Posey’s Skewed Priorities

This whole “birther’ idiocy now has a Florida connection. U.S. Rep. Bill Posey has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would require a presidential candidate to produce a birth certificate “together with such other documentation as may be necessary” to prove natural-born citizenship. It would kick in by 2012, in time to matter to incumbent President Barack Obama.

 

This is the same Brevard Republican who still can’t find time to add his name to the 159 signatories of HR 874, Rep. Bill Delahunt’s (D-Mass.) “Freedom To Travel To Cuba Act.”

For The Last Time: Gates Case Handled “Stupidly”

This won’t be the last media word on the notorious Gates/racial profiling/audacity-of-hops matter. Somebody still has to reference “Gatesgate.” But it will be the last word here.

 

This was not — repeat not — a preachable moment with all the familiar assignations of blame and historical guilt. No, this was a race-neutral 911 call that went wacko. It was not a variation on a racial-profile theme that conjures up the image of a bling-bedecked, 20-something African-American male who can’t hail a cab as he runs late for his Oxford interview.

 

This was only about race after the fact. It was otherwise about common sense – and Sgt. James Crowley’s failure to apply some. Recall the context: Crowley realizes he’s on the scene by mistake. The “suspect” has proven that he is the resident – as well as a Harvard professor. But the homeowner, who had just de-planed from China, is outraged. Obnoxious even. Probably plays the race card. Frankly, it’s understandable. Crowley’s options: Play the empathy and common sense cards and walk away from the loud homeowner. Or snap on the cuffs for disorderly conduct.

 

And this guy teaches a course in profiling?  And yet knows so little about defusing an eminently defuseable situation that has turned racial?

 

The president’s damage-control rephrasing notwithstanding, Sgt. Crowley, indeed, acted “stupidly.”

“Reconciliation” Won’t Reconcile Health Care Partisans

“Reconciliation.” There’s got to be a better word for it. This is the euphemistically misleading, nigh-on-to-decorous term that refers to the expedience-driven, partisan-taunting tactic that a Democratic Congress could conceivably resort to in order to pre-empt Republican filibusters on health care overhaul.

 

In short, it would allow a simple majority to carry the day despite Congressional uncertainty and ever-ratcheting rhetoric over costs and benefits. The Dems, as concerned about their Blue Dogs as they are about GOP naysayers, could apply the “reconciliation” loophole if they see no alternative – and no hope – as the Oct. 15 legislation-filing date draws closer.

 

But “reconciliation”? If actually applied, its aftermath will be acrimony, more divisiveness, and more than likely diluted, piecemeal legislation. “Reconciliation”? We already have a term for this kind of outcome: “pyrrhic victory.”

Real Journalists Don’t Have Frat-House Issues

Let’s put the Erin Andrews’ case in perspective. Andrews is the attractive sports reporter who was secretly videotaped by some low life. Then it got to YouTube. Then academia and the media weighed in.

 

The comment that resonated with me was that of Christine Brennan, the USA Today sports columnist. “Women journalists need to be smart and not play to the frat house,” she noted on Twitter.

 

Brennan should have directed that comment to the networks, including ESPN, Andrews’ employer. That’s because the networks want — and actually court – frat-house appeal. And, yes, frat house appeal transcends the frat-house years. That’s what female sideline reporters are for.

 

Networks know their demographic. And they know they don’t need “journalists” to report that the back-up quarterback is warming up or that it’s rumored that Tim Tebow has a girlfriend. Networks want babes.

 

Of course, it doesn’t excuse what some slugs might do, but it does explain why some of them watch.  

Gates Case: More About Common Sense Than Race

Increasingly, it looks as if the upshot of the racial rift resulting from the Cambridge, Mass., arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. is not the inexplicable case of racial profiling it initially appeared to be. In fact, it seems that race was less a factor than a post-facto overreaction.

 

We now know that the 911 caller was reporting a possible break-in by two individuals. She didn’t identify them by race. But there had been a break-in nearby recently. It’s what neighbors looking out for each other, frankly, don’t do enough of.

 

As to what precisely was said in subsequent exchanges between the 58-year-old African American Harvard professor and white, 42-year-old Police Sgt. James Crowley, there will always be wiggle room. Memories of the verbal confrontation — that was both nuanced and emotional — are likely to be as flawed as they are selective. A beer won’t change that.

