Bare Shelves

Naked women on wine labels are one thing---embarrassing to most folks who live here---but bare coffers in the state's largest county and it's "economic engine" is another. We all have been following the daily decline of the county governments in and around the Magic City, but now The New York Times story has a front page report on the massive layoffs and service cuts coming tomorrow in Jefferson County. And it includes quotes of legislators pointing fingers at Commissioners and visa verse (at least those commissioners not in jail).

Can we stop being our own worst enemy for a few minutes? Just a few?

[UPDATE: As of Saturday Afternoon, the NY Times story was the 7th most emailed on the paper's website.]

Doin' The White House Two-Stop-Step

The controversy over Bob Riley using the state plane to travel to a political fundraiser and refusing to pay for it because he also had a closed-door meet with an industrial prospect is nothing new. The White House perfected that subterfuge starting at least with Ronald Regan and continuing through Bush#1, Bill Clinton, Bush#2, and-- I guess-- President Obama.

They would want to make a fundraising speech for some candidate's re-election in Twiddletown , so suddenly there would be a need to go to that very same Twiddletown (Coincidence!). Let's go inspect that bootlace making factory! Fire up Air Force One! Or schedule the first lady to read to the Twiddletown kiddies and have the Prez go along (Coincidence!) to raise a few Million for the campaign.

Here's a simple rule that could be followed by politicians of all stripes who really want to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance to a conflict: If in doubt, either don't do it, or pay half the fare in the interest of not even appearing to be cheating taxpayers. If there was a secret industrial development meeting up in Huntsville, great. But attending a fundraiser on the same taxpayer funded trip is fairly easily avoided. Do the right thing. Make the campaign pay for half the trip.

Ex-Birther

I am pleased to see that our esteemed Senator Richard Shelby is now "confident" President Obama was really, truly, honestly born in the USA, and thus is "qualified" to hold office. I read it in the Birmingham News, which explains by way of background that Shelby seemed to be a "birther" (that will be a great Jeopardy Question for 2100: "Zargot, what insane movement emerged with the election of the first black person elected to President in the old USA, in which the members denied all the logical evidence and continued to deny the legitimacy of Mr. Obama's Presidency?"). Anyway, now Shelby has now assured all of us---late July of 2009, eight months after Mr. Obama was resoundingly elected---that he's "confident" he was born in the US, a qualification to be president. But the tortured path Shelby took on to get there is an embarrassment. The clarification should have come a lot sooner...and would never had been needed is the Senator has been a touch more clear headed and clear-speaking in the first place. Maybe it was a case of wishful thinking, and remains so the rest of the "birthers". [UPDATE: And just where to most of the so-called "birthers" live? In the "Old South".]

Anonymous comments

I've blogged before about the comments many newspapers now allow after virtually every story they put online (I call it the TalkRadio effect)...and how it allows jerks to make jokes and leave awful crass comments about suicide stories and the like And this blog also has its share of folks who want to take shots at something I've written, hiding behind the protective cloak of anonymity, of course. And that's fine. But don't you think that the honest way to disagree is to first identify yourself? To have the so-called courage of your conviction? Whatever. [NOTE: I've been deep into some freelancing this week, so my apologies for not posting more frequently. I'll get back on a schedule soon.]

Alabama Roughest Interstate

It has to be I-59 heading to Georgia from Gadsden...especially the right hand lane. Did The Etowah County Legislative delegation piss off the Riley Administration or what? Just back from a little road trip and may have loosened several teeth from the bumpiness of the roadway. What's up with that???

R U rdy to txt?

All of the studies in the world don't seem to impress members of the Alabama Legislature when it comes to common sense bills. Rep. Jim McClendon (R, Springville) has tried session after session to convince his fellow house members to approve a bill banning texting while driving... just for teenagers. Yet again and again the sessions end without passage. In January most lawmakers claimed to be in favor of the bill, yet it failed. McClendon told me last year there are legislators who actually think it's a freedom issue, that the state shouldn't be telling people how to drive. The newest study proves conclusively that texting while driving is dangerous (like we needed a study???), yet I'm confident our legislators will find a reason not to vote for the legislation again in 2010. If you think a texting ban would be unenforceable, consider this: it would give parents words about loosing a license the force of law, and that might be just enough to convince a kid not to text. And it just might be a kid who's car is aiming at yours.

Thank you, Birmingham News

There's a very nice feature story in this morning's Birmingham News about me...thank you to reporter/columnist Kathy Kemp for such a great spread! You can read the story online following that link, but the five photos that are in the print edition aren't included online. Here's what the layout looks like: [UPDATE: Matt was kind enough to point me to another version of the online story that includes a few other photos. Thanks!]

Rating the FED

How would you rate the job being done by The Federal Reserve? That's what just over a thousand people were asked in a poll about the FED and some other government agencies. How badly did the FED do? Well, let's just say the IRS ranked higher. But before you go asking for the FED's heads, ask yourself what you really know about the Federal Reserve. Could you give a coherent sixty second statement about what it does and why? Probably not. Sorry, but I think this poll is a measure of how well the agencies' Public Relations folks are doing rather than a real measurement of the agencies' actual performance. Short of a major scandal breaking, most folks will give high marks to agencies like the FBI, the CDC and NASA...and in fact all three ranked at the top in the poll. That's because we know what they do.

• The FBI catches bad guys.
• The CDC catches bad germs.
• And NASA send stuff up into space.

But the FED? Hmmmm kinda suspicious, lots of money dealing...right in the center of the bailout in which huge buckets were used to move cash from taxpayers pockets to the boardrooms of insurance companies and banks. Can't be good, can it? If only the FED PR folks could convince the public the buckets were made by NASA and inspected by the CDC and given a background check by the FBI.

MMMM # 52 - In The Heat of (Media) Battles

In a Washington Post story on Friday, media columnist Howard Kurtz detailed an extraordinary formal sexual harassment complain filed against a Miami Herald reporter by a military Public Relations person, of all things. I've been on one side of the PR/Media battle lines for a long time, and have had numerous heated exchanges with people who's job was to prevent me from obtaining the information I needed for a story, but this! It helps if you know the male PR Navy Commander who filed the complaint against the female reporter is retiring next year.

