Notes from the Boat (That We're All Riding in)...

Some thoughts about the news...

• I have been impressed with the news coverage about the Haiti earthquake and aftermath by Anderson Cooper and the news reporters at CNN. That is good broadcast journalism.
• For now, I would like to commend Google with its latest threat to pull out of China if it has to continue to filter out words and images that upset the communist dictatorship. It is about time, I would add. Where is Microsoft and Yahoo and the others in also standing up, finally, for freedom and rights? When all the American Internet companies hurried into China, their goal, of course, was one greedy measure: $. Since then, the companies have gotten deserved criticism for being complicit in censorship and the jailing of activists. China should allow the photo of the Tank Man at Tiananmen Square to be accessed on its computers. And everything else that comes with a real worldwide web. China's tricky mix of communism and capitalism has shown that capitalism doesn't equal democracy. But we knew that with all the other dirty little dictators around the world that like to enhance their coffers while they step on people's rights. Now, we will see if Google stands for something greater, in terms of ethics. I hope I will commend Google later for standing tall. I know I will not be using the "Bing" search engine of Microsoft and others until those companies gets some ethical guts, too.
• The win by Republican Scott Brown in the Senate race in Massachusetts was interesting in many ways. I wondered if sports (baseball knowledge) mattered; apparently it did to some voters there. I wondered that if the woman candidate had been the centerfold rather than the man candidate, how would the media and societal response have been different? But I don't think Brown's victory means the Republican Party is now in a better place. I think it means that incumbents or those coming from the incumbent party (in the case of Martha Coakley) need to worry. It will only take a few conservative "nothing" votes by Brown to put him into the disappointment category, unless he has figured out a way to attain populist progress after an election.
• President Obama (and all the conservative national media) need to quit chasing the unicorn. A unicorn is mythical and doesn't exist. So, is the idea that going to the political center to produce watered-down, crap legislation is the way to lead or to attain real progress for the nation or to have any legacy of greatness.
• All a person has to do is look at the major issues and see whether those issues naturally and progressively go to the right or go to the left. Health care--Do we want the status quo on that when other nations in the world do better to provide health care for their citizens? No. So, which way do you go? Of course, you go left, providing more coverage. Most people in this country wanted universal health care. Most people wanted the public option in the latest debate. Why wasn't that the way the politics went? It went to the center and has nearly strangled Obama's campaign idealism as seen by his voters. The wars--Go to the right andthat means adding more troops and spending more money on war. Go to the left and that means leave doing the mission swiftly and getting out. (The use of troops as peacekeepers and rescue assistance in Haiti was a better use of money if the Pentagon wants to think of ways to sustain its huge budget.) Those are just two examples of why conservatism doesn't work. Look at any generation. Is any current generation more conservative or more liberal than their parents? They are almost always more liberal. That's the path of history.
• After the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, decided that limits on what corporations can spend on political campaigns are against freedom of speech, I pulled out my wallet and looked inside it to see how much free speech I had. Hmmm. Not very much there. But I never figured, even before, that my amount of financial power would ever equal the power of Microsoft, Time Warner, Disney, or Exxon. That's why I write, why I blog, why I try to voice my opinion in any way I can, knowing that money also talks. The U.S. Supreme Court did no favors to the status of the American citizen by blessing corporations with one more advantage. Does it also then mean that corporations that are largely controlled by foreign countries, such as China, or have great interests there will get to try to influence American politics? I hate to think, though I guess it could backfire, too. Probably an endorsement to an issue or candidate by a corporation linked to a foreign dictatorship or agendas would be a kiss of political death.

The life (and death) of Miep Gies...

Miep Gies died on January 11. She was 100 years old. I read about her in a book I'd recommend, titled "Anne Frank, A Biography" by Melissa Muller. She was also mentioned in the book, with another theme of a diary, titled "Freedom Writers' Diary" by the Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell.

Probably not a lot of people know her name. Certainly, more people would know the name of Anne Frank. Anne Frank was the Jewish girl who hid with her parents and others in a secret annex in a commercial building in Amsterdam, Holland, a country that was occupied by the Nazis during WWII. Born in Austria, Miep Gies was one of the Dutch residents who hid Anne, the Frank family, and the others, and supplied them with food and necessities while trying to keep them from being discovered by the Nazis. It was risky and dangerous, and it led to the tragic ending when someone informed the Nazis of the hiding place and Anne and others were sent to concentration camps. Of the Jewish people who hid there, only Otto Frank, Anne's father, would survive the concentration camp. When he returned to Amsterdam, Miep Gies gave him the diary journals by Anne that Gies had found and saved.

After Otto Frank published what is best known by the title of "The Diary of Anne Frank," Anne became the face representing the millions of innocent people who suffered the brutality of Hilter and his Nazi regime.

With all his power, Hitler delivered hatred and death to the world. No one in that time in that place was probably as powerless as a Jewish teenage girl. Yet the publication of her story demonstrates that the powerless can be given a voice and can speak to greater and lasting lessons.

The story of Anne Frank is about hiding from unimaginable evil. It is about the grace of courage and hope. It is about the inspiration of words on paper, thoughts of a girl mature beyond her age. When I think of the Nazi era, I think of Hitler and I also think of Anne Frank. The powerless trumps the powerful in the important ways.

