A Mentor by Example

Steve Gilliard of "The News Blog,"passed away last Saturday June 2, 2007. He had been ill for a few months but I was convinced he would be back to blogging within the year. He was 42 years old, his age made me confident that he would recuperate. Studying maniacally over the past week or so preparing for a State examination my "first thing in the morning" ritual of going to the computer to catch up on the news was put on hold. (This is for the two people who read my blog), I know you didn't know who he was but he truly inspired me. I read his blog first thing in the morning every day and would go back to his blog at least once more, but usually twice, before the day was over.

Clicking a link from some other website four years ago led me to The News Blog. I can't recall the topic now but how he said what he said, and that he said it told me he was Black. It shouldn't have mattered but it did. For me, it was like seeing that first black television show, my first was "Julia" starring Dianne Carroll, except it was a blog, but it had the same effect. Actually, it was better because it was in a voice that was familiar to my ear. Steve would dissect a given news item cutting away all the fat, aka bullshit. He would then hold it up so you could see it through his eyes. Well to make it short, my going straight to his blog every day sort of made him the first person I interacted with most days of the week. This past Monday when I went to his site to see if Jen, his close friend, had an update on his condition, even though a few weeks earlier his family had asked her not give anymore updates, it was like a kick in the stomach to see that he had died two days earlier. He was a brilliant man who made a difference. I'll miss him.

A Passing Thought

So many appalling events have happened recently. Each one triggers the urge to sit down and blog a blue streak but it doesn't happen, well it happens on other blogs but not this one. According to me, a discussion about Don Imus does not include a critique of rap or hip hop music they are separate and not equal. By the way, Imus comfortably fits under the appalling events umbrella. Instead of an umbrella it should be a circus tent so there will be plenty of room for the hoopla that surrounds our Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his seemingly "unremarkable" contributions, unremarkable based on the forty-something times he told the congressional committee "I don't recall," when questioned about the nuts and bolts behind firing the eight federal prosecutors.

There just seems to be too many cameras focused in on a possible misuse of one of the president's legitimate applications of authority. Maybe my priorities are wrong but didn't this administration lose, misplace, squander 9 billion dollars in Iraq? When asked to account for the money all they come up with is "Don't know, can't say" while shrugging their shoulders. Now the administration is asking Congress for more money, without accountability strings attached. Hasn't a top white house staff member(Mr. I. Scooter Libby) been found guilty of perjury, making false statements and obstruction of justice? Weren't these crimes committed during an investigation to find out who publicly revealed the identity of a C.I.A. agent? At the risk of sounding a bit melodramatic, isn't exposing an international spy called treason? A camera or two could be focused on that congressional committee investigation. Is there a congressional committee investigating this? This list, of what I see as more important issues could go on but you get the point.

An Update: CBS Radio Minus Imus.

They've decided to let him go and I'm glad about it. I've donned my rose tinted glasses so it will appear to be a significant shift, for the better, in confronting American style sexism and racism.

Imus Minus Simulcast

Well...No more looking at radio host Don Imus while he works. That'll teach him! MSNBC has removed their cameras. No cameras for a radio show. Gee I don't know..well it's a start.

Zip Code Restricted Diet.

Rat poison was found to be the killer ingredient in the nationally distributed pet food. Again, one company creating most of the pet food, under various popular and not so popular brand names, 95 million cans and pouches have been recalled. They are acknowledging 15 deaths because of this contamination and we know they're low balling the number of fatalities. I do remember the e. coli tainted spinach that found it's way to the dinner tables nation wide. Sadly, I just found out this morning that the tainted spinach was from a farm here in California. This too was from one company serving the masses. If I'm not mistaken, Taco Bell had some sort of national bacteria scare because of centralized distribution of ingredients. If you squint your eyes and tilt your head a little to the right you might see a pattern. These types of mishaps are becoming more frequent and I suspect a major loss of human life will have to happen before improved quality control procedures are put in place. Local farmer's markets are looking more appealing. Well, if you don't count the above mentioned "E. coli Farms" in central California.

It's Not About You...

How flattering that Iran thinks Americans have the savviness to recognize the movie "300" as a cultural insult to Iranians. They have accused this film of being an instrument for intentional cultural warfare. Here's the news flash. Overall, we are as sagacious as our President, and we did elect him to serve a second term. That alone should be seen as a red flag. We were the last to discover the weighty significance of the painfully obvious Shia, Sunni and Kurd divisions abruptly brought to our attention by the current civil war, which seems to not have been penciled in on the "things that could happen after we invade" short list.

If we overlooked the civil war possibility do you really think America had the forethought to create a movie to denigrate your history and culture? Please, we aren't that deep. This movie was made without you in mind and you know why? You're brown, you don't speak english and you live waaay over there somewhere, translation: you don't exist and if you did you wouldn't count. Well that's not totally true Iranians developing nuclear capabilities has changed our tune a little. But still. America has a formidable track record with brown skin people but believe me "300" has nothing to do with you. A culturally inaccurate and insensitive film, probably, I haven't seen it yet so I don't know for sure. An intentional attack? We're not that sophisticated but thanks for the compliment.

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O.J. Part Deux

Here it is again. A judge ordering an auction to sell O.J.'s supposedly fictional tell-all, "If I Did It." It truly boggles my mind why this isn't... well I was gonna say why this isn't seen as harassment through the judicial system. What is more mind boggling is how I quickly forget things are not as they seem. All things are not equal through the eyes of man or the law and they haven't been. However, the notion of equality for all, under the law, is given so much lip service so often that after hearing it repeatedly I begin to believe it's true. It isn't. It hasn't been. Ever.



When the jury decided to acquit the defendant I thought that was the end it was over. Well at least on television right? Before O.J. and Blake wrongful death suits were filed against manufacturing companies, police departments and usually before any given summer ends a Six Flags or some other theme park. Those were the ones that were all over the newspapers. It is possible these civil suits against individuals acquitted of a crime have been the norm and I've not noticed but it just doesn't feel right. Being neither a fan, friend or foe of O.J. my reaction comes from the "it's the principle" of the matter.

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