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Here's Hopin' For The Open: Rafa in Round One


(Look who's happy now?)

Congrats to my main man, Rafael Nadal, for a strong and convincing win in his 1st round match at the US Open. It was a tough match thanks to great play by his opponent, Teymuraz Gabashvili from Russia. Sill Rafa won in straight sets - 7-6, 7-6, 6-3.

At this year's Open, Rafa is bidding to become only the seventh player in history to complete the career Grand Slam. If he does so, he'd be the youngest man in tennis history to achieve such an incredible task. He'd also have a 9th Grand Slam title, and have won three of four slams for the year which is pretty amazing. It's not gonna be easy, but it's obvious Rafa really wants it. He's in the best physical health he's ever been this late in the season. He's had a so-so American hardcourt run this summer, but seeing him play tonight, I gotta like his chances to at least make the semis again this year.

Rafa's also outfitted this year in black and florescent yellow. His shirt looks a little armor-plated. His fashion sense is always a little out there, but this one seems more normal than other looks he's had in the past. I have tickets to the Open on Monday, and I really hope Rafa is playing in the night session. That would be AMAZING. Vamos, Rafa!


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Fall Fashion Show Coming Up!














Save the date! Renee's fall fashion show to benefit Deaconess Children's Services will take place on Fri., Oct. 1, 2010 at 6 pm at Floral Hall in Forest Park. The evening also includes a wine auction, beautiful desserts, a raffle, and an inspirational key note speaker.

Admission: a bottle of lovely wine for the auction.

Attire: "Wear what makes you comfortable, darling!"

Reservations are required. RSVP: 425-259-0146x101 or spfeiffer@deaconesschildren.org.

Donations will be requested to benefit Deaconess Children's Services.

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Traveling to L.A.


Our manager Mike and assistant manager Cara just returned from a weekend in L.A. They had conferences and meeting out west that focused on organizational techniques and ways to optimize business growth. These types of conferences help business owners collaborate together with new ideas and methods that can benefit everyone.

There are lots of fun traveling opportunities that DBC provides for the employees. We certainly are happy to have our manager and assistant manager back in the office and we are excited to put their new knowledge to use!

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The Cuccinelli subpoena ruling, balance and values . . .

 "This old buzzard, having failed to raise the mob against its 
rulers, now prepares to raise it against its teachers."
H.L. Mencken
Scopes Monkey Trial
July 16, 1925

Sadly, I didn't find the above Mencken quote on my own, but lifted it from Slate, which, on May 24th, pointed out that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli had recently filed a civil subpoena against the University of Virginia.
As Courtney Stuart first reported last week in Charlottesville's The Hook, Cuccinelli's office quietly filed a civil investigative demand (or CID, which is basically a subpoena) with the University of Virginia on April 23, giving the school 30 days to produce more than 10 years' worth of documents related to the state-funded research of a former faculty member, Michael Mann. Operating under the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, the CID seeks from the university, among other things, "any correspondence, messages or emails" to or from Mann and 40 named climate scientists; any documents sent to or from Mann that reference any of those 40 scientists; and any "documents, things or data" submitted in support of any of five different grant applications that amounted, in total, to almost $500,000. The university is also expected to turn over "any and all emails or pieces of correspondence from or to Dr. Michael Mann since he left the University of Virginia." 
 The action was dismissed yesterday by retired Albemarle County Circuit Court Judge Paul M. Peatross, Jr.
[ From an article in this morning's Cavalier Daily] Peatross held that Cuccinelli does not have “unbridled discretion” to review professors and instead must found civil investigative demands on an “objective basis.”
In turn, the ruling did not directly address issues of academic freedom, Schragger said, “because [Cuccinelli] did not even meet the minimum demand of investigative requirement.”
Virginia's Attorney General's office promptly issued a press release headlined "Attorney General Cuccinelli pleased with aspects of UVA CID ruling," in which Cuccinelli claimed partial victory in the judge's ruling. 
“While this was not an outright ruling in our favor I am pleased that the judge has agreed with my office on several key legal points and has given us a framework for issuing a new civil investigative demand to get the information necessary to continue our investigation into whether or not fraud has been committed against the commonwealth.”

Attorney General Cuccinelli has long been publicly skeptical about global warming, stoutly maintaining that scientists have skewed their data in order to claim the world is heating up. If that's so, Cuccinelli has unearthed a conspiracy of unprecedented size, since the scientific evidence for global warming is broad-based and overwhelming. Does our Attorney General really think it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth of Virginia to spend our scarce dollars attacking a scientific finding that, for some reason, appears to make him personally uneasy?  The Commonwealth has many pressing needs.

Yesterday, I blogged about conservative Victor David Hanson's column in the National Review in which he outlined the 6 basic reasons for the anger that sent 100,000 Americans to Washington on Saturday to "restore honor" with Glenn Beck. One of the reasons Dr. Hanson listed was frustration with the courts striking down (on pesky legal grounds) laws advancing conservative social values. So do these people Mr. Hanson talks about want legal decisions made by majority opinion? Do Mr. Beck and his followers really think we should ignore the parts of the Constitution that establish the courts' responsibilities?

Mr. Beck and Mr. Cuccinelli both appear to demonstrate by their actions that they feel their personal values trump both science and the Constitution.

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American anger, civilly expressed . . .

Long, long, ago, when I was young and easy, William F. Buckley ran for mayor of New York City. I got to hear a few of his witty, erudite speeches when they were broadcast by some NYC station big enough to reach my Massachusetts boarding school, and I have been a fan of  the late Mr. Buckley and his National Review ever since.

It's one of the sources I turn to when I need to understand the conservative's point of view.

This Saturday, close to 100,000 folks answered Glenn Beck's call to rally in Washington to hear Sarah Palin, Mr. Beck and others tell them what God wants for America. This, to me, means that Mr. Beck's message, whatever it is, resonates deeply with a lot of people in this country. And so yesterday I turned to the National Review to try to understand why this is so and came across an excellent article by Victor Davis Hanson on "The Sources of American Anger."

Mr. Hanson lists 6 issues he sees as underlying the anger of those who find inspiration in the messages of Mr. Beck, Ms. Palin, and others of similar political and religious persuasion..

