GOODBYE TO 2011

Notes of Concern…

                               …Jackson Blair

GOODBYE 2011

Since I began writing this column some of you have asked me for updates. You found some things of interest and wondered if I might revisit those topics.

If you recall my humorous column about visiting Thailand you will remember that there was unrest in Bangkok, my taxi had to be searched for bombs before I could enter the hotel complex, and the heat was horrendous.

More recently the unrest seems to have given way to horrible flooding with waters coming right into the city. I have a friend who has since moved to Thailand and it has been sad to read some of his comments. The heat remains horrendous.

This summer I ran a column about finding a kitten in a barn on Prince Edward Island. It ran with pictures. We actually had offers for all three kittens that were found in a barn wall. I am pleased to report the one I rescued is now living happily with some of our friends on the island. My marriage improved significantly when I gave away the cat!

I wrote a column about a pre-op visit I made to a hospital in the area. You may recall their refusal to call me “Jack” and insistence that I be called “Charles”. Well, I had occasion for another pre-op visit and I am pleased to report that the entire procedure was much more professional and they did, without much prompting, allow me to be called by my name! There was only one confusing situation in the most recent visit. It related to the rather touchy subject of a urine sample. When I found myself in a small bathroom with instructions written on a wall I was dumbfounded that they wanted me to “pee in midstream.”  Where do you suppose they thought I would find a stream in which to pee? Not to mention the legal difficulties that could ensue if I were to drop trousers and comply in public like that. And why, after finding a stream, couldn’t I just pee from the bank. Insisting I walk out into the stream was pushing the envelope a bit. I sure hope they revise those directions before I need to visit again. This “return to nature movement” is getting a little out of hand.

Over the weeks I had some fun teasing my colleague columnist Jerry Carton, he of the extreme liberal persuasion. I should point out in this last column of 2011 that I am continually amazed at his wealth of knowledge and his command of detail. Of course, I continue to think he misuses all that knowledge and misinterprets all the detail, but what the heck-he is a very nice fellow.

Unfortunately, Jerry is from Maryland and I am from Pennsylvania. We now both live in Massachusetts. I have been able to transfer some loyalty from the Steelers to the Patriots. My friend, Jerry, however is still glued to the Maryland pigskin novices.

In my column on “Fat Cats” a number of you agreed with my cat Toby in his thinking Wall Street honchos should be called “Fat Dogs.” In fact, a Fan Club of sorts has been forming for Toby. In light of his newfound fame my wife has agreed to let him off his diet for the holiday season. He now greatly resembles the famous Cheshire cat.

I have not been very successful in being subtle about my disappointment in the administration of Barack Obama. So I have decided in this last column of the year preceding the actual presidential election to say some nice things about the fellow. I do this in the certain knowledge that my subtlety will be even less obvious in 2012 (keep in mind that Jerry Carton will be keeping me honest).

So hear goes: the President is a very fine golfer and works quite hard (and often) at his game. He must be a great “date” because he and Michelle go to NYC often to see plays and dine out. And aren’t his two little girls cute?

That is about all I can muster. I hope Obama fans will find this a generous effort on my part.

I do have some resolutions for 2012:

1.   Try to be nice to people who haven’t a clue about government or politics.

2.   Make bets on Massachusetts’s sport teams.

3.   Do not rescue any more cats.

4.   Avoid pre-op visits until a hidden and secure stream is found in proximity to the hospital and keep an eye out for the morality police.

5.   Be nicer to my wife so she does not put me on Toby’s diet

On this New Year’s Eve I will toast all my readers with the hope you enjoy a healthy and prosperous 2012. Many thanks for reading what I write and occasionally sharing with me your own views. I look forward to the comments.

Jack Blair

jacksonblair@gmail.com

MY LETTER TO SAINT NICK

My Letter to St. Nick

Dear Santa:

I hate to start out with a complaint but your refusal to acknowledge my letter last year asking for a number of things that could improve the lives of my fellow citizens and myself really put me in a funk for an entire twelve months.

Now that unhappy year has passed and I feel confident you will acknowledge this year’s letter with its reasonable requests. Moreover, I feel certain you will be sliding down my chimney with a bag full of what I have asked.

This Christmas I am hoping you will bring me:

1.   Really experienced candidates for the presidency.

2.   A great turnout in the primary states and in the subsequent general election.

3.   Good debates where all the important issues get discussed and in which there are no “cheap shots” or “throw-aways” or outright untruths.

4.   An end to wars, hostile actions, nation building, self serving decisions in international relations, and the abandonment of former friends and supporters around the world.

