Personal note from George (as in Bush) and Laura

     Imagine my pride when I opened the mailbox and saw a letter from former President George W. Bush addressed to me, with "PERSONAL" typed right there on the front.
     Inside, there was a real nice photo of George and Laura with their Texas ranch country stretching way out behind them, looking healthy and happy with big smiles. I think it was because he doesn't have to wear a tie any more. Laura still dresses nice, as if folks might drop by any time.
     I was warmed by the tone of the nice personal note, too. He wrote, "Laura and I are grateful for your strong support throughout our years in public service."
     Shucks, it was nothing special, George. I think Americans SHOULD stand behind their President, especially when our boys in uniform are fighting in faraway places to keep democracy strong. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. I heard a lot of your supporters, mostly Republicans, say so. They said no true American would talk trash about the President of our country when times are tough. We should stand together.
     I haven't heard much of that kind of talk from those people since you and Dick -- excuse me, I know folks around the White House all called him Mr. Vice President -- Cheney left the White House. It's almost as if those folks don't seem so passionate about respect for the President these days.
     Back to the personal note. It says here, beginning with the second sentence, "Now, we invite you to join us as partners in a new project: the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas."
     Wow! I thought: A job offer! From the former President of the United States. And I thought he hardly knew I existed. I used to have a catalog of cowboy boots and the like around here. Wonder what became of it?
     Reading further, I really got fired up. Obviously, he had heard of my work as a journalist and writer, because he was mentioning that the "Bush Center will be home to my Presidential Library and Museum, where we will tell the story of my Administration" (I don't want to correct a former President, but I don't think administration should have been capitalized there) "and let visitors experience what it is like to serve as an American President during consequential times."
     I liked that little turn of phrase there, about serving in public office during consequential times. Maybe he'd have me over for a barbecue and we could have a soda pop and I could tell him about being a county commissioner during consequential times. Bet he'd like to hear some of THOSE stories!
     There was more, about standing together to promote shared ideals, which I agree this country could use a little more of, and then a sentence again about being "honored to have your support as partners in this important endeavor."
     And then he asked for a donation "of at least $25."
     Slipped it right in there, which, come to think of it, I learned is what politicians in general do really well.
     Bottom line is -- that's another favorite saying among Republicans -- "bottom line is," there will be no job with the museum, and, to be fair, there will be no $25 donation. The way I figure it, I lost a lot more than that in my investments in Halliburton, Mr. Vice President Chaney's firm, and I heard they did pretty well with contracts for cleaning up after the war in Iraq. Get it, "cleaning up"?
     Which makes me wonder: What kind of personal note did Chaney get? And those fellas out in Minnesota who raised millions for the GOP, and Grover Norquist, who owns something like 290 U.S. Congress members, just about all the Republicans.
     Bet their cards were prettier, and bigger.  

Table stretched into the living room . . . and back in history

    As I sat at the last seat available on Thanksgiving day, way out at a card table in the living room, it struck me that most of the people in the two rooms could not see just how far the tables stretched.
    We were all counting blessings, as we should. But a couple of us, the older ones, could see the tables of past years, and see faces that were no longer present.
    Our youngest diner is five, and two of the newest at the table joined the clan only a month ago, by marriage; a ready-made family for one of my cousins. We were hardly a Norman Rockwell portrait, but an all-American family, nonetheless; two widows (one recently remarried), partners and ex partners with stories of failed marriages and new starts, lots of happy memories and a few bad ones, and above all, high hopes.
    During the course of the day, there were casualties; two turkeys, for starters, and there was a broken dish, one burned dish of oyster dressing, a broken vase while the kids tore around the basement, and one little one threw up, but hey, it was, on the whole, a good day.
    Some of us seem to get together on only this one day a year; perhaps again at Christmas, or when there is a death or a wedding. Most of us have friends that we know better than some of the family, but it's still important, somehow, to spend this time together. There were several missing; conflicting commitments. But so it goes.
     At least the tables keep telescoping into the next room. They've actually stretched out of other kitchens and dining rooms in other homes, other years. The first Thanksgiving dinner I can remember was at the Witter home on Main Street in Manchester, in 1946. We were a new family in town, and the Witters shared half a turkey with us a little more than a month after we arrived.  We ate the other half of the turkey at our house on New Year's Day.
     Other memorable Thanksgivings were in the homes of my wife's grandparents, and then her parents, and the tradition has become ours, together. No one assigned it to us. It just happened.
     After they all went home, my wife and I watched a rerun of an old episode of The Waltons, the one where it seemed the family was fragmented beyond salvation, some with bickering and some by work and travel in the winds of the world, and the country was in mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy.
     Somehow, everybody got back to the old house on the mountain in Virginia, and Ma and Pa decided not to move into that new house they had always wanted to build but could never afford while the kids were growing up in the Great Depression, and John Boy made it home right after dinner, and .... well, it was pretty corny, I guess.
     Capped off my day just perfectly.