Here they are, much abridged. . .
1. Two sets of rules. The public senses there are two standards in America — one for elite overseers, quite another for the supposedly not-to-be-trusted public. The anger over this hypocrisy surfaces over matters from the trivial to the profound. . .
2. The bigot card. In reductionist terms, the public now accepts that when particular groups fail to win a 51 percent majority on a particular issue, they resort to invoking racism and prejudice. . .
3. The law? What law? Americans accept that they cannot pass legislation in violation of the Constitution. But they do not believe that a single judge can nullify the electoral will of millions without good cause. Thus in Arizona and California, there is a sense that judges who favor open borders or gay marriage are willing to use the pretense of constitutional issues to enact such agendas despite their current unpopularity . . .
4. The futility of taxes. We talk of returning to the Clinton income-tax schedules. Yet in the late 1990s, those hikes ended up, along with the Republican cuts in mandates, balancing the budget — without new health-care surcharges, or talk of a VAT, or caps lifted off income subject to Social Security taxes. Not now. The public recognizes that the advocates of higher taxes are not willing to make the sort of across-the-board spending cuts that once succeeded in balancing the budget. In other words, those who will start paying much more of their income to the government in the form of taxes fret that, unlike the 1990s, this time the additional federal revenue won’t balance the budget, and will be all for naught. . .
5. Disingenuousness. There is also a growing belief that the Obama administration is advancing an agenda that it cannot be fully candid about, because that agenda does not command broad support. As a result, we are habitually asked to believe that what administration appointees or supporters say is not what they really mean, or at least was taken out of context. . . . All this dissimulation started with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose mistake was not saying the outrageous things he said — Mr. Obama and the compliant media had contextualized his corpus of hate well enough — but finally insulting the media at the National Press Club. The former was seen as a misdemeanor; the latter proved a felony. . . .Do Obama supporters, then, reveal their true beliefs only in gaffes and unguarded moments, while filling their official statements and communiqués with pretense?
6. A culpable America? Finally, the public has added up the apology tours, the bowing, and the constant emphasis on race, class, and gender crimes, and concluded that this administration sees America, past and present, as the story of a culpable majority denying noble minorities their rights — period. . . .Surely someone in the past — perhaps even white males — must have been doing something right for America to evolve into a place that our present-day critics apparently enjoy.
Do read Mr. Hanson's entire article if you have time. But, more importantly, think about what he's saying. And, if you're not a believer in all things Glenn Beck-ian, try walking around in a believer's shoes for just a moment or two and viewing this country from that angle.

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Dig*In 2010

Yesterday, hubby and I attended the first Dig*IN event at White River State Park. Dig*IN was an event featuring growers and chefs from Indiana (mainly from Indianapolis, but there were some exceptions). There was also live music, discussion panels, cooking demonstrations, and wine and beer tastings. The chefs all prepared small dishes highlighting Indiana meat and produce and with the price of your admission, you could eat what you liked (a la Zoobilation if you have been, although there was much more focus at Dig*IN on local producers).

For an inaugural event, it seems like this event was quite a success. The crowds were large and the weather was great (if not a little too hot, but who's complaining?). People seemed very excited about the event and the enthusiasm showed. We couldn't stay for more than a couple hours, and of course, I mainly hit on the food part of the event (go figure), so I am just going to comment on a few of my favorite things I ate. There was so much to taste, but these are the ones that stand out in my mind (and I didn't get to try every single thing as a few booths ran out of food while we were there, or else the lines were just too long). If you were there, and partook of more of the other parts of the event (speakers, etc) I would love to hear your feedback. I would also love to hear your favorite food items as well (like I said, I missed a few!).

Some of my favorite things:


Peach smoked pork shoulder with peaches and blueberries on a crispy fried wonton from the Indiana Downs Restaurant (pictured with the little mini burger from Joseph Decuis. We'll get to that one in a minute.): The lady who was handing this out, said, "it's peach smoked pork, honey!" when asked what was being served. I have to say, this was one that took me by surprise coming from a local horse racing track. The pork was so tender it practically melted in your mouth and the sweetness from the fruit was great with it. And the wonton stayed crispy the entire time adding nice texture. I have now added this place to my list for sure. And I have never bet on horses, who knows, maybe it will be fun too!

Mini Wagyu beef burgers from Joseph Decuis: This place has been on my list already for awhile and now I know, for good reason. What a yummy little morsel--super tender grilled Wagyu beef burgers with goat cheese mousse and a spicy ketchup. Just the smell of these things grilling was a huge lure.

Tamale from Chef Steven Unrue of Tasting-A Wine Experience: These little rounds of tamales had a great corn flavor (surprised not to see more corn at this event) with spicy salsa and sour cream. This dish was different from most of the other things, and was quite well done. Again, another restaurant I have not yet been to that has moved up the list.

Lamb Sausage from Chef JJ's Backyard: This was a yummy piece of lamb sausage that were marinated in Indiana beer and then smoked on the Big Green Egg. The sausage had a great smoky flavor and was topped with a yogurt sauce. I enjoyed the tangy sauce combined with the rich, smoky meat. (Check out all that sausage cooking on the egg!)

Tomato/Goat Cheese from Chef Thom England and Ivy Tech Culinary School: This was simple but had a great combo of super fresh flavors. It was one slice of tomato, a dollop of soft goat cheese, slivers of basil and, the thing that made it shine, smoked salt from Hickoryworks. The smoky salt added just a bit of crunch and the nice salty edge that tomatoes love so much.

Watermelon Jalapeno Ice from H2O: What a great refresher on such a hot day. Tasted like pure frozen watermelon with just a hint of spice from the jalapeno. It hit the spot.

I could go on and on, and as I said, I didn't get to try everything, but these were my highlights. I think this event was a great way to showcase the amazing bounty Indiana offers and I hope to attend many more in the coming years. And don't forget, if you were there, tell me what you liked, or didn't, and what were your overall thoughts on the event. I would love to know.


Dig*In
A Taste of Indiana
http://www.digindiana.org/

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2010 Emmys: We're All A Bunch of Bucky Gunts Here

(Ricky is thrilled with how the awards are going on Sunday night, and i can't say I disagree, even if I picked almost none of them. Not even Bucky Gunts.)