Despite the adversarial relationship between the two sides, PR people generally know they have to try to satisfy the reporters while protecting the folks who sign their paychecks, and it makes for some difficult terrain to traverse. All sides have a tough job, and that tension often causes angry flareups. There are some PR people I won't deal with, or will ignore, because I don't trust them. There are probably some PR people who will avoid dealing with me for the same (incorrect, of course) reason. It's a dance in which the partners are forced to work together with sometimes opposite ideas about whether they're waltzing or line dancing the cupid shuffle.

During my three-years in the U.S. Army, I occasionally acted as a low-ranking enlisted escort for civilian media. And I can promise you those reporters would have had to have basically broken some of my bones before I would have complained even informally about their behavior. The story told by Kurtz will be fascinating to watch. The results could have a significant impact on PR/media relations, especially in the military.

These roads are our roads...

I'm all for safe driving, and I despise drunk driving. But it also drives me crazy to hear reporters adopting the PR/marketing gimmick name "Take Back Our Highways" to describe the latest multi-state ticket-giving frenzy that started this weekend. May I remind the police agencies involved (and the reporters) that those highways belong to the people, not to the police? And that police officers are, in fact, the taxpayers employees? Nobody has taken "your" highways, Mr. Trooper. They weren't yours in the first place. Alabama officials point to reduced highway deaths as proof that the increased number of troopers on the roads works. And traffic fatalities were down last year in Alabama. But I have to think the drop in miles driven was a factor as the price of gas soared. The vast majority of tickets given out during these events are for speeding and not wearing seat belts, that latter offense proving to be a nice addition to the states' coffers. Not that I would suggest there's any fiscal incentive to the "blitz." Anyway, go use your roads this coming week drivers, but keep an eye out for unmarked trooper vehicles ready to swoop down. And drive carefully out there!

NewSverse Our Post Walter World By Tim Lennox Brian and Charles and Katie mourned and praised their late peering peer, who confronted. Yet in his chair they bowed and scraped to the invaders on promp (Ter) command. [NewSverse is a weekly feature of this blog.]

Nude Wine Update

It took a bit longer than I expected for the spread of the story of The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board banning the sale of bottles of Cycles Gladiator wine from the Hahn Family Winery in Solidad California, bottles with a label showing a nude nymph riding a bike. The design dates to 1895. Nonetheless, as of early Saturday morning there were more than 200 reference to "wine" and "Alabama" in a Google news search. Helping to spread the word are publications like The Village Voice, which lists the story as one of the reasons readers should be grateful they live in New York City, despite the problems faced in that Metropolis. The story is, of course, featured in USA Today and many other papers because it was picked up for distribution by The Associated Press.

I hope some of the many state officials who spend their time (and our tax dollars) chasing industrial prospects around the globe realize little stories like this can actually make a difference. Governor Riley appointed former Montgomery Mayor Emory Folmar to the ABC Board. But Folmar's not talking about the nymph, telling WSFA News "our actions stand by themselves" Indeed they do.

And don't think you can subvert our state's firm moral stand by ordering some of the wine online and having it shipped here. State law doesn't allow that either. You can, however, become a "fan" of the wine on Facebook. At least so far, Alabama's Authoritarian Government hasn't banned that. And for $90, you can buy a men's jersey with the nymph on it, but we recommend you consult your attorney first, this being the state that banned sex toys.

In Alabama we may have "Freed the Hops", but the grapes, and some minds, remain firmly under lock and key.

[UPDATE: An Omaha blogger's headline: "Alabama Leaps into the 12th Century"]

Capital Factors

Alabama's death penalty can be imposed when a suspect is accused of murder plus one or more of 18 circumstances. They are: Homicide during the commission of kidnapping; robbery; rape/sodomy; burglary; sexual abuse; arson; hijacking; murder of police officer or public official while on duty or when related to or caused by or is related to his official position, act, or capacity; murder for pecuniary or other valuable consideration; two or more persons murdered in same act/course of conduct; victim less than 14 years old; murder under life sentence; murder during arson or by means of explosives; murder by defendant who has previously been convicted of murder within 20 years; murder of witness in civil or criminal trial when murder is caused by or related to the testimony; murder during act of unlawfully assuming control of any aircraft; murder when deadly weapon is fired outside of a dwelling when victim is in dwelling; murder by deadly weapon used from or within a vehicle. [see update below]

I'm sure you would write a good-sized textbook explaining how each of those 18 were chosen. But perhaps one of my Birmingham area readers can explain which one is involved in the murder of a 23 woman in her car, allegedly by a 22 year old second woman outside that car last night. Here's the story in the Birmingham News. [see update below] And one side question...can opponents of hate crimes laws explain to me why all murders are not treated the same? [UPDATE: Carol Robinson, who wrote The Birmingham News story was kind enough to tell me the aggravating circumstance would be firing into a car...which isn't listed among the 18 above circumstances, but which I was able to find elsewhere: "Murder committed by or through the use of a deadly weapon while the victim is in a vehicle" Thanks Carol!]

An Alabama Bad Vibe

An Enterprise resident has filed suit against Vibe magazine, which folded recently. He wants his money back for the issues he didn't get.

Wine Whine

Give me a break. The wine that bears this label...a copy of an 1895 advertising poster, has been banned by the ABC Board because it violates an ABC regulation against displaying a person posing in an immodest or sensuous manner.

Do we have a division of state government that goes out of its way to make Alabama look foolish to the rest of civilization?

The company that produces the wine had the story on their front page less than an HOUR after it appeared. By Midday it will be worldwide, and our wonderful state will again be a laughingstock.

Is there NOBODY handling PR at the ABC Board who could have headed this off? Will they next go on a mission to prevent any sensuous or immodest art in our museums? I'm blushing, not because of the wine, but because of how it will make us all look like rubes.

Stupid is as....

