David Ratowitz recently won the Republican primary in Illinois’ 5th Congressional District. A former U.S. Army Ranger and 82nd Airborne Paratrooper (he deployed with the 82nd to Haiti after President Aristide was overthrown in 1995), Ratowitz is a crusader for small government and individual freedom. If elected, he will bring a wealth of small business, legal and military experience with him to Washington.

More importantly, Ratowitz pledges to restore dignity to the 5th District’s seat – previously held by Dan Rostenkowski (taken down and imprisoned for corruption by then U.S. Attorney Eric Holder and later pardoned by President Clinton), Rod Blogojevich (who went on to be impeached as Governor) and, most recently, Rahm Emanuel (current White House Chief of Staff).

Ratowitz and his family were among Hurricane Katrina’s hardest hit victims in 2005. From his official campaign website:

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina profoundly impacted David on both personal and professional levels. In the aftermath of the devastation, after losing the roof off of his own family home, David worked on the ground to rebuild his business and community…It was during this time that David gained a more complete appreciation of the power of the individual and voluntary cooperation among citizens, versus centralized planning, in overcoming hardships and building successful communities and enterprises.

I recently spoke to him about his positions on the major issues – the economy and the war on terror.

FULL DISCLOSURE: David and I were paratroopers together in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, NC, where we worked closely.

Comments and criticism are welcome.

Michael Shermer is the founder of Skeptic Magazine and the Skeptics Society.

He is also the successful author of 9 books, including bestsellers Why People Believe Weird Things and The Mind of the Market: How Biology and Psychology Shape Our Economic Lives. In addition, he has appeared on “The Colbert Report, 20/20, Dateline, Charlie Rose, Larry King Live, Tom Snyder, Donahue, Oprah, Leeza, Unsolved Mysteries (but, proudly, never Jerry Springer!), and other shows as a skeptic of weird and extraordinary claims, as well as interviews in countless documentaries aired on PBS, A&E, Discovery, The History Channel, The Science Channel, and The Learning Channel. Shermer was the co-host and co-producer of the 13-hour Family Channel television series, Exploring the Unknown.”

Shermer’s mission (and that of the Skeptics Society) is to “serve as an educational tool for those seeking clarification and viewpoints on those controversial ideas and claims.” In doing so, he tends to ruffle a lot of feathers. Not intentionally, as you’ll see in my interview, he’s anything but confrontational. However, when you aggressively question the claims of religion, pseudoscience, cults, psychics, holocaust deniers and UFO believers, you’re bound to encounter some resistance.

The Skeptics Society seeks to follow the example of Spinoza:

I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them.

—Baruch Spinoza

I recently asked Shermer if that was easier said than done. Below is his answer to that question as well as some other parts of our conversation.

Below is Shermer’s 2006 “TED Talk.” It’s well worth your time if you want to see what Mother Theresa, the Virgin Mary and Led Zeppelin have in common.

Here’s a bonus video Shermer made for The Richard Dawkins foundation. It’s a useful guide to analyzing outrageous claims – a common sense check. Michael also reveals the “mystery” of the pyramids at the 4:20 mark.

Don’t forget to become a fan of Michael Shermer on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

When most people get discharged from the emergency room after slipping on the ice, smashing their face and lying unconscious until being found, their immediate instinct is to go home and rest. But today’s post is not about “most people.” It’s about native Massachusetts business man and Republican candidate for Governor, Christy Mihos, and that’s exactly what happened to him on December 22nd. What did he do instead? He called me from his cell phone while getting into his car in the hospital parking lot and, get this, apologized for being “late” for our interview.

This gesture alone distinguishes him from just about every other Massachusetts politician but, then again, he’s not really a politician. He’s a self-made, extremely successful, life-long resident of the Bay State who, as one of its wealthiest citizens, has nothing to gain from a stint in the Governor’s Mansion. Then what drives him? Well, after watching him from afar over the years and now having the opportunity to speak with him one-on-one, I’d suggest he’s driven by a nagging desire to fix things that so obviously need fixing but nobody else seems to have the political will (i.e. balls) to do. And he doesn’t really care whose feathers he ruffles along the way. In fact, I think that’s the part he may enjoy most.

Abbreviated Bio

Talking to Mihos is like talking to your next door neighbor, assuming your next door neighbor is a colorful multimillionaire with a penchant for one-liners and complete irreverence for the commonwealth’s political establishment (dominated by the Democratic Party). Mihos’ wealth comes from Christy’s Markets – a chain of convenient stores that covered all of New England before he and his brother sold them to 7-Eleven in 1998. However, he’s most famous for his tenure on the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority where, after being appointed by Governor Cellucci in 1999, he was eventually fired by Acting Governor Swift for his cantankerous criticism of the now infamous Big Dig. Watch the 30 second video below to see how that one ended up.

Showtime!

Mihos ran for Governor unsuccessfully in 2006 as an Independent candidate which, in my humble opinion, fits his no-nonsense personality much more than the modern day GOP that he now calls home. However, I imagine he learned that while it’s definitely tough to gain traction as a Republican in Massachusetts, it’s even tougher for a candidate without a party.

RHM: Now that you’re running as a Republican, do you regret running as an Independent in 2006?

Christy Mihos: Not at all. It was the right move at the time and it’s not so much that I left the party, it’s that the party left me. I wasn’t happy with a number of things and made the decision to go for it alone.

RHM: What do you make of your competition at this point within the party, Charlie Baker?

Christy Mihos: I’ll tell you, Randall, Charlie Baker hit the public servant lottery when he left his $90,000 a year job with the state for a $1.7 million salary. Now he takes credit for a “turn around” during his time with Harvard Pilgrim when premiums went up every year for a total of 131%. That’s like raising taxes. He’s also responsible for the Big Dig highway financing plan which we’ll be paying out through 2038.

RHM: You’ve pledged not to raise taxes, but what else will you do to balance the state’s checkbook? What are you willing to cut immediately upon entering office, regardless of the fallout?

Christy Mihos: First, rolling back the state sales tax has to be done by a ballot initiative and we’ve got more than 70,000 signatures so far. And it’s not to roll it back to 5%, it’s to roll it back to 3%. But, also, Randall, anyone who serves in my administration will have to waive their pension. We made promises to past state employees that we have to honor, but anybody who comes in with my administration will have to forfeit it. We will ask everybody to sign a waiver.

RHM: Do you think you’ll have trouble finding people willing to do that?

Christy Mihos: No, there are enough people in the state who are aware of our crisis and willing to work under those circumstances. I don’t think it will be a problem. It’s just the way things have to be. I’ll also do away with the Department of Capital Asset Management (DCAM), that’s about $30 million. That, plus fewer state employees, in general, and new employees without pensions will do a lot for the commonwealth. It’s just not fair that when private companies are forced to cut back, that our government continues to grow at a cost to everyone. We’ve got to stop feeding the beast.

RHM: As a businessman, it’s a bit easier to make changes to your organization – people either abide by your decisions or they go away. Dealing with a legislature dominated by the opposition will not be as easy. As Governor, how will you bridge this gap and try to win these folks over to your side?

Christy Mihos: You’ll recall that Bill Weld was in the same predicament in 1990. The political atmosphere was terrible, but he made an effort to meet with the leadership every Monday morning to talk about the issues. These regular meetings and a willingness to listen and work with anyone – as long as they’re interested interested in finding solutions – goes a long way. And we just can’t keep going like we are. We have to find solutions and get things back on the right track. Also, I do whatever I can to support candidates from any party who are committed to fiscal responsibility. I cut their campaign a $500 check right there when I meet them.

RHM: Massachusetts is known for its progressive judges and willingness to bend over backwards for defendants and convicted felons (furloughs, bail when it shouldn’t be granted, etc.), but local police chiefs are notorious for making things very difficult for law-abiding citizens to obtain gun permits and they are the sole authority when it comes to licensing. As Governor, what will you do (if anything) to remedy this?

Christy Mihos: I believe that people have the right to protect themselves and their loved ones, especially in their own homes. And I would set up a central authority to grant licenses in the Department of Public Safety. I also find it reprehensible that there are guns manufactured in Massachusetts by Massachusetts based companies, with Massachusetts tax payers as workers, and you can’t buy these guys in Massachusetts. It boggles the mind. We’re doing everything to restrict what is granted to us as a right, to bear arms and to protect ourselves. And I think that if the economy spirals down and more cities and towns are caught with less local aid, laying off police and public safety people, that we’re going to have to protect ourselves. It’s something granted to us and I’m going to work hard to change it.

RHM: I don’t know where that law started, but we have to be one of the only states where the local chief of police is the sole authority on whether or not law-abiding citizens get a license.

Christy Mihos: I hope there aren’t any other states that are as neanderthal as we are on this one.

RHM: Thanks for your time, Christy.

Christy Mihos: My pleasure, Randall, any time. You have a nice Holiday.

Note: Christy is matching 10% of all campaign contributions with a personal donation to the Fisher House. The Fisher House helps provide housing and other expenses so military family members can be close to our servicemen and women during hospitalization for illness, disease or injury. You can contribute right here.

Today’s post was written by my father, Dick Miller. Dick was raised a Republican, steered by good math grades and financial necessity to a career in engineering and high-tech software. He is now a born-again anthropologist/historian (it was always in him) and wants JFK (and Jackie) to return to the White House. – RHM

Maybe it’s the 10 degree temperature, 50 mph winds, and -10 chill factor, but I feel grumpy and pissed off tonight after several days of “analysis” of the underwear bomber and Homeland Security.