 

No, this is not a variation on a racial-profile theme not unlike the plight of the bling-bedecked, young black man who can’t catch a cab on the way to his Oxford interview. This was a race-neutral 911 call that went preposterously wrong. The Gates-Crowley contretemps should never have been about race; it should have been about common sense. With the onus on Crowley to have applied some.

 

Gates was in his own house and showed identification to prove it. He also showed his Harvard ID. He also had just gotten off an international flight from China. Did he ultimately try to play a race card? Did he resort to a variation of “Do you know who I am?” Did he get vehement? So? A lot of folks would have.

 

A police officer, especially one who trains others in how to defuse potential racial powder kegs, needs to know when to walk away and when to snap on the cuffs. Especially after you’ve determined you’re on the scene by mistake. That’s what’s teachable about this moment.

 

What this isn’t is another preachable moment – with all the familiar assignations of blame and historical guilt.

 

Is Crowley a racist? Likely not. But to quote someone – someone who was uniformly criticized for such a characterization – Crowley, indeed, acted “stupidly.” Consider: You’ve wrongly confronted someone in their own home. The homeowner, an older guy with a cane, morphs into a loud, unhappy camper. But you don’t hit the empathy button, don’t turn a deaf ear to an understandably irate homeowner, and don’t exit. No, you arrest the homeowner for disorderly conduct.

 

Perhaps someone else should teach that course.

Rays’ Imperfect Storm

Call it the fortnight that was for the St. Petersburg-based Tampa Bay Rays.

 

*Talk ratcheted up further on the alternatives-to-Tropicana Field scenario. This time the Pinellas County-based ABC Coalition suggested that Hillsborough County sites actually made the most regional sense for a new facility location.

 

*Then groundbreaking ceremonies were finally held for a new state-of-the-art stadium in Miami for the Florida Marlins. Recall that the Marlins, who don’t even draw as well as the Rays, still want to be “Florida’s Team.”

 

*Then the Rays were on the losing end of the 18th perfect game in baseball history, the one thrown by the Chicago White Sox’s Mark Buehrle. And when video was shown on the NBC national news, anchor Brian Williams referred to the Rays as “Tampa.”

 

*And then the Tampa Tribune ran a major weekend piece that made the point that even though the Rays have a Trop lease through 2007, there’s ample precedent for teams paying damages and breaking such agreements.

Sideline Eye Candy

This much we should all be able to agree on. It was despicable for some slug to have secretly videotaped Erin Andrews, ESPN’s attractive sports reporter, through a hotel peephole. And then to up the digital-disgust ante by posting it on YouTube.

 

And it was unconscionable for the New York Post and CBS News to have shown images from the video.

 

All kinds of folks – from academia to the media to the Poynter Institute for Media Studies – have weighed in. Particularly notable was a comment by Christine Brennan, a USA Today sports columnist. “Women journalists need to be smart and not play to the frat house,” she opined on Twitter.

 

That leaves unsaid more than it says. Nobody has to tell, say, Nora O’Donnell of MSNBC, not to flash her political-junkie demographic. She’s a serious journalist who also has the right look. And there are others.

 

But here we’re talking female sideline reporters. Not to be confused with serious journalists. A position, arguably, that isn’t particularly taxing – or necessary. More to the point, they are hired precisely because of the frat-house demographic, one that, to say the least, definitely transcends the fraternity years. Sexy sideline reporters — the ones who tell us that “It’s rumored that Tim Tebo has a steady girl friend” — are now a TV staple. Networks want babes.

 

It doesn’t excuse what some creeps might do, but it does explain why some of them watch.

Limbaugh In Context

Whether you swear by — or at — Rush Limbaugh, give him his due. He’s really, really successful.

 

His job, of course, is not to make better policy decisions for the U.S. Nor is his job to be an honest broker. His job is to entertain by pandering to a sizable demographic of acolytes who have outsourced their ideology to him. He does his job incredibly well – and has the GOP idolatry, ratings and compensation — $54 million per annum – to prove it.

