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<u><i>Vol. 15, No. 3,714</i> - The American Reporter - <i>July 2, 2009</i></u>
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<dl><dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/1.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>THE ODD CASE OF THE MISSING IRANIAN REVOLUTION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, does it make a sound? If an oppressive government brutally kills its young and it's not reported, has it really happened? And if young people are giving their lives for democracy, does anyone care if a weird pop star has died? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/2.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>IRAN'S FUTURE WILL BE DECIDED BY IRANIANS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The massive public protests have ended in Iran. When unarmed protesters confront water cannons, tear gas and gunfire, they usually lose. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/3.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP FALLS ON ITS 'FAMILY VALUES' SWORD</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Some columns are easier to write than others. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/4.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>EVIL EATING EVIL</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It's been a good week for evil. It started with a phrase in a <i>New York Times</i> story this past Sunday that has stuck in my head. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/5.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>A BACKWARDS GLANCE AT GARY by Constance Daley</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- In a climb up the United States Steel corporate ladder, my husband John moved from steel city to steel city with several years between each move. Finally, it was time to leave his responsibilities in Cleveland for new ones at American Steel & Wire and the Lorain Works, both U.S. Steel companies. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/6.html><b><i>Make My Day</i>KARL THE CURMUDGEON HATES THE OXFORD COMMA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- "So, Kid, what do you think about this whole serial comma business?" asked Karl, my friend and part-time curmudgeon. He was referring to the second comma that appears in a list, like "red, white, and blue." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/7.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>TWELVE ANGRY WHITE PEOPLE: JURY NULLIFICATION IN A PENNSYLVANIA COAL TOWN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p>POTTSVILLE, Pa. -- The Schuylkill County, Pa., justice system managed to do something that insurance actuaries do with mixed results - it has determined not only the penalty for threats to a human life, but also the value of a human life. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/8.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>WHY DO WE FEAR SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The conventional political wisdom says that single-payer health care - where the government collects taxes to finance national health insurance that covers every citizen and pays the bills for medical care - is off the table. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/9.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>WHAT IF?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- What if America is no longer the King of the World? What if the dollar is cast aside as the world's reserve currency? Everybody knows that the American economy is hanging by a thread. What if someone pulls that thread and unravels the whole shebang. What if? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/10.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>BOX IT, BAG IT, SHRED IT, PITCH IT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- It's been over 50 years since I wore the exquisitely fashioned fur scarf made of three Stone Marten skins attached to each other, flashing those beady glass brown eyes as the wearer shrugged her shoulders to adjust the draping. But, I have them. They're wrapped in tissue and placed in plastic, always ready for the style to come back. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/11.html><b>STUDENT DENIED DIPLOMA FOR BLOWING MOM KISS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The end of a school year is always great fodder for this column. Lawsuits by high school students unhappy with their grades, senior pranks ranging from the very minor to the outrageous, school administrators who crack down on small incidents, controversial or weird commencement speeches, and general high school shenanigans that makes normal people roll their eyes and say, "Meh, what are you gonna do?" <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/12.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>TIME TO REIN IN THE OIL SPECULATORS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- So, why is the price of crude oil now trading above $70 a barrel? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/13.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>SUCKING UP THE JUICE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Now that newspapers are crumbling, many people are professing a smug kind of gladness. Newspapers are "unsustainable." They're the "dead tree" model. They're old-fashioned. Hip hip hooray for the Internet! Only old folks read newspapers anyway, and who cares what they think? Information wants to be free. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/14.html><b>A HIGH RENT DISTRICT WITH A LOW FIXED RENT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Immigration is in the news again, or is it "still?" There is a big difference between what I see here on St. Simons and what I see when I visit my friend in Queens, New York. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/15.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>DON'T MESS WITH INDIANA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I love Indiana. I love the people, I love the cities and towns, I love everything we stand for: corn, car racing, and the belief that any high school basketball team anywhere can win a state championship and have a movie made about them. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/16.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>EQUAL TIME FOR HATE SPEECH?