Gripers, beware!
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri has an idea that deserves to pass Congress 535-0. Cleaver, a Democrat, is looking for co-sponsors of his resolution designating next Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, as “Complaint Free Wednesday.” In a letter to colleagues, Cleaver writes that everyone experiences occasional “anxiety, frustration, stress and regret,” which can give rise to bellyaching. “Complaining keeps people stuck on current problems, inhibiting them from thinking constructively to find solutions,” he writes. “Research has also shown that complaining can be harmful to one’s emotional and physical health; relationships; and can limit professional career success.” His resolution recognizes the group Complaint Free World, whose goal is to get 1 percent of the world’s population (about 60 million people) to be complaint free. A gimmick? Publicity stunt? Maybe — but you won’t hear us complaining about it.
General perspective
Gen. George Casey, the Army’s chief of staff, has a perspective problem. At least it seems so after an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday in which Casey talked about the Fort Hood massacre that claimed 13 lives. The general got to talking about the effect of the shootings on the Army’s efforts to maintain a diverse fighting force, and clearly years and years of military indoctrination on diversity as a societal virtue have affected Casey’s thinking. “Our diversity, not only in our Army but in our country is a strength,” Casey said. No problem, general. But he went on: “And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse.” Americans get the diversity message, but you can’t compare that with the loss of soldiers’ lives at Fort Hood. You just can’t.
Fore!
Back during the Bush administration it always seemed petty when it was implied George W. Bush somehow was being derelict when he took time off from work to chill out at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. The line of questioning to his press secretary would go something like, “How can the president justify taking a vacation when the country is at war, the economy’s a mess and there are starving children in Darfur?” Similarly, the press is gigging President Barack Obama for the number of times he has played golf since taking office — 24 in just over nine months, to be exact. CBS’ Mark Knoller tweets that it took Bush nearly three years to play that much golf. There’s just no rest for the weary — or golf, either.
Happy birthday, Coach
Congratulations and best wishes to basketball coaching legend John Wooden, who turned 99 this week. Besides his on-court achievements (10 NCAA championships at UCLA), Wooden is notable for an approach to life many of his former players say was more important than anything he taught them about basketball — captured in aphorisms such as “never mistake activity for achievement,” “ability is a poor man’s wealth” and “be quick but don’t hurry.” Another Woodenism reflects his sense of self: “Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” Short and to the point, John Wooden’s timeless way.
‘Green Revolution’ father passes
Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman E. Borlaug died Saturday in Dallas. His 95 years on earth were literally fruitful, as he probably did more than anyone in modern history to help the world feed itself with research breakthroughs in plant pathology. Acclaimed as the father of the Green Revolution, Borlaug’s advances in developing disease- and insect-resistant crops dramatically increased food production in Latin America and Asia, earning him the Nobel prize in 1970. At times he was criticized by environmentalists and others who said he created more problems than he solved. According to The New York Times, Borlaug shrugged them off as rich elites who never had to worry about where their next meal was coming from. One expert told The Times about half the world’s population goes to bed each night after eating grain descended from one of the high-yield varieties developed by Borlaug and his colleagues. Talk about impact.
No parole for Manson family member
Convicted Manson Family murderer Susan Atkins was denied parole in California this week despite pleas from her husband and other supporters that the 61-year-old be released because she’s terminally ill with brain cancer and has just months to live. Atkins has served 38 years of a life sentence for her part in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca slayings whose victims included actress Sharon Tate. “Sexy Sadie,” as Atkins was called by cult leader Charles Manson, showed no remorse during her trial, but reportedly became a model prisoner. Her husband argued she should be released partly because it costs California $17,000 a year to maintain her in prison. Family members of the victims strongly urged the parole board to keep Atkins locked up. The board agreed, properly reasoning that such hearings actually are about victims of crime, who in Atkins’ case can’t speak for themselves. Said Sharon Tate’s sister, Debra: “I will pray for (Atkins’) soul when she draws her last breath, but until then I think she should remain in this controlled situation.”
