Notes of Concern....
...Jackson Blair
The Honorable United States Senator
Evan Bayh
I was sad to learn that Evan Bayh reached a decision to leave the United States Senate. Senator Bayh is a very fine senator and he represented his state of Indiana with dignity, dedication and love. As a nation we need more people of his integrity representing us in our nation's capital.
I encountered the Senator a very long time ago at camp. He was a camper. I was a counselor. I suppose I knew hundreds of kids during those summers but he stood out because his father was the United States Senator from Indiana, Birch Bayh, and his mother was a well know beauty queen, Marvella Bayh.
Birch and Marvella moved in some pretty powerful circles. They were great friends of Ted and Joan Kennedy as well as of Jack and Jackie Kennedy and the then California Senator John Tunney. Both Bayhs were on the plane that crashed injurying Ted Kennedy and killing other passengers.
Their names were in the news columns regularly and for some time Birch Bayh was mentioned as a potential presidential candidate for the Democrats. Interestingly, President Lyndon Johnson asked Marvella Bayh to be vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, a job she declined.
Marvella was powerful in her own right. She had breast cancer, a disease that ultimately claimed her life. Knowing that she would not be cured, she took on the job as spokesman for the American Cancer Society and worked tirelessly with them in a search for a cure.
Many years later my wife and I attended the birthday party of an old friend in Tuxedo Park, New York. We were seated at a table with Birch and Marvella Bayh. It was inevitable we would discuss the camp where I met Evan so many years before. They told me Evan was just completing his undergraduate degree and trying to decide whether to attend law school or seek an MBA.
I remember being far more impressed by Mrs. Marvella Bayh than her husband, Senator Birch Bayh.
During the festivities I mentioned an aunt of mine who was hospitalized in Pittsburgh with breast cancer. It was just part of a discussion of what Marvella was doing. She asked about the particulars and then shared with me what she had learned about breast cancer.
A few days later I had a telephone call from my aunt. Marvella Bayh had called her and they spoke about her specific cancer diagnosis for about an hour. To say my aunt was pleased would be an understatement. The next day, my aunt called again. She had just gotten off the phone with Betty Ford, the wife of the President, who had called her because “Marvella had asked her to”.
The Bayhs were a potent team and a huge force for good.
Birch Bayh was a United States Senator but his wife, Marvella, was an amazing “people person” in her own right.
A week later young Evan appeared in my office in New York City to talk about his career choices and to explore how each one might work out for him. His parents had asked if they could send him. Obviously, the legal route could lead him into politics, in his father’s footsteps. The MBA choice would undoubtedly lead him to a Wall Street career and a great deal of personal wealth.
The rest is history. Evan decided on law school. I had no contact with him for years. Eventually, I read of his election and re-election as Governor of Indiana. More important were the stories of how popular he was in his state and what a great job he was doing.
Eventually the national Democratic Party got wind of Governor Bayh and he was off to the United States Senate.
During his tenure in the Senate he made many friends on both sides of the aisle. Presidential contenders all had him on their “short list” for vice president.
After the Bush-Kerry contest, I received a letter from Senator Evan Bayh telling me he planned to run for his party’s presidential nomination the next time around. He had not yet announced to the press his intention.
He mentioned our camp experiences as well as our visit when he was finishing his undergraduate education. It had been years! I had to marvel at how he had inherited his parents’ talent for the details. If he reached back that many years to write me, imagine how many hundreds of others he must have written.
The Bayh campaign did not catch fire. Senators from Indiana rarely do in presidential politics. Both Obama and Clinton flirted with the idea of having Bayh on a ticket but we all know how that turned out.
It is clear now that Evan Bayh found there was little that could be accomplished in the United States Senate of today. Even with his own party in control of both houses of Congress, as well as The White House, the things important to Bayh could not get done.
On reflection, he must have realized having been passed over twice for the Veep nomination and having failed to ignite any interest as a presidential candidate meant he would not have the clout necessary to make any real change in the way Washington does things.