The word stupid is getting plenty of usage this week. First it was President Obama in Wednesday night's news conference, calling the Cambridge Police stupid for the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Tonight it's the top dog at Amazon, who says the company he leads was stupid for going into some customer's Kindle electronic book readers and taking back books by George Orwell, of all authors, that they had paid for (refunding their money too). In the former, the charge of stupidity was in an allegation aimed at someone else, while in the latter the finger was pointing back at the accuser. Not very often we hear corporate folks admitting they screwed up royally, yet that's often the excellent advice PR people give: when you've made a mistake, admit it and move on...even when there may be a fair explanation for your actions.

Amazon did just that, while the Cambridge Police are defending the arresting officer. Even if the professor was being verbally abusive, couldn't the officer understand Gates anger at being handcuffed as a thief by police in one's own home, especially because Gates as a black man would know how profiling works, and especially since the officer has reportedly taught new officers at the academy how to avoid racial profiling in the first place?

WHO is The Most Trusted Man in America???

You can see the TIME Magazine "poll" here.

NBC's Brian Williams (#2) was a guest on Jon Stewart's (#1) Daily show on Monday. Lots of hilarity, but I would love to see Williams do a long-form serious interview about the state of TV News.

[UPDATE: It's Thursday evening, the body is barely cold, and already there's a criticism column about Cronkite on the Poynter Journalism site. Jeez! Is the news cycle so compressed we won't let the sun set on the grave before we begin the assault?]

[NOTE: Each week on this blog, read The Monday Morning Media Memo (MMMM), a media critique column.]

"Lost Time"

In the TV Drama "NYPD Blue", the detectives would announce they were going on "Lost Time" as they walked out of the squad room to take care of personal business. That seems to be what happens with candidates for office who are already receiving a taxpayer check. Both of the Democratic candidates for Governor (so far) hold government jobs. Artur Davis as a U.S. Representative, and Ron Sparks as Agriculture Commissioner. Let's face it, they are both trying to do two full-time jobs, and surely they are not putting in 80 hours a week. There is going to be a lot of "Lost Time". Davis, for example, has missed a bunch of votes in The House. Sparks doesn't have to vote, but its hard to imagine him being able to work a minimum of 40 hours a week for his state paycheck while conducting a campaign for Governor too. How much vacation time can these guys possible have?

At least GOP candidate Bradley Byrne left his position as Chancellor of Post Secondary Education when he announced his bid for Governor, though Bob Riley kept his Congressional pay during his run in 2002.

The detectives on the TV show worked very long hours and were often called out in the middle of the night. That kinda justified some lost time here and there, no? Can the same be said of Sparks and Davis?

Our full-figured Surgeon General nominee

The Washington Post has "gone there"...publishing a story questioning whether Alabama's Doctor Regina Benjamin's weight should disqualify her from serving as Surgeon General, considering the significance of obesity and health. ABC News is also on it. Fair issue?

"Literally Watch"

Kudos to NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd for her perfect use of literally in a piece this morning about drivers using cell phones: Left, literally, to our own devices, we spiral out of control. States should outlaw drivers from talking on phones — except in an emergency — and using digital devices that cause you to drift and swerve... ["Literally Watch" is a public service of this blog, defending the original, and we believe correct, use of the word.]

When Stores Close

There probably isn't a town or city in Alabama that hasn't seen a business go under during the current "recession" (Do we need a harsher word to describe what we're going through? Something short of the "D" word? Somewhere between Recession and De--------?].

It's bad enough when big box retailers on high-traffic highways go under, or when entire malls like The Montgomery Mall in Montgomery and Century Plaza in Birmingham die, with one store after another going out of business. But in some of America's really big cities, stores are an integral part of the neighborhood, woven like gold thread into the makeup of the place. I grew up in New York City, in Queens, and just up the block were the candy store and the grocery store, the deli, the butcher shop (remember them anyone?) and the Pizza joint, some of them with apartments above them. This photo is from the 90's, but a few decades earlier, that block in Queens was where almost all of the family shopping was done, except for now and then excursions to the newly constructed shopping "centers". And now the "recession" is taking a toll on those storefronts in Queens and Manhattan and the rest of the city. The NY Times reports vacancy rates are climbing, and they quote one college professor who lives on an Upper East Side street in Manhattan where three stores have closed: "The fabric of the neighborhood is up for grabs right now." Nicely put. Because what kind of merchants fill storefronts helps paint the neighborhood. And the same is at least partly true of places like the Montgomery Mall and Century Plaza. Capitol City officials are working with the Mall's new owners to make the property viable again, perhaps with a mix of government office space and a little retail. No, there aren't people living on top of or even within arm's reach of the forlorn looking mall buildings, but we're all neighbors in a way. I hope the city will remember that in their quest to put the property to good use.

We value our military (car tags) !

We sure do love our military folks here in Alabama. The Governor today unveiled the 36th and 37th specialty car tag bearing an "Honor the Military" theme. There are so many variations of military tags in our state that the list designating which vets pay which tag fees is divided into three parts. (If you were a POW, or won the Medal of Honor, you get a free specialty tag for life.*)

The tags announced today identify veterans of our twin ongoing wars...in Iraq, and in Afghanistan. They'll be available next month.

The Gov suggests you honk your horn at cars sporting the new tags to show your support. The veterans will have to pay $26 for the honor, unless they are taken prisoner or win the Medal of Honor, that is.* If we really want to honor them, shouldn't the tags be free? Isn't charging like inviting someone to a dinner in their honor and making them pay for their own meal?

Come to think of it, it all of this very smart? Aren't we spending a gazillion dollars on "homeland security" in the belief that there are bad people who want to do bad things to us right here in the homeland? Should we suggest vets go around announcing the fact that they took part in wars that terrorist see as a reason to hate?

[For The Record: Alabama now offers at least 150 kinds of plates, with another dozen or so speciality tags in the pipeline.]

[* The Medal of Honor and POW TAG ITSELF is free. The Veterans still have to pay the taxes, of course. I'm just suggesting that we make the tags for the other vets free too.]

The mystery of "a certain something"...

• People will think nothing of watching a sixty second or even longer commercial as part of a TV show, but they won't sit still for anything over fifteen seconds on their computer...and then only if you include a little counter keeping them advised about how many more seconds it will be before they see what they clicked to watch.