And the results are predictable (see Christopher Hitchens).

So, we’ll raise the color warning a shade (the old color was faded anyway), fondle grandmothers and babies, and declare victory (neither a Democratic or Republican thing – just a bureaucracy that can’t shoot straight.)

Be prepared to sit in your airplane seat like kindergarten used to be and stretch your bladder for the final hour. If a terrorist is on board your plane, think of the discomfort he’ll suffer in the few minutes before he commits suicide.

Don’t fear for any bombs or incendiary devices (unless they’re in someone’s rectum or close to other private parts – we can’t go there.)

As for the full body scan – whoops, too much loss of privacy. We’d rather take a chance on spot-checking every seventh passenger and having a plane explode than finding anything through a thorough scan. Has ANY TERRORIST been caught by the existing “security” measures ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD? Some (bureaucrats) would say that that proves the system is working. I would say that I pray nightly for no elephant stampedes in my house, and so far it has worked.

Loss of privacy? Is there a law that says you HAVE to fly? If you don’t like real security – try a train or bus! When is the last time that a terrorist got by security in Tel Aviv? NEVER??? Why? Because they do thorough searches which, believe it or not, still only take 25 minutes!

Do you want to pretend to have security and then complain of breaches, or do you want to be secure? Chose your poison…

The last I knew, there were about 250,000 people in Homeland Security – probably more, but this number works for me. There are 500,000 people on the “big list” of possible terrorists. Why don’t we assign 2 terrorists to each HS person and have them tracked/investigated? In fact (I’ll say this before some Senator comes up with the idea), why not hire 250,000 more people in HS and make it one-to-one? We could even go all out and make it 2-1 in order to give everyone a potty break. What are another 250,000 government employees going to do, break the bank?

According to Janet Napolitano, “the system worked” after the plane almost reached Detroit. I guess that the Japanese felt good about Hiroshima after the trees started growing again.

Independent of political party, each president at least has a financial person as Secretary of Treasury, someone knowledgeable about the military as Defense Secretary, someone from farm country as Secretary of Agriculture, etc., etc., etc.

EXCEPT — why do we have a career politician who knows NOTHING about SECURITY as head of SECURITY???

Why not have a professional SECURITY person as head???

That is all.

Officials in Thailand (after being tipped off by American intelligence officials) recently seized a Georgian-registered aircraft loaded with over 35 tons of North Korean weapons. Where the weapons were bound for is unclear. However, Iran, Sri Lanka, or the African Horn countries would all be good guesses. Counterterrorism Blog’s Douglas Farah reports:

The Thais stopped the aircraft because U.S. intelligence warned them of the North Korean weapons on board, listed in the cargo manifest as oil drilling equipment. North Korea, although under an international ban on exporting weapons, makes an estimated $1 billion a year from the industry, attracting the least savory of the world’s characters as clients.

This sort of behavior is not uncommon for the North Korean regime and didn’t surprise me at first. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a state sponsor of terrorism. Then it occurred to me – North Korea is NOT a state sponsor of terrorism. Not if we go by the official U.S. State Department list. In fact, North Korea is one of the only countries to ever be removed from the list (we also removed Iraq in 1982 so it would be eligible for direct U.S. military support in its war against Iran). The Bush administration removed Libya in 2006 and North Korea in 2008. Why? According to the State Department:

On October 11, the United States rescinded the designation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a state sponsor of terrorism in accordance with criteria set forth in U.S. law, including a certification that the Government of North Korea had not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period and the provision by the government of assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.

Obviously, removal from the official list is something that we use as a bargaining chip while conducting statecraft with rogue regimes. And I’m glad that we do this because, if used correctly, it can incentivize states to curb their behavior instead of just trying to compel them through sanctions that inevitably end up hurting the populace more than the regime. Clearly, that was the Bush administration’s rationale for removing Libya and North Korea. Which brings me to Cuba.

Does Cuba deserve to be on this list? Our economic sanctions have done little to thwart the “Revolution,” except cause Cuba to seek closer relations with other “rogue” regimes (the former Soviet Union, Iran, and Venezuela come to mind). And including Cuba on the “terror” list doesn’t seem to be accomplishing much either. It seems to me that even maintaining such a list works against our foreign policy by showing our blatant inconsistencies. How can we include Cuba while we exclude states like North Korea and Venezuela? (Chavez had been directly linked to numerous terrorist organizations, including the Colombian FARC.)

I would argue that the full repeal of economic sanctions on Cuba, and its removal from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list, are both long overdue. Obviously, many others would disagree with me. Henry Gomez is one of those people. Long-time readers of this blog will recall our exchange back in May of 2008: 6 Questions with Castro’s Worst Nightmare. I recently floated my ideas his way and asked him to tell me why I’m wrong. Here is his response:

The economic sanctions currently in place on Cuba were put in place when the Castro regime expropriated $1.8 billion in U.S. business assets. To date the regime has made no attempt at restitution or settlement. The lifting of the sanctions would be a de facto amnesty for these violations of the norms of international trade and send a signal that American assets can be stolen as long you are stubborn enough and belligerent enough for long enough. The Castro regime talks about “trade” but what they really want is credit. Currently dozens of countries do business with Cuba and the regime owes billions of dollars around the world. Note this recent article about Spanish businesses that have found their investments in Cuba frozen by the Castro regime. So, the sanctions that are in place with regards to Cuba currently protect U.S. business interests from being similarly taken advantage of by an outlaw regime. Also, the U.S. is already currently Cuba’s largest food supplier but, by law, the sales must paid for with cash. Lifting sanctions on the regime will open the door to the Castro getting credit from taxpayer-funded institutions like the Export-Import Bank of the United States. I know we’ve gotten into the business of bailouts lately, but do we really want to subsidize a murderous regime with taxpayer dollars?

The idea that the sanctions hurt the Cuban people more than the regime is laughable on its face. The U.S. did not impose a Marxist economy on the Cuban people. The U.S. did not outlaw private property and enterprise in Cuba. The U.S. did not impose food rationing on the Cuban people. The regime did all that. And they did it when they had the handsome subsidies of the Soviet Union. The only time the regime has liberalized its economy was when its back was against the wall in the early and mid 90s (after the fall of the USSR and before the arrival of the new sugar daddy, Hugo Chavez). You have to understand that this regime lives by skimming off of the top of any revenue it can generate. And the more it generates the more it will skim and spend on what it has always spent money on: weapons, repression and subversion of other countries. Who is going to guarantee that the Castro brothers will take the new influx of dollars (that removing sanctions will represent) and use it to benefit the Cuban people? Are you?

As a practical matter we have diplomatic contact with Cuba through “Interest Sections” in each country. We have negotiated immigration accords and other agreements with the regime without full diplomatic relations. What is the benefit of establishing them now? On the contrary, the drawback is that the United States would be recognizing as legitimate a regime which has never been legitimate.

Cuba should remain on the list of state sponsors of terrorism for one simple reason: it is a sponsor of terrorism. Cuba has and continues to be a safe haven for the likes of FARC terrorists from Colombia, ETA terrorists from Spain, IRA terrorists from Ireland and even American fugitives such as the renown cop killer Assata Shakur. The annual state department reports on the matter couldn’t be clearer.

I’ll let Henry have the final word. If you want to read more of his work, he blogs regularly at Cuban American Pundits and the Babalu Blog.

Comments and criticism are welcome.

I don’t go to the movies much, maybe once per year. I hate standing in lines and can never seem to get comfortable in a theater full of chatty people. Instead, I rent DVDs or watch movies “On Demand” in the privacy of my own home. People like me are not good for the box office, which is why James Cameron got my attention several years ago when he warned Hollywood that they’d better change the “theater experience” or risk losing movie-goers forever. Enter Avatar.

Cameron (no stranger to box office innovation) spent years developing the technology required to pull off Avatar. The result is nothing less than complete immersion. I expected to be engaged and impressed with the experience, but I did not expect to be blown away. The movie is fantastic from start to finish and I couldn’t help but think of the endless applications for this new technology. Pilot/driver, law enforcement training, and language/culture acquisition came to mind immediately. Then, I reminisced about seeing Star Wars on opening day back in 1977 and wondered how long it would be before we look back at Avatar and chuckle. Regardless, if Cameron’s goal was to create a theater experience that cannot be replicated at home – mission accomplished. However, there are two things worth mentioning:

(1) The movie is best viewed in an IMAX theater. I’m sure it’s still cool on the thousands of “other” 3D screens currently showing the film across the country but, if you’re lucky enough to live near one of the 179 IMAX screens, I would highly recommend watching it there.

(2) Leave your politics at the door. The story (which is quite good) has all of the standard components – love, conflict, cool characters. But it also revolves around a strong theme of anti-imperialism. I have absolutely no doubt that talk show hosts, bloggers, and pundits from the right will jump on this and declare Avatar “anti-American.” Don’t let that ruin your experience. Just sit back and enjoy the show.

On a scale from 1 to 10, I give Avatar a 9.5. In fact, I already plan on seeing it again, in IMAX of course. See the full trailer below and please share this review with others if you found it useful.

