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So many topics, so little substance

In history, Local News, National News, News Media, Opinion, Politics, World News on December 11, 2013 at 8:30 pm

DIH LOGOAs the year draws to a close, I’ve been planning the final few topics for Deer In Headlines in 2013. So far, I’ve got ten political topics, six personal, nine general and two holiday-related; none of which jump out at me as interesting to you, my readers. It could be I’ve decided that the absence of a subject is a topic in and of itself. Let me explain.

How much time each day do you spend thinking or worrying (not always the same activity) about things you can’t control? Are you readily preoccupied with global issues that have little or nothing to do with your daily life? What is it that really motivates you to get out of bed each day? I think we are just spending far too much time worried about nonsense.

I think maybe we are overly concerned with problems and situations that 1) have nothing to do with us directly, or 2) about which we can do absolutely nothing. Focusing on these things only wastes time and energy and takes our attention from far more pressing matters.

For example, a great leader was lost last week when Nelson Mandela passed away. Strangely, to me at least, it wasn’t really that much of a shock; the guy was 95, after all. What was shocking, however, was how little time the media and bloggers (no, they’re not interchangeable) spent discussing the Obama selfie photo and the fake sign language translator instead of focusing of the former South African president and his achievements.

It’s truly maddening that our attention was overtaken not on the legacy of a true hero but on how to politicize whether the president should have been smiling during the memorial. Think about it, that’s kind of a big deal. He was taking a cell phone picture with the prime ministers of Great Britain and Denmark. He had good reason to smile, even if Mrs. Obama seemed indifferent. But I think even that was out of context. We have no clue what she was thinking or what happened just before and after the picture.

President Obama speaks at Nelson Mandela memorial with reported "fake" sign language interpreter. Photo Courtesy AFP, Pedro Ugarte.

President Obama speaks at Nelson Mandela memorial with reported “fake” sign language interpreter. Photo Courtesy AFP, Pedro Ugarte.

Given the state of the world today, instead of criticizing them, we should be grateful that there are two world leaders willing to be in the same picture with the American president in the first place. I believe Mr. Mandela would have been gratified that people were getting along and smiling as they celebrated his life, including Obama’s handshake with Cuban leader Raul Castro. At least we’re not shooting at each other.

Every day we’re confronted with bad news. I work in the media but try to ignore much of the negative. I have enough of my own problems and I needn’t concern myself with the ridiculousness of the latest Washington scandal or whether the president should have shaken hands with a dictator. Who cares? No one but the pundits, that’s who.

Pundits are supposed “experts” in a particular field called upon for comment by the news media. Sadly, most of these so-called experts are nothing of the kind. They’re often just celebrities who tend to be publicity hounds and find a way to know something about everything at precisely the right moment. Once again, there we go worrying about things that have nothing to do with us. Why do we care what these people think about anything?

Most pundits are so far removed from average people there is no way they could relate to the trials and tribulations of holding a job, paying a mortgage or trying to determine the source of your next meal. They just don’t get it – and they don’t care.

Taking this back around to the idea of the non-topic, as we slide headlong down that snowy slope into the Christmas holidays, remember to stay focused on what matters to you and yours. Ignore the sensationalized news and the nonsense spewed out of Hollywood. Your life and the lives of your family and friends are what make the most difference in your world so center on those things and you’ll be much happier.

 

Gery L. Deer is an independent  contributor to WDTN-TV2’s “Living Dayton” program. More at gerydeer.com.

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Obamacare: Politicians lie to cover bad legislation

In Economy, Health, National News, Opinion, Politics, sociology, Uncategorized on November 19, 2013 at 5:03 pm

DIH LOGOHow ever the White House and the Democrats want to spin it, President Obama lied about the Affordable Care Act – and he wasn’t the only one. But it’s “his” plan and legacy that are on trial now.

Denying that he ever said the line is ridiculous and just makes liberals look worse. It has been fact-checked repeatedly even by liberal news media. The first appearance of the empty promises came at a town hall on August 15, 2009 when the President said, “I just want to be completely clear about this; I keep on saying this but somehow folks aren’t listening — if you like your health care plan, you keep your health care plan. Nobody is going to force you to leave your health care plan.”

