Wiston Papers

Betrayal on America's Highways

I spent much of last weekend driving the streets, roads and highways of the Midwest and I am appalled by a pervasive pandemic plague that has escaped both political discussion and mechanical solution.

The American automobile industry has unleashed upon the U.S. public a fleet of vehicles of all sizes that--to quote Ralph Nadar’s 1965 book--is  indeed “unsafe at any speed.”  I witnessed this firsthand and here is my evidence to what I term the Betrayal on America’s Highways.

I am one of the rare citizens of this nation who possesses an operational car.  Most residents do not.  As I was crossing Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and a slice of Oklahoma carefully driving  the exact speed limit of  every region, other cars and trucks whizzed by me at frightening velocities.

This obviously is the result of broken accelerators that excite more thrust from a car than the drivers could possibly desire.  What other explanation is there?

Occasionally I would gradually approach a vehicle moving slower than the posted speed limit and much, much slower than the prevailing traffic.   A  certain case of an improperly installed and calibrated speedometer.  What other explanation is there?

Big Auto is egregiously to blame for its manufacture of black SUVs and similar large, unsafe car/truck/vans of the same color.  Not only do these four-wheel behemoths roar along America’s byways excessively fast, but they also change lanes with no apparently functional turning signals.  

This dilemma of a broken accelerator on the one hand (foot) and an inoperable turning signal on the other hand gives rise to understandable panic.  

You can see it clearly in the faces of the drivers who are holding their cell phones to their ears, talking  and looking everywhere but at the road in front of them--seeking help.  Some persons behind the wheel have even taking to texting for assistance or seeking guidance by Googling on their preferred communication device desperately trying to keep their  vehicle from careening out of control.  What other explanation is there?

I had so much concern and empathy for the magnitude of this crisis that I frequently honked at these passing afflicted transports.  “I can feel your pain,” was my obvious message.  My fellow travelers (so to speak) acknowledged my heartfelt effort to help by gesturing at me with a single vertical finger--the universal sign of the road we have all come to recognize for “Please, call 911.”  What other explanation is there?

Yes, I was tempted many times indeed to dial 911, but then I assumed that with so many other motorists seeking help by driving, phoning and texting that the local Emergency Communication Services operators were already overwhelmed.  One more notification could possibly break the already over-taxed system.  Besides I would have to pull off to the side of the road to make that call.

So wide spread and pernicious is Detroit and Big Autos Betrayal on America’s Highways that I am shocked it has not dominated the political discourse this presidential election year.  

Unemployment pales in comparison to the potentially catastrophic consequences of a runaway car.  Home foreclosures are unimportant when you are held captive by a seemingly sinister sensient SUV.  Why does anyone care about economic troubles when you’re trying to train your truck?

Neither President Obama, Vice President Biden or the Republican Challengers Governor Romney or Vice-President Designate Paul Ryan has mentioned the vehicular crisis in their stump speeches.  And I fear that this mobile menace will not come up at either of the national political conventions just around the corner as none of the men wants to get ahead of the curve on this.

One can only surmise that Big Auto has dug deeply into its pocket for hush money contributions to the candidates’ campaign coffers.  Otherwise, these four men would have been all over this issue.  

What other explanation is there?

Steve Coon

August 26, 2012

Wiston Papers

A tribute to Barbara Mack

Beth and I have lost a marvelous friend.  And all of us who knew her are diminished by her passing this morning.

I often entertain cynical thoughts about our leaders’ decisions and their questionable actions.  But from today forward I’ll pause and  think of Barbara.  Then I will once again have faith in how good someone can be and how much that person can improve the lives of everyone she meets.  That was Barbara

What a truly wonderful person she was.  She was remarkably intelligent, amazingly compassionate, overflowing with enthusiasm, and wittingly irreverent when appropriate. You fell in love with Barbara only moments after meeting her.

I have known many great teachers in my lifetime.  Barbara tops the list in so many ways.  She loved her students more than anyone I have seen in the classroom.  She was equally supportive when counseling her advisees outside of class…often going to extraordinary lengths to encourage them, support them and instill confidence in their abilities to excel both professionally and personally.  Barbara was equally inspirational with her colleagues in the Greenlee School…dispensing wisdom and sharing her good nature with any of us who wisely chose to visit her when we needed a lift.