Adil Najam of All Things Pakistan recently interviewed a Taliban-inspired suicide bomber. The content speaks for itself, however, there are a few points worth highlighting:

1. The aspiring terrorist claims the religious high ground, but can’t seem to recall any specific fatwas or the clerics who issued them.
2. He claims that “Nobody is innocent”, including other Muslims and innocent children. Again, he knows this because it’s written in “a book” that he cannot name.
3. It’s pretty obvious, based on his answers and regional demographics, that he is illiterate. However, that makes him more of an exception to the rule when it comes to those chosen to carry out suicide missions. See my review of “Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” for clarification.
4. Note: The man in the picture on the right is not the subject of the interview. He is Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban whose been in hiding since the 2001 invasion. See “Where in the World is Mullah Omar?” for more information.

Comments and criticism are welcome.

NOTES:

1. Please read part I of Meet Colonel Timothy H. Donovan first.
2. The picture on the right was taken in Schweinfurt, Germany, when LTC Donovan was commanding the 3rd Battalion/64th Armor (1978). They were on full alert. At the end of the lanyard that disappears into his shirt is a Cold War era CEOI (Communications-Electronics Operating Instructions) which contained the unit’s “go to war” call signs and frequencies.
3. The jeep is an old M151, which is very similar to the one procured for the Norwich University Corps of Cadets by retired Special Forces Master Sergeant Duke Dewey.

Onward…

RHM: Do you remember what happened after you were wounded?

Colonel Donovan: When I went down I knew it was bad, real bad. My medic, Gary Redding, was right there, but there wasn’t much he could do. When the sniper shot me, it triggered (no pun intended) a new firefight. Somebody was over me firing an M-16 and the hot brass was hitting me in the face (funny what you remember). I was still in command and trying to get the word to my guys, but they were doing fine. When the Huey came in to the midst of it to get me out, I turned command over to a platoon leader. My 1SGT sent me a letter a few weeks after with some pictures. C Troop definitely won the day.

RHM: Do you know what happened to the sniper who shot you?

Colonel Donovan: Yes. Before I hit the ground (in about a second and a half), my 1SGT sent that very brave and courageous soldier from North Vietnam to his heaven.

RHM: When it comes to National Security, what keeps you up at night?

Colonel Donovan: Our lack of unity in fighting this war. What’s the saying? “The Army and the Marine Corps are at war, America’s at the Mall, and Congress is on vacation.” We seem to think that it’s somebody else’s job to protect our freedom, not everybody’s job and duty to protect it. That’s very disturbing to me.

RHM: Norwich has a long history (going back to 1819) of producing military and civilian leaders who accomplish great things. How will Norwich’s role change in the 21st Century?

Colonel Donovan: Norwich has always led the Nation in producing citizens with the skills needed for the time and to meet the current challenge. Whether it was railroad engineers and inventors in the 19th century, to soldiers, industrialists, and visionaries in the 20th century, Norwich has been the educational pioneer. Since its founding in 1819, it has been the revolutionary, not evolutionary, leader in American education. That’s what it will do in this century too.

Conclusion: I had a lot of fun catching up with Colonel Donovan for this interview. Since retiring in 1993, he traded in his tank for a fishing boat. However, he remains very active as a teacher and currently has about 50 students (including many of his neighbors) in the Virginia area that attend his lectures and field trips to various historical sites. Colonel Donovan is also an avid Facebooker and loves to keep in touch with Norwich folks.

The Massachusetts primaries are next Tuesday, December 8th (Brown is running against fellow Republican and perpetual loser Jack E. Robinson. I would link to his campaign website, but his Wikipedia entry tells you everything you need to know.) As an unenrolled voter, I plan on taking a Republican ballot and checking the box for Brown. If you’re also unenrolled, or a registered Republican (yes, Massachusetts does have Republicans), here are three reasons why you should do the same.

He Listens

The primary responsibility of our elected officials is to serve their constituencies. Senator Ted Kennedy was among the best at this seemingly lost art. As a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and current member of the State Senate, Brown is no stranger with getting “up close and personal” with the people who put him in those positions.

His appearance on “Nightside” happened about 24 hours after President Obama announced his plans for a “troop surge” in Afghanistan. Predictably, he spent the first segment of the show discussing his own position on the issue. At the first commercial break, he took off his headphones, turned to me, and asked what I thought. He listened closely as I explained my position (which is the polar opposite of his) and acknowledged my points as I made them. I’d love to share specifics of the conversation, but I didn’t ask in advance if I could quote him and doing so without such permission would be tacky. Suffice it to say that he knows what he’s talking about (unlike most of our politicians who are painfully ignorant when it comes to anything beyond spouting their “talking points”), and he responded by making a convincing argument without belittling mine. It’s tough to imagine having the same conversation with John Kerry.

Military Service

Military service is not a prerequisite for elected office, nor should it be. However, we live in a day and age where the use of military force is, unfortunately, very common. As a consequence, I feel more comfortable knowing that the elected officials making these decisions have, themselves, served in our Armed Forces. Scott Brown has served honorably in the Massachusetts National Guard for almost thirty years and currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. A graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne School and decorated for meritorious service for homeland security in the wake of the September 11th attacks, I’m pretty confident that he wouldn’t send our troops to places where he wouldn’t be willing to go himself. Maybe this is a bigger deal for me than it is for you, but it seems that some of the biggest hawks today are elected officials who have never picked up a weapon or served a day in uniform. We need more soldier representation in the U.S. Senate.

One Party Rule is Killing Massachusetts

Last month, I attended the New England Business Expo and spent the entire day on the floor talking with exhibitors. The mood was cautiously optimistic until Democratic Governor Duval Patrick showed up and sucked the life out of the entire DCU Center. I won’t go so far as to blame all of our woes on the Democratic Party but, when you have a lock on just about every level of government in the Commonwealth, you have to accept the majority of the blame. This political monopoly needs to end. Massachusetts voters need to stop blindly following the same party that year after year, decade after decade, consistently fails them. Electing Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate certainly won’t solve our state or national problems overnight, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Sidenote: Brown’s complete biography and positions on the major issues can be found on his official campaign website. He has an interesting story and a talented family (his wife is WCVB TV’s Gail Huff, and one of his daughters is American Idol semi-finalist Ayla Brown).

Comments and criticism are welcome.

Dan Rea is the host of WBZ News Radio’s “Nightside,” heard in 38 states (and over the internet) every Monday thru Friday from 8PM-12AM. He made the jump to radio after thirty one years as an on-air television reporter for WBZ-TV (Boston’s CBS affiliate) where he won numerous awards for excellence. The defining moment of his career occurred, ironically, during his final day on-air when he announced that Joe Salvati (and three other men), after thirty years of imprisonment, had finally been exonerated of a murder they did not commit. Rea had led a fifteen year crusade against a corrupt Boston F.B.I. office that knowingly, and intentionally, framed four innocent men. The court’s decision to award the men over $100 million dollars in restitution has so far been upheld. However, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. (I think a personal apology from the President of the United States himself would be more appropriate, don’t you?) Maybe Dan can pass the message along – he’s personally interviewed every president since Gerald Ford.

Rea’s in-studio guest is State Senator (and U.S. Senate hopeful) Scott Brown. Husband to WCVB TV’s Gail Huff, and father to American Idol semi-finalist Ayla Brown, the Republican underdog makes for an interesting guest. In a state dominated by the Democratic party, Brown, a Republican, fields questions from Rea (and callers) for over an hour. The rest of the show is a hodgepodge of political correctness tales from across the country.

The “Nightside” team includes producer Bradley Jay (replaced for this show by Peter Clark) and Joe Dunn. However, Rea’s true sidekick is his dog, Charlie, who periodically interrupts his sleep and “sawmill” snoring to drink water out of a stainless steel bowl. Together, the team plans segments, books guests, and funnels callers. They also check facts and surf for breaking news/interesting stories to share with the audience. And they, like Rea, seem to have a good time doing it.

Talk radio’s popularity is at an all-time high and, according to Rea, represents “North America’s Virtual Back Porch.” But, unlike most of the ideologically-driven, one-sided shows that flood today’s airways, “Nightside” is a marketplace of ideas where all are welcome. In fact, those with opposing views are typically given the most airtime. (That person during my time in the studio was “Ron from Andover” whose call took up almost fifteen minutes.) There are only a few simple rules: (1) don’t be rude, (2) don’t answer questions with questions, and (3) don’t talk over other people. The result is a provocative, well-balanced, PG-13 exchange.

Before I left the studio, I asked Dan if he missed TV. He said “no” without hesitation. I then asked if he wished he’d jumped to radio earlier in his career. He thought for a moment and shook his head back and forth as he answered. “No, I was happy to end my TV career announcing that Solvati was exonerated. That was a good way to end things.”

Dan Rea’s Facebook profile is right here. Add him to your list to receive information about upcoming guests and discussion topics.

Comments and criticism are welcome.

The bullet entered through the seam of Captain Donovan’s flack jacket, broke several ribs, burst his left lung, and pierced his pulmonary artery before riddling its way down his spinal column and lodging itself in his spleen. A few hours (and several heroes) later, an Army surgeon stood over a bloody M.A.S.H. operating table and declared that it was “too late for this one.” His plans changed when Donovan (with two collapsed lungs) reached up and grabbed him by the throat with his right hand. In that instance, the fate of countless service men and women changed forever.

Contribution

Colonel Timothy H. Donovan (born in Bristol, Connecticut, and thankfully rejected by the United States Coast Guard Academy) is a 1962 graduate of Norwich University. A member of the prestigious Mountain Cold Weather Rescue Team, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity (back in the day when NU had fraternities), and Kilo Company (an affiliation that, after conducting this interview, I’m convinced he’s most proud of), Colonel Donovan is a mentor and source of inspiration to countless Norwich grads. In addition, he also taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he trained cadets with last names like Petraeus, McCrystal, and Odierno.