5.   An improvement in the housing picture for all Americans.

6.   A huge increase in the employment numbers and a subsequent decrease in unemployment.

7.   A return to a simpler time where neighbors helped one another and the downtrodden at home and abroad.

8.   Greater confidence in government as a result of greater participation in the electoral process by all citizens.

9.   A new sense of teamwork in Washington and willingness to compromise in the interests of all people.

So you see Santa, my list is not overly long nor does it contain things that would benefit only me.

Please hitch Rudolph up to your sleigh.

In the interest of fair play, I am sending you a new team of reindeer.

It is always good to have choices.

Just whistle and shout, and call them by name.

Now! Obama, now! Romney, now! Gingrich and Paul,

On! Santorum, on! Perry, on! Bachman and Huntsman;

To the top of the polls! To the top of the Convention!

Now dash ahead! Dash ahead! Dash ahead all!

It is my hope Santa that one of your team will be adequate to bring me the small requests I have made.

Yours sincerely,

Jackie Blair

P.S.

In addition to the usual cookies and milk, I am mixing you a strong martini with bleu cheese stuffed olive. With the new team of reindeer I have sent you, it will be necessary that you be fortified for the ride.

SILLINESS: The Governors Romney

Notes of Concern…

                               …Jackson Blair

SILLINESS

Before Mitt Romney there was George Romney.

George Romney, a successful CEO of a major American automobile company, entered American politics and rose to become Governor of Michigan. Governor Romney had a beautiful wife, gregarious children and was a prominent Mormon. He was a handsome, articulate and successful man. He also was a candidate for the GOP nomination for President in 1964 and in 1968.

After George Romney there was Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney, a successful CEO of a financial company, entered American politics and rose to become Governor of Massachusetts. Governor Romney has a beautiful wife, gregarious children and is a prominent Mormon. He is a handsome, articulate and successful man. He is also a candidate for the GOP nomination for President in 2012.

During George Romney’s campaign for the GOP nomination he agreed to do a television interview in Detroit. In the course of that interview he was asked about the major issue of his day, the Vietnam War. Governor Romney responded that he had gone to Vietnam and while he was there he “had the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get when they go over to Vietnam.”

Presidential historian Teddy White wrote that Governor George Romney saw that as simply a “throw away” comment. He did not think of it as a seismic event in his campaign for president.

His Republican opponents picked up this simple “throw away” comment, as did the national press, and they clubbed him with it. The comment brought an end to his viability as a candidate and essentially collapsed his carefully orchestrated, long-planned, and well-staffed campaign. It deprived Americans of a tested and qualified candidate for the presidency.

Governor Mitt Romney has planned carefully for his well-orchestrated presidential campaign. He put together an outstanding campaign staff. His staff has built an admirable strategy and Governor Romney has sailed through this debate season, often above the fray, and for many months seemed the likely nominee of the GOP.

In his most recent debate outing Governor Romney got “off message” when confronted by an inaccurate statement about his stance on an issue. The total inaccuracy of a comment made by rival Governor Rick Perry of Texas brought about a “throw away” challenge from Governor Romney. He did something many of us have done. He said “want to bet!” He embellished that a bit by asking if Perry wanted to bet $10,000.

His Republican opponents picked up this simple “throw away” comment, as did the national press, and they clubbed him with it. The comment could bring an end to his viability as a candidate and essentially collapse his carefully orchestrated, long-planned, and well-staffed campaign. It could deprive Americans of a tested and qualified candidate for the presidency.

Fifty years have passed since Governor George Romney made a casual comment that brought an entire presidential campaign crashing down around him.

His son, undoubtedly aware of his father’s misstep and surely determined not to make a similar mistake, fell victim to our national silliness about campaigns.

Why would voters permit something so insignificant to overshadow a lifetime of good work, a dedication to public service, millions of newspaper columns dealing with the serious and sensitive issues of the day?

We show ourselves to be shallow.

We encourage politicians and press to go for the “news byte” approach to educating us. We prefer to be entertained rather than educated. And perhaps worst of all is the glee many enjoy at the slightest slip or embarrassment of any candidate who is not our own favorite.

I hope before this political season ends we will see that the silliness that brought down a credible and talented candidate for president almost 50 years ago is no longer the way we Americans select someone to lead our country.

Selecting a president is a serious event with enormous consequences.

Surely, in 2011, we can see that this is so.

For further information:  jacksonblair@gmail.com

LIBERAL WISHFUL THINKING

Notes of Concern…

                               …Jackson Blair

Liberal Wishful Thinking

Some liberals contend that the GOP has a pretty weak field in the presidential race.

 I enjoy reading assessments of the qualities, or lack thereof, of Mr. Cain, Governor Perry, Governor Romney, Speaker Gingrich, Ambassador Huntsman, U.S. Senator Santorum, and Congresswoman Bachman, along with many thinly veiled slaps at Governor Palin.