When we think of Barbara the one word that always comes to mind is love.  She loved her students, she loved journalism, she loved expertly crafted language and brilliant storytelling.  She loved the law and how it supports our democracy.  She loved to tackle difficult challenges and always conquered them. 

And in turn, we loved Barbara.  

http://www.jlmc.iastate.edu/

Steve Coon

August 23, 2012

Wiston Papers

Is this as good as we can be,  seriously?

If you want to know why America is on the decline, consider these basic facts:

There are more than 300 million citizens in the United States.  Think about that.  More than 300 million people, many who are smart, creative, patriotic and honest.  Yes, millions of Americans who are smart, creative, patriotic, courageous and honest.  

Now consider that out of 300 million people we have 435 persons in the U.S. Congress who have to be among the dumbest, least creative, traitorous, cowardly and dishonest human beings to inhabit the planet.  Seriously.  Look carefully and objectively at who is representing us in Washington and what they’ve accomplished.  Seriously.

If this weren’t appalling enough consider that we will elect a President of the United States in November.  We have more than 300 million Americans to choose from and in just over two months we are going to hand over leadership of this nation either to the incumbents Barack Obama and Joe Biden or challengers Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

Really?  These four men are the best that America has to offer to steer the ship of state for the next four years?  

An incumbent President Obama who promised to change the way business was done in Washington then in the same breath appoints Timothy “Tax Dodger” Geithner as Treasury Secretary and picks Joe “Gaffe-a-minute” Biden as Vice President.

Republican Mitt Romney who changes his position on issues almost daily in a desperate attempt to woo voters and newcomer Paul Ryan who criticizes stimulus funds publicly but privately arranges to get millions of those dollars for his district.

Four men who have wasted countless hours  and millions of dollars crisscrossing America just to criticize each other at every stop in one of the most negative campaigns in recent history.

Meanwhile, the United States faces tremendous problems in terms of declining prestige and influence abroad, crumbling infrastructure at home, millions of unemployed Americans because of a non-existent economic policy,  a runaway debt, and two unpopular wars that have accomplished nothing but deaths and injuries to thousands of young men and women.

We have more than 300 million people in this nation.  How could so many people allow so few persons to commit so many blunders?

Maybe we don’t care anymore, we’ve given up and have settled for mediocrity and decline.  Is that possible?  Seriously is this America?  

Sadly yes.

Steve Coon

August 22, 2012

Wiston Papers

 

Shortly before I retired, I received the Iowa State University International Service Award. That honor allowed me to attend a Parks Conference at Wiston House in England.

This event helped me focus my thoughts on a variety of domestic and international issues. And these periodic blogs are the result. Not all my posts will be serious. Some will be attempts at humor or simply musings about topics I find interesting.

These articles may range from the serious to the whimsical, but they will represent my  perspective alone.   I absolve all other persons of any errors either of omission or commission.

Your reactions are always welcome.

Wiston Papers

Choosing a Vice President

There is always speculation regarding who U.S. presidential contenders will choose as their running mate.  More often than not, however, the decision appears based more on political considerations--to balance the ticket--rather than on the vice president’s actual qualifications for the job.  But then again the job doesn’t require much.   

Let’s look at the list of Vice Presidents during my lifetime.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose John Nance Garner as his running mate.  But Mr. Garner eventually  split with FDR over some New Deal policies and Roosevelt’s efforts to increase the number of Supreme Court justices.

Iowa-born Henry Wallace succeeded Garner, but Wallace’s somewhat odd religious dabblings and lack of people skills eroded his political support.  He is remembered as a better agriculturist than politician.

Harry Truman succeeded FDR upon his death and generally is held in high regard by historians despite his prickly personality during his presidency.  

Alben Barkley, Truman’s VP, by most accounts was an effective member of Congress and loyal supporter of FDR and later Harry Truman.  He’s the one who told the joke about a mother who had two sons: one went off to the war; the other became Vice President.  Neither was ever heard of again.

Richard Nixon was President Eisenhower’s vice president. He was embroiled in the so-called “Checker’s” Scandal while VP and would become a target of hatred and accusations of shady dealings.  The nickname “Tricky Dick”  would dog him his entire career and follow him into his forced resignation from the presidency.

