Terry Cowgill

What A Week

Thanks to everyone who wished me well this week in my and my family’s (and my community’s) fight against one of the nastiest and most contagious flu-type viruses to hit this area in many years. Without going into stomach-churning details, I can tell you that it hits very hard but in most cases it passes quickly. Enough said …

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I’ve gotten some reax to a story I wrote for this week’s print edition on a group that has surfaced in opposition to Noble Horizons‘ plans to expand northward with a cluster of cottages for the elderly (similar to those pictured above on Noble’s main campus).

When I was on the air this morning with Marshall & Mike (and Mark?), Marshall was convinced that the opposition to Noble’s plans by Citizens For Undermountain Road was rooted firmly in a NIMBY mentality. [to listen to the podcast of that interview, click here and then click on the link at right with my name on it]

I won’t use that term because, this early in the process, it’s a bit too judgmental for my liking. But I do think it’s safe to say that Citizens For Undermountain Road would not be taking this action (including the lawsuit) if Noble had wanted to put the cottages off a comparably scenic road on the other side of town.

Continue reading What A Week…

Out of commish

Sorry for the nonexistent blogging the last few days. I got busier than usual and now I feel sicker than a dog (pounding headache, fever). So does my daughter. But thank goodness we’re not dogs because we don’t have 24-hour vet service anymore in the NWC. I don’t think I ever recovered from getting woken up in the middle of Saturday night by that lightning storm …

Let’s See How It Shakes Out

One of these days I’ll stop writing about the media’s double standards. Until then we have the case of John Edwards, who has been called “one of the most reprehensible schmucks to appear on the American political scene in some time.”

I don’t know, Jake. While I’m no Edwards fan, that may be a little over-the-top. After all, he’s competing with Al Sharpton and Randy “Duke” Cunningham for that title. But there is the journalistic question of why the MSM have so far ignored the story about Edwards’ dead-of-night visit to a California hotel to see his mistress and their love child.

Since the story was broken by The National Enquirer, the MSM are taking a wait-and-see attitude. But just wait a little longer … one newspaper or mainstream website will take the bait and then they’ll all report it because … it is simply too delicious not to.

In a piece in Slate today, media curmudgeon Jack Shafer sees a double standard in reporting the tawdry details of the bathroom escapades of Sen. Larry Craig, while ignoring (so far) the hide-and-seek game Edwards played with Enquirer reporters who chased him around the hotel lobby until the wannabe president finally took refuge in a bathroom (same place Craig’s troubles started, BTW).

As Shafer readily admits, there are important differences between the two stories. Craig’s episode became a law enforcement event after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. And of course there is the hypocrisy factor of a family-values Republican seeking anonymous gay sex in a lavatory.

But when Edwards was asked about his affair with Rielle Hunter last year, he emphatically and categorically denied it. Doesn’t that make him a liar and … ergo … a hypocrite?

As for the latest Enquirer story about tabloid staffers chasing him around the Beverly Hilton in the wee hours, Edwards has not denied it — presumably because of the presence of witnesses.

This is on top of his incessant sermons about “Two Americas,” his 26,000 SF mansion and his preachings on global warming. The media hate hypocrites. Why not this one? Maybe Mickey knows. Just wondering …

It Gets Worse …

Update 9 p.m. Tuesday:  But Obama has been rejected by Reader’s Digest.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the media’s steady drumbeat for Obama has reached a new high point with the refusal of the New York Times to publish an op-ed piece by McCain.

I understand the reasoning behind the decision of David Shipley, editor of that page. He argued that McCain’s piece did not advance the story by offering original ideas but merely rebutted some of Obama’s points in a previous NYT op-ed. He suggested McCain produce another draft.

Indeed (with the exception of longtime columnists), we don’t print op-ed submissions to the LJ without some vetting of the writer and suggestions for improvement. Click here to read McCain’s rejected draft and here to read the one by Obama that passed muster.

But in the case of a presidential candidate and a commentary about something as important as the Iraq war, the Times does a disservice not only to readers who might want to read McCain’s take, but to The Times itself.

