In Memoriam

HollandSentinel.com -Family, colleagues remember educator 04/21/03

"K. Don "Jake" Jacobusse spent much of his life teaching or leading schools around the country, but the impact of his expertise and passion for education can be felt locally as well, said some of his family and former colleagues this weekend."

It is with genuine sadness that I learned today of the death of my tenth grade English teacher, "Jake" Jacobusse. At 70, I am sure he still showed more zest for life than most people do in their twenties. For all the suggestion of scandal that trailed in Jake's wake, his presence in the classroom was electrifying. His mind was constantly inquiring, never accepting orthodoxy or authority, the source both of his inspiration and some of his difficulties over the years. It was appropriate that Jake introduced me to one of my favorite restaurants, the Church in Stratford, Ontorio, home of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Next time I am there, I shall be sure to tlife a glass in memory of a man who combined the scholar with the bon vivant.

Easterbrook

Dave Winer discusses the firing of columnist Gregg Easterbrook from ESPN because of his blog comments about Jewish communications CEO's.

Mouthing Off

The New Republic Online: Easterbrook

"Nothing's worse, as a writer, than so mangling your own use of words that you are heard to have said something radically different than what you wished to express. Of mangling words, I am guilty."

After Rush Limbaugh, it is no surprise that Gregg Easterbrook lost his position at ESPN for writing a blog post that suggested that Jewish business executives were promoting violence out of cupidity. Limbaugh's comment about a black quarterback shocked but did not surprise. It does come as a surprise that a writer for the New Republic, a magazine with a liberal history and deep sympathy to Judaism, should make the kind of statements Easterbrook did.

Limbaugh the Junkie

Limbaugh Goes Off the Air To Battle Painkiller Habit (washingtonpost.com)

"A bombastic host who loves to rip and ridicule his political opponents, Limbaugh has said things about drugs over the years that are already coming back to haunt him. As People magazine noted, Limbaugh said in a 1995 interview that "too many whites are getting away with drug use. The answer is to . . . find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river."

I haven't felt so good since the mealy mouthed William Bennett was exposed as a closet gambling addict.

American slim

The Subway Guy, Still on a Roll (washingtonpost.com)

"For nearly one full year in college, Jared Fogle ate nothing but Subway sandwiches -- and lost 245 pounds. Today, at age 26, he is the world's most famous hoagie huckster and a slender beacon of hope to millions of overweight Americans, who sweat and starve and staple their stomachs in a never-ending quest for svelte."

The Prize

It has taken me ten years to get around to reading Daniel Yergin's The Prize. I am sorry now that it took me so long, since it is easily one of the best histories of the twentieth century I have read. Among other gems, it offers:


  • The story of how Standard Oil's kerosene empire was almost destroyed by Thomas Edison but saved by Henry Ford;

  • How the son of a Jewish shell merchant in England became the head of one of the world's greatest business empires;

  • How Winston Churchill defeated the German fleet in WW I by converting the British fleet from coal to oil;

  • The decisive role of oil in WW II - from Rommel's tanks to Hitler's air force to the suicide voyage of the Japanese battleship Yamato;

  • How the decline in American excess capacity led to a fundamental shift in the relations between the consuming and the producing countries; and much more.

Hypocrisy

Pope Cautions Anglican Leader on Gays

"Pope John Paul II told the archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday that the acceptance of openly gay clergy members by many Anglicans presented "new and serious difficulties" in relations between the two churches."

First of all, the relationship between the Catholic and the Anglican communions has been pretty clear since the time of Henry VIII.

Secondly, the Pope should look to his own house. It is the Catholic Church that is riven with multimillion dollar lawsuits for child molestation, but has seen no need to question its policy of celibacy for its all male priesthood. No such scandal has touched the Episcopal Church, whose broad spirit of inclusion allows people to become priests irrespective of marital status, gender, or sexual orientation. Perhaps the Pope should cast the beam out of his own eye before he seeks to pluck the mote out of his neighbor's.

DysPEPCO

Power came back on the day before yesterday. On Wednesday, I am going to a town meeting sponsored by our Councilman, Tom Perez, to hear PEPCO's explanation of why it took so long to bring Silver Spring back on line. Maybe I should feel sorry for the PEPCO spokesman who will be trying to explain his company's dismal record, but somehow I don't.

In the Dark

Day 4, and PEPCO still has not restored power. Unlike Northern Virginia, at least Maryland has water.

The Beam in your Eye

Among Episcopalians, Grief Over Gay Bishop (washingtonpost.com)

"When the Episcopal Church confirmed a gay bishop, Paul Wilcox put on black trousers, a black shirt and a black tie. Then he got out a can of black Rust-Oleum and painted over the word "Episcopal" on the lawn sign at St. Andrew's Church in West Nashville, Tenn., where he has been a parishioner for 15 years."

A sad reminder that America's most enlightened church still has its share of small-minded bigots, albeit perhaps not for much longer.

An interesting footnote to the story is that African and Asian bishops who have been very critical of the United States churches for the confirmation of a gay bishop are now complaining because donations from wealthy New York churches have dried up. How strange.

Shooting the Messenger

Media Blamed for the Message

"There is something pitiful about a person of Wolfowitz's stature, experience and power responding to the regular killings of young Americans in Iraq by lashing out against Arab satellite TV channels like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya."

