John Williams - WGN Morning Host

Each morning, after my shower, I get online. I look at several sites, including the Chicago Tribune. Today, I saw the announcement that John Williams will be taking over for Spike O'Dell. I couldn't be happier.

John Williams is a thinking man with an edge. He is highly intelligent and can quit this gig and write for Time magazine if he wants. He also has a great sense of humor that comes out in a variety of great segments.

My favorite is voicemail, although I haven't been able to hear it for ages. He has a number where listeners can call and leave a message for John, usually pertaining to things he has been talking about through the week. Think of it as a comment section on a blog. Then he and the producer piece the different voicemails together with some great music and it makes for some of the funniest moments on the air today.

Anyway, my congratulations and good luck John Williams. You won't need it because you already have everything you need to be Chicago's brightest star!

Don Imus and mediamatter.org

Don Imus has been a regular topic since he uttered a sophomoric description of the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team. It was horrible and stupid and, as I have written here before, he should have been fired.

My wife offered me the April 23, 2007 issue of Newsweek magazine. Keep in mind that Newsweek is a “strategic partner” to NBC, who was one of Imus’ employers.

The article “The Power That Was”, written by Weston Kosova, was mostly a recap of what happened recently regarding Imus’ idiotic attempt at humor and the wrath that poured down upon him afterward.

Kosova makes one point that I did not realize until I read the article. On Wednesday, April 4, 2007, the day of the incident, millions of people listened on the radio and watched on MSNBC. Nobody flinched at the remark.

Okay, maybe somebody flinched, but nothing was said. It was just the I-Man doing his schtick. Imus makes fun of people. It is what he gets paid to do.

It was not until later that things boiled over. An employee of Media Matters, Ryan Chiachiere, watched the show on tape and brought the comment (among others) to his employers. His employers then began make the statement available at their website, but more importantly, added the clip on YouTube.

It was then that the controversy sparked and caught fire. Hours after the program had ended; people had the comment pointed out to them and became incensed.

Think about this for a moment. People who normally do not watch or listen to Don Imus became aware of the comment and became upset. Within a week, Don Imus was out of work.

Even I, who did not watch or listen to Imus regularly, became caught up in the discussion, and I have always stated that I enjoyed Imus when I could listen.

If I run a stop sign, and there are no cars or pedestrians in the area, but a local television crew accidental, but clearly, tape my car running through the intersection, can I get a ticket a week later? I clearly violated the law. Would it be right if the news crew ran a story on the late news that Alexander Dimm ran a stop sign and then the police ticketed me because they heard about the story on the news?

Somehow understanding that the Imus controversy did not spring up from the initial statement bothers me. The fact that his firing was generated, not by regular listeners, but by people who look to the internet for issues they can champion colors the whole affair.

At the core, should Imus have been fired for his statement? Of course. As it states in the Newsweek article, Imus normally saves those kinds of remarks for newsmen, writers and politicians. Still, he should not be making these kinds of remarks about anyone.

Should Media Matters have spread the word once Chiachiere made them aware? Of course. Media Matters is a great organization who works hard to point out the misinformation being spread in the world of news today. Everyday they point out errors by people you would expect and people you would not. If you have not seen it, I urge you to visit their website at http://mediamatters.org/.

Imus was not considered by Media Matters to be a frequent offender. People do not get upset about offensive statements by Howard Stern and/or Glenn Beck because these people, and others like them, are consistent. Everyday they utter things that are offensive and stupid.

Imus did not take a step “over the line”. He took a step “over his own line”. He made a statement he would not normally make. He offended a group of people he would not normally offend. He did it and he paid the price.

There are many others getting paid today who frequently step over the “Imus line” but not over their own line. They are still working, and will likely continue to work. That is the saddest statement about this affair.

Imus, who understood the workings of Washington, did not hold with a political party, and was willing to puncture a republican as easily as a democrat, no longer has a voice. Many others who spew misinformation and venom like it is the weather report will continue to go merrily on their way. They do because their statements are not out of character for them.

If you are unhappy with comments made by any news reporter or political commentator, speak up. Be specific. Tell them what you heard and how you felt. Do not make it a personality issue. Write down what was said and when. Then let those in charge know.

I have already written that I feel Glenn Beck should be removed from his nightly program at CNN Headline News. If you agree and want an opportunity to be heard, contact CNN at this link, http://www.cnn.com/feedback/. You may be surprised what can happen.

Thank you for reading. We’ll talk again soon.

Is Glenn Beck a Liberal?

If Don Imus is considered racist, sexist and a misogynist, how do you define Glenn Beck?

Remember when “conservative” meant being careful. Looking at a definition of the word conservative, it states:

1. Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change.
2. Traditional or restrained in style: a conservative dark suit.
3. Moderate; cautious: a conservative estimate.

