And then I wrote...
by Dick Schilling, Editor Emeritus
... that nature never ceases to amaze me.
Late Sunday afternoon, while watching golf on TV and with windows open to enjoy the weather, I was surprised to hear geese, and a look out the window showed a sizeable flock heading southeast. A minute or so later, another flock, as large or larger, followed suit. It isn’t time for migration, is it? Where did they come from? Where were they going?
Then Monday morning, when I went to put my flag up, I noticed a beautiful spider web between the pole and garage eave, clearly visible because the moisture from the fog had coated every intricate strand. It must have been about ten by ten inches, built in 24 hours or less, and worthy of the crocheted things my mother and grandmothers used to make. I could not raise the flag without destroying it, but felt bad about doing so.
But then, I don’t understand human nature either.
I have noted here before that, based on my university study and more than three decades of practice, I feel when a news reporter becomes part of the story, he or she has made a mistake somewhere.
That wasn’t the case in two recent stories, both involving Donald Trump.
Megyn Kelly of Fox and Jorge Ramos of Univision both drew Trump’s ire for questions they asked. It should be noted that neither Kelly nor Ramos are strictly reporters. I don’t get to see Univision but I understand Ramos runs a show similar to the Kelly file on Fox. They are confrontational on purpose, and Kelly has had Ramos as a guest on her show several times. He is highly regarded in the Hispanic community and Kelly is the ideal “Fox female,” that is, “blonde, beautiful and brilliant.” Both are confrontational.
Not so with those two “kids” from the TV station who were executed on camera by an avowed racist. They were doing nothing to deserve that fate.
Not getting into trouble for his racist remark was Chris Matthews of MSNBC, who, when informed that Trump had attracted a crowd of over 30,000 for a speech, asked gratuitously “were there any blacks there?”
There has been much discussion about whether the 14th amendment to our constitution gives “birthright” citizenship to children of illegal aliens born in the United States. Constitutional scholars note that was one of the “reconstruction” amendments which applied to former slaves who suddenly became full citizens, and guaranteed that right of citizenship would cover their children. The author of the amendment, Jacob (I think) Howard said that, of course, it did not apply to foreigners or aliens who were citizens of other nations. But a court some years later, more interested in social justice than law, ruled otherwise, ignoring the phrase that parents had to be “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States.
And the debate goes on.
