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PEOPLE ARCHIVES -- JULY 2010
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JULY 26, 2010 -- AUGUST 2, 2010 REMEMBERING DANIEL SCHORR, "A LIVING HISTORY BOOK"
Daniel Schorr stood in that pantheon of television journalists who reported history and shaped history. My earliest impressions of the world were formed by his reports, as were my ideals as a professional journalist, a vocation I've pursued for nearly 40 years now. I've not had as many significant confrontations over truth-telling as he, but when I did, Dan Schorr was one of the moral guides against whom I gauged my own actions. We shall not see his like again, but perhaps there are some younger journalists out there who will seek to emulate his model of honesty and persistence in their own ways. All of his listeners will miss him deeply. Read the article NPR/Journalism legend Daniel Schorr dies at 93 <> It is a sad day to lose a voice such as Daniel Schorr's. Other journalists would do well to take note of his healthy skepticism - it would be a welcome tonic to the misreporting that often passes as journalism. Daniel Schorr did not refrain from criticizing- just by presenting the facts. Giving every utterance equal weight in the name of objectivity is not journalism. Daniel Schorr understood that to obtain a more objective view, that the research had to be done and present information to cause listeners to think about the issue and draw their own conclusions. Read the article NPR/Journalism legend Daniel Schorr dies at 93 <> Dan Schorr spoke with the honesty, integrity and fearless of men and women my father's generation who always understood right and wrong, spoke up to power and chose for the right even when it cost him his job(s). My grandmother called him a mensch years ago when he made the "enemies" list, but among the wonderful condolences below, the greatest honor comes from the edited bigot and hater who "honored" his unswerving defense of a woman's right to choose. To me, it was almost as if I were listening a reasonable evenhanded kindly uncle who happened to be a great historian and honored scholar suggesting I weigh the facts carefully as I decide. As that uncle, I loved him and respected him and the honor Scott Simon showed him in their wonderful interviews. And Now, I miss his council and humor already, another Yahrzeit in a crowded month of Yahrzeits Read the article NPR/Journalism legend Daniel Schorr dies at 93 A TORMENTED PATH FROM "ISLAND BOY" TO "BAREFOOT BANDIT"
I think that Colton Harris, all his young life, was just trying to find a way to survive the best way he could. His mother could not have met his needs in any way. She in fact did the damage. He obviously is smart. I think it is a sad, sad commentary on our society. Someone in his community ( including the school) could perhaps have stepped in and helped this boy before things got so bad. The school, social services and community all failed him. What would any of us have done growing up with no nurturing and an abusive mother like that? I find it surprising that so many people feel so vindictive in regard to this kid. He didn't have a chance. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/'Barefoot bandit' started life on the run early <> Mr. Colton Harris-Moore was extremely lucky he was not apprehended by citizens here in the San Juan Islands. He terrorized these islands for over a year, and he would not have been dealt with gently. Most of the people he robbed were not wealthy, they were mom-and-pop stores and homeowners. More than that, he robbed us of a way of life--of unlocked houses and neighbors trusting neighbors. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/'Barefoot bandit' started life on the run early <> I know what it's like to starve and be in the home of someone who does nothing but drink and run around. I didn't choose the path that he did but it's a wonder that I didn't. If you haven't lived this life of growing up and not knowing where you will get your next meal or gone through having to open a can of green beans that will be your breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the day-then I say you have NO IDEA what it does to a child. If you didn't live like this then shut the hell up. It must be nice looking down on children who grow up like this from your ivory towers while holding silver spoons full of food in happy homes. It wasn't right to steal but you learn quick how to survive when NO ONE cares for you or takes the trouble to protect you. Even DCFS didn't help him when they could. And now he's a thief, go figure. First we make thieves and then we punish them :( Read the article PEOPLE/Report sheds light on Barefoot Bandit's troubled youth
JULY 19, 2010 -- JULY 25, 2010
I have to say...They are such a handsome family. I wish them the best. Despite Levi's media battle with Sarah, I don't recall him ever badmouthing Bristol. Something tells me Mama Palin stuck her nose in something that really she might have left to her daughter to sort through on her own. And she seems to have tried too hard to overcompensate with Bristol's life after apparently not knowing at all what was going on with her daughter's sexual activity. If she is a controlling mom, no wonder she wasn't told about the marriage before US. I am happy for them. Everyone deserves a chance to make their family work. Read the article US MAGAZINE/Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston engaged <> I cannot even begin to understand all the hate and moronic comments on this story. While I DO NOT like Levi and I feel that he HAS NOT changed one iota, we have to respect Bristol's wishes, right or wrong, she is an adult at this point. While I'm at it, I admire the Palin family very much, they seem to really stick together and have put up with a heck of a lot of terrible criticism. I mean, how terrible is it to make fun of a poor handicapped baby, that goes for ANY handicapped child. Sarah Palin puts up with a lot and it actually makes me laugh because she doesn't have to do anything and the left just keeps attacking for no reason... Read the article US MAGAZINE/Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston engaged <> I write this for independent thinkers only. Read the article DAILY BEAST/Bristol Palin: "It just feels right"