Think about this. It uses words like “cautious” and “restrained”. Yet I notice that many of those who describe themselves as conservative are anything but “cautions” and “restrained”.

Would someone described as “conservative” call anyone a “fat witch”? Glenn Beck does. March 21, 2007.

Would someone go on the radio and refer to a neighboring nation as a “dirtbag country”? Glenn Beck did. April 27, 2006.

On February 28, 2007, Glenn Beck was interviewing an American Idol contestant who had been scandalized by racy photos that had become public. Beck’s “conservative” response? “I’ve got some time and a camera. Why don’t you stop by?”

Is this an example of "traditional values"? Dr. Dobson, are you listening?

Are these types of barbs considered witty? None of this would be funny or thought-provoking if it were uttered by Larry the Cable Guy. Don Imus is a first cousin to Bob Hope compared to the “funny, conservative” humor of Glenn Beck.

How is this for a funny observation: On the August 24, 2006 broadcast of his program on CNN, Beck complained about hotels that put Braille markings next to the doors of the rooms. “Just to piss them [blind people] off, I'm going to put in Braille on the coffee pot ... 'Pot is hot.' "

I wrote recently that I believed a broadcaster I sometimes enjoyed, Don Imus, should have been fired for his recent remarks regarding the students and athletes of Rutgers. I stand by that statement.

The truth remains that if Imus deserves to be sent home, so do many other broadcasters. Glenn Beck is someone who liberally offends and openly hates people. That does not make Beck a liberal. In fact, he is far from being either a good conservative or a good liberal. He is far from being good at anything.

I hope CNN wakes up before he embarrasses their organization any more than he already has.

Let the Cry "Remember Virginia Tech" Ring Loud and Clear

This is the last thing I wanted to write about today.

There were other things I was had in mind. There is a book I am reading I wanted to discuss. There are thoughts about other radio and television performers who often make comments worse than those made by Don Imus last week that need to be shared. Yesterday, baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson day.

It all has to be set aside. Today, a man killed our children.

News reports differ. Some say thirty were killed. Others say thirty-three. Almost all use the words “at least”.

I heard about the first shooting of two people early this morning. The story at that time reminded us that on August 20, 2006 there was a shooting at Virginia Tech. At that time the campus was closed to protect the students.

At that time, it was the police doing the shooting. A convict, who escaped from Montgomery County Jail in nearby Christiansburg, close to eight miles away from Blacksburg, was suspected of killing a hospital guard and a sheriff’s deputy. The suspect was shot and killed just off the Virginia Tech campus.

Security was still working, even today, to protect the students of the University. Unfortunately, even with added protection, there were still two sets of shootings.

President George W. Bush got it right when he said today, “Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community.”

Of course, schools are not the only places where there should not be guns and death. Churches, schools, government buildings, grocery stores, shopping malls, hardware stores, amusement parks, parks, parking garages, hospitals, restaurants and I could go on and on.

As citizens of this country, we have a right to protect ourselves, but we also have a right to expect to live our lives without the threat of being harmed at any time by any person. We need to rethink what is happening is this world today.

Today, our President is attempting to spread democracy overseas. It is a nice idea, but look for a moment at what democracy is giving us. There are individuals killing our children. There are no reasons. There are no excuses.

I do not care how today's killer was treated as a child. I do not care if he was abused. I do not want to know this man’s life story.

There are over thirty life stories that need to be celebrated and mourned. There are over thirty people whose promise-filled futures were cut short. Every life is precious. Every life is important.

Today, a co-worker made a joke. He referred to another co-worker as someone capable of pulling a “Virginia Tech” where we work. It was not funny. It will not be funny tomorrow or a month from now.

We need to find solutions. We need to reach out to each other in a spirit of love and friendship.

Instead of talk of weapons and wars, we need to be finding ways to make every citizen feel they count. That is what we all want. As a people, we want to feel we contribute.

Today, I bow my head and close my eyes for a moment for those children we have lost throughout the world. Tears fall for those students from Virginia Tech. Tears fall for those young men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tears fall for those in Darfur.

For a middle-aged man from central Illinois, there is not much I can do. I can smile at everyone I see today. I can lend a hand where I see a hand is needed. I can write and hope that as you read this you will do the same.

Thank you for reading. We will talk again soon.

Open Letter to Don Imus

Dear Don:

Hope this letter finds you feeling well. I know the past week has been hard on you. It has been hard on all of us.

I wrote a couple of posts about you last week. I tried to be as kind as possible, but I still had to admit that I would fire you under the same circumstances. What you and Bernard said was inexcusable. I was disappointed in the two week suspension, because it was such a slap on the wrist. When they finally spoke up to say you had been dismissed, it renewed my faith in organizations such as MSNBC and CBS. Now if CNN can follow suit.

