So I have been less than faithfully in posting everyday like I committed to doing, so I am going to get back to it. Thanks to all of you who have been complaining about the lack of my mindless dribble to read...Okay here we go.
I suppose that one of the reasons why I have not been writing much is that frankly I cannot stand to watch the news. You would think that in this era of 24 hour news channels that I would be able to find plenty of things that infuriate me, make me laugh, or that I want to give my spin to. The problem is that for every hour of programming on the news channels there is about 2 minutes of actual news. Now I can be as sentimental as the next guy (yes for those who know me you know this isn't true), but I have had it up to my neck in human interest stories.
Yes, I know it is great to profile cancer survivors, to talk about the kid who sold lemonade to help hurricane victims, and show the whole world the good work that the local church is doing, but come on, enough is enough. Lets take today for example; today's leading stories on CNN, ABC, NBC, and Fox News were: 1) Barbaro-will the horse make it with a broken leg? And 2) The seven year old boy who swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco. Now, yes it is sad that a horse broke it's leg, and it is quite impressive that a seven year old swam across a bay (what the hell were his parents thinking?), but should these be the two leading stories?
How about we talk about the congressman who is being investigated for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes? Maybe we should be hearing more about a nation run by the most extreme of radical Islamists who refuse to abandon their nuclear program? Or perhaps the Attorney General taking on the first amendment by saying that his office will prosecute reporters who publish classified information. Are these not more noteworthy stories?
Here is a thought; we are in a war. Yes I know it is difficult to remember that at times but we have tens of thousands of troops fighting. Putting their lives in danger everyday. See, this war is different from any other that we have ever had. During the World Wars the entire country rallied around, industry changed over to support the war, Rosie the Riveter was born, people bought war bonds, contributed to the USO, and read every single piece of news they could find about the war. During Vietnam we were engrossed in the war. The controversy and protest kept America's attention. Even during the first Gulf War I remember coming home and doing nothing but watching news coverage, hour after hour.
So what has changed? We have become a microwave nation. Our attention span last only as long as there is nothing new to focus on. We have to have everything instantly, and grow tired of news as quickly as we do a stale piece of gum. The problem is that we see the stories daily, but we fail to understand their importance, and almost never take any action as a result of what we have seen. We find out that we are being wiretapped without warrants and there is a two day uproar. Scientist tell us that climate change is happening quicker than we anticipated and that it could have dramatic effects; 24 hour news cycle. No weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, North Korea has the bomb, Hamas takes over; two day stories at most. Where is the resolution? The public outcry? The action by our elected officials? It is not there, because these are not popular issues.
Now if you want to see action, then expose a breast during the SuperBowl and instantly you will have hearings in both the Senate and House. Why? It is sexy, its exciting, people want to know about it. Yes I know I am painting a sad picture. That of a nation that is out of touch with what is important. And yes, there are many of us out there who strive to keep up with current events, to understand the world we live in, and to even try to help shape it. But this group is a minority, and that my friends is a sad thing.
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In the News
The family of an 8-year-old boy in Espanola, N.M., won an award of $221,000 in April, payment for a bad half-hour experience for the boy when he was improperly booked, outfitted in an orange jumpsuit, and jailed after throwing a tantrum in his principal's office.
What do you have to say about this instance?
Mike,
I have done some research and have not been able to find any information about the case that you brought to my attention. If you can give me a source on this I would like to look into it.
Amarillo Globe
April 20 2006
Full Story
ESPANOLA, N.M. (AP) — An Espanola third-grader was handcuffed and arrested by police after hitting another student with a basketball, the child's mother and her lawyer say.
"The Legislature never envisioned that the law would be used to lock an 8-year-old in any jail, especially an adult jail," attorney Sheri Raphaelson said.
"This is the most egregious example of poor judgment by police that I've ever seen in my 15 years of practicing law," she said.
According to a juvenile citation for disorderly conduct, Jerry Trujillo was arrested Thursday and booked into the Espanola jail after he "got out of control and refused to go back to class."
Police Chief Richard Guillen, who was not at work Thursday, said he had few details but that officers "couldn't deal with" the boy before taking him into custody.
He said he had conflicting accounts of where the boy was held and for how long.
It's illegal to keep a juvenile at an adult facility.
Espanola school Superintendent Vernon Jaramillo said the incident was being investigated. He expected a report from the school's principal, Corinne Salazar.
The boy's mother, Angelica Esquibel, said he was sent to the school office Thursday when he raised his voice to a teacher after hitting another child with the basketball.
Esquibel, who works next door to the school, said she was called to the office, and that Jerry began crying and saying he wanted to go home.
She said a school counselor wanted him to return to class, and that when the boy ran outside and started crying louder, the counselor told him if he wasn't going to be in school, she was going to call police.
The counselor told him officers would handcuff him and put him in a cell "until he changes his attitude," Esquibel said.
Guillen said he'd been told the mother agreed police should be called. She said she told school officials not to call them.
Two officers tried to tell Jerry to go back to class and told him he had a choice — class or jail, Esquibel said. When the boy got upset and loud, they handcuffed him, she said.
The police report says Jerry was arrested, taken to jail, booked and released to his parents.
Esquibel said that when she arrived at the police station, he was standing against a wall, crying.
He told her he was placed "in a dark room with a window, a metal toilet and a metal sink," and that inmates banged on the window "saying they were going to get him and cussing," she said. He said officers told him to stop crying or they'd let the inmates get him, she said.
Mike,
Thanks for your follow-up. I appreciate you finding that article for me. I am not sure what kind of commentary you are looking for from me on this one. This isn't really the kind of story that I get much into. I don't really believe that there is any controversy here. Somebody, and possibly multiple somebody's screwed up. Plain and simple! There is no excuse to ever arrest, let alone jail an eight year old kid. None of the articles written about this story said that the kid was violent or was a threat to himself or others. There doesn't seem to be any mitigating circumstances here. Somebody just messed up and the result is what I am sure was a tramatic experience for a young kid. This should remind us all of the important role that we play as parents in protecting our children. It should also be a wake-up call as to the condition of our schools and the skill sets of those who run them when they cannot handle an issue like this without escalating it to the police. I know that there are tough kids out there (believe me I was one), but eight years old is eight years old.
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