• Most folks can drive a car and have conversations with passengers for hours without any real distraction, but put them on a cell phone, even a "hands free" phone, and wham! It is almost as bad as drunk driving suggest some studies.

• When milk hit $4.50 a gallon in some parts of the country this Spring, consumers screamed. But they'll think nothing of spending as much as $10 a gallon for bottled water that is no more healthy or safe than municipal water from the tap.

There's just a certain something that makes the activities different, and it works for opinions too. Why is it some folks are furious over the deficit spending of the Obama Administration, but stayed quiet for the 8 Bush years when the deficit grew by an average of $612 Billion a year, for a total debt growth of almost $5 Trillion, even with a GOP majority House and Senate for most of that time.

Voter Turnout

Quick! Was the percentage of Alabama African-Americans who voted in the Obama/McCain election higher or lower than the percentage voting in the Kerry/George Bush election four years earlier? Lower, says a story by Brian Lyman in The Press-Register... "Nationwide, black participation increased from 56 percent to 64 percent...however, the Census Bureau said the percentage of Alabama's black population voting in the election fell over 2004, from 64 percent to 62 percent. The percentage of whites voting in the state also fell, from 62 percent to 60 percent" Amazing! I would have bet money on a bigger turnout in '08, especially for black voters. Of course the numbers come from the U.S. Census Bureau. And we all know how wrong a census count can be. In the very first one in 1790, Thomas Jefferson was counted twice. And he was Secretary of State, an office which was in charge of the census at that time.

An MMMM Extra - News as Drama

I'm almost glad Walter Cronkite died before tonight's premier of the NBC show "The Wanted". Like the network's "To Catch a Predator" before it, "The Wanted" crosses enough journalistic ethical boundaries to defy classification. Think journalists as action figures. In The L.A. Times this morning, the show producer defends the program: "We want it to look and feel like a Friday night movie, but we are held by the standards of news."

Right. Like the one that calls for journalists not to take sides? To observe and report? As the three-man team goes after terrorists who have managed to avoided capture and prosecution by such ineffective operations as the U.S. Government and The World Court, we're treated to "news" as music/action video. No shock that the producer is aiming for viewers who are, like himself, men in their 20's. The Wanted is the end result of the slide that started in the 80's, or maybe before, when consultants arrived with their briefcases and their mission statement. Audience at any cost.

Will it be a hit? WWWD.

$20 for my life

On July 20th, 1969, I had almost reached the end of my training to kill people. I was unsure of myself, and had almost dropped out, despite the great price I would have paid. I had been promised quitting would mean the end of my life. Still I wanted to sneak away, not because I hated the thought of taking another life, though I did. It was because I was much less mature than the average 19 year old, and the rigors of the training were getting to me. The gunfire and poison gas and constant hand-to-hand combat was taking a toll. Why had I joined this band of killers? If I remember correctly, I had been assigned duty out in the forest that night, watching for infiltrators who, I had been taught, would try to kill me. I preferred to live. And then there was the TV as well. That night was a special night, and a big show was on the tube. So I managed to pay some other would-be killer to take my place among the trees, allowing me to a) live, and b) stand in a clearing to watch a B&W TV. I gave him $20, and I never heard from him again, though I guess he survived. On the TV that sweltering South Carolina night, I joined some 600 Million others to watch man set foot on the Moon for the first time. Basic Training at Ft. Jackson was almost over, and I was to head to "Advanced" training as a U.S. Army reporter/photographer/broadcaster. But tonight was the Moon. And Neil Armstrong. And the rest of the universe. And all it cost me was a stinking $20 bill. Best money I ever spent. [NOTE: I wrote this commentary last Monday night as I watched the webcast of the launch of a private rocket carrying a satellite to space. I watched it on a four year old PC that has more computing power than the entire moon landing craft. What a world.] [UPDATE: The story of the $20 for guard duty to watch the moon landing-- and the pic of me-- made it into the NY Times today !]

MMMM #51 - When Race Matters

Reporters get into trouble all the time when they either include someone's race in a story, or when they leave it out. Example: A TV report in Montgomery last week included a description of three criminal suspects, complete with an on-screen graphic displaying the information. Yet there was no indication of race. Viewers knew how tall they were, how much they weighed, how long their hair was and what they were wearing, but not their race*. On the other hand, another TV story, also a crime story, described two suspects as "black males in their 20's or 30's", one of them wearing a red shirt. Not much to go on, is it? Does the race mention in that latter story serve any function other than to satisfy the racial curiosity of the viewers? In another TV story last week a cop told a reporter that "two adult black males" had gotten into a fight. Perhaps that's just cop-talk, but what was the purpose of the racial identity, since the men were not suspects being sought? I suppose what got me going about this topic is someone who is anything but a journalist....the radio talk-show host know for his divorces and prescription drug misuse. He described Alabama Physician Regina Benjamin, President Obama's nominee for Surgeon General, as "a black, environmentalist, Katrina survivor who doesn't think doctors should make a profit." Gee Rush, why the race mention? [*UPDATE: Two suspects were later arrested, and one is black, the other white.] [The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.]

NewSverse At The Bakery By Tim Lennox Day old loafs not quite stale at 20% off and slightly pale. Just two days old and still kinda fresh, get him now at 30% less! What's three days between friends? Take him home at half the price and feed the mice (or the birds). Ignore that mold! Four days isn't old! Nor five nor six. Buy my...er...mix? Day old loafs not quite stale at 75% off it's really quite a sale.

Oh sure those are real...

NASA has released photos of the moon showing the hardware left behind from the lunar missions 40 years ago. Look at this fine example:

There is a small but persistent percentage of Americans who do not believe we ever went to the Moon...they are convinced it was all a Hollywood fake, a charade. Well color me unconvinced that the photo above is real. If this was a photo using 1960's technology I might possibly believe it. But NASA wants me to believe this is the product of new cameras aboard the lunar orbiting spacecraft they launched last month!

