The Chronicle Lite

The Chronicle Lite

( 9:13 PM ) Chris

Victory at A-F and the Benefits of Speaking English

Maybe we aren't a bunch of freaks after all. And maybe we actually can influence something. Abercrombie and Fitch has decided not to market thong panties to seven-year-olds. The outcry against the thongs, which calls the wearer "Eye Candy" and has strategicaly placed cherries, stopped their sale. So far, no one has stepped forward to accuse those who objected of imposing their will on "the rest of us." But tomorrow's another day.

And the Boston Globe published an article today that listed the benefits of immigrants speaking English. And then seemed to blame them on anti-immigrant bias. The same that has existed practically forever. Could it be that we should concentrate on doing what's right for these people, rather than trying to perpetuate situations that cause poverty and misery?

Or maybe it's just racist to not walk into McDonalds without being able to speak six languages. #

( 9:46 AM ) Chris

Political Infighting May Embolden Bid Laden

[See the entire Chronicle]
I believe that one of the reasons the September 11 attack occurred was that Osama Bin Laden figures that we wouldn't effectively fight back. We'd maybe do a couple of meaningless things, launch a couple cruise missiles. And then we'd set about blaming ourselves or each other for what happened.

His perception may be starting to become reality with the ongoing debate in which George W. Bush is portrayed (yet again) as a bumbling moron who didn't have the brains or competence to put two and two together. In truth, there were relatively specific warnings as early as 1995 about this. And the now imfamous Phoenix memo never even made it to FBI headquarters. We have a problem in the way our intelligence community shares its data. That might have been useful (or at least not harmful) a couple of decades ago, but it's a problem now that needs to be addressed. That's what we ought to be concentrating on now, rather than trying to use 20/20 hindsight to gain an advantage in the midterm elections.

If this continues and if a sizable minority of the country (including its media) insists on re-opening the fissures of the 2000 election, Bin Laden will have the divisiveness he hoped for. And if he's sitting back and waiting to launch the next attack, he need wait no more if he thinks the country's factions will blame each other instead of focusing on him.

Once again, we do not have the luxury to play political games with this. Thousands of lives may be literally in the balance. #

( 11:02 AM ) Chris

Note to Terry McAuliffe: Is That the Best You've Got?

We live in a country that is still trying to regain its bearings in the new world we've become part of. Each day, each incident sets us off wondering if we're starting another wave of terror, or just another isolated incident.

And Terry McAuliffe decides that the number one scandal is the Republican's laundering of government pictures of use of fundraising. See, the White House took the picture with tax money and sold it to a web site. The web site sold it to my uncle Sid, who sold it to Ed's Quickie Photo, which sold it to Bob's Photos, who sold it to The Amsterdam Recorder, who sold it to The Plattsburgh Press-Republican, who sold it to JimDingle.com, who put it on e-bay, where former New York Mets coach Joe Pignatano bought it. He sold it to his kid's friend, Steve, who gave it to his brother Joe as a present when he left for college last week. Joe sold it to Dora the Explorer, who left it at work, where it was picked up by a kid named Stilts. Stilts gave it to a guy he spoke to in the park, who sold it to Reuters, which sold it to the Republican Party.

So as you can see, our representative democracy is in immediate danger of collapse as a result of this horrible scandal. #

( 9:52 PM ) Chris

Not the Last of the Bad News

Today, a man shot a priest who was accused of molesting him. And we had another domestic terrorism scare in Philadelphia. In both cases, the news could have been worse. The priest lived and will get his chance to face his accuser. And the bomd wound up being a fake. In the future, we probably won't be as lucky.

To be honest, if someone molested my child, I would have to think long and hard about not beating the offended to a bloody pulp. The only real surprise is that more people haven't taken the law (no pun intended) into their own hands, especially given the fact that the Church hiararchy seems to be going out of its way to indicate that it doesn't really give a damn. If a parent sees a child's life severely damaged and sees nothing but arrogance from the people who allowed it to happen, there's a chance that even a relatively well adjusted parent might be overwhelmed by that anger. Most parents will operate within the realm of what's legal. But it's surprise that at least a few haven't. Attempted murder is attempted murder and it's always the fault of the person who carries it out. But people in this country vote with a gun when they lose their jobs sometimes. I've lost my job and I suspect that having a child sexually abused is immeasurably worse.