Lyndon Johnson served under John Fitzgerald Kenney and ascended to the presidency upon JFK’s assassination.  An extraordinarily successful Congressman before becoming VP, he is credited with pushing through Congress much of Kennedy’s unfinished domestic agenda as well as achieving passage of his own Great Society proposals.

Hubert “The Happy Warrior” Humphrey was LBJ’s vice president.  He was well liked by Republicans and Democrats alike because of his infectious, optimistic personality.  But he was stained by his association with the unpopularity of the Vietnam War, which eroded President Johnson’s support and paved the way for the election of Richard Nixon.

Spiro Agnew joined Mr.  Nixon on the Republican presidential ticket in 1968  but was forced to resign amidst allegations of tax evasion and kickbacks dating back to his time as Governor of Maryland.

Gerald Ford was appointed to succeed Agnew then became president when Nixon himself resigned.  Mr. Ford was the only U.S. president and vice president never to have been elected to either office.   He was perhaps the most naturally gifted athletic president to occupy the White House but was generally regarded as an intellectual lightweight.

Nelson Rockefeller would be a “full partner” President Ford promised when naming Mr. Rockefeller vice president.  But he never was and his political acumen, energy and stature were wasted in the office.

Jimmy Carter selected Walter Mondale to be on the Democratic ticket.  Mondale was perhaps the most active vice president of modern times.  Unlike his predecessors he had an office in the White House and he was consulted frequently by President Carter on all matters of state.  But Mr. Carter’s ineptitude doomed any Mondale presidential aspirations.

George Bush was Ronald Reagan’s choice as vice president and succeeded Mr. Regan as president.  Despite Mr. Bush’s expertise in international affairs, his efforts to stimulate a declining economy at home and curtail rising  deficit spending  were not persuasive and he failed to make a compelling case for reelection.

Dan Quayle is generally considered the least qualified Vice President in modern history.  Long on enthusiasm but short on intellect, Mr. Quayle’s term in office as Mr. Bush’s VP was marked by one gaffe after another whether it was misspelling potato or criticizing the television show “Murphy Brown.”  

Al Gore on paper was well prepared to succeed Bill Clinton as president.  But Mr. Clinton’s sexcapades had so alienated the American republic that Mr. Gore was tarnished in the wake.  

Dick Cheney was rewarded for his years of loyal service and counsel to both George Bush and George W. Bush with the vice presidency during George W’s eight years in office..  He was generally disliked and distrusted for his imperious attitude and his propensity for secrecy.

President Barack Obama chose Senator Joe Biden to be his number two man.  Mr. Biden is considered to be an expert on international relations.  However, he is prone to a gaffe a day and even fabricated his own biography during an unsuccessful presidential bid decades ago--confusing his own life with that of British politician Neal Kinnock.

Now Governor Mitt Romney has named Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan as running mate.  Considered the architect of the Republican Party’s proposals on the economy and deficit spending his political star appears to be ascending regardless of November’s election.

The perception of the Vice Presidency as a thankless job is generally accurate.  The occupant’s only official responsible is to preside over the Senate and cast a vote in the case of a tie.  Otherwise, he spends countless hours attending ceremonial events and waiting for the president to die.

Given the history of some American Vice Presidents, it’s just as well that we have not given them anything important to do.

Steve Coon

August 15, 2012

Wiston Papers

A final word on the Olympics 2012

         The Olympic Games 2012 have ended and they were filled with the full range of emotion and drama that you expect of the quadrennial athletic contest.

Unlike some other observers, I thought the NBC network did  a very good job of televising the major events during prime time.  And even if your favorite competition wasn’t covered at night,  the network’s sports channel on cable and the online video service made it easy to watch every moment of the games and every sport.

We were rewarded with some world class athletic performances.  There were the inevitable disappointments, of course, as some big names failed to live up to expectation.  But there were also the surprise victories by contestants who pulled off unpredicted wins.

One of the most pressure-packed contests I witnessed was by Tagir Khaibulaev of Russia.  He captured the gold medal in the 100 kilogram weight division of men’s Judo.  

Watching from the stands during the match was Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Mr. Putin himself has a black belt in judo.

I’m not sure what happens to Russian judokas who lose a match when Mr. Putin is watching.  In the U.S.A. losers simply don’t get their pictures on a box of Wheaties.  I suspect the fate for Russian athletes is a little more severe.

Finally, a friend and I were talking on the eve of the London games and we were trying to recall the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing in 2008.  We couldn’t.  The festivities were colorful but forgettable.