You've seen the spectacular shots from the space telescope. And the picture above is the best quality they can can get orbiting a few miles over the Moon's surface? Baloney. They need to call their fellow government employees over at the NSA or the CIA and learn a thing or two about distant photography.

Someone please let NASA know I'm ready to go back and clean up. And there's a 1970 $20 bill in the wallet that I'm claiming. Fair and square.

Rep. Bright, or not?

You got me as to why Rep. Bright refused to give his name, but on the other hand, the "reporter's" threats, almost blackmail, are totally unacceptable. No legitimate journalist would ever say that. Is that the "new media" we hear about so much?

NOW who can we believe?

He retired many years ago, so Walter Cronkite had no daily impact on recent TV News and its believability. But with the "Most Trusted Man In America" gone, who can you trust? Here's one of the charts from the most recent annual report by the folks at The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism:

Now PLEASE don't point out to me that local TV news actually improved...which it did. There's not a lot to brag about when your NEW IMPROVED HIGHER BELIEVABILITY RATING is 28%! Even a decade ago it was still only 34%. So who do you trust? Bloggers? Anyone? Walter come back!

[UPATE: Check out Scott Stantis in 7/20/09 The Birmingham News.]

Train vs Truck. Train wins.

Duh. A truck driver in Montgomery managed to collide with a CSX train in an industrial part of Montgomery this morning, even though the train was moving at 5mph. Let me repeat. 5 mph.

Just how distracted do you have to be to drive your truck into a train moving that slowly? Of course the TV news reports on the accident focused on the fact that there are no flashing lights or automatic crossing gates to block the intersection when those trains come barreling through at 5 mph. An experiment. The next time you go driving, see if you can even DRIVE THAT SLOW! I think I can walk faster than that. If a car was driving toward me at that speed, I could jump out of the way a second before it hit me! Forget the flashing lights and automatic warning gates and sirens and all. When a train is moving that slowly, there's no excuse for hitting it...except perhaps being literally asleep at the wheel. (And yes, that is the correct usage of literally.)

TRULY Stranger Than Fiction

David Pogue is on to an amazing story involving a certain HUGE tech company, electronic books, and the long arm of big brother. A must read. [UPDATE: The NY Times story has some added details.]

10.1% of Alabamians now jobless

The State unemployment rate has hit double digits...10.1%, according to a news release from the Department of Industrial Relations. DIR Director Tom Surtees: “As I’ve said for many months now, as long as the nation continues to suffer from this recession, so will Alabama.” But Alabama's rate is above the national average...and when is the last time you heard a politician or appointed state official give credit to the national economy for a local improvement? By the way, the 10.1% is almost double what it was in 2002.

Po' (and HOT) but proud!

Politicians may have a new excuse for poverty in their jurisdictions (as if they really ever needed one!). A study from MIT shows a strong correlation between temperature and economic strength. The hotter a country is, the lower the GDP. NPR reported the story this morning. Increase the average temperature a degree and watch the GDP drop an equal amount. So now we know why global warming is dangerous! Reminds me of the long-ago president of the (now former) Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. He told me in 1976 that Birmingham would be a truly great city if it didn't have the albatross of Alabama around its neck. Turns out, maybe all he had to do it move it a few hundred miles north and everything would be fine! Anyway, because of the study, instead of blaming someone else (That Federal Government! It was the world economy!), governors and the like can blame the heat. Cool = money.

And apparently sex too. Another new study has found male camels who are able to keep themselves cool are the most successful at winning the hand, er, hoof, of female camels.

Cool is Hot.

"Literally Watch!"

Thanks to an Alabama TV Anchor for providing the first literally watch in a while. He made the horror role last night by describing some government agency as being "literally swamped" by paperwork. Maybe the paper was made from untreated cypress and tupelo trees? ["Literally Watch" is a Public Service of this blog, defending the original, and we say correct, definition of the word. Most folks mean figuratively when they say literally.]

The Charter Flight to Hell

Watching the Montgomery TV stations cover the departure of 200 members of the 187th Fighter Wing to Iraq made me flash back to my own flight to a war zone...Vietnam in late 1969. What made the connection surreal was watching the uniformed personnel board the giant chartered civilian jet from Omni Air International. That's how I traveled from Fr. Lewis, Washington, to DaNang, and back to the US a year later: on a chartered civilian plane. I don't remember the airline...maybe Eastern? There were stewardesses and the same amenities of any flight of the time...but I had the same thought tonight as a I had back then. With all of the thousands of aircraft the Pentagon owns, can't we do it cheaper ourselves rather than farming it out? Whatever. God speed to them all.

So money and what = winning?

Interesting quote in a Huntsville Times story by Challen Stephens today about the GOP win in House District 6 this week. It points to the much bigger war chest of winner Phil Williams had over Democrat Jenny Askins. And he says there was what I'll call The Alpha Dog problem:

"The biggest problem for the Democrats is the candidates allow themselves to become punching bags," said Dr. Jess Brown at Athens State University. "The Republicans set the agenda, and the Democrats just respond to it."

Is that it, really? Spend more money and don't let 'em beat up on you.

Stephens also point out that turnout was, well, tiny: "only 4,229 people went to the polls in a district of 31,240 registered voters. That's a participation rate of just 13.5 percent, up slightly over the special primary."

The GOP is making this out to be the canary in the coal mine for Democrats, predicting a takeover of the House in Montgomery next year.

Is the free news ride about to end?

A British publisher says The New York Times will begin charging for online content within a few weeks, and he predicts that virtually all news organizations will charge within a year. Financial Times editor Lionel Barber says the sticking point is the method for collecting the monies. If that's solved...which sites will you pay for? It's going to be a very expensive game of chicken. The online media will be looking online visitors in the eye and saying pay or else. And the visitors will be either saying "no thanks"! Or "how much"? And if I had to pay to read that Financial Times article and then recommend it to you, would I?

