DC Reflections

A GOP presidential debate that Republicans would be wise to remember

I hope that Republicans across America remember last night’s GOP presidential candidate debate when they almost certainly lose the White House again in 2016. Everything you need to know about what’s wrong with today’s mainstream evangelical Republicanism was on full display last night in Wisconsin. Republicans will certainly continue to win congressional and state legislative seats they continue to gerrymander but winning a national campaign represents a different challenge – and one that Republicans are clearly not serious about accomplishing.

Republicans a year from now can look back with regret at many moments from last evening’s well-run debate by Fox Business Channel – which dared to ask candidates intelligent questions aimed at generating answers rather than instigating food fights in a middle school cafeteria. I hope Republicans remember that …

• They booed the most reasonable, practical and moderate person on stage. That’s Ohio Governor John Kasich. They booed him because he began to suggest that if a bank “too big to fail” were about to go under, he would look for ways to help the depositors who would suffer the most. He noted that when someone is actually in charge of running things, idealistic philosophy doesn’t always work. For stating that he would seek to even attempt to help Americans who would be hit the hardest in a bank crash, his party booed him. This is the same party that cannibalized its own Speaker of the House because he was not extreme and out of touch enough. Kasich is too reasonable and capable to win a GOP primary, which is exactly why he could win the White House for Republicans if they could look far enough beyond their own noses to thrust him into a general election.
• They booed former Florida Governor Jeb Bush for articulating a sensible, humane approach to illegal immigration, positions Senator Marco Rubio himself used to support before he decided he wanted to run for president. Rubio like countless other Republicans with reasonable and laudable positions on various issues backed away from to appease the religious right majority in his party. Republicans in the crowd last night cheered for the likes of the ever-misguided Senator Ted Cruz, who tried to couch the problem of illegal immigration as an economic issue -- except that he expressed exactly the wrong understanding of those economics. To be clear, undocumented workers (no human is an alien) are a net gain for the U.S. economy. If you would like to would like to conduct a contest to see what could destroy our economy the fastest, go ahead and deport every undocumented worker and let Donald Trump build his wall. Undocumented workers now as they have throughout our history take jobs that most Americans find beneath them, providing back-breaking labor for low wages. Our agricultural and poultry industries would collapse due to losing its entire workforce and food suppliers would be forced to exponentially increase their prices in order to attract enough Americans to perform those jobs. Countless other industries would suffer, too, and that pain would be felt by everyone in this country. And oh by the way, Republicans, it’s not usually a great idea to constantly antagonize the fastest growing voting demographic in the country. It’s doubly dumb when your only two candidates with Hispanic heritage are leading the charge.
• They failed to understand Senator Rand Paul’s accurate criticism of Rubio’s intellectually inconsistent intentions to provide child care tax credits and increase military spending – both of which Paul viewed as non-conservative ideas. He is right on both points, underlying his roots in a more intellectually consistent political philosophy – libertarianism – and is doubly right in pointing out that a bigger military does not mean a better military. Republicans have conniptions when Democrats say that the answer to a problem is for the federal government to spend more money on it yet are oblivious when they call for the same thing. Paul is also right in calling for the U.S. to lessen our involvement in regions like the Middle East where there aren’t valid reasons for our young men and women to die. More spending does not equal more safety.
• They derided candidates such as Paul and others who recognize that science is actually a thing and that global warming is an issue that threatens our future. Paul artfully called for a balance between our energy needs and protecting the very environment that enables us to live. Bush added to the debate by pointing to his solid record land conservation successes in his state that are playing a role in reducing carbon emissions.
• They applauded tired throw-away lines from the likes of Cruz when he talked about eliminating the IRS. It’s so easy for any candidate to bash the IRS and point to it as the axis of evil. Even if a Republican tax plan became law, we would STILL need someone to collect and process our taxes. No Republican is suggesting that we repeal all taxes and eliminate all revenue from the federal government. The IRS is just a bogeyman. The underlying problem is not with “lobbyists” and “special interests” on K Street in Washington D.C. but with voters who elect officials that create tax laws granting favor to Republican and Democratic interests alike.
• They cheered for blowhards like Trump and policy-challenged candidate Ben Carson. Those two have no business running for president of the United States. There is no need to expand on Trump here as he will fade fast enough as more people realize that he has nothing to offer but insults and bad reality television. Carson is more frightening with his combination of blanket evangelical views that deny equality and equal rights – and more frightening views with much of his other rhetoric. Carson is the man who believes that providing healthcare to poor Americans who can’t otherwise afford it is worse than the institution of slavery (his words), that Planned Parenthood is a plot to control minority populations (his words) by placing abortion providers in them, and who repeatedly makes subtle and vague statements that he refuses to clarify about some nebulous forces or people in the U.S. being worse than Nazi Germany (his words). Then there’s my new favorite – that biblical figure Joseph built Egypt’s pyramids for use as grain storage (his words).
• They applauded candidates who continue to make “Washington D.C.” another punching bag
  in American politics. Do Republicans not realize how silly they look when they wrongly blame the District of Columbia for everything that goes wrong on Capitol Hill and the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Only one member of Congress is actually from here and she doesn’t even get to vote. All the rest come from EVERYWHERE else in the country. The majority of them are from Republican-dominated states. Voters, “We the People,” send every elected official in Congress and in the White House to Washington D.C. If Republicans don’t like what happens here, send us better people! They can start with the ones they booed and ignored last night. Secretary Clinton can start picking out White House furniture if they don’t.

