BlueCarp

In his weekly column, Rocky Mountain News Publisher John Temple discusses his paper's coverage of the war in Iraq. 

As usual, it is well-written and informative. I have to disagree with one of his statements, however. Temple writes

War is not the place to hide the truth from a free people. Yes, combat photos can be disturbing. But I believe it's much better to allow journalists to make the decision as to what crosses the line of decency than to have the government essentially make the decision for the people.

It is indeed rare for me to be in favor of governmental power. In this case, I am.

Disregarding the policy behind this war, conducting war is one of the few things the government can do better than private enterprise. The government can certainly do a better job than a newspaper.

I realize that Temple is not advocating that journalists run the war. He is, however, advocating that journalists decide what information is released without any military oversight.

We have already seen that people like Jerry Rivers (he goes by the stage name "Geraldo Rivera") will broadcast information that is detrimental to the war effort and that can lead to American deaths.

To avoid such information being released, the military needs some level of control over the media in the war zone.

Posted by BlueCarp at 08:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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As David Letterman used to say, "100 adult males were polled - and we all know how painful that can be..."

I do know. Polls often make my hair hurt.

I realize they serve some purpose, but too often they are used to support an argument. For example, politicians often try to support a position by claiming some poll shows "most Americans" agree with them.

So what? If 99% of people believe in a bad idea, it is still a bad idea. The number of people that believe in a proposition has nothing to do with the merits of that proposition.

At different times and places, most people believed in witches, a flat earth and Richard Nixon.

In addition, the wording of many polls renders them useless. For example, the results of a poll on global warming are on page 27 of the News section of today's Rocky Mountain News.

It claims that "84% of Americans, echoing recent international reports, see human activity as at least contributing to warming."

If I spit in the ocean, I have "at least contributed" to the sea level. If I send Sandra Bullock a postcard, I have "at least contributed" to my chances of marrying her. If I write one sentence, I have "at least contributed" to my chances of winning a Pulitzer.

The wording of the question renders it meaningless.

Posted by BlueCarp at 07:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Patricia Calhoun, the Westword editor, has an article on a commercial landlord-tenant dispute in this week's paper.

Normally, the alt-weekly would not care about such a mundane conflict. This one, however, deals with the eviction of a swingers' club from a building.

Calhoun discusses Denver's "lively swingers scene," and claims the city has "five officially recognized swingers clubs."

Officially recognized by whom? Is there actually a sanctioning body? Is it like the accreditation process to which colleges and universities are subject? If an officially recognized club lets its standards slip, can it lose its status?

I believe a follow up article is required.

Posted by BlueCarp at 07:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Denver County prosecutor Joe Morales is in charge of a case against Michelle Cawthra.

Cawthra was an employee in the state Department of Revenue. She was supposed to protect the state's tax money.

Instead, she has been arrested for stealing more than five million dollars of it.

Morales said "she was put in charge of helping to clean it up, and she ended up cleaning it out. She was both the fox and the sheepdog in the henhouse."

I do not pretend to know much about either hens or henhouses. I do know that foxes will eat the hens if they get into the henhouse. That part I get.

But what the heck is a sheepdog doing in the henhouse? Shouldn't the sheepdog be out in the field with the sheep? Does the sheepdog even care about hens? I think a sheepdog might even eat a hen, if no one was looking.

A wolfe might try to fool you by donning sheep's clothing, but I do not believe a fox has ever done that. If a fox were to try that to get into the henhouse, I think the sheepdog might try to herd him back to the flock.

Even the farmer would think it odd that a sheep was trying to get into the henhouse, so I do not think it would be a very good disquise for either a wolf or a fox.

I guess this is another reason I was never a prosecutor. I do not know my animals.

Posted by BlueCarp at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Aaron J. Lopez, in today's edition of the Rocky Mountain News, opened his story like this:

Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are basketball's equivalent of a computer virus.

With proper security measures, they can be detected and quarantined before doing much harm to the network. Without an effective firewall, they will run wild and crash an operating system.

He ended it like this:

As any computer user knows, it is vital to protect the hard drive.

He forced that metaphor into a basketball story like a petite dress on Rosie O'Donnell. And it was just as ugly.

Posted by BlueCarp at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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The Denver Post is concerned that an asteroid might hit Earth.

According to The Post, “Forecasters are focusing on 2036, the year on asteroid named Apophis . . . stands a slight chance of colliding with Earth.”

They are so concerned, about this “slight chance,” they want to spend a billion dollars to prevent it. That is a lot of money, you say?

Not so, says The Post.

The Post points out that the U.S. “spends roughly $1 billion every four or five days for the Iraq war.” 

What an argument. The Post believes that if we can waste money on a war, why should we not waste it on asteroid prevention?

It is getting hard to keep up with the Chicken Littles and their catastrophic fear du jour. (The Post, no doubt in an effort to keep the dialogue on an dispassionate plane, notes that Apophis is named after the Egyptian God of Evil.)

The fear of Apophis is moot. Global warming will have the oceans boiling by 2036. 

After all, “scientists” are 90% sure that mankind is responsible for the impending floods, drought and locust plagues caused by our SUV’s.

Let us, please, deal with one apocalypse at a time.

