93 Years and A Picture

A friend linked to this story about Germany's final payment this weekend on its World War I reparations.  Not World War II, but the war that ended almost 93 years ago. I knew Hitler stopped payments in the 1930s, but they resumed after WWII, and interest accumulated.  The original debt was 22 million British pounds, but the final payment alone will be 59 million.  There's a lesson about credit card debt somewhere in here.

If you have a second, go to the story and skim the page - you don't need to read anything, just look at it.


Notice anything?  How about a story about the 2010 German government paying reparations from World War I featuring a photograph of ... Hitler.  He's in the story, but anecdotally.  This feels like gotcha journalism, like showing John Geoghan (convicted child-molesting priest) in a story about the Popemobile, or Monica Lewinsky in a story about Chelsea Clinton's wedding.  There are very few legitimate reasons to dredge up the specter of Adolf Hitler, and almost all of them involve specific studies of WWII and its lessons.  Using him to capture readers' eyes is just repulsive.

Preteen Reperconcussions

I'm hoping this doesn't violate copyright by copying and pasting, but on ESPN today Tuesday Morning Quarterback Gregg Easterbrook (full column here) posted an excellent section that I want you to read and it wasn't at the top of the column.

Should Youth Football Be Banned? Reader Adam Gadberry of Birmingham, Ala., notes this testimony last week about possible national legislation on youth-sports head trauma. One motivating force is this report, which finds that concussion incidence is underreported. Another is this report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which finds rising incidence of sports concussions in those 12 years age or younger.

Here's some advice from Tuesday Morning Quarterback: No one under the age of 12 should play tackle football. The brain case has not finished forming at that age -- pediatric studies show that those under age 12 are far more prone to concussions than those over age 12, and also that head trauma in youth has longer-lasting aftereffects than head trauma after roughly age 16. There's an emerging theory that many of what manifest as concussions in high school or college actually began as blows to the head in youth football, when the brain and brain case are more vulnerable.Why the latter? My guess is the recent fad for youth tackle football. There have always been Pop Warner games, but youth tackle has exploded in popularity in the past decade or so -- because football is so popular, and because rising prosperity allows more parents to fund leagues.

Moms and dads, don't let your kids play organized youth tackle under the age of 12! At that age, play flag football -- kids learn just as much, with a fraction of the risk. Which raises the question: Should youth tackle football be banned via legislation?

One youth tackle organization just announced it was partnering with the NFL to promote concussion awareness among very young football players. Maybe instead the organization should disband. And why exactly is the NFL, which continues to claim for the purposes of show to care about concussions, encouraging those under age 12 to play tackle football in full pads?

Stop the Presses

The Kansas Department of Education has effectively defunded public school journalism in order to focus on “high-demand, high-skill or high-wage” jobs.  This decision fails on all three counts.


So many newspapers and magazines have closed that journalists face a difficult job market.  However, they will always, by any calculation, have more opportunities than professional athletes in any sport (even counting NCAA "amateurs").  Yet if Kansas had defunded athletics to save money, the howls would drown out all other news.  High demand isn't a universal bar for public school programs.


Some rags like the Pflugerville Pflag are so pathetic they litter my driveway with "free" copies to boost their circulation, but most journalists are very skilled.  On this story alone, journalists sourced, wrote, and published three easy-to-find stories that I found in two minutes.  Their communication certainly outpaced the Kansas Department of Education.  Journalism is absolutely a high skill.


Unfortunately I can't defend journalism as earning high wages.  Although it is nearly impossible to offshore actual reporting, people are committed enough to the profession that salaries stay low.  Sound familiar?  Most people say it about teachers, and I assume schools are interested in producing more teachers.  Like demand, riches are not a requirement for public schools, unless everyone who works for them is a failure.


Beyond the Department's "reasoning," journalism is important!  It's easy to forget in our hyperpoliticized echo chambers that journalists find politically/economically significant misbehavior, report stories that help us integrate and contextualize information, and earn specific protection in the Bill of Rights.  The job market won't reward deep-digging investigators over expositional blowhards - schools are our best chance to keep that tradition alive.


While I appreciate Kansas' effort to keep Texas from being the single foremost anti-education state, I hope Kansans elect officials to reverse this decision before it takes effect in 2013.

Register and Vote!!!

If you live in Texas, you need to register by October 4th - that's less than two weeks away - to vote in November's elections.  Even if you think the "important" races are sewn up (they might be), there's still a lot of close races for State School Board positions and state-level legislators, which affect education, property taxes, and other daily life far more than the Governor.  If you think you have nothing to lose in your precinct, let me know and I'll see what I can find.

Registration Information for Texas:

• Make Sure You're Registered: https://team1.sos.state.tx.us/voterws/viw/faces/SearchSelectionVoter.jsp
• If Not, Register Here: https://webservices.sos.state.tx.us/vrapp/index.asp
• If You Need A Ballot By Mail, File Here By October 26th: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/reqabbm.shtml

For readers in other states, let me know if you need registration information or motivation to vote in the midterms, and I can help you out, too.  No matter which way you want to vote, the country works better as it hears from more of us.

