Month: March 2008

Taco Casserole

By Connie Wilson

On March 10, 2008

In Recipes

Taco Casserole

1 lb. ground chuck

1 onion, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, minced fine

1/2 green pepper, chopped

3 ribs celery, chopped

16 oz. can tomatoes

15 oz. can chili con carne

10 and 1/2 oz. pkg. Fritos corn chips (can use Nacho Cheese flavored ones, plain, or other)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Brown the beef. Add the next 6 ingredients (onion, garlic, pepper, celery, tomatoes and chili con carne) and heat through. Line the bottom of a greased (Pan-sprayed) 2-quart casserole with 1/2 of the corn chips. Pour meat mixture slowly over the corn chips. Add Parmesan cheese and the rest of the corn chips. Top with Cheddar cheese and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and cheese melts. (Make sure dish is hot in the interior before removing from the oven). This recipe tastes much like “tacos” and taco sauce can be placed on the table to use as a condiment. It is very filling and the recipe feeds a lot of people (a minimum of 4.) Good accompaniments would be a tossed salad and/or garlic bread.

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“Fox News Sunday” and “Meet the Press” Debate Florida and Michigan “Do-Over(s)”

By Connie Wilson

On March 9, 2008

In Politics

Sunday, March 9^th “Fox News” and “Meet the Press” Debate Florida, Michigan Do-Over

The Sunday morning news programs were focused on the Obama/Clinton face-off…again. It was only a matter of time before Hillary Clinton would begin focusing on trying to seat Florida and Michigan delegates, who were previously denied delegates to punish them for moving their primaries up. Britt Hume, on Fox News Sunday, interviewed 2 SuperDelegates, both named Debbie.

One was Debbie Dingell (no, I’m not making that name up), a SuperDelegate from Michigan and a Democratic National Committee member. The other was Debbie Wassermann Schulz, a Super-Delegate from Florida. The conversation focused on “do-overs” and “firehouse primaries” and any number of means by which the Democratic Party can seat the delegates from Florida and Michigan who were supposed to be being punished for their actions by not being seated.

Expense of a special election is, of course, at issue. The cost of a special election is estimated to run about $30 million dollars and all kinds of people are stepping up to the plate to make suggestions as to how a special election might now be financed, from James Carville to Governor Ed Rendell (D, PA) to Dr. Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Without Michigan’s and Florida’s votes factored in, Barack Obama has a popular vote total of 13,318,906 to Hillary Clinton’s 12,690,404, but if Florida and Michigan are factored back in, the count becomes 13,895,120 for Obama to 13,889,699 for Hillary, according to Fox News Sunday’s poll. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard commented, “She’s (Clinton’s) gonna’ have to have a majority of the popular vote, because she’s not gonna’ have a majority of the delegate vote, even if she wins in these electable contests between now and the convention…They’re gonna’ do something in Michigan and Florida, and it’s up to Hillary Clinton to get ahead in the popular vote, because, otherwise, she’s not gonna’ be the nominee.” The other contributors, Mara Liasson of NPR, Juan Williams, also of NPR, and Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard agreed that, “These delegates re going to be seated. The only question is, ‘How are they gonna’ be counted?'”

All the expert commentators noted Obama’s difficult position in the matter. Obviously, Hillary is desperately trying to lobby for changing the rules, since she needs an “overtime” to win, but where is the advantage for Obama? There is none, but he runs the risk of being seen as trying to disenfranchise voters in Florida and Michigan if he isn’t supportive of these recent efforts asking for a “do-over.”

Juan Williams put it this way, “I don’t see how he (Obama) can avoid, in essence, giving in to what Hillary Clinton wants.”

Fred Barnes, on the other hand, said, “Barack Obama obeyed the rules that the Democratic Party set down. He didn’t participate in these primaries. You cannot have an outcome that is fair to Barack Obama. It’s gonna’ be unfair to him, because, without these two states, he’s ahead, he wins the nomination.”

Britt Humes asked, “How likely is it that she can still come from behind to beat him (Obama)?” Fred Barnes responded, “Well, I’d say that she’s the underdog and, in these 11 states coming up, she is going to have to do well.” The graphic displayed showed Obama with 1,578 delegates versus Hillary Clinton’s 1,468 delegates.

The talk after that turned to the Super Delegates and how they would behave in the event that Hillary Clinton limps into Denver behind in both popular and delegate count. Said Kristol, “You cannot be behind in both Super Delegates and popular vote and win.” This truth seems to be self-evident. Juan Williams commented on the electability issue, with Obama having won 25 states and the District of Columbia while Clinton has won in only 14. There are 9 remaining states.