This is a public relations disaster for The Times, especially when you consider that Shipley was a speechwriter for President Clinton and is married to feminist author Naomi Wolf, who advised Al Gore to wear the now famous earth-tone clothes during the 2000 presidential campaign. And BTW, the Times’ own story on this failed to disclose those facts.

Add to the Times imbroglio the mega-caravan of media coverage of Obama’s current trip to the Middle East (including the three network anchors traveling with him) and you have a pro-Obama media that is virtually undeniable. As Clintonite Dee Dee Myers points out in a piece in Vanity Fair today, reputable studies have all but proved it.

Indeed, even many Obama supporters (like commenter Geoff Brown on this blog) concede the media tilt toward their man. But they typically defend it on the grounds that he is the far superior candidate and that the coverage is merely reflecting that. Sounds like a big juicy rationalization to me.

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Oh, and one more thing. In the LOL you-can’t-make-this-up department, a Dallas County (TX) Commissioner thinks the term Black Hole is racist. H/T to Drudge for finding that nugget.

‘What’s your favorite ice cream, really?’

The greatest article on Barack Obama ever written. Actually, perhaps this piece of satire on The Onion will do for campaign journalists what the SNL debate parody this spring did to shame them into asking a few tough questions.

Really, the wimpy coverage of Obama has been nothing short of breathtaking when you consider that the candidate is not very accessible to the press. He does not like taking questions from them off the top of his head — most likely because he is not very good off the teleprompter. But they still love him.

No, the stories about the creepy characters he hangs out with (Rev. Wright, Father Pfleger) don’t really count. How about a bunch of reporters taking a hard look at Obama’s record as an Illinois state senator? How about doing a better job of revealing his thin resume?

I’m trying to determine why so many journalists are in the tank for him. Are journos captivated by this historic lefty campaign by an African American? Are they doing what they can to further the narrative, lest they lose a good story line? Or are they afraid that critical coverage of Obama will appear …. racist?

To be continued …

Making A Splash In FV

Yes, I can confirm the new Falls Village municipal pool is finally open. Took a few photos there yesterday. That looks like Tyler Dean who was obviously head-over-heels in love with the place.

It is indeed a lovely spot — perched high on a knoll above the transfer station. Fortunately, the station is nowhere to be seen. Canaan Mountain, however, rises rather dramatically behind the pool house. And there is a charming fountain in the shallow end.

Beautiful as it is, however, I do have a word of caution. Bring lots of sunscreen. There are no shade trees yet and the only place to get out of the sun and still see the action is the pool house foyer, which gets crowded quickly with chairs for the pale-faced.

To the right is a close up of Tyler in the air. As you can see, his eyes are closed in concentration. In super close-up, it looks like his nose is a little flattened, as if he were struggling against G-forces.

Maybe that’s what happens when you attempt such a maneuver: the combination of spinning and gravity makes you feel like you’re trying to set a speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

P.S. Update on the post below on women’s bathing suits: thanks to a reader for steering me to a recent photo of 63-year-old Dame Helen Mirren, who still looks smashing in a bikini and appears to suffer no wedgie. I wonder if the real Queen ever looked that good at any age …

Wedge Issues

Sitting here at the Town Grove watching the world go by and had the following thought: I don’t make a habit of gawking at people at the beach, but why do females wear such impractical bathing suits?

Some walk around flaunting their bodies; others would really rather be wearing something else. But they all have one thing in common. Every dozen steps or so, they have to pull their swim suits out of their butts, lest they saunter around in a permanent and humiliating state of wedginess.

Women of America, there has got to be a better way for you to dress for the beach, show off your curves (if that’s what you want to do) and not have to tug at your bottoms like you’re shaking off a college prank. Any ideas?

P.S. A woman sitting across from me said she thinks it’s because men are the ones who design female swim suits. I think she’s on to something.

Remnick’s Revolt

My initial reax after seeing the New Yorker cover at right was: “What’s all the fuss about? It only a cartoon!”