So the Senator, with his attractive wife and handsome sons, gave up his coveted spot in the” Club of 100” and headed back to join his Hoosier friends in the Midwest. He will be happy there. They will be happy to have him back. And somehow, it just seems “right” for this good man to have his life back.
He is too young to retire. We will undoubtedly see him run for Governor again or perhaps become President of a large university, probably in Indiana.
As I was thinking about all of this and writing this column I had in my mind the young, enthusiastic camper who wanted so not to be known as the son of famous parents. Seeing him with his own children it occurred to me that perhaps he wanted that for his own sons.
I also reflected on how different things might have been if Evan Bayh had instead decided to pursue an MBA.
And I wonder if today he wishes he had.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
A LIFE OF SERVICE
Notes of Concern…
…Jackson Blair
A LIFE OF SERVICE
Former Secretary of State and Four Star General Alexander M. Haig passed away recently. For those who have spent any time either living through his times with him, or studying him, his life of service to his country was one of incredible importance.
It was not at all important that he could wear four stars on his shoulders. Nor was it important that he was the nation’s number one diplomat for a number of years during his days as Secretary of State.
Secretary Haig was one of those people who was superb as an “assistant to” while always enjoying the respect of those he served, to the point of being able to ascend to the important jobs from his previous work as a gopher.
Haig served in Vietnam. His tactical abilities and his leadership strengths brought him to the attention of Henry Kissinger who, at the time, was helping Richard Nixon develop an exit strategy for that conflict.
Eventually, Haig moved to the Nixon White House and worked under Kissinger. His performance was so outstanding that he quickly became a confidant for both men, men who did not suffer fools gladly. When Kissinger advanced to the position of Secretary of State, Haig was the obvious replacement.
Nixon was so impressed by Haig that he jumped him over hundreds of military men who were ahead of him in the line for promotion and moved him straight from a two-star general to a four-star general. For those history buffs, take a look at how often something like that happens in our military!
When President Nixon became more deeply embroiled in the Watergate Affair, he became more recluse and less effective. The fellow who carried the ball for our nation during this crisis was not the vice president but General Haig. Nixon had lost his closest advisors, Bob Haldeman and John Erlichman. When he was morose and rambled on it was General Haig who sat in the other chair, cocktail in hand, and let the president rail against his enemies. Accordingly, when important matters needed to be handled, deftly and diplomatically, it was Haig who handled them for Nixon.
General Haig held the government together while President Nixon imploded. He did not do so constitutionally but, luckily for us, he did so patriotically.
When the crisis peaked, there was only one man who had Nixon’s ear and it was Alexander Haig. He carefully, and sensitively, convinced a president with an outsized ego to do the unimaginable, resign. He did so in order that the country could move forward. I don’t think there was any other person who could have brought this conclusion.
When Gerald R. Ford, an amiable but not a crafty or especially intelligent individual ascended to the presidency, he too kept counsel with Alexander Haig.
Gerald Ford lost his presidency arguably over the decision to pardon Richard Nixon so the nation could move away from the ugliness of the Watergate affair and let the former president have some sort of reasonable exile.
While that decision turned out to be Ford’s most important, and he later won numerous plaudits for having been so wise and bold, historians suggest, and I believe, it was Alexander Haig who carefully led him to it.
So when Caroline Kennedy presented Ford with an award at the Kennedy School of government, or when Senator Kennedy lauded Ford for his historically important decision, or when historians began writing of how important, and correct, the Ford decision on pardon was for our country, I imagine Alexander Haig sitting in a leather chair in his office comfortable in the knowledge that he was the behind-the-scenes player in all of this history.
As you know, Haig was made Secretary of State and served in that capacity for Ronald Reagan. In the time between his stints at the executive level he returned to the military and commanded our troops in Europe and in NATO.
On the day Reagan was shot and Vice President Bush was on an airplane it was General Haig who went before the cameras, with words he later came to regret, to insure the nation that someone was “in charge” at The White House. While his choice of words would haunt him, his purpose in speaking was dead on right. The nation needed to know that this was an isolated incident and that someone with Haig’s stature was at the helm until the vice president could return.