 

Let's boycott Toys R Us for vile "meet the trees" commercial

I started yelling at my TV last night the moment I realized how vile the new Toys "R" Us commercial was. I don't generally speak much to my television set but the toy sales company has reached a new low with a spot that opens with an adult dressed in safari clothes standing in front of a bus with "Meet the Trees Foundation" painted on it. The next shot shows the man on the bus telling a bunch of children that they're going to look at leaves.

The camera pans to the bus full of children, making them all look like prisoners on their way to a hard labor camp. Visiting nature, according to Toys "R" Us, is something children must do because they're being punished. The kids on the horrendous commercial are bored, miserable and hostile toward the prospect of spending time in the great outdoors.

The idiot guide then reveals that he is not really forcing them go on a nature excursion. They're going to the vile toy store in question, where they can obtain any toy they want. The kids erupt in cheers.

I didn't hear anything after that because I was too busy fuming. I will never set foot in a Toys "R" Us store again and I encourage people everywhere to shop elsewhere this holiday season. The company should have to suffer consequences for sending such blatantly offensive and inaccurate messages to parents and children alike. News flash to Toys "R" Us: Giving children a chance to spend a day in the natural world makes for a much greater gift than buying cheap, plastic crap made in China.

I am all for advertising. I myself am in the retail sales business -- selling antiques and collectibles. Advertising serves its purpose and I strongly support any company's right to free speech. Companies should be held accountable, though, when they convey messages as crass and disgusting as what the "Meet the Trees" commercial does.

Giving children a chance to experience the genuinely wild world around us -- the real world -- is truly one of the greatest gifts any parent could ever give a child. Experiencing nature gives children and adults alike the chance to connect with something larger than ourselves. It gives us a chance to think, reflect, and explore. There is extraordinary beauty and majesty in the woods. Even looking out the windows from my home office as I write this, I see enormous trees with deep orange leaves glimmering in the mid-day sun. Black-capped Chickadees are fluttering around with sparrows, cardinals and nuthatches as they look for a snack. Big bushy-tailed squirrels are goofing around chasing each other all over the back yard.

Memories are flooding my mind from the times I took my then kid brothers out to explore parks and woods all over the place. I'm also thinking about a time a decade-plus ago when I took the youth baseball team I coached in Decatur, Georgia to Sawnee Mountain in Forsyth County. I was then working as a public affairs manager for the Georgia office of the Trust for Public Land and I spent a lot of time promoting the work TPL was doing to save Sawnee Mountain from development.

I didn't know what a couple of car loads of kids would think about spending a day in the countryside but I took them up there with no plan other than to just start walking up the mountain and go wherever nature and the day took us. We carried no electronic devices. 

It only took a couple of minutes for my diverse group of baseball players to begin appreciating the natural world. They picked up flowers and asked for their names. They asked about all the different kinds of trees and insects. They ran through the woods, jumped over logs, stood atop tall peaks overlooking ponds, lakes and green grass that stretched into the horizon. They marveled at deer that bounded by us in the distance and became mesmerized by an array of other wildlife calling Sawnee Mountain home. They started playing old-fashioned games like hide-and-seek and then began to invent their own games using their imaginations and the natural world around them.