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., June 15, 2009 -- I've seen a lot of crazy stuff, and a lot of great stuff, on YouTube, but only one video has taken my breath away. In "Feeling the Hate," a video shot in Jerusalem and but one in a series of very tough documentaries by a filmmaker named Max Blumenthal, young American adults in Israel call the the newly-elected black President of the United States Barack Obama a "terrorist," a "fag-ot," a "ni--er," a "terrorist" and a "Muslim," and even deny he's an American, all without the slightest qualm or a moment's thought. In short, it was hate speech of the kind that we saw attacked from another angle all last week after the shooting of a black security guard in Washington. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/17.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>THE RIGHT TO KILL</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Who do you blame when you're trying to comprehend the murder - in his church - of Kansas OB/GYN Dr. George Tiller? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/18.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>TIANANMEN, PLUS TWENTY YEARS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Looking back over two decades, it still seem hard to believe that the events of 1989 actually happened. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/19.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>WHY IS ALL THE NEWS SO SLOW?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Hermosillo, Mexico, nursery fire that killed 42 toddlers was front and center on CNN today - four days after it happened. A glance at the crawl line before 9AM showed that story after story was four or five days out of date. When I searched cable television shows after midnight Monday morning for anything about the historic Lebanese vote for a pro-Western multicultural (Druze, Christian and Islamic) governing coaltion, not even Bloomberg had anything. More and more, it seems, "news" is old, already digested and discarded by an information-hungry public. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/20.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>THE CENSUS AND CONSENSUS OF OPINION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- The 1990 Decennial Census was an eye opener for me; it was not just counting heads for an accurate picture of population growth or decline in the previous 10 years. I learned it was far more than that. We had just moved to Troy, Ohio - a small town north of Dayton, south of Toledo - and I didn't know anyone. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/21.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>SOTOMAYOR IS A GOOD CHOICE FOR THE SUPREME COURT</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The speed with which Sonia Sotomayor was attacked by conservatives this week shows how high the stakes are in the upcoming confirmation hearings that will decide if she gets to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court this fall. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/22.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>NUISANCE HUMANS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It's early summer. Two male goldfinches in ravishing splendor are sitting at the thistle feeder, while several varieties of hummingbirds dart around the sweet water. What's missing from this picture? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/23.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>THE RELATIVITY OF TORTURE </b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., May 25, 2009 -- As the rancor and noise about torture and the present furor over President Barack Obama's concept of "preventive detention" have grown, I've been forced by simple honesty to look at these two things in a larger context. What I see troubles me. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/24.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>THE ADVENTURES OF VACATION DAD</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I took my family on vacation this week for the first time in a long time, and I was struck by a frightening thought: I've turned into Vacation Dad. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/25.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- We always called this day "Decoration Day," even though it had long since been officially named Memorial Day on calendars and posters. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/26.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>FEAR NOT, CLASS OF '09. KNOWLEDGE IS STILL POWER</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- If you're a liberal arts major, you've been probably been getting an earful as we head into the college commencement season. In the midst of the bleakest economic landscape in decades, you've been continually told that you'll have few prospects and that you should've majored in something practical. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/27.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>A RIGHTEOUS NATION</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- "Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps the faith. - <i>Isaiah</i> 26:2." <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/28.html><b><i>My Horizons</i><br>A MOMENT WITH HUGO CHAVEZ </b></a><dd>
<b>by J.M. Sylvan</b>
<p> LOS ANGELES -- Stopping into the Misawa bookstore for a fun book to read as I prepared to travel for another 10 days, I spotted T.C. Boyle's newest book, The Women. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/29.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>THE NEWSPAPER I LOVE IS ABOUT TO DIE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Last week, for the first time in my adult life, I didn't buy a copy of <i>The Boston Globe</i>. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/30.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>THE OBAMA PARADOX</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It was a joke when he said, "My next 100 days will be so successful I will be able to complete them in 72 days. And on the 73rd day, I will rest." Right? Wasn't it a joke? <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/31.html><b><i>Brasch Words</i><br>WHAT DICK CHENEY WON'T SAY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Walter Brasch</b>
<p> BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Dick Cheney has apparently been on a magical mystery media tour. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/32.html><b><i>Make My Day</i><br>KARL THE CURMUDGEON HAS AN IDEA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Erik Deckers</b>