I mourn the passing of a great American, Alexander M. Haig. And I wonder how many other “subordinates” in the political arena could claim to have been so successful as a subordinate, and then so impressive as a player, that they could have worked through three administrations and had such a quiet, behind the scenes impact on American history.
This man impressed Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, men not easily impressed. He worked for them and then with them.
Former Secretary of State and Secretary of Labor George Shultz commented “no matter how you slice him, Haig comes up red, white and blue.”
The taps that are playing now for General Haig should be drowned out by the applause from Americans saying “thank you."
…Jackson Blair
A LIFE OF SERVICE
Former Secretary of State and Four Star General Alexander M. Haig passed away recently. For those who have spent any time either living through his times with him, or studying him, his life of service to his country was one of incredible importance.
It was not at all important that he could wear four stars on his shoulders. Nor was it important that he was the nation’s number one diplomat for a number of years during his days as Secretary of State.
Secretary Haig was one of those people who was superb as an “assistant to” while always enjoying the respect of those he served, to the point of being able to ascend to the important jobs from his previous work as a gopher.
Haig served in Vietnam. His tactical abilities and his leadership strengths brought him to the attention of Henry Kissinger who, at the time, was helping Richard Nixon develop an exit strategy for that conflict.
Eventually, Haig moved to the Nixon White House and worked under Kissinger. His performance was so outstanding that he quickly became a confidant for both men, men who did not suffer fools gladly. When Kissinger advanced to the position of Secretary of State, Haig was the obvious replacement.
Nixon was so impressed by Haig that he jumped him over hundreds of military men who were ahead of him in the line for promotion and moved him straight from a two-star general to a four-star general. For those history buffs, take a look at how often something like that happens in our military!
When President Nixon became more deeply embroiled in the Watergate Affair, he became more recluse and less effective. The fellow who carried the ball for our nation during this crisis was not the vice president but General Haig. Nixon had lost his closest advisors, Bob Haldeman and John Erlichman. When he was morose and rambled on it was General Haig who sat in the other chair, cocktail in hand, and let the president rail against his enemies. Accordingly, when important matters needed to be handled, deftly and diplomatically, it was Haig who handled them for Nixon.
General Haig held the government together while President Nixon imploded. He did not do so constitutionally but, luckily for us, he did so patriotically.
When the crisis peaked, there was only one man who had Nixon’s ear and it was Alexander Haig. He carefully, and sensitively, convinced a president with an outsized ego to do the unimaginable, resign. He did so in order that the country could move forward. I don’t think there was any other person who could have brought this conclusion.
When Gerald R. Ford, an amiable but not a crafty or especially intelligent individual ascended to the presidency, he too kept counsel with Alexander Haig.
Gerald Ford lost his presidency arguably over the decision to pardon Richard Nixon so the nation could move away from the ugliness of the Watergate affair and let the former president have some sort of reasonable exile.
While that decision turned out to be Ford’s most important, and he later won numerous plaudits for having been so wise and bold, historians suggest, and I believe, it was Alexander Haig who carefully led him to it.
So when Caroline Kennedy presented Ford with an award at the Kennedy School of government, or when Senator Kennedy lauded Ford for his historically important decision, or when historians began writing of how important, and correct, the Ford decision on pardon was for our country, I imagine Alexander Haig sitting in a leather chair in his office comfortable in the knowledge that he was the behind-the-scenes player in all of this history.
As you know, Haig was made Secretary of State and served in that capacity for Ronald Reagan. In the time between his stints at the executive level he returned to the military and commanded our troops in Europe and in NATO.
On the day Reagan was shot and Vice President Bush was on an airplane it was General Haig who went before the cameras, with words he later came to regret, to insure the nation that someone was “in charge” at The White House. While his choice of words would haunt him, his purpose in speaking was dead on right. The nation needed to know that this was an isolated incident and that someone with Haig’s stature was at the helm until the vice president could return.