I know, I know. You do not work for CNN. I just mean there are people in that organization who say things as bad as, if not worse than, your little joke about the Rutgers basketball team. This letter is not about them. It is about you.

You are a free agent now. So what are you going to do?

Doing commercials is not out of the question. I am not certain who would hire a racist, sexist, misogynist to represent their company. You never know. There may be someone out there ready to capitalize on your recent celebrity.

There may even be another radio station willing to give you a try. They will probably make you and Bernard promise not to talk bad about women, but will also be willing to promote someone who has been all over the news and internet recently.

Satellite radio is probably not the way to go. Howard Stern still accuses you of copying him. He probably thinks this whole scuttle over Rutgers is your way of copying him. As bad as things are you do not want to do anything that would compare you to Stern.

How is this for an idea? You are in your sixties. You have opinions. Why not write a newspaper column? That way, your name is out there. You can be your witty self. If you cross any borders there are editors who will keep you in check. It is a perfect fit!

Who would place your column? Lots of papers will take a column with your name. Just follow this path: Write a book (either you or a ghost). Tell your side of the story and how bad you feel. Also write about the kids in New Mexico and anything else that strikes your fancy.

Then you will do the book tour. You will do some public speaking and book signings. People will begin to warm up to your crusty image again. Do a fund-raiser or two as well. Just be certain not to use any of the slurs in public, okay? If you learned anything from this it is that there are things you and Charles and Bernard can say at the bar that you cannot say in public. Keep that in mind when you roam around the country.

Then start the weekly column. It will grab a lot of attention at first. People may complain, but who cares, right?

A column is ten times easier than a four hour radio show. You will still be making money. It is a great fit.

Give it some thought. In the meantime, relax a bit. Enjoy the summer. Maybe jot down some ideas for the book. Let me know if you need someone to bounce some thoughts.

Anyway, I miss the show already. Good luck to you. Talk to you soon.

Kurt Vonnegut

The master has slipped away.

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Kurt Vonnegut was an exceptional novelist. He had a view of life that has gone missing in much of today’s modern literature. To say he wrote science fiction is to say that Ernest Hemmingway was a reporter. Vonnegut wrote about life.

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He appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart within the past year. Stewart was great with what was obviously an older, slightly befuddled man. He was not the great wit and intellectual that we will remember, but he did have his moments. Stewart made him look good.

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Recently Mr. Vonnegut took a fall. The reports are that his death was due to the injuries. Maybe that is befitting of a man whose characters rarely just passed on quietly.

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Vonnegut has been welcome on my bookshelf since I discovered “Slapstick” in the mid-seventies. He retired from writing only to publish twice more. It is possible we may hear about one more unfinished manuscript. Somehow I hope so.

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Thank you, Mr. Vonnegut for Kilgore Trout and your messages of the painfulness and pointlessness of war. Thank you for introducing us to twisted people and their twisted lives and reminding us that we are a little twisted ourselves.

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God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut. May you rest in the peace you sought.

Guns and Schools

During the film “Apollo 13” you see how the average United States citizen developed apathy toward the space program. By the time Apollo 13 was launched, space travel was not new and exciting anymore. Networks were happier to run “I Dream of Jeannie” rather than footage of these heroes in space.

It was not until there was trouble that anyone paid attention.

I worry that the same thing is going to happen with shootings in schools. Yesterday, a student was able to bring a 9 mm handgun into a Chicago school. He was showing it off to friends when it discharged by accident, wounding its owner and another boy.

Both are expected to recover and there is no evidence that there was a planned attack. That said, we still have the issue that the boy BROUGHT A GUN TO SCHOOL!!!

The south side of Chicago is a rough place. There have been plenty of songs written about organized crime, gangs and disorganized crime in the area. At the school in question yesterday, there were security officers and metal detectors due to a previous shooting.

Still, someone was able to bring a gun into the school.

That begs the next questions: How does a fifteen year old boy get his hands on a 9mm handgun? The first look is toward the parents. Then you look for older siblings. Then you look to where he spends his time. This boy did not build this gun in metal shop. He either purchased it somehow or, knowingly or unknowingly, borrowed it from someone.

I am not a big believer in gun control. I feel that gun control tends to control those people who are already responsible with their firearms. They are not the ones who need controlling. There does not need to be an outright ban on firearms in this country.

Still, laws can be tightened. You can make statistics say anything, but there are statistics that show that in areas with tougher laws, the number of homicides, crimes involving handguns and/or fatal accidents have declined.

Guns do not belong in schools, shopping malls or anywhere there are crowds of people. Guns belong on firing ranges and in marked hunting territories. Guns also belong with people licensed to protect us.

