down mode as I do interviews or write stories. The proof of the journalism is in the reading or watching. It's the fairness of the product that's important. Unless your job is commentary, then Katie bar the door. Surely by now, nobody misses the irony of the "fair and balanced" slogan at Fox News?

[*An excellent discussion about Williams and the question of NPR funding can be heard on this week's On The Media...on NPR, of course. And speaking of public radio, I about fell out of bed this Saturday Morning when I turned on my radio just before 6:00am to hear APR say the high would be 90 degrees. Automation in radio has come a long way since my radio time, but there is still a dependency on humans giving the machines the right commands. The actual predicted high was 58.]

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.] 

Post Election

A couple of observations, now that the election work-week has ended:

• Newly elected Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell picked a tough time to win a seat in the U.S. House. She'll be a freshman and a member of the Democratic minority...probably not the best combination for committee assignments. Then again, she made history, the first woman (along with Republican Martha Roby) elected to Congress from Alabama, and the first black woman too.
• The other Democratic win in the night of the GOP tidlewave was Joe Hubbard, who campaigned hard enough to unseat veteran GOP legislator David Grimes. He too can likely count on few choice statehouse committee assignments in Montgomery.
• And NY Times Regional Newspapers reporter Dana Beyerle has a great quote in his story from Demo Party Chair Joe Turnham:

“There were 1.5 million votes, and we lost anywhere from 200,000 to 300,000,” he said. “By the time they throw enough people out of the nursing homes, double the size of classrooms, find no new money, they will have several hundred thousand people turn on them.”

• Good luck to all of the candiates, winners and losers. 2011 promises to be a tough year to govern in the U.S. in general, and in Alabama in particular. Do your best!

Dana Beyerle with defeated Democratic candidate for Gov Ron Sparks

First Volly, The CW @ 150

     USA Today reports a textbook author "found on the Internet" the fact that thousands of blacks men fought for the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War. The book is being used in Virginia (2nd capital of the Confederacy after Montgomery).

      Just what do Alabama's texts teach?

     As we begin commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the war, these skimishes are bound to happen. This weekend is the reenactment of two real military skimishes in Tallassee. These photos were taken during the 2009 event.

Wet Cullman

     The city with the only non-alcohol Oktoberfest in the world can now go wet...if the organizers of the event says they want to. City voters approved a "wet" vote on Tuesday, clearing the way for beer at the annual Fall event.

A GOP Sweep in Alabama

There more live campaign coverage on the air right now, at least through 10:30 and perhaps beyond...here are a couple of behind the scenes shots of tonight't CBS-8 coverage of the 2010 General Election... watch for complete coverage in the morning when you wake up...it starts at 5:30 on CBS 8!

Go to http://www.waka.com/ for complete coverage of today's election!

The Scottsboro Boys, The Play

The reviews are coming in for the Broadway production of a play based on the Scotsboro Boys, which opened Sunday night...the N.Y. Daily News giving it a generally positive review.

[UPDATE: The New York Times has a positive review too.]