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Do you think Obama is a media darling? You might think again.

Here is an interesting story. A Pew Research Center report show’s President Barack Obama has been the victim of “unrelenting negative” news coverage lately. If you hate Obama and you hate the media then don’t even bother reading the rest of this post because nothing will probably change your mind. But if you have an open mind then be my guest.

Pew usually gets high marks from journalists on their studies of the media and the American people. That is because the research uses quantitative measures for studying data rather than the use of opinion polls that are biased either for or against an issue or a person.

Nonetheless, the report proves what I have thought for quite some time. I think much of the bad press is generated by a very savvy Republican propaganda machine. Now you may think that is a paranoid statement, and a conspiratorial viewpoint. But I don’t think so. It’s probably not being perpetrated at some big center, perhaps short of Fox News. Nevertheless, a lot of money is being poured into bashing the president and anyone who might remotely support his points of views.

One such contributor to this propaganda is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. I don’t know how much they spend to verbally smite Obama and liberals but you can bet it is quite a bit. Although tort-reform is not entirely a conservative-liberal issue it is big on the conservative radar screen and the U.S. Chamber. The latter group operates three newspapers across the country, including one here in Southeast Texas, that are devoted to saturation bombing of stories plucked from the state, local and federal courts in order to portray the country under attack by plaintiff’s lawyers.

What the Southeast Texas Record does is okay with me because they basically make a little story out of some of the court records found in East Texas. Practically no newspaper I know of in this or any other area in the U.S. has the space to run summaries of the number of lawsuits filed. It is the USCC’s point. I understand what they are doing and the Record’s opinion pages. I also don’t think the stories — stories and not columns or editorials — show a particular bias because most time they just quote from the petitions.

I just feel that the Chamber wants to gut our constitutional rights such as those from the Seventh Amendment. And the Chamber cleverly uses its newspapers in places where they feel lawsuits and jury awards to plaintiffs are excessive to make it appear as we are being attacked by crazed plaintiffs and their lawyers. Some folks are easily swayed. That’s all I am saying.

I know that both liberal and conservative politicians say they are constantly maligned by the press. The Pew study shows how Obama really is portrayed in the media these days. And THAT really is all I am saying.

 

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Perry and the N-head controversy: At least a chance to learn geography

The controversy over the seemingly offensive name of a ranch leased by Gov. Rick “Goodhair” Perry’s family has brought at least a little interest in U.S. Geography.

A media search for “Niggerhead,” while unsuccessful so far, has not lacked in intensity. Huffington Post reports news folks scoured the area near Paint Creek, Texas — where Perry grew up — all wanting to score the first “interview with a rock.” The boulder-sized object was painted with the words which was an object of offense to a fellow Republican seeking the GOP nomination for president. That candidate is Herman Cain, an African-American businessman best known for founding Godfather’s Pizza. The stone is is now likely hidden on the ranch, perhaps rolled away by angels. Why not? Perry seems in need of all his base he can gather right now.

The Perry side says the rock was there when they leased the ranch in the early 80s. I take their word for it. A lot of folks in different parts of Texas weren’t very sensitive about a lot of things back then. That is about the most I can say, even though I think Rick Perry is perhaps the worst thing to happen to Texas since Gee Dubya Bush became president.

But at least the awareness of geography from all of this unattractive hoopla is one bright spot. When I speak of an interest in geography, I mean media such as “The Daily Show” pointing out a number of places and land features in the U.S. with names now seen as culturally incorrect. One mentioned on the Jon Stewart fake news show was near where I live in Southeast Texas.

As I have related here before a road was named in our own, rural Jefferson County, for the Japanese rice farmers who settled that particular area. It was once called “Jap Road” but eventually Japanese-American citizens found that name offensive and eventually applied enough pressure that the county’s commissioners changed the name.

Still, plenty other spots exist in Texas and elsewhere with names which might otherwise smack of racial or cultural insensitivity. One place comes to mind when I think of such places — the tiny community of Nigton, in Trinity County — even though it was settled and named by former slaves.

Nigton is the proverbial crossroads town at the intersection of Farm to Market Roads 2262 and 2501. Nigton was about 20 miles from where I once ran a small-town newspaper in the early 90s. I went through Nigton a few times although I can’t remember why. I wasn’t surprised as maybe I should have been, I suppose, that the community was populated by African-Americans.

Former slave and civic leader Jeff Carter suggested the name for the town after it was settled in 1873, this according to the Handbook of Texas Online. At its peak, Nigton boasted a sawmill, churches and a school along with a population of about 500. Fewer than 90 people lived there in 2000.

The name Nigton and how it suggests cultural relativity leaves me about as confused as does the moniker for the Perry hunting lease. Still, past surveys have found high numbers of young Americans geographically illiterate so I suppose us at least talking about places in our country is something positive. Maybe someone can relate to that.