The story about the fifteen year old boy yesterday was front page news relegated to the inside pages because his name was not famous and his intent was not malicious. Still, there was a gun inside a school. People were hurt.

Can we not stop this?

Thank you for reading. We will talk again soon.

"Imus In The Morning" will be right back after this!

Yesterday morning, prior to his suspension from both radio station WFAN and cable television offering MSNBC, Don Imus said, "Here's what I've learned: that you can't make fun of everybody, because some people don't deserve it," he said. "And because the climate on this program has been what it's been for 30 years doesn't mean it's going to be what it's been for the next five years or whatever."

Is this an apology?

The suspension is for two weeks. Management is gambling that those unhappy with Imus will have their attention diverted in two weeks time. Those who have enjoyed Imus in the past and have moved to other programs will return to see if he says anything else outrageous. Despite his hinting, Imus will continue to toss out his cranky opinions about everybody.

As I said in this space yesterday, Imus has not changed that much in forty years. The attitude is that he is smarter than everyone else. He is the “I-Man”. At the beginning of his career, he made prank phone calls because he was smarter. From that he segued into character-driven satire. Today, he makes fun of people during interviews. More often he puts down people who are not in the room to defend themselves.

Don Imus is like Gregory House without the stethoscope.

Yesterday, he spoke on Rev. Al Sharpton’s radio program. He said, “Our agenda is to be funny and sometimes we go too far. And this time we went way too far.” Again, this sounds more like a explanation than an apology.

So has Imus apologized? Yes he has. Is he truly repentant? Hard to say because he never truly lets you see inside, but probably not. Has he been punished? He has been given a two week vacation.

Is this the end of it? Probably. Rev. Jesse Jackson and Sharpton can boast they fought for a suspension. CBS radio and MSNBC can boast they punished their star. Imus can host another telethon and relax for a bit.

People like Imus do not get fired. Advertisers love controversy. They will pay top dollar for ads because people will be listening. Firing Imus will cost the stations money.

Yesterday I suggested that smaller market announcers would be fired for such comments and that Imus should be held to the same standard. Unfortunately, in the twenty-first century, business does not work that way.

Don Imus

Don Imus did something wrong. You could put that sentence in any month during any year over the past forty years and you would likely be correct. Don Imus continually does things and says things that people do not like.

Imus started out in 1968 in Sacramento, California doing on-air pranks. It became so popular, he moved to Cleveland (no joke). From there he moved to WNBC in New York where be became a national star. He began to do stand-up comedy and created a character named Rev. Dr. Billy Sol Hargis, which was a satirical slap at the bible thumpers everywhere.

During the seventies he developed a cocaine problem which got him fired from WNBC. Between drinking and drugs, he was nearly washed up, but his talent kept him going. He returned to New York radio and even developed a syndicated television series which was similar to early David Letterman shows.

During the late eighties, Imus slowly phased out satirical humor for more political talk and humor. His program has been simulcast on MSNBC since 1996. Strangely enough, it was in 1996 that he gave his most famous speech. He spoke before the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington D.C. Bill and Hillary Clinton were in attendance.

Imus took the opportunity to skewer Hillary, who was deeply involved in the Whitewater scandal. Most speakers offer gentle, non-topical humor at these events. Imus went for the Clintons. The audience roared, but the Clintons sat silent.

Imus has been accused through the years of racism, misogyny and homophobia. Whether any of it is true is anyone’s guess. Remember that Imus got his start doing radio pranks. He knows what makes some people laugh and what gets everyone’s attention.

Imus has done some good things. During the nineties, he created the Imus Ranch in New Mexico. The ranch is a charitable organization for children with cancer, as well as siblings of SIDS victims. More recently, he attended the dedication of the Center for the Intrepid, a privately-built rehab center for wounded veterans. Imus helped the Center raise ten million and personally contributed over $300,000 himself.

Last week, Imus did something bad. He and his team used language that was racially charged. It was wrong. They were ignorant statements by people who do not understand the hard feelings such words create. These are not words I use in casual conversation, let alone on radio and cable television.

I like Don Imus. He is funny. He wants to see this world be a better place. He is a “cantankerous old fool” as a former employee once called him. He does not hold his feelings back, even when they are not in line with the rest of the country.

Should Imus resign or be fired? If I were to make a similar comment on the radio, if I had a radio show, I would be fired. Imus should be held to the same level. There is candor and there is hurtful. Once again, Imus has been hurtful and he must atone.

If he does quit or gets fired, two things will happen. Either he will retire to the Imus Ranch and continue with his wife to raise his son and do good work for the children of this world, or he will return on another station and be even bigger and stronger than before.

The second possibility has been his pattern in the past. After bad behavior, he returns to even greater results. The question is not should he quit. Of course, he should quit. The real question for Imus is whether he is ready to quit.