Straight to the chase – Colonel Donovan’s career (and life) should have ended on that table in Viet Nam. Instead, he left indelible marks on the entire military over the next twenty four years. Do you like the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank? Colonel Donovan’s fingerprints are all over it. Do you have an appreciation for Special Operations Command (SOCOM)? Colonel Donovan, at the behest of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (with the personal backing of President Ronald Reagan), took it from concept to reality in one year. As a warrior-scholar, he also contributed several chapters to a textbook on the U.S. Civil War (The American Civil War, Avery Press, Wayne, N.J., 1987 T.H. Donovan, et al). Not bad for a soldier with “permanent disabilities.”

Legacy

Colonel D’s father (Timothy H. Donovan, Sr.) served honorably in World War I with the 4th Infantry Division. When he returned, his wife (Mary Donovan), presented him with a hand-sewed replica of the 4th ID Unit Patch as a keepsake. Fifty years later, upon learning of his son’s assignment to the same unit, he blew the dust off of his padlocked foot locker, retrieved the patch (a modest piece of stitching on plain, olive drab cloth) and passed it along to his son (seen on the right, moments before donating it to the 4th Infantry Division Museum). Ironically, and unbeknownst to Colonel Donovan until the formal ceremony, the Norwich class of 1993 would eventually honor him by including the 4th Infantry Division unit patch (his patch) on its ring.

Interview Part I

What follows are the highlights from our recent hour-long phone conversation.

RHM: You once told me about a conversation you had with your South Vietnamese counterpart where he expressed optimism that the war would “be over soon.” But when you pressed him for more information, he replied that “soon” meant another 15 or 20 years. Clearly, many other cultures have more patience than Americans. Do you see any parallels to Viet Nam and the current conflicts in Iraq and especially Afghanistan?

Colonel Donovan: Actually I said to my counterpart, Capt Dung (pronounced Young) in the summer of 1966, “at this rate the war will be over soon.” He answered “yes, in maybe 20 or 30 years,” without a smile; dead serious.

We Americans seem to think that other countries are just like us with a central government elected by the people, etc. In Afghanistan especially, that is far from the reality. That part of the world is tribal and culturally quite different. The ruling framework hasn’t changed in centuries, if not eons. The Afghan tribes aren’t even similar, speaking several languages, and with different mores, customs, and religions. It is an extremely complex region.

Vietnam had many different sects and religions and cultures, but nothing like Afghanistan. For centuries, the Afghans have seen foreign armies come and go. For the US and NATO to prevail, we must recognize that this is going to be slow and deliberate work, one village, one province, one region at a time. It will be done by teaching native people how to have a better way of life; by teaching them how to have security in order to protect their families. It’s more teaching than fighting. I think that the common human denominator (security and pursuit of happiness) is the way to success in Afghanistan. Sounds like a job for lots of SOF (Special Operations Forces) types.

Instead of having lawyers assigned to planning staffs, we need cultural anthropologists.

RHM: Do you think we’re doing enough for our returning veterans when it comes to health care and educational benefits?

Colonel Donovan: I think the new GI Bill will help a great deal. Finding jobs for returning veterans should be a top priority for everyone. The injuries in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom are different than in other wars. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is more common because of the type of IED’s used. Health care for veterans must be in place and protected. Remember, that in World War II almost 20% of the country was in uniform fighting the enemy, and all at home were in support. If you were too young to join, you were a plane spotter or a bicycle messenger; too old you were an Air Raid Warden or a Civil Defense volunteer. Today, less than 1% of our country is in uniform. We owe them an awful lot.

In Part II of Meet Colonel Timothy H. Donovan, we discussed the fate of the North Vietnamese sniper who shot him, which aspects of national security keep him up at night, and Norwich’s role in the 21st Century. Sign up on the right-hand side if you’d like an email alert once it’s published.

You might have seen Tamara on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC or any of the major networks where she appears regularly as a legal analyst. However, she’s most well-known for her work in expunging past arrest records for ordinary people. Her practice motto sums up her work nicely – “We are devoted to preventing your past from defining your future.”

Let’s get one thing clear from the get-go. We are not talking about clearing the records of violent criminals. We’re talking about everyday working professionals who may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, or whose actions in the past should not be held against them now. An arrest record for even a seemingly harmless offense can keep you from landing the job, receiving a security clearance, or running for public office.

I recently spoke with Tamara about some of the particulars of her work. He’s what she had to say:

RHM: According to your website, once a person’s fingerprints are “in the system”, they remain there for eternity. Why is it that these records are not automatically expunged when the arrest fails to result in a conviction?

Tamara: Each state has different laws regarding the clearing of one’s criminal record. Most states do not allow for “automatic expungement” unless it is a juvenile case — and even in juvenile cases, some states do not have “automatic expungement.” There are many reasons “why” states do not destroy arrest records. Probably, the most obvious reason is that law enforcement agencies (police, prosecutors) have an interest in maintaining databases and keeping track of people accused of violating the laws. The first thing the police do when investigating a person is pull up their record. If John Doe has a history of domestic violence (or OJ Simpson for that matter!), and his wife ends up dead, the police and prosecutor have an additional sign that he may be the perpetrator. There is also the argument that the public’s interest in being able to access someone’s run-ins with the law is greater than the individual’s interest in having them automatically destroyed. Do you want to hire a cleaning lady who was arrested for theft, even if the case was dismissed? Do you want your daughter to date a guy who was arrested for domestic battery a few times, even if the cases were throw out of court? The answer is probably no, you don’t want to take the risk.

RHM: The topic of fingerprint and DNA databases made me think of everyone who serves in the military. Is there any way a service member can have those records destroyed after they leave the service? Or are those the permanent property of the government?

Tamara: What do you mean by “those records?” Do you mean if a person was previously arrested and then they go into the military, should they have their criminal records expunged upon their return? If that’s what you mean, right now, I don’t know of any state that has that exception to its expungement law. But, it’s a great idea. I get many requests from men seeking to enter the military but they won’t be accepted because of a previous criminal record. Unfortunately, having “Armed Forces” on your resume doesn’t mean as much to employers these days. The employer will still do that background check and, in many cases, one’s time serving this country is overshadowed by a previous arrest record. Remember the case of the Iraq War vet who applied for the NYPD but was unable to get the job because of a gun charge he has on his record from years before he entered the service? The other problem is that the armed forces will often allow someone to enter and overlook a criminal record. In those cases, the person thinks that the criminal record no longer exists. Instead of waiting until the person has served their time to clear a past criminal record, I think the armed forces should prepare their troops before they enter back into the real world. Clear their criminal record, help them fix their credit, etc.

RHM: When most people think of police brutality they envision victims from low socioeconomic conditions. Is that generally the scenario or does it happen in affluent neighborhoods as well?

Tamara: Police brutality generally happens to the “underbelly” of society. Unfortunately, the poor are often the victims because they cannot afford to fight back and they are less educated to understand their rights. For example, I was fighting a case on behalf of public housing residents against the Chicago Police. For years, the police would demand entrance into their homes and told the residents they (the police) had a right to enter any time since they lived in public housing. “The President lives in public housing,” Rev. Jackson once said. But they believed the police because it kinda made sense. It’s also easier for the Police to get away with police brutality. Are you really going to believe a guy with a criminal record a mile long that the police beat him up? Look at the Jon Burge cases: he was a Chicago Police Lt. who came back from Vietnam with torture methods and used them on people in police custody. Many of those men were “bad guys” but still claimed they didn’t commit the crimes for which they were charged under Burge’s investigation. Many of them were placed on death row and eventually pardoned by Gov. Ryan. It was after this mess that Ryan placed a moratorium on the death penalty. (I was involved in the Aaron Patterson case for awhile.)

RHM: What sort of pro bono work are you currently involved with?

Tamara: Pro bono work is an important part of my practice and who I am as a person. I created an expungement clinic at Rev. Jesse L. Jackson’s Rainbow Push Coalition in 2006. I also uncovered a railroad firing scheme of convicted felons, took it to Congress and got many men their jobs back. The above public housing case that occurred at the Harold Ickes Homes in Chicago was also a pro bono case. I sit on the board of Horizon Prison Ministries, devoted to helping rehabilitate people who are inside the prison walls so they will not recidivate. Lastly, I’m working with Scott Loper, who was a victim of torture in Canada and while in their custody, his wife and son disappeared, never to be heard from or seen again.

Thanks for your time, Tamara.

Caveat Emptor

Tamara does great work, but expunging your official record is not a magic bullet. Douglas Belkin of the Wall Street Journal warns:

Expungement doesn’t wipe away all traces. Local news Web sites routinely post arrest mug shots, which are nearly impossible to eradicate from the Internet. Search engines can turn up a smattering of decades-old news and police reports, plus caches of newer ones. Arrests that have been legally expunged may remain on databases that data-harvesting companies offer to prospective employers; such background companies are under no legal obligation to erase them.

RHM: 2nd Amendment advocates are very vocal about “no gun zones”, arguing that having such zones (a) lets potential criminals know that they are facing an unarmed public and (b) leaves them defenseless. Do you think this was the case at Fort Hood?

Rob Pincus: I absolutely think it was a component. This guy probably had a couple of agendas that we’ll learn more about as time goes on, but he certainly was interested in taking as many people with him as he could. He chose a target-rich environment, a target that represented what he apparently detested (deployment center for U.S. soldiers fighting against Islamic enemies) and an environment that he knew to be poorly defended.