According to this story, Wolfowitz is accusing the Arab media of "incitement," a category of speech that is typically outside of First Amendment protection in the context of American Constitutional law. In American law, however, it is next to iimpossible for a newspaper, or even a television station, to meet the standard of imminent harm that is required to show incitement. As this article suggests, blaming the media for the resentment that is resulting in the shooting of American soldiers is likely mistaking the symptom for the disease. Shutting down newspapers is consequently an unlikely cure for unrest in Iraq.

Women and Whistleblowing

Halley's Comment

"Women are fed up. They are telling the truth about their lives. Changing poopy diapers tends to ground one in reality. Whether at home or at work in a corporate-speak memo about accounting practices, women know shit when they smell it. It makes them a little impatient with lies. They know a kid with strep throat is not a business event that can be rescheduled. They see with the eyes of mothers. They see hunger. They see tears. They see the tears of the husbands and other men in their lives. They deal in the truth. They know when they are being conned. They know they are second class citizens at work. They are not so dumb as they look. They know they are second class citizens at home. They know they are getting ripped off. They know they are raising the next generation of citizens, that no one much appreciates it and they are really exhausted. This makes them lethal. This makes them whistleblowers of the most courageous ilk. They are disenfranchised and therefore have nothing to lose and everything to gain by telling the truth."

Wilfred Thesiger Dies

Sir Wilfred Thesiger, Renowned Explorer and Writer, Dies at 93

"The heir to great 19th-century venturers like Livingstone, Stanley, Speke and Burton, Sir Wilfred was a restless, insatiable traveler throughout his life; he eventually won medals named for Livingstone, Burton and Lawrence of Arabia. He was also a man of private wealth, a misogynist and a romantic who hated the modern world and found nobility in the primitive life."

Ever since I read Arabian Sands, Thesiger has been an author I would have loved to meet. His influence continues to reverberate among travel writers. His writings form a backdrop to the journey of Jeffrey Tayler recounted in Glory in a Camel's Eye. Although Tayler seems more resigned to the encroachments of the modern age on nomadic life, he experiences nostalgia for the simplicity of Thesiger's life with his Bedouin companions.

Freedom of Religion

Unbillable Hours has a monumental exposition of why the presence of the ten commandments on the Supreme Court building is not an endorsement of religion, whereas the ten commandments statue in the Alabama Supreme Court is. In the latest developments, "Ten Commandments" Justice Roy Moore has apparently been suspended for defying the federal court's order to remove his carved statue of the commandments.

The fracas surrounding the antics of Chief Justice Moore has clearly touched a raw nerve among Alabamans, and I suppose that I have done my part to rub salt on the wounds. I am sure that there are many sophisticated, civilized Alabamans. I know a few. I am sure, just from reading her blog, that Sugarmama is one. However, it is going to reflect badly on a state when more than 50 percent of the voters elect Elmer Gantry to be Chief Justice. At the time of his election to the Alabama Supreme Court, Justice Moore had already become notorious as the "Ten Commandments" Judge.

On another issue, de jure segregation may be "long past" but the legacy of hate and discrimination in this country is alive and well. So, no, I do not think we can just "get over it." We have come a long way, but we have a long way to go. Prejudice can be found in every state, and is obviously not limited to Alabama. Alabama does, however, still enjoy the unenviable distinction of being one of the six states whose electoral procedures are still subject to federal supervision pursuant to the Voting Rights Act. On the fortieth anniversary of the march on Washington, Alabama, any more than any other state in this country, should not be given a pass on the issue of race relations.

Risky Blogness

David Giacalone, aka ethicalEsq?, dismisses the risks cited by the ABA Journal in its article Bemused About Blogging. As Giacalone admits, however, it is easy for him to do so because he is now retired.

During almost 40 years as a corporate public relations man, my father maintained a brisk writing career in a number of publications. He always recognized that writing posed a potential risk to his career, and he had to consider his words carefully. His success in balancing his career and his writing has always struck me as a testament to his good judgment. As Giacalone puts it, "If a lawyer doesn't have the good judgment it takes to have both a personality and an opinion online, while keeping clients happy, he or she should stay away from blogging, and maybe from lawyering." Sometimes bloggers seem to forget that blogs are a public medium, and that their words may come back to them in unexpected ways. I aspire to write in such a way that I will not be embarrassed when they do.

The Big Sleep

Rachel and I passed a very enjoyable evening watching Bogie and Bacall in the Big Sleep on Turner Classic Movies. Strange how even the booksellers and cab drivers are beautiful young women, who immediately fall for Bogart. I did not know that William Faulkner wrote the screenplay, or that there was a remake in the 70's with Robert Mitchum and Jimmy Stewart.

Rebuilding Iraq

Telling the Truth in Iraq

Talking to young Iraqis such as Hassan, you sense how much they want to break the old mold � how much they want to be Arabs, with an Arab identity, but to build a modern state that actually focuses on tapping its people's talents and energies, rather than diverting them, and one that seeks to base their dignity on what they build, not on whom they fight. Root for them to succeed, for having such a state in the heart of the Arab world would be a very, very good thing.

Precisely why, now that we have gotten ourselves into this mess, we need to commit the rescources to ensure that Iraq is fully rebuilt, its economy strong, and its politics stable.