While we are all having some fun at the missteps, gaffes and learning curve we are witnessing  in the Republican debates, I think many writers who share liberal views need to keep in mind that every single one of the individuals named above have considerably more applicable experience at this juncture of their run for the presidency than did Barack Obama when he was seeking the nomination of the Democrats during the last presidential race.

Liberal writers would be better advised to write about the idealism and seeming promise of Barack Obama and the high hopes held by so many for his presidency and to compare those virtues that with the current field of “wannabees.”

Obama won huge numbers of voters to his campaign not because there was any hard evidence he would be good at the job, but because we liked him and we hoped he would bring his idealism, good heart, and lovely family and recreate “Camelot” for us.

Didn’t happen.

It didn’t happen because he did not have the experience necessary, nor the record of leadership required, to make the presidency work.

Unfortunately, leading the Free World requires the ability to decipher the mood of the people, to make the hard decisions and balance them with the easier ones, to be able to compromise and negotiate when you have to deal with the other branches of government, to be a real leader as well as an individual able to sell his programs far and wide, and to make the people feel comfortable with you as their leader.

For those of you who think the president has had a rough time of it because his predecessor left such a mess, or the Congress is not playing nice with him, or that he is subject to bad advice, or that as a minority there are still lots of folks out there who want to see him fail, I have a suggestion:

Get real!

This is the way our government works.

This is the way politics are played.

As President Truman famously said: if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen.

The person in the Presidency takes responsibility for the country for four years. It is his administration. He doesn’t blame former presidents for his situation nor does he take credit for the work of others. From “day one” a President accepts the full responsibility for the office and begins to write his own record, a record that he will have to defend if he wants another four years.

I have no idea who the next president will be. Further, it is silly to even argue over it before we know who will be on both tickets and whether a third party will emerge. When we are down to two tickets, four people who have a reasonable chance to win the presidency and vice presidency, and we are comparing their talents and experience and ability to sell their ideas, then will be the time to really take a hard look at policy proposals and leadership qualities.

What I do know is that our country is worse off today than it was three years ago. I know that Democrats like to quote the successful Clinton campaign cry: “it is the economy, stupid!”....but I am betting you won’t hear that battle cry much in this election.

I also know we have "boots on the ground" in more places today than we did three years ago and that our credit ratings have taken a beating. Our housing situation is horrible and our unemployment numbers awful.

So as we approach the next presidential election I do not think we will be looking for good hearts, idealism, movie star good looks…unless they come in a package with measurable experience and proven results. And that is what the writers, columnists and pundits should focus on in the interim.

The most popular guy is rarely the Chief Executive Officer in corporate America, academia, or anywhere else in the real world.

The Chief Executive Officer is a man or woman who has worked up through the ranks, has a measurable record of good decision making, and who leads his employees through personal experience and understanding the product, selecting and promoting the best people, and being outstanding at marketing. He also provides the stockholders with a good return on their investment.

We Americans invested in Barack Obama a few years ago. The coming election will surely be evidence of whether we feel he produced a good return on our investment in him as our leader.

Americans must look for strong, capable and determined leadership in the man or woman who leads us for the next four years.  This is the kind of talent we must have at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 2012. 

It may well be that people will feel President Obama’s four years of experience on the job is too valuable to ignore. It may also be true that people will feel he had four years to lead America to a better place and judge his efforts to have been ineffective.

On one thing most Americans can agree.

We are going to need some of that “change” President Obama talked so much about in the last presidential election to get through the next four years without sliding further back.

 

OLD & WISE

Notes of Concern…
                               …Jackson Blair


                                                                              OLD & WISE



When Andy Rooney passed recently at age 92, just a month after signing off on “60 Minutes” I found myself dwelling on the aging process.  It almost seemed as if Andy went as long as he could and when faced with the necessity of quitting his regular “gig” he just faded away.

I would have loved to hear what Andy might have said about this. Can you imagine the words and the humor he would have wrapped around one of life’s real experiences, one we will all face one day.

Unfortunately, we will never know. I am certain, however, he would have echoed what many think about aging in general and aging in America in particular.

Shortly after Andy’s passing my wife and I were enjoying dinner with two other couples of similar age. The conversation dealt with a lot of things we didn’t like that were happening in our world and a lot of nostalgic remembering of when things seemed better to us.

When I was a youngster I know I had a pretty well formed opinion of “Old Fogeydom.”  I thought everyone who was older than 18 was a card carrying member. When I graduated from college “Old Fogeydom” seemed to have raised their entrance requirements to 35. At 40 I was pretty sure the Old Fogies all were older than 60.

