Archive for September 2013
From The National Park Foundation:
20 YEARS OF GIVING BACK TO PUBLIC LANDS
While summer may not officially end for another few days, we’re already excited about what is to come in our national parks this fall! In less than two weeks we’ll be celebrating National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 28th. This is a great time to give back to the national parks you love. It is our nation’s largest, single-day volunteer effort for our public lands. And it’s a fee-free day, meaning national park entrance fees will be waived!
Last year, nearly 175,000 people volunteered their time at more than 2,200 sites in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia and in many U.S. territories. Volunteers removed an estimated 23,000 pounds of invasive plants, built and maintained an estimated 1,500 miles of trails, planted an estimated 100,000 trees, shrubs and other native plants, and collected an estimated 500 tons of trash from trails and other places. Let’s help make this year – the 20th anniversary – even bigger and better!
Visit the National Park Foundation website to find out how you can get involved and honor this special occasion by volunteering in your national parks!
You can also find a list of volunteer events here. (ed note: And these are in MANY public places, not just in National Parks!)
Mmmm. Even if they’re not edible.
The pesky Constitution. Because of it, everything is getting confused. And Freedom of Speech? Impossible. It’s wrong, too. Just ask the New York Times.
They’re subtle about it. But they ran an article September 17 explaining how political fund-raising in New Jersey is side-stepping the law. What they didn’t say is that the fund-raising was completely supported by a Supreme Court ruling this year.
Apparently the Times thought it important to note how awful it is that political fund-raising isn’t done the way they would like. Apparently, they don’t support Freedom of Speech … if it’s not their kind of Freedom of Speech, that is.
Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey
The article is about how government contractors are giving political donations to New Jersey’s Governor Christie through an association he’s managing, not directly to his campaign. Here’s what they said:
Not a single check was written to Mr. Christie’s campaign. Indeed, some of those in attendance were legally prohibited from doing so, because they had sizable contracts with state agencies and were therefore barred by New Jersey law from making large contributions to the governor.
Instead, the donors wrote checks for as much as $100,000 to the Republican Governors Association, an organization Mr. Christie helps lead that has collected $1.65 million from New Jersey donors during the first six months of the year.
The association has, in turn, poured $1.7 million into Mr. Christie’s re-election effort, with television advertisements attacking State Senator Barbara Buono, his Democratic opponent in the election this year.
Mr. Christie’s close relationship with the association provides a playbook for how carefully choreographed independent spending campaigns can undermine the rules meant to curtail the political influence of government contractors; New Jersey’s pay-to-play law strictly limits the participation of state contractors in political giving.
Perhaps the New Jersey lawmakers don’t like the Supreme Court decision, but that decision pointedly affirmed the right of corporations to engage in political speech. From the Harvard Law Review:
The Supreme Court spoke clearly this Term on the issue of corporate political speech, concluding in Citizens United v. FEC that the First Amendment protects corporations’ freedom to spend corporate funds on indirect support of political candidates. Constitutional law scholars will long debate the wisdom of that holding, as do the authors of the two other Comments in this issue. In contrast, this Comment accepts as given that corporations may not be limited from spending money on politics should they decide to speak.
And that’s about perfect. Debate is healthy. You can disagree with the Supreme Court ruling. But, it is the law of the land.
To showcase politicians that you don’t agree with as engaging in shady, against-the-law practices that are legal is just preaching sour grapes. The Times doesn’t say that Christie is breaking the law. The article even says that his opponent is using the same funding mechanism. However, it’s clear that the Times is against the practice and implies that the Governor is doing fund raising against the laws of New Jersey.
Which he’s not, as New Jersey in all of its power cannot make free speech illegal. Not even in New Jersey.
Note: none of this should be construed as support for or posturing against Governor Christie or his opponent. I’m not commenting on New Jersey politics, just on the right of people and corporations in New Jersey to have Freedom of Speech. Hopefully, the New York Times will soon join me in supporting this philosophy.
More
Harvard Law Review: Corporate Political Speech: Who Decides?
New York Times: Donors Funds Sidestep Law, Aiding Christie
Like Patrick “Pops” Garrett, who shared this recipe on his blog, Bourbon & Banter, I’m not a fan of fruity drinks.
No offense.
I am a fan of blackberries, however, so OF COURSE I’ll be trying this cocktail very soon. You can find the recipe in the original blog post, link below.
More
Bourbon & Banter: Bourbon Jam Cocktail Recipe
This was a good week. Lee Child released his 18th Jack Reacher book, called Never Go Back.
The problem? I inhale his books when they come out. This one was read in 18 hours. I could have finished faster if I didn’t have to work, but somebody’s gotta pay for the book, y’know?
I recommend the series whole-heartedly. It’s great escapist reading.