Only Imus knows that.

Iran and the U.K. Soldiers

This has been a strange week. Yesterday, I failed to get to the internet. I spent the time I would normally write trying to figure out what the problem was. In the end, my wife disconnected everything and reconnected and here we are. My wife is the greatest!

Earlier this week, I stayed up late writing an article for a local paper and spent the morning rewriting. There was nothing in the article that I would post here, so I missed another day. I only missed a couple days of posting, but it feels like it has been a week. There has been a lot happening and we need to talk.

Today is a good day because the sailors from the United Kingdom have been returned home from Iran. To be fair, I have not read so much as I would like about the situation, but it is still unclear to me what Iran would have gained by keeping the sailors. The decision to send them home was a fair and rational choice.

What about the initial taking of the soldiers? Was that rational? Prime Minister Tony Blair contends his people were not in Iranian waters. Iran maintains they were. If this was as simple an argument as it sounds, then it is just a playground territory fight that needed to be settled.

Unfortunately, because we are playing with people’s lives, the argument is not simple. Questions about the involvement of Iran in the Iraq disputes continue. Whether Iran is developing nuclear weapons is still a concern.

Of course, people forget that the United States already has nuclear weapons. Again, if we are on the playground and one side has a stick and the other does not, is it fair to tell the other side not to pick up a stick?

Again, the scenario is too simple because we are not talking about who can use the swings. The lives of people are at stake. At some point, someone needs to step forward and agree that we need to get along.

There was a time when the United States played that role. There was a time when we worked to solve wars with diplomacy. It would be nice to see us play that role again.

We have a rich history of successful wars, including World War II. What is going on overseas currently is not like World War II. We need to stop the so-called “War on Terror” and begin a “Pursuit of Peace”.

We need to drop the sticks in the playground and agree to share this world. We have a lot of issues to tackle that affect all of us. Why do we not stop the bickering and get to work.

Iran made a positive move. For whatever reason, they sent the sailors home. Let us rejoice and learn from their example.

Child Safety and Attorney General Gonzales

Chicago, Illinois is a friendly town. It is the “windy” city. The home of those loveable Chicago Cubs.

As Carl Sandburg so eloquently stated, “Hog butcher for the world, tool maker, stacker of wheat, player with railroads and the nation’s freight handler.

“Stormy, husky, brawling city of the big shoulders.”

How can anyone not like Chicago and its fun-loving people? Apparently, United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales does not like Chicago. Gonzales was able to make a brief news conference even briefer, much to the disappointment of Chicago reporters.

Yesterday, Gonzales was scheduled for a fifteen minute news conference. He was there to talk about the safety for children on the internet. Now that is a topic begging to be discussed for at least an hour or more (and no, I am not being sarcastic).

Somehow, however, Gonzales must have believed that all the concern about the fired U.S. attorneys was only in Washington D.C. He must have thought the people in Chicago either had not heard about the controversy, or were so happy and friendly that we did not care.

As it turned out, Gonzales ditched the Chicago reporters once he realized they were aware of the firings. Three pointed questions into the press conference and the U.S. Attorney General was history.

He did get out these verbal jousts, “I look forward to working with Congress. I believe in keeping accountability. Everything that I've done in connection with this matter supports that principle."

If he believes in accountability, why not answer a few, friendly questions? To be fair, Gonzales has likely been told by his own attorneys and others not to say much to the media. After three questions, he had probably used all the stock answers he was provided and decided it best to fold up camp.

Since Gonzales did not have much to say yesterday, we will report on what was said about child safety and the internet. Wait a minute. I am not finding anything in the papers about Gonzales, or anyone else, discussing child safety and the internet.

So what was Gonzales doing in Chicago? Maybe we will never know. In the meantime, if you want to know a little more about child safety and the internet, check out www.safechild.org. It has a lot of good information you may find interesting and/or helpful.

In the meantime, thank you for reading. We’ll talk again soon.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont has always been a favorite of mine. He just turned 67 so he is likely too old to run for U.S. President, but I would not have minded.

Leahy has been in the Senate since 1974. He understands how things work and how they are supposed to work. Rarely has he stepped into the limelight, quietly accomplishing things in the background. Only when he gets a sense that something is so important he needs to be seen, does he step out and speak.

This appears to be one of those times. Or maybe the Senator is just doing some Democratic Party footwork.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales did something foolish. He probably did it at the insistence of Karl Rove or someone else in the Bush administration. Remember, the Bush White House has never been one to think things through. Once again, they blundered in without an exit strategy.

The firing of federal prosecutors is not unusual. Most administrations take the time and mass remove prosecutors from office. The problem here is that most administrations do the deed during the first few months of gaining office, not six years later. Not after the prosecutors have told them they will or will not pursue legal issues that are purely for the political gain of the White House and/or the Republican Party.