 

And speaking of earnings, Limbaugh is right where he belongs in the ranks of those who chat for a living. He’s fifth – right behind Oprah, Dr. Phil, Simon Cowell and Howard Stern. To repeat, that’s where he belongs.

Key Cuba Question: What’s Next?

When Tampa City Council member Mary Mulhern returned from her visit to Cuba with a delegation of business execs, she was preparing herself for the obvious question: Now what? Most Americans can’t go to Cuba, and the few who do typically don’t include elected Florida officials. And given the change in Administrations, the short shelf life of the Castro brothers and potential Cuban-American trade and travel scenarios during a recession, did Mulhern, an outspoken critic of the economic embargo and travel restrictions, formulate follow-up plans?

 

“The next step is for all Americans to be free to travel to Cuba,” says Mulhern. “I will lobby (U.S. Rep.) Kathy Castor to sign the (Mass. Congressman William) Delahunt bill (“Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act”). Actually, I will continue to lobby her. I will also lobby (Fla. Congressman) Kendrick Meek, Sen. Bill Nelson and Sen. Mel Martinez.

 

“And I will be asking for a meeting with the mayor,” adds Mulhern. “I’ll be putting together a report for the city council.” Mulhern is also hopeful about a city council workshop on renewed Cuban-American relations and expects to solicit a letter from city council encouraging more normalized relations with Cuba. She is also intrigued by the prospect of a Sister City relationship between Tampa – or Ybor City – and a Cuban counterpart.

 

“It’s critical that the city of Tampa re-establish good relations for trade – involving both the port and the airport,” underscores Mulhern. “It should be obvious, but you can’t build good relations without talking. Business is about relationships. Especially in Latin America. We need a strong relationship (in place) before this policy finally changes.

 

“I learned that there is a lot more opportunity for this area and the state than I thought,” acknowledges Mulhern. “I would encourage the port to pay a visit. We can encourage more trade right now legally – and not just beans and dairy products.

 

“(Trade Minister Alberto) Betancourt made it plain that the U.S. was their preferred trade partner, and Florida is obviously an especially preferred partner because of proximity,” says Mulhern. “But right now we’re losing business.”  

Hearst Headline

While most observers and interested parties were curious about what Mulhern would do in the way of a Cuban follow-up, that was hardly the focus of one of the dailies. The headline on page one (Tampa Bay) of last Friday’s St. Petersburg Times was “Taxpayers Pay Cuba Tab.” The sub-head read: “Tampa council member Mary Mulhern uses a discretionary fund for her trip.” The jump head was: “Official uses taxpayer money for trip to Cuba.”

 

A couple of points.

 

The Times has long courted — and often earned — a watchdog reputation. This has been recently evidenced by the Ray Sansom, political frequent flyers and Davis Islands’ teen, hit-and-run stories. This isn’t one of those. Not remotely. But it still got the newspaper nanny treatment. It was journalistic overkill with a supermarket-tab headline. The “out somebody” culture in the name of governmental oversight. Ray Sansom Community College this was not. The Times knows better. Surely.

 

The actual story, for those who obviously missed it, was that a local politician was showing some initiative, guts even, on a (still) politically sensitive issue during the worst recession in memory. And the fallout – from pressuring Mayor Pam Iorio to lobbying U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor – is hardly without legitimate interest or ramification.

 

As to the matter of using about $1,300 from her city council member discretionary fund: it had already been reported. It was neither new nor news nor illegal nor inappropriate. Mulhern’s use of the aptly-named discretionary fund had already passed muster from  City Attorney Chip Fletcher.

 

“No, I have no regrets,” says Mulhern. “It was a business trip, and I told the press (Tampa Tribune) about it the week before. Two attorneys gave me the go-ahead.”

 

Mulhern says she is hoping that the net result of the trip will be eventual economic benefits to Tampa and its port.

 

To be sure, normalized Cuban-American relations will happen some day in the not-distant future, but it won’t happen as soon as it can to Tampa without relationships. And follow-up. That’s why the operative question was: “Now what?” Not: “Could you tell us, yet again, how you paid for part of your ‘jaunt’”?

 

“I want Tampa to be the first partner in trade,” points out Mulhern. “That’s what this is about. It’s about economic development. That’s why I went there.”