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News Cut: August 5, 2009 Archive

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Five at 8 - 8/5/09

Posted at 7:40 AM on August 5, 2009 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)

Ripped from the headlines during the dog days of August...

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1) Don Hinz' P-51 returns home to Fleming Field at South St. Paul this afternoon. The Woodbury man used it in an education program to teach students and others about the Tuskegee Airmen. He crashed and was killed in Red Wing several years ago. The Red Tail Project has been restoring the plane. It made its debut last week at the big air show in Oshkosh.

2) Approximately 23.6 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes and it is believed that 25 percent don't even know it, the New York Times reports. "With vigilant monitoring and self-control, Type 2 diabetes can be kept under control. Six men and women speak about living with diabetes." Nice feature.

3) How to join the mob. We don't hear a lot about organized crime out here in flyover country. But in Philadelphia, it's an art form. George Anastasia, the crime reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirier provides some video tutorials on the "rules" of the mob on this Web site. I found out about it via a journalism blog today that indicated the ad at the beginning of the videos shows how desperate newspapers are for cash. The ad is from a strip club.

Speaking of the mob, City Pages' Hart Van Denburg looks at the Twin Cities' social media mafia. Who are the big thugs?

4) Discussion point: How do we have productive political discussions?

A couple of videos and incidents have been buzzing around the Internet in recent days. There's this one from a Pennsylvania town hall forum last weekend.



And this one -- originally posted on Polinaut -- from a candidate in Toledo:



Are these indicative of anything? Do we not bother discussing things with politicians because we don't think politicians listen? Here's a Rep. Keith Ellison video being circulated. People make their points -- fairly respectfully -- and he moves on to the next question rather than discuss the point.



Is the "town hall forum" dead? Why do politicians keep having them?

"The level of intelligent discourse in this country -- whether it be arguing about easily checked facts on like Obama's birthplace or something far more complicated like health care -- has reach abominable lows, with far too many people willing to scream instead of listening, egged on by a media that craves ratings more than truth," Mark Willen writes on kiplinger.com.

Was there ever a period of a "high" level of political discourse in America? When?

5) Quick! Name a living scientist! Now name one who's not Stephen Hawking. Don't feel bad. You're not alone.

Bonus: Clunkers by the numbers. Eighty-three percent of the vehicles traded in are SUVs or trucks.

TODAY'S QUESTION

The national debate continues over efforts to reform the country's system of providing and paying for health care. Political leaders, interest groups and care providers are sparring daily in the media and halls of government. What's missing from the health care debate?

WHAT WE'RE DOING

Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) - First hour: Hooman Majd, Iranian-American journalist and author of "The Ayatollah Begs to Differ." Second hour: Daniel Silva, author of the new book, "The Defector."

By the way, tomorrow morning at 9, I'll be live-blogging a Midmorning show about booze at the new Gophers' stadium.

Midday (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - First hour: Former congressman Tim Penny will be in the studio to talk about the federal deficit and the state budget problems. Second hour: Stanford University scientist Nathan Wolfe, speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival about the transmission of viruses.

Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) - First hour: Rep. Joe Sestak, a Democratic congressman who'll challenge Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA). Then, Peter Segal of Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me! (Incidentally, the end of his segment with Chuck Barris last week was drive-off-the-road funny) Second hour: A teenager during the Watts Riots, Walter Mosley was astonished to find his father, the most law-abiding man he knew harbored deep anger. Understanding that rage became essential to the crime novels he wrote as an adult.

All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) - Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, where a growing number of businesses are adding signs in the Ojibwe language.

From Washington, Audie Cornish profiles Aaron Schock, the youngest member of the House of Representatives. He's 28.

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(9 Comments)

Newspapers without the paper

Posted at 11:15 AM on August 5, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Economy, Media

In a world of a 24-hour news cycle, If you're not publishing daily, are you still a newspaper?

The Red Wing Republican Eagle announced today that it will publish only two days a week starting in September.

"We will deliver more local news to subscribers -- but twice a week in larger newspapers instead of in five smaller papers. This change will allow our staff to concentrate only on the local market," publisher Steve Messick said on the Web site today.

It's another attempt to save money but right off the bat, revenue from subscriptions will drop by about $50 per subscriber.

It's not a new concept, of course. The Capital Times of Madison switched to a twice-a-week print schedule more than a year ago, also promising to put more energy into its Web site. The Detroit Free Press publishes only three times a week.

