A recall for Governor Jindal

Wow! Talk about your ill-advised efforts. The backlash due to the Louisiana Legislature's voting themselves a 127% pay raise has finally spilled over into the governor's mansion. Bobby Jindal, the wunderkind of the Republican party, is now the target of wrath for those voters who can't jibe with his political stance of not wanting to muck up the waters in Baton Rouge by vetoing the pay hike they voted for themselves. Jindal stated in very emphatic terms that he opposed the pay raise and found it distasteful for them to do so. However, he is pragmatic. If he squashed their pay raises now, he might be sacrificing any chance to get specialized legislation through the House and Senate in future years. He looked very impressive in detailing his plan to neither veto or refuse to sign the new legislation. Yet, Jindal could not have perceived how upset voters were across the state with regards to their representatives helping themselves to the money trough created through historically high taxes on oil and gas. It was easy to consider a pay raise that kicked in right away rather than, as had been the case previously, issue a pay raise for the next legislative session. Ann Duplessis, the author of the pay raise, will probably become the poster girl for unbridled greed in Baton Rouge. It seems to me to be unfair to lump Jindal into the same category as the others. Considering it will take a million signatures for the effort to suceed, I don't expect to hold my breath about Jindal being removed from office. As someone keenly interested in enacting reform legislation, it is a shame to lump him with the greedy legislators who complain about how little they are making when they knew full well of how poor the salaries were when they ran for the positions. It reminds me of the fellow who killed his parents and then begged for the mercy of the court because he was an orphan.

Newspapers feel your pain

With the 2008 American Jewish Press Association meeting now history, I have returned from the nation's capital to consider some of the highlights from the sessions that were conducted throughout the week. First of all, for those newspapers that are experiencing a loss in subscriptions and/or declining readership, it will get a lot worse before it gets better. As a matter of fact, if present trends continue, print newspapers as an entity in America and worldwide could cease to exist in a far shorter period that the exhaustion of paper resources that have been bandied about by ecologically minded alarmists. Not that I prefer to have to choose between the two, but I think a number of other newspapermen, as print journalists used to be called, would wish they could keep their readers and start to worry about where they were going to get paper products. The declining numbers are due to a number of factors, but the largest are the proliferation of broadcast media for news, especially cable outfits like CNN and Fox News and the burgeoning Internet. When revenue streams from advertising are lost to competitors like these, the print medium has to do some quick footwork to keep from becoming the Edsel dealers of tomorrow. Several business model suggestions to make local connections with communities were suggested and ways to "sell" these were considered during brainstorming sessions. The biggest three sources of new revenue for newspaper websites were listed by a representative of the American Press Institute as e-mail, video and search engines. Local businesses will look to expand their position in the marketplace through adjacent advertising or by links that publicize their products and services. It will be up to the newspapers to expand their websites (or launch new ones) in order to capture these ever-increasing revenue streams or lose them to others who are more responsive to their needs. Newspapers are still reeling from a loss of advertising revenue due to broadcast TV and radio competition decades ago. The Internet poses both the greatest threat and the greatest opportunity for the future of the newspaper industry. With a depressed economy they are feeling your pain even more than they had hoped. Say a little prayer for the newspapers of today. They are at a critical crossroads and there is little doubt that the decisions they make and the solutions they implement will ensure their continued presence or their ultimate demise.

Rocking the Senate

Cleveland Jewish News editor-in-chief Cynthia Dettelbach and publisher Michael Bennett frame me