One of the basic requirements for entrance to the “Old Fogeydom Society for Bitching and Complaining” was that one had to be pretty convinced that everything was better in the old days than it is now and that the world was going to hell in a hand basket.

I think maybe I am actually a member now.

I want to resign.

As an effort to avoid being “tapped” for the Society people began starting rumors that the “old 60 is really the new 40.” Then it became the “70 is the new 50” battle cry.

It is time for someone to burst the bubble of this kind of thinking.

Age is 60 remains age 60.

Age 70 is, unfortunately, still age 70.

You can dye it, buff it up, take the show on the road…but basically life still pretty much falls between conception and age 90 for most of us.

The Reverend Billy Graham has a new book out titled Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well.  It is a wonderful commentary on approaching the end of the life journey. You do not have to be religious to see the value of his insights and suggestions. I commend it to my readers.

If you think everything was better in the old days and if you are apoplectic about most of the things that are happening today, take a moment and read what Graham has to say. And when you do, recognize that you could have written this book using your own experiences.

In fact, you have written this book. You haven’t published it but you have lived it. If you can “end well” your story will continue through the generations of your family and your friends.

You have to be enthusiastic about your future.

You have to enjoy the present.

You can value the past but it serves no good purpose to compare it to the present in which you are living. And my friends, if you are above ground and taking nourishment you are STILL LIVING.

And you need to look for, and accept, all the beauty that continues each day of your life and refuse to be vanquished by what you can no longer do and be amazed by all the new doors that have opened to you.

When we near the end we are really educated by life experience as well as books, formally and informally, more than all the other people alive.

We are loaded with information and have never been better prepared to find meaning in all that is happening. We are loaded with memories; memories the young have yet to experience. We are full enough of life to be able to watch what doors are closing and what new ones are opening; and to have an experienced filled ability to evaluate both with great wisdom.

But perhaps, most importantly, we can be grateful for the “run” we have had, excited and enthusiastic about what awaits us down the road, and committed to not just living our life but living our death and finding them both the great experiences of our existence.

Life is a journey and like all journeys it has a point when it begins and a time when the destination is reached.  Is anyone aware of a more fantastic journey on which we could be traveling?

Commit to living every minute of it.

And keep in mind that you are the peak of your knowledge and experience and therefore your opinions are better informed and more likely to be correct.

Getting to the point where you are today was always a goal. And each day the goal line moves to yet another day.

Don’t punt. Don’t pass that ball.

Run for more yardage and maybe even a touchdown!















For further information:  jacksonblair@gmail.com



C. Jackson Blair
978 978 855 9994

If you missed the last column published in the paper you can access it at:

blair-notes.blogspot.com

Website:  www.jacksonblair.org

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” -Einstein

Veterans' Day 2011

Address

Massachusetts National Veterans’ Cemetery

Veterans’ Day

November 11, 2011

By Jackson Blair

Selectman of Winchendon

On a day set aside to both remember and say thanks to our veterans, living and dead, it is sometimes helpful to focus on a real person, one who lived the kind of sacrificial life about which we are talking today. When I had the privilege of addressing you last year I focused on my own uncle who had served as a medic on Normandy Beach.

Today I have chosen former United States Senator and presidential candidate Robert Dole to highlight what we are all feeling and to serve as an example of the commitment, stick-to-it attitude, life of quiet service that so often typifies the veterans we honor.

Because of his prominence as a presidential candidate, we all know Bob Dole was a wounded veteran. As he aged and faded from the public spotlight how many of us know today what kind of life Bob Dole is living? How many know how often he has continued to need care and treatment? How many of us know how many months and years he has resided at Walter Reade hospital.

Just as we really don’t know about Bob Dole, there are many faceless, forgotten people who never achieved his fame who suffer not just at the time of their military service, but throughout their lives, from the wounds physical and mental. As General MacArthur said: many soldiers just quietly fade away. That is why each year we gather to say a collective “thank you” and to stop in our hectic lives to remember their service and sacrifice.

We look at the graves behind me, those straight lines and white markers, the flags flying in the wind and the sun reflecting off the rifles and helmuts of the honor guard, and we remember the dead.

We watch the parade and we applaud the veterans who march.

We must remember those who continue to suffer, surmount challenges, and live their lives to the fullest in the country they love.

