
Friday, December 28, 2012
A Christmas Surprise

Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Parallels in History
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Abraham Lincoln, March 6, 1865 |
I saw the movie Lincoln the day after the Newtown school massacre. The movie focused on the drive to get the 13th Amendment to the Constitution passed by the House before the end of the Civil War. The amendment outlawed slavery. You might think that after four years of war costing 600,000 American lives with the South in absolute ruins, the abolition of slavery would have sailed through the House after passing the Senate. Instead, President Lincoln faced daunting obstacles, especially from House Democrats. There were people close to his own administration who thought his amendment was lost and he couldn't get the votes. The powerful forces of resistance in the North - as well as the slaveholding border states which did not secede - provided almost as great an impediment to change as the armed uprising of the ten Confederate states of the South. The permanent nationwide end to slavery was by no means guaranteed. Lincoln was a shrewd politician, but he was resolute in making sure the end of the Civil War meant slavery anywhere in the United States was gone for good. If a bloody Civil War couldn't eradicate this shameful institution from our society, what would it take? There was more than a century of work to be done, but President Lincoln prevailed.
We have seen our 2nd Amendment uncompromisingly defended by a powerful gun lobby for decades, led by the leadership and lobbyists of the National Rifle Association. The NRA typically stays silent immediately after any mass shootings, and that pattern has continued after the Newtown tragedy. With the murder of twenty innocent young children and six adults, their unfounded fear mongering about the administration attacking 2nd Amendment rights has run its course. This time, Newtown has changed everything. Politicians, clergy and other disgusted citizens are not backing down. Has any rational supporter of gun restrictions advocated outlawing handguns for defending your home or rifles for hunting? No. Does anyone think reinstating the assault weapons ban will totally end our problems? Of course not. Do we have to look at how we've emphasized the entertainment value of violence throughout our culture? That's at least as important in addressing the root causes. We need to rethink our mental health system and focus on personal responsibility. Addressing our culture of violence should be this generation's call to action. President Obama is determined to prevail.
One more thought... Does government need to "put God back" in our schools, as some suggest? Look at the beautiful, innocent victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School along with the heroes who worked to protect them and those who comfort their families. How can you believe in God and think God ever left because of a 1963 Supreme Court ruling on prayer? We find God where we choose to look.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
What Can We Finally Learn From This?

Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Radio Pranks
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DJs Michael Christian & Mel Greig |
As radio prank calls go, this one seems tame by comparison. Australian radio personality Mel Greig pretended to be Queen Elizabeth checking with the hospital on the condition of Prince William's wife Kate Middleton and managed to get answers from a nurse there. After the call was revealed to be a hoax, the nurse later committed suicide. The DJs involved have been suspended and are obviously devastated. The suspension may be appropriate, since their careers are not the number one concern at the moment. Beyond this unintended tragedy, I am reminded of prank radio station phone calls and stunts that have made their unwitting targets look very bad and could have easily led to equally disastrous results. Here in the New London market alone, there was a DJ who made outrageous prank calls and got people extremely upset - all in the name of shock value entertainment. In another instance our WBMW morning show was the target of syndicated shock jocks Opie & Anthony, who had an axe to grind with the owner of our station and decided to take it out on me and my co-host. They'd take audio clips from our show and make fun of us as "whitebread local radio". A couple of their stooges even prank-called us, joking about something personal to do with my co-host. At the time we ignored them and they predictably moved on within two days to trash someone else. As broadcasters, being a target can be a hazard of the occupation, but most are not expecting to be ridiculed in front of a less than sympathetic audience. Radio personalities repeatedly prove there's plenty of money and ratings in making others look bad, but once in a while there are consequences.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Phony War
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From MSNBC |
Merry Christmas? Happy Holidays? I don't really have a preference. I stick to the "holidays" greeting more because it incorporates the New Year than because of any religious observance. If someone wishes me a Merry Christmas, they shouldn't have to worry about offending me if by chance I'm not a Christian. Christmas has been the dominant holiday, and our very secular retail landscape guarantees that fact for years to come. Nonetheless, Fox News claims every year that there is a "War on Christmas" led by the crowd Bill O'Reilly calls the "secularists". Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee found himself on the receiving end of Fox News criticism when he referred to the state "holiday tree". I agree that this is a bit too politically correct even for my left of center leanings. It's a Christmas tree, for cryin' out loud! While Fox and company pounced on the governor with the idea that the state was distancing itself too much from a ceremony based on Christianity, one Providence radio host who said he was Jewish suggested the state should just step aside and let the private sector sponsor whatever religiously connected symbolism they want. Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams as a place for religious tolerance. Maybe the state should separate itself from something the church and private enterprise are perfectly capable of handling. On Capitol Hill in DC, congressmen can take a break from lighting Christmas trees and stay with the business of giving us all a Christmas present: avoiding the looming fiscal cliff.
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