Rep. Davis' comments

Right-wing religious groups are using comments by Alabama Democratic Congressman Artur Davis in a furious battle against adding sexual orientation to the existing Hate Crime Law. Davis originally voted in support of expanding the bill, but has since changed his mind and now opposes it. Other opponents are using Davis' comments about using the law against pastors to further their argument: During the House Judiciary Committee markup in 2007, Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) admitted that the legislation will not protect a pastor (as well as Bible teachers, Sunday School teachers etc.,) from prosecution. House Democrats attached the legislation to the massive Defense Authorization Bill that is up for a vote today, infuriating Republicans, though they had used procedural moves to block a vote on the bill as stand-alone legislation.

The Case of The Incorrect Trivia

Just about every TV and radio report on yesterday's nomination hearing for Sonia Sotomayor included the references to "Perry Mason" and the "only case he ever lost". That included this morning's NPR report. There had been some brief lighthearted testimony about the Judge's childhood in which she talked about watching the program, but couldn't remember the name of the case he lost. I watched Perry Mason as a kid, but was never so much a fan as to remember it at that level of detail. So I looked up the case Judge Sotomayor cited..."The Case of The Deadly Verdict", and according to the Internet Movie Data Base, the nominee (and a lot of other folks) was wrong. It was NOT the only case the lawyer lost:

Although it's popularly believed this episode represents the only time Perry Mason loses a case, in the first-season episode "The Case of the Terrified Typist", not only is Mason's client convicted of murder - he turns out to be really guilty! (However, Mason figures out that the murderer was impersonating someone else, and since some of the prosecution's evidence was related to the actual person whose identity had been stolen, a mistrial is declared, meaning a second trial for the defendant, presumably without Mason's services.) In the sixth-season closer, "The Case of the Witless Witness", a respected judge rules against Mason in some civil matter; when the judge ends up falsely accused of corruption, then murder, Mason doesn't hesitate to defend him. [IMDB.COM] Just to set the record straight, Your Honor.

[NOTE: Judge Sotomayor and I spent our earliest childhood years about a mile...and four years...apart, in the Bronx.]

Educational Improvement? Yes?

The gap between white and black students on achievement tests is becoming larger in some Northern States like Wisconsin, and smaller in some Southern States like Alabama. So says a new report from the U.S. Department of Education, as reported in the NY Times. Narrowing that gap was one of the goals for No Child Left Behind, the much maligned Bush Administration program. But the Times story indicates there's isn't a clear connection between the geographic shift and NCLB. From the story:

Wisconsin was the only state in which the black-white achievement gap in 2007 was larger than the national average in the tests for fourth and eighth grades in both math and reading, according to the study. Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, a nonprofit group in Washington that works to close achievement gaps, said principals in Wisconsin were “stunned” when shown the results.

I do wonder when they compare states like Wisconsin, where the black population is relatively tiny (6.48%), to Alabama. where there is a substantial black population (26.7%). But I'll leave that to the statisticians and researchers. I say when it comes to education in Alabama, we take our improvement wherever we find it.

A Choice To Die

“Even if they arrest us and send us to prison, it would have made no difference because it is what our parents wanted,” he said.

That quote is from a New York Times story today regarding the suicides of a celebrated British conductor and his wife. It is the deceased pair's son who is speaking. A lot is made of the fact that while the wife was terminally ill, her husband was not. Yet he had decided that he would die with his longtime companion. They flew to Switzerland, swallowed a clear liquid, and died holding hands with their children present. Scotland Yard is investigating. Yet it seems to be a poster-child case in favor of assisted suicide, no? Other than The State, who's objecting? And even if others did, who should have the right to that final decision other than the individual? Please don't misunderstand. There is a huge difference between the rational, planned and considered passing of those two Brits, surrounded by loved ones, and the impulsive taking of one's own life, fueled by liquor or other drugs in the heat of the night. I've been through those and they are to be prevented whenever possible. But why would society use the power of its laws to block the conductor from joining his wife in the end?

Frank's Ashes

He's not dead yet, but word has it that the late-in-life bestselling author Frank McCourt is deathly ill. Ironically I just TiVo'd Angela's Ashes the other day and have been watching it in stages. Reminds me terribly of my own ancestors...my paternal grandparents lost three children in a single week in New York of a mysterious illness in the 1920's. Then my Grandfather died a couple of years later, leaving my Grandmom to raise my Father and the other surviving children.

McCourts books hit a cord with me and many, many others. He was a teacher for most of his life, and you have to wonder if he had those stories in him all those years when he was struggling with a teacher's salary, and only started letting them out at 59? Or did he need to be a certain age to understand them enough to tell them? Bless him.

Alabamanski

New on DVD--to me anyway-- is the movie House, a horror flick I ran across without realizing the story takes place in Alabama. At least the couple who end up being terrified in a strange hotel in the woods say they are in Alabama, and they look at a map early in the flick that shows the word Alabama, but it's actually Florida they're showing...the panhandle. And besides, the entire flick was shot about as far from Alabama as you can get...in Poland. I'm not sure why. Maybe Poland offered better tax breaks*. Anyway it's OK as a horror film with decent acting. And it's a kick to hear one of the characters describe herself an an Auburn Psychology student. Never realized how much the pine-filled woods of Poland look like South Alabama till now.

[*NOTE: State incentive programs to attract movie makers don't always work as planned. Consider the case of Wisconsin, which paid millions to attract the Johnny Depp film "Public Enemy". The filmakers hired mostly out of state workers and any increase in tax collections was all but wiped out by the incentives cost.]

Alabama Truckers

There must be a trend of small Alabama town having trouble with truck traffic through their small downtowns. First I saw a story on WAKA CBS-8 in Montgomery about the Opp City Council approving an ordinance banning trucks from using the streets downtown. A year ago an Opp bypass opened, and the city wants the truckers to use it. They say the big rigs are damaging city streets. But the unusual part of the ordinance is that there are exceptions. The first is common sense: if you are doing business downtown, like making a delivery, then you can use the roads. But the second exception allows any Opp resident to ride trucks on those streets. I'm far from a trucking expert, but I suspect there's something illegal about that part. If taxes are used to pave and maintain the roads, I don't think you can allow only some taxpayers to ride on 'em. I'll check with my former TV co-worker and trucking guy Evan Lockridge of Sirius Radio about it and get an expert opinion. And also: there's Bayou La Batre, also trying to reroute trucks away from its courthouse square, but I don't see any reference to residents being given a pass.