RHM: What advice do you have for people who live and work in areas with very strict gun laws on law-abiding citizens (i.e. school zones, military posts, etc.)?

Rob Pincus: Its tough to come up with one answer that fits everyone. I travel constantly and I spend a fair amount of time in places where carrying a gun simply is not an option (airports, Europe, Manhattan). But, you have to realize that the gun (or the knife, or the taser) is just a tool. It’s the person’s ability to plan, recognize when to employ the plan, and be skilled enough to work the plan, that leads to survival. Thinking about what could happen, what should be done, and how to do it is the key. The specifics change with each venue. That said, there are always subtle, improvised weaponry that can be carried or staged in any environment. I recommend Mike Janich’s book “Forever Armed” for a thorough discussion.

RHM: For those who may be afraid of guns themselves but want to be able to protect themselves and loved ones, can you recommend one or two non-lethal alternatives?

Rob Pincus: The hooked wooden cane is the ultimate go-anywhere clandestine defensive tool. It is relatively easy to learn to use efficiently, even in close quarters, and you can take them everywhere: banks, planes, museums, Europe, etc. I’ve carried wooden canes a lot. If you’re not inclined to invest the time to learn how to use the cane or are self-conscious about the appearance, you really can’t beat the civilian version of the Taser. I’ve taken a chest shot from the Taser C2 and I would put my faith in it to stop an unexpecting attacker if I had time and space to use it – which is essentially the same time and space required to access and use a defensive firearm.

Thanks to Rob for his time. Below is the trailer for S.W.A.T. Magazine TV, premiering in January 2010.

UPDATED 12/30/09: Instead of writing a post about the recent “crotch bomber” and how incompetent our government is at thwarting attacks by people who broadcast their intentions beforehand (regardless of the party in power), just go ahead and change the names and locations yourself. – RHM

Very rarely do people just snap. On the contrary, there are almost always “warning signs.” Sometimes those signs are subtle and only recognizable to those closest to the individual. But other times those signs are about as subtle as a kick to the groin. The case of Nidal Malik Hasan’s recent murder spree at Fort Hood, Texas, is a textbook example of the latter. And we should all be furious.

Now that the dust is somewhat settled we’re learning some very troubling facts surrounding the case:

1. Hasan was an outspoken opponent of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. However, his dissent was not in the same spirit as my own general opposition to intervention and empire – his dissent was based on extreme religious ideology. And when I say “outspoken”, I mean he publicly (and graphically) opposed infidel aggression against Islam.
2. Hasan was an active participant in Jihadist chatrooms and websites – so much so that the federal government had him under surveillance.
3. Hasan is/was the protege of Anwar al Awlaki, a former imam at the Washington D.C. area Dar al Hijra Mosque and militant jihadist, currently preaching and plotting against the United States from Yemen.

The list goes on and on. But the fact that our own government was too inept or timid to take action (for fear of offending God knows who) they decided to “let it go.” Now, 13 innocent people are dead and, according to Chicago based lawyer Tamara Holder , the government can “expect to see the wounded…sue the United States for their failure to investigate this sick and dangerous man when the writing was on the walls.” I hope they do.

When I look at the facts surrounding this incident (as we know them thus far) I see an obvious parallel to the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre. The shooter, Cho, didn’t just get up one day and decide to kill innocent people. He displayed similar patterns of craziness that went unaddressed. You can read about the similarities in one of my father’s guest posts from April, 2008 – “Political Correctness is Killing Our Country.” I’m all for civil liberties, but individual rights have to be balanced with the general welfare and safety of others.

Fred Burton, Stratfor’s Chief Security Officer, gives a cautious-but-sobering look at the reality of intelligence investigations in the video below (Dated November 7th, 2009). Burton’s the real deal. Read my review of his book “Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent.”

Sidenote: I’m in the process of conducting a short interview with Rob Pincus, Owner of I.C.E. Training and Host of “The Best Defense.” He’s a buddy of mine from back in the day at Norwich University and one of the leading authorities on self-defense and S.W.A.T. tactics. He’ll be discussing how some of our gun laws put law abiding citizens at an inherent disadvantage and how people can take precautions to protect their friends and loved ones. Look for it over the next few days.

Comments and criticism are always welcome.

I attended a lecture this past Friday night at the University of New Hampshire. The event was sponsored by the Young Americans for Liberty, a well-organized group of young people who care deeply about America and welcome all points of view. Their spokesman, John Jones, set a positive tone in his introductory remarks by pointing out that they are less interested in partisan bickering and more interested in exchanging ideas in a “non-hostile environment” (his description). I imagine they would welcome Ann Coulter just as much as they would welcome Michael Moore, without name-calling or discourteous heckling. They are also a group doing their best to practice what they preach by struggling to pay for their own events instead of dipping into the university’s student activities funds. “Why should other students have to pay for our events,” said John. In my book, that is commendable.

On to the main event…

The keynote speaker of the evening was Dr. Tom Woods (B.A., Harvard – Ph.D., Columbia), Senior Fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute and author of the NY Times bestseller and smash hit Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse. (Tom also penned The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, a book I have used as an educator and highly recommend). The topic of the evening was similar to the tagline of Meltdown – that excessive government intervention in our markets caused our current economic woes and government “solutions” to the crisis will likely make things worse. But don’t let the topic fool you, this was not a political talk where all of the blame was placed on either the Democrats or Republicans. According to the Austrian School of Economics (where Tom’s economic philosophy comes from) – both parties consistently fail us.

How do they fail us economically? There are too many ways to count. However, one of the strongest examples given in the lecture was the manipulation of interest rates by the Federal Reserve. Basically, interest rates are supposed to fluctuate according to how much money Americans save. When we save a lot, interest rates are driven down because the banks have more money to lend. When we don’t save a lot, interest rates are higher because banks have less money to lend. Pretty simple, right? And yet we have a central banking system in which the Chairman of the Federal Reserve (Currently Ben Bernanke – seen here on the left giving us all the bird) dictates those rates to every bank in the America. Couple that with other government interference in the market, under seemingly innocuous names like “fair lending”, and you have the perfect storm – “cheap money” for people who normally wouldn’t qualify to open a tab at their local watering hole.

Austrian Economic theory is not difficult to understand. On the contrary, scholars like Tom take what are typically difficult subjects and break them down so they are easy to understand. This is in sharp contrast to Keynesian economists who typically take topics that could be easily understood, toss in a few mind-numbing algorithms, and muddy the waters with unnecessary, esoteric jargon in an attempt to convince the rest of us that they alone are intelligent enough to make policy. And here we are in the deepest recession in a century. Thanks guys!

Tom’s books are fun to read and easily digested. But his lectures (there are several on YouTube) are even more fun. He’s a gifted speaker who entertains while he educates. He even managed to squeeze in an obscure Jethro Tull reference that I’m sure flew over the heads of most of the undergrads in attendance. Afterward, he signed books and chatted graciously with those in attendance, including my wife and I.

Sidenote: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the first speaker of the evening, Scott Horton of Antiwar Radio. He spoke for about a half hour before introducing Tom and his words represented a bitter pill that took me the better part of the last decade to swallow (to put it lightly). However, once that pill slowly makes its way down your throat (scraping and cutting like a razor blade the whole way), foreign policy, national security and the “War on Terrorism” become more clear. Scott talks about things that are not easy to talk about and I admire his guts. Mindless flag waving and chest-beating are easy. Painful self-reflection of our collective history is not.

Comments and criticism are welcome.

Forgive me for taking so long to reply to Joseph F. Lydon’s thoughtful and persuasive arguments against a public health care option. I’ve been sidetracked on different projects at both home and office and this is the first chance I’ve had to hammer out my thoughts. Let me start by highlighting the common ground.

I agree with every one of Joe’s proposed solutions. Portability, open enrollment across state lines, tort reform, tax credits and eliminating routine (non-emergency) health care for illegals are all no-brainers. However, we have a philosophical disagreement when it comes to the “right to health care.” I believe that when a country reaches the level of development and success that the U.S. has, universal medical coverage for its citizens must rank at the top of its national priorities. We are the most powerful nation the earth has ever seen and our number one priority is the safety and well-being of our citizens. This includes providing state-of-the-art medical care to all citizens from cradle to grave.

Would it be expensive? Yes. But we could easily cover the costs if we were willing to make the necessary adjustments to our foreign policy and military adventures. Is government inherently inept? Yes. And I’m not advocating that the government necessarily needs to get involved in the business of actually providing care. But we could find ways to finance everyone’s coverage through tax credits, vouchers, and incentives. All I care is that every American citizen is covered. It’s time to invest in ourselves first. Maybe it’s a good time to close those corporate tax loopholes as well. It’s just a thought.

Sidenote: We hear non-stop whining from the right about how awful the Canadian and British medical systems are. Ok. Then let’s not do it like them. Don’t we do everything better than those wussies anyway?

Comments and criticism are welcome.

Breaking News:

TEHRAN (Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed six senior Revolutionary Guards commanders, including two of its top officers, and 25 other people on Sunday in one of the boldest attacks against Iran’s most powerful military institution.

The attack highlighted deepening instability in the Islamic Republic’s southeast bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, where many of Iran’s minority Sunnis live and which has seen a spate of deadly bombings and other violence in the last few years.

State media said a local rebel Sunni group called Jundollah (God’s soldiers) claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest on the elite Revolutionary Guards in recent years, which also wounded some 30 people at a meeting of tribal chiefs.