Less than a year later, he said essentially the same thing at a speech on March 25, 2010 in Iowa City, Iowa. Speaking of those who were skeptical and cynical of his health reform President Obama said, “They’ll have to finally acknowledge this isn’t a government takeover of our health care system. They’ll see that if Americans like their doctor, they’ll be keeping their doctor. You like your plan? You’ll be keeping your plan. No one is taking that away from you.” If you’re curious, none of this is out of context and full texts for these speeches are available at the White House website.

Without beating a dead horse, this is thoroughly inaccurate or, as the Democrats would say about a Republican president, he lied. There is no caveat stated in any of these remarks related to grandfather provisions or referring to existing medical plans that must meet some set standard required by the new law. It says, very clearly, no one would lose their existing coverage.

In a live address July 25th, President Obama urged Americans to pressure congressional leaders to move toward a compromise. (AP Photo)

So how can anyone say he did not lie about it? Making excuses for lying politicians – on either side of the aisle – does not an honest man make. It’s no secret I’ve never really been a fan of this president, nor the last one either for that matter. But regardless of your loyalties, to deny that he misled the public is just feigning ignorance. He didn’t misspeak or stumble on his phrasing, and leaving out a vital piece of information is a lie by omission, so Dems need to stop trying to defend it.

The Affordable Care Act is a badly written piece of legislation that was pushed through to meet a political agenda rather than to benefit the population as a whole. Overall, I agree with the concept that we need some way to cover those people who cannot afford health care. But at the same time, those already paying their own way shouldn’t be punished by having their current policies systematically cancelled just to meet a set of arbitrary requirements established to force enrollment in the government’s new insurance monopoly.

Speaking of monopolies, wouldn’t it have made sense to have something in the law requiring premium caps and policy cost regulations? What about some kind of legislation that would control the pricing of health care services and keep the cost lower in the first place? One would think our government is more concerned with the expensive cost of a pack of bubble gum than the outrageous price of a critical medical test.

Lobbyists from the medical and insurance industries are extremely powerful, far more so than the average small business owner or individual health insurance consumer. Since most legislators are in the pocket of some major lobbying group, it would be financial suicide for them go against anything as massive as the insurance industry.

The only practical solution to this issue is to correct the problems within the content of the Affordable Care Act; not by presidential mandate, but through the legislative system. Congress needs to re-open the letter of the law and grab an eraser. Force the insurance companies and hospitals to lower costs and let people keep their insurance. Bad legislation only gets worse and wastes taxpayer dollars instead of more efficiently allocating that money to more productive purposes.

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Reduce spending, the deficit and congress

In Economy, Education, Jobs, National News, Opinion, Politics on October 16, 2013 at 12:38 pm

DIH LOGOHow long can the national debt continue to increase before it finally collapses under its own weight? Congress seems to think it’s indefinite but when the debt is growing twice as fast as the economy, the country’s financial stability is so compromised it’s making the rest of the world nervous.

Just like having a credit card with an over-extended balance that racks up fees and penalties when defaults occur, the federal deficit grows exponentially with time. Even knocking a few billion off here and there won’t make much of a difference if the economy remains as stagnant as it has in the last several years. America cannot simply keep borrowing more money to cover debt that should have been reduced far earlier.

Photo Courtesy USA Today - www.usatoday.com

Photo Courtesy USA Today – http://www.usatoday.com

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what it means to raise the debt ceiling. But continually increasing the amount of money the country is allowed to borrow will only add to the problem. Amid the congressional battles and strong-arming is a dance that averts the actual problem – the only way to reduce the deficit is to cut spending – period. That’s a tall order when all congress seems to want to do is sit by and watch the country hemorrhage money.

As the government shutdown enters a third week, congress is no closer to a solution than it was on October 1st. Government employees are still either furloughed or working without pay. Sure, they’ve been promised back pay, but how does that help when a family has mouths to feed and an upside-down mortgage to pay?

The real question is, apart from the small percentage of Americans who work for the federal government, who has really noticed the shutdown? Many experts say, very few. There are even those who say the park and memorial closures were done more as a publicity stunt to elicit public outrage towards the Republicans than to save money.

