What's up doc?

This story in today's Star generated a few e-mails accusing us of not giving female professionals proper respect. Namely, readers questioned why Dr. Catherine Betor was referred to as "Mrs. Betor" on second reference. Here is the e-mail response I sent out (the comment about my wife, a district court judge, comes from her questioning me on this point when she was referred to as Mrs. Foster on second reference in a story in The Star):

Your question is valid and comes up from time to time.
Our policy on using courtesy titles exists mainly to distinguish between men and women.
We do not refer to Drs. -- either men or women -- on second reference.
If there had been a second reference to Dr. Hamrick, it would have been "Hamrick said ..." etc.
Here's the first file story I came up with on a search to illustrate that point -- http://www.shelbystar.com/portal/ASP/article.asp?ID=21036
As you can see Dr. Fortkort is simply "Fortkort" on second reference. This is consistent with Associated Press style.
So, to refer to Catherine on second reference as a Dr., and then not to use that designation for male doctors, would be confusing.
Instead, we refer to female doctors as Dr. on first reference -- so their professional status is clear -- then as "Mrs." on second reference so people know we are talking about a women not a man. This is also consistent with our overall policy of using courtesy titles for women.
Is it perfect? Hardly. But we think it's the best way to convey information to readers. I think there should be no doubt that Catherine is a doctor and a "she" from this story, which is the main point.
This rule, ahem, also applies to women judges (if it seems like I've had to make this case before, maybe even in my own home, you're right!!!)
Bottom line: Women doctors and other professionals DO receive the same amount of respect as male counterparts by using this policy.
Take care,
Skip

Final thoughts on Chief VanHoy

One character trait often praised in people is trustworthiness. It’s an excellent trait, for sure.

But what I admired in Charlie VanHoy was not that he could be trusted but that he could trust.

Charlie and I developed a professional relationship built on that trust.

Mainly, it was him trusting me.

He hadn’t had a particularly good relationship with some in our business before I arrived in Shelby in 1997, but former City Manager Dee Freeman facilitated a meeting between us. During that meeting, I could see it churning through his brain — "I need to give this kid a chance."

I’m glad he did, mainly because I had no idea what I was doing and what I could do to improve the newspaper’s relationship with the police department.

As time wore on, Charlie and I would talk just to talk – about the issues of the day, foreign and domestic, state and local, city and county.

He had plenty of opinions. There were things about "the system" that he loathed and wished he could change. There were people in the county who frustrated him.

As I came to find out, trusting others was a halmark of Charlie’s.

Cool thing on our web site from Burns High

Check out this feature where you can see the before and after of the head shavings of Burns teachers as part of a fund-raiser.

(OK, I PROMISE to do better about updating this blog).

Great e-mail

Sorry been away so long -- I vow to post more often.

Got this classic e-mail today ... says alot about the Nanny State that has been created.


TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 50's, 60's !



First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they
carried us.



They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.



Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored
lead-based paints.



We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.



As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.



Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.



We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.



We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE
actually died from this.



We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but
we weren't overweight because



WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!



We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back
when the streetlights came on.



No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.



We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.



We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat
rooms ..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!



We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.



We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.



We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,
made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!



Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!



The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!



This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!


The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.


We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned


HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!



And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!


You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as
kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.



and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.



Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Great site for debunking myths

I often see statistics about "X children die every hour from guns," etc., etc. Many of these statistics are very misleading. For example, how would you define "children" for the purposes of these statistics? Under 10? Under 12? Under 16? The folks that put out these alarmist statistics on children/guns are almost always defining children as "19 and under." Well, of course the gun deaths are going to be high -- these people are no more children than Henry Fonda is.

Anyway this site is the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. You can use all sorts of criteria to determine how many people of certain ages died from whatever causes.

The most recent data is from 2002, but I think that's still useful.

I did a search to find out how many children ages 4 and under died from an accidental gunshot wound in 2002. What's your guess? 3 a day? 1 a day? 1 every other day?

How about 12 ALL YEAR! That's just one a month!

Now, you might say: Even 12 is too high.

But if we're going to prioritize safety for infants and toddlers, you'd be much better served going after swimming pools and bodies of water, since almost 50 TIMES the number 4 and unders died of drowning (570) than accidental shootings.

You might also want to think more about keeping 4 and unders closer to the ground since 67 died from falls, more than 5 times the accidental gun deaths.

Anyway, maybe you have your own myths you'd like to debunk -- I think this site will help.

The next Prohibition -- smoking?