Later on Sunday morning, on “Meet the Press” with Tim Russert on NBC, commentators Lester Holt and Jenna Wolf discussed the way things have been going, with Obama picking up 45 Super Delegates since Super Tuesday, while Hillary Clinton has lost 6 of them. Current standing as the candidates head into Pennsylvania on April 22^nd and move past Mississippi’s vote on March 12 show 1374 delegates for Obama, with Clinton at 1232, a 142 lead for Barack Obama. In terms of the popular vote, Obama commands 49% of it, while Hillary Clinton has 47% of the popular vote. There are still 599 delegates to be chosen.

One of the most interesting exchanges of the morning occurred with Tim Russert moderating a lively discussion between Senator Tom Daschle (D, SD) and Governor Ed Rendell (D, PA), about what anointing Hillary Clinton as the nominee might do to the young voters and the ethnic voters who have supported Barack Obama in his quest. If Hillary Clinton is announced as the nominee, despite Obama’s having beaten her, fair and square, in almost every way imaginable, what kind of message will that send to America, the youth of America, and the rest of the world.

Russert put the question this way: “Should the candidate who has won the most electoral votes be the nominee?”

Daschle answered, “Absolutely. I don’t see how we could possibly do anything else but say that we respect the wishes of the people who have voted. And what would it say to the world and to the country if we overturned the will of those people who have voted. It would be a travesty for the party and for the country.”

Daschle referenced a poll that was just taken that showed Barack Obama winning, nationwide. Said Daschle, “It doesn’t matter who’s at the top of the ticket. The Democratic nominee is gonna’ be in a very commanding position in New York and California and I think we can even put Texas into play this year.”

Governor Ed Rendell (D, PA), a Hillary Clinton supporter, tried to suggest that Hillary Clinton deserves to be the nominee because she could win in the big states that count, reasoning that was offensive to not only Daschle, but also the residents of all the other states that aren’t Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida or Michigan. Rendell, saying, “She’s clearly the strongest candidate in the states we have to take, also offended by suggesting that caucuses were not democratic, because shift workers and older residents couldn’t vote by absentee ballot.

Russert seemed incredulous as he asked Rendell, “So, the Iowa caucuses and the Nevada caucuses were undemocratic?” Rendell answered, “Yes,” which prompted Tom Daschle, an Obama supporter, to say, “Well, Tim, first of all, I think it will come as a real shock to Iowa and Nevada votes that they don’t have a Democratic process. I thin it’s very democratic. I don’t concede that point at all.”

As an Iowan, born and bred, I was happy to hear South Dakota’s Senator stick up for us. The conversation went on about “do overs” and whether they should be primaries or caucuses or even mail-in ballots.

Daschle said, “There are, as we have to address, a lot of issues with primaries as well, but the bottom line is that we all agreed to play by the rules and one campaign, now, has broken those rules and has decided not to abide by them, and our campaign has decided to abide by those rules. We recognize that these are 2 very important states and we are committed to working something out. We’ll be competitive, whatever it is. If there’s a fair approach that can be worked out, we’re for it, we’ll work for it, we’ll do it. But it has to be fair and it has to be worked out in concert with the parties and we have to abide, as much as possible, with the rules that everybody worked out six months ago.”

Stay tuned for further developments in this very messy situation.

Movie Quote Quiz Answers

By Connie Wilson

On March 6, 2008

In Movies

There are so many great movie quotes that echo in my mind and have special meaning for me.

Like nearly everyone in America, Clark Gable’s famous pronouncement “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!” as he exited Tara in “Gone with the Wind” seemed the very essence of manly disdain. His complete contempt for the manipulative Vivien Leigh’s cries of “What shall I do? Where shall I go?” show that he has reached the limits of human endurance with Scarlett O”Hara’s perpetual scheming. Men everywhere applauded his sheer bravado in telling Scarlett O’Hara where to get off.

Another film that resonates with nearly every American is “The Wizard of Oz” and I think we all share Judy Garland’s sentiment “There’s no place like home.” It reminds of that other famous literary quote that says, “Home is the place where, when you have nowhere else to go, they have to take you in.”