Looking at it objectively, that actually makes sense considering that government workers will receive back-pay for any and all days missed on furlough or unpaid time. If the shutdown of national parks services was really because “there was no money to pay them due to the fiscal crisis” during the shutdown, why would there be back pay to offer?

It has also been suggested that the shutdown has exposed another inherently expensive issue within the federal government – redundant or unnecessary employees. Excluding the military from the discussion for the moment, a certain level of redundancy is necessary for various reasons, but there is such a thing as overkill, even at the federal level. That overkill could be costing the taxpayers billions spent on unneeded civilian, contracted and other extraneous personnel.

After all, if you were running a small business and hired six employees when three would have sufficed, your business would soon be in financial distress. After a period of time, even large companies feel the effects of that kind of waste. It’s entirely possible that the government hires many more people than it needs (yeah – shocking, right?). This happens for a number of reasons from bad accounting to nepotism, but it does happen.

Which brings back the original point – Reduce spending and the deficit will come down. Clearly there are cuts that could be made without affecting the government’s overall operation or causing widespread layoffs. Reducing congressional salaries and perks would be a great place to start – particularly their perks. But the shutdown is proving that there are other areas of waste to be addressed. The trick is going to be finding the ones that are genuinely wasteful compared to those that need to be funded.

The difficulty exists in coming to an agreement about what needs to be cut and how much. Different sides have opposing ideas about the definition of “necessary” and required. Eventually they’ll have to come to some common ground and work it all out, but for now things still seem stalled.

The president’s approval rating, according to the Associated Press, is down to 37-percent and congress still lags behind at less than 20-percent. If people re-elect any of these people to congress they have only themselves to blame when this all happens again.

 

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Don’t forget to vote Tuesday, November 5th!

In Economy, Education, Local News, Politics, Uncategorized on October 4, 2013 at 6:40 pm

Effect of local elections outweighs that of national races

countingvotTuesday November 5th is a general election in Greene County, Ohio, consisting of numerous city, township and county issues and political seats.  Voter turnout is vital in smaller races where it only takes a few votes to change a loss to a win.

While it might seem otherwise, local elections are far more important to the average citizen than those on a national level. Most of the governing that directly affects people is done at the local level – city, township, county and so on. Local tax levies (whatever they may be called by the proponents) have an immediate and direct effect the individual citizen and, subsequently, the economy.

In a local election, there are no “electoral college” votes or polling numbers – every single vote counts. That’s why it is so important to make an extra effort to keep your community running the way you want it to and be as knowledgeable as you can about the candidates and issues before heading to your polling place. Polls are open on November 5, from 6:30 AM until 7:30 PM.

GET OUT AND VOTE NOVEMBER 5!

In order to help our readers make informed decisions this election day, The Jamestown Comet has provided this useful information on Greene County’s election (courtesy of the Greene County Board of Elections).

Direct Link to the Greene County Board of Elections

(Includes information about polling locations and more.)

Click here for the Greene County Board of Elections Certified Candidates List (In PDF format.)

The following is a list of issues as posted by the Greene County Board of Elections. NOTE: There are no state issues. There is no issue #1. Local option and overlap questions are not assigned issue numbers.

Questions and Issues:  November 5, 2013 General Election Ballot

#2 Greene County – Children’s Services – Renewal – 1.5 mills
#3 Greene County – Developmental Disabilities – Renewal – 3.5 mills
#4 Greene County – Greene Memorial Hospital – Renewal – 0.5 mills

#5 Beavercreek City – Streets, Roads & Bridges – Renewal – 1 mill
#6 Bellbrook City – Charter Amendments
#7 Xenia City – Current Operating – Renewal – 3.5 mills
#8 Xenia City- Electrical Aggregation
#9 Jamestown Village- Streets, Roads & Bridges – Additional – 1.8 mills
#10 Spring Valley Village – Current Operating – Replacement – 1 mill
#11 Spring Valley Village – Current Operating – Replacement – 3 mills