It always seems a little silly to comment on an awards show days after it happened. At this point in time everyone has forgotten about it, except the people who won (and, I guess, the people who lost) . This year's show, however, turned out to be especially amusing, because of my early predictions. Before the show started, I jotted down who/what I thought would win in the major categories and it looked a little something like this:

Outstanding Drama Series - Mad Men
Outstanding Comedy Series - Glee
Outstanding Lead Actor, Drama - John Hamm, Mad Men
Outstanding Lead Actor, Comedy - Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Outstanding Lead Actress, Drama - Juliana Marguilles, The Good Wife
Outstanding Lead Actress. Comedy - Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Outstanding Supporting Actor, Drama - Terry O'Quinn, LOST
Outstanding Supporting Actor, Comedy - Chris Colfer, Glee
Outstanding Supporting Actress, Drama - Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Outstanding Supporting Actress, Comedy - Jane Lynch, Glee
Outstanding Reality Competition - Amazing Race

Of these 11 categories, I was correct only 3 times. I predicted Mad Men, Edie Falco and Jane Lynch. I was wrong about everything else. Damn, Emmys. Usually you are so predictable! This year there were so many first time winners. You really spread the love around. Well played.

I must say well played to Jimmy Fallon too. It's not like everything he did worked. The internet inspired intros were a bust and he relied on his guitar too often, but the Glee-inspired opening sequence was so awesome he built himself enough good will to carry him through the rest of the show. Plus it ended on time! So good work, Fallon. I was impressed.

And before we move on from this forever, I must mention the fun appearance by Ricky Gervais who delighted so much in the name "Bucky Gunts" as a nominee, that he pretty much jumped out of his skin when Bucky actually won. I hope Gervais brings that enthusiasm and humor to his return gig at the Golden Globes. That would be delightful!

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Civic Soapbox Friday


Marriage Rights for All 
by George Kamide

When I married the girl of my dreams in July, a friend said, "Welcome to the club."

As a new member of the married club, I want to voice my vehement opposition to Proposition 8 and all other measures to prohibit gay marriage. Such measures relegate homosexuals to second-class citizens. These laws are discriminatory and, frankly, un-American, flying in the face of what this country stands for.

Proposition 8 baffles the mind. Legislating minority rights by referendum is, at best, specious reasoning, and at worst, exemplifies what Plato called the "tyranny of the majority."

Opponents of gay marriage see a threat to traditional definitions of marriage. I suppose that depends on how far back in the tradition one wishes to go. Would most women today be willing to take traditional vows that include total subservience to the groom? If not, then we could settle on a more recent definition of marriage by re-enacting Virginia's own Racial Integrity Act. Blood tests for everyone! However, if that were still the definition of marriage, I would represent a felony for my Japanese father and American mother.

While my wife and I were on our honeymoon in Belize, we had the pleasure of meeting another couple on their honeymoon. While talking over drinks and watching a tropical sunset, I could see that these two women were just as starry-eyed and madly in love and ridiculously happy as we were. Despite the rapturous mood and idyllic setting, I was pained by the idea that these two women might be denied the same rights accorded to me and my wife.

"Civil Union," is what some would propose as the answer: full marriage rights without calling it marriage. This term is little more than compromise to the point of condescension. To give, but not fully, smacks of a "separate but equal” ideology. And therein lies the rub: This issue is not the gay and lesbian struggle for legality, as some have framed the debate. It is one of human dignity. This is a familiar struggle in our history; the yearning of a marginalized group for that most American of rights: equality.

Despite Judge Vaughn Walker's well-reasoned ruling on Proposition 8, the opposition is crying foul and denouncing another so-called "activist judge." They have again forgotten their history. The first battles for equal rights are usually won in the courts before the legislatures. The ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education came a full decade before the Civil Rights Act was signed into law. It is unfortunate that legalized discrimination is a recurring theme in this country's history. But I am heartened by the fact that so is the persistent struggle for justice.

Finally, for any who remain on the fence about this issue, I would pose this question: When the world is doing its best to tear itself apart with hate and intolerance, why are we so eager to stop two people from declaring their commitment to love one other forever?

                                --George Kamide and his wife, Lindsay, live in Greene County. 

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The story of an NPR story . . .

Arnie Kahn
Thought you might be interested in knowing the way an NPR story develops when it originates at a local station. In this case, I'm the reporter and WMRA is the station.

From the beginning. . .

I know JMU psychology professor Arnie Kahn mostly from the campus gym, UREC, where we both go to work out. He and I occasionally chat about politics or NPR or the latest Civic Soapbox. I always value what Arnie has to say, either in person or as comments on the WMRA blog or Facebook page.

A couple of weeks ago, Arnie asked when I was going to start reporting again.

Hmmmmmm. . . to coin an expression. Arnie had just made me realize how long it had been since I'd done an actual on-air story. Maybe it was time to squeeze one in amidst all the writing, blogging, Facebooking, and editing?

 * * * * *

Jessica Francis Kane
A couple of years ago, Jessica Francis Kane did a fine Civic Soapbox called "Raising the Stakes."  She has since moved to New York City, but we kept in touch and she sent me a galley of her first novel, The Report, which tells the story of the 1943 Bethnal Green Tube Tragedy. During which, 173 Londoners were mysteriously crushed to death as they sought shelter from German bombs. The cause of the disaster has never been satisfactorily explained. And that lack of explanation  is what drives The Report.

Jessica's debut novel was recently shortlisted for the 2010 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize from the Center for Fiction, and was named a Winter 2010 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers title. 


Hmmmm, again. This was a novel that deserved some national on-air attention. Yet it's terribly difficult to get a first novel on NPR's air. But how about a story on first novels? Why not put together a story focused on two first novels, one historical (Jessica's) and one more traditionally autobiographical (I chose Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel). HarperCollins Publicity Director Jane Beirn, who knows my taste in novels, had sent me a galley months ago. (The ending of this novel, by the way, made me cry.)


