Roger's View of the World, Love and Seafood Gumbo!
Seize the Day! Put no trust in the morrow! — Horace
There are several grass roots groups encouraging American’s to wear RED on Fridays as a sign of support for our troups overseas!
There are a few commercial ventures that will supply a red shirt as well should you want one!
Even in Canada the red shirts are catching on!
Veterans Groups are also wearing red.
Well, wearing red comes easy when you are a Trojan…. but we have Bruins and Black Knights here too wearing red!
Wear Red Fridays!
Roger Freberg
Seems like I just wrote a blog about journalists and how they have trouble with the little things… like the ‘truth’… and ‘ethics.’
Well, I open my newspaper up (always a few days late as compared to the net) and what do I see? Oh, here’s an article about Katie Couric and how she has suffered at the hands of the ‘bloggers!’ She is sad that her daughter has to read such horrible stuff about her on the internet… boo hoo!
Well, Katie…. how many folks have you skewered — er, interviewed — on your way to the top? I know… I know… the only people you hurt…. “were all bad!” By the way, how do you people figure out who the ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ are anyway? Do you think we’re the ‘bad guys’ in Iraq? By ‘we’… I mean ‘Americans’.
Here’s a site that has a sampling of Katie’s ‘liberal bias’ year by year in video. It is amazing watching what you said and how you said it. Here’s a quote that shows how out of touch you are and makes me wonder if you have ever met a soldier… or one who was a woman?:
Couric: “…Tell me why you all decided to honor the American soldier?
Wondering why there’s no woman on the cover, too?”
Time’s Jim Kelly, pointing to cover: “This is a woman.”
Couric: “Oh, there you go, oh sorry….I couldn’t tell because of her helmet.”
Back to Katie. In fairness, I do have sympathy for her daughter having to read ‘stuff’ about her mom on the internet… and so much of it spot on… and accurate… so where’s the beef? It’s not like the old days of Walter and Dan, when media folks could trash anyone and the ‘targets’ couldn’t fight back… or in this case blog back. Times are different.
Frankly, Katie, although I feel your pain… I just can’t muster any sympathy for you. And although you had quite a bunch of competition this year for the top award with John Kerry and Ted Turner continually stepping in it… you are our clear winner of the 2006 coveted ‘Weenie Award’!
Another year is gone! Who will win in 2007?
Others have their say:
to feel bad or not feel bad for Katie?
Is Katie just the beginning of the end?
Katie at War… her story
Harvard loves Kate’s Legs… go figure
Kate wants to be bitten
Roger Freberg
I am sure that everyone has had a chance to see a ‘Journalist’ who has gone ‘bad.’
You know what I mean. Someone who has an ‘ax’ to grind and deliberately twists, invents or lies. Certainly, the headlines have been full of stories… often disclosed on the Internet first. Do you remember when we first heard about Monika Lewinsky? It was on the Internet.
So, I asked myself… is there anything that passes for a “code of ethics” in Journalism? I did find a statement of ‘ethics’ in something called the Society of Professional Journalists… but I question some of their assumptions.
Some folks think that journalists should be like …’judges ’.. closer to G*d and above any compromising earthly associations. They state it this way:
“Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.”
Sounds nice… but in reality, it really means that they are one step away from our culture… and — consequently – they live in a world of their own. This lack of exposure limits their understanding of the community and the world that they are apart.
I think it was Ted Turner who asked Journalists if they were an “American” or a “Journalist” first? I guess this means – Ted — you can’t be both. However, it is our perspective and experiences that gives us an educated point of view .. Not our lack of associations.
Another part of Journalistic ‘ethics’ that caught my attention is a twist on the Hippocratic oath of doing ‘no harm’:
“Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.”
I have met one Journalist who embraced the oath… but, unfortunately, he is no longer a journalist. Good people leave all too quickly. I sometimes wonder if it is true – as told in the James bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies” – that there is no news like bad news? It does seem like the media avoids any ‘good news’ or ‘success stories’ for fear that someone somewhere may feel bad.
However, part of growing up is looking at the world honestly… seeing the good… not just the bad.
I know this is too negative a post for this time of the season… but it disturbs me when a newspaper whacks a young aspiring athlete for failing to win a national championship. It isn’t easy to win… we should be supportive, encouraging, and appreciative of our youth when the succeed and merciful when they stumble…
Too often media folks act like judges and less like what we really need … teachers and cheerleaders …
Roger Freberg
As I was scanning the internet, I caught a frivolous article with cliche’ quotes by one of Hugh Hefner’s new squeezes about what to buy a woman for Christmas.
Surprisingly, the article was very helpful. Embedded in the story was a quote from a consumer researcher on the four major categories that WOMEN want… not what you want them to have… but what SHE wants. Big difference. Here’s what Marshall Cohen, chief analyst at consumer and retail market research information company NPD Group, lists as the big favorite categories among women:
1) “The number-one emotionally attached gifts are jewelry as number one,
2) …chocolate as number two and
3) … apparel as number 3.
4) … Number 4 is coffee. Women love coffee.”
As for me, I can agree completely on the categories and the order presented. Here’s how my wife and daughters sort out on my list:
Laura– Laura never chooses “jewelry” as her number one choice… but then nothing makes her happier. The more she protests… the closer to the mark I am.
Oh yes, Kristin bought her a Prada bag, too.
Kristin — Yep, Jewelry is a biggie… but you have to add apparel. She has an account with ‘Coach’ for a reason.
Kristin has bought all of her expensive things… although I bought her a nice pair of diamond earrings for her graduation from West point… she earned it!
Karen — Chocolate proves she’s daddy’s girl… but apparel is a close second. Kristin bought her this year’s Prada bag.
Karla —- Chocolate and apparel. I don’t know where video games and computers fall… but she’s into these as well.
Well, I hope my little tour has given you some ideas… or at least a perspective on the question for the ages… “what do women really want?”
I can’t say that I have figured it out… all I can say is that for the time being… I look for a smile… and then I know I am okay until… the next occasion.
Good hunting!
Roger Freberg
It is always sad to see someone pass along that you admired.
Jeane Kirkpatrick was certainly admired by many… and we are among them.
Laura and I had a chance to meet her and her husband over dinner in 1986… she was gracious enough to be present at a fundraiser…. and we were lucky enough to sit next to her and her husband.
Although the conversation was very enjoyable… I did find myself ‘stepping in it’ at one point. I asked her if she ever considered being the running mate with Jack Kemp — who I also admired. She looked at me, smiled… and said something to the effect…’ oh, I think we would have trouble with who gets top billing.’ Ooops.
America wasn’t ready to give her top billing… but we would have been in good hands had it happened. Wikipedia reminds us: “she called on the Congress to issue a formal declaration of war against the ‘entire fundamentalist Islamic terrorist network’ the day after the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center”. She was ahead of her time.
Our dinner was at the Hay Adams Hotel… quite an experience.
This was my first visit to our nation’s capital… and certainly one of the most memorable.
I’ll leave it to others to talk about her many accomplishments, experiences, the foundations of her beliefs and her transformation from a young socialist to a democrat… and finally President Reagan’s choice for our U.N. ambassador.
My memory of her is of a strong, determined, and principled individual… and as they say… someone of whom we could use more of today.
Roger Freberg