This is significant and it will be very interesting to see where the investigation leads. Iran is not going away and we’re bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan as it is. We need to wrap up both of those operations A.S.A.P. in order to have the teeth to back up our diplomatic efforts.

Today’s post is the opening argument from an old friend, classmate, and brother in arms, Mr. Joseph F. Lydon. We’ve been warming up unintentionally via FaceBook over the past few months and decided that it would be fun to make our debates a bit more formal. Joe is a Norwich grad with a B.A. in Political Science (concentration in Middle Eastern Studies). In addition, he’s served faithfully in the U.S. Coast Guard since 1993 in a number of positions, including intelligence billets responsible for the Korean Peninsula and Iran (among other hot spots). He’s a contributing source for the Wall Street Journal and currently working on an article for publication about the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. In civilian life, he’s a national sales manager for a major insurance brokerage and has a wife and 3 kids. Joe proudly calls himself a conservative “a little to the right of Atilla the Hun.” I’ll post my argument next week. Feel free to leave comments and criticism. Enjoy!

The Case Against Government Run Health Care

It has been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions…if there was ever a fit for this it is the current argument for government run health care. From ineptitude to conflicts of interest to a negative world track history and stopping with the fact that it will still leave the United States with a secondary out of pocket bill for the huge drain of health care for illegal Aliens, Government run health care is the furthest thing from the solution to the current problem (a problem that needs to be addressed) that this nation faces. Let’s take the points one by one.

1) Ineptitude of the Government

Whether Democrat or Republican, Conservative or Liberal, the one fact that has been proven true time and time again is that the government has no skill in the business of business. From bloated non profitable institutions like the Post Office to the handling of Hurricane Katrina, right up to the current day of a bipartisan stimulus program that was twice as expensive, and a cash for clunkers program that was three times as expensive as the original estimates, the government has rarely ever come in on time or on budget. Why is this? Because they do not have to answer to anyone but themselves and the occasional voter if they pay attention. There is no motivation for a bureaucrat to go the extra mile in running a profitable company because his job doesn’t depend on it being profitable.

2) Having the Institution that regulates the health industry being a competitor in the system.

President Obama has stated specifically that the Government option would be funded primarily by the premiums it receives. Given the previously mentioned ineptitude of the government to be profitable, what happens when their private sector competition proves to provide coverage cheaper and with better service? Answer: the government plan loses clients and, more importantly, healthy clients who do not have the fear a sick person has about changing insurance options even if it is a better deal. This will put the government in a position where it can either raise the premiums on its clients, or it can much more easily, change the regulations on its competition, making the government plan more appealing. Sound far fetched? It’s already in the bill. If an employer does not provide coverage for his employees, he has to pay an 8% penalty to the Federal Government. The problem is that this is, in most cases, much cheaper than the cost of providing coverage through private health insurance. The Government instantly creates a need for people to take the Government plan because the private plan is no longer offered. How much more intrusive will the government get as it falls more and more into the red due to it’s own incompetence? Where is the accountability?

3) World History

The one irrefutable fact is that no where in the world is socialized medicine working well. The System in Canada is imploding. It’s the same in Europe as well. Moreover, the care that is being provided is substandard than the health care provided in the United States (of whose citizens, over 85% approve of their health care insurance). The following chart speaks volumes.

Why would we expect it to be any different here or, more importantly, why would we risk it even being possible to go from our care to the Canadian / European type of system. Are you willing to let your child who needs any of the above listed services wait the way a Canadian waits?

4) The Illegal Alien Crisis

The single biggest drain on the American Medical System is the free health Care provided to Illegal Aliens. Further, President Obama states that they will not be covered under the Government run option. What he does not say is that they will not be covered. So even after adding over $80 billion dollars a year to the current deficit, according to White House and Congressional figures (remembering that the government never comes in on budget) we will still be paying for the care of illegals through Medicaid and other government sponsored reimbursement options (i.e. tax dollars). The following chart gives you an idea of the burden this places on our system:

Extrapolate these percentages against the estimated 20 million illegals that live in the country. People, who drive down wages, drain public services, and who for the most part work in a non income tax paying shadow economy will still be the same burden on the heath care system.

5) Numbers don’t lie

The notion that 40 million people can be added to a thinly stretched system without  rationing care is at the least ignorance of the facts and at worst a bold faced lie. A simple example. If you have a pie and you have to cut it 4 ways, the pieces are a lot bigger than if you cut it 8 ways. Under the current proposal, we’re adding 40 million more slices. If someone else is getting something that another person was getting before, the second person is now getting less. This is irrefutable.

THE SOLUTION

The current debate in regards to health care does not have to be an all or nothing for either side to claim victory. Unlike many other issues being debated now by the right and the left, there are immediate steps that can be taken that are agreeable to both sides that would have an instant effect of increasing choice and lowering premiums. Here are a few;

1)      Portability- Allow people to purchase insurance across state lines. More companies in the mix means more competition, which in a correctly regulated capitalist system consistently brings down cost.

2)      Allow for open enrollment without underwriting- have a 30 day window when a person becomes eligible due to age or has a need to purchase coverage ( example, loss of a job). Also allow for a 30 day window for open enrollment each year without underwriting. Again, each company will be forced to compete on the same level field breeding competition. Also, having limited open enrollment periods instead of eliminating underwriting altogether avoids the problem of healthy people not picking up insurance until they get sick. Complete elimination of underwriting would be like allowing people to buy auto insurance after they had the accident. It doesn’t make sense. Personal accountability has to be part of the solution.

3)      Tort Reform- Impose stiff penalties for frivolous lawsuits against Hospitals and Doctors. (note the word frivolous). In return impose higher fines/penalties for legitimate lawsuits arising from medical malpractice.

4)      Elimination of health care for Illegals- Foreigners who break into the country are a drain on our system. This burden has fallen on the American people far to long. The argument that we must provide them health care to maintain the overall public health is wrong. 4 Letters – H1N1. Started in Mexico, spread through the United States. I’m not saying that Illegals are the sole cause of the spread of the disease, but they are a contributing factor. If you are illegal and you get sick, then pay for it yourself or go back to your home country for care. Billions in savings.

5)      Tax credits and subsidies for American Citizens to assist in the purchase of private health coverage- Though this goes against my Capitalist nature, there “General Welfare” portion of the Constitution is motivation enough for me to compromise here. If we can provide an earned income tax credit for children, we can provide one for health care. Insurance companies would be pounding on the doors of people to get their business.

The previous options offered would have an immediate effect not only insuring Americans, but would result in lower cost and equally as important, would keep the failed concept of socialized medicine out of the American Lexicon.

Comments and criticism are welcome.

I don’t like being lectured to. So it should come as no surprise how much Wednesday night’s speech by President Barack Obama rubbed me the wrong way. Yes, I believe in universal health care for all American citizens and think we could easily pay for it (if we would just get our priorities in order…more on that later) but, if his intent was to convince Americans that they should support his agenda, he failed miserably. It was a classic combination of  “too little, too late” and “Holier than thou” rhetoric.

As I watched the lecture speech I couldn’t help but think to myself  “Hey, Obama, talk TO me and not AT me.” I do not need to hear you summarize how those “on the right” and “on the left” feel about things. How about telling me what YOU think and stop trying to cast yourself as a sideliner. YOU are the President. And you were elected with a mandate (in spite of the conservatives who continue to argue that your win was a “fluke” or somehow less legitimate than Bush in 2000). Just tell me what YOU want to happen and make a case? If I like it – I’ll support you. If I don’t – I won’t. It’s not that difficult. However, for some reason, you just can’t seem to find your balls.

Let me help you…

1. Stop trying to be so damned conciliatory. You have a majority – use it.
2. Stop lecturing and try to motivate.
3. Stop demonizing everyone else as partisan and representing yourself as a “middle man.” Pick a side and go with it.
4. For God’s sake avoid any photo-ops with Pelosi or Reid. They are duds and you still have a chance at success.
5. Pick a fight with the biggest GOPster on the block and bury him/her (forget about talk show hosts and quitters).
6. Stop trying to please everyone and realize that no matter what you do a HUGE percentage of the population will always hate you. Live with it.

FORGET THE PEANUT GALLERY

I don’t understand why Representative Joe Wilson’s heckling is such a big deal. For some reason we put our elected officials on pedestals and forget that they work for us. As a consequence, it becomes “rude” or “disrespectful” to call them out. This needs to change. The world is a tough place and Obama is a big boy. Deal with it and be glad you’re not part of the British Parliament. Here’s a video of Prime Minister Gordon Brown being ridiculed and laughed at by the opposition. Is it me or does the opposition look like the crowd at the Apollo Theater after a punch line?

See you next week.

I’ve voted against Senators Kerry and Kennedy every time the opportunity has presented itself since I turned 18. I’ve done so for several reasons:

1. I despise the one party dominance of Massachusetts politics.
2. I believe in term limits (nobody is indispensable).
3. I’ve never had much of an affinity for silver spooners. A little dirt under the fingernails can be a good thing.

In spite of my repeated opposition, both men consistently won reelection with relative ease (go figure). Unfortunately, in 1995, I found myself in a situation where I needed to enlist the help of my congressional representation. At the time, I was a first lieutenant serving on active duty in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, NC. I had served as an enlisted man prior to being commissioned but, for some unknown reason, I was never paid for my prior service. To make matters worse, the unit at Fort Benning, Georgia, where I completed boot camp and infantry school was decommissioned and I had no way to get the paperwork to prove my prior service. Can you guess which Senator’s office helped me? Hint: it wasn’t the “war hero’s.”