 

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Rain: Smells good. Bank of America debit card fees: Putrid.

My bank, Bank of America, will begin charging a $5 monthly debit card usage fee on some accounts beginning in January. I had to go to the bank so I asked the person who screens the customers if my account was going to be one of those on which a fee was placed. The bank person looked up my account and said “yes.” That is probably because the charges will mostly fall on its least wealthy customers.

Although I was calm and civil about it, I gave that BOA person a piece of my mind about her company. The linked story above from Bloomberg explains the fee better than I could but in essence it seems that since BOA made such a mess of their affairs recently it decided to take it out on their customers. If you want to see why Bank of America is in so much disarray here is a good explanation. The shorter answer would be “greed.” I am sure some, such as a good friend who works for BOA, would disagree. But that is what I see as the honest answer.

I have experienced other difficulties with my bank over the past seven years during which I have had an account. Actually, I had a checking account with them for almost a year in the late 1980s. That was before “online banking” such as the account I now have. So, I am seriously searching for another financial institution. I use that term instead of bank because I am researching credit unions. We have a ton of those in this area that have been in business for years, so they must have done something right. We shall see.

In the meantime, a few thunderstorms/showers have slipped into Southeast Texas from the lakes area in the north to the coast. A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued until 4 p.m. in east central Jefferson county and western Orange County as well as parts of Cameron Parish, La. The NWS says a storm was detected a short time ago capable of producing winds in excess of 60 mph and dime-sized hail between Bridge City and Vidor. If you don’t live in these areas, I suppose it doesn’t mean much, if anything at all, to you.

There was nothing like that here in Beaumont but we have had some thunder and nice rainfall for a little while. I stepped out to see it rain like I normally do in these drought-stricken days. I also took in the fresh smell of the rain, which like the somewhat different smell before it rains, is a great natural wonder.

My ability to appreciate the smell before, during and after rains all increased — as did the ability to detect other smells and better distinguish different tastes — after I quit smoking.  If you have not smoked as long as I did, for almost 30 years, and quit (11 years next month!) it might be difficult to believe how much cigarettes can deprive a person’s senses.

The work done at the behest of the government by the area’s chemical plants to clean up the air also help somewhat in smelling the floral essence during and after rains. That isn’t always the case. Those days and evenings especially when the area is enveloped by a heavy mist can still make for some stinky air although I would say in general the worst smell still comes from the Mead Westvaco paper mill about 20 miles to the northeast. The mill, which has changed owners a few times, has produced an unfavorable odor for as long as I can remember. That includes during the time when I was growing up and living 40 miles from the plant. I mean, the smell isn’t a continual presence, but does stink on occasions.

But nonetheless, the smell before it rains, when it rains and after it rains are among my simplest pleasures. The redolence depends on where one happens to be at the time such as in an urban setting, for instance, as where I live or in a rural area out in the fields or forests. Certain forms of bacteria can be released from the ground during rain. Odoriferant gases can also rise from trees and plants when rained upon or during extremely humid times. Rain also releases oil from city streets during rainstorms. So if you have an ability to smell, or at least to smell things fairly well, one can detect rain before it even starts sometimes.

A few drops are still falling outside. These rains and the lack of any decent rainfall for, I don’t know how long but too long, make me want the rain to just continue. I would love to see it rain into the night and into tomorrow. Nothing heavy, mind you, just steady. I’m not greedy, like my bank.

 

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Thibodeaux, Fontenot, the place is buzzing … But we’re not wasting time

Once I had this teacher who had a jihad on wasting time. Boy, uh uh, no, did she not like wasting time. She had her good points and her bad points as a teacher, but if you took time to catch your breath she’d claim that it was a breath wasted. On the last day of school I put a bumper sticker on her car — this was in the early 70s now — that read: “Honk if you smoke pot.” Later that day I saw her car parked in front of a store on the courthouse square of our little town. I noticed the sticker was still there. I wonder where she was when she, or someone else, discovered the little prank? I also wonder if she cussed? I never heard her cuss before. Nevertheless, by putting the bumper sticker on her car, I feel as if I did something constructive. I certainly wasn’t wasting time.

That was a long way of saying I wasted a bunch of time this afternoon reading Cajun jokes. On the other hand, I feel as if I was continuing my cultural awareness of the Cajun-French. I live in Southeast Texas but a bunch of Cajuns live here. Some even consider this part of Acadiana. Others call it “Cajun Texas.” Here is a joke I found that takes place where I live, in Beaumont:

Boudreau and Thibodaux are walking down the street in Beaumont, right over the Louisiana line in Texas , and they see a sign on a store which reads:

  Suits $5.00 each!      Shirts $2.00 each     Pants $2.50 each

Boudreau say to his pal, “Look here, Thib, we could buy a whole mess of these linge there, take ’em back to Lafayette, sell ’em to our friends in the bayou, and make a fortune.  Just let me do the talkin.’ They hear your accent, they might think we’re ignorant Cajuns, and won’t wanna sell that stuff.  Jes watch now. I’ll talk real smooth so’s they think we is from Lufkin or somewheres else over here in Texas .”

