Forever war? -- Here’s something a lot of people don’t think about. We are a nation at war. Seventeen years. High school kids have never known it any other way. This week, PBS reported the Pentagon says the war in Afghanistan costs taxpayers $45 billion per year. Imagine what we could do with that. And there is no end in sight. Three administrations are on the hook for this one now. This was never the right strategy. Bin Laden was taken out by the CIA and a surgical strike, as it should have been done. You don’t defeat a philosophy with boots on the ground.
Lock him up? -- When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn. That’s the story from the New York Times, which says despite warnings his cellphone calls are not secure, and despite the urging of aids to use the secure landline, he won’t give up his iPhones. “White House officials say they can only hope he refrains from discussing classified information when he is on them.” This is a guy who has the nerve to complain about unsecured email. Sad!
#NotFakeNews -- The Associate Press reported last week on a blog by television news photographer Lori Bentley-Law, who quit the business after 24 years in part because she was tired of the anger directed at her profession. AP’s point, attacks on the national news media by Administration officials and the president is trickling down into local communities. It’s a subject I’ve written about before at my own papers. Extremists on the left brand us conservative, on the right, liberal, and the buildup of animosity has me concerned about sending reporters out to cover things, or who might decide to walk in the door with the wrong intentions. As we have discussed internally, it is no wonder we have trouble filling open positions. It’s hard enough that community journalism isn’t the most lucrative business, it is no help to have prominent voices calling journalism a failing industry and journalists “enemies of the people.”
Hope for the future? -- That said, the Burlington Free Press has a story of of student newspaper censorship, and the Burlington High School editors who won their First Amendment battle. Student journalists at the BHS Register at Burlington High School got word Guidance Director Mario Macias had bee charged with six counts of unprofessional conduct following a year-long investigation By mid-morning the next day, the story had been taken down after pressure from the interim school principal. The editors said they concerned for their supervisor. Support came from the first vice president of the New England First Amendment Coalition and president of the Vermont Press Association, as well as the Student Press Law Center, and by the School Board meeting on Sept. 13, the story was back up. Student journalists were able to use law to fight censorship and prevent the reinstatement of a prior review policy. Well done. Read the full story.
So many lost -- It’s beyond the scope of this simple blog post to comment on the weekend shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, but here’s just one story that stood out: Pittsburgh Shooting Victim Jerry Rabinowitz Treated Gay Men With AIDS Before It Even Had a Name. What a truly wonderful man, who gave of himself at a time when others were afraid to do so, and who made such a difference to so many. And what a terrible, terrible loss.
Sit down, John — Apparently, at 91, William Daniels thwarted a robbery at his home. Firstly, awesome! Secondly, the article makes reference to his role on “Boy Meets World,” but nothing else. Not his turn as the voice of KITT. Definitely not his role in 1776. I have a feeling this says something about my age, and perhaps that of the writer…
Lock him up? -- When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn. That’s the story from the New York Times, which says despite warnings his cellphone calls are not secure, and despite the urging of aids to use the secure landline, he won’t give up his iPhones. “White House officials say they can only hope he refrains from discussing classified information when he is on them.” This is a guy who has the nerve to complain about unsecured email. Sad!
#NotFakeNews -- The Associate Press reported last week on a blog by television news photographer Lori Bentley-Law, who quit the business after 24 years in part because she was tired of the anger directed at her profession. AP’s point, attacks on the national news media by Administration officials and the president is trickling down into local communities. It’s a subject I’ve written about before at my own papers. Extremists on the left brand us conservative, on the right, liberal, and the buildup of animosity has me concerned about sending reporters out to cover things, or who might decide to walk in the door with the wrong intentions. As we have discussed internally, it is no wonder we have trouble filling open positions. It’s hard enough that community journalism isn’t the most lucrative business, it is no help to have prominent voices calling journalism a failing industry and journalists “enemies of the people.”
Hope for the future? -- That said, the Burlington Free Press has a story of of student newspaper censorship, and the Burlington High School editors who won their First Amendment battle. Student journalists at the BHS Register at Burlington High School got word Guidance Director Mario Macias had bee charged with six counts of unprofessional conduct following a year-long investigation By mid-morning the next day, the story had been taken down after pressure from the interim school principal. The editors said they concerned for their supervisor. Support came from the first vice president of the New England First Amendment Coalition and president of the Vermont Press Association, as well as the Student Press Law Center, and by the School Board meeting on Sept. 13, the story was back up. Student journalists were able to use law to fight censorship and prevent the reinstatement of a prior review policy. Well done. Read the full story.
So many lost -- It’s beyond the scope of this simple blog post to comment on the weekend shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, but here’s just one story that stood out: Pittsburgh Shooting Victim Jerry Rabinowitz Treated Gay Men With AIDS Before It Even Had a Name. What a truly wonderful man, who gave of himself at a time when others were afraid to do so, and who made such a difference to so many. And what a terrible, terrible loss.
Sit down, John — Apparently, at 91, William Daniels thwarted a robbery at his home. Firstly, awesome! Secondly, the article makes reference to his role on “Boy Meets World,” but nothing else. Not his turn as the voice of KITT. Definitely not his role in 1776. I have a feeling this says something about my age, and perhaps that of the writer…
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