#12 Spring Valley Township & Village – Fire & EMS – Renewal – 2 mills
#13 Spring Valley Township Roads & Bridges – Renewal – 1.5 mills
#14 Caesarscreek Township –– Fire & EMS- Renewal – 2 mills
#15 Jefferson Township –Roads & Bridges- Additional –5 mills
#16 New Jasper Township –Streets, Roads & Bridges – Additional –1.5 mills
#17 Ross Township – Current Operating- Renewal – 1.5 mills
#18 Sugarcreek Township –– Fire & EMS- Renewal – 2 mills

#19 Beavercreek CSD – Emergency Requirements– Additional- 6.3 mills
#20 Yellow Springs EVSD- Permanent Improvements – Renewal – 1.2 mills
Kettering CSD –Overlap-Current Expenses-Additional- 4.89 mills
Wayne LSD – Overlap – Current Expenses – Renewal – 14.05 mills

#21 Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Park District- Defraying Expenses- Renewal – 0.4 mills

Spring Valley General Valero – Local Option Precinct 435 – Sunday Sales

Sugar Valley Golf Club – Local Option – Precinct 153 – On/Off premise sales
Sugar Valley Golf Club – Local Option – Precinct 153 – Sunday Sales

(If you live in another county, just go to GOOGLE.COM and search for the county’s board of elections website.)

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27th Amendment: Congress gets paid no matter what.

In Economy, history, National News, Opinion, Politics, Uncategorized on October 1, 2013 at 9:57 pm

DEER IN HEADLINES

By Gery L. Deer

Did you know that the 27th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits Congress from changing its own pay? The exact wording is, “No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.”

congress 1Although the amendment was submitted to the states for ratification way back in 1789, it was not adopted until 1992, more than 200 years later. It was conceived to prevent the legislative branch from giving itself unwarranted and outrageous increases in pay, but it also works in the reverse. So, according to the constitution, congress gets paid, no matter what happens.

Amid a government shutdown unnecessarily created by a congress that simply refuses to compromise (on either side), it is thoroughly reprehensible that they are not also deprived a paycheck. Compensation certainly outshines performance, particularly by congressional leaders.

According to an article published in 2011 by the Center for Public Integrity, “No legislator – living or dead – has been paid a higher salary by the taxpayer than Speaker Boehner.”

The article notes that the Speaker earns the highest annual salary of all his peers, at $223,500. On the other side of the dome, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other congressional leaders are paid much less; just $193,400 per year.

Poor folks; It’s hard not to feel bad for them. Really, it must be terrible to have to struggle by on a measly couple-hundred-thousand a year. Yes, that was sarcasm.

There should be some way to cut Congress’s pay in midterm when they’re not living up to expectations and actually doing more harm than good. If they had to work a normal job, the current level of unsatisfactory performance would have gotten them all fired a couple of years ago.

con1Apparently, the only way to do have any financial impact on these people is to amend the 27th Amendment, allowing for congressional pay reductions at the will of the people. Administering such a procedure would be something of a logistical and legal challenge, but working it out would pay off in the end.

Direct and immediate job performance accountability, like everyone else endures at work, might actually motivate congressional leaders to the action of the people. At the moment, the only action they are taking is that which gives them the most spots on the Sunday morning news shows.

While hard-working government employees and their families go without pay, some struggling to put food on the table due to recent sequestrations, congressional big wigs luxuriate in the perks of the office, content in their jobs and in the foolhardiness and shockingly short memories of their constituencies. While there may be a few normal people on Capitol Hill, they are greatly outnumbered and hopelessly meek-voiced. A whisper from the back of the hall is nothing to the roar from the leadership seats.

Congress is currently enjoying its lowest approval rating ever, 87 percent of Americans disapprove of Congress’s performance according to an October 1st CNN poll. But until the American people say, “enough is enough,” this pointless bickering over the country’s finances will never cease. It’s as if the House and Senate are like an old married couple arguing over the checkbook register and who spent too much on the new blender they both needed.

Ridiculous filibusters and other Washington-style temper tantrums accomplish nothing, except to secure free press by presidential hopefuls no one has ever heard of now clambering for the spotlight. But, if members of Congress suddenly knew their pay would be cut and their jobs were in danger – now, not two years from now – they might make some effort to straighten all this out.

Until the 27th Amendment is amended, however, every single ineffectual member of congress will continue to collect their overstuffed paycheck. It’s time to show these people how the rest of America has to live because they clearly have no idea.