I mourn the passing of a great American, Alexander M. Haig. And I wonder how many other “subordinates” in the political arena could claim to have been so successful as a subordinate, and then so impressive as a player, that they could have worked through three administrations and had such a quiet, behind the scenes impact on American history.
This man impressed Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, men not easily impressed. He worked for them and then with them.
Former Secretary of State and Secretary of Labor George Shultz commented “no matter how you slice him, Haig comes up red, white and blue.”
The taps that are playing now for General Haig should be drowned out by the applause from Americans saying “thank you."
Sunday, February 14, 2010
REAL GOLD
NOTES OF CONCERN
…Jackson Blair
REAL GOLD
We’ve all heard of “Fool’s Gold”. This designation refers in a derogatory manner to people who think they have found gold, something of value, but have only found the mineral pyrite that because of it luster and hue resembles real gold.
This “fool’s gold” came to mind as I was reading Mary Moreau’s wonderful chronicling of the almost 70 year marriage of Gardner’s
William and Annette Sargent.
The Sargents certainly found real gold, not fool’s gold, in their partnership. They met in high school, had a long courtship, got engaged, had a long engagement, got married and had, and are having, a long married life together.
Along the line, they worked side by side in the family business and in the work involved in raising two sons. They got involved in activities they both enjoyed and they partnered in all of them.
They traveled in an RV and they made friends far and wide.
Contrast these lives with what we see commonly today.
These two people worked at their love.
These two people allowed enough time between steps in their relationship to feel pretty secure about their feelings.
They became helpmates in the biblical sense to one another throughout life.
When they made a commitment to each other, they intended to keep it, to honor it, and to cherish it. From time-to-time they get to celebrate it, as they will in September, a month that will mark seventy years of married life for this 91-year-old husband and his 89-year-old wife.
As a society we should take a moment to marvel at this sort of story. It is all too uncommon. Our children and grandchildren, most of them, will not experience this lifelong love and commitment. It is no longer common nor is it highly valued in our society.
This year will mark my own 42nd anniversary. Like the Sargents, my wife and I met when we were in school. We had a four-year courtship before our marriage so I really count our time together as 46 years.
The majority of our friends from of our wedding party are now divorced. Divorce is so common among our generation. We count ourselves fortunate to have been able work together at building our married life, of trying to keep foremost in our own thinking the concept of commitment, not to mention making such a commitment before God.
I am writing this column on Valentine’s Day.
I read about the Sargents on Valentine’s Day.
All of this is very special to me as I am a bit of an incurable romantic when it comes to things like this.
Mr. and Mrs. Sargent, I am awed by your dedication to one another, to your story as it was written in The Gardner News, and to your ongoing faithfulness to the commitments you made.
I celebrate you. You stand out in this day and age as unique. You are to be congratulated and envied.
In September 2010, I hope you and your wife will accept an invitation from my wife and me to dine together. You two are role models that we would like to meet. You can contact us in September through this newspaper.
In the meantime, enjoy the real GOLD you have in your life.
Perhaps this is what was really intended when the phrase the “GOLDEN YEARS” was coined.
Too many today are living their lives with FOOL’S GOLD.
They are missing so very much.
--
…Jackson Blair
REAL GOLD
We’ve all heard of “Fool’s Gold”. This designation refers in a derogatory manner to people who think they have found gold, something of value, but have only found the mineral pyrite that because of it luster and hue resembles real gold.
This “fool’s gold” came to mind as I was reading Mary Moreau’s wonderful chronicling of the almost 70 year marriage of Gardner’s
William and Annette Sargent.
The Sargents certainly found real gold, not fool’s gold, in their partnership. They met in high school, had a long courtship, got engaged, had a long engagement, got married and had, and are having, a long married life together.
Along the line, they worked side by side in the family business and in the work involved in raising two sons. They got involved in activities they both enjoyed and they partnered in all of them.
They traveled in an RV and they made friends far and wide.
Contrast these lives with what we see commonly today.
These two people worked at their love.
These two people allowed enough time between steps in their relationship to feel pretty secure about their feelings.