Because I grew up only 60 miles away from the movie set of “Field of Dreams” I have always held dear “Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa,” and, as a fledgling entrepreneur in 1986, I often muttered to myself, “If you build it, they will come.” The W.P. Kinsella novel on which the movie was based was a hymn of praise to Iowa, my birth state, and Kinsella was a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Implausibly, the film about a son coming to terms with his dead father worked on so many levels, showcasing stars like Kevin Costner, Burt Lancaster, James Earl Jones and Ray Liotta.

Most of us have internalized the Italian family saga that is and was “The Godfather” and the saying, “I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse,” Marlon Brando’s veiled threat, has certainly made its way into the pantheon of contemporary American sayings. Brando also uttered one of the best and most famous lines in American cinema when he told his brother Charlie (Rod Steiger) that he “shoulda looked out for him” and added, “I coulda’ been a contender, instead of a bum. Which is what I am.” This famous exchange, set in the back of a car in “On the Waterfront,” earned Marlon Brando’s Terry Malloy an Oscar and takes us back immediately to the Elia Kazan film, co-starring Eva Marie Saint.

In “Taxi Driver,” Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) grows more and more paranoid and delusional until we see him practicing saying, in a mirror, “You lookin’ at me? You lookin’ at me?” This glimpse of a tormented soul losing his grip on sanity seems very true-to-life as we read today’s headlines about violent shooting rampages.

On a happier note, Humphrey Bogart tells Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa in “Casablanca,” “We’ll always have Paris,” as he urges her to leave with her husband on the plane. The film was and is widely considered one of the best ever shot, and the line lives on as a tribute to romantics everywhere.

More recently, Cuba Gooding snagged an Academy Award for screaming, “Show me the money!” into the phone to Tom Cruise, his sports agent, in “Jerry Maguire.” It was a tour-de-force performance by Gooding, one that he has yet to match.

“Psycho” with Anthony Perkins as the young motel clerk with the mommy hang-ups gave us, “A boy’s best friend is his mother.” This Hitchcock film was among the most terrifying ever filmed, and, even today, the shower scene is unparalleled. At no time is the knife shown penetrating flesh, but, through successive quick cuts, the master gave us a totally terrifying murder scene in a motel bathroom shower.

Another film of the sixties that gave us both the one-word “Plastics” and the line, “Are you trying to seduce me, Mrs. Robinson?” was “The Graduate,” a vehicle that launched Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross, with an able assist from Anne Bancroft. Mike Nichols directed and the iconic images still influence filmmakers today.

At the end of “Some Like It Hot,” Joe E. Brown tells Jack Lemmon (in drag), “Nobody’s perfect,” as they speed across the water in a speedboat. Lemmon has been trying to tell the persistent suitor that he is not a woman, but a man, and rips off his wig to reveal his secret, finally, only to find that Brown cannot be deterred. It gave obsession a whole new dimension.

These ten-plus lines are known to serious film-goers everywhere, but, just to round out the list, the one word “Rosebud” from “Citizen Kane,” which, we now know, was the name of Orson Welles’ sled and represented his lost childhood is classic, as is “I’ll have what she’s having” from “When Harry Met Sally,” uttered by Rob Reiner’s real-life mother in a bit part in a restaurant, as Sally (Meg Ryan) faked an orgasm for Billy Crystal’s benefit.

See if you can name the films from which these lines sprang: “I’m King of the World!” (spoken by Leonardo deCaprio).

“Hey! I’m walkin’ here” as uttered by Dustin Hoffman. (It was improvised, as the budget for the film was so small that traffic could not be shut down and Hoffman, walking with co-star Jon Voigt, really did bang on the hood of the New York City cab.

“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.” Gloria Swanson said it, and William Holden’s body was found, floating facedown of the pool, at the very beginning of the film.

And in what movie did Jack Nicholson say, “You make me want to be a better man” to Helen Hunt’s waitress. Or, Robert Duvall spoke “I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” in what Francis Ford Coppola vehicle?

If you don’t know the answer(s) to the questions posed in the last 3 paragraphs, visit http://www.weeklywilson.com/ for the answers.

ANSWERS: “I’m King of the world” is Leonardo deCaprio’s famous line from “Titanic,” spoken with Rose from the prow of the ship before it famously sinks.

“Hey! I’m walkin’ here!” was uttered by Dustin Hoffman in “Midnight Cowboy,” as the character Ratso Rizzo navigates downtown New York City with male hustler Jon Voigt.

“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille,” was faded star Gloria Swanson’s line, as the police close in to arrest her for the murder of William Holden, (seen floating in the pool as the film opens) in “Sunset Boulevard.”