I introduced them to a woman who grew up on that mountain. She recounted stories about what life was like growing up on that spot. She even showed us a little one-track wooden roller coaster that her father made when she was a child. The kids took turns sitting on a small seat on wheels not much bigger than that of a skateboard, pushing off and racing down a little hill and then up the other side -- whooshing back and forth until they came to a stop.

We spent the whole day on our real "meet the trees" trip. I chose to stay quiet once we were back in my car so that I could just listen to the guys talk to each other. I hoped that they had been inspired by the day. Sure enough, one guy announced to his friends, "That was cool!" All the others agreed and began talking about what they liked best. One young man called me out.

"You know what I'm going to do when I make it to the Major Leagues?" he asked. "I'm going to write a check for one million dollars to the Trust for Public Land."

His teammates cheered him on, then another spoke up. "This was even better than a trip to Six Flags," he said of an amusement park by that name.

More than a decade later, an adventure to meet the trees is also worth infintely more than a trip to the vile Toys "R" Us. 

Contact Toys "R" Us and let the company know its ad is terrible. Contact The Escape Pod, too, and let it know that you despise this awful ad.  

[Update from Nov. 13, 2013. I just received an email from Toys R Us responding to my blog post and email and informing me that it has yanked the commercial! The backlash against the commercial ultimately came from people all over the country so congrats to everyone who spoke up! Here is how the company couched the retraction -- and I do give the company credit for responding to me personally. 

Dear Christopher – 

We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts regarding one of our recent commercials.  It certainly was not our intention to infer in any that going to a toy store is better than going on a field trip. The bus detour was simply a surprise for a group of kids from various organizations who might not otherwise receive a toy they wished for during the holiday season. Also, please know that this commercial is no longer airing on television. 

We value and thank you for your comments, which we will be passing along to our Marketing team for review. 

Sincerely,

(Kathleen Waugh)

Toys“R”Us Corporate Communications

 

 

Jury gets it almost right in John Edwards trial

The John Edwards trial jury got it almost right today when it found the former U.S. senator from North Carolina not guilty on one charge and declared themselves deadlocked on the rest -- prompting a federal judge to declare a mistrial. The only more appropriate verdict would have been not guilty findings on all the other charges.

While I am not normally one to jump to the defense of someone who engaged in porcine behavior, even John Edwards deserved a fair trial that keeps him out of prison. Pigs deserve justice, too. 

The trial was an absurdity from the start. If anyone is guilty of anything, it is the bad decision making by the person or people in the federal government who decided to prosecute this case. If elected officials made the call, impeachment is in order. If non-elected federal prosecutors made the decision, they should be relieved of duty immediately. The wastes of time and taxpayer dollars were ridiculous. Note to the Feds: Try worrying more about violent crime and the economy, less about who's sleeping together.

Here's what John Edwards did: By his own admission, he did an awful lot of bad. That's not a crime. 

Edwards obviously cheated on his wife, fostered a child out of wedlock and let rich friends pay hush money to keep the child's mother quiet. The question of whether he knew his friends were footing such a bill is moot. He didn't commit a crime even if he did know. Federal prosecutors brought baseless charges that Edwards violated campaign finance laws.

One gaping hole in that theory that should have stopped the trial before it started?

Even the Federal Election Commission determined Edwards violated no campaign finance laws. It plainly stated that the hush money paid to keep Edwards' mistress quiet did not constitute a campaign contribution. Apparently, the prosecution was baffled by the complex legal construct that if someone doesn't give money to a campaign, it's not a campaign contribution! Change campaign laws if you think that will stop Democratic and Republican big money from getting around contribution limits but there is no law preventing anyone from paying for a mistress to stay quiet about the identity of a child's father. 

If the ever-anal FEC determined Edwards did nothing illegal, it makes no sense that another arm of the federal government thought he did. (Nor did it make sense that U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles barred the jury from learning about the FEC's findings. Shame on the judge.)

As many including Edwards have said, the once-promising pol committed many acts of appalling behavior -- sins if you will -- but he did not break laws.