Sometimes after proper reflection, I “refine” my positions, in the words of the male subject of the cartoon. Not this time. When I first saw it yesterday, I thought it was a mildly amusing slam against the ignoramuses who have used the Obamas as a vessel into which they pour their worst fears. And I’m sticking to my story.

The prevailing wisdom among Obama supporters such as Connecticut’s own Colin McEnroe is that the image is dangerous because “it’s quite likely to be circulated, out of context, among the credulous, as proof of something it was (I assume) meant to disprove.”

As I stated when I led off Colin’s thread, he seems to be suggesting that certain types of satire are out of bounds because packs of morons (who won’t vote for Obama anyway) might misinterpret what they see and spread it around the Internet to their fellow know-nothings.

I heard New Yorker editor David Remnick on an NPR interview yesterday with Michele Norris (she’s from Minnesota; why does she pronounce her name MEE-shell?). She asked him why the magazine didn’t do a better job explaining its cover — to which Remnick replied, “A satirical cartoon would not be any good if it came with a set of instructions.”

Continue reading Remnick’s Revolt…

A Laugh A Minute

You know, the presidential campaign is making great fodder for late-night comedians. That means people like me have plenty to write about and that we can all have a good laugh on a regular basis. Indeed it would be most amusing if the stakes weren’t so high.

Take Jesse Jackson’s recent “hot mic” comment about Obama “talking down to black people” and how the right reverend wants to turn the senator into a eunuch. Of course, Jackson’s crude comments are fed by two things: 1) Jackson’s jealousy that Obama has succeeded where he himself has failed (in case you’ve forgotten, Jackson ran for prez in ’84 and ’88).

But 2) there is a larger dynamic at work here. When Jackson accuses Obama of “talking down” to African Americans by highlighting the importance of their own personal responsibility for improving their lives, it bothers Jackson to no end.

What is wrong with delivering an empowering message to the African-American community, as Obama and Bill Cosby have?: “Yes, there is still racism is this country and we need to work hard to end it, but you can also do your part to help yourselves. Black men have to stop abandoning their families in such great numbers. Black parents have to do their best to emphasize to their children the importance of education.” and so forth.

After all, if you go through your life thinking the blame for every adverse circumstance you experience can be laid squarely at the feet of whitey, how will you ever improve your lot? It’s profoundly paralyzing and fatalistic.

Continue reading A Laugh A Minute…

A Windmill In Every Back Yard

All right! You go, Boone! An inveterate 80-year-old oil man, the legendary T. Boone Pickens, came out strongly today for alternative energy on the very conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page.

And I couldn’t agree with him more. Pickens trots out some interesting stats:

“In fact, if we don’t do anything about this problem, over the next 10 years we will spend around $10 trillion importing foreign oil. That is $10 trillion leaving the U.S. and going to foreign nations, making it what I certainly believe will be the single largest transfer of wealth in human history.”

If you are still inclined toward more domestic drilling as the solution to our energy problems, those are pretty powerful numbers, especially when you consider the U.S. has only 3% of the world’s proven oil reserves.

And I like Pickens’ emphasis on national security. This is an angle that could bring just about everyone together: conservatives who want to minimize our vulnerability to coercion at the hands of foreign governments; liberals who are concerned about the environment; and quasi-isolationist libertarians who value self-reliance.

Pickens prefers natural gas (for automobiles), and embraces wind and solar to replace the coal- and oil-fired electricity generation plants that foul our air. For some reason, he does not even mention nuclear power, which (as I have written before) could be an important piece of the energy independence puzzle.

For the record, I like windmills. Every time I see one, I’m reminded that there’s a little less crude oil we have to buy from some feudal monarchy in the Middle East that trains terrorists to blow up Americans.

Take a ride up Route 22 into Stephentown, N.Y., or up Route 7 into Pittsfield, Mass., near Lake Pontoosuc. An enormous windmill (see image at top of this post) rises up on a nearby ridge that cuts the electricity bill of the Jiminy Peak ski resort nearly in half. It is an impressive piece of machinery and a pleasure to look at.

And I don’t have a NIMBY attitude about them. I don’t have enough money to put one up, but if an energy company approached me about building one on my property, I would seriously consider it. Any offers out there?