They became helpmates in the biblical sense to one another throughout life.
When they made a commitment to each other, they intended to keep it, to honor it, and to cherish it. From time-to-time they get to celebrate it, as they will in September, a month that will mark seventy years of married life for this 91-year-old husband and his 89-year-old wife.
As a society we should take a moment to marvel at this sort of story. It is all too uncommon. Our children and grandchildren, most of them, will not experience this lifelong love and commitment. It is no longer common nor is it highly valued in our society.
This year will mark my own 42nd anniversary. Like the Sargents, my wife and I met when we were in school. We had a four-year courtship before our marriage so I really count our time together as 46 years.
The majority of our friends from of our wedding party are now divorced. Divorce is so common among our generation. We count ourselves fortunate to have been able work together at building our married life, of trying to keep foremost in our own thinking the concept of commitment, not to mention making such a commitment before God.
I am writing this column on Valentine’s Day.
I read about the Sargents on Valentine’s Day.
All of this is very special to me as I am a bit of an incurable romantic when it comes to things like this.
Mr. and Mrs. Sargent, I am awed by your dedication to one another, to your story as it was written in The Gardner News, and to your ongoing faithfulness to the commitments you made.
I celebrate you. You stand out in this day and age as unique. You are to be congratulated and envied.
In September 2010, I hope you and your wife will accept an invitation from my wife and me to dine together. You two are role models that we would like to meet. You can contact us in September through this newspaper.
In the meantime, enjoy the real GOLD you have in your life.
Perhaps this is what was really intended when the phrase the “GOLDEN YEARS” was coined.
Too many today are living their lives with FOOL’S GOLD.
They are missing so very much.
--
Thursday, February 11, 2010
PALIN PALMS the PRESS
Notes of Concern…
…Jackson Blair
PALIN PALMS the PRESS
OK. Sarah Palin wrote on her hand!
There it is. Right out there in the open for all to see.
Sarah has given new meaning to the words “Palm Pilot.” It might even be an infringement of some sort regarding that invention.
She has us in “the palm of her hand?”
She wants to “palm us off?”
Well, you can see where this all could lead!
Newspapers throughout the world got the story.
Columnists were ecstatic.
Talking heads on television had a week’s worth of story lines.
The “nut case” who currently runs what used to be Persia says he planned to shock the world on February 11th.
Who knew Sarah would steal his thunder?
Osama bin Forgotten is trying desperately to get the news media back to his cave but no one is showing up.
He is yesterday’s news. Sarah Palin’s handwriting is the story.
Record snowfalls have covered Washington DC. This is an especially wonderful story because what usually falls in the District and covers everything in sight is certainly not “white” and it smells, too.
But Sarah’s manicured hand is the lead story today.
The President speaks by reading his entire remarks from two (2) Teleprompters. All recent presidents have done this.
Ambassadors speak from prepared texts because the slightest misspeak could throw the world into a calamity.
Many CEOs and other leaders have little ear buds that provide them with the right words, as they seem to be speaking “off the cuff”.
Singers at The Metropolitan Opera seem to be looking out at the audience but actually there is a little round igloo looking contraption right in the middle of the stage, in which a fellow sits and follows the entire score and whispers out any lines that are forgotten by the singers.
Young boys and girls long ago mastered writing the answers to school test questions on their hands.
All of this pales in comparison with the few words Sarah jotted down on the palm of her hand before being interviewed.
So I smile as I watch the world go crazy again over something Sarah says or does.
What is this love/hate affair we have going with Sarah from Wasilla?
It feels a little like it must have felt when Nero fiddled while Rome burned.
…Jackson Blair
PALIN PALMS the PRESS
OK. Sarah Palin wrote on her hand!
There it is. Right out there in the open for all to see.
Sarah has given new meaning to the words “Palm Pilot.” It might even be an infringement of some sort regarding that invention.
She has us in “the palm of her hand?”
She wants to “palm us off?”
Well, you can see where this all could lead!
Newspapers throughout the world got the story.
Columnists were ecstatic.