That of course didn't stop Republican insiders like David Frum from leaping on CNN to declare that the trial result puts the presidency and elections at all levels in great peril. Imagine, Frum said, that if Edwards had been elected president, he would have been beholden to his rich friends who paid his mistress the hush money.

Please.

Like all modern presidents aren't beholden to the big dollars that put them in office in one way or another. There's no difference between the influence that Edwards' donors Fred Baron and Rachel "Bunny" Mellon would have had on a Democratic president than what oil and gas industry titans have on Republican presidents. Each of the two old political parties -- equally useless in my eyes -- have long lists of big donors and big organizations that put them in office because we the people don't do enough to replace them with better parties and better people.

Before GOP hypocrites like Frum start ruing any days and trying to score political points on the back of a properly humiliated Democrat, they should look at the facts of this case: John Edwards is a pig -- and it is not illegal to be a pig. 

We the people should not have had to foot the bill for federal prosecutors who thought it was.

 

 

 

 

 

No one should die from a foul ball

A 39-year-old firefighter named Shannon Stone in Arlington, Texas, takes his 6-year-old son to see a Rangers game and to try to catch a foul ball -- a dream shared by fathers and sons that's as old as the game itself. Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton picks up such a ball and, like every other outfielder in minor and major league baseball, gently tosses it up into the stands.

Dad reaches out for the ball, loses his balance, falls over the rail and dies.

His last words before he lost consciousness? Somebody has to get his son, who's up in the stands all by himself.

The boy lost his father because his dad was simply reaching for a baseball. 

I can't begin to imagine the eternal nightmare the tragedy will be for the child. His dad was just trying to put a smile on his face. That's all. Shannon Stone wasn't drunk, wasn't doing anything stupid, wasn't trying to make SportsCenter with some play of the day. He was just trying to catch a gently tossed ball for his son -- a memory they could treasure for a lifetime.

Yet a man who has exited burning buildings carrying human beings in his hands dies catching a baseball.

How does this child ever learn to live with this pain? How will he not be reminded of it almost every minute of the day, especially in Texas, where there's baseball around all the time. You've got Ranger games, televised games on satellite and cable every night, and Little League through high school games in every town. America's past time killed a boy's father.

How sick of an irony is that?

How will Hamilton not be scarred for life? How will he not break out in a cold sweat every time he picks up a foul ball? It wasn't his fault. It was just a one in a billion freak accident.

And the fans who watched the firefighter-father fall to the concrete -- how will they ever get over that? 

If the father had a heart attack or got struck by lightning -- or died trying to rescue someone -- that I might at least be able to comprehend. Those horrors are within the realm of imagination. But this -- it's simply preposterous. There are a lot of ways to get killed in a baseball stadium. A Potomac Nationals player was lucky to survive a blow to the head.  It's a blessing that screaming line drives over the dugouts don't hurt more fans than they do. But a tossed ball? 

I'm still sick.

I can't stop thinking about it. My love for baseball runs deep. The game has given me great joy in my life -- from going to games with my dad when I was a kid to coaching kids once I grew up. My girlfriend and I spend as much time as we can traveling to minor league games now.

I remember a famous game I went to with my dad. You've heard of this one. It was Aug. 1, 1978 in Atlanta. I was 9-years-old and a huge fan of our loveable loser Braves. A then beloved guy named Pete Rose was chasing Joe DiMaggio's record of 56 consecutive games with a hit. Rose was at 44. I loved him and the Big Red Machine, too. We wanted to see him reach 45 and continue his quest.

Rose hits a foul ball to the right side between first base and the outfield. (If anyone has that game on TV, I want to see it.) The ball is coming directly toward me and my dad. We both stand up, extend our arms. My heart is thumping. I'm envisioning my greatest souvenir -- a foul ball hit by Charlie Hustle during "the streak". The ball continues directly toward us as if sent on purpose. It's mine ... until the ball hits a low-hanging electrical wire and bounces to someone else.

I was crushed. We had that sucker.

Rose went on to strike out in his last at-bat and the streak ended. I've still got the ticket stub to this day.

I've also still got my dad.