Reacher is a unique character, to say the least. He’s a former Army MP who mustered out as a Major during the draw down of forces in the late 90s. Now, he goes where he wants when he wants, and he does so with no possessions. Well, he has the clothes on his back … which he replaces when they get dirty. He has a folding tooth-brush. He has an expired passport, and an ATM card.
And with that, he’s good to go.
The recent Tom Cruise movie, Jack Reacher, is endorsed by Child, but as a separate work of art (based on the novel, One Shot). Notably, the fictional Reacher is 6′-5″ tall and weighs 220+. If you know Tom Cruise, he’s not quite that size. So, enjoy the movie if you like, but you really need to grab a Reacher book and settle in for a great day of reading.
If you’re new to the series, then you have at least 18 great days ahead of you.
More
Art of Manliness: How To Read A Book
The Official Site of Lee Child and Jack Reacher
Where Is It: It’s in Maine. Mount Desert Island, and associated smaller islands off the Atlantic coast, comprise the park. It’s 4-1/2 hours north and east of Boston. From Bangor, ME, it’s 50 miles.
The Birth: This rustic area attracted the nation’s moneyed families in the late 1800s for summer getaways. The Dorr family, the Rockefellers and the Morgans all had significant hands in developing the park. President Woodrow Wilson officially established it as Sieur de Monts National Monument on July 8, 1916. It was later named Lafayette National Park in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, a noteworthy French supporter of the American Revolution. Finally, the park became Acadia National Park on January 19, 1929 – the first National Park east of the Mississippi.
It Happened Here: John D Rockefeller, Jr, financed and directed the construction of a network of carriage trails throughout the park, which included 17 granite bridges over a 50-mile gravel path. Much of that network is still in use today. Cut granite stones line the road to keep visitors on the path and away from steep edges. Those stones are called “coping stones” … and they are also referred to as “Rockefeller’s teeth.”
Size: Acadia National Park has more than 47,000 acres. Park property on Mount Desert Island is 2,728 acres, 2,366 acres on Isle au Haut and 2,366 acres on the Schoodic Peninsula. The Park boundary, established by act of Congress in 1986, includes a number of private in-holdings that the Park is attempting to acquire.
# Visitors: 2,431,052 visitors in 2012. December/January are the least visited months; visitation peaks in July/August.
Plants: Over 1200 plant species are known in the Park. Incredibly, nearly a quarter of those species are non-native. Humans do have an impact on their environment!
Animals: A total of 338 bird species are confirmed as sighted within Acadia National Park 23 species of warblers have been seen in the park!
Species that used to inhabit the island include the mountain lion and gray wolf. These predators may have left the area due to the dramatic decrease in small prey and proximity to human activity. Few large mammals are now sighted in the park.
Choices: There are over 120 miles of hiking trails in the park … from the seashore to the 1500′ Cadillac Mountain. There are great tidepools to explore. And don’t miss the carriage paths, with unique granite bridges that you will travel over and under.
Fees: All park visitors are required to pay an entrance fee upon entry May through October. The cost for a 7-day pass is $20 for a private vehicle, $5 for one person on a motorcycle or on foot. Youth under 15 are free.
Staying There: Campgrounds are $20 May – October, and $10 in April and November. There are no hotels in the park. Several neighboring small towns offer lodging: Bar Harbor, Seal Harbor, Northeast Harbor, Southwest Harbor, Hulls Cove, and Bass Harbor.
Contact Info:
PO Box 177
Bar Harbor, ME 04609
207-288-3338
Current Issues: Air pollution is one of the biggest concerns for the long-term healthy of Acadia National Park. Visibility atop Cadillac Mountain – one of the highest points on the east coast – has dropped from 110 miles to just 33 miles. Polluted air is also suspected of causing the levels of mercury to rise in the park’s freshwater fish.
Don’t Miss This: Spring blossoms and fall foliage are annual highlights for visitors to the park. Fall colors often peak in the first two weeks of October.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
From the NPS website for Acadia National Park.
Fall color! Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 11/4/13.
View from Champlain Mountain. Photo: Fiana Shapiro. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 11/12/13.
Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 11/22/13.
More
National Park Service: Acadia National Park
National Parks Traveler: The Bridges of Acadia
Running With Scissors: Postcards From Acadia
Deano In America: Carriage Road Stone Bridge
New England Vintage Chic: Arcadia National Park
Perspective is a wonderful thing. We lose it all too often.
I’ve spent most of my career in journalism … well, the bastard step child of journalism. I worked in the trade press.
The trade press was often viewed with disdain by the mainstream press, as the trades were known to cut journalistic corners in order to serve their industry. They were advocates, not investigative journalists.
So, the mainstream press sneered. Rightly so.
Flash forward past the digital revolution that gutted the “free press” in the name of “free information,” and you find that just about every remaining news outlet is struggling to find that sweet spot between viability and profitability that the new economies of the information age will allow.