* * * * *

I sent a note pitching my story idea to Laura Bertran, the on-air editor with whom I now work at NPR. My suggestion was that I talk to both novelists about why, out of all the stories running around in their writerly heads, they'd chosen the ones they had for their first novels. I'd then talk to someone who's published a boatload of novels about what they remember of their own first one.. And lastly, I'd talk to someone who teaches at a prominent MFA writing program and get their thoughts on first novels in general.

Laura liked the idea.

The next step in getting the story commissioned was hers. Laura shopped the story around to the various shows -- all iterations of Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Late last week, I got word that Weekend Edition Sunday wanted it. Which meant -- huzzah! -- the story was a go.

Laura and I talked again, and she suggested also talking to a publicist for one of my chosen first novels, to see what she/he does differently to promote a first novel. And about whether the Kindle release is simultaneous or delayed.

* * * * *

Now onto production logistics. National interviews are mostly done through ISDN lines (Integrated Services Digital Network). This is a "phone" line that allows people thousands of miles apart to sound as though they're chatting in the same room. So, in order to do the interviews for this story, I had to find out where my interviewees are physically located, where the closest ISDN line is (most larger local stations, including, thankfully, WMRA have them), and then find a time when the ISDN line is available and the interviewee can come to the studio. All the while keeping track of different time zones -- which I usually manage to royally muddle.

Much e-mailing, phoning, scheduling and rescheduling later, I'm ready to go to work. 


I always prepare for interviews by reading everything I can find about my interviewee. I go into the studio with a list of questions, but as this is a short, pieced-together feature story, not a talk show, I'm only looking for about 45-seconds of really engaged conversation. With this in mind, I ask any of my questions I absolutely must have answers to, and then listen closely for what my interviewee likes talking about so as to let her/him lead the conversation.


After the interview I transcribe the tape, which is a pain in any body part you care to name, but, I've learned through long experience, saves time in the long run and makes for a better use of tape. When all the interviewing is done, I assemble the story. Piecing together my chosen snippets of  interviews with a script that I will later read as part of the piece.


Laura and I then have an edit, where I read my script over the phone and then play my actualities (those bright pieces of my interviews). She'll make suggestions, I'll rework the story; we'll have another edit. It usually takes about three edits to get things absolutely right. And the story is always better for Laura's editing.


Next, I go into WMRA's studio for an ISDN hook-up with NPR. I read my script over and over until whoever's at the other end likes the read. I then send all those pieces of bright conversation up to NPR through my computer. A very picky NPR technical person mixes all the sound together, and viola!, Weekend Edition Sunday has its story. 


My first interview for this story is this morning. I'll be talking to Jane Beirn, the HarperCollins publicist who sent me Stiltsville, who will be in a studio at NPR New York. So, I'd better stop blogging and get ready to start reporting again.


Hope you're happy, Arnie. I certainly am.

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C.R. Heroes

We are always looking for kid friendly independent places. C.R. Heroes is one of those kinds of places. They call themselves a “family pub” which is a phrase you don’t tend to hear in the US (reminds me of my days in England). So we rounded up the kids, as well as some other family members, and gave it a go.

The menu online claims that most of their food is made in house and from old family recipes. When I see the very typical bar food kind of menu, with a few differences, I have to say I get suspicious about exactly how much of it is being made in the back, but was surprised that several things seemed to be. We had a sampler platter with fried pickles, onion rings, potato skins and soft pretzels. I would say the best thing (and the one most clearly being made fresh) was the fried pickles. They were pickle slices in a light crispy batter and served with ranch dressing for dipping. They were pretty tasty and the batter was nicely seasoned. We were also told that the onion rings were made in house, and they tasted ok, but the batter was so uniform, I have to say I was suspicious. The soft pretzel was a unique thing to find on a pub food type menu and they were tasty—particularly dipped in the brightly colored orange cheese sauce. I was most disappointed with the potato skins, which back in the day when I ate more of this kind of food, were one of my favorite indulgences. And these days, it seems almost impossible to find good, freshly made ones. These just hardly had any flavor, although they had the requisite cheese and bacon bits on top. (Seriously, does anyone make really tasty potato skins anymore?)

As for the entrées, reviews were mixed. I ordered the miniature version of the “Hoosier Daddy” pork tenderloin sandwich as well as a regular cheeseburger slider. The pork tenderloin is one of the house specialties and it wasn’t bad. They were making these in house, and they were nicely seasoned, but wasn’t super moist the way I like. And it was supposed to be served with a garlic mayo on the side which I didn’t get until I asked for it, and which tasted like it was mayo mixed with ketchup. Just plain mayo would have been better. The cheeseburger suffered the fate of so many “sliders,” and was dry and overcooked. One of my family members had a full sized burger and was more pleased with it than I was with mine. On the plus side, I ordered a salad as my side dish (a girl can only eat so much fried food in a night) and was happy to see it wasn’t one of those wilty bagged mixes (with the obligatory carrot matchsticks, you know the one). The lettuce was mainly iceberg, but it was fresh and cold. Nothing fancy, but for a place like this, not bad.

Hubby had the Chicago style Italian Beef sandwich and found it so so. The bread he thought was spot on (according to the menu being brought from Gonnella Bread in Chicago) but the meat, not so much. He thought it was an okay beef sandwich, but not authentic.

My kids had a kid’s pizza (picture taken by my future blogger daughter) and a sirloin (my son, who announced he wanted steak, was lucky they had a kid’s option for steak which was nice). The pizza looked like it came from a box or something (and those smiley face potatoes are everywhere) but the sirloin was pretty good. It is sort of my pet peeve that when there is a steak on a kids’ menu it is usually a crappy cut, but this one tasted pretty good. And they actually cooked it medium rare, the way he wanted it (another pet peeve, when restaurants overcook kids meat, thinking they know better or something).

Of course the favorite part for my kids was the little arcade that was in the back. But wow! Who knew a video game could cost $1 per play (see how out of touch I am?) And when your kids are as young as mine, the games don’t last long. Actually all in all, I thought the atmosphere was a little depressing. There were all kinds of décor depicting heroes of different types, from firefighters to Superman, which was fine, but the room was very dark (several at the table had a hard time reading the menu and everyone I was with commented to me about it later) and there was no one else there until right when we left. The air conditioner wasn’t working well and it was quite warm as well. I don’t know, for a “family pub,” I expected the ambiance to be a little more, well, enthusiastic or something. This included the wait staff unfortunately.