 CLICK HERE TO SIGN A PETITION TO AMEND THE 27th AMENDMENT …

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Saving our downtowns, one megamall at a time

In Business, Dayton Ohio News, Economy, history, Jobs, Local News, Opinion, Politics, Uncategorized on September 25, 2013 at 9:37 am

DIH LOGOLast week I covered a story for the local newspaper about a business that has been in downtown Xenia, Ohio for more than 70 years. To celebrate, the chamber of commerce held a ribbon cutting attended by the usual fare of friends, associates and dignitaries, all wanting either to sincerely congratulate the proprietors or mug their way into the photo op. Whatever their reasons for attending, it was refreshing to see people taking an interest in a small town’s revitalization.

Every day local governments offer tax breaks and other perks designed to attract new businesses to settle in their region, the obvious benefits to which are jobs and tax revenue. A good idea, of course, but while they’re building new strip malls on one end of town, the downtown sits empty and abandoned leaving the same government officials to puzzle over what to do with empty, decaying buildings.

So why not provide more incentive for businesses to locate in existing downtown areas before adding more sprawl? For those already there, encourage them to stay rather than making it easier for them to move into the latest strip mall.

Some communities sprang up from joined housing developments but for those like Xenia, Bellbrook, Jamestown and Fairborn, there is history, culture and charm still to be reclaimed. It’s truly puzzling why there is not more incentive to do what Xenia’s business owners are doing very well – revitalize and rejuvenate the downtown.

mall interiorMost confusing of all is the approval by local governments of sprawling mega-malls like The Greene, in Kettering, or is it Beavercreek? I’m not sure even they know where they are located. The brick walkways and old-fashioned street lights illuminating an array of sidewalk cafes and specialty shops were designed to look just like old downtown shopping squares that have long since been abandoned.

While they might add something to the local job market, these monster malls with their fake skylines, congested parking lots and Segway-riding rent-a-cops, do little to enhance the community. The sad thing is, eventually, the buildings go out of style and repulse new customers after a dozen years or so.

When Beavercreek’s Mall at Fairfield Commons first opened, it was all the rage; no more driving all the way out to Centerville or northwest Dayton to shop at an indoor mall. Today, there are huge unoccupied spaces in all of the indoor retail behemoths as businesses either shut down or move into newly-designed malls.

Believe it or not, “If you build it, they will come,” applies far more to retail sales than it ever did to a cornfield baseball diamond, so build it downtown. No matter where you put the temples of American gluttony and materialism people will find them and go to worship the almighty Abercrombie.

City governments should do more to help property owners attract major tenants to the old downtown areas, particularly big mall-style anchor stores. It would only take a couple of them to generate more interest from others and grow revenue for the property owners and the municipality.

Over the next month or so, small town politicians will be scrambling to win over your vote. Ask them the same questions posed here. If we really want to save our downtown areas, we have to start at the government level.

Instead of spending time and money worrying about ridiculous issues like whether a store’s sign is wood or plastic, how about making it easier and more attractive for businesses to locate in the downtown areas? It really is that easy.

A civic ambassador with a high-level business background in national retail sales could help to develop a plan of action and take it to companies like Macy’s and Abercrombie. Show them that it’s possible to create the genuine version of the fake atmosphere so popular at the outdoor malls. If it’s done properly, it would bring people downtown again to shop, eat and socialize.

Small business cannot support such efforts without a few major players in the ballgame. If there are to be more 70-year old businesses downtown, there needs to be a downtown for them to be in.