And if you’re a printed publication, you’re on the edge of annihilation. From the Cincinnati Post to the Rocky Mountain News, newspapers have disappeared in major markets all across the country. This trend continues. And, even the survivors are a shadow of their former selves. Narrower. Thinner. Smaller.
Given the economic pressures on publishers, it’s no surprise that compromises are being made.
But this week, one compromise became public that’s particularly egregious. Integrity has been besmirched … because of a football coach.
The South Carolina Gamecocks are led by Steve Spurrier. He’s a big deal. Spurrier was a great college quarterback, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1966 while playing for the Florida Gators, playing in the NFL for ten years, and then returning to Florida to lead them to a consensus national championship in 1996. Recently, he’s been coaching the University of South Carolina (that other USC) to new heights. And that’s where this story turns ugly.
Spurrier has had an ongoing feud with a columnist for The State, Columbia, South Carolina’s newspaper. The columnist, Ron Morris, has been banned from covering Gamecocks football in any way. Because the coach said so.
Banned? Yup. Morris was forced to sign an agreement by his publisher that he would not write about the Gamecocks again, or he would be fired. When you’re a newspaper sports columnist told by your boss not to cover one of the biggest teams in the state, that’s a big deal.
In 2011, Spurrier once refused to do a press conference because Morris was in the room. He’s been refusing to answer his questions since 2009 … but thought that the journalist was asking questions by proxy through other journalists, so Spurrier walked out because Morris was in the room.
Why? Spurrier: “He’s a negative guy.” Here’s what Spurrier told Jim Romenesko, who broke the story:
“Ron Morris just wrote stuff that wasn’t true about me and I reacted,” Spurrier told me over the phone last Thursday. “I was fine with him the first five or six years here, and then he would write stuff that wasn’t true.”
Did he complain to The State’s publisher? I asked.
“I complained to the world about him. I complained to Gamecock Nation on my radio show. But don’t put that on me” that Morris can no longer write about Gamecocks football. “He is responsible for that.”
After this story broke on Tuesday, The State has retreated from their spineless position, after having media commentators and the sports blogosphere erupt with a universal condemnation of their handling of the situation. It’s one thing for Coach Spurrier to not like the criticism. It’s quite another for a leading newspaper to remove a seasoned journalist and replace him with a fan to write about the team.
The executive editor of the paper, Mark Lett, has released a statement to staff that obfuscates the paper’s role in the situation. He even says that Morris can write about anything he wants … but tempers have to cool first.
Journalism, I mourn for thee.
More
JimRomenesko.com: The State Tells Its Sports Columnist He Can’t Cover University Of South Carolina Football
Jim Romenesko.com: The State: It’s Now OK For Columnist Ron Morris To Write About Gamecocks Football
Deadspin: Reporter Who Was Critical of Steve Spurrier Replaced By Spurrier’s Pal
Mr.SEC.com: Scandals, Scandals, Scandals
1. Velda was born on a Friday the 13th. How can I not love this day? (So, you think I’m in her good graces now?)
2. Everyone knows Friday the 13th in unlucky. That pretty much ensures everyone is wrong … everyone is never right.
3. Our 13th President, Millard Fillmore, is famously known for installing the first bathtub in the White House. Which he didn’t do.
4. There’s a name for being scared of 13: Triskaidekaphobia. There’s also a name for loving this number: Triskaidekamania. That’s a lot of confusion for just a number. I mean, does anyone know what fear of the number 7 is called? 12? 5?
5. My first date with Velda was on a Friday the 13th … and I proposed on that date. Good times.
6. It’s Friday. Work is almost done. How bad can it be?
7. The Dodger’s magic number now is 5. And that has nothing to do with 13.
8. Wait. The magic number is four. Doesn’t everyone know that? (and I can prove it)
9. I’ve never seen any of the Friday the 13th movies. I mean, who would want to see them?
10. It is believed Michelangelo began work on his statue of David on September 13. Great art deserves our respect.
11. The Hollywood sign was first unveiled by the owner of the LA Times newspaper, Harry Chandler, on Friday the 13th of July, 1923. Originally the sign spelled out “Hollywoodland” and was erected to advertise a new housing development Chandler was constructing nearby.
12. Benjamin Franklin wrote it on Friday the 13th, 1789: “Everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”
13. Remember how I proposed on my first date with Velda on a Friday the 13th? She said yes. It was a good day.
More
ThePracticalHistorian: The Completely Radional Fear of Triskaidekaphobia
Wisdom City: Number 13, My Shadow Is In Love With Your Shadow
Colgate University: Lucky 13
Taylor Swift Explains Why 13 Is Her Lucky Number
Thursdays are becoming my favorite day of the week: I get things done on Thursday. And a chair is always involved.
From The National Park Foundation:
20 YEARS OF GIVING BACK TO PUBLIC LANDS