They go in and Boudreau says with his best fake sophisticated Texas accent, “I’ll  take 50 of them suits at $5.00 each, 100 of them there shirts at $2.00 each, 50 pairs of them there pants at $2.50 each.  I’ll back up my pickup and…”

The owner of the shop interrupts. “Ya’ll Cajuns are from over by Mamou, New Iberia or somewheres, aren’t you?”

“Well…yeah,” says a surprised Boudreau. “How come you knowed that?”

“Because this is a dry cleaners.”

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Space: The final frontier in proper parking

Here in the “wide open spaces” of Texas is where one finds everything is bigger — excepting intelligence of governors — and that includes larger trucks.

Texans love their big trucks with their big tires and big cargo beds. Drivers of those big ol’ Texas trucks also pay big ol’ dollars for them and their monstrous tires. Let’s look at what Texans really like, both big and luxurious. Edmunds shows the 2012 Ford F-450 Super Duty King Ranch (the latter of course refers to the South Texas ranch spanning five counties and one of the world’s largest) is 263 inches of pick-em-up with a 6.7 Liter engine, V8, 800 horse, with a leather steering wheel, leather trim on the center console and a leather toilet in the back seat right next to a shower with leather curtains. Well those last items I made up, but this 4 x 4 ought to have those home comforts given its invoice price of $63,385. Throw in some Kevlar all-terrain tires and assorted other options and you might walk away for $70,000 You can buy a nice little starter home for that sum in some places.

A Space Hog at work at the Gateway Shopping Center in Beaumont
A Space Hog at work today at Gateway Shopping Center in Beaumont

Despite how huge everything is in Texas, most parking lots are the same size you see at every other super-duper market, or mall or big box store everywhere else in the U.S. of A. There are some places which mark areas for compact cars only. Yet, you still see people in a big truck or Hummer parked in those spaces, usually taking up enough room for three Corollas.

I have nothing against big trucks or SUVs. I have friends and relatives which drive them. I do have a problem with “space hogs.”

Perhaps it is the vastness of Texas that gives some in our state to park however the hell they please. Taking up more than one space, which they call “double parking” in some places, is more of a big deal in big cities and in areas with a high density of population.

In New York the fine is as much as $65 for:

“Standing or parking a vehicle beyond markings on the curb or the pavement  of a street which marks a parking space, except when a Vehicle is too large to fit in that “marked” parking space. Where a vehicle is too large, it shall be parked with its front bumper at the front of the space and the rear bumper extending as little as possible into the next space.”

I am not the only person who gets aggravated by space hogs. Some feel it is merely selfish. Others can be driven to commit some kind of act of criminal mischief when the space hog ends up getting someone’s goat.

As for me, I tend to look at it in more socio-psychological terms. And when I start talking stuff like that, it can be just as annoying as someone slicing your tires.

Sorting out the social aspects are pretty easy. I’ve already alluded to a couple of the issues. The vast space that is, or rather was, Texas gives some the impression that we’ve got plenty of space so it doesn’t matter how one parks. Some folks tend to associate economical cars with environmentalism and get tired of hearing how the atmosphere is getting dirtied-up. So they drive big gas-guzzlers and park however the hell they want as a statement. Then, others see the awesomely big luxurious truck which costs a pretty penny as a status symbol. It’s funny though, you don’t see a lot of people driving a BMW Series 6 convertible, which can set you back around $90,500, with the need to park in more than one space although you may see said Beemer far away from the rest of the cars with two empty spaces surrounding it.

I am sure the shrinks can come up with many psychological reasons why people manifest their anti-social tendencies in the form of a space hog. Maybe they didn’t get enough attention as a kid. They were picked on perhaps. Maybe they had toilet training issues. Maybe they were just a**holes as kids and grew into adult a**holes.

Who knows?

It really doesn’t matter much what I or anyone else says because words alone will not have affect a space hog. No, in their case, action speaks louder than words. I never did like very much the space hog, but I like it even less now that I am more or less disabled from my ruptured disks. I don’t have a disabled placard, not yet at least, because I can still walk for a little ways without feeling like someone stuck a pitchfork in my lower back. I don’t advocate vandalism, but I have left notes on people’s cars chiding them and perhaps trying to embarrass these space hogs a bit. I think businesses should also do more to discourage such double parking, but I doubt many will since they are more worried about the almighty dollar.

About the best one can hope for is a little karma will come the way of the space hog. Perhaps that second space in which the violator parked their big honkin’ truck will have some kind of debris that pokes right through their $300 tire. I admit it would have to be a large and sharp piece of junk. One can always hope.