Last night the Senate Caucus Room, the former site of such historic hearings as those involving Watergate, Iran-Contra and the Teapot Dome scandals, was the scene of a much milder and less anxious group of journalists. It was the annual recognition dinner of the American Jewish Press Association's Rockower Awards. For the first time honorees were given their awards in advance (earlier in the morning at the Doubletree Hotel) so that the Rockower ceremonies would not seem to carry some sort of government sanction. The recipients from sixteen different categories didn't seem to matter. The setting in the Russell Senate Building in the shadow of the Capitol was so magnificent and the ability to soak up a bit of Washington's history was well worth the earlier reveal. Among the attendees were the AJPA's outgoing president, Cleveland Jewish News CEO Rob Certner and CJN editor-in-chief Cynthia Dettelbach, both of whom I had the pleasure to work for while esconsed in Cleveland from 2005 to 2007. Also joining from Cleveland were advertising director Jennifer Woomer and publisher Michael Bennett, who took over his new position following last year's AJPA conference. It was a grand opportunity for Jewish journalists to discuss industry trends, keep informed as to best practices and to honor their own. Panels of Washington area experts kept everyone up to date and, indeed the conference goes on for yet another day today before closing. The opulent setting for the Rockower recognitions was made possible due to the tireless work of AJPA executive director Toby Dershowitz and fellow Washingtonian Natasha Nadel, both of whom were assisted by a staff of young, energetic interns. My congratulations to them all. The AJPA continues to assist the business side of Jewish journalism with cutting edge technologies being explored in many brainstorming sessions as well as giving important symposiums to reporters and editors who thirst for knowledge. I am privileged to have been at both business and editorial sessions with some of the brightest and best Jewish writers, editors, publishers and advertising people in the country. I continue to praise them all for what they do to further the cause.

AJPA Conference

Every year the American Jewish Press assembles in a city of its choice in order to bestow honors on the very best among them as determined by panels of judges. My work as a Jewish journalist allows me to meet with some of the best and brightest minds in the field. This year the city of choice is the American Jewish Press Association's home field, Washington, D.C. In the heart of the nation's capital the members of the Jewish press have been meeting for several days and those being singled out for special acknowledgment will receive Rockower Awards later this morning. Tonight's dinner will be held in the esteemed halls of the Senate Caucus Room on Capitol Hill. It should be a great event. Last night AJPA members assembled at the International Spy Museum, an event hosted by Milton and Tamara Maltz, who hail from Cleveland. Even though they were not able to attend the event, the Maltzes made sure that every one in attendance had enough to eat and plenty to see. Speaking of Cleveland connections, I have been delighted to get to see many of my friends and colleagues from the Cleveland Jewish News including editor-in-chief Cynthia Dettelbach, CEO Rob Certner, and Publisher Michael Bennett. A full day of activities remain today and another half day tomorrow before it breaks.

Al Sleet, the hippy dippy weatherman, expires

George Carlin, a brilliant comedian and social commentator, has gone on to perform on that celestial stage, a place where, perhaps, he can finally say the seven words you can't say on TV. Carlin, 71, started his career as a conventional stand-up comedian of some note in the early Sixties. But it was when he started turning his act towards using social commentary and appealing to the generation influenced by drugs and the Vietnam War that Carlin's impact as a funnyman became so profound. Carlin was the first host of "Saturday Night Live" and he appeared on The Tonight Show more than 130 times. Just last week the Kennedy Center had announced that Carlin was the recipient of the Mark Twain Award for lifetime achievement as a comedian. Carlin, who admitted he had a long record of drug usage finally announced in 2004 that he was entering rehab for alcohol and the pain killer Vicodin. It may have been the last stand of one of the leading comics of the Love Generation that was born out of Haight Ashbury and Woodstock. Carlin won four Grammy Awards for several of his 23 comedy albums. Growing up with Carlin's comedy albums was a right of passage for me and others of my generation. His "Class Clown" album with its "Seven Words You Can't Say on TV" was one I recall playing over and over again. Busted for obscenity in Wisconsin when he uttered those words on stage, Carlin's routine ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the government's right to censor comments of that ilk. An actor in several movies including "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" and Doris Day's "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," Carlin proved to be a great presence on screen, but it was on stage in a live setting where he thrived. In recent years he began writing more books and had three successful comic commentaries make the top sellers charts. Carlin was a unique character and a bit of an irreverent rogue, but he was loved by millions and will be missed.