 

 

The next Ron Howard film? Story about local pet sanctuary could be a blockbuster

A few of DC Reflections' loyal readers know that Won-ok Kim and I have started a little side business selling antiques, art, home decor, collectibles and other things -- but you may not be aware of our real mission ... helping great causes we care about. The first charity we're supporting is House With A Heart Senior Pet Sanctuary in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Far from being a dreary place, we found it to be something akin to the Ron Howard film "Cocoon" except with dogs instead of people getting younger.

We would be honored if you checked out a blog post I wrote about it on our new Orion's Attic blog. House With A Heart does some amazing work and deserves all the support it can get. Give it a read and help us pass it far and wide if you'd be so kind. We would be further honored if you're inspired to lend your personal support to House With A Heart.

 

No chance to say goodbye to D.C.'s baby ducks

I couldn't believe it when I got the news last Monday: He was gone.

I'm not referring to bin Laden. Enough has been said about him already. I'm talking about "Barry". That's the name I gave to the baby mallard who was rapidly outgrowing his baby duck siblings at National Geographic on M Street. I called the giant one Barry because it looked like he had been making like Barry Bonds while his brothers and sisters bulked up the old fashioned way -- pumping worms.

I fell in love with the ducks before they were even born. Momma Duck nested in some flowers just outside my office at The Wilderness Society, cranking out 11 eggs. Everyone at TWS and in our building took care of the pending brood. I checked on Momma Duck several times a day and laughed like a little boy getting my first puppy when I got to fill her water bowl. She was so beautiful ... so precious, as my mom would say. So wild.

I was surprised that she chose downtown Washington D.C. as her sanctuary. I was worried what might happen when the kids were born.

"M Street is no place to raise a family," I told her. "I hope y'all make it out of here."

I nearly paid a visit to the cigar store when I returned to work after a weekend and saw 10 black and yellow baby ducks wobbling around. They somehow made it across the street and took up residence at National Geographic, which promptly tried to hog the credit for their care. A Washington Post story even put words in Momma Duck's beak, suggesting our The Wilderness Society's building wasn't to her liking. Our president William H. Meadows promptly rebuffed that egregious accusation in a letter to the editor.

The ducks became huge news in the District and across the nation. They even got face time on The Today Show on NBC. I dashed across the street every morning, every lunch break and every day after work to make sure they were adjusting well to their new home.

My favorite moment came during lunch when they learned how to leap down into a little pool in front of National Geographic -- a distance several times their body height. Mom sat there waiting for them to jump while all 10 lined up on the edge of the pool. Barry flung himself into the water without hesitation. The rest huddled together and debated the issue before ducks two and three took the plunge.

The rest hesitated, continuing to look from side to side and saying that it was another's time to jump. All but two threw themselves down, the faintest "bloop" resonating with each landing.

Ducks Nine and Ten wanted no part of the exercise. I'm not sure if mallards have knees but their legs were definitely trembling.

"I'm not going, you go!," Nine commanded.

"No!," Ten countered. "If you're so brave, you go -- you big chicken."

Nine took the insult to heart and split in mid-sentence. Bloop!

Ten stood there all by himself, the rest of the family staring up at him. Momma Duck sweetly called on him to join the fun. His siblings teased him.

He remained there for quite some time.

"I can do this," Ten told himself. "I know I can. I know I can. Here I gooooooo!" 

If ducks don't have bellies, Ten had just invented the waterfowl flop.

I was enthralled with every moment I shared with the ducks. I even stood there and watched them in the rain. The water came down and the ducks all raced for a seat underneath mom. She kept them nice and dry.

She could not keep them all safe.

On a morning check-in not long after that, I spotted only Momma Duck, Barry and three siblings. I thought the other six had perhaps gone for a swim somewhere else. I quickly learned from Nat Geo staff that the other six had been eaten. Word was that a combination of raccoons and hawks got them.

My knees buckled. Tears welled up in my eyes.

Intellectually, I understood that there are laws of the jungle but what's the point of living the nation's capitol if you can't help repeal unjust laws? I barely spoke a word to anyone for the next two days. Crazy as it may sound, I was grieving for a half-dozen ducks. The little ones seemed to be in shock, too. 

Trepidation filled my steps every day thereafter. I didn't know if I could handle counting fewer than five.