So some of the food was pretty good for pub food (the stuff that was made in house mainly), but I have to say the overall experience is not getting me rushing back. And seriously, what about good potato skins? Let me know…

CR Heroes
10570 E. 96th Street
Fishers, IN 46038
317-576-1070
www.crheroes.com

C.R. Heroes on Urbanspoon

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Thoughts on aging, change, and the Founding Fathers. . .

Brad Jenkins, General Manager of The Breeze (JMU's fine student newspaper) tagged me this morning in a Facebook photo. There I am, participating in Breeze Camp, talking to the paper's editorial staff about interviewing and story telling.

My reaction to being confronted with an unexpected, early-morning picture of myself was two-fold: 1) Wow! Have I aged; and 2) Wow! Am I having a blast.

Both are true. And both are equally acceptable. To me, anyway. But, perhaps, not to society at large. At least, the aging part.

Sixty, I am constantly told, is the new thirty.

That statement—meant, I suppose, to cheer me and the vast herd of my fellow 50-60-ish hipsters—frankly bamboozles me: What is it supposed to mean? Which part of thirty is going to return? The smoking-like-a-chimney, dance-all-night part? The idiot part? The unstable-personal-life part?

Here’s the deal: I've been 30, and I prefer adventure to repetition.

I do still dance uncontrollably sometimes in grocery store aisles, but for the most part I've moved way beyond the person I was at 30. And I have no desire for anyone to take me as anything other than what I am: A 63-year-old woman who enjoys being a 63-year-old woman.

The inescapable, unavoidable truth is life passes and things change; I've changed, the world has changed. The only thing that seems unchanged is the relentless nature of change, itself.  We humans either periodically update our take on reality, or we are left cowering in the corner, pointlessly trying to recreate a world, a life, a philosophy that has passed into the past along with Mick Jagger's and my youth. A long-gone reality that had its own anxiety-producing problems that we avoided by dreaming of another past, further back.

It seems to me that failing to accept change as a fundamental aspect of reality is one of the things that is behind all this Founding Fathers talk in politics. It's all so angry and so vague. And, for the life of me, I can't find much point to it other than fueling people's natural fears during uncertain times.

For example, if you go to the Tea Party Patriot website, you'll find an invitation to sign the following petition:
We the undersigned have understood the true meaning of the below document. Again we find ourselves suffering at the hands of TYRANTS. This petition is to recommit ourselves to the founding values, primary of all that LIBERTIES come from our CREATOR and not men. That being so, they only govern with the consent of THE PEOPLE. We are declaring independence from tyrants, the elite and those that wish harm to our REPUBLIC. Even coming out of silence the tyrants continue to plot our demise. WE THE PEOPLE declare to be free men and women and we will be lied no more. 
GOD BLESS THE USA

What, I ask you, does this mean? What plot? What founding values? How will signing this document help confront today's confusing, complex, anxiety-producing reality?

I rooted around in the site for something akin to a political platform and instead found such offerings as Who Am I, which compares President Obama's background to Adolf Hitler's.

Oh dearie me. . .


Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally is set for this Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial. I went to his website to try to find some kind of statement relevant to today's problems and instead read:
Throughout history America has seen many great leaders and noteworthy citizens change her course. It is through their personal virtues and by their example that we can live as a free country. On August 28th, come celebrate America by honoring our heroes, our heritage and our future.

Join the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and many more for this non-political event that pays tribute to America’s service personnel and other upstanding citizens who embody our nation’s founding principles of integrity, truth and honor.

Our freedom is possible only if we remain virtuous. Help us restore the values that founded this great nation. 
Again, to which particular values is Mr. Beck referring? Whose definition of virtuous is he using? Is virtue something Glenn Beck wants to legislate?

The Founding Fathers certainly were not a particularly virtuous bunch. But then I suspect there will be some terrific pruning of history going on next Saturday on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Sarah Palin and the Tea Party flexed their clout in yesterday's Republican primary in Florida and Alaska. Mostly, it seems, through helping people focus their vague fears at two specific targets: our first black President and our first woman Speaker of the House.

It all just makes me want to challenge Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck to a reality smack-down. The truth is I am irrevocably 63, and this is irrevocably 2010. None of us can go back. Go back to what, exactly? Whose idea of "back" are we talking about?

It's natural to long for times to be simpler. But our times are what they are now. And the solutions to our problems will only be found by facing them in the here and now.

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Timing is Everything! With Donnie & Angela - The Owen Panettieri Interview!

(Angela isn't flipping me off here. She's just moving her hand really fast. She's very excited to talk to me.)

Yes, it's me! I sat down with Donnie & Angela and they raked me across the coals for not being able to talk about my play in simple sound bytes. It's awesome. I'm so glad I got to spend time with them. Enjoy!

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Timing is Everything! With Donnie & Angela - The Justin Anselmi Interview

(Donnie and Angela ask Justin all the right questions in all the wrong ways.)

Donnie & Angela are at it again. This time interviewing Justin who plays Matty in the The Timing of A Day. I love Justin. He brings exactly what I was hoping for with his portrayal of Matty. In this wide ranging interview the trio discuss what it's like not being a lead, the potential pitfalls of playing a spoiler agent and the salacious art of fanfic. Enjoy!

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A First-Hand Look at South African Education by Teresa Harris

Martha note: JMU's Public Affairs Coordinator, Eric Gorton, sent this out, and I found it so fascinating, I thought I'd just pass it along to you. This article appears also in Madison Scholar.

Dr. Teresa Harris, professor of early childhood education at JMU, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for spring semester 2010 to build collaboration between the university's early childhood/elementary education programs and the University of Pretoria Early Childhood Development Department. 

Ntataise preschool training
Dr. Ina Joubert, a lecturer at the University of Pretoria in early childhood education, prepares for a session with early childhood trainers.
Students in art workshop
First-year early childhood education students at the University of Pretoria participate in an art workshop as part of their module on learning materials and resources in early childhood.
Teacher leading a preschool class
A teacher leads children in a song at a rural child care center that participates in the Ntataise child care training program.