“You make me want to be a better man,” was Jack Nicholson’s Obsessive-compulsive writer’s plea to waitress Helen Hunt in “As Good As It Gets.”

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” was Robert Duvall’s wacko comment to his men in Vietnam in “Apocalypse Now,” as he also suggested they surf the waves in this Francis Ford Coppola-directed Vietnam War epic.

If you liked these, write me a line and I’ll share others with you to solve in future articles on www.weeklywilson.com.

Response to Bayer Article

By Connie Wilson

On March 2, 2008

In Health/Medicine

From: Julia Bodeeb White (click to view CP page) Sent: 2008-03-01 07:44:37 Subject: Message from Julia Bodeeb White Message from Julia Bodeeb White I thank you for your article about Bayer. After my Mom’s open heart surgery she suddenly had kidney problems too and had dialysis. She died 4 months after the heart surgery. It was supposed to make her stronger and give her better quality of life. I was so in shock at the time and her rapid decline did not make any sense. Plus she died within months of my grandmother, so it was beyond horrible.
Now that I read your article about Bayer I have to wonder if she got that drug at surgery. I have mailed the article to her doctor to ask. I have also emailed your article to a LOT of friends to tell them to boycott Bayer.I know this email will be hard to read but your article perhaps explains something that never made sense to me…. and is excellent reporting

Julia

“Meet the Press” and “Face the Nation” Handicap the Presidential Race

By Connie Wilson

On March 2, 2008

In Politics

On Sunday, March 3^rd‘s versions of “Face the Nation” and “Meet the Press” expert political commentators filled us in on how this year’s race for the Presidential nomination is playing out. A bi-partisan mixture of Republican and Democratic strategists had the opportunity to put in their two cents’ worth. This is how it sounded.

Republican strategist Mike Murphy, a guest on “Meet the Press”, said, “I’ll make a cash money bet right now on Obama.” There were no takers. Murphy backed up his bet with the information that, even if Hillary wins in both Texas and Ohio, she would have to win 70% of the votes in the 12 states that remain, which represent 611 delegates. (Most of those states, for the curious, are: Oregon, Montana, West Virginia, South Dakota, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Mississippi, Guam and Puerto Rico, which has 63 delegates.)

Bob Schrum—famous for his soaring speech work for the Democrats—commented, “You cannot go into this convention and not have some moral claim.” James Carville, the bald strategist to both Bill and Hillary, who appeared on “Meet the Press” alongside his Republican strategist wife Mary Matalin, said, “Nobody in the world can look at these polls and predict with any accuracy.” He did acknowledge, however, that he agreed with Bill Clinton, who told Texas voters during a campaign rally for his wife in Beaumont, Texas, “If you don’t deliver for her, I don’t think she can (win). It’s on your backs.” Carville agreed with his former boss, saying, “You gotta’ win something.”

Mary Matalin, his Republican spouse, laughed at most of the comments made about the continuing Democratic death struggle on “Meet the Press”, ultimately commenting, “It’s so khumbaya that they (the Democrats) can’t pick a nominee.”

Countered her Republican counterpart Murphy, “Turnout is his (Obama’s) demographic. The thing I’d be watching on Election Day is turnout. He creates a turnout demographic that is very powerful. My gut tells me he’s gonna’ take ‘em both (Ohio and Texas), and that’ll be the end.”

Democratic strategist and speechwriter “Schrummie” (Bob Schrum) interjected, “What we’re really seeing is a generational struggle inside the Democratic party.” He went on to liken Hillary to the Beach Boys when the Beatles came to America. The analogies were flying thick and fast. At one point, Obama was even compared to the hula hoop craze! Is it a fad? Will it last? What about staying power?

There was a lot of scrutiny of the latest ads that Hillary and Obama are running. The ads show a phone call coming in to a home with sleeping children in the dead of night. Hillary answers the pre-dawn ringing phone, dressed to the teeth (my husband wondered why she wouldn’t be in her nightgown, a valid Republican observation). The implication: a crisis call was coming in. Who is most qualified to answer it?

Obama immediately countered this Mark Penn-designed ad with one that used the same imagery, but underscored his judgment as being sounder, as he had been against the Iraq War since the beginning. Carville categorized both ads as “fair.” Then the experts began picking them apart, saying that the origin of such a ringing telephone ad goes all the way back to Walter Mondale in 1984, running against Gary Hart and using an image of a red phone. (Boy! Did that phone look dated!) The problem, the strategists said, is that the “red phone” fear message has become a bit of a cliché. The implication: this cliché charge is also true of Hillary’s entire campaign.