I did reach the magic number each time, delighting in the joy of those who remained yet still wishing there were more. I wondered how long it would be before they were big enough to fly away or before authorities helped them move into a more suitable neighborhood. I figured it would be a while yet.

Then I returned from work on Monday and saw no paparazzi on the scene. The yellow tape marking safe viewing distance was clumped on the ground. 

"No, this can't be," I thought. "It's not time yet."

I ambled across the street and spotted nary a bird. They were gone.

"I think they left on Sunday or this morning," another Nat Geo staffer told me. "I look for them every morning when I get here, too."

"Did they leave on their own or did -- (I couldn't bring myself to finish the thought)?"

"I heard they flew away," she said. "They left on their own will."

Whew.

I felt sadness wash over me despite the relief that came with knowing they were safe.

Five days have passed and I still look across the street every time I enter and exit the Sumner Square building. There's an illogical part of me that hopes they'll return -- the same part that causes me to keep my old Siberian husky's dog house even though he passed away four years ago.

I imagine I'll strain my eyes every time I'm riding my bike along the Potomac or passing through Rock Creek Park for the next 10 years -- hoping to find that the mallards have taken up residence there and that we'll somehow be able to recognize each other.

I just wish I had been able to say goodbye ... especially to Barry, who I pray will be able to keep his mom and siblings out of harm's way. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No apology needed: Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery

Moments after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Vice President Joe Biden stepped to the podium inside the marble white Memorial Amphitheater and told a story about a wounded veteran he met. The man's legs were gone and one of his hands were mangled.

The soldier reached up with his good hand to the triangle above his bed, hoisted himself into a sitting position and apologized: He said it was his intention to greet the vice president by standing and saluting.

Tears shot from my eyes and air flew from my lungs. 

I wasn't the only one gasping -- or crying. Sitting beneath a brilliant blue sky amid a sea of red, white and blue, everyone of us felt the power of Biden's words. Old soldiers got misty-eyed, civilians of every age and hue wiped their eyes. Even children too young to understand what war is seemed to sense they were experiencing a hallowed moment on even more hallowed ground.

Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery packs a punch. That's why I went. Experiencing that day at that site had long been on my list of must-have life experiences. Now I think I'll make at an annual tradition.

Spending the day there was my way of paying tribute to my grandfather Wilbur Young, who fought in World War II and whose sailor's hat sits in a place of honor in my home along with the bullet casings from his 21-gun salute funeral. I went to honor my uncle John Young, one of the countless unsung heroes of Vietnam. I went to honor my kid brother, Gregory Lancette, a newly minted Navy man who graduated from boot camp this summer. I also went to thank the millions of men and women I've never met who have placed their lives on the line for this country.

Biden asked the crowd if we knew what was the most frequently asked question he received from wounded soldiers. Several possibilities raced through my mind but I wasn't even close. The vice president said the number one question he gets is this: "Sir, can you help me get back to my unit?"

Tears erupted again and I thought I was about to start sobbing. A little girl broke my concentration when she sprinted away from her young veteran parents in record speed. I threw out my right arm to scoop her up and swing her back to mom and dad. A flag in my shirt pocket fell to the ground but got scooped up so fast I couldn't see which of the nearby men in uniform retrieved it. I blinked twice and wondered if the flag pickup had been a figment of my imagination.

Biden and other speakers including Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki trumpeted some good news -- faster and better benefits and long-overdue increases in all kinds of programs for veterans among other things. He also issued a notice to all who seek to do us harm, saying that we will never shrink from danger and that we will never be defeated.

In between speeches, a member of "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band belted out songs that took me to a place where no music ever has. His voice reached into my guts and lifted me as high as the flags draped behind the speakers and guests of honor. Soldiers saluted, colors retired, canons fired and the service ended. 

Silence enveloped the amphitheater. I chose to walk back down to the Arlington entrance instead of waiting for the bus, drifting off in thought again. I wished that more employers would close on Veterans Day so that more people could attend ceremonies honoring those making the ultimate
sacrifice. 

I saw a plot of land being prepared for a new section of graves. I thought of America's men and women bravely wearing uniforms that day -- doubting that any of them had the remotest idea that they will soon lay there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funeral protest case offers chance for some to just shut up

Just saw a report on NBC Nightly News about a difficult and disturbing case landing on the Supreme Court today. The suit was brought by the father of slain solider Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder after protesters from a so-called church -- Westboro Baptist -- in Topeka, Kansas, picketed his funeral with vile, nasty signs expressing joy that Snyder was killed in Iraq. 

