A reader from Monroe sends along his blog. It is the musings of an octanegarian, as he says, a bit of nostalgia from an old newspaper man. How could I resist passing it along?
Author: hankkalet
Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.
The news from Iraq
The news from Iraq just keeps getting worse. Even as the United States promises to cooperate with Iraqi probe of Haditha killings, new questions are being raised about a March attack on civilians.
We really should take Ruth Coniff’s advice on this.
Too many letters
I’ve been astroturfed real bad this week. Over the last two days, I have received probably 250 e-mails concerning New York state insurance legislation that would affect the coverage of austistic patients. While I may be sympathetic, I have to point out a couple of things:
1. My papers do not cover New York state.
2. I don’t respond to form letters — this goes for letters with which I may agree and those to which I’m opposed.
3. Volume is meaningless. Just because I receive a large number of form letters on a given topic does not mean I will be more likely to do something about it. On the contrary, the more form letters I get, the more likely I am to ignore them.
Enough already
I’m getting tired of running these stories.
To date, there have been at least four bomb threats/hoaxes at South Brunswick High School, none of which were serious threats, but all of which created unnecessary problems for the school.
The administration has reacted as it should — admitting that these are not serious threats, but treating them as they are, evacuating the school and warning students that, should they be caught, they will face criminal charges and expulsion.
That’s really as far as administrators can go, however.
It’s now up to the students to make this stop. Students need to understand that these are not funny. They waste time and resources and could lead down the road to a “Boy Who Cried Wolf” mentality, lulling students and staff into a false sense of security. The more false threats made, the more likely it becomes for students and staff to take them lightly — which could have dire consequences should a threat turn out to be real.
Enough is enough.
DISPATCHES: A good start toward reform
Dispatches this week, from The Cranbury Press, on the need for public financing and the New Jersey clean elections pilot.
Hank Kalet 