Next came some finger pointing. “Mark Penn has called the strategy in this campaign, dominated it.” This from Jason Horowitz’s New York Observer newspaper article titled “Ickes: Blame Penn.” As her chief strategist, Penn actually wrote the current phone call ad.

There were moments of mirth. After the phone ad began appearing in Texas and Ohio, someone asked Hillary during a campaign stop to give an example of a time when she had to handle a crisis phone call. There was apparently not a lot of thought given beforehand to this particular question arising. The best answer the campaign spokesman came up with was, “She’s on the Armed Services Committee.” Said Democrat Schrum, laughing, “You know the only crisis on the Armed Services Committee is when John McCain loses his temper.” Republican Murphy, laughing, added, “The only crisis call she (Hillary) might get is from Texas.”

Chuck Todd, the NBC News Political Director was quoted (“Meet the Press”) this way, “According to our delegate math, Clinton winning both Ohio and Texas by 52% – 48% would net her a combined 5-6 delegates. Yet, toss in a potential Obama landslide in Vermont, and then her next March 4^th haul could be as little as 2-5 delegates.”

On “Face the Nation” Governor Bill Richardson was interviewed, as was former candidate Senator Chris Dodd (D, Connecticut), who noted that “If experience is the sole criteria, it should be Joe Biden and me,” something he said more than once on the campaign trail in Iowa. Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, a Clinton supporter, was interviewed onscreen as well, and commented, “We’re hiring someone to do the toughest job in the country, and a big part of that job is being Commander-in-Chief. Intelligence people report renewed attacks. It’s a risky world. We need someone with the seasoning and the ability to be Commander-in-Chief. It’s a dangerous world.”

Chris Dodd (D, CT), who has endorsed Obama, countered with, “This is a person (Obama) eminently qualified to lead. It’s not, as they say, just about who answers that phone, but about what they say.” For those of us who have heard Hillary Clinton’s shrill tone of voice, we might add, “and it’s about HOW that individual speaks when they answer.”

From Santa Fe, New Mexico, Governor Bill Richardson on” Face the Nation”, who has endorsed neither candidate, weighed in with, “I am legitimately torn (between the candidates),” saying, “The concern that I have is that the bickering is going on too long. D-Day is Tuesday. I want to see us, after Tuesday, come together and move towards the general election.” He added, “McCain cannot be taken for granted.” Richardson noted, “We haven’t elected a Senator in over 40 years. I guess we’re going to this time.”

Many charts and graphs were used to reinforce points being made. To share just a few: In Ohio, Clinton attracts just 38% of men under 50, while Obama gets 52%. Hillary gets the vote of 54% of those over 50 in Ohio, while Obama gets only 36% of those over 50. By race (in Ohio) Obama claims the vote of 86% of African-Americans (to Clinton’s 6%), while 62% of Hispanics favor Clinton, compared to only 30% for Obama. (“Meet the Press” graphic).

As to Super Delegates, those much-discussed 800, the change since February 5^th has seen Obama pick up 38, while Clinton has lost 6, giving Obama a 111-vote lead. In a Pew Foundation Poll shown on “Meet the Press”, when asked whether a candidate was “very likable,” “somewhat likable” or “not likable,” Obama was judged “Very likable” by 50% to Clinton’s 26% and McCain’s 21%. In the “somewhat” range, the split was 35% for Obama, to 37% for Clinton, to 55% for McCain. In the dreaded “Not Likable” category, Hillary scored 33%, while McCain was at 18% and Obama at 10%.

Republican strategist Mike Murphy on “Meet the Press,” commenting on the general election, said, “We’ve got the one different kind of Republican this year who can go to the center, and a lot of the Obama stuff—the energy behind his campaign, other than the war—is stuff John McCain built his reputation on and frankly has shown a lot more courage on than Barack Obama ever has. He’ll (McCain’ll) co-opt that middle space and beat him on experience and leadership.”

All agreed that, if Obama were to be elected, it would “set the Conservative movement back 50 years.”

In another interesting bit, respondents to a CNBC Current State of the Economy survey (“Meet the Press”) were asked to respond with one word to the three remaining candidates in the race. The responses to each candidate and the word used most frequently follows:

McCain:

Old 55

Honest 32

Experienced 29

Patriot 21

Conservative 14

Hero 13

Liberal 12

Obama:

Inexperienced 45

Charismatic 32

Intelligent 25

Change 23

Inspirational 14

Young 12

New 11

Clinton:

Experienced 34

Strong 16

Untrustworthy 16

Intelligent 15

Smart 14

Determined 12

Rhymes with

“witch” 11

Is Reading in America a Dying Pursuit?