Gonzales could have avoided this mess. There are ways this could have been handled that would have been neat and tidy. Still, when has the Bush administration every done anything “neat and tidy”?

Instead of having a plausible reason for the firings ready for anyone who asked, he tells the public that the prosecutors were fired for doing a poor job. Even Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania will tell you that such a statement is ridiculous.

A statement that they wanted to start fresh with their own people would have been an honest statement and one that likely would have gone unnoticed.

The good news is that this whole debacle is strictly a show. Whether Gonzales stays or goes does not really matter. You know that Rove is not going to appear under oath. Much like the immigrant issue of times past, this is to distract us from important issues, such as the conditions at Walter Reed and the war in Iraq. If we give our attention to a non-issue, such as whether prosecutors were fired correctly, the politicians have more time to play the real war games.

Keep in mind that the older Senators are the ones involved. Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter are the ones in the public eye. Neither is running for higher office. They are simply being the “magician’s assistant”, keeping the audience distracted while the magician is doing the real deception.

If you notice, Gonzales has not stepped down yet. Much like the departure of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, he will likely wait until the discussion dies down and then make a big show of leaving. All in the effort to distract the pundits and buy the White House more time.

Nicely played, Karl. Nicely done.

Calvert "Larry 'Bud' Melman" DeForest

Lately I have been memorializing people who have made an impression on me through the years. People like Bowie Kuhn and Paul Denault are people I was aware of when I was a teenager growing up and held in high respect.

Then there is Calvert DeForest, also to be remembered as Larry “Bud” Melman. DeForest came along later, appearing on television for the first time on NBC’s David Letterman show in 1982. For over twenty years, DeForest was a running gag for Letterman. He was an older looking man with a funny voice. Just seeing his cherubic face made you laugh.

I have been thinking about DeForest off and on in recent years. In the late nineties, he was turning up in a lot of places. He was doing commercials and appearing in a movie or two. It was sometime in the late nineties where I saw he was making a personal appearance in Champaign, IL. It was not a speaking engagement, or a book signing. I no longer remember where he was to be, but they were simply promoting that he would be there, likely to visit and sign some autographs.

DeForest was pop culture. He will be a question for “Trivial Pursuit” games (Q: What was the name of the character popularized by Calvert DeForest?). He never won awards. He even lost his job for his art. He had been a file clerk at a drug rehab facility and was told he could no longer appear on television and work for them as well. Television won out. Maybe that’s why he was touring the country doing personal appearances.

Somewhere along the line, DeForest disappeared. We all knew he was older and could have become ill. His last appearance on Letterman’s show was on his 81st birthday in 2002. I worried that since DeForest was not a big star, we would miss hearing any news.

My worry was for naught. DeForest passed away Monday at the age of 85. Reports say he had suffered a long illness, but nowhere does it say from what he suffered. DeForest is at peace now, and we are lesser world without him. Still, if I close my eyes and listen, I can still hear him laugh.

Open Letter to Donald Trump

Dear Mr. Trump:

Please don’t. Don’t even joke about it.

I see where Wolf Blitzer asked you about running for President of the United States. You gave a good answer. You said you were not interested in running. Then you said, “It would certainly be fun. It would certainly be interesting."

Please don’t joke. You are a smart man, but you have no better chance than Ross Perot did in 1992. Actually, you have no better chance than Steve Urkel did in 1992.

Think about what you have said in public. Just recently you said, “If I looked like Rosie, I'd struggle with depression, too" about actress, comic and talk show host Rosie O’Donnell. Then you said, “Not everybody has to be politically correct. I think that's why this so-called feud took on a life of its own, because it wasn't politically correct. In a way it's wonderful that she doesn't like me and I don't like her. There's nothing wrong with that."

You may have to be more diplomatic to be President, Mr. Trump. You have just lost the female vote across the United States. Maybe some male votes too.

About George W. Bush, you said in your interview with Blitzer this past Thursday that he was probably the worst president in the history of the United States. You said Donald Rumsfeld, the former secretary of defense, was a disaster. Now you are losing the conservative right. Remember that a lot of people voted for Bush. No one likes to be told their vote was wrong-headed.

Don’t forget you sang the theme to the sixties comedy “Green Acres” on the Emmys. Do you think those running against you will show that a few hundred times?

Now, I agree with you about Bush and Rumsfeld, and although I disagree with you about Rosie I do have respect for you. I know the show is not going well, but running for President is not going to help things.

Stick with what you know. Run the casinos. Build the hotels.

Leave politics alone. As much fun as it may be, it is not worth it.

