Odds and ends, 6/27/07

You don't have to do much searching to find stories about various members of Congress who want to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. Why? To muzzle talk radio.

I find some right-wing commentators obnoxious and whatever, but why single out the one medium that is not friendly to those in power right now? (Duh).

I prefer the First Amendment in its simplest form and simplest interpretation. That includes getting rid of any attempts to muzzle political speech in the name of campaign reform or fairness. The West Virginia Legislature considered such a law a year or two ago. I prefer to think of such laws as "The Incumbent Protection Act of 2007" or whatever.

Letting the great minds in Washington and Charleston decide who can say what, where and when just doesn't sound like a wise policy to me.

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First, the AP story, then my comment:

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday accused former President Clinton of not responding forcefully enough to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing or later terrorist attacks.

The former New York mayor criticized Democrats, accusing them of weakness and naivete in dealing with terrorism. Giuliani made the comments to about 650 business, corporate and political leaders at Regent University, the conservative Christian college founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.

“Islamic terrorists killed more than 500 Americans before Sept. 11. Many people think the first attack on America was on Sept. 11, 2001. It was not. It was in 1993,” said the former New York mayor.

Giuliani argued that Clinton treated the World Trade Center bombing as a criminal act instead of a terrorist attack, calling it “a big mistake” that emboldened other strikes on the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia, in Kenya and Tanzania and later on the USS Cole while docked in Yemen in 2000. ...

Democrats were quick to criticize Giuliani.

“Rudy’s arrogance has gotten the best of him,” the Democratic National Committee said in a one-paragraph response. “How can a man who failed to prepare New York City for a second attack after the first one, who sent firefighters and emergency workers into Ground Zero without respirators and quit the Iraq Study Group to raise money keep America safe?” ...

Other than arguing over the accuracy of Giuliani's comment, it appears the primary season may have morphed into one where people are going after their probable opponents in the other party rather than those in their own. This was the first wire story I saw today on that.

Having said that, there's little reason for someone like me here in West Virginia to get really worked up over the primaries. Why should I? What say will I have? By the time most West Virginians get a say, it will be only to verify and confirm the candidates that voters in other states have chosen.

If this election is as close as the previous two, perhaps West Virginia's voice will count in the 08 general election, but I have a hard time seeing how it will matter in the primaries.

But that's probably how it is in a lot of smaller states. Who goes to New Hampshire or Iowa in September and October unless they absolutely have to?

The reverse would be true for the primaries. Take California. In primary season, candidates need to win that state, but for the general, they already know it's not really in play, so they don't have to spend much time there.

So let's see how much attention West Virginia gets in the next 18 months, and when it gets it.

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Another thought on the passing of Bob Evans:

It would not have been the same if his parents had named him Jacob or Dustin or Joshua or Jim or Sunbeam or Apple or Morgan or Gary or . . .

Bob Evans was a Bob. If he wasn’t named “Bob” at birth, he would have had to change it.

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You've seen the "deer crossing" signs around here. When I was in Alaska a few years back, there were several "moose crossing" signs. And I've had to stop on my road a few times while a momma wild turkey led her chicks across.

On Sunday, I saw something new.

My kids and I were coming down Route 2 in Mason County. We were right above the RV park near Glenwood when a skunk and four little skunklets crossed in front of us. We stopped, and traffic coming the other way stopped. The skunks took their time crossing. Momma kept watch on her babies and led them into the weeds between the road and the ditch, and they disappeared.

It was the first time my kids had seen live skunks in the wild. They had seen them as road kill, but never walking free in the wild.

Perhaps the DoH needs to put a "skunk crossing" sign near the RV park. Or maybe not.