By Connie Wilson

On March 1, 2008

In Education

Is reading in America a dying pursuit? The NEA seems to think so, after doing an in-depth study of the situation (read entire report at www.nea.gov.)

“Reading at Risk” surveyed over 17,000 adults (age 18 or older), asking them about their reading habits in regards to novels, short stories, poetry and/or plays. The focus was mainly on literary reading trends for “Reading at Risk.”

In a separate study entitled “To Read or Not to Read,” statistics were gathered from more than 40 national studies on reading habits of children, teenagers and adults. This study dealt with all kinds of reading: books, magazines, newspapers, online reading.

According to the NEA, less than 1/3 of 13-year-olds read for pleasure every day, a 14% decline from 20 years ago. The percentage of 17-year-old non-readers doubled in that same twenty-year span. If you’re an American between the ages of 15 and 24, you spend 2 hours a day watching television, but only 7 minutes a day reading, according to this study.

Timothy Shanahan, a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago and past president of the International Reading Association says that many young people say they don’t read because it’s lonely. When they are online or text messaging, they feel involved with others, but they do not feel this sense of community when reading by themselves. “What kids like about IM-ing and text messaging is that it’s playful and interactive and connects then to their friends,’ said Shanahan in an article entitled “The Grim Reader” in the March/April issue of Poets & Writers. (pp.10-13).

Shanahan continued, “The Harry Potter books were popular not mainly because of this wonderful story and the language, I don’t think, but because it was this huge phenomenon that allowed young people to participate in it. What was exciting was reading what your friends were reading and talking to them about it. People of all ages are hungry for that kind of community.”

The article continues discussing the need for community and how the Internet seems to fill that void for many disconnected individuals. It is not difficult to see that reading a book, as opposed to going online, might suffer, if the desire for feedback and community, lacking in today’s anonymous society is satisfied most by the online substitute for actual human interaction.

One only has to go online to any blog to see the decline and fall of the language. A young friend with degrees in computer science tells me, “They didn’t teach us that stuff,” when I ask him about his spelling, grammar, syntax mistakes. By “they” he means, of course, his English teachers, and I have heard this refrain from my students at six colleges in my day. I “taught this stuff” for almost 20 years to 12 and 13-year-olds. In my classes, we labored long and hard over grammar, spelling, syntax, subject/verb agreement, etc.

When and why did the attempts to teach our native tongue—complete with grammar, syntax, etc.— stop? This very bright young man now finds himself completely qualified to do the technical side of blogging, but handicapped by a lack of proficiency in those areas.

I remember that, when I began teaching at the junior high school level in 1969, my students routinely wrote short stories, which were then taken to the high school Creative Writing class(es) for judging. By the time I left my public school classroom in 1985, the students coming up from the grades below no longer could write a coherent sentence, let alone a paragraph, let alone a story. We had to discontinue the Short Story contest, and the Creative Writing class at the high school level similarly withered and died. In the college classroom as recently as 2004, the students had great difficulty writing, unless they were older students coming back to the community college to retrain.

Of some concern to me was the survey that was printed with the article, a survey of 75 readers who voted on the Best Award-winning novel of 2007. Sixty-two % of those who responded believed that Cormac McCarthy’s novel “The Road” deserved that distinction, which it well may, based on its plot-driven story and theme.

The problem is that Cormac McCarthy (who was shown often in the crowd at the Oscars as the awards for “No Country for Old Men” rolled in) doesn’t much believe in the use of traditional punctuation, particularly apostrophes. I realize that no less a luminary than e.e. cummings similarly refused to capitalize, but picking “The Road” only reinforces our drift, as a nation, towards anarchy, defined in this case as a failure to even attempt to follow the rules of grammar and punctuation.

Sometimes, we veteran English teachers feel like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. We know that the dike will give way if we remove our finger, but what are we to do? Language is constantly changing, yes. I am much more likely to use a sentence fragment in a story I write, today, than I would have been twenty years ago. Language is not set in stone and there are new words and terms and techno-speak being added every day.

But some appreciation for following the rules handed down by great writers seems wise. Poet e.e. cummings was an exception that proved the rule, not a groundbreaker who made new ones. It will be interesting to assess Cormac McCarthy’s effect on language from the perspective of a decade hence.