Tarheeled

Guess it was only a matter of time. The LSU Tigers had been writing a College World Series script that kept them winning at the last possible moment, but on Friday night the North Carolina Tarheels took the opportunity to do a ninth inning rewrite as they defeated the boys from Baton Rouge with a grand slam on their way to a 7-3 win at Rosenblatt Stadium. "I guess we ran out of miracles," Tiger Coach Paul Mainieri was quoted at game's end. That win sent the Bayou Bengals packing and kept North Carolina's hopes alive as they continue play in the CWS for yet another game. The grand slam by Tim Federowicz was the first one registered in Omaha, Nebraska since 2001. The game, which was rain delayed twice over as many days, didn't start out well for LSU with the Tar Heels getting two runs and loading up the bases with only one out before the game was stopped due to rain. On Friday play got underway for a short time with LSU pitching through the first inning before it was stopped again due to lightning in the third inning when the score was North Carolina 2, LSU 1. A second rain delay ensued shortly with a torrential downpour extending the game for nearly an hour and a half until play could be resumed. Federowicz had been 1-11 at bat prior to the grand slam. North Carolina Coach Mike Fox later told reporters that he thought he was due to break out of his hitting slump. Meanwhile, a brilliant pitching effort in the seventh and eight innings by LSU reliever Louis Coleman (8-1) was for nought as he registered the loss against Alex White (12-3). While the loss sends LSU fans into an emotional tailspin, there were several high notes. First, sophomore Blake Dean was deemed the hitter of the year with his incredible .346 on the year. Also, honors for freshmen DJ LeMahieu and Matt Clark at the SEC Tournament bode well for the future of LSU baseball. Last of all, but certainly not least, the Mainieri's coaching was good enough to earn him top honors at the SEC tournament and he seems poised to repeat his effort this year in years to come. It was the 14th visit to the CWS for LSU, but the first time in eight years that they registered at least one win. That also says something for this bucky little team.
Moving on to politics...who is ready to cast their ballots today? Our latest polls dare to ask the question about which ticket you are ready to see elected to the White House. Check it out at right. Demos should vote for their choice, while Republicans should vote for their party.

Summer Sensations

Well, it's finally happened. The earth has passed through space and crossed the apparant path of the sun. In so doing we have crossed the imaginary point in space known as the summer solstice, thus signalling that the beginning of the hottest season of the year (for those us blessed to live in the Northern Hemisphere) is officially here. As any school child can tell you, summer is the best season. It's the season of extended recess and recreation. For those who can still slalom, it is a time for waterskiing. For those of who can't slalom, it's an opportunity to witness those who can. And for those who enjoy the outdoors, it a verdant time to commune with nature. Ah, summer. So many songs have been written about this wonderful time of year. From the insipid ("Summertime, Summertime" by the Jamies) to the introspective ("Summertime" by George and Ira Gershwin). When I was a youth, I eagerly looked forward to summer. It was my vacation away from my parents and a time for me to have real fun. Not that summer day camp wasn't okay. I enjoyed my time at the JCC, but then, fortuitously, I was asked to leave. It wasn't that I was a bad kid or one inclined to mischief. It's just that I always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. When a catastrophe happened (and it frequently did), I usually wasn't far away and so took the blame for what I would consider minor infractions. The last straw was an apparent impromptu strip show, where several young toughs decided to teach me a lesson and threw me unclothed outside of the men's locker room to the disgust and dismay of the swimmers in the pool and on the deck a floor below. So, it was off to summer camp for me, a blissful place nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina -- Camp Blue Star. I took to Blue Star as a pig takes to...uh, it is a Jewish camp, so let me rephrase that. I took to Blue Star like a rebbe takes to a yeshiva. I was in my element and I was able to experience the wonders of nature close up and personal. Nice. For seven years I went to Blue Star as a camper and each summer I spent eight glorious weeks in a cabin and enjoying the program they had set up there. We swam in an outdoor lake, not a pool. It took getting used to, but for me, water is water. I had no problem adapting. And as to campcraft, I was a regular wizard. I was the youngest Junior Instructor for campcraft that the camp had seen at that time. It is little wonder that Scouting seems to still be such a draw to me. Blue Star had some great programs including putting on theatrical productions of a very high caliber. I became a fixture there and several of the counselor fought over who got stuck with me. (Trust em, though, there were worse.) One of my former camp counselors, Macy Hart, left Blue Star around 1969 and became the first director of Camp Henry S. Jacobs in Utica, Mississippi. That's important to know because my son attended Jacobs 25 years later for several years. So, he got to know Macy well too. Another counselor, Jerry Himmelstein, became the Anti-Defamation League director in New Orleans, but he and his wife Linda left after Hurricane Katrina to live in New England, last I heard. The summer offered times for me to get to know the girls that attended the camp and I am thankful for those experiences too. I still have several friends I remember from Blue Star and a few from the New Orleans JCC Day Camp. My son treasures his past summers at Henry S. Jacobs and now his girlfriend is working for the summer at...you guessed...the JCC Summer Day Camp. Small world, but isn't summer great?