[UPDATE: Evan's comments: "You have encountered one of the biggest frustrations of truckers and that's being told where they can and can not travel. For instance, and on a much larger scale, in Atlanta, through trucks can not travel interstate routes that go straight through the downtown area and instead the must take I-285. Birmingham is similar. If you are taking I-20 East from Atlanta and headed west to Mississippi, as a trucker, you are supposed to take I-459 to get on I-20/59 west of the city, unless you have any pickups or deliveries in the area. By the same token as a big rig that's local and staying in the Birmingham area, it can generally travel any road, as long as its not restricted. As for Opp allowing city residents such exclusive access to local roads, that may be to allow truckers who live in the area to get to their homes and park their rigs there, which is quite possible since Opp is a very small town and may have no laws against truckers parking their rigs at home, which most larger cities prohibit." Thanks Evan!!

SSSSSnake Update

One of Florida's U.S. Senators is paying attention to the news..he read about the python killing the little toddler and is now calling for all out war on the slithering reptiles in the Everglades. Better to stop the estimated 100,000 of them there before they follow the path of other invasive plants and animals that have made their way northward to Alabama, like Armadillos. But at least those critters aren't a lethal threat to the kids. The Daily Mail published the photo up above. I presume the snake was tired and had just eaten or there was a squad of sharpshooters just off camera.

[UPDATE: Found the story. The snake is the boy's pet. He's trying to teach it tricks. Honest.]

Shoot The Dog!

Remember the National Lampoon Magazine in the 1970's that threatened to "Kill This Dog" unless we bought the magazine? A couple of times recently I've come across similar threats...like NASA's proposal for the International Space Station that we've spent $100-Billion on...fly it into the Pacific in 2016 unless we come up with more operating cash.

Even closer to the National Lampoon cover was The Boston Zoo's weekend threat to not only shut down operations, but to kill some of the animals too unless they get more funding. "Fund This Zoo or We'll Shoot This Llama?"

To me, convincing folks to do something by threat always seems a bit over the top, so let me suggest modifications. Instead of threatening to send the space station to the bottom of the sea, NASA can say it will have to start renting it out for church services..."Get your flock truly closer to God!" That will get the Liberals in an uproar and make the Conservatives mad too, as they fight over which denomination should go first. And as for the Boston Zoo...instead of threatening to kill the critters, just say unless more funding is forthcoming, we'll have to open the cages and let the animals find their own dinner. Lions and Tigers and Llamas on the Commons, oh my!

MMMM #51 - Ethical "Lapses" - Here come more!

You may have read the ombudsman's column in the Washington Post over the weekend, criticising the paper for its ill conceived scheme to raise cash. The paper was to charge big bucks to lobbyists and other people in power to come have dinner with Post journalists and important invited government guests in an off-the-record gathering. A major "stain" on the Post's reputation, he wrote. I suspect there are already other such "ethical lapses" occurring. Because sometimes, when times get rough, the rough get weak-kneed. And times, as anyone with any knowledge of the media knows, are very rough indeed. Newspapers especially are under such pressure to produce income there are bound to be temptations. Wrap the front page in a look alike "wrapper", logo/masthead and all, that is really an ad? No problem said the L.A. Times and our own Anniston Star. Hack into private cell phone conversations and records? Full speed ahead said NewsCorp (allegedly). When staff cuts at an Alabama TV newsroom causes staff to plummet from about 90 people to about 30, but the number of newscasts stays the same...how many ethical lines will be crossed to keep producing "news"? I'll bet this is a great time to be producing VNRs (Video News Releases). Stations are probably inhaling, without so much as a word to viewers that they were produced by interested parties. And frankly, it's a tough time to take a hard line. I know where those reporter salaries come from. And its not subscription income. [The Monday Morning Media Memo is a weekly feature of this blog.]

Paul Hemphill 1936 - 2009

Birmingham author and journalist Paul Hemphill has died. He passed away in Atlanta after a battle against throat cancer that had spread to his lungs, according to the Times obit. I interviewed Hemphill about his next to last book, Lovesick Blues, a biography of Hank Williams, in January of 2006, including a conversation at Williams' grave in Montgomery. You can watch the interview online here. I also interviewed him about an earlier book "Leaving Birmingham: Notes of a Native Son" in the Magic City. The late author's official site is here. Go in Peace, Paul.

The Ethical Unemployed Blogger

This is the 500th post on this blog during 2009.

...and I'll have to confess, blogging this year has especially been a challenge. I write my posts during a full-time job search, constantly mindful of the fact that potential employers may (and likely will) read them. At the same time, the journalist in me grates at editing my copy for those reasons. Lennox the editorial writer/columnist/commentator is likewise hesitant to pull back even an inch because of those concerns. If readers of this blog can't trust me to report what I know to be true, to denounce what I know to be false, and to take principled stands on issues, then what the hell is any of this worth? I'm sure the answer for some is "not much". I'm willing to bet that if you were to read all 500 posts, you'll find something to anger almost any potential employer. Candidates and political parties of all stripes will find comments to dislike. Public and Private Broadcasters and newspapers too will find critiques not to their liking. Potential advertisers haven't been ignored, nor have state and federal government agencies. But that's really no different than all of the stories I aired over the decades in print or on-air. I would ask all of them to consider that my service to this blog is exactly what you'll get if you hire me. The rules are fairly simple: Be honest. Don't try to protect friends or hurt enemies, or visa-verse. And above all, avoid conflicts of interest. And because of that last consideration, I have found it impossible to blog while walking on could-be would-be employer eggshells. I'm certainly not perfect, as I'm sure commentators to this posting will concur. But I do try my best. And no, not all of the posts here are serious political commentary, anymore than every story and word in a newspaper. There has to be some levity, even in unemployment. Quit blogging? I could, for sure. But during my career I have spent my day gathering information from public and private sources, finally disgorging that data, hopefully in readable or understandable form, in a newscast or column or talk show. It's more than a habit with me. It's my life. And this blog has allowed me to have an ongoing receptacle for the day's output. I need it. It keeps me relatively sane while I decide what I want Tim Lennox to be when he grows up.