Talking heads on television had a week’s worth of story lines.
The “nut case” who currently runs what used to be Persia says he planned to shock the world on February 11th.
Who knew Sarah would steal his thunder?
Osama bin Forgotten is trying desperately to get the news media back to his cave but no one is showing up.
He is yesterday’s news. Sarah Palin’s handwriting is the story.
Record snowfalls have covered Washington DC. This is an especially wonderful story because what usually falls in the District and covers everything in sight is certainly not “white” and it smells, too.
But Sarah’s manicured hand is the lead story today.
The President speaks by reading his entire remarks from two (2) Teleprompters. All recent presidents have done this.
Ambassadors speak from prepared texts because the slightest misspeak could throw the world into a calamity.
Many CEOs and other leaders have little ear buds that provide them with the right words, as they seem to be speaking “off the cuff”.
Singers at The Metropolitan Opera seem to be looking out at the audience but actually there is a little round igloo looking contraption right in the middle of the stage, in which a fellow sits and follows the entire score and whispers out any lines that are forgotten by the singers.
Young boys and girls long ago mastered writing the answers to school test questions on their hands.
All of this pales in comparison with the few words Sarah jotted down on the palm of her hand before being interviewed.
So I smile as I watch the world go crazy again over something Sarah says or does.
What is this love/hate affair we have going with Sarah from Wasilla?
It feels a little like it must have felt when Nero fiddled while Rome burned.
Monday, February 8, 2010
TENNIS ANYONE?
Notes of Concern…
…..Jackson Blair
TENNIS ANYONE?
I am not a happy camper.
As my regular readers know, I love snow. It is one reason I decided to live in New England. While it is not my intention to go into all the reasons I personally love the “white stuff”, because I have done so in this space before, I do want to moan a little about missing the spectacular, record setting, incredibly beautiful accumulation of snow that was enjoyed in states south of us.
SOUTH OF US? !
Give me a break!
Why do people in New York, New Jersey, Washington DC and Virginia, not to mention Pennsylvania, get all the good snow? There is not one iota of fairness in this.
People settle in those states so they can see a little bit of the white stuff from time to time but not be bothered by it. They do not anticipate blizzards with record setting inches of white.
Further, they are horribly incapable of handling snowfall.
Up north we are ready for this kind of event. We have the equipment and the “know how” to move it around and clear the roads. Those states south of us just aren’t sophisticated about snow removal.
Also, we have all (well most) of the great ski mountains in the east. We rely on snow to keep these businesses open and profitable. We also rely on snow to provide us with lots of outdoor entertainment during ski season.
Those “southerners” all get into their BMWs and Range Rovers and come to us when they want snow. And they like the idea they can just get back in their “wheels” and be rid of the snow whenever they want.
When I lived in the mountains of north Georgia (I don’t usually tell anybody I lived in Georgia) it would occasionally snow. We would get ½ inch once in a while.
Schools would close. Traffic would snarl. People would get their supply of candles and cordwood out. Nobody had any idea how to drive in it let alone get rid of it. Headlines in the paper would refer to the blizzard!
So when I got a message from my grandsons who live in Virginia (VIRGINIA!!!) that they had two and a half feet of powder and were enjoying five days off school, I was certainly grumpy. I looked out my window here in NORTH CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS to see the sun shining, the roads clear, and every kid on his way to school!
Who knew Global Warming meant “only in New England?” Somebody needs to tell Al Gore. And we should also tell those scientists in Europe and at the UN who were “cooking the information” that real warming is occurring here, right now.
Who new that this year tennis would be a winter sport in our area?
It is a good thing Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t live here with us because I would celebrate him seeing his shadow. This year he would probably have appeared in a Speedo!
This is the kind of stuff that starts civil wars.
…..Jackson Blair
TENNIS ANYONE?
I am not a happy camper.
As my regular readers know, I love snow. It is one reason I decided to live in New England. While it is not my intention to go into all the reasons I personally love the “white stuff”, because I have done so in this space before, I do want to moan a little about missing the spectacular, record setting, incredibly beautiful accumulation of snow that was enjoyed in states south of us.