When I called Senator Kerry’s office I was treated to a 2 minute conversation with a staffer who quickly determined that I was not important enough to waste time on. Unfortunately, it took me a month to realize that they weren’t “on the case.” Then I called Kennedy’s office. I spoke to a staffer for 10 or 15 minutes and when we got off the phone she told me that someone would be in touch. 24 hours later another staffer called me and asked me a few more questions. 3 days later I received a FedEx (Saturday morning delivery) from Kennedy’s office that contained all of my military records – including the documents I had been looking for. The package included a note thanking me for my service. That’s what a Senator is supposed to do – take care of their constituency.

When I heard the unsurprising news that Senator Kennedy had passed away, this story was the first thing I thought of. The second thing that jumped into my mind was the predictable reaction across the political spectrum (on the way to work I had my radio on “scan” the whole way). It’s been pretty ugly and I don’t expect it to stop…ever. Kennedy was controversial in life, he will be controversial in death. And I can’t say that I blame those who can’t seem to get over Chappaquiddick. Teddy Kennedy is 100% responsible for the death of Mary Jo Kopechne and “got off” because of the status and wealth of his family name. I can’t get over it either. There’s a reason that crimes resulting in death have no statutes of limitation – the suffering of the victims’ loved ones is eternal. Many claim that his “good work” in the U.S. Senate somehow made up for his transgressions (a very Catholic worldview). I’m not so sure.

On a lighter note, Republic Senator Orrin Hatch penned a thoughtful, classy letter to Politico.com about Senator Kennedy that is worth reading. One of the pearls:

I hope that America’s ideological opposites in Congress, on the airwaves, in cyberspace, and in the public square will learn that being faithful to a political party or a philosophical view does not preclude civility, or even friendships, with those on the other side.

It’s nice to see a senior member of congressional leadership come out and say this. It’s OK to vehemently disagree, but the absolute venom coming from both sides over the past few years is way over the top. Personally, I agree with Hatch because some of my closest friends and I couldn’t be further away from “middle ground” when it comes to politics. But it doesn’t interfere with our friendships. We talk, we argue, we move on. What about you? Do you agree to disagree with close friends? Or do you find it easier to just mingle with the like-minded?

PS: Click the picture below and watch the Donkey and Elephant butt heads.

See you next week.

Throw Momma Under The Train

I never liked the idea of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. When President Obama announced that he was choosing her and played up the idea of a “Team of Rivals” (an expression I quickly grew tired of) I shivered at the thought of Hillary in such a high profile position. Given her history, who wouldn’t be worried? And it wasn’t until recently that I realized the genius of the move on Obama’s part – he took his biggest competitor in the Democratic Party out of the equation and effectively sidelined her. The ironic part is that I think she just figured it out too.

The writing was on the wall when Obama appointed former Senator George Mitchell and others as special envoys to the world’s hot spots. Then came Bill Clinton’s history making trip to Pyongyang and, most recently, Senator Jim Webb’s trip to Myanmar to secure the release of an American citizen imprisoned under questionable charges. The spin is that the Secretary of State and her staff played integral parts in these victories, but without the limelight who cares? This is politics and all the hard work in the world doesn’t mean squat without the photo op. Regardless, you can see in this video that Hillary has finally figured it out. But the lingering question is “what is she going to do about it?” This goes back to my initial trepidation with having her anywhere near such a seemingly powerful position in the new administration. Will she sabotage Obama and run against him in 2012? Stranger things have happened.

Being Frank With Constituents

I’ve never been much of a Barney Frank fan, but if you haven’t seen the video of his recent Town Meeting in Dartmouth, Massachusetts it’s worth taking a minute to do so. Personally, I find the recent right wing nutjobs showing up to scream and yell about Nazism about as intelligent as the left wing whackos who did the same when Bush was president. Both groups jump enormous ladders of inference and end up looking stupid in the process. For example, I was never comfortable with some of the provisions of the Patriot Act and abhor the atrocities that have taken place at Guantanamo Bay, but to claim that Bush and his cronies were flat out fascists is a stretch. Likewise, universal health coverage is certainly “socialistic” in spirit, but to suggest that it will cause the collapse of our way of life is more than a bit overboard.

Back to Frank…at least he held a meeting and took all questions. There are many a U.S. Representative and Senator who are hiding under rocks because they can’t take the heat. And personally, what he said to the lady in the video doesn’t bother me in the least bit. Lately, people have been confusing their right to free speech with others’ rights to judge their speech. The First Amendment guarantees your right to say whatever you want, but it doesn’t mean that others have to listen and it certainly doesn’t guarantee that you won’t make an ass out of yourself.

See you next week.

I didn’t vote for Bill Clinton and, quite frankly, I never liked him until long after he was gone, which was basically after I realized that everything that Rush Limbaugh (I was a VIP member of his website and received the Limbaugh Letter for years), Bill O’Reilly (rarely missed an episode for about 6 years), and the rest of the so-called conservatives (none of them could carry William F. Buckley’s jockstrap) said was complete bunk. Throw in two terms of George W. Bush and it’s a wonder anyone would call themselves a Republican anymore without a disclaimer.

See if you recognize this criticism:

• He’s a socialist/communist and wants to “redistribute” all of your wealth
• He’s a lightweight in foreign policy and will get walked on by foreign leaders
• He “loathes” the military and has no respect for those in uniform
• He just wants to be loved around the world and will sacrifice our interests to further his own popularity

Sound familiar? Now ask yourself this – how were the 90’s compared to the past 8 years or so? Yeah, that’s what I thought. During those 8 years under what conservatives painted as the worst president ever (until now…Obama is already the worst after only 7 months in office) things were pretty damn good – not perfect, but good all around (A fact that conservatives still can’t seem to grasp while they insist that W. will be judged as one of the best by “history.”) And now Bill’s recent Asian jet-setting has given them reason to whine all over again. Why? Pure jealousy.

They just can’t seem to get a star of their own! Palin fired up the evidently easy to impress conservative base, then quit. Jindal impressed a few people until he was thrust prematurely into the spotlight and had to follow an Obama speech with the Republican response (i.e. train wreck). And…well…I can’t think of any others who at least tried but I’m sure they’re out there.

Newsflash: Bill Clinton did a great thing this week. If those were your daughters, sisters, mothers, whatever, you’d agree. Sitting back and criticizing the move on the principle that “we don’t negotiate with terrorists” is embarrassing and ignores history. We’ve always negotiated with terrorists! Pick up a history book or, better yet, just think back to the Reagan years (Marines withdrawn from Lebanon in response to Hezbollah attack, “Weapons for Hostages”). And there’s always the incestuous relationship between our oil dependent government and those with the oil (Saudi Arabia, etc.) Negotiating with terrorists is as American as Apple Pie.

Will Bill Clinton’s 20 hour trip to Pyongyang be milked for everything it’s worth? Yes. Will he bite his lower lip while trying to conceal his pure joy at being back in the spotlight? Absolutely. And will conservatives burn with envy as the rest of the world applauds? You betcha.

Comments and criticism are always welcome.

See you next week.

If you read the Friday Morning Fix last week, you already know how I feel about the whole Gates/Crowley/Obama three way. It’s silly. Again, I wasn’t there, but I’d be willing to venture that both Crowley and Gates acted like jackasses on the night of the arrest and that this was entirely avoidable. Enter POTUS.

When Obama chose to stick his nose into this local issue it rubbed me the wrong way. I was especially let down by his careless words. It was a dumb move as he quickly found out. His solution? To stick his nose further into the issue by proposing and facilitating a “Beer Summit” at the White House (no word yet on who picked up the travel expenses for Gates, Crowley and their families) and I watched as the media covered it as if it were the Camp David Accords of 1979. After the ridiculously over-staged photo op, Crowley held a press conference where he spoke with a level of articulation that belies his “Joe the Plumber” appearance. The other three drinkers must have had other plans. Perhaps Biden suggested they go out for lap dances.

There’s a circus like Gates’ arrest in every town across America on a daily basis. The only reason this one made it into the “Big Top” is because of Gates’ personal friendship with Obama – and Obama’s subsequently “stupid” remarks. Is there racial profiling in America? Yes. Is there tension among whites and blacks? Absolutely. But don’t we also have two ongoing wars and a floundering economy that nobody seems to really understand? Forget about health care reform. We’ve got beers to drink! Personally, I hope we get some adult supervision in the White House soon. And no, at this point, I wouldn’t go back and check the box for McCain/Palin. Ask me again in a year.

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!

In the interest of fairness and balance…actually who am I trying to kid?! Starting in a week or two RandallHMiller.com will become a “debatatorium”, with me squaring off against an old friend, classmate, and brother in arms, Mr. Joe Lydon. We’ve been warming up unintentionally via FaceBook over the past few weeks and decided that it would be fun to make things a bit more formal. Joe is a Norwich grad with a B.A. in Political Science (concentration in Middle Eastern Studies). In addition, he’s served faithfully in the U.S. Coast Guard since 1993 in a number of positions, including intelligence billets responsible for the Korean Peninsula and Iran (among other hot spots). He’s a contributing source for the Wall Street Journal and currently working on an article for publication about the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. In civilian life, he’s a national sales manager for a major insurance brokerage and has a wife and soon to be 3 kids. Joe proudly calls himself a conservative “a little to the right of Atilla the Hun.” I, on the other hand, am thoughtful and usually right (J/K). The only problem is that we have yet to agree on a topic.

