October 16, 2004
COMMENTARY: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
by David M. Kinchen
Editor, Bluefield News Network
Huntington (BNN) -- At my last newspaper, the editorial page staff periodically published a useful commentary column involving thumbs: Up for good, Down for bad. I’d like to borrow this concept, which is offered in many variations at various magazines and newspapers, to comment on some recent news items or events.
THUMBS UP to West Virginia Public Radio, currently conducting its Fall Pledge Drive. Of all the public radio networks in the states I’ve lived in, WV Public Radio ranks as among the very best, if not the best. It’s a statewide network, so you can hear “Performance Today,” “Adventures in Good Music” with Karl Haas, “Music in the Afternoon” with Laura Allen – one of the best classical music shows anywhere in the country—and all the great music, news and public affairs programming available throughout the day, year in, year out, no matter where you roam in the Mountain State and even parts of our neighboring states. “Car Talk” is one of my favorites, since I’m a car/truck/motorcycle nut. Support the statewide network with a pledge by calling 1-800-723-4687. The web site is www.wvpubcast.org.
THUMBS DOWN to Kindred Communications for firing or “releasing” radio sports show host J.J. Hester for discussing the arrests of two Marshall University football players on his Insider Sportsline-Statewide show produced by Kindred. Hester said the arrests of reserve quarterback Bernard Morris and defensive back Roger Garrett were a “hot topic” on his Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2004, radio show, according to an Associated Press story Oct. 15, 2004. I edited Tony Rutherford’s story about the arrests and our webmaster displayed it prominently on the site. Morris was charged with malicious assault and Garrett was charged with assault by threat last Sunday, October 10, 2004.
Kindred Communications President Mike Kirtner is quoted in the AP story as saying that Hester crossed the line by “editorializing” about the two players, rather than serving as a “moderator” for comments from listeners. Hester was also relieved from broadcasting high school games, although he remains employed as an ad salesman for Kindred. Here’s my judgment: Reprimand him and give him back his duties. Kindred shouldn’t serve as a cheerleader for the teams it covers.
THUMBS UP to Eric Conroy of Our Diversity Cafe and other people locating their places of business in downtown Hinton. I’m going to write about them all. This is a great town, filled with many talented people from many parts of the country and several foreign countries. As a dedicated thrift shopper for books, gadgets and other items, including good used clothing, I extend my personal kudos to the many excellent thrift shops in Hinton. Loaves & Fishes, Betty’s Bargains, the Little Junk Shop and other places provide a valuable service in recycling good used items at bargain prices.
Speaking of recycling, the Summers County Public Library is currently holding its big fall book sale just down Temple Street from the library. I stopped in Friday, Oct. 15 and found a wide selection of fiction and nonfiction. I bought just one book, a large-format paperback historical atlas for 25 cents. Putting me in a book store is like locking an alcoholic in a liquor store! They can always use donations; call 466-4490. The sale runs through Oct. 24, with hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
THUMBS DOWN to the Presbyterian Church’s plan for selective divestment in Israel. As John Leo points out in a column in the Oct. 18, 2004 U.S. News & World Report, the Presbyterians say they might stop investing in Caterpillar stock, because the Peoria, Ill.-based firm makes the bulldozers used to level Palestinian houses in Israel’s antiterrorism campaign. By the way, the Israelis are only continuing a policy originated by the British in their Palestine mandate in the 1930s and 1940s. Leo also notes that “these bulldozers can also be used to move debris after Palestinian suicide bombers have finished blowing up another round of women, children, and other civilian bystanders in Israel.”
Leo says—and I’ve similar assessments at many other sources—that the nation’s so-called mainline Protestant churches, including but not limited to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church and even the Evangelical Lutheran Church are hewing to an increasingly leftist, anti-U.S. and anti-Israel line. This is in sharp contrast to the much faster growing evangelical churches which are essentially pro-Israel.
The numbers speak for themselves, Leo points out: Of the 197 human-rights criticisms by these mainline churches tallied by the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) from 2000-2003, 37 percent were aimed at Israel and 32 percent at the United States. Only 19 percent were aimed at nations like labeled as “unfree” by the respected Freedom House.
Not one nation bordering Israel – and this includes such paragons of human rights as Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Egypt – was criticized by a single mainline church or group, the IRD report says. No criticisms at all were leveled at China, Libya, Syria, or North Korea – among the worst rights offenders—Leo says!
On a personal level, I’ve stopped attending Unitarian-Universalist services because of the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel and anti-American policies of this so-called mainline denomination. My connection with the U-U goes back a long way: Liz and I were married by a Unitarian minister in Hobart, Ind. 40 years ago next month.
John Leo’s column is worth looking up. You can access it and his previous columns at www.usnews.com
Finally, THUMBS DOWN to Duke University and the other so-called prestige institutions of higher education that have turned a blind eye to Islamic terrorism and virulent anti-Semitism on their campuses. Earlier this week, on Duke’s Durham, N.C. campus, a campus Jewish group displayed the wreckage of a bus destroyed by a Palestinian terrorist bomber in Israel earlier this year. Bus 19 was blown up shortly before 9 a.m. Jan. 29, 2004, by a suicide bomber who detonated the explosives strapped to his body. The blast, in the heart of Jerusalem, killed 11 people and wounded more than 50 others.
“Its display at Duke reflects students’ pride and solidarity with the people of Israel and the sorrow for the victims and their families,” said Rabbi Zalman Bluming, executive director of Chabad at Duke. “It also conveys students’ condemnation of the ruthless tactics that have been used by Israel ’s neighbors in this conflict to derail the possibility of peace.”
The Bus 19 exhibit is in response to a pro-Palestinian hate fest sponsored by Duke.
I can understand such madness at UC Berkeley or San Francisco State, but Duke is in a conservative state that I’m sure has many supporters of Israel’s right to exist and not be thrown into the sea by hostile Arabs.
FrontPage Magazine points out that “ The PLO, the Saudis and the Arab League have targeted American universities as the next outlet to spread the anti-Israeli, anti-American propaganda they already teach in their own schools. It’s a pity that Duke’s administration is so willing to aid them.
“Duke President Richard Brodhead was inaugurated only weeks ago and has lowered Duke’s reputation by making Duke a training base to spread pro-terrorist hatred.
“President Brodhead has told Duke’s trustees, “[T] he next few weeks promise to test our university in many ways. I am confident this current controversy will eventually be seen as a moment when Duke demonstrated leadership and preserved a principle at the core of what universities must be about.”
Demonstrated leadership” is precisely what Duke is lacking, “ the FrontPage commentary continued. “The purpose of a university should be to enable a free society to remain free through the exercise of scholarship, research and real dialogue. Brodhead [is] perfectly willing to let the organizers ban the press from strategy-and-training sessions. That has nothing to do with education.”
Thumbs Archives:
10/16/04 — Part I
11/10/04 — Part II
11/26/04 — Part III
12/15/04 — Part IV
12/24/04 — Part V
12/31/04 — Part VI
01/08/05 — Part VII
01/14/05 — Part VIII
01/21/05 — Part IX
02/04/05 — Part X
02/11/05 — Part XI
02/18/05 — Part XII
02/25/05 — Part XIII
02/28/05 — Part XIV
03/06/05 — Part XV
03/10/05 — Part XVI
03/18/05 — Part XVII
03/26/05 — Part XVIII
03/30/05 — Part XIX
04/09/05 — Part XX