More than 100 newspapers nationwide have made the cut, according to Editor & Publisher magazine. So far, nobody's died because of it, and most of the problems the move causes seem generally to involve the comics and Friday night high school football scores.

(4 Comments)

The Kleenex channel

Posted at 12:19 PM on August 5, 2009 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)
Filed under: Life

Watching the return of the journalists from captivity in North Korea this morning, it hit me: Why isn't there a TV channel with nothing but tearful reunions?

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How can you beat the surprise appearance of a returning soldier/parent at a kid's classroom?

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video.

Or the happy endings when lost kids are found:

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It doesn't even have to be just people. Like this reunion of a man a few months ago and the dog he lost during Hurricane Katrina:

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Tearful reunions are a good reminder that in the big scheme of things, not much else matters but those you've been waiting for.

(2 Comments)

Working late

Posted at 1:21 PM on August 5, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Life

Jack Borden of Dallas was honored this afternoon as the nation's "Outstanding Oldest Worker for 2009," which -- now that I think of it -- is an odd name for an award.

Border is a practicing lawyer. He's also 101. He gets to his office at 6:30 in the morning, leaves around 6 in the afternoon and takes a 45-minute nap in between, the Dallas Morning News reports.

"People ask me why I'm still working," he said. "When I was 5 years old, my dad handed me a hoe and said the corn needs weeding. And that's how I got started."

(1 Comments)

The unanswered question

Posted at 1:29 PM on August 5, 2009 by Bob Collins (8 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice

It wasn't that long ago that the story of someone walking into a fitness club and opening fire because he couldn't get a date would dominate an entire news cycle. Now, these things slip deeper into a newscast.

George Sodini killed three women and wounded nine others in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. Police say he may have fired as many as 52 shots before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide.

Mass shooting after mass shooting after mass shooting, the question is always the same. Why? Even when we have the answer, we still have the question.

Sodini kept a Web diary on which he laments his inability to get a date and says "the worst people by far are the religious types."

Which makes one of his last entries -- Monday's -- all the more strange:

Unfortunately I talked to my neighbor today, who is very positive and upbeat. I need to remain focused and absorbed COMPLETELY. Last time I tried this, in January, I chickened out. Lets see how this new approach works.

Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell. Christ paid for EVERY sin, so how can I or you be judged BY GOD for a sin when the penalty was ALREADY paid. People judge but that does not matter. I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them.

His Web site has been taken down but wikileaks.org has the diary posted.

(8 Comments)

Little evidence that sexual orientation change efforts work

Posted at 4:57 PM on August 5, 2009 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Health

Case closed. There's no evidence that therapy can transform a homosexual into a straight person. So says the American Psychological Association, which approved two years of research on a 125-to-4 vote at its annual convention.

"There's no evidence to say that change therapies work, but these vulnerable people are tempted to try them, and when they don't work, they feel doubly terrified," said Judith Glassgold, who chaired a task force. "You should be honest with people and say, 'This is not likely to change your sexual orientation, but we can help explore what options you have.'"

At issue is how therapists should handle gay clients who are caught between their sexual identity and a religion that disapproves of them. One of the solutions, the report said, is suggesting they change churches.

Dr. Warren Throckmorton, who writes a blog at Crosswalk.com, sees elements of the report differently from its bottom line, and suggests there's a solution to gays in crisis with their faith:

There are different assumptions about what best constitutes the answer to the question: 'who am I?' This paper nicely addresses these assumptions and acknowledges that people who are deeply committed to a non-gay-affirming religious position may stay same-sex attracted but not identify as gay. As the paper notes, this is an acceptable alternative.

... which sounds somewhat like a "don't ask don't tell" policy to oneself. But the report makes clear that -- at least in terms of therapy -- the issue isn't necessarily only about how one lives out one's sexual orientation, but also about how one identifies his or her sexual orientation, suggesting the two are not always the same.

Here's the full report.

(1 Comments)

Return of the Red Tail

Posted at 8:25 PM on August 5, 2009 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Icons

As I mentioned in the Five at 8 post this morning, the red-tailed P-51 Mustang, which crashed in Red Wing, killing pilot Don Hinz years ago, returned to South St. Paul's Fleming Field today after years of restoration by the Red Tail Project. It's a traveling piece of history to educate people about the Tuskegee Airmen.

I didn't make it out to the ceremony this afternoon, but I happened to be standing by the runway Wednesday evening when it went out for its evening constitution with its hangar mate.

(4 Comments)
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