Let us focus now on Bob Dole and remeber that he is an example of so many others who deserve our continued concern. The following is a compilation of published information on the life of Bob Dole:

In 1942, Dole joined the United States Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps to fight in World War II. Dole became a second lieutenant in the Army's 10th Mountain Division.
In April 1945, while engaged in combat near Castel d'Aiano in the Apennine mountains southwest of Bologna, Italy, Dole was hit by German machine gun fire in his upper right back and his right arm was also badly injured. As Lee Sandlin describes, when fellow soldiers saw the extent of his injuries all they thought they could do was to "give him the largest dose of morphine they dared and write an 'M' for 'morphine' on his forehead in his own blood, so that nobody else who found him would give him a second, fatal dose."^[8] Dole had to wait nine hours on the battlefield before being taken to the 15th Evacuation Hospital, where he began a recovery that would take until 1948 at Percy Jones Army Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan (where Dole met future fellow politicians Daniel Inouye and Philip Hart). His right arm was paralyzed; Dole often carried a pen in his right hand to signal that he could not shake hands with that arm.
The hospital where Dole recovered from his wounds, the former Battle Creek Sanitarium, is now named Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in honor of three patients who became United States Senators: Dole, Philip Hart and Daniel Inouye.
Dole was three times decorated for heroism, receiving two Purple Hearts for his injuries, and the Bronze Star with combat "V" for valor for his attempt to assist a downed radio man.

In 2001, Dole, at age 77, was treated successfully for an abdominal aortic aneurysm by vascular surgeon Kenneth Ouriel. Dr. Ouriel said Dole "maintained his sense of humor throughout his care."^[

In December 2004, he had a hip-replacement operation, which required him to receive blood thinners. One month after the surgery it was determined that Dole was bleeding inside his head. He spent 40 days at Walter Reed, and upon release his "good" arm, the left, was of limited use. Dole told a reporter that he needed help to handle the simplest of tasks, since both of his arms are injured. Dole undergoes physical therapy for his left shoulder once a week, but doctors have told him that he might not regain total use of his left arm. In 2009, he was hospitalized for an elevated heart rate and sores on his leg for which he underwent a successful skin graft procedure. In February 2010, he was hospitalized for pneumonia after undergoing knee surgery. He spent 10 months at Walter Reed, recovering from the surgery and experienced 3 bouts with pneumonia. Dole was released from the hospital in November 2010. However, in January 2011, Dole was readmitted to Walter Reed Hospital and spent about six days there, being treated for a fever as well as a minor infection.
Bob Dole has spent a lot of his years in military hospitals. You don’t hear about it. He seeks no sympathy. He just soldiers on, quietly and effectively. Most of the rest of his life he has been in the service of his country.
Dole also was responsible for a large amount of funds raised for the U.S. National World War II memorial in Washington, D.C.
On June 28, 2004, Dole was named 'Shining Star of Perseverance'
On September 18, 2004, Dole offered the inaugural lecture to dedicate the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service at which Dole chronicled his life as a public servant as well as discussed the importance of public service in terms of defense, civil rights, the economy, and in daily life. Typical of his patriotism and sense of fairness he made this inaugural lecture at the school named for the man who defeated him in the presidential election.^[20]
In 2007, Dole joined fellow former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, and George Mitchell to found the Bipartisan Policy Center, a non-profit think tank that works to develop policies suitable for bipartisan support.^[21]
That same year, President George W. Bush appointed Dole and Donna Shalala co-chairs of a commission to investigate problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.^[2]

This country has thousands of “Bob Doles,” men and women who serve their country, risk their lives, handle adversity and live lives of continued dedication and patriotism. Some of them are buried behind me in this beautiful spot set aside to honor those who have honored all of us.

We have been given a life of service by Bob Dole, a simple son of Kansas. And we have been given many lives of similar service by so many unknown veterans who returned maimed to the land they loved and dug in, pitched in, and lived important and sometimes anonymous lives.

While the tombs of the Unknown Soldiers remind us every day of the debt we owe, it also helps us to put a face on the service and to acknowledge specific men and women and their contributions. Bob Dole is the face I chose today, the poster boy for everything returning veterans have given to keep our country great.

The veterans who served thought their country was worth it.

The veterans who died thought their country and way of life was worth it.

It is our responsibility to steward the ship of state to ensure that these sacrifices continue to be “worth it.”

All gave much.

Some gave all.

May God bless the veterans and May God bless America.

Pope-Paterno-Penn State

Notes of Concern…

                               …Jackson Blair

Pope-Paterno-Penn State

This is not the column I planned to submit this week. However the news about the claimed abuse of young boys by a long time employee of Penn State University’s famed football program, and the University’s response, has angered me.

Football is pretty much a manly sport. The Penn State coach demonstrated he was not up to this.

Coaching carries a special responsibility for role modeling. Joe Paterno demonstrated he was not up to this.

And all of it requires the highest possible personal conduct requirements. From the President of Penn State right down the line none of this conduct was evident.

So when it becomes known that a coach has been seen engaging in sexual acts with young boys, reportedly as young as eight, it would seem to me that the information would be explosive.

