Thank A Veteran

I got an email this morning from a coworker at a job site in the town I work in that I’d like to share.

I am looking at young couple with two little girls all standing at the war memorial, reading and talking about the fallen heroes.

That just made my day.

On this Veterans Day–and any other day while you’re at it–be sure to thank a veteran for his or her service to our country.

Thank you to the veterans of all our armed forces. We greatly appreciate your service, and remember those who gave their lives for our country.

Globe Off The Market

Looks like the Boston Globe will remain the property of the New York Times Company.

The New York Times Co said it has given up its plan to sell The Boston Globe and related businesses after drastic cuts it imposed on the daily newspaper earlier this year improved its financial position.

The announcement caps a painful odyssey for the 137-year-old Boston Globe that began earlier this year when the Times threatened to close the paper if it could not get its unions to agree to deep cost cuts.

Selling the Globe would have been a dismal exit from Boston for the Times. The company spent $1.1 billion to buy the Globe in 1993, at the time the most money ever paid for a single U.S. newspaper. The offers it reportedly received for the Globe this month were less than 10 percent of what it paid.

The Times did not mention the bids and officials were unavailable for comment about whether they played a role in the decision to stop the sale. The company instead said the Globe’s financial outlook has brightened.

“The Globe has significantly improved its financial footing by following the strategic plan it set out at the beginning of the year,” Times Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Chief Executive Janet Robinson wrote to Globe workers on Wednesday.

“All along, we explicitly recognized that a careful restructuring of the Globe was one possible route and, thanks to your hard work, that is precisely what has been done,” they wrote.

Who still even reads the Boston Globe?

Obama and Gates, Not The Police Officers, Acted “Stupidly”

Barack Obama, during his press conference last night, made a comment about the incident involving Henry Louis Gates Jr. which I found troubling. Despite acknowledging that he did not know all the facts, Obama felt it appropriate to pass judgment on the actions of the police officers who responded to a call

Barack Obama said Wednesday that police acted “stupidly” in the arrest of prominent black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and that despite racial progress blacks and Hispanics are still singled out unfairly for arrest.

“This still haunts us,” Obama said.

Obama called Gates a friend, and said he doesn’t know all the facts of the case. Nonetheless, Obama said, anyone would have been angry if treated the way Gates claims police in Cambridge, Mass., treated him. Gates claims he was arrested in his own home after showing ID to police who responded to a report of a possible burglary.

Police say Gates yelled at the officers and initially refused to show his ID. Gates allegedly yelled “this is what happens to a black man in America” and “you don’t know who you’re messing with” before he was arrested, and police said he was uncooperative. ( read the arrest report )

Obama must want to turn this into the 2009 equivalent of the Rodney King incident. Instead of saying “I do not know all of the facts, and therefore cannot comment,” he decided it was a good oppurtunity to slander police officers who, based on the reports, acted appropriate, given Gates’ behavior.

Barack Obama’s comment was inappropriate, and offensive. Various reports of the press conference I have read indicated that he dodged several questions during the press conference, particularly when asked about tranparency issues. Instead of slandering law enforcement officials he should have made no comment.

Hub Politics stands in support of the arresting officer, Sergeant James Crowley, who is refusing to apologize for doing his job.

When Sergeant James M. Crowley climbed the front steps of Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s house last week and unexpectedly placed himself in international headlines, it was not the first time he had a memorable encounter in the line of duty with a prominent black man. Nearly 16 years ago, as a Brandeis University police officer, Crowley desperately tried to save the life of Reggie Lewis after the Boston Celtics star collapsed while practicing in the school gym.

[...]

Crowley himself, speaking to the Globe yesterday and again last night in Natick, said he will not apologize and asserted, “I am not a racist.’’

Crowley’s police union issued a statement saying it had reviewed the arrest of Gates and expressed “full and unqualified support’’ for his actions.
“It bothers him terribly that he couldn’t save him,’’ Crowley’s 74-year-old mother, Verina Crowley, said yesterday, speaking of her son and the famous basketball player.

“Sergeant Crowley is a highly respected veteran supervisor with a distinguished record in the Cambridge Police Department,’’ said the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association. “His actions at the scene of this matter were consistent with his training, with the informed policies and practices of the Department, and with applicable legal standards.’’

It seems to me that Obama actually wants to worsen race relations in this country. If he is willing to prematurely pass judgment on a situation he knows nothing about, for the sake of a racially charged allegation against a white police officer, then Obama is certainly in a position to do more harm than good for race relations in this country.

PREVIOUS: The Gates of Racism

UPDATE: ABC News reports that Sgt. James Crowley, “has not ruled out filing a defamation of character or libel lawsuit” against Gates.

James Taranto: Mistaken Identity Politics

UPDATE: Police Seek Obama Apology for Gates Arrest Comments

UPDATE: WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan Interview Sgt. Crowley

UPDATE: From a TIME Magazine interview with Gates in February:

A fundamental part of Lincoln’s moral compass was his opposition to slavery. But it took him a long time to embrace black people. We were raised with a fairy-tale representation that because he hated slavery, he loved the slaves. He didn’t. He was a recovering racist. He used to use the N word. He told darky jokes. He resisted abolition as long as he could.

When asked if race wiss ever cease to matter:

I would hope one day. But I can’t imagine such a reality when I think about South Africa, when I think of the U.S. and when I think about France, where race is not even an official category but black people and North Africans are suffering under great implicit discrimination. Race will remain a primary signifier for a long, long time.

Something tells me Gates doesn’t want race to ever cease to matter… How else can he play the race card?

UPDATE: Questions for our readers… Will Obama ever apologize for his stupid comments? If yes, how long will it take for him to admit his error? How will this hurt him politically?

UDPATE: Deval Patrick Also “Acted Stupidly”

UPDATE: Black officer at Gates home during arrest said scholar acted strange, supports arrest

The Day The Boston Globe Stood Still

Today is the day…will the Boston Globe stay, or will it go?

Arthur “Pinch” Sulzberger faces the uncomfortable task of having to shut down the Boston Globe today if holdout employees refuse to fork over $20 million in savings to his family.

If the Sulzberger family carries out its threatened shutdown by today’s deadline, it would be an admission that they wasted $1.1 billion in buying the paper in the first place.

But if they back down, it would show a weakness of will that Wall Street investors who hold big stakes — particularly hard-nosed billionaire Carlos Slim — might turn against the family to wrest away its control of the enterprise.

Another widely discussed option — selling the 137-year-old Boston paper — seemed less likely as potential buyers waved off any thoughts of owning the admired money-pit.

So long, farewell.

State Senator Brown Launches New Campaign Website

State Senator Scott Brown, who represents the Norfolk, Bristol, and Middlesex Districts, has launched a new campaign website.

Check it out at www.scottbrown4senate.com.