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Xenia law firm celebrates more than 70 years downtown

In Business, Dayton Ohio News, Economy, history, Local News, News Media, Politics, Uncategorized on September 20, 2013 at 7:14 am

By Gery L. Deer

Editor

(Front Row From Left) Attorney Jeremiah Webb, Xenia Area Chamber of Commerce President Alan Liming, Attorney Alan Anderson, Xenia Mayor Marsha Bayless, Attorney David Phipps, Jim Saner (Montgomery Insurance) and Diane Davis. Photo by Gery L. Deer

(Front Row From Left) Attorney Jeremiah Webb, Xenia Area Chamber of Commerce President Alan Liming, Attorney Alan Anderson, Xenia Mayor Marsha Bayless, Attorney David Phipps, Jim Saner (Montgomery Insurance) and Diane Davis. Photo by Gery L. Deer

XENIA, OH – When Robert Hirst Wead opened his law practice at the southwest corner of Main and Detroit Streets in Xenia’s Allen building, he probably had no idea it would still be serving Greene County more than 70 years later. On Wednesday, September 18 Wead, Anderson, Phipps and Aultman, LLC celebrated the milestone with a new sign, a ribbon cutting reception and a commitment to their part in the continuing rejuvenation of the city’s downtown.

About six years after Wead opened his original office, Philip Aultman joined him as a partner. Over the years, the firm was home for as many as six attorneys and the original partners have since passed away. Today, there are three lawyers working in the firm headed up by partners David Phipps and Alan Anderson. Phipps joined the team in 1991 and Anderson got his start with the practice back in 1979.

In addition to his private practice, Anderson is also currently serving on the Greene County Board of Commissioners. He believes that the current efforts toward the revitalization of Xenia one of the greatest benefits to those who live and work downtown.

“Xenia is so blessed to have a thriving, active downtown and the business owners and the city should be commended for all of their hard work towards continued improvement,” he says. “We’ve got nice restaurants, the new Harvest Moon Bakery, and there are some great businesses coming in downtown. We have a wonderful chamber of commerce with a lot of young people. When you get young people involved you know you have a future and they’re going to be building towards it.”

IMG_6316The third and latest addition to the team is attorney of counsel, Jeremiah B. Webb, who came on in February. A University of Dayton School of Law graduate, Webb was instrumental in the design and execution of the firm’s signage upgrade.

“I’m proud to be a part of Wead, Anderson, Phipps and Aultman,” Webb says. “Although our efforts may pale in comparison to other recent community improvements, we are yet another example, however small, of Xenia’s progress and movement toward a brighter future.”

Alan Anderson adds that there is plenty more to do. “We’re not done here yet,” he says, referring to the revitalization of Xenia and his own office building. “We’re going get some lighting on the sign and do some painting, possibly a mural on the side of the building.”

IMG_6312The ribbon cutting event was organized by the Xenia Area Chamber of Commerce and attended by local business associates. Wead, Anderson, Phipps and Aultman, LLC, is located at 53 W. Main Street. For more information go online to www.wapalawxenia.com or call (937) 372-4436.

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Definitely not the Weiner the world awaited

In Media, National News, Opinion, Politics, sociology, Uncategorized, World News on July 31, 2013 at 5:47 pm

DIH LOGO

Whoever holds the position as Mayor of New York City carries a level of political power that may be second only to that of the White House. It’s a daunting task requiring political savvy, brains and, eh-hem, character. If Anthony Weiner is the “best” option for that job, we have a sad political landscape in America today.

Regardless of his political accomplishments, this man has made himself into little more than a late night punch line. Perfectly named for receiving a repeated black eye from pundits, Weiner’s online “sextcapades” seem to have no end in sight.

When asked if any more of this material would be uncovered the guy actually said, and this is a quote, “I don’t know.” You don’t know? How can you not know? In the immortal words of Bill Cosby, “Has your head been with you all day?”

weinerismWeiner has become a complete laughing stock and there is absolutely no way he can win an election now. Yet, puzzlingly enough, Bill Clinton was re-elected for a second presidential term following his real-life trysts. In Clinton’s case, there was little more evidence than an accusation from a disgruntled intern – and a stained dress.

In Weiner’s situation you have to wonder how much more his wife is going to take before she walks. Her name is Huma Mahmood Abedin, and she happens to be a high-ranking aide to Hillary Clinton so I’m not sure that’s the best example to follow when it comes to dealing with infidelity. She could ignore Hillary’s playbook though. I’m hearing Tammy Wynette singing, “Stand By Your Man,” when suddenly the record scratches off and Abedin storms off the stage.

Whatever happens, if the democrats re-elect this guy to, well, any office at all, they really are crazy. Either that or they’re incredibly short-sighted and intend to definitively prove that liberals care nothing about character in their candidates.