Yet we are asked to believe that when Coach Paterno was told, he properly passed it up the ladder and then showed absolutely no interest in how it was resolved and that this is acceptable behavior.

Years later, when this information became public, the President of Penn State shares that he has complete confidence in the underlings at the University who received this news and the manner in which they handled the news. Since his expression of confidence, he accepted their resignations.

This sounds too familiar.

Not too long ago the parish priests didn’t know what was happening all around them. The Bishops didn’t know. The Archbishops didn’t know. The Cardinals didn’t know. The Pope didn’t know. And the people who did know, did nothing.

Millions of dollars changed hands. Parishes lost churches. Money that should have served the needs of the poor went into the pockets of attorneys.

Now the President of Penn State didn’t know. The Athletic Director didn’t know. Coach Paterno didn’t know. Local officials of the charitable organization formed by the assistant coach to bring young boys into his circle didn’t know.

No one protected the Catholic children.

Who was supposed to protect them?

It seems no one protected the athletes under the care of a long term university coach.

Who was supposed to protect them?

The President of Penn State has accepted the resignations of people who worked for him.

If these charges are accurate, the Board of Trustees should demand the resignations of the President of Penn State, who has full responsibility for the actions of those who work for him.

Coach Paterno has now announced he will step down at the end of the season. Not enough. He should step down immediately. He demonstrated an incredible lack of responsibility by not pursuing the story shared with him.

And the bottom line: whether the former coach actually committed these acts is the purview of a judge and jury. I certainly make no claim to knowledge of the actual details.

I have read the lengthy filing by the officials in Pennsylvania. There is no way you could read what they have found out and not believe that everyone working and living in the Penn State community did not have suspicions, or even direct knowledge.

This looks like, and smells like, a cover-up of immense proportions. The football program brings in around $70 million annually to Penn State I am told.

Officials who should know better seemed more interested in keeping the funding cash cow operation going than in protecting young boys from difficult circumstances.

The fact that the information was held in private and a proper investigation, according to clear legal requirements, was not conducted is in and of itself unconscionable behavior and deserving of condemnation by good people everywhere.

Joe Paterno seems to still be able to construct the actual format of his stepping down. Not acceptable.

The officials at Penn State who report to the president have tried taking the fall. Not acceptable.

The President of Penn State needs to accept responsibility for this egregious behavior that occurred on his watch and if he does not step down the Penn State Board of Trustees should fire him.

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. Joe Paterno has been a hero of mine for decades. Either age or an underlying lack of moral principles has brought him down.

 Penn State is a wonderful university with many distinguished graduates. This scandal does not reflect on the quality of a Penn State education but rather on the quality of the leadership of the university at this current moment in time.

The President’s insensitivity in this matter, and his seeming lack of concern for the young boys whose plights were reported, make him the poster boy for bad behavior by university officials.

This is a fast moving story and undoubtedly we will have many more pieces of information by the time this column is in print. Of one thing we can be certain, it will continue to be a sad story of big school fund raising, big school athletics, and people protecting their friends and associates at an enormous cost to young boys futures.

For further information:  jacksonblair@gmail.com

FAT CATS OF WALL STREET, and elsewhere

Notes of Concern…

                               …Jackson Blair

FAT CATS

If you have been watching newscasts about the current demonstrations and occupations around the country you have seen the term “Fat Cats” used quite often.

The people who are protesting feel that the “Fat Cats” of Wall Street have received way too much favorable consideration from the Obama administration and they should be held accountable for fleecing the people. This is a short attempt at describing what protestors are doing and in no way is meant to be a complete description of all their concerns.

At our home we have a fat cat named Toby. He was so fat when we got him we started calling him Tubby. He didn’t care what we called him as long as we were calling him to feed him. 

We inherited this obese feline when our daughter moved to England. My wife immediately put Toby/Tubby on a serious diet. Our other cat, Maggie, is svelte and agile. Toby/Tubby is not seen moving often so it is difficult to determine if he is agile, although we do get a glimpse of him in spirited flight anytime he encounters our two Labrador retrievers.

In some ways our Toby is like the Wall Street executives who really don’t care what you are asking as long as you are willing to sign a document designed to tie you to payments for 30 plus years at a good interest rate, guaranteeing you will lose your investment if you are late making payments or if some other disaster should befall you, like unemployment. He will sign anything for food.

The Wall Street Fat Cats want you to invest in bogus instruments and stocks, according to lore, so they can join the country club and drive the Ferrari. Our fat cat, Toby, just wants you to feed him some more because you think he will like you. The purring is all theater stuff!