More important, the barrier that has kept suicide bombers and large scale domestic terrorism away is crumbling. It's been crumbling since April of 1995, but now it seems to crumble more each day. There are a lot of people who live in this country who think they have been shafted by this country and they don't really care what has to be done to get the point across. And they span the political spectrum, from the far right, who are already suspected of working with foreign terrorists, to the McKinney-ites who think the white power structure is out to kill them. There are a lot of disaffected people out there.

We will see these stories again. I hope I'm wrong about it, but I suspect I'm not.

There's a nice thought to mull while you get ready to retire for the night. #

( 10:27 PM ) Chris

Thanks, Trent, really. Can I call you Trent?

Well, probably not. In fact, I could walk up to Trent Lott and throw my arms around him and hug him as if he were a supermodel and all it would likely get me is beaten by his security staff.

But that didn't stop Mr. Lott from sending me a letter telling me what a wonderful patriot I am. And telling me that another close personal friend, President Bush, is personally counting on me to help him win Congress this fall. I was chatting with Dubya about just that as we sat around the White House last weekend, sipping O'Douls and eating ribs. But given the fact that Dubya knows me, he also knows that I don't have any money to give to the Repulbican Party just now. He also knows, being so close to me and all, that I support him, but think he blew it on steel tariffs and farm support.

It was really weird, though, that where he signed the letter, ol' Trent didn't leave an indentation on the paper.

So thanks, Trent, if I can call you Trent, but I can't make a donation now. Maybe another time. #

( 9:44 AM ) Chris

It Pays to be Critical in Reading the Newspaper

I'm currently finishing a book called Coloring the News by WIlliam McGowan. In the book, McGowan makes a compelling case that the newspapers' commitment to diversity in its newsrooms has resulted in questionable journalism. I found his book to be well-documented and reasonable in making its case, even if most of its examples are dated. He does an excellent job framing the question and indicating that more investigation is necessary.

The incidents McGowan raises happened. They are documented and cannot be denied. But are they indicative of an industry-wide flaw? Although McGowan seems to think so, his analysis is relatively narrow, concentrating primarily on The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times, all of which are frequently cited on the Chronicle web site. If his charges are true, and his analysis is correct, then there are some significant problems in the media. But the media problems are only part of the issue.

We are the other part. The standard of objectivity we like to imagine for news is humanly impossible. Your background and base assumptions in life are going to change your viewpoint in ways that are often very subtle. Fairness is a better standard.

But we need to realize that all media is biased. The people writing and producing the stories have agendas. Sometimes the agenda drives the reporting, and McGowan points out some very convincing instances of this happening. Sometimes it subtly effect's the reporters approach. Either way, you should question everything reported. Some things, like the fact that two planes caused the collapse of the World Trade Center last September, are obvious. Others, like the accusations of anti-Arab hate crimes coming after the attack, are not. It's up to us, as consumers of journalism to divide the two, and not to just unquestioning accept something just because Peter, Dan, Tom, or Rush said it.

#

( 10:08 PM ) Chris

Buffet's Prediction and a Wretched Commentary

Warren Buffet thinks someone is going to try to nuke us at some point in the future. Word has it, he's also predicted that Memorial Day will be the 27th. Neither of these things are news.

Anthony DeStefano is a priest and is one of the reasons why the Catholic Church may eventually lose a mess of people over this scandal. In a commentary in today's USA Today, he writes that he is "sick to death of vitriolic attacks on [the] church" and he asserts that a substantial number of Catholics share his stance. He figures that the church has apologized enough and that critics' aim is to hurt the church and undermine its authority. It's time, he says, for millions of loyal Catholics to stop turning the other church and start defending the church.

A week ago, Cardinal Law's legal defense was unveiled: blame the six-year-old who was molested by Paul Shanley. The Church's US Bishops still have not completed a comprehensive zero-tolerance policy. And there are still doubts about the world Church's commitment to doing the right thing. And while part of this story seems to be turning to the all-American quest for punitive damages, much of it is still carried forward by angry Catholics who haven't seen actions worth defending.

In response to Fr. DeStefano, the media has been remarkably even-handed about this story and Congress has done nothing (as is appropriate). The Church has not seen the back end of the media in this country. Anyone who thinks they have should remember the treatment given Bill Clinton, Ken Starr, or Laura Schlessinger by the media.

With all respect, Father, the Catholic Church still has work to do on this issue. And when angry Catholics hold its feet to the fire, they are doing what a loyal Catholic should do. #

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