Newspaper values opinions that radio announcer scorns

Somebody named “Party Ben” resents the degree to which“the public” is permitted to waste precious public radio airtime in a “Mother Jones” online blog, “World, Shut Your Mouth: The Horror of Public Radio Call-In Shows.” It is one of very few circumstances in which I have been disappointed by “Mother Jones,” which is an otherwise excellent magazine.

MotherJones.com

Party Ben, who identifies himself as a late-night radio DJ, resents that public stations waste one-sixth of their programming on call-in radio shows. He dismisses every single caller, in every single case, as “yammering and paranoid.”

I wonder if it has occurred to Party Ben that one of those radio callers for whom he holds such disdain could be the next Larry the Cable Guy?

Our news editor, Mandy Feder recently talked with Dan Whitney, a.k.a. Larry the Cable Guy, during a telephone interview. Larry the Cable Guy appeared this weekend at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa. One of the things Whitney told her was that for 13 years, he called a local radio station as the character he had created. “He’s the relative or friend who will say or do anything, burp, fart and talk about his sister’s moles,” Whitney told my colleague.

Our dog Frankie interacts with a kitten

Lily and Frankie

Frankie stayed with us a couple of times during the kittens Gizmo and Lily's tenure in our home. He was super excited and fascinated. He kept following the kittens around, wagging his tail, sniffing and licking them.

Originally posted to Facebook

Society often judges ‘invisible’ disabilities

A local wellness camp for girls next week includes a panel about “invisible” disabilities.

I heard about the panel but am unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict so my details about the panel are fuzzy. But in the days leading up to the camp, events have been taking place nationally that I believe have direct bearing upon the concept of “invisible” disabilities.

Talk radio host Michael Savage issued statements about the autism spectrum that made many people very angry.

Autism as it is understood today acknowledges varying degrees of severity among its qualifying traits.

But in a July 16 broadcast, Savage described autism as “a fraud, a racket…” and stated, “In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out.”

Speaking from my own experience, this is typical Savage -- incendiary opinions with a complete disregard for facts.

A few years ago a coworker suggested I review a book by Savage; she apparently admired him. I knew nothing about Savage at the time and when I saw his book at a bookstore, I began reading the introduction. I quickly put it down because, barely a few pages in, I encountered a statement that was blatantly a lie. I didn’t see any point to reading further -- and I certainly didn’t see any point to validating his book with a review.

I didn’t hear his recent statements, but I read them posted online by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (www.autisticadvocacy.org).

Within one week, a joint coalition of 13 groups had issued a statement denouncing Savage’s comments as “dangerous misinformation.”

I think this entire exchange dramatizes the notion of an “invisible” disability as it may soon be discussed among young girls in our own community.

People who wield powerful authority in the lives of boys and girls are typically other children -- who are all-too-likely to persecute people who are in any way “different” from them.

That makes it all the more crucial that we educate our children -- and our society at large -- about accepting “invisible” disabilities and it is particularly important to teach children who have “invisible” disabilities that their needs are completely valid -- even though an ignorant public may not always understand those needs.

Letters are part of history

The newspaper was always a part of our household while my sister and I grew up. I routinely read our local newspaper, the Weekly Calistogan, either through at-home subscription or during visits to the Calistoga library. Newspaper clippings about us girls were preserved in photo albums.

The larger, regional newspaper, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, also regularly came to our home. This paper offered little of relevance to my immediate hometown community but it took on greater interest to me when I lived and worked in the Santa Rosa area.

While I was going to school at Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State University, I spent time upon the staff of each of these schools’ student newspapers. I also read the alternative press. I formerly looked forward each week to its investigative journalism but today the North Bay Bohemian mainly covers restaurants and wine.

So many papers, large and small, including our own local media: the Clear Lake Observer American and the Lake County Record-Bee.

What all of these papers have in common is that the very first page I turn to, in nearly every newspaper I read, is the opinion page. It offers an intimate, first-hand glimpse in real-time at the issues of importance that are being debated in a local community.

At the same time, these letters’ publication preserves them forever in history. They are personal impressions and experiences brought to life in the writer’s own words.

The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble (www.bte.org) created a play, “Letters to the Editor,” from actual letters that appeared in one town’s paper during a period of 200 years. I remember that when I first heard about the play, I speculated about the history that our own papers’ letters will reveal.

If another theater ensemble workshop were to examine our letters to the editor, what issues will they find of most importance? How many voices will be represented?

The most egalitarian part of writing a letter to the editor is that the letters that appear in print are almost entirely self-selected, as are the priorities and opinions they express. There may be some filters in place for space restrictions or community standards, but by and large the only barrier is one that is self-imposed by choosing not to write in the first place.

Adapted from a column that was published July 29, 2008 in the Lake County Record-Bee

Tenacious Talkers installs new and returning officers

Left to right: Bob Robinson, Louis Rigod, Cynthia Parkhill,
Greg Scott, Laurie LaMonaco, Dean Gotham and Rick White.

LAKEPORT — At a pot-luck gathering held Sunday, July 13, at Library Park in Lakeport, the Toastmasters club No. 8731, the Tenacious Talkers, installed Laurie Lamonaco as president, Greg Scott as vice president of education, Cynthia Parkhill as vice president of public relations, Bob Robinson as vice president of membership, Louis Rigod as treasurer, Dean Gotham as sergeant at arms and Lillia Powers as secretary.

The club also honored Rick White as its immediate past president.

Brien Crothers was named the club’s Toastmaster of the Year for his work in creating a Web site for the club. Crothers served last year as the club’s vice president of PR.

Tenacious Talkers is part of Toastmasters International, a non-profit organization that provides its members with training in public speaking and leadership. The local club meets at 6:15 p.m. each Thursday at Sutton Associates Wealth Management, 290 N. Main St. in Lakeport. For more information, call 263-5350 or visit http://tenacioustalkers.freetoasthost.net/.