"Thank God for dead soldiers," one read. They said he deserved to die because, well, I'm having a hard time understanding their alleged thinking process. Something about God punishing America because it tolerates gay people. 

I generally try to avoid giving the intellectually and morally challenged -- America's ignorant minority -- an additional platform. Today's Supreme Court case, though, raises a question that challenges my ardent support for the First Amendment: Should even the most repugnant words expressed in the most inappropriate places be protected by the same legal covenant that our nation's founders intended for, among other things, a free press? In other words, does the First Amendment give you the right to speak in such a way that reveals you're a pig?

The New York Times did a nice job laying out the arguments in its piece on the Snyder case. You can delve into the pros and cons of each side there.

It's hard for me to get to the legal question because I feel compelled to first address the religious issues here. Just as I hate it when simpleton, racist Southerners go on TV and make my native South look bad (most of us are not simpleton racists), I don't like it when morally retarded church-goers make all Christians look nut jobs (most of us are not nut jobs). Anyone invoking God's name to suggest that he is a hate-mongering bigot of any stripe is not addressing the God in my contacts list. The God I speak with each evening before I go to sleep is a loving divinity that discriminates against no man, woman or child. He does not condone prejudice or hate even against those like the Westboro Baptists who wrongly claim his mandate.

My Southern roots and nightly prayers aside, I readily admit I've long held a much greater passion for the U.S. Constitution than I do the bible. I am a student of the American Revolution and a person with great reverence for the freedoms it gave us. Should those freedoms include the right for hate mongers to trample the funeral of a young man who paid the ultimate price for his patriotism? I'm not sure that I can think of a public act so contemptible as what the Kansas Baptists did. 

Mr. Snyder had previously won an $11 million jury verdict against the church's pastor, Fred W. Phelps, Sr., for the intentional infliction of emotional distress. I normally hear about such suits and think that the offended party should grow up. I hop on my free speech soap box and note that the Constitution does not give people the right to sue when they get their little feelings hurt. 

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said state and local laws address buffer zones around funerals and those are a better response to the problem than private-injury law suits. That very much appeals to the "local government governs best" libertarian in me. 

It doesn't satisfy my sense that there's a clear right and wrong here: No one has any business protesting anything at anyone's funeral, ever. 

Write an editorial or blog post if you wish. March in front of the Pentagon. Tweet like crazy. There are no shortage of opportunities for people in the 21st century to express mis-shaped political views. Ignorance rings out across the country every day and CNN and Fox News are always happy to help should 60 seconds ever lapse without a chime.

I very much doubt Mr. Snyder sued because he wanted to cash in on his son's funeral. I don't know the man but it strikes me as inconceivable that he could do this. I suspect he sued for money to make a statement that there should be at least one spot in America where hate mongers like the Westboro Baptists can't spew venom under the cover of the First Amendment.

Maybe the right thing for the Supreme Court to do is set aside the $11-million award but declare the actions taken by the so-called church members illegal. That could kick the issue across the street to the steps of the Capitol to let the legislative branch address what the law of the land should be.

There's an even easier solution, of course: People such as those who protested at Snyder's funeral could choose to demonstrate a little human decency by finding more appropriate venues for their vitriol. 

I suspect even the God they know would approve of that.

Fenty for dinner, probably not. For mayor? Absolutely.

I've spent a great deal of time reflecting on Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and his central re-election problem: He's behind in the polls before this Tuesday's Democratic primary because, in short, many people just don't seem to like him. I keep asking myself what I would do if I lived a mile south and voted in the District instead of just working and spending time there.

I can empathize with District voters who say they find Fenty to be a jerk, that they don't think he listens to them and that he runs the city with an iron fist. Like everyone else in America, I've encountered unlikeable and off-putting colleagues and bosses in the workplace. I don't enjoy working with or for those kinds of people any more than some District residents like dealing with Mayor Fenty. 