SOUTH OF US? !
Give me a break!
Why do people in New York, New Jersey, Washington DC and Virginia, not to mention Pennsylvania, get all the good snow? There is not one iota of fairness in this.
People settle in those states so they can see a little bit of the white stuff from time to time but not be bothered by it. They do not anticipate blizzards with record setting inches of white.
Further, they are horribly incapable of handling snowfall.
Up north we are ready for this kind of event. We have the equipment and the “know how” to move it around and clear the roads. Those states south of us just aren’t sophisticated about snow removal.
Also, we have all (well most) of the great ski mountains in the east. We rely on snow to keep these businesses open and profitable. We also rely on snow to provide us with lots of outdoor entertainment during ski season.
Those “southerners” all get into their BMWs and Range Rovers and come to us when they want snow. And they like the idea they can just get back in their “wheels” and be rid of the snow whenever they want.
When I lived in the mountains of north Georgia (I don’t usually tell anybody I lived in Georgia) it would occasionally snow. We would get ½ inch once in a while.
Schools would close. Traffic would snarl. People would get their supply of candles and cordwood out. Nobody had any idea how to drive in it let alone get rid of it. Headlines in the paper would refer to the blizzard!
So when I got a message from my grandsons who live in Virginia (VIRGINIA!!!) that they had two and a half feet of powder and were enjoying five days off school, I was certainly grumpy. I looked out my window here in NORTH CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS to see the sun shining, the roads clear, and every kid on his way to school!
Who knew Global Warming meant “only in New England?” Somebody needs to tell Al Gore. And we should also tell those scientists in Europe and at the UN who were “cooking the information” that real warming is occurring here, right now.
Who new that this year tennis would be a winter sport in our area?
It is a good thing Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t live here with us because I would celebrate him seeing his shadow. This year he would probably have appeared in a Speedo!
This is the kind of stuff that starts civil wars.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Q-TIPS
Notes of Concern…
…Jackson Blair
ADVICE FOR THE Q-TIPS
How many men or women are holding jobs of serious significance in our country at the age of 89?
Our traditions of retirement at age 65 began a long time ago.
There were many and good reasons for setting a retirement age. The best reason is that every piece of research I know of suggests that we begin to lose our mental capacities as we age. We are slower to reach decisions, slower to learn new things, and our response times are slower.
Could some people not encounter this at age 65? Of course, Perhaps some don’t encounter the diminution of their capabilities and capacities at age 70, or 75.
That said, I seriously doubt that anyone at age 89 has the same sharp mind that he possessed at 40 or 50. Science would concur.
The second best reason for a retirement age is to make room for the younger talent to move ahead in their careers and to allow the elderly some time to “smell the roses” in life before death or incapacity alters the landscape of their existence.
John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, continues to occupy one of the limited numbers of seats available on that august bench.
John Paul Stevens has been an extraordinary Justice. He has participated in many landmark decisions. He has led the court’s majority, provided the swing vote when the liberal wing needed it, and made a great record during his tenure.
It is time for Justice Stevens to retire. It is long past time for Justice Stevens to retire. He has made his mark. His name will be forever in the annals of jurisprudence. He had his chance to make his mark on the world and he did so with intelligence, dignity and great dedication.
The balance between conservatives and liberals on the court is always a matter of concern to America. An unbalanced court can make far-reaching changes in the political landscape of our country. Most liberals would love to see a larger liberal majority. Conservatives dream of a strong conservative majority. I personally suspect that we are best served when the court is more evenly balanced in ideology.
At the moment, we have a liberal Democrat occupying The White House. Elderly liberal members of the Supremes, who contemplate retirement, would be well advised to step down when their successor would likely have a similar philosophy. The current president would be very likely to replace Justice Stevens with a man or woman who sees the laws of the land the way he does.
The President took the very unusual step of calling out the “Supremes” during the State of the Union message for their recent vote on campaign finance reform law.