Well our Toby has taken umbrage at the common and popularly accepted belief that these money grabbing, unscrupulous and greedy folks are like a cat. He is also particularly sensitive to their being likened to a fat cat.

As Toby points out, cats whether fat or slim are rather exquisite creatures who get to spend most of their time eating, mousing, or sleeping in the sun. They ask very little from society. They will happily purr when you pet them. They ask only that you feed them and leave them alone.

While they are often called a “family pet” I can assure you that they are really Lords/Lady’s of the Castle.

“Cats Rule” is Toby’s motto.

Toby thinks that a more proper comparison between greedy executives and animals would be the designation “Fat Dog”. He defends his position by pointing out that dogs do not purr. They gulp down food as if it would be their last meal. They do not clean their face after eating and certainly do not wash their hands. They insist on hanging their heads out windows of speeding cars. They bark at anything. They are both paranoid and slobbering in their dependence on humans.

They exhibit none of the class, independence or intelligence of a cat.

Toby hopes the intrepid reporters, both print and television, will begin to see that it is not the regal cat but the eager and dysfunctional dog that deserves to be compared to the greedy group of Wall Street Barons and money changers throughout the land.

So Toby hopes my readers will begin immediately to refer to the “Fat Dogs” of Wall Street.

Actually, when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.

But then, Toby is my cat.

My dogs, on reading this column, responded with:

“Doggerel!”

(Wikipedia: Doggerel is a derogatory term for verse considered of little literary value. The word probably derived from dog, suggesting either ugliness, or unpalatability)

Oh boy!  I sense the dogs are going to want next week’s column!

AUTUMNAL THOUGHTS OF ROGER WILLIAMS

Notes of Concern…

                               …Jackson Blair

AUTUMN LEAVES

As I write I am looking out at our autumn leaves. Yesterday I took a drive up into New Hampshire and marveled at how quickly the bright colors were appearing. It is a great season.

One of my favorite songs is Autumn Leaves. 

I especially like to hear it on the piano.

When I first heard it was when the famous pianist Roger Williams was playing it.  I am betting a lot of my readers also heard his rendition of Autumn Leaves “back in the day!”

Williams also played a wonderful rendition of Lara’s Theme from the movie Dr. Zhivago.  Again, a great hit for those of us listening to piano music in the 60’s and 70’s.

Both of these songs really did not need words! They were outstanding in instrumental versions.

Roger Williams died this month. Perhaps it is “chance” that he died in the autumn season but I find something surreal about it. Also, it seems somewhat fitting that he should take his exit in the autumn.

In the late 1960’s I met Roger Williams in Pittsburgh, PA. Richard Nixon was a candidate for president and Roger Williams was the entertainment for the night. The event was held in Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena, probably more known for it’s retractable roof and as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. But in my memory it was the night I first heard Roger Williams play the piano.

I was politically active in those days and I had a pass that permitted me to go backstage. As I hurried back after the performance, with expectations of meeting Richard Nixon and other political notables, the only person I found was Roger Williams. He was open and friendly and kindly signed a piece of paper that I took home and taped to an album I owned of his work. It was as if all the important people had rushed off to important engagements and Roger was left behind. Today I wonder if Roger was maybe the most important person present that night…even though we didn’t realize it!

Although I never saw him again, I am aware that he played for presidents and kings, politicians, large audiences in major concert halls and he provided a great deal of dance and “making out” music for college students and young adults!

I had a chance encounter.

It was memorable and meaningful. Imagine how many chance encounters Mr. Williams must have had with people throughout his storied and successful career. And he must have known how much his music meant over the years.

Do yourself a favor. Put on a CD of Autumn Leaves and sit back and remember those days. That music is as hummable, memorable and as classic today as it was then.

Roger Williams.

A class act.

RIP

A DECADE TOO LONG

Notes of Concern…

                               …Jackson Blair

A DECADE TOO LONG

We have now experienced the longest war in American History.

The Afghanistan mess!

Is it a war? 

Did Congress declare it a war?

Do Americans think of it as a “real war?”

Will the world be changed in broad positive ways as was the case at the end of WWI and WWII?

What in the world are we doing in that poppy growing, bribe taking, historically corruptible part of the world?

Osama bin Laden wasn’t there. He was in Pakistan. Our allies and friends, the Pakistanis clearly knew he was in their country. So surely our costly intelligence gathering community must have known we would not find him in Afghanistan.

The question remains: exactly what are we doing in Afghanistan?

More importantly, should we be sacrificing American treasure, the lives of young men and women, tax dollars needed urgently here at home, in Afghanistan?

Where is the national interest? What about Afghanistan warrants the horrific expenditure in dollars and lives?