That will be the memory most of the world will have four years from now of the London Olympics beginning and end...they were too long.

Perhaps Brazil will take a lesson and scale back on its plans for the summer games 2016.  I doubt it.  Half of the work is already done, of course.  After all Brazil boasts the most lavish and colorful spectacle  Carnaval every February so the nation is already used to big celebrations.  And many visitors to the next Olympic games there will fully expect a Carnaval-like atmosphere with Samba, song and sensuality.

At the end of the party, however, the games are always about athletic aspiration and achievement.  As the ABC Network described the competition of sport for so many years, it still is “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

Steve Coon

August 14, 2012

Wiston Papers

Improving the Olympic Games

“I’m exhausted, John slumped into his chair.

“Chug this down and you’ll feel much better,” waitress Beverly assured.”

Yeah, you do look worn out,” I agreed.  “Too many Olympic Games for you?”

Oh, no the games were great,”  John countered as he finished off his first cup of coffee and signaled to Beverly for a refill.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I’m disappointed in the disparity of the sports,” John began.

“Uh...I don’t follow.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain it slowly,” John promised.

“OK, I’m listening smart guy,” I said testily.

“Look, you already know that both gymnastics and track and field have all these individual events...” John started.

“Yeah, so what’s your point,” I interrupted still stung by my perceived insult.

“Easy, easy, I’m getting there,” John tried to sooth me.

“Here this second cup of our special today will help,” Beverly said comfortingly.

“Humph,”  I countered, “I doubt it.”

“But other Olympic sports don’t have the same variety,” continued John.

“True and you could improve on that...how,” I challenged.

“Well, improve may not be the word I would choose,” John agreed in a conciliatory tone, “but some of the ‘other’ sports could take a lesson from gymnastic, track and even tennis...or those three sports can adopt ideas from the so-called small sports.  Here’s how.”

“I’m all ears,” I said sofening a little.

“Weightlifting is an individual sport, but why couldn’t it be made even more compelling as a team competition.  The lifters could hand off heavy weights to their teammates in a relay to a designated finish line.  Or...or...there could be team lifting where two or more contestants try to hoist the heaviest barbell,” John said excitedly.  “Or. or...even mixed weightlifting.”

“Well, maybe...”

“See, I knew you’d agree,” John enthused mistaking my reply. “And imagine how more exciting gymnastics would be if you added a shooting or archery component to it.”

“Wait, you surely don’t mean...”

“Yes I do,” John interjected confidently, “the gymnasts could carry either bows or rifles with them during the floor exercises, while spinning on the high bar and uneven parallel bars or...better yet...try to hit targets as the athletes attempt a vault.”

“I’m not sure that...”

“There’s more,” John raised his voice as his emotion rose.

Can’t you do something I looked to Beverly, who just shrugged her shoulders and turned to other customers.

“Here’s another great idea,” John continued without restraint.  “I love synchronized swimming and rowing is equally graceful as everyone pulls their oars together.  Why couldn’t track and field do something similar?  Like..like...synchronized shot putting, javelin throwing, high jumping and pole vaulting...using the same bar?”

“Well, I can think of several reasons...” I hoped to discourage John.

“How about brand new sports for those competitions where the contestants don’t work very hard?” John suggested.

“Don’t work hard, what are you talking about?”

“Look, you have the men’s decathlon that last two days, the women’s heptathlon also is two days long and the soccer and basketball  teams compete for two full weeks,” John tried to demonstrate.  “But the men and women in events like the javelin, high jump, and shot put don’t have much to do.  Just six tries and they’re done.  Hell, they wouldn’t even have to even live in the Olympic Village.  Just fly to London early in the morning, take a taxi to the stadium, compete, hop back in the cab and be on the red eye back to the states. They should be required to compete in several different sports to make their Gold Medal a more vigorous reward.”

“Wait, a minute, John,” I pleaded.

“Yes, that’s just the ticket,” John ignored me.  “All the field events can still do their puts, jumps and throws but also they’d have to excel in two more sports...uh...maybe add skydiving and Brahma bull riding to their schedule.”

Someone help, please, I panicked.

“I have an even better idea for you,” Beverly placed her hand on our shoulders.  “How about synchronized bill paying and a Gold medal performance in tipping?”

Steve Coon

August 20, 2012