Some think this was the way the President wanted to prepare the nation for the philosophy of those he will nominate to sit on the court, should he have the chance, during his remaining three years.
More importantly, his underscoring the issue of this change in regard to McCain-Feingold highlights the important impact court decisions have on all our lives.
A Justice who is approaching 90 years of age needs to step aside.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, in her late seventies, has had surgery for pancreatic cancer. As another strong liberal voice on the court, she also needs to be attentive to the four-year presidential term and think through her exit strategy.
My own philosophy trends toward the conservative.
So for me personally, I hope these folks decide to sit tight until a more moderate president sits in The White House. Having said that, as a political scientist by education I value the checks and balances the Founders envisioned for our government and I can see that the court could swing wildly right if either or both of these Associate Justices choose to stay glued to their seats.
I have a friend who retired to Florida, a state where he contends all the “Q-tips” live. It took me a few moments to realize he was referring to white haired people of retirement age.
It is time for the “Q-tip” members of “The Supremes” to think about their exit strategies in the best interests of our nation.
…Jackson Blair
ADVICE FOR THE Q-TIPS
How many men or women are holding jobs of serious significance in our country at the age of 89?
Our traditions of retirement at age 65 began a long time ago.
There were many and good reasons for setting a retirement age. The best reason is that every piece of research I know of suggests that we begin to lose our mental capacities as we age. We are slower to reach decisions, slower to learn new things, and our response times are slower.
Could some people not encounter this at age 65? Of course, Perhaps some don’t encounter the diminution of their capabilities and capacities at age 70, or 75.
That said, I seriously doubt that anyone at age 89 has the same sharp mind that he possessed at 40 or 50. Science would concur.
The second best reason for a retirement age is to make room for the younger talent to move ahead in their careers and to allow the elderly some time to “smell the roses” in life before death or incapacity alters the landscape of their existence.
John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, continues to occupy one of the limited numbers of seats available on that august bench.
John Paul Stevens has been an extraordinary Justice. He has participated in many landmark decisions. He has led the court’s majority, provided the swing vote when the liberal wing needed it, and made a great record during his tenure.
It is time for Justice Stevens to retire. It is long past time for Justice Stevens to retire. He has made his mark. His name will be forever in the annals of jurisprudence. He had his chance to make his mark on the world and he did so with intelligence, dignity and great dedication.
The balance between conservatives and liberals on the court is always a matter of concern to America. An unbalanced court can make far-reaching changes in the political landscape of our country. Most liberals would love to see a larger liberal majority. Conservatives dream of a strong conservative majority. I personally suspect that we are best served when the court is more evenly balanced in ideology.
At the moment, we have a liberal Democrat occupying The White House. Elderly liberal members of the Supremes, who contemplate retirement, would be well advised to step down when their successor would likely have a similar philosophy. The current president would be very likely to replace Justice Stevens with a man or woman who sees the laws of the land the way he does.
The President took the very unusual step of calling out the “Supremes” during the State of the Union message for their recent vote on campaign finance reform law.
Some think this was the way the President wanted to prepare the nation for the philosophy of those he will nominate to sit on the court, should he have the chance, during his remaining three years.
More importantly, his underscoring the issue of this change in regard to McCain-Feingold highlights the important impact court decisions have on all our lives.
A Justice who is approaching 90 years of age needs to step aside.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, in her late seventies, has had surgery for pancreatic cancer. As another strong liberal voice on the court, she also needs to be attentive to the four-year presidential term and think through her exit strategy.
My own philosophy trends toward the conservative.
So for me personally, I hope these folks decide to sit tight until a more moderate president sits in The White House. Having said that, as a political scientist by education I value the checks and balances the Founders envisioned for our government and I can see that the court could swing wildly right if either or both of these Associate Justices choose to stay glued to their seats.
I have a friend who retired to Florida, a state where he contends all the “Q-tips” live. It took me a few moments to realize he was referring to white haired people of retirement age.
It is time for the “Q-tip” members of “The Supremes” to think about their exit strategies in the best interests of our nation.
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