Posted by BlueCarp at 09:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Page 8 of the Rocky Mountain News has a picture with this caption:

Small but earnest Gianella Ramos, 6, participates in the Colorado Immigrants Rights Coalition's news conference Thursday in Skyline Park to announce plans for a statewide boycott March 25 through April 1. ...

She's definitely small, but earnest? She's six years old. The only thing about which she is earnest is cookies. She was dragged along to this protest by some adult and given a sign. Kids should not be used as props by adults. And newspapers should not encourage them by printing pictures of kids being used as props.

Posted by BlueCarp at 07:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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This from the managing editor of YourHub.com, a weekly supplement to both the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News:

In the news recently, we've seen how childhood experiences can influence how we live our adult lives.

That, my friends, is the type of insight one rarely finds in a mass circulation periodical.

Posted by BlueCarp at 06:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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It has been a long time since I have witnessed a beat down like the one Instapundit blogger Glenn H. Reynolds put on Rocky Mountain News columnist Paul Campos. Perhaps the Mike Tyson - Michael Spinks fight was a worse beat down.

It started with Campos' column all but calling Reynolds "an accessory to murder."

Reynolds' reply eviscerates Campos and his arguments.

I would recommend that Campos apply some salve on that sore spot he must be feeling today. Maybe some ice, too.

Posted by BlueCarp at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Score one for the Denver Post.

The Air Force Falcon basketball team is ranked 14th in the country. That is impressive.

Not impressive enough for the Rocky Mountain News, apparently. The News failed to send a reporter to cover the Falcons' game at UNLV last night. They ran a small Associated Press story about the game on page 21 of the Sports section.

The Post sent veteran reporter Irv Moss to cover the game. His story included quotes and everything. I am positive the News has many, many reasons why they did not cover the game. I do not want to hear them.

The Post covered the game. The News did not.

Posted by BlueCarp at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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I'm not above taking an occasional cheap shot, especially if I think it is funny or makes a larger point.

Drew Litton, however, crossed the line today.

The Rocky Mountain News cartoonist compared Tim Hardaway to Adoph Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan. What did Hardaway do to warrant such a comparison?

He made some stupid and hateful statements:

"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."

This hardly gibes with Jesus' command that we love our neighbor.

However, Hardaway's ignorance hardly rises to the level of a genocidal maniac responsible for the murder of millions of Jews or to a violent group responsible for lynchings and terrorism.

The cartoon is a bit over the top.

Posted by BlueCarp at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Today, Rocky Mountain News sports columnist Bernie Lincicome wrote about cheating in sports.

He mentions Michael Waltrip's punishment at the Daytona 500 for having an unauthorized substance in his fuel line, Barry Bonds' steroids, Sammy Sosa's steroids and corked bat, and Shawn Merriman's four game suspension for using performance enhancing drugs.

These are good examples of cheating.

Then he mentions Josh Heytvelt's indefinite suspension from the Gonzaga basketball team for possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms. This is a complete non sequitur.

Hallucinations do not make one a better basketball player. Hallucinations would probably make the game harder. Therefore, possessing 'shrooms is not cheating.

Posted by BlueCarp at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Every once in a while, someone whom I have criticized responds to me.

Most recently, it was Ed Stein, cartoonist for the Rocky Mountain News.

It all started when I reposted my original BlueCarp entry, "Check that Math, Ed," on the Rocky Mountain News site.

Ed responded:

 Note to those readers about the math: The NFL was formally chartered in 1922, 85 years ago. I'm fully aware that the Super Bowl didn't start until many years later. I could have explained all that in the cartoon, but that wouldn't have left much room for the drawing, or I ould have chosen to call it the NFL Championship Gme, but people know it as the Super Bowl, so I chose to let the discrepancy happen, assumimg most readers would react to the point of the cartoon. As usual, I overestimated some of you.

Posted by ED STEIN on February 5, 2007 06:53 AM

Of course, I responded:

I understood your point. Sometimes, however, if you can't make your point without saying something patently wrong, you make your point a different way or you make a different point. Apparently, I overestimated a professional communicator.

Posted by BlueCarp on February 13, 2007 12:30 PM

Posted by BlueCarp at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Rocky Mountain News cartoonist Ed Stein has a comment on the Super Bowl.

Two guys are watching the game. The television announcer says, "The game begins with an 85-year drive!"

One guy says to the other, "That's how long it took for black coaches to get to the Super Bowl."

The Super Bowl is played every year. Tomorrow is the 41st time the game will be played. Were black coaches trying to get to the Super Bowl 44 years before the game was even played?

Posted by BlueCarp at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Rocky Mountain News' baseball writer Tracy Ringolsby spent a little time discussing the Boston Red Sox front office today. His last sentence:

Initially, the Red Sox said owner John Henry vetoed the [Larry Bigbie] deal, but it later turned out that it came down to a difference of opinion in the front office and was cited as one of the reasons that Epstein briefly resigned as GM after the 2005 season.

How does one "briefly resign?" Is that like saying you are going to lunch but will back in a couple of hours? Epstein resigned. Then he agreed to come back.

He did not "briefly resign."

Yes, I am picking nits, but Ringolsby is a Hall of Fame writer. He should use the English language like he understands it.

Posted by BlueCarp at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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