When I pull back from the emotional level, though, and think about what's more important, I realize I'd cast my vote for Fenty over D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray if I had a say come Tuesday. I've studied the mayor since the day I began working in the District three years ago. While I've never met him (or Gray) in person, my first impression of Fenty is the same one I carry today: Adrian Fenty is a mayor who is making the city of Washington a better place. 

To be clear, if Fenty had the personal charm and manner of Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, there wouldn't even be a contested election in the District next week. Anyone who has ever seen Booker in person appreciates his infectious personality and the sense he conveys that he genuinely cares about what you have to say. 

What Fenty may lack in those gifts, he more than makes up for in producing results. 

Start with the reform he brought to the school system. Hiring Chancellor Michelle Rhee was a bold move demonstrating he meant business. Rhee wasted no time in pulling up decaying school system roots that were holding the system back. With Fenty's blessing, she has made tough choices making her and her boss unpopular in many quarters. Yet test scores and enrollment are up and waves of positive change are starting to roll through District schools. 

Fenty's hiring of and support for Rhee illustrate something I admire about the current mayor. He's not afraid to take on entrenched powers more interested in maintaining their comfy status quo than performing up to a high standard. After years of Marion Barion-era corruption and lethargy, Washington D.C. was a city in dire need of shaking up. I've always said that if I ever ran for public office myself, I'd be one heck of a one-term servant. I would attack problems and sacred cows with gusto -- accomplishing tons but upsetting so many special interests that I'd be gone come re-election day.

Fenty has been willing to risk the same fate. A Washington Post editorial today laments that it's a shame District residents may cast out a mayor who has brought reform to schools, made the streets safer, made government agencies more responsive and given the District badly needed new recreation facilities. Fenty can rightly point to a long list of other accomplishments big and small. Taxi service rates are easier to understand. Affordable housing is more plentiful. New job training programs exist. More public library renovations are underway.

It's hard for me to imagine that anyone could build such a list of accomplishments without angering people who would rather watch good ideas go to die in the collaboration process than see results produced. It's equally difficult for me to imagine anyone achieving Fenty's success without laying off people whose jobs are for fiscal or performance reasons pulling the city down. Fenty has made the tough choices -- the kind I do not think the much-liked Gray is capable of making.

I may not want to invite Fenty to dinner but there is no question I would vote for him to keep running Washington D.C. 

Tom Hanks got it wrong

Tom Hanks got it wrong. Forget baseball: There's no crying in ... history luncheons.

The last thing I expected on the final day of the Organization of Historians annual meeting in D.C. was to well up over a chicken something at the Dupont Circle Hilton. That was before Allida Black stepped to the podium to talk about her life's mission of heading The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project at George Washington University. Roosevelt dedicated her life to the fight for democracy and human rights and the project named for her continues that legacy by developing young minds. Black already had me in the palm of her hands while making Roosevelt's case that democracy may fade or grow based on the job we do educating students. 

Then the self-described "gleeful agnostic" read Roosevelt's war-time prayer.

Dear Lord, Lest I continue my complacent way, help me to remember that somewhere, somehow out there a man died for me today. As long as there be war, I must then ask and answer am I worth dying for?

A tear sprang from my right eye and I gasped for air.

I've never heard a more beautiful answer for why we should study history and appreciate what our predecessors have done for us. Truth be told, I didn't know anything about Eleanor Roosevelt before today as she's well outside my expertise -- the American Revolution. I certainly didn't know that Roosevelt lead the effort to create the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that set the standard for what all human beings are entitled to. Black, though, helped me make connections.

"You can not talk about the Declaration of Human Rights without talking about the Declaration of Independence," she said, every sentence of her remarks filled with intellect and compassion. I can easily imagine how fired up students get when she teaches them how to examine the facts of history "critically but with respect."

I wasn't the only one affected by Black's words.

"I felt a strong connection to what she was saying," said Lauren Vanderpluym, a young teacher at Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago. "Eleanor is one of my heroes. Hearing some of Allida's stories about her successes through the Eleanor project is empowering."

After the luncheon, I thanked Black for her remarks. I tapped my heart and told her it was the most inspiring luncheon I have attended in my career. 

The next time my friends ask me why studying history is so important to me, I'll direct them to Eleanor Roosevelt and Allida Black.

Read More From The OAH Meeting:

Part 1: Historians descend on D.C.

Part 2: Historian heroes in D.C.