THE EVERYDAY SPLENDOR OF HARVEY PEKAR
I truly enjoyed his sensitive musings about the ups and downs of contemporary life. Like Mr. Samuel Johnson, Mr. Pekar's "ramblings" conveyed the ironies of contemporary life that mar the sensitive soul. His work and comic strip cried out with the angst of the lost soul of the working man. I will miss him. The loss of his everyman appeal showed once again that we should not ask for whom the bells toll... Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Harvey Pekar, graphic novelist, dies <> I met his wife Joyce and through her I met Harvey in the late 80s. A very nice man. I recall spending an hour talking to him in their Coventry apartment. I did not know about his jazz record collection until years later, but I remember he also had an extensive book collection. Wall to wall book shelves filled the apartment and Harvey said that what I was seeing wasn't even half their collection. We talked about all kinds of things including his appearances on Late Night. I'll never forget Harvey's response when I asked him why David Letterman kicked him off his show. "Because I told him that he was full of !@#$ " A true Clevelander indeed! I can only imagine the issues of "Heaven Splendor" that Harvey must now be writing! :) Read the article CLEVELAND.COM- PLAIN DEALER/Cleveland comic-book legend dead at 70 <> A good, decent man who embodied all of the good things about Cleveland and represented this city with class, dignity and compassion. If you want to erect a giant mural in downtown Cleveland, put Harvey Pekar on it. He was one of a kind, and one of us. RIP Read the article CLEVELAND.COM- PLAIN DEALER/Cleveland comic-book legend dead at 70 <> I find this news to be very depressing. Of course, almost **everything** about Pekar was depressing, but in a very good way. Making life's quotidian annoyances into epic travails is normally an objectionable trait, but he did it **right**. Then, when a true calamity like the disease (of a family, not just of a person) described in "Our Cancer Year" comes along, it takes that same talent to make it into art rather than just whining. His passing is a major loss not just to the comics world but to American culture in general. Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Harvey Pekar, graphic novelist, dies
JULY 5, 2010 -- JULY 18, 2010 TO BEHOLD OR NOT TO BEHOLD? -- A PRICKLY QUESTION ABOUT TATTOOS
I'm heavily tattooed but I have a personal policy. I never get a tattoo that can't be covered by my clothes. My tattoos express The stages I have gone through in my life. My war service, my buddies death in Vietnam, my "outlaw biker" period, my drug soaked period, my rebirth, Discovery of my greater spiritual self and the meaning of life, my family, my wife, children and grandchildren. There are also parts that show my love for my native Texas.
Read the article MCCLATCHY/Tattoos spark a new concern: When must they be covered? <> Well, I'm personally not offended by any tats so I don't draw any line. Who are the managers of facilities to make that determination? They are the managers of the facilities, tasked with assuring that everyone enjoys they day at the pool or amusement park or whatever and doing what they can within reason to accommodate everyone's needs and rights, that's who. I doubt any of them wake up thinking of ways to infringe on their guests rights. But once someone makes a complaint they can't ignore it. They have to make that determination. Read the article MCCLATCHY/Tattoos spark a new concern: When must they be covered?
JUNE 28, 2010 -- JULY 4, 2010 THE MAN WHO CARRIED THE CONSTITUTION
As a West Virginian, I am appalled by the self centered and uncaring comments posted by the readers of this article. We in this great state will mourn this man and so will you once you realize the impact the Senator had on protecting the rights of the people by defending the rule of the Senate in the realm of American politics. We all have things in our past we are particularly unproud of- his was more public because he chose to make his life and career public. He will be missed in this great state- despite what those here may believe Read the article CNN/ Robert Byrd, longest-serving member of Congress dead at 92 <> While I've never been a fan of Byrd's politics, it is comforting to know that someone can begin life as a racist, and abandon that view as they mature. Read the article CNN/ Robert Byrd, longest-serving member of Congress dead at 92 <> Concerning Sen. Byrd's racism. Are you people ignorant of history. If you go back to 1942, this was a very racist country. It was mostly the accepted norm, as much as you would like to put your "feel good" blinders on and pretend people had a more developed social conscience back then. The racist policies have still not been completely ironed out of our society. If we could pick you up in a time machine and drop you in West Virginia in 1942, I am sure you would be shocked, appalled and fear for your life. That's just reality. To this man's credit he developed his social conscience enough to learn to defend the poor and racially discriminated. He realized the error of his ways. He corrected himself and he humbly served his constituency for over 50 years. There is not ONE among you today who are bashing this man who can say the same thing, because it is blatantly evident from your hateful words that you don't have a clue about morality, good and evil, conscience and respect. You are on the same path Sen. Byrd was when he joined the KKK, hateful people don't always wear white robes and a hood. As a matter of fact, most of them disguise themselves as "do-gooders" and "caring people" when in fact their hearts burn inside with hatred. Read the article CNN/ Robert Byrd, longest-serving member of Congress dead at 92
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