Supercommittee lived down to expectations

    I don't recall hearing anyone I know say, with any confidence, that the super committee in Congress would come up with a compromise that would fix problems with the American deficit.
    That just shows how little we expect.
    It also shows why our appreciation for politicians in general, and Washington politicians in particular, is at an all-time low.
    Americans are not alone in their estimation of their leadership. The Syrians have issues, and the Egyptians thought they fixed their problem by taking to the square in Cairo, but they're learning. Libyans are still waiting for the other shoe to drop, but, again, I don't have any great expectation that whatever comes next in the Middle East will be an improvement.
    After nearly 5,000 American soldiers' deaths, and untold civilian casualties, the outcome in Iraq is that they need a strongman leader to grab hold of the situation and end the chaos, kind of like what a fella named Saddam Hussein did for a couple of generations. If he were still around, they might have recruited him to take charge again.
    I thought it was kind of strange that the war to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists was waged in the one country that had put a lid on the radical Islamists, while we continued to cozy up to the Pakistanis and Afghans, who have more cousins killing other cousins and making bombs to blow up Westerners than Hussein could find on his best day.
    Not that I consider myself an expert on international relations. I have my hands full keeping the peace with other Americans. But that's another column.

At least the President we have can express himself

    I'm glad we have a President who speaks well in public.
    Perhaps it's because of the way my parents raised me. I share their respect for certain offices, such as the presidency of the United States, and for those who can stand up in front of a crowd and express a few thoughts in correct English, even if they do get help from a prompter.
    Most people I know who have aspired to any position of responsibility use notes, sometimes to the point where it's painful to watch them, let alone listen. For years, I have been a member of a service club that has numerous official meetings, with a whole protocol to follow, down to where do the visiting dignitaries sit, when are they introduced, and what is the correct terminology. The speakers make names for themselves, which is why by the end of some of their terms, the crowds tend to be smaller.
    Being a bit of an iconoclast, I do not always behave well at official functions. That's why I sometimes forget to let my wife know that it is a ladies' night, and that she is therefore invited. I can do without the nudges and pinches as I sit and glower, groan, fidget and sigh, waiting for the speeches to end and the pie to be served. I might have been raised to respect certain positions, but my lack of patience with people whose assessment of their importance relative to the title of their office betrays my best intentions.
    President of the bowling league is not in the same -- well, league -- as President of the United States. And too often, the lower the office, and the longer one holds it, the more likely they are to have an unfortunate over-estimate of their ability to speak without notes.
    But then I guess it depends on how well you relate to your speakers. Perhaps it's more acceptable in some circles to show more respect for the president of the rec league or the local horseshoe club than for the President of The United States.
   What I don't get is how anyone can excuse themselves for being rude to the leader of America because it's just politics. If you don't think there's politics in the rec league, you've never coached kids on the worse field in town.

Do Supreme Court Judges care about my health?