Bowie Kuhn

"The door would be opened wide to the buying of success by the more affluent clubs, public suspicion would be aroused, traditional and sound methods of player development and acquisition would be undermined and our efforts to preserve competitive balance would be greatly impaired." - Bowie Kuhn, on voiding the sale of Rudi, Fingers and Blue for $3.5 million by the World Champion Oakland A's, June 1976

"I believe in the Rip Van Winkle Theory: that a man from 1910 must be able to wake up after being asleep for seventy years, walk into a ballpark and understand baseball perfectly." - Bowie Kuhn, Commissioner of Baseball (1969-1984)

“If I hear Bowie Kuhn say just once more he's doing something for the betterment of baseball, I'm going to throw-up.” Sparky Anderson


Like him or not like him, Bowie Kuhn had an impact on baseball at a time when baseball was changing. He dealt with the unionizing of baseball players. He dealt with the creation of free agency. He dealt with the money earned by big television contracts being handed to baseball players. He dealt with the increasing drug use problem.

Some of the issues Kuhn tried to resolve are still issues over twenty years later. Still, I believe that if a baseball fan from 1910 woke up and came to the ball park, he may be amazed by the surroundings, but he would know what was happening when the umpire shouts “Play ball”!

Kuhn was one of the strongest baseball commissioners baseball has seen or will ever see again. Like Sparky Anderson or Charlie Finley, you may not have always agreed with him, but you knew where he stood. For that, he always had my esteem.

To the family of Mr. Bowie Kuhn, our deepest respects.

Khalid Sheihk Mohammed

He says he did it. He sounds like he did do it.

Listen to the words. “If now we were living in the Revolutionary War and George Washington he being arrested through Britain. For sure he, they would consider him enemy combatant. But American they consider him as hero.”

“So we are considered American Army bases which we have from seventies in Iraq. Also in the Saudi Arabian, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. This is kind of invasion, but I’m not here to convince you.”

He says he regrets killing children. “Because war, for sure, there will be victims. When I said I’m not happy that three thousand been killed in America. I feel sorry even. I don’t like to kill children and the kids. Never Islam are, give me green light to kill peoples.

“Killing, as in the Christianity, Jews, and Islam, are prohibited. But there are exception of rule when you are killing people in Iraq. You said we have to do it. We don’t like Saddam. But this is the way to deal with Saddam. Same thing you are saying. Same language you use, I use.”

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is not crazy. He did many terrible, horrible things. He is the inverse of Mohandas Ghandi. Ghandi believed in change through mass civil disobedience. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed believes in change through terrorism. They have very different methods of creating change, but both believed God was on their side.

“Killing is prohibited in all what you call the people of the book, Jews, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. You know the Ten Commandments very well. The Ten Commandments are shared between all of us. We all are serving one God. Then now kill you know it well. But war language also we have language for war. You have to kill.”

I am a Nationalist. I believe in the United States of America. I love our country and want our country to last forever. This man may be a war criminal and may need to be punished, but we need to listen to the words. We need to think about what we are doing. You can hear it ever day from our Congressmen and Senators that we need to use diplomacy in the Middle East.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed may have a point. “War start from Adam when Cain he killed Abel until now. It’s never gonna stop killing of people. This is the way of the language. American start the Revolutionary War then they starts the Mexican then Spanish War then World War One, World War Two. You read the history. You know never stopping war. This is life. But if who is enemy combatant and who is not?”

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has some of his facts wrong. The United States of America did not necessary start all of these entanglements. During the current “war on terror”, the United States did not attack first.

What we do have is the opportunity to put an end to the fighting and find a way to bring peace. There are so many who wish to try. We talk about freedom. We talk about bringing peace to a troubled world. It is time we put our beliefs into practice.

From this man’s words we can learn that the other side of this battle wishes for many of the same things our side does. We are of one God. Let us start there to find the common ground.

Slept Late

There are very few things in this world I despise, but one thing is when I sleep late.

It is my own fault. I forgot to set the alarm. I stayed up too late last night. It makes me goofy and in too much of a hurry. Sometimes I fail to write anything.

This is not one of those days. I may be late, but I am still going to write something.

So what should I write about? Maybe I will offer my best Larry King impression.

* Fred Thompson sounds like he is seriously considering running for the U.S. Presidency. Seems like his part on “Law and Order” is getting to him.
* Is there nothing that can keep Anna Nicole Smith out of the headlines? Now lawyers are fussing about her baby. Please, let the woman rest.
* Officials at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign have retired Chief Illiniwek and all the logos. Everything that goes with the Chief is now done. I have always been on the fence on this one, but I am glad the issue is considered over. Now to take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame!
* I saw the headline yesterday: American Idol is losing viewers.
* Scooter Libby was convicted of lying under perjury and obstructing justice. We still do not know the motivation. Once we can determine motivation, the house of cards that is the Bush Administration could come tumbling down.
* If Bush pardons Libby, we will never know his motivation.
* O.J. Simpson’s “almost” book is going to be auctioned. If you have been following this carefully, we may remember that Simpson did not write one word of the book. He was being paid to attach his name and go on the road to promote the book. Why would anyone care?
Why care if he did write it? Nothing changes.
* Detroit JazzStage has another great podcast available. I hope to write about it before Monday and post it to “A Dimm View of Podcasts”.
* Baseball season cannot come fast enough.