Anne Frank said, in her writings, that she wanted to become a journalist. In journalism, giving voice to the voiceless, to the powerless, is a crucial and meaningful ethic. Without the media, through books and movies and the TV mini-series programs and the websites over the years, the story might have been unknown. Without Miep Gies preserving the diaries, the story might have been lost. And Gies stands for something greater as well. She represents the goodness of people who act on principle and care about others rather than just stand by and do nothing in the face of cruelty and injustice.

Miep Gies had a long life. Anne Frank had a short life. But their lives touched each other in amazing and positive ways and then touched the lives of millions of others.

Notes from the Boat (That We're All Riding In)...

Here are some thoughts about current events...

Probably the greatest speaker in my lifetime was Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights activist who led America to a better place. The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is tomorrow.

Certainly, an excellent speaker of these modern times is President Barack Obama. I recently listened to his speech at a Baptist church today.

I find myself looking at Obama near this King holiday and wondering, "What would Martin Luther King Jr. do if he had been the U.S. president?" Of course, King never had the opportunity. King had to sometimes stand alone or in the minority, face danger, advocate change, stick to his values (which included a belief in non-violence), rally support, and merge sympathies and outside powers in order for the power of his words to be fulfilled and turned into reality. He had a very tough journey, especially considering the times and the power structure of the bigoted South.

The problem that Obama faces now is that, while he can inspire with words, he has the power that King never had--Obama has the power of the U.S. presidency. Therefore, it is not enough anymore, at least for me, to hear an Obama speech and to nod in complete agreement. Obama has to inspire more than just through words. He needs to inspire through policy. He has to keep his administration from compromising for qualities that make the ring of his speeches sound flat and false. He has to make progress truly happen.

The expectations are high for Obama because he has what any activist would love to have: the power of policy. If Martin Luther King Jr. could move the country in the ways he did, having little official power, then Obama should be able to, as president. The expectations are high for a reason. With power comes obligation of governance for achievement, well beyond the hope of inspirational words. The words are great as directions for the road map. But, with the privilege to lead and to hold the greatest power perhaps in the world, the destinations have to be reached in order for success and quality to be real and true.

Jackson Hole, estate tax, and the national media...

I waited a whole week for CNN's "The State of the Union with John King" to broadcast of a segment about anchor John King's visit to Wyoming, the last of the 50 states that he has visited since his program began. At the beginning of the segment, King said he wanted to visit all 50 states, so he could talk to "regular" people in America. Wow, that was comical, based upon the choice of Jackson Hole as the site of his visit.

The segment aired on Sunday. And it was quite horrible. It was pretty much a farce. But, no doubt, it gave King a nice assignment junket trip to see some beautiful Wyoming landscape. Whenever some national newsperson wants to involve Wyoming, it usually means a quick plane ride into Jackson, followed by a quick plane ride out. That's what they see of Wyoming. The beautiful mountains in a resort and ski town where only the rich can own houses. The average price of houses in Jackson is $1 million, according to one of the Jackson guests in the report. I would guess that the estimate is correct. Rich politicians, like Cheney, and Hollywood stars own cabins or estates in the Jackson area. Jackson is to Wyoming about as much as Hollywood is to California. John King missed the regular people in Wyoming.

The King interview also featured three Jacksonites who dodged the truth about how many people view the "residency" of former Vice President Dick Cheney. When Cheney first ran with George W. Bush, he had to declare Wyoming as his home state in order to constitutionally come from a state other than Texas which was Bush's home state. Cheney really was a Texan, residing in Texas at the time, working in the state. He had left Wyoming. Yet another fraud of the Bush years. Even when he ran as a Wyoming Congressman, the election allowed him to leave the state. When my brothers were drafted out of Wyoming during the Vietnam War period, Cheney used five deferments to avoid the draft. He ran from military service and, ironically, now acts like he's America's greatest warrior. Another fraud.

I had to dodge the TV networks this Sunday as Cheney's daughter Liz ended up on two. She was on John King's show on CNN, so I switched the channel for that segment. Then she was on ABC's "This Week," so I switched the channel there. We, who are really from Wyoming, know how she ended up with a big-shot job as deputy secretary of state during the Bush years. It is the same way that Michael Powell, son of General Colin Powell, became FCC chairman during the Bush years. And it wasn't because of qualifications. Can anyone, including the media, say "nepotism"?

It is only natural for national news personalities to gravitate toward rich resort towns and rich people, because often they are part of that class; their networks play to that class. Congress and both political parties eagerly serve that class. That's probably why Congress and the national media allowed the estate tax to lapse on January 1. The estate tax brought in $14 billion to the U.S. Treasury, a sizable amount when everyone, especially Republicans, are screaming about the deficit and governmental spending. (The expense of endless wars can be costly, too, by the way.) The estate tax involved only about 5,500 very wealthy families, which is less than one percent of American families. But it wasn't something Congress apparently wanted to keep.

Politicians and the national news media sure are good to rich people. They all may want to fly into Jackson and celebrate.

Good idea about banking...

I like Ariana Huffington's suggestion:

• That people take their money out of the big banks, who helped to cause the economic crisis in the first place, took taxpayers' bailout money, and then lobby against the return to good banking regulations....
• And then people should put their money in small, community banks and credit unions, who invest in the local communities.

Good idea! Spread the word!