It’s important to note, however, that there is nothing new about this kind of behavior from powerful executives on either side of the aisle. Expecting otherwise is probably about as unrealistic as thinking a cat is suddenly going to enjoy a bath.

The real issue, with regard to integrity, is that these men (and a few women) flat deny anything ever happened; at least until evidence surfaces to make liars out of them. Subsequently, they’re forced to come clean with a tearful apology and a carefully written statement from the safety of a podium, often with the humiliated wife standing nearby appearing to be supportive.

But as long as the American public keeps giving politicians a pass on this kind of behavior it will continue. Voters seem outraged one minute and re-elect them in the next. It makes no sense.

No one is perfect, least of all those who have chosen a life in the public eye, but when you are charged with representing the best interests of a constituency, you should at least behave like an adult, not an adolescent. Grow up, already.

Beyond that, voters need to have more integrity themselves. It’s time to stop choosing the lesser of, “Who cares?” Our local representatives have much more of an effect on our day-to-day lives than those in Washington and should live up to a much higher standard for that very reason.

But in order for them to be held accountable and to let them know that irresponsible behavior does have an effect on job performance, it takes a message sent from the polling place. There are many more “Weiners” out there, and smartphones and social media will be the professional death of them.

All we can do here on Main Street is try to convince people of higher sense of integrity and civic duty to run for office and help improve things one step at a time. As you visit the fairs and festivals going on throughout the end of summer and into fall, talk to those campaigning there and ask them the hard questions. We deserve better from our representatives but it will only happen if we demand it.

Gery L. Deer is an independent columnist and business writer from Jamestown, Ohio. Deer In Headlines is syndicated by GLD Enterprises Commercial Writing. (c) 2013, GLD Enterprises / Gery L. Deer. All Rights Reserved.

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Media distorts facts in high profile cases

In Education, Health, history, National News, Opinion, Politics, Senior Lifestyle, sociology, Uncategorized on July 16, 2013 at 9:40 am

DIH LOGOUnless you’re one of those people who can outwit the trivia nerds on Jeopardy!, you probably don’t remember the name, Stella Liebeck. It’s a sure bet, though, that you more than likely remember hearing of a woman awarded millions after spilling hot McDonald’s coffee on herself while driving – except that’s not exactly what happened.

In 1992, 79-year-old Liebeck sued McDonald’s Corporation after being severely burned by coffee spilled in her lap. Her case drew national attention to the idea of “frivolous lawsuits,” igniting a firestorm of conservative push for swift and devastating tort reform.

For those of you who slept through high school civics class, a tort is a wrongful act or infringement of rights leading to a legal liability. In other words, if someone hurts you in some way and they may be liable for the injury (physical, emotional, financial, or otherwise), that’s called a tort.

Torts exist to help protect the public from the negligence of others, whether the fault of an individual or a business. Without them, no one would ever be held legally accountable for causing accidents and injuries. Like other well-meaning legislation, sometimes greedy people abuse the system – or attempt to – just out to make an easy buck. The majority of, what might be considered “frivolous,” lawsuits die out in the first hearings or are settled out of court to avoid public scrutiny.

With rampant distortion of the facts in the Liebeck case, it’s easy to understand why people really didn’t know what happened and just assumed she was looking for a big payday from a huge corporation. Sadly, the particulars were lost in the hype, turning this poor woman into a media joke, even inspiring a groin-scalding episode of “Seinfeld.”

At the time, the media’s fractured reporting stated Liebeck was herself negligent because she was driving at the time of the spill when, in fact, she was a passenger in a stationary vehicle at the time. It really would have made little difference anyway, since the coffee in question was estimated to have been around 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Medical experts suggest that any skin in contact with liquid of that temperature for more than a few seconds would experience severe burns of, at minimum, second degree and potentially surpassing third.

As it turned out, evidence in the case showed that the fast food giant’s franchisees were required to maintain coffee at a sitting temperature between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit. The searing heat of the fast food giant’s coffee had resulted in hundreds of documented injuries. Liebeck’s burns were located on her inner and back thigh and were so severe as to require a series of major skin grafts over several months and caused agonizing pain.