Related Links

More photos from Dr. Harris' stay in South Africa.
Dr. Harris wrote a blog while in South Africa.

 What comes to mind when you think of 2010? Well, for South Africans, 2010 is synonymous with World Cup soccer. Preparations that were under way in 2006, the year I first visited the country, culminated with great fanfare as countries from around the world came to celebrate the world of soccer. The airport was updated with more parking and more services, highways were extended and expanded and security was enhanced. And best of all, Fulbright awarded me a six-month fellowship to teach at the University of Pretoria in the early childhood education department.

Education in post-apartheid South Africa continues to undergo major changes at every level. Issues related to infrastructure of schools, teacher education and professional development, and learner performance are regularly in the news and on the minds of all the stakeholders. From my position within early childhood, I was privileged to visit preschools and elementary schools, work with pre-service and in-service teachers and conduct research with colleagues at the university.

Preschool Education
From a grandmother's home to BMW-sponsored child care, preschool education and child care is available to many children. Like the United States, there are more informal than formal settings and the quality of care varies greatly. What seems to be consistent across rural and township settings, however, is the perception that because all women take care of the children, no one needs training or additional education to do it well. In fact, if you're going to study something at university, the belief is you should study something that will actually allow you to earn money and prestige. One exciting project that brings together early childhood teacher educators and child care providers in a rural setting is the Ntataise Project (pronounced n-tata-ee-se).

Meaning "to lead a child by the hand," this nonprofit organization provides training to trainers who then go into rural areas to deliver workshops, materials and on-site supervision and modeling so that child care providers can gain skill in caring for and educating young children. While I was in South Africa, I traveled to visit the Ntataise headquarters and two local centers where teachers were adapting their training to their local contexts. On my second visit, UP lecturers Ina Joubert and Annalie Botha and I provided literacy training to the trainers in a full-day interactive workshop. On the second day of the training, the trainers incorporated our training ideas into their own training activities to show what they had learned and how they would adapt our session for their teachers.

Elementary Education
The foundation phase of South African education includes the reception year (kindergarten) through grade 3 as part of primary schools that extend through grade 7. Since 1994, when the country moved to a democratic form of government, education has received increased government funding at all levels (primary through post-secondary); however, schools and their school governing boards can elect to charge school fees to increase their budgets. Former "Model C" schools typically charged the highest fees and continue today as multiracial schools that offer higher quality educational settings and opportunities than schools located in rural or township areas that can't afford to charge high fees to families. Sadly, it is clear in too many instances that you get what you pay for. In private schools and model C, or multiracial schools, teachers earn higher salaries, textbooks and teaching materials are up-to-date, buildings and facilities are well maintained and test scores are higher. In schools that receive basic government funding, the opposite is generally true. The major determinant, however, is not the funding, but the quality of school leadership, particularly in the person of the school principal.

On the day that I was moving into my flat, UP Lecturer Nkidi Phatudi, the colleague with whom I first established a relationship at UP, had taken me grocery shopping. We ran into one of the early childhood students who was doing her internship at a rural school. The young woman excitedly told Nkidi about the amazing principal who had all the teachers and learners motivated to be at school even though they didn't have all the fancy materials and equipment that other schools had. She went on to say that this was the school she hoped to work in when she graduated. Given the challenges of staffing schools in rural areas, this became an example of hope and began to spark some of the research that several of us are conducting.

Early Childhood Teacher Education
Early Childhood (birth to age 5) and foundation phase (grades K-3) teacher education are built on a British model and reflect the best international practices in the field. My colleagues in the department are active scholars who are involved in the local schools and child care centers. They also work at the national level on early childhood policies and internationally in studies in STEM education and children's rights. For me, this experience was a wonderful opportunity to become immersed in scholarly activity that transcends geographic and cultural borders with people who are eager to work with members from the JMU College of Education.
Dr. Ina Joubert is currently examining questions related to children's understandings of citizenship. Extending the work of her dissertation, "South Africa is My Best Country," she is returning to local schools to longitudinally examine the development of children's concepts of citizenship. When I shared with her a research study, "Art Around the World," that is sponsored by the International Beliefs and Values Institute, we decided that there might be ways to work together to extend her primary grade study into the upper elementary grades using visual methodologies with the learners.

On a very different front, I was able to bring much of what I have learned through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning workshops sponsored by the Center for Faculty Innovation at JMU to my work with Annalie Botha. Annalie uses role playing with her students and serves as faculty advisor to the TUKS Creative organization, so we began to explore the impact of fantasy play with children through her fairy project at the local malls and with her fourth-year and PGCE modules on curriculum integration.

Teacher identity has been the focus of work by Judy Van Heerden and Marie Botha as they instituted a teacher research project into the student teaching internship. We're doing a similar inquiry project with our department's fifth-year students, so we have decided to look at ways to collaborate on a series of developmental studies that examine our students' constructions of their own identities as teachers and their understandings of children as learners.

For a country that is primarily black South African, the students and faculty of my department were primarily white South African. I couldn't help but wonder why why this was the case, given the national and institutional supports for recruiting and retaining black students into teacher education. Dr. Miemsie Steyn, a lecturer in my department, had begun a study involving black students in the intermediate, secondary and further education phases (grades 8-12) to examine the barriers and assets to pursuing education as a career. Together we joined forces to take a look at why there were so few black students in the early childhood and foundation phase programs. Dr. Steyn will visit JMU in October to share our research.

Although my relationship with the early childhood education faculty began in 2006 with an e-mail to an unknown department head about the possibility of working together while my students and I were visiting South Africa, the Fulbright program provided an extended time period for a relationship to develop solid roots in this country. The JMU/UP collaboration has officially begun with many opportunities for shared scholarship and teaching. The 2011 visit to South Africa with students has entered the planning stages and we are exploring additional possibilities for faculty and student exchanges. And while 2010 World Cup fans are looking forward to Brazil, the UP and JMU folks are looking forward to an exciting time of working together.

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Worried Americans and possibly pandering politicans?

I was just listening to Ted Robbins' story on Morning Edition detailing how big an issue illegal immigration has become in John McCain's fight for a fifth term in the U.S. Senate.