Parenting

Watch this Walgreen's ad (skip to 21 seconds to avoid the pharmacist), and skip to the next paragraph, or here's the description: As the narrator describes flu shots, a happy couple comes out of Walgreen's wearing stickers saying "I got mine for HIM" ("HER" for the man).  Throughout their day, germy types sneeze on them and insist on shaking their hands.  When the couple get home, they walk straight in to the cribs and lift up their babies - the HIM/HER are the kids!  Aww.  Sweet.

Except they've been gone all day, LEAVING THEIR BABIES HOME ALONE IN THEIR CRIBS!!!  That's some old-school-don't-come-crying-to-me parenting right there.  But at least their flu shots keep them from infecting their children.  Still sweet?

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In Reperconcussions news, TMQ leads with an excellent review of anti-concussion technology and strategies, and how the NFL isn't promoting any of it.

Top 10 TV Shows

I found a "blogfest" started by author Alex J. Cavanaugh inviting people to list their Top 10 TV Shows.  I'm avoiding ranking because the categories seemed like more fun.  Add your own Top 10 in the comments.

If I Ever Snort Milk Out My Nose, I Will Be Watching One of These

• Arrested Development: It rescued Jason Bateman from a career legacy of Valerie, launched Michael Cera, and made me afraid of hand-eating seals.
• Family Guy: It has not just funnier one-liners, but more of them, than all other shows combined.  Also the only show to return to network TV after being cancelled for a full year.
• Modern Family: Every episode so far made me laugh out loud, and actually developed interesting, sympathizable characters.

One Is Enough

• Freaks and Geeks: Judd Apatow's movies usually go downhill after a hilarious setup, so the show might have soured fast after the first 18 episodes that made outcasts of every type cool.  Launched Jason Segel, Seth Rogen, and Apatow.

Not For Heart Patients Or Anyone Else Bothered By Sudden Shocks

• Dexter: This rating might be due to the fact that I just watched Season 4 in one week, but no show on today produces season- or episode-length stories like Dexter.  You'd think a show about a serial killer would be one-note, but Dexter's growth combined with excellent guest stars (John Lithgow might have delivered the best performance I've ever seen) keep the story, and the viewer, jumping.
• Veronica Mars: Definitely some mediocre stretches, but the pilot was the best premiere I've ever seen (even edges Firefly) for its gloves-off dive into the dirty side of 90210.  Kristen Bell was amazing, and when the writing was good, it belonged in the next 2 categories.

Aaron Sorkin Is The Man!!!

• Sports Night: Probably the best two seasons of television that no one ever saw.  Unsurprisingly plenty of sports, but also fantastic comedy and interesting dramatic detours, including incorporating Robert Guillaume's stroke into the storyline.  Even the romantic angles were actually interesting rather than forced.  The excellent cast's chemistry didn't hurt either.  Netflix this.  No, not later - the list will still be here - go and Netflix it NOW!
• West Wing: Even post-Sorkin, it eerily forecast most of the 2008 election storylines as early as 2005.  In the Sorkin era, it redefined people's hopes beyond reality for politicians, and was so full of incredible dialogue and scenes that any 5 minutes cut for syndication always includes people's favorite scenes.  Just a masterpiece.  Also my favorite use of music to reinforce the big scenes.

Except For Joss Whedon, Who Is THE MAN!!!

• Angel: Before vampires were glittery mopers (gah!), Angel was a vampire with a sensitive side who was still, well, a vampire.  The story soared in Season 2 as Darla made everyone's lives more interesting, but Seasons 1 and 5 used a mystery-of-the-week motif that kept bigger stories going.  Joss' trademark dialogue and season arcs make this the second-most-rewatchable show in history.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Yeah, yeah, another high school show.  But when you're watching catchy, lightning-fast dialogue, or season-long dramatic soaps whose endings aren't universally happy, well, this show got the modern trends going.  And has the only watchable musical-special episode that I've ever seen.  The characters and stories linger with you far longer than you expect, and you still can't flip the channel when you find a rerun (that might just be me, but I doubt it).

BONUS!  Current Top 10

1. Dexter
2. Family Guy
3. Modern Family
4. Lie To Me
5. House
6. Leverage
7. 30 Rock
8. The Office
9. Stargate Universe
10. Community

P.S.  A coworker pointed out the Christa Miller Effect - every show she's on is hilarious.  I'm not sure if The Drew Carey Show, Scrubs, or Cougartown belong on either list, but their peaks rival anyone's.

Through the Looking Glass

My church meets every Sunday morning in an aerobics/meeting room at the Clay Madsen Recreation Center.  The room has a wall-to-wall mirror behind the speaker, which we cover with a light curtain to mute the reflections so that they don't distract us.  Behind our main seating is an open section used to greet arrivals with breakfast tacos.

This morning, during one of our worship songs, a woman took her fussy baby back into that area, followed by her elementary-school-age daughters.  In the open area, the girls danced to the worship music - nothing formal or even elegant, just enjoying and really participating.  I could only see ethereal reflections through the mirror's curtain, but their motion conveyed a pure celebratory response to the worship.  I envied them - dancing's certainly not my mode of expression, but to get caught up in praising God like that ... that's what I hope for every time, and witnessing is a pretty good compromise when I can't achieve my own immersion.