There is no “winning” in Afghanistan. For those of you who remember that we did not “win” in Vietnam, surely you understand that even the vaunted Russians could not defeat the Afghan enemy.

Afghanistan has problems. The largest seems to be the Taliban. Americans do not like the Taliban. It appears lots of people in Afghanistan continue to like the Taliban. If that were not the case, we would not be in year ten of trying to defeat the Taliban.

Personally, I do not like Texas. I tried to like Texas. I went to Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. I just do not like it down there. To me it is just a group of people with big hats and no cows.

I didn’t like the way Lyndon Johnson of the Texas State Teacher’s College looked down at his cabinet because they had been educated, mostly, in New England.

I didn’t like George W. Bush’s swagger, the one he explained as “the way we walk in Texas.”

I don’t like the climate, the lay of the land, or the braggadocio that I find there.

So did I declare war on Texas? Did I want to fight Texans without declaring war? Did I think for one minute I would ally myself with some Texans who actually owned cows and ranches to rid the state of those who did not?

Nope.

I just don’t go there. My decision rid me of the problem and did not cost me one dime. It was simply common sense.

So I want to suggest to the President of The United States and all those who work for him and all those who sit in Congress that we just declare victory in Afghanistan and bring all our troops home.

 And then we should have the Secretary of State declare that no one can get a visa to visit Pakistan. That should solve the problem. It stops the loss of American life and the expenditure of American dollars.

It is not my intention to be simplistic or trite. I understand the responsibilities of world power. I identify with the plight of the downtrodden. It hurts me deeply to consider the American lives that have been lost on Afghan soil or to contemplate those that will be lost in the future of this mad adventure.

It is time to put an end to the American involvement in Afghanistan.

Does anybody currently holding important office in Washington, DC understand world history?

Not since the times of Attila the Hun and Genghis Kahn has anyone even come close to winning an engagement like the one in which we are currently involved.

The distance is too far, the historical record too clear, the cost too dear, the payoff too little and the goal too hazy for us to go one more mile down this road.

For further information:  jacksonblair@gmail.com

Have I Got a Vacation For You !

Notes of Concern…

                               …Jackson Blair

Have I Got a Vacation Location for You !

As we begin to stare into the face of fall, and with anticipation of a cold and snowy winter, people begin to think of vacations in the sun. Folks dream of Florida,  the Caribbean and Hawaii. Young people dream of spring break in Fort Lauderdale, or at least they once did.

Well, this week I learned that taking a hike in a war ravaged country like Iraq is right up there on top of the list for the younger set. No Fort Lauderdale for those youngsters.

A great deal of planning, not to mention consultation with parents, must have gone into putting together a way for young American citizens without military or government connections or influence to actually travel to a war zone and just go out for a walk.

I can understand their eagerness to see the countryside. Everybody knows Iraq used to be beautiful. Remember those scenes of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and tributaries when Cleopatra was wooing old Marc Anthony.

But I digress.

So off into the woods of Iraq go our dauntless three American young people. Evidently they went without any sort of map, or an out of date map, typical of kids these days, as they somehow stepped over some sort of unmarked boundary and ended up in Persia. Well, actually they ended up in Iran but I am assuming they used an old map when that country was known as Persia. That would explain a lot!

Their desire to get out of Iraq would be understandable.

Their desire to get into Iran, arguably a worse place for anyone with an American passport, defies all logic.

So the Iranians grabbed them and let the world know they had captured three American spies. Gee how does one jump from finding three hikers/campers to a charge of espionage? One would expect that perhaps the Iranians found it hard to believe that three young Americans decided to take a walk in Iraq and accidentally ended up in Iran without some sort of government encouragement or help. You know those Iranians. They have such vivid imaginations.

Years later, all three are now free thanks to the generosity of the government of Oman that decided, just out of the kindness of their hearts, to pony up $1.5 million in bail. (Note: the Congressional Research Service wrote last month commenting on US-Omani relations:

“The stakes for the Administration and Congress in Oman’s stability are considerable. A long-time U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, Oman has allowed U.S. access to its military facilities for virtually every U.S. military operation in and around the Gulf since 1980, despite the sensitivities in Oman about a U.S. military presence there.” )

Gee, you gotta hand it to those Omanis. And they didn’t even mention previous and future foreign aid from the U.S.

So our government demonstrated again that we do not pay any sort of ransom for any body.

No sir.

The Omanis demonstrated that they could be counted on in a pinch.

Yes sir.

The Iranians demonstrated they could score a cool $1.5 million to use on some “people oriented” national project, say like making nuclear bombs to throw at the Israelis.

And some of us wonder why the CIA continues to recruit on college campuses in the good old “U.S. of A.”

How stupid is that?

For further information:  jacksonblair@gmail.com