    It seems that just about anything we want to do, or stop, has to be run past the Supreme Court's justices.
    I'd rather have my doctors have a say in my health care. But they have their own problems dealing with the insurance companies who take my insurance premiums, then try to make a profit on the difference between my best interests and their own.
    My doctors used to complain all the time about the insurance companies. One invested in some equipment that would tell him early if I was developing a problem. Then the insurance company wouldn't reimburse him for the costs of using it.
    Everyone says you can cure almost anything if you catch it early, but the insurance companies seem to spend more money telling you not to get sick in the first place. Any doctor will tell you that finding lung cancer with X-rays is like learning of an earthquake from the weight of the building that just fell on you. CT scans are much better for early detection, but insurance companies don't want to pay  for the costlier CAT scans.
    I get notes and emails with tips for diet, healthy habits, exercise and all that. Very helpful, and more positive than the notes I get about medications my doctor orders for me; the insurance companies want to make sure I realln need those medicines, and can't I go with something less expensive?
    Lately, though, more of my doctors' complaints are about government bureaucracy, all the rules and regulations and paperwork they have to do to stay out of trouble with Big Brother.
    Funny, though; when I remind them that these are the same complaints they have with insurance companies, they stop for a moment and nod.
    What it comes down to is this: No one should get between my doctor and me when it comes to my health care.
     If what I pay in health care insurance doesn't pay for those executive limosines and six-figure executive salaries, they should make a case for raising their rates.
     And as far as Uncle Sam is concerned, I wish he spent more time on getting rid of the frauds who are preying on the public, and less time arguing the politics of whether the government should be involved at all.
     The government has been involved in health care for years, with oversight of the insurance companies, and through the courts -- lawsuits and criminal proceedings against the few who are caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
     Meanwhile, if you follow the cooking crumbs to the real rascals, you'll find yourself on the doorstep of one law firm or another. Or a politician's office.
     This is America, and we are in the 21st Century, so let's stop using 19th Century excuses for not meeting basic health needs for every citizen. Most civilized nations with paved roads have a more enlightened program for public health care than America does, so let's catch up, but keep the government's role to equitable funding and eliminating fraud.
     Let the doctors decide what patients need. Pay them for their knowledge and the hours they spend keeping up with the latest news and practices. The public has an interest in subsidizing the availability of vital medications, rather than letting the market take pills away from people who need them, just because the profits are no longer there.
    We share a culture, so we share all that it represents -- including bad habits and bad luck. If you live in this country, you should be entitled to basic health care, and you should be proud that you are a citizen of a compassionate nation.

Forums are farcical

     If you ask me, I think we have too many candidate forums leading up to elections, at any level.
     The people who run for office spend more time creating good answers than the questioners spend on finding good questions.
      And no matter what the questions are, or how astute the responses, what makes more headlines is any goof-up a candidate makes. Ask Rick Perry, who could not remember the name of that other government agency he would eliminate to save money.
     I have to wonder, too, who attends these forums. You can hear audience responses in the background, and sometimes it seems like they have substituted an audience sound track from cage fighting, or the Jerry Springer show. Where do they come from? Are these the same people who go to races looking for a crash, but tell you they like to see good drivers in action?
     There's plenty of hypocrisy to go around. It is, after all, a political event.
     Most people really care about good leadership, but I think they stay home from forums, knowing they won't see or hear anything there that does not serve the candidates or the parties, or the sponsors, more than it serves the public good. But I already said that; this is, after all, politics.
     Politics and show business. One reason why there are too many forums is because there are too many organizations who want to be associated with the publicity that results. It makes them seem important.
     I have participated in a few forums, and I almost never heard really substantive questions. Even less often did I hear substantive responses. If you notice, the candidates with the least to offer always are on the attack, and when asked how they would do it better, instead of answering the question, they launch into two minutes of how bad the incumbent is.
     When you think about it -- if you do -- neither a challenging candidate nor a defending incumbent can give a good answer to a question on a complex issue in 90 seconds, or whatever the limit. So we get attacks and warmed-over slogans.
     I think conservatives have an unfair advantage when it comes to forums. The simplicity fits their fundamental style, the time limits reduce the opportunity for wandering past the limits of their knowledge, and also plays to the attention span of their base.
     Moderates could stay home; when was the last time anything a moderate said in a forum made the news? Moderates stay within the bounds of reason and civility, and that's not usually very interesting.
     Liberals?  They're still talking, trying to fully explain their position, long after the lights in the hall have been turned off and the TV audience has turned to Survivor.