Any suggestions?

We’ll consider anything from Universal Health Care to the War on Terror. Anything goes and nothing is off limits.

See you next week.

This week I had a pleasant exchange with an old classmate and friend via FaceBook (you can add me to your friend list by clicking my profile on the right) and I noticed a trend. Most of the push-back I get is not about my position or opinions, but because I don’t always present the other side of the argument. So, for the record I am going to post exactly what I told my friend when the topic of fairness came up:

I write about things that interest me, annoy me, or inspire me. And I usually decide about 5 minutes beforehand what it ’s going to be.

For the record, I don’t feel obligated every time I write something critical of a conservative or liberal to then run out and write something critical of the opposite. Only Fox claims to be “Fair and Balanced.”

I also don’t write/blog to make other people happy (shocking, I know). I do it because I can’t play an instrument and don’t like sports. It’s a hobby. I don’t consider myself any kind of pundit.

Regardless, rest assured that competing opinions are welcome and that’s why I leave my comments section open. (Your first comment has to be approved, after that they automatically post.) So, feel free to jump in and mix it up whenever you want. The only comments I’ve ever changed or deleted were profanity-laden. BTW: my old friend and I are going to have a gentleman’s debate series right here on the blog in the near future. Right now the topic is open. Feel free to post suggestions.

On to business…

Invoking the Founding Fathers

It seems that over the past year or so, politicians on both sides of the aisle have taken to invoking the Founding Fathers during their speeches and while answering questions for the evening news. In doing so, they try to give the impression that if somehow the Founders could magically awaken from their slumber, they would no doubt be on “their side.” Sarah Palin claims to know that they would denounce President Obama’s plans as inherently “Un-American” and Democrats of all stripes claim to know that they would uncategorically denounce the Patriot Act and the way we execute the War on Terror. Maybe so, but I’d be willing to bet that those issues would not be the first of their surprises.

There’s no doubt that the Founding Fathers were great men. They were courageous intellectuals unafraid of speaking truth to power and prepared to die rather than sacrifice what they saw as their “God given” freedoms. They took an untrained, under-equipped “Army” (just barely) and defeated the British Empire. They set up a constitution with individual rights and a balance of power unheard of anywhere around the world at that time. But let’s be honest for a moment, they are also the men who gave us the 3/5ths Compromise at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787. In case you’ve forgotten, the compromise meant that each African American black person would only be counted as 3/5ths of a person in the national census. Professor James Joyner sums it up even better:

“The other thing to keep in mind here is that it’s a misnomer to say that slaves were considered “3/5 of a person.” Indeed, as Dred Scott proved, they were in fact 0/5 of a person. The 3/5 was merely an accounting gimmick.”

Therefore, I think it’s pretty safe to say that one of the first things that would spin their heads if they could see the U.S.A. of 2009 is that black people African Americans are no longer in slavery and one of “those people” has actually been elected President! How would that go over to a group whose majority never even considered them people? Again, those were the times and I believe it was the great historian Barbara Tuchman who once stated that it is unfair and illogical to judge the actions of the past by the values of today (I’m paraphrasing). I agree. But the historical record speaks for itself. The U.S. did not abolish slavery until December 18, 1865 when the 13th Amendment was ratified ensuring that:

“neither slavery nor involuntary servitude… shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

The 13th Amendment wasn’t ratified until long after the Founders had stopped making history and had become part of it. What do you think would grab their attention after that (besides all of the bewildering technological breakthroughs)? How about the role of women in society?

One of the most famous phrases from our Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal”, was written that way for a reason. Women were clearly not seen as equals. Sure, they weren’t enslaved like black Americans, but their participation in government was so limited it was almost unheard of. Susan B. Anthony, heralded today as a pioneer of civil rights, was arrested in 1872 when she had the audacity to try and vote for Ulysses S. Grant in the presidential election. Women weren’t permitted to vote in the U.S. until the 19th Amendment was ratified on August 26th, 1920 which, in our short national history, wasn’t very long ago.

This isn’t a hit piece on the U.S. I love my country and I’m proud of it. But when we sanitize our record to make things seem rosier than they were – we don’t do ourselves any favors. It’s not good for our children to grow up thinking George Washington never told a lie or that Abraham Lincoln loved black people so much he fought the Civil War on their behalf. We have to remember the good with the bad or we end up looking like North Korea and its official state media claim that the first time Kim Jong IL played golf he shot 11 holes in one.

So, the next time you hear Sarah Palin or Barack Obama invoke the loving memory of the Founding Fathers, know full well the irony. If it were left up to the Founders, neither of them would have ever been permitted to vote, govern or, in Obama’s case, live free. The “unalienable” rights endowed by their creator wouldn’t have applied to them.

Comments and criticism are welcome.

See you next week.

BONUS UPDATE 7/24/09, 5:00PM to include:

A reader writes:

Good stuff this week. Any chance on getting your thoughts/opinions in the next
FMF on the current race situation with the Cambridge police/Prof.
Gates/President Obama?

I intentionally avoided this story this week because it has completely saturated the news cycles since the story originally broke. But since you asked, I’ll take a stab.

Personally, I don’t know exactly what happened because I wasn’t there and both sides are telling their own versions of the truth. However, my gut tells me that the professor (while rightfully angry) quickly decided he was going to make a federal case out of the situation. And I’m a little distraught that the cop (Sergeant James Crowley) didn’t see it coming. I know hindsight is 20/20 and I’ve never spent a single day in a cop’s shoes, but someone as experienced as Crowley should have done whatever it took to diffuse the situation – even if that meant leaving while Gates continued to scream. You’re going to end up in the newspapers one way or another, but Crowley made it 10 times worse by cuffing the Harvard professor and locking him up.

As for Obama – I’m furious with how “stupidly” the alleged genius handled the question at his presser on Wednesday night. His words were ill-chosen and way too strong for what (at the end of the day) is little more than a local issue. There are many layers of government and bureaucracy between Cambridge and the White House. He set a bad precedent by involving himself, especially with such strong language. The fact that he knows Gates personally should have made him temper his comments even more, not less. Better yet – don’t comment at all. You’d think POTUS has better things to worry about.

Am I wrong? – RHM

I’m officially taking the day off from the Friday Morning Fix. But instead of leaving the canvas blank for a week I decided to take a post from March, 2008 and share it again. It’s a video from a very funny man named “Uncle Jay” and it’s about how little the United States Congress actually works (with full pay and benefits of course). After you watch the video, take a minute to read my interview with Uncle Jay.

See you next week.

Ok. Let’s get this part out of the way first – Michael Jackson was a musical genius. He will go down in the history books alongside the likes of the Beatles and Elvis Presley who, no doubt, would have been thrilled to see his only daughter marry the King of Pop (as she did in the little town of La Vega, Dominican Republic, not far from where I sit as I write this). In a hundred years, people will still be listening to Jackson’s music. The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus, not so much.

While watching Michael Jackson’s Memorial Service, several thoughts began to emerge. First, and I’m not trying to be a wise-ass here, I was fully prepared for him to emerge from his coffin, moon walk across the stage and announce his last world tour. It honestly would not have surprised me in the least if the whole thing was a PR stunt. Maybe that makes me a bad person, but there was a quantum of skepticism regarding the whole affair that I just couldn’t shake.

Second, the eulogies seemed more like a collective canonization of an artist. Yes, Jackson gave a lot of money to charity. Yes, Jackson was a breakthrough artist who paved the way for many others. But I was reminded of the coverage of Tim Russert’s death last year. I’ll admit, I shed a tear or two when I heard of his passing because watching Meet the Press and discussing it with my father was somewhat of a tradition. However, the media painted Russert’s memorial much as they did Jackson’s – in a fashion typically reserved for heads of state and high level religious leaders. I point this out not to belittle either, but to ask how we determine peoples’ worthiness for such ceremony? What’s the test? Do you have to be able to pay for it yourself? Or do you merely have to be a part of the media which, in these days, loves to cover itself and its own?

Lastly, and most important to me, is Jackson’s admission that he shared his bed with children. His fans have spent the last two weeks touting his acquittals as proof of his innocence of any sort of pedophilia, but I’d remind you that O.J. Simpson was also acquitted of two murders which he obviously committed. Jackson paid millions of dollars in “hush money” and was able to avoid criminal convictions (like O.J.) in trials where a fragment of the evidence would have gotten most “normal” people hard time. As much as I love “Thriller”, it’s hard for me to look the other way on this stuff. What about you?

It’s All About Alaska

Just hours after I published last week’s “Palin-packed” Fix, Sarah “Barracuda” decided to take her ball and go home. The other kids just wouldn’t play nice. She resigned her office and, in doing so, failed to finish even one term as Alaska’s Governor. That’s Mavericky! But it also says something about the current state of the GOP. They circled their wagons and rallied the troops around what conservative Fox News contributor Liz Trotta now calls an “inarticulate” and “under-educated” woman. Remember Liz? She was the one who jokingly wished for the assassination of Sen. Barack Obama.

Question: What took so long for these people to finally realize that Palin is painfully underqualified for just about any position outside of small town politics and most positions within?

I’ll leave you with this poignant quote from one of Andrew Sullivan’s readers this past week:

“One of my disappointments in Palin is that she reinforces negative stereotypes of women in management positions–she doesn’t play well with others, she doesn’t think strategically, everyone is always against her, she’s emotional, she holds a grudge and won’t walk away from a fruitless argument.”

Be sure to watch this Fox News clip of Trotta’s take on Palin.

See you next week.