My time is up. Better get to work.

Daylight Savings Time

As a young man growing up, I had a job playing the organ for a small church in our community. I did this for four or five years.

During Daylight Savings Time, it was fun to watch and see which of the regulars would either miss church altogether, or show up early. There was one fellow who was consistently twenty to thirty minutes late to church every week. He would miss the recitations and the hymns and show up for the sermon.

Once each year, he would arrive on time. That was during the change of Daylight Savings Time.

There was no getting away from the reminders this week. At my workplace there were meetings and discussions about how to make certain cell phone users had their phones updated and how we would make certain our meeting calendars were correct.

At home, there were emails on how to update my Palm Tungsten E and various other electronics. Surprisingly, neither computer clock auto-updated.

Anyway, it is the beginning of a new week. I am on time and ready for the day. Here is hoping you have a great week!

Anna Nicole Smith

On February 8, 2007, Anna Nicole Smith passed away while visiting an American Indian casino in Hollywood, Florida. As of this time her death is unexplained.

Smith was approaching her fortieth birthday this year. She was as famous as ever, but went the way of her childhood hero Marilyn Monroe.

There is a lot to be sad about regarding the life of Anna Nicole Smith. On one hand, you could say she led a wasted life. Still, she lifted herself from a poor youth in a small Texas town to being one of the most recognizable people of the new century. Yet, she will not be remembered for the great acts of humanity she offered the world.

Instead she will be remembered as a gold-digger and drug addict. The first label can be forgiven. A poor youth found a way to use the gifts she was given to line her pocket. She is a product of the social atmosphere. There are those who like to point fingers at her for her relationship with billionaire Howard Marshall II, but consider this: What was he doing at a strip club? He was an eighty-year-old billionaire. He could do whatever he wanted. This is what he chose to do with his money. Smith agreed to benefit from it. Who, in her position, wouldn’t?

Now she is gone. It has been nearly a month and still there are headlines discussing her life, death and money. Even I am writing about her, although I have resisted for weeks because I believe that death is personal.

The media should not be carrying on so about Smith. There should be some respect. Saturday Night Live recently did a spoof of Wolf Blitzer’s “The Situation Room” where the crawl at the bottom of the screen complained about how boring the Iraq coverage was and how it wanted more about “Anna”.

The bit was a perfect strike. The news media continues to wring every last drop from a story that should have ended weeks ago. Now we have judges crying on television and people jumping out of nowhere to claim their piece of the “Anna Nicole” pie. It is time we allow her soul to “rest in peace”.

In April of 1976, Howard Hughes passed away. The same type of media frenzy appeared. Everyone was talking about the will. Everyone was talking about where money was hidden. Still today people are fascinated with Hughes, as was shown by the recent film biography “The Aviator”.

It is my hope that thirty years from now we are not still talking about the “incredible” life and death of Anna Nicole Smith. If we are, I hope we are trying to learn what to do to prevent the sadness of this life from presenting itself again.

Randy Stone

Over the past week, I have seen many people asking the question: Who is Randy Stone?

If you remember, Randy Stone was remembered by Jodie Foster during the recent Academy Awards broadcast. Foster was chosen to introduce the “In Memoriam” segment of the program, one of my favorite parts of the Oscars.

This year, people began asking about Foster’s “best friend”. I have done a little digging and I found out that Randy Stone has been in Hollywood for years. He was also a child actor (as was Foster). He appeared on “Charlie’s Angels” at age eighteen as a “stable boy”.

Along the way, Stone became a casting director, working on memorable TV films such as “Bill” with Mickey Rooney, “Adam” with Daniel J. Travanti and “The Ryan White Story”. He was nominated for an Oscar and won in 1995 for Best Short Live-Action Film for “Trevor”, a film about a boy realizing during puberty that he was homosexual. The film was considered a comedy-drama and Stone was a co-producer of the film.

Stone was active in Hollywood as a casting director, producer and sometime actor among the things he could list on his resume. To mainstream audiences, his was one of the face-less names you see running along the credits at the end of a movie. To Jodie Foster, and I am sure others, he was a close friend.

I admit, I had never heard of Stone before last Sunday, but something tells me, just from taking a short look at his body of work, that we missed something special.