Senator McCain once favored a path to citizenship for those in this country illegally. Running for re-election against an opponent well to his right, he has completely abandoned that idea in favor of supporting  Arizona's tough new immigration law. Appearing recently on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Senator McCain claimed that illegal immigrants are intentionally causing car accidents.
The subject came up when he defended the tough new Arizona immigration bill against the possibility of racial profiling.
McCain told Bill O’Reilly that while he’d be “very sorry” if a Hispanic person suffered the indignity of racial profiling, the law would punish illegal wrongdoers.
“It's the people whose homes and property are being violated,” he said. “It's the drive-by that -- the drivers of cars with illegals in it that are intentionally causing accidents on the freeway."
Reading this, I couldn't help wondering if McCain really believes what he is saying, or if that's just what his people are telling him will get him re-elected?


Here in Virginia, Governor McDonnell sees illegal immigrants as such a threat to our safety in the Commonwealth that he wants to divert an unspecified number of State Troopers from their duties of "protecting and serving" Virginia citizens to, according to his website, "perform certain functions of a federal immigration officer within the borders of the Commonwealth." 

Thinking all this over made me decide to ask you a question: Has your life, or the life of someone you know, been disturbed, disrupted, diminished by an illegal immigrant?

Mine has not. Nor has the life of anyone I know. At least no one's told me it has.

Now an entirely different question. . .

Has your life or the life of someone you know been disrupted by the troubled economy -- that enormous, amorphous entity that all the best and the brightest cannot seem to restore to health?

Mine has. And, when I think about it, so have the lives of almost everyone I know.

Historically in economically and socially troubled times, a sizable chunk of Americans have, to our later shame, turned on our immigrants.

Another question.: Might we possibly be doing that again?

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Bonge's Tavern

Bonge’s is sort of a legend around Indy, and hubby and I decided that after living here for 4 years together, it was time to get out there. Now, one of the things Bonge’s is known for is the tailgating that goes on in the parking lot as people wait for their turn at one of the maybe 12 or so tables. People bring their own refreshments and snacks and sit outside (often in their own camp chairs) and hang out. On the weekends during nice weather the wait can apparently be several hours pretty much from the moment they open their doors (at 4:30), so we thought we would try and get there a bit early during the week and hopefully avoid a long wait. It worked. It was a beautiful day, but we got there just after 5:00 and were seated immediately. Of course when we left some time after 6:00, there was already quite a wait and several groups in the parking lot. Oh, and this is a tavern, so you can’t go in to eat unless you are 21.

We weren’t exactly sure what to expect, but we were greeted by a friendly server who asked if we had been before and then explained the menu. There are about 7 entrées listed on a chalkboard above the bar to choose from. Three are always there (the Perkinsville Pork, the Hargar duck, and the NY Strip) and the rest change regularly. Every meal comes with either soup or salad and they all came with the same potatoes and veggies on the side (the sides change periodically). The entrées range in price from approximately $24-30, so although it is a tavern, it isn’t cheap.

The atmosphere inside is totally casual and has a great feel with lots of wood paneled walls and booths. There is a very old looking bar on the wall across from the wall of booths and a few larger tables scattered in between. There are obviously a lot of local regulars coming in judging by the greetings received by the staff. Everyone just seems happy to be there.

As for the food, it is not complicated, but it is really quite good. I started with the “world famous tomato soup” while hubby had the blue cheese wedge (for a salad, you can get a wedge with blue cheese or raspberry vinaigrette). I really liked the soup—this is not your traditional canned tomato soup. This is a hearty, chunky soup filled with large pieces of actual tomato as well as other veggies like celery and onion. You could taste both the sweetness and tanginess of the tomato flavor and I really liked it.

Hubby’s wedge was also quite good—a traditional wedge of iceberg lettuce amply covered in a very rich and tasty blue cheese dressing and sprinkled with garlic breadcrumbs (tasted a lot like the croutons on my soup). Honestly, we had a hard time deciding which starter we enjoyed more (hubby would say the salad) and I would happily order either.

As for the main dish, I ordered the “Prime Cap with Shrimp.” This was thinly sliced prime rib that was slow cooked like traditional prime rib, but perfectly to medium rare temperature. The flavor of the meat was amazing. And there was a demi glace on the plate, but it was truly like an au jus, and just added more meat flavor. Seriously, this meat was perfectly seasoned and delicious. Across the top was a skewer of shrimp covered in an herby garlic butter sauce. The shrimp were also really good and I liked the contrast in flavor of the rich meat and the zesty shrimp. There were roasted potatoes and thumb sized asparagus on the side which were plain and forgettable, almost more of a garnish than anything, but I didn’t care because I enjoyed the meat and shrimp so much.

Hubby had the Perkinsville Pork which was pounded pork tenderloin (but not super thin) coated in flour, egg and parmesan cheese and pan fried. The pork was good—especially the thicker parts of the meat because they were the most tender. I liked that you could really taste the cheese which gave it a unique flavor from your usual pork tenderloin. There was also a light lemony sauce on top that was nice as well. However, while it was good, it was nowhere near as good as my beef. Again, same sides, same thoughts about them from hubby.

They also brought us a basket of cornbread with our entrees that was really delicious. There was a bit of jalapeno in them which gave them a bit of a kick, but the pieces were small and evenly distributed so you didn’t feel overwhelmed by biting into a big piece of pepper. The bread was so moist you almost needed to eat it with a fork because it just sort of fell apart in your hands. It was really really good.

Since we didn’t have a formal appetizer we also decided to try a dessert. There were several to choose from and we went with what was a chocolate cake base with a thin layer of sugar cream pie at the top and all covered in cherries and whipped cream. The chocolate base sort of reminded me of a brownie—it was quite dense and a little dry and there was not as much of the sugar cream part as I thought there would be. I wasn’t quite sure about it at first, but it became strangely addicting. I wasn’t overly impressed with the cherries; they sort of tasted like the topping you can buy in a can. The whipped cream was obviously homemade though and, while I don’t tend to be a huge whipped cream person, this was good.

The experience at Bonge’s was really great. It is the kind of place that while you are there, you are already planning your next trip and thinking of the people you would like to introduce to it. It is out in the middle of nowhere (about 35 minutes from Indy depending on where you live and the traffic) but it is certainly worth the drive.