Novak’s passing
The passing of reporter/columnist Robert Novak on Tuesday really marks the passing of a genre of journalism. Years ago there were a number of journalists doing what Novak and his former partner, Rowland Evans, did together for nearly 40 years — which is to say gathering information for the express purpose of building the foundation for a point of view, a column. Now Web blogs are the rage. Novak was unique even in that golden age of gumshoe, not-a-face-for-television columnizing (though his mug became commonly associated with CNN’s “Crossfire”). Novak was conservative, but not entirely predictable, relentless professionally but genial personally. The so-called “Prince of Darkness,” almost always clad in a black, vested suit, worked hard communicating the unvarnished truth about the many politicians he knew, few of whom he liked. He leaves quite a void in the public square.
Cronkite’s enduring contributions
Tributes to Walter Cronkite will pour in throughout the weekend. It’s doubtful there will ever be anyone like Cronkite again — especially considering that broadcast television news is unlikely to ever again command the kind of audiences Cronkite did at the apex of his career, when 20 million Americans watched the “CBS Evening News.” He anchored that broadcast from 1962-81 and became the most trusted man in America, according to a poll in the early 1970s. Cronkite was the consummate newsman, rising to the anchor’s chair after starting as a wire-service reporter. With his passing it’ll be interesting to see new analysis of his career, which included a number of seminal moments — like his 1968 commentary during one broadcast that basically declared the Vietnam War unwinnable and helped President Lyndon Johnson decide not to run for re-election. If Cronkite wasn’t the original synthesizer of fact and analysis on TV, he probably did more than anyone else to legitimize it.
Fehr no more
News that baseball players union chief Donald Fehr plans to retire by next March won’t be greeted by sorrow in the executive offices and board rooms of the individual major league clubs. Over a 30-plus-year career with the players association, the last 25 as its leader, Fehr chiseled a reputation as a humorless, tough negotiator totally devoted to the people signing his paycheck, the ballplayers. That focus translated into a rise in the average player’s salary from $289,000 in 1983 to $2.9 million last year, according to the Associated Press. The players will be hard-pressed to get someone as hard-edged working for them after Fehr leaves.
The flip side to Fehr were player strikes, one of which wrecked the 1994 season and resulted in cancellation of the World Series that year. Fehr also spearheaded general player opposition to drug testing until 2002, which helped enable a long-running steroids scandal that will trouble baseball for years to come. Understandably, player salaries and their privacy rights were Fehr’s primary concern, not the game’s fans. As such the reviews on Fehr’s contributions are likely to be mixed.
The Obamas’ date night
The Obamas probably already knew this, but there’s no such thing as the president of the United States and the first lady “sneaking off” anywhere to do anything. The Obama’s recent weekend dash to New York City for dinner and a Broadway show were described by some that way. But no, the Obamas’ days of skipping out to the malt shop for a quick, intimate date are over.
The Washington Times estimates the New York sojourn might have cost taxpayers $250,000 once you include the helicopter trips (including decoys) from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base and from John F. Kennedy Airport to a Manhattan helipad. You’d also have the Washington-to-New York flight itself, including accompanying Air Force fighter jets and a huge military cargo plane to carry motorcade vehicles. Then there’s Secret Service, local police and other security personnel. And the list goes on.
The Times notes the Obamas probably paid for the cost of dinner and the show, maybe a few hundred dollars at most. In fairness, the president and his family can’t walk around the block without a lot of the aforementioned security people involved, so some of the New York expense would’ve been incurred even if the Obamas spent a weekend at Camp David watching Netflix.
Yet, flights on aircraft that guzzle jet fuel like there’s no tomorrow quickly jack up this trip’s cost and, as Joseph Curl of The Times points out, recall Obama’s criticism of CEOs who jet around the country on corporate planes that are so unavailable to most Americans — as is the ability to scoot off to the Big Apple for a dinner/date.