HERE IS A LINK TO PHOTOS OF MRS. LIEBECK’s INJURIES – PLEASE NOTE, THEY ARE GRAPHIC IN NATURE. PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Initially, the Liebeck’s family wrote a letter to McDonald’s merely asking they cover medical bills for her treatment but with no response, they were forced to take legal action. In the end, the jury found McDonald’s liable for the severity of the injuries due to temperature policy and frequency of documented injuries.

Punitive damages (additional monetary punishment to the wrong-doer) were awarded by the jury in the amount of $2.7 million. That figure was later reduced by the judge to $480,000, but Liebeck eventually settled with McDonald’s for an undisclosed amount.

Sensational news stories like the Liebeck case should always be taken a dose of skepticism because. The court of public opinion can be devastating to a case like this, and like so many more recent ones. No media outlet is fair or balanced and no one reports all the facts because reporters are not privy to everything. Guilt or innocence should be based on the decision of the jury, not the news media.

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Is Big Brother watching too closely?

In National News, Opinion, Politics on June 19, 2013 at 2:06 pm

DIH LOGO

In his book, “1984,” author George Orwell noted, “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.” Even though he published his most famous work in 1949, Orwell seems to have had a sixth sense about the future of government scrutiny.

Orwell’s dystopian society may seem too dark and ominous to be believable, but given the recent events surrounding the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance operations, it may be more reality than fiction. As more information is revealed about these activities, congressional hearings are turning up little in the way of explanations by those in charge.

So why is it so offensive that the government would eaves drop on phone calls and emails to help prevent another 9-11 disaster? According to officials, hundreds of potential threats have been thwarted thanks to the tireless efforts of those who invade the privacy of law-abiding Americans. Unfortunately, since all of that information is classified, there is no evidence to show the public that corroborates their claim.

Civil liberties watchdog groups pounced on this story as soon as the information was leaked to the press. The question begs asking, however – under which rock were the leaders of these groups living where they didn’t think this was going on already? To the bigger point, who cares?

Modern society is full of surveillance cameras, listening devices and internet-based tracking systems, only a tiny fraction of which are used by government agencies. Most of them are operated privately to collect marketing or usage information or provide security. And people just accept it. It’s there, there’s nothing that can be done about it and just part of life in a technologically advancing society.

ringyIn the early 1900’s, “party lines” were the main method for which residential customers were provided with telephone service. Everyone on the same circuit would have to wait their turn to use the telephone and simply agree not to listen in on each other’s conversations. Of course, this was a source of great amusement in early radio and television comedy sketches. Today, it would be viewed as a huge invasion of privacy and thoroughly unacceptable.

Barreling through continually updated technology requires that people must adapt at a faster pace. Users of that technology should be aware that anything posted on the internet or passed through an electronic broadcast system (i.e.: cell phones, Wi-Fi, etc.) could be intercepted without their permission or knowledge. There’s no telling who is listening or reading any of it or what will become of that information.

If the NSA or other government agencies are tracking information, the assumption should be that there is something worth listening to. If they’re violating the law based on having no just cause for acting on that information then it’s probably best to let the courts iron it out, not congress. The last thing anyone wants is for the one group in America with the most detrimental secrets – and with the hardest time keeping them – to be in control of everyone else’s.

Whether there is legitimate cause for any branch of the U.S. government to spy on its own people is still debatable. As it is, President Obama now finds himself in defense of an administration whose platform for election included condemnation of the previous one for the same kinds of anti-privacy actions.

In a post-9/11 America, the Bush administration was constantly under fire for what liberals saw as a violation of privacy and infringement of civil liberties all in the name of national security. As it turns out, what’s good for the goose really does appear to be good for the gander. The truth is, Democrat or Republican, as long as terrorists threaten the free nations of the world there will always be some loss of personal privacy in the name of security.

In “1984,” Orwell presented a future devoid of personal freedoms and independent thought, not protected from terror but from free choice. America’s leaders have a choice – to be diligent or let history repeat itself in the name of popular opinion. In the meantime, the citizenry will have choices to make as well – in the next elections.

Gery L. Deer is an independent journalist and business writer from Jamestown, Ohio. More at the new website, http://www.deerinheadlines.com.