    

Andy Rooney really did have a point

     I'm going to miss Andy Rooney. I said that when he signed off with his last on-camera column last month, and I have to say I wasn't surprised to hear that he died this past week.
     In that last 60 Minutes piece, he said he wasn't going to retire, because writers don't retire. They may not be on the payroll any more, and some might argue that anyone who is 92 is past his time, perhaps irrelevant, but really wise people know better. I'm one of the wiser people on this. I can relate to Andy Rooney.
     Some people have complained for years that Rooney was no longer relevant, perhaps never had been relevant, as far as real journalists go. But Andy wrote about people, and people are always relevant.
     A lot of things that people do and say are irrelevant, and Andy was at his best when he was pointing that out. I like to do that, too, and I've even had people tell me I'm just like him; I suspect they were not fans of Andy Rooney.
     Andy was not the first columnist, of course, and not the first one to write the kinds of things that he did. He actually started on 60 Minutes as a staff writer, not a commentator, and did not start doing his columns on television until 1978.
     Those who said I just copied Andy were not aware that I started writing columns like that in 1969, first for the Hanover Evening Sun, and then for the Carroll County Times in the mid-1970s, when it was still a weekly. If I was influenced by anybody, it was the late Jim Bishop, Reporter. That's how he signed his Hearst Syndicated column; Jim Bishop, Reporter, because he had worked a beat, and even when he moved over to the column, he said he was still reporting on the human condition.
     He had a pal at Hearst named Bob Considine who would write a pretty good "people" column, too. They wrote books; Bishop wrote The Day Christ Died, and The Day Lincoln Was Shot, almost as if he was a reporter covering the events. I think he won the Nobel, or the Pulitzer, or some big prize like that, and Considine had a wall full of plaques, too, but that's not why they wrote the kinds of columns they did. I think they knew that by illuminating even the abject silliness of people, they were validating the humanity of all of us.
     Small truths add up to more than large opinions. Andy Rooney knew that. And life is short, even if you string it out to 92 years, as he did. He was a war reporter in Europe when I was in diapers; 25 years later, I was doing the same job in Asia.
     The actors come and go, but the human drama is the longest running show on the planet.

Planning "summit" shows up the county leadership

     Commissioner Doug Howard thinks the summit to trash Maryland's plan went well, and showed that it needs more time. Maryland Secretary of Planning Richard Hall says it was a missed opportunity to talk about something of substance.
     Put your money on Hall's assessment. Oh, sorry; you've already invested, and will continue to invest, in the agenda of  the Board of Darkness, the Council of Conspiracy.
     Much has been written about the use of taxpayer dollars to beat a tired conspiracy drum; the state, according to our leaders, has no business meddling in Carroll County business. They are mired in the mud of a time when there was no planning, no zoning, no awareness of the impact of a growing population on resources not only here at home, but downstream, to the Chesapeake Bay and beyond.
     The state acts in haste, they allege, and the county wants more time to rebut the case for responsible growth with this board's version of facts.
     These commissioners will never have enough time to catch up with the Maryland plan for a number of reasons, primary among them the fact that they don't want to.
     While the rest of the world moves forward, we are led by people who want to run full speed in reverse.
     The summit in Pikesville was designed to give Rothschild and other know-nothing conservatives a soapbox for the day to trash not just the state plan, but the fact that the state even has a plan that includes Carroll County.
     If they could, this board of five commissioners would take state transportation money only for the purpose of building a moat around the the county; there would be drawbridges to allow residential home buyers to arrive, then commute to the metro area high-paying jobs.
     Then we have the letters of support from the usual letter writers, the ones who think Rothschild is a genius and Frazier is a financial wiz.
     People ask me just about every day how this board got elected. I tell them they got lots of newsprint when they criticized the master plan efforts, spending, and general operations of the previous county administration, but little scrutiny.
     These five, who complained about the money being spent by previous administrations, is using taxpayer dollars in a down economy to sell a threadbare ideology. They would be more frugal, they promised. More open, inclusive, respectful of opinions of others.
     And at least three of them -- Howard, Rothschild and Frazier -- probably truly believed that they could all but secede from the state of Maryland, perceived by the Rigid Right as too liberal for Carroll Countians. They're finding out they were wrong, but don't look for them to concede that fact. Instead, they will continue to spend your money to appeal to like-minded know-nothings and bask in the adulation of the more outspoken ignorant.
     They are less open with the general public than they are with their back-room friends and loyalists. It is enough, obviously, to be obstructionists, to create chaos rather than find solutions to complex challenges that face all Maryland residents, and not just Carroll Countians.
     Why not? It's the new national model for politics.
     Now that they're in there, they are getting the scrutiny they should have had as candidates, but it's too late, and their publicity is costing the taxpayers more than has been tallied -- and the meter is still ticking.