This story from the Seattle paper shows that the clear aim for the "behavior police" is to prevent people from smoking, anywhere or anytime. I detest smoking. But there are a lot of things I don't like that I wouldn't ban people from doing if they want to. This slope is so slippery, it might as well be a cliff.

A sad quote

This is from an AP story on Hurricane Wilma which moved this morning:

``This is like the Third World,'' said Claudia Shaw, who spent several hours in a gas line. ``We live in a state where we suffer from these storms every year. Where is the planning?''


Here is my question for Ms. Shaw: Where is YOUR planning? Why don't YOU take the responsibility for your own life and not rely on the government?

More on "perfect storm, the sequel"

The European model continues to advertise this once-in-a-lifetime weather event. Here is a link to the latest map. This would be a catastrophic event for New England.

Perfect storm II?

You are probably all aware that Tropical Storm Wilma (soon to be Hurricane Wilma) has formed in the western Caribbean. The projected path for Wilma eventually is forecasted to be across the Florida peninsula.

What you may NOT have heard is that there are longer range models that show Wilma "phasing" with another major low pressure system over the Great Lakes area.

Now, I've never fully understood this phasing business, but basically what it means is that two weather systems feed off each other and create -- in effect -- one larger system.

Also, when systems phase they tend to draw closer together. So, while the project track I linked above shows Wilma turning pretty sharply to the NW, it could veer back to the North or even to the northeast if it phases with this other system. That would mean a second landfall somewhere on the east coast -- it would ALSO mean unbelievably high winds and heavy rain for the entire eastern seaboard.

Here is the 168 hour European model showing a very strong Wilma, just off the New England coast.

Also, regardless of where Wilma ends up, we will likely see sharply cooler temperatures by the weekend. Maybe even the first frost of the year -- although this is all so far out, it's way to early to call that a prediction.




This is definitely something to keep an eye on.

Church and state

I received this e-mail from a friend of mine. My response is below (starting with "Dear XXXXX").

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

I was asked to send this on if I agree or delete if I don't. It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having "In God! We Trust" on our money and having "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 14% to Shut Up and BE QUIET!!!
If you agree, pass this on, if not delete. .

Dear XXXXXX,
I'd like to offer a competing viewpoint to the author of this message that you passed along.
The Pledge of Allegiance is a pledge to a country, not a God. Therefore, all references within that pledge must be couched in those terms. I certainly believe that The United States is a nation "under God." In fact, I think that can be said of all nations and all things.
What I and 86 percent of Americans believe is certainly important. And, thank God, we live in a country where we can believe in what we want, whether we are 86 percent, 14 percent or .000001 percent of the American population.
Yet, the Pledge, at its essence, is not about belief in God. It is about allegiance to country. Most of the time, the pledge is recited voluntarily. If an atheist in Rotary chooses to not say the pledge or to skip over the "under God" reference, I doubt that anyone would notice. And even if they did, I don't think any action would be taken.
It's when the pledge crosses over to a compulsory statement, that things change. When a student is required to say the Pledge, the term "under God" now becomes much more significant (as do other parts of the pledge).
Here's where I begin to have a problem. First, I find no Biblical basis for government-mandated articulations of faith. There are many names on this list whom I recognize that know more about the Bible than I ever will, so perhaps I'm in error here. Yet, even while confessing a woefully inadequate knowledge of specific Scriptures, my understanding of the general message of the New Testament doesn't involve coercion at all.
I have a theory on why Jesus did not use the government to advance his great message. He knew it could and almost certainly would backfire. Once religion is infused in even a democratic government by a religious majority, it's only a matter of time before the majority loses sway. We are seeing demographic evidence of that right now. As this great U.S. melting pot continues to bubble away, whites are finding themselves minority populations in large areas of the country. Can it be long until there are also communities in American where Christians are in the minority?
What then? If you find yourself in the 14 percent instead of the 86 percent will "shut up and be quiet" be an acceptable response to your protestations over "one nation, under Allah ..."?
My problem with the infusion of religion into government is not borne from a desire to protect government from religion, it's about protecting religion FROM government.
That is, I want people to understand that there is a case to be made for separation of church and state that has nothing to do with diminishing the role of religion, but rather seeks to protect and enhance religion.
Practically speaking, I also don't understand why some of these rather trivial inclusions of religion in government gather so much importance. Is seeing "in God we trust" on the dollar bill really a cornerstone of someone's faith? Is praying before a public school football game something that is essential to the faith lives of large groups of people?
Put another way, have we so filled the "non-public" parts of our lives with church activities, prayer time, studying God's word, living a life of discipleship and spreading the Good News that there is nothing left to do but also include religion in government life?
I, for one, would be utterly hypocritical to demand that more time for religion be included in government when I make such pitiful use of the "private" time accorded to me. Further, I don't have near enough "faith" in the government to be a responsible gatekeeper of religious artifacts, whether they be tangible or lyrical. I do have faith in God -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- and that certainly isn't going to be shaken by whether "under God" is included in a secular, patriotic pledge of allegiance to our great nation.
Finally, even if you think all of that is hokum, I would submit that there is not much Biblical support for "shut up and be quiet," even when it refers to the least among us or unbelievers. I haven't met many people who were converted because they were forced to say a pledge that included affirmation of a deity in which they didn't believe. And I doubt that the faith life of many Christians is significantly enhanced by the reciting of a Pledge or a transaction involving currency.
Anyway, rant over.
I guess if any of you have read this far, I'd like to say: there are some -- or, at least one -- in that 86 percent who still think religion is best left in the hands of individuals and churches and not the government.
Respectfully,
Skip Foster