[ADDENDUM: Lots of employment councillors warn job seekers to be careful what they post on Facebook and Twitter etc, because potential employers will Google them. But also remember to check the "Live-View" photos of the place you live. While there's nothing you can do to change the existing pictures, if somebody parked a clunker in front of your house the day the camera-equipped truck drove through, you might be able to bring it up in an interview in a joking way to make sure they know it wasn't your clunker.]

NewSverse Source Death By Tim Lennox Gannett bleeds as do the leads of the tube stories stolen from them. What will happen Post Obit? Static? [NewSverse is a regular feature of this blog.]

Call Wasting (i.e. TTK's)

Have you noticed the trend of people calling you when they've got time to kill? It's folks who call on their Bluetooth from their car, or while walking between stores in the mall, or waiting in line somewhere or for an appointment. They've got nothing better to do--time to kill--, so...they call YOU! Of course you may be actually doing something relatively important, but you stop to talk because, well, they are your friends, no? The TTK's usually come while you are doing things that don't especially lend themselves to TTKing, but that doesn't matter to the callers, cause they do have TTK. The only time TTK calls work is when someone calls someone else and they are both in the TTK Zone, driving or waiting in line or sitting in a bathtub or whatever. Serendipity! What I want is for the brilliant people at Apple to provide an "app" for that! Screen out the callers who, friends or not, are calling for no reason whatsoever whenever, because they have TTK, while I am doing non-TTK extremely important stuff. Like writing this blog post. (-:

Last Festival Standing

Montgomery's Jubilee CityFest is actually older than the recently deceased CityStages in Birmingham. The Capitol City's downtown music festival was started in 1976. And now there's a hint of an impending death. WSFA TV is reporting that new Mayor Todd Strange has told the music festival's executive director to plan her budget without any city money for next Spring. This year's event, jokingly refers to as RainFest on the official website, lost $27,000. The TV report says Strange also proposes changing the very nature of the event:

"He wants the event to be more family friendly and possibly indoors to avoid the rain. He says the city will still support the festival with services like security, and garbage pick-up."

"Family Friendly?"

"Indoors?"

Why not just change it into a gospel choir marathon inside the Civic Center? I wish the reporter had pressed Strange, asking just what was family unfriendly about previous Jubilee events. The mission statement of CityFest itself includes "family": a premier tourism attraction... creating a family weekend festival, featuring entertainment, cultural events, visual and performing arts, sporting events, and educational children's activities that enhance the quality of life in the City of Montgomery, Alabama and surrounding areas.

But with that said, can't there be part of the event that is "adult friendly"? Leave the kids home with Grandma for a night? Isn't the entire idea of a music festival to make it a street level event where people roam from one venue to another, enjoying music and food and companionship? "Family Friendly" sounds almost like a political statement. Is the Mayor running for reelection already? I can imagine how the volunteers who make events like it possible feel, knowing the city itself won't invest in the event. What does former Mayor and now Congressman Bobby Bright think?

Roadblock Ruling

The use of police roadblocks has been an issue in some Alabama communities, including Montgomery, over the years. Recently the focus from police in the Capitol has been to prove to the city council that they are not using the traffic roadblocks more in one area of the city than in others. But a Federal Court in Washington has questioned the actual use of roadblocks, not the way in which they're been implemented. According to The Washington Post and other publications, Chief Judge David Bryan wrote for a three judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit:

"It cannot be gainsaid that citizens have a right to drive upon the public streets of the District of Columbia or any other city absent a constitutionally sound reason for limiting their access."

I don't believe a ruling in that particular district has any immediate effect on the 11th Circuit, which covers Alabama. But it adds another layer of complexity to the issue.

Ssssssssssssslither

I've never been much of a snake fan, believing that the best kind is behind twelve foot thick glass in a zoo or dead. We have snakes in Alabama...I once found a six foot "rat snake" in Birmingham, and a pet cat once came home with a much smaller garden snake sticking out from either side of its mouth, slithering in the air on both ends. I sent both of them back to their maker, presuming that all snakes are poisonous or capable of killing me in some other fashion, until proven otherwise. But TIME magazine is reporting on a much more seeerious snake problem in Florida that could become an Alabama difficulty soon. Pythons, bought as "pets" (these are troubled people!) and then let go in the wild after they get to big to care for. (They can grow to 20-feet!) TIME reports a python in Oxford, Florida killed a 2 year old child last week. Oxford is about 50 miles Northwest of Orlando, and the article says the growing python population is ssssslowly sssssslithering northward. Sssssounds to me like time to act!

My second N.Y. Times photo credit

A couple of weeks back the Times solicited cellphone photos for its "Lens" photo blog. I submitted one that you may have seen as the "Top Photo" on this blog...this almost B&W shot of the Verazanno Narrows Bridge taken from the limo carrying me and family members to the cemetery for the burial of my Aunt Eileen in January.

I was notified Thursday afternoon that my shot was selected to be part of the cell-pix gallery they've published in today's Times. Here's the link.

Uh, really?

Love the headline. Mobile man handed 15-year prison term for giving girlfriend chocolates before shooting her 6 times Posted by Birmingham News July 09, 2009 6:30 PM

Hype-Type

About a decade ago, I interviewed then Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bishop (prior to his fame as a prizefighting State Senator) about the HUGE typeface used for the Agriculture Commissioner's name on the inspection stickers required on every gas pump in the state. "Why," I asked, "was the NAME SO BIG?" As I recall, his answer was to make sure people knew who to call if they felt they were cheated by a service station. So make the PHONE NUMBER big, I suggested, and the elected Commissioner's name small.

I was reminded of it because now the current Commissioner, Ron Sparks, is running for Governor. And he has those taxpayer paid-for name-recognition stickers all across the state. Anyone want to make this an issue for the candidates in the Ag Commissioner's race? Ask them if they will promise to reverse the sizes if they win? Small potatoes, I know, but the little things start to count when they add up.