Terry Cowgill

End-of-Year Thoughts

I have long thought that, for all the railing against corporate chains and their devastating effect on mom-and-pop businesses, Starbucks was a big exception to the notion that Main Street is reeling from the effects of mega-commerce.

Lo and behold, both anecdotal and statistical evidence bears this out. Open a Starbucks next to an independent coffee house and demand for expensive coffee drinks actually increases, benefiting both establishments.

So if a Starbucks opens in the Stop & Shop plaza in North Canaan (as is rumored), would it harm the Black Forest Cafe across the street, or even The Roast in Salisbury? I’d wager those establishments will sell more coffee — not less. In fact, I’d be willing to bet my new iPod on it.

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Speaking of the new iPod my wife got me for Christmas, I have not only copied my old music to the gadget, but I have taken to downloading free podcasts of journalists chatting about the presidential campaign and listening to them in the car. I sampled two of them — one of which was well worth the trouble. The other made my stomach turn.

Continue reading End-of-Year Thoughts…

What Next?

With the death of Pakistani opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, we are all left wondering what’s next for that troubled country. I must say — and I think I can speak for lots of observers near and far — her assassination came as absolutely no surprise.

In fact, after hearing the news while driving to Manhattan yesterday with my family, I found myself asking what had taken the murderers so long — especially given Bhutto’s legendary disregard for her own safety.

We can only hope that the outcome in Pakistan differs from what happened in Iran in 1979, when the Shah was toppled and was replaced by an Islamic theocracy. At that time, members of the Revolutionary Guard seized the U.S. embassy and held hundreds of Americans captive for 444 days, eventually releasing all of them alive. Sounds almost quaint in comparison to 9/11.

The difference here, of course, is that Pakistan has already acquired nuclear weapons. There are tens of millions of Islamic radicals who hate our guts and would love nothing more than to be rid of the Great Satan once and for all. Since there is little we can do to effect change in Pakistan, we can only pray (literally or figuratively) that bloodshed is kept to a minimum and that a democratically elected government can assume power after achieving some level of legitimacy.

In the absence of information yesterday about Bhutto’s attackers and about Pakistan’s future, the electronic media were mostly left to speculate on the impact the assassination would have on the U.S. presidential race. Who has more experience to deal with crises abroad? Does it help Hillary or Rudy? Does it hurt Obama and Mitt?

Continue reading What Next?…

Holiday Greetings 2007

Holiday greetings to my audience. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Having Her Cake And …

… Eating it, too. I’ve considered this carefully and am rethinking term limits as of 15 minutes ago.

And to be fair, since we were on the subject of bad photos of presidential candidates. Check this one out in today’s NYT (”Charming and Aloof, Huckabee Changed State”).

At best Mike Huckabee looks like a used car salesman as he prepares to enter the office of Jim Guy Tucker, the convicted felon who served as governor of the state Bill Clinton still likes to call home.

Romney Sr. As Forrest Gump?

For anyone who’s been following Mitt Romney and his now- “figurative” claim that he “saw his father march with Martin Luther King,” this is LOL funny. Sorry, Jake.

A Very Rudy Christmas

And then there is this one from Rudy. This is getting to be a bit much … all this warmth and fuzziness from the candidates around the holidays.

Low taxes, secure borders and strict constructionist judges for Christmas? And how about the fruitcake joke at the end? All of this wrapped up in a bright red cardigan? This is about as unpresidential as it gets. Maybe this is why he didn’t get Tancredo’s endorsement.

Don’t Bother, Mr. Spitzer …

In the wake of the news yesterday that new U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey will move to halt the politicization of the Justice Department, I have a modest proposal.

Since the pursuit of justice is far more important than whether the president is personally comfortable with the chief law enforcement officer, maybe the attorney general’s post should not be considered a political appointment.

Wouldn’t it be great if the AG was an elected position? It wouldn’t be a perfect solution to the Alberto Gonzalezes of this world either. But it would give the justice department a measure of independence from the White House that would be healthy for democracy. Besides, we might even save some money and grief from not having to endure all those agenda-driven special prosecutors.

I don’t know whether it would require a simple act of Congress or an amendment to the Constitution, but it would be well worth pursuing. Both Dem and GOP administrations have have politicized the Justice Department from time to time (but especially GWB’s).

My proposal would make the AG the only public official who would have to run for national office (after the prez and VP). I have in mind a few good people for the position and … hint … the list does not include Ethical Eliot.

A Present Santa Didn’t Ask For

I haven’t been to the Danbury Fair Mall in years, but if this is the kind of thing that goes on there, then I’ll continue to stay away. Sort of gives a whole new meaning to the concept of touch-feely lap dancing, holiday style. Maybe Santa was swayed by her crutches.

LJ 12.20.07

Dig in, folks, for the last edition of the year of the Lakeville Journal. On page A1, Cynthia Hochswender has a fascinating story on bog turtles — the oft-heard-of but seldom seen reptile that’s causing a stir in the NWC.

Also, the suspect in a string of 13 bank heists in Connecticut and New York (including Amenia and Dover) has been arrested and charged by Waterbury police, the former owner of Lime Rock’s Paradise Garage has been extradited from California to face larceny charges and in Nature’s notebook, Fred Baumgarten has a special report on the Lakeville-Sharon Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

Inside, Janet Manko has one of those obscure stories that surfaces every now and then — this time on something called the Institute of General Semantics in Lime Rock. Judy Linscott has wonderful story on a subject close to my heart — adoption — and there has been another twist in the Depretis case in Sharon.

Also, Housy football Coach Deron “Single Wing” Bayer weighs in on his team’s 6-4 season at the football awards dinner and we have have an editorial endorsing the Lake Wononscopomuc Association’s plan to treat that body of water with herbicides to fight milfoil.

In the B section, Geer Village gets a $1.1 million grant for badly needed updates, the revaluation of all property has finally concluded in Falls Village and a children’s theater group is vying with the fire department for the lion’s share of a possible half-million-dollar state grant.

Check out our arts and culture coverage in Compass. Plus, this week we have our popular Tri-Corner real estate section. We do not publish next week (Dec. 27) and will be back with another edition on Jan. 3. I’m going to get some rest now but will continue to blog throughout the holidays. Enjoy yourselves …

‘Cross’ Purposes

So you be the judge. Did Mike Huckabee, notwithstanding his denials, purposely place religious imagery in his Christmas campaign commercial above? Few things in life are certain, except perhaps that the sun will set tonight and Johnny Rowland will run for mayor of Waterbury.

But if there’s one thing you can take to the bank, it’s that the cross was no accident. I have watched television advertising directors work — albeit in Canada 25 years ago. Even then, they fussed over the most minute of details — a tiny piece of lint or a stray facial shadow that no casual viewer would notice.

The symbolism doesn’t bother me. Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, is playing to conservative Christians in Iowa. I’m a libertarian-leaning agnostic, so Huck doesn’t appeal to me. The problem is his denial that the insertion of the imagery was deliberate. If he’s lying about this, what else will the Huckster lie about?

I must say I was surprised to see Catholic League spokesman Bill Donahue slam Huck on Fox News for this bit of chicanery (click here to see blustering Bill in action). Even the hotheaded Donahue, who, like the hosts of the Fox morning show actually thinks there is a “War on Christmas,” thought Huck went over the top. If Donahue thinks you’ve gone too far with religious imagery, you know you’re in trouble.