Unbelievable -- Rita hits Cat 5

This satellite picture is scary.

Rita -- Katrina's evil sister?

Virtually every computer model now places Rita in the central Gulf of Mexico as a major category 3 or higher hurricane. The models have taken an ominous turn north in the past 24 hours. Here is the latest National Hurricane Center track. Of note, that track showed landfall in southern Texas yesterday -- look how far north it has moved.

Here is a spread of computer models, showing Rita's track.

It goes without saying that a further north/east shift in the models would be beyond alarming.

When my wife makes news ....

You may have noticed that my wife, Judge Dina Foster, was named Civitan Citizen of the Year on Tuesday.

You might wonder how we handle stories like that when there is an obvious conflict.

The short answer is: I butt out!

When we hear about something like that, I immediately remove myself from all decision-making on the story -- how it is written, how long the story is, where it is played and everything else about it.

In this case, our reporter on the story, Cassie Tarpley, reported to my boss, Publisher Jennie Lambert, who directed her on where the story should go in the paper (at the very bottom of 1A).

I happen to know this is consistent with coverage of other "citizens of the year." (I.e. last year's Lions club citizen of the year was at the top of 1A). Others have run on the Local front, depending on the news of the day.

Anyway, we keep that out of my hands and also have somebody that works over me make the call so the folks under me don't feel pressured.

The truth is, I would be much more likely to UNDERplay the story than overplay it, just to avoid any appearance of impropriety. I remember hating it when my dad refereed by youth league basketball games, because I knew he would be harder on me than anybody else, just so nobody would think he was playing favorites.

Ophelia -- oh no ....

Massive computer model disagreement on Tropical Storm Ophelia which is strengthening as it meanders off the east coast of Florida.

Most ominous a significant camp of computer models show Ophelia finally making its move late this week to the west, crossing the Fla. peninsula and moving into the Gulf.

Incredibly, the European model, during yesterday's runs, showed a direct hit on N. Oreleans.

That's still a long shot -- another model "camp" shows Ophelia making a loop off the coast, then moving into the Ga./S.C./N.C. coast.

The last camp has the storm curving off into the Atlantic and out to sea.

In any event, looks like a rainy few days for the east coast of Fla. Any interests from Texas to the Carolina coast should stay right on top of this storm.

Adopting Laurel, Miss.

Here is a front page column from today's Star. If you are interested in participating, please let me know.

The Star's Katrina coverage

Would love to hear suggestions on how we can better cover this story or simply some local story ideas you might have.

Gas shortages

We're starting to hear reports of service stations running out of gas. Please post your reports of shortages and higher prices.

Katrina ....

Sorry to have been away.

The full extent of Katrina's damage is just starting to come into focus. The pictures are unbelievable.

I also am infuriated by the reports of looting. Some looters have told reporters: "We're getting back at what society owes us."

Nauseating.

Skip speaks

I'll be talking to a group of local Democrats Thursday night. Looking forward to sharing The Star's editorial philosophy. I think some Democrats will be surprised to hear some common ground between liberterians and liberals. I'll let you know how it goes.

Eye on the tropics

If you are going to the coast next week, keep an eye on Irene. As you can see from this map, the National Hurrican Center, which for days had been forecasting Irene to turn out to sea, has made a dramatic change and now has the storm staying on a west northwesterly track, which could threaten the S.C./N.C. coasts. Stay tuned.