<p> INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- "I've got a great idea for a business. I think you're going to want a piece of this action," said my friend Karl, my literary curmudgeon and occasional drinking buddy. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/33.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>GLIMPSES OF MAMA</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga, -- Today, when I selected Mothers' Day cards, they were for my daughters who are mothers themselves. Yet, as I scanned the verses, I was thinking the words were just what I'd want to say to my own mother. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/34.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>A FIGHT I'D LIKE TO SEE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. - The first time I was called a "content provider," I knew things were all downhill from there. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/35.html><b><i>First Person</i><br>THE GOVERNMENT REALLY DOES WORK (FOR US)</b></a><dd>
<b>by T. Johnson</b>
<p> SOMWHERE IN THE DEEP SOUTH -- A long time ago and far away, a veritable child finished his baccalaureate and decided (since that was the way the political wind was blowing at the time) to run out on his student loan - for future reference, a total of three thousand dollars. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/36.html><b><i>Andy Oram Reports</i><br>REPLACING JOURNALISM: NEW FOUNDATIONS FOR EXPERTISE, DIVERSITY, AND DEBATE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Andy Oram</b>
<p> CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 4, 2009 -- Watching with an almost prurient fascination the tragic plunge of a sister institution - because the newspaper industry is cutting a path that the book industry will follow - I've noticed a subtle shift over the past few weeks from discussions of how to <i>save</i> newspapers to discussions of how to <em>replace</em> them. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/37.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>ABOUT THOSE GLIMMERS: THINGS ARE STILL LOUSY</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- There's been a lot of talk of late that there are glimmers of hope in the American economy. Since President Obama's economic stimulus package was enacted and the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department both announced plans to buy up distressed assets and backstop mortgage-backed securities, the financial markets seemed to have steadied themselves. The S&P 500 - the broadest of the main stock indices - rose 28 percent between mid-March and mid-April. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/38.html><b><i>Reporting: Panama</i><br>SUPERMARKET HONCHO FAVORED OVER LABOR IN PANAMA'S ELECTIONS </b></a><dd>
<b>by Mark Scheinbaum</b>
<p> PANAMA CITY, Panama, May 3, 2009 -- A ban on sales of alcohol and heightened securities greeted Panamanian voters Sunday as a frantic and factious three-year presidential campaign finally went to the voters. Supermarket magnate Ricardo Martinelli, 57, is the odds-on favorite to replace Pres. Martin Torrijos for a six-year term. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/39.html><b><i>The Willies</i><br>WAS 'SWINE FLU' AN ATTEMPT TO ASASSINATE OBAMA?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., May 2, 2009 -- About six months before the H1N1 'swine flu' virus broke out, an immigrant from Bangladesh began selling food on the streets of Mexico City. Shortly before his own death, the food vendor was <A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-swine-flu1-2009may01,0,6489412.story">visited by his brother, who became ill and returned to Bangladesh</A HREF>. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/40.html><b><i>Momentum</i><br>CALM DOWN, AMERICA!</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joyce Marcel</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- The way I heard the story, a chicken is eating lunch when an acorn falls on her head. Deciding that the sky is falling - she's a chicken, see, so she's not very bright - she runs around telling everyone, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Her friends join her to spread the word, and soon everyone is pretty much wiped out by a wily fox who sees this mass hysteria as a dining option. (Insert Dick Cheney joke here.) <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/41.html><b><i>Pandemic!</i><br>HINI SWINE FLU HAS INFECTED SPREAD TO AT LEAST 108 NATIONS</b></a><dd>
<b>by Joe Shea</b>
<p> BRADENTON, Fla., June 30, 2009 -- From Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean to Vanuatu in the Western Pacific, from the sweltering heat of Ethiopa's deserts to the storm-tossed island of Guernsey in the North Sea, the H1NI "swine flu" virus continues to spread, long ago leaving behind any hpe that will not be with us for years, decades and even centuries to come. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/42.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>DON'T DRINK THE WATER; DON'T BREATHE THE AIR</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- During most of my adult life, the flu was considered an inconvenience - usually 24 hours of an upset stomach, throwing up, and perhaps a fever. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/43.html><b><i>On Native Ground</i><br>TAKING A STAND AGAINST TORTURE</b></a><dd>
<b>by Randolph T. Holhut</b>
<p> DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It's good news for the Constitution and the rule of law that President Obama ordered the release of <A HREF="http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/olc_memos.html">the Bush Administration memos</A HREF> that justified the use of torture and that he has not ruled out prosecuting officials who devised the policies that allowed torture to happen. <p>
<dt><a href=http://www.american-reporter.com/3,714/44.html><b><i>Constance</i><br>DOES PRIDE GO BEFORE A FALL?</b></a><dd>
<b>by Constance Daley</b>
<p> ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Actually, saying "pride goes before a fall" rings true to me, but we've always been aware of it and never really hit rock bottom. We've managed to be resourceful at home and too proud to crumble outside the home. <p>
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