Bonge’s Tavern
9830 West 280 North
Perkinsville, IN 46011
765/734-1625
www.bongestavern.com

Bonge's Tavern Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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Last Chance! Best Bargains on All Remaining Summer Merchandise!

Last month we had a lot of fun getting together outside for Renee's featured summer sidewalk clearance sale....
















Yesterday we took final mark downs on everything left. Some clothing has been reduced as low as $9.99!


Don't miss this! Get the best bargains of the season now. Come in before it's all gone... See you soon!

With love,
Renee

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Kate Kessler's thoughts about not battling cancer

I'm a survivor of cancer. And I've had six kinds. The reproductive trifecta -- cervical, fallopian and ovarian. I'm also the winner of the skin cancer trifecta -- basal, squamous, melanoma.

The first time I was told that I had cancer it was cervical, and it didn't cause a great deal of anxiety. The second diagnosis was a double diagnosis. That was a whole different thing, because the ovarian was inoperable.

Shortly after I’d been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, I was reading an interview that had been printed about Michael Landon, Little Joe on  the Bonanza series, and the title of the interview was "The Battle of His Life." And it struck me that the words were so wrong. That the philosophy was wrong. How can you fight something that’s part of yourself and win?

I don’t know if it’s because I’m female, feminist, an avid gardener -- maybe a dog in a past life, because there’s nothing I love better than digging holes in the yard. But for me a garden metaphor works so much better than a "battle" or a "war."

I’m not really a New Age person. I’m the most cynical, skeptical, pessimistic person you could ever imagine. And I would have gone for Western medicine’s big guns if they had been able to help me. But surgery and chemo and radiation weren’t getting all of the things that were growing, and so I had to turn alternative. And I started thinking of my body as a garden. And you need to keep it clean but healthy. And fertile for good things to grow. I literally started a garden at about the same time, and it was so cathartic for me to dig in the dirt and pull out rocks and weed runners and things that didn’t belong in my garden. I put little seedlings in and nurturing those became part of my healing from this cancer.

I think I’ll probably always have cancer cells running around in me. I got the short end of a genome stick. I think my job is to keep my garden as healthy a  place as possible so that my immune system will keep them at bay.

Something worked for me. When I went back a year later, I was told that the places where the tumors had been embedded along my abdominal lining were now scar tissue. I'm going to cry. Because it's been twelve years, and it still stalks me. My lymph fluids were now clear and I had scar tissue where I had had cancer. That's pretty miraculous stuff.


Kate and pack, ready to head out on the Appalachian Trail.

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President Obama is a Muslim . . .

image from website Thump and Whip: Whack Liberalism

Okay, I've said it. Does that make it so? Absolutely not. 

But evidently some person, somewhere, has the power to turn lies into credible facts, for according to a new poll done by the Pew Research Center, 1 in 5 Americans now believe our President is a Muslim.

Not, of course (as Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer would say), that there's anything wrong with that. Being a Muslim, I mean. But in difficult times, we Americans do love our clearly-defined enemies, and  we seem to be increasingly willing to lump immigrants and Muslims into the enemy category, willy-nilly.

Chuck Norris is one of the pundits some of those eighteen percent might be listening to. The website Bible Paths has a long quotation from Mr. Norris in which he presents his reasons for believing that President Obama is actually a Muslim missionary. He begins. . .
"More than they have been at any other time in U.S. history, our First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion are in jeopardy. As if recently passed “hate crime” laws and a politically correct culture weren’t bad enough. Now our president is using international pressure and possibly law to establish a prohibition against insulting Islam or Muslims. . . ."
There's chatter on the internet that President Obama is not only a Muslim, but is the Twelfth Imam, whom Twelvers (the largest branch of Shi'a Islam) believe will one day return with Christ to reestablish the rightful governance of Islam and replete the earth with justice and peace. Rush Limbaugh recently referred to our President as Imam Obama.

Who, I wonder, thinks this stuff up? And who is the first to believe it and pass it on as the truth? What's wrong with the real truth: that this is a complicated, scary, confusing time, that requires all of us to calm down and focus on real solutions for real problems?

All this Muslim branding puts me in mind of the Boston Police Strike of 1919, when the rank and file policemen went out on strike and management's most effective weapon against the strike was innuendo and name-calling.

1919 was a time of wide-spread labor unrest in this country. There were not enough jobs, inflation was out of control, immigrants and blacks were flooding the cities, taking jobs away from Real Americans who grew increasingly angry and fearful.  The designated enemies of the day were Communists, a term which was applied more and more to anyone who thought workers deserved better treatment than they were getting.

The fledgling union movement was gaining strength; one-fifth of American workers went out on strike that year. After all attempts at negotiations for better pay and working conditions failed, the Boston Police, through their organization, the Boston Social Club, decided to do the same.

There is no doubt that Boston's police had grievances, which they expressed as early as 1917. New officer pay had not risen in sixty years, since 1857 when new recruits received two dollars daily. Officers worked seven days per week, with a day off every other week during which they couldn't leave town without special permission. Depending on duty, officers worked between 73 and 98 hours weekly, and were required to sleep in infested station houses kept in deplorable condition.
The Boston powerful back in 1919 had prepared for the possibility of a strike by painting anyone in the police department who advocated better working conditions for the police as un-American, traitorous, and  "Bolshevistic." The press willingly carried this message to the public, and masses of underemployed, underpaid, worried Americans were convinced that the Boston police strike was a communist plot. It is one of the most skillful propaganda campaigns I've ever heard of.


The Boston  police struck on September 9, 1919. The next morning the LA Times wrote:
"...no man's house, no man's wife, no man's children will be safe if the police force is unionized and made subject to the orders of Red Unionite bosses."
The Massachusetts state guard was called in. The strike lasted almost a week. The thousand or so officers who struck lost their jobs. The men hired in their place got higher salaries, pension plans, and free uniforms. So the strike was, and wasn't, a success.

But what seems relevant to me in terms of America today is how, back in 1919, the moneyed and empowered interests manipulated American citizens into believing something that wasn't true simply by stating that it was. 

For heaven's sake. When are we going to grow up?

Your thoughts?

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