With all the competing news from UH yesterday, I still heard lots of buzz about Lee Cataluna’s “Emporor Jones” column in yesterday’s Honolulu Advertiser, with its parting shot:
Bye, June. Don’t let the door hit you in the wallet on the way out.
Whew. I’m not sure whether the appropriate target of Cataluna’s sharp words is really Jones or the media’s willing complicity in all the hype and spectacle.
But speaking of the Advertiser, I’ve been noticing the highs and lows. I noticed this one yesterday.
Breaking News–there’s no news to report.
This is really a reusable headline ready for any slack period.
“Breaking News–No major problems in (fill in the blank).”
But on the other hand, there was Derrick DePledge’s fine Superferry story on Sunday based on internal state documents obtained by the Advertiser. I give the Advertiser very high marks on this one for three reasons–their persistence in pursuing the documents and the story rather than letting it fade with the passage of time, making at least some of the documents available online in pdf format for readers to assess on their own, and then for DePledge’s excellent writing.
If you’ve got a couple of minutes, check out this column on “change” by my old friend and Christian activist Gene Stoltzfus, which reflects on the lessons that a former community organizer like Barack Obama might have learned.
Being too politically correct or too doctrinaire is not a helpful credential for community organizing although good organizers do have ethical boundaries. Organizers learn to expect surprises while they take their lumps from hard liners or the old guard. Community organizers learn to wear down their opponents through creative communication, clear statement of goals, and disciplined community participation. They learn that at any given time anyone may be an ally, media, business, unions, even educational institutions. They practice the art of turning a temporary ally into a permanent alliance. They understand that people, institutions and governments operate out of a combination of self interest, a world view sometimes including faith, the need for security, and even vision.
In any case, it’s an informative perspective on Obama’s candidacy and a reason to think that his political approach may in fact be outside
I took a short break yesterday afternoon and took my camera outside. I spent a while wandering under the big banyan tree at the back of Iolani Palace, then made my way back to the capitol.
That’s when I noticed the somewhat ambiguous message that greets everyone arriving at the people’s building, visitors, staff, and elected officials alike. A simple safety tip or sage political advice? Take your pick.
Click for a larger version.
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Come to think of it, wouldn’t a more appropriate phrase in front of the building be that British one, “mind the gap?” With all the gaps in politics today, it seems to fit…
Ian–
I commend to you Dave Shapiro’s column in today’s Advertiser. It’s a calm, rational analysis of the “Jones melodrama” as I said to him.
aloha,
mike
Aloha, I am so grateful to Barack Obama and his family for being willing to serve. Hawai’i can be really proud of him. He brings amazing intellect and heart to politics. We really need him!
You can find good information about Barack Obama at this fact check site, http://factcheck.barackobama.com/
Here is a link to the video of his outstanding speech in Iowa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqoFwZUp5vc
And here’s his amazing speech from New Hampshire last night. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=BarackObamadotcom
Aloha~
“Watch your step” is always good advice to those who [temporarily] hold power. So is “Don’t panic” and “Mind your manners” and so is “No one ever complained about a speech being too short.”
As for Sen. Obama here a somewhat different take. Obama:
http://letters.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/01/08/new_hampshire/permalink/8d35d0db9d40ba952180b1a2441d09fe.html
A little cold water in the face perhaps but we must be conscious of whether the dark lords of the media are trying to stampede us with an empty suit. It’s been known to happen. Take away his nice, if not heroic bio [it’s not like he was the illegitimate child of a domestic worker who struggled, truly struggled] and his nice speaking voice [which is a just a gift] and you don’t have much by way of accomplishments. He’s not been road tested in any tough way. Surely he describes how a good game should be played but has little time in the arena. None in furnace. But this is just my take based upon what I think I know.
Aloha Steve,
His years as community organizer, civil rights lawyer, his eight years in the Illinois state senate and the 800 bills there that he sponsored including the one that became a law requiring videotapes of confessions as so many were beaten out of people, his courage to stand up against this war while running for US Senate at a time when that was an unpopular message- among many other accomplishments too numerous to mention, answer some of the question, what has he accomplished.
There’s an interesting post over at Democraticunderground, http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132×3957420 and a bit down the page there’s a graphic illustrating his legislative accomplishments in the state of Illinois.
Thanks for being open to finding out about the accomplishments of the man I hope will be our President. Aloha.
Aloha Steve and readers,
I am new blogging on this site. I am motivated to write what I have experienced working in Asia and the Pacific the last decade and more: a world disillusioned by the leadership of America because our leaders have not had the experience of living abroad, and deal with others with another worldview so arrogantly.
Barack Obama as our President will immediately empower our Country again as he embodies the promise of change in a responsible and experienced way. He is experienced in international affairs, having lived abroad and been raised in Hawaii where he grew up exposed to the cultural nuances of Asia and the Pacific. Like us, he has experienced how important it is to listen to those with different worldviews in order to negotiate our own space. His internal compass, nurtured in Hawai’i, cannot be overestimated.
I believe when Barack Obama becomes our President, those of us who work and travel internationally will be able to move throughout the world with respect and harmony instead of with fear and resentment.
Thank you so much for your consideration of this important point in considering who to support for President.
Jeannette
Dear Steve, it may seem to you that Barack Obama is an “empty suit,” because he talks about issues instead of himeself. In contrast, the Clintons can’t seem to open a sentance without the “I” word. Sen. Clinton has even said, “I don’t like to talk about myself, but…”
As for diminishing Sen. Obama because he is not the son of a struggling domestic worker, consider the fact that, when they lived in Indonesia, his Mother woke him at 4:30 AM to home-school him before she went to work as an anthropologist.
Besides the accomplishments listed in Mahina’s blog, you should know that after work, Sen. Obama went home, tucked his children in bed, went to his computer and wrote two best-selling books. You should read them, you might even learn to read before you write. Aloha.