Marc,
Thanks very much for the compliment. I salute you for the diversity you have
achieved in your workforce. It is a remarkable accomplishment and one that
deserves study and emulation. It is heartening to see real entrepreneurs making
the American dream work for people of different social and economic backgrounds
in everyday ways. The description of your diverse workforce and its
effectiveness is really heartening. I love stories of successful Americans
acting out of their own value systems.
ENTS,
Since I am partly responsible for the current rash of emails on left versus
right politics, I'm feeling a bit sheepish right now. I should be forthcoming
on where I stand and what prompted me to take the swipe at the Fox News Network
- inappropriate to the ENTS list, for which I apologize. The reason for the
swipe is not apparent.
Like Marc, I grew up as a conservative, albeit one with a southern accent. My
roots are very much associated with motherhood, apple pie, and strong patriotic
feelings. They led me to a military career. However, in that career I also
learned the danger of being blindly patriotic. Vietnam was, and still is, a
bitter pill, although I had it far better than most. I'm not complaining.
Today I define myself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I was once
more traditionally conservative. I began adopting a more liberal stance on
social issues in my mid-40s. I eventually turned independent, when I was
finally forced to accept that the two main political parties slop at the same
monied, special interest troughs. However, there remains a streak of
conservatism in me that wants to see its voice honestly and competently exerted
on the national stage as a counterbalance to big government. Herein lies the
source of my frustration.
I react viscerally to the Fox News cast of characters because I see Fox as
having hijacked legitimate conservatism by pandering to and even seeding
right-wing extremists. Witness the way Fox News talking heads covered the Obama
birth certificate hoopla, the troublesome issue of torture, Gitmo, their recent
promotion of so-called climate-gate, the teabaggers, and a host of other
issues. In Glen Beck's case, I see him as a just plain nuts. Elsewhere talk
radio's Rush Limbaugh is a showman - an obnoxious and transparent one, but a
showman nonetheless. He talks to that part of the public that doesn't agree
with liberal positions: folks who believe that conservatives are routinely
bypassed by the liberal-leaning media. Limbaugh has successfully cultivated
this group. He has turned many into parroting ditto-heads. I realize that
others listen to Limbaugh for daily entertainment.
I firmly believe that we need a strong, healthy, competent, honest conservative
voice with a high level of public visibility. We need to hear from legitimate
conservatives with top flight minds to help us sort through the morass of
complex financial details surrounding Wall Street dealings, the Banks, and
health care, to name three. Instead, we get the Fox News buffoons and radio
talk show crackpots. Does anyone really think Glen Beck knows what he is
talking about? We need real analysis, not showmanship and hyperbole. For
instance, does anyone know what the impending senate version of the health bill
actually means either in terms of levels of care or cost - individually and
collectively? In the near term? In the future? I sure don't. We need good
honest conservative evaluations of what could become a runaway social program.
Instead, we get evaluations that are covers for the insurance and
pharmaceutical companies. And through it all, how does Fox News handle the
health care debate? It covers the phony voices who declare the health bill as a
death sentence on the elderly because of a counseling provision.
So, if on occasion, I poke at Fox, it isn't because I reject conservative
arguments or values or disagree with the need to counterbalance a leftward
leaning media - far from it. It is just that Fox News Network and talk radio,
with their parade of obnoxious characters, fakes, and buffoons like Beck, have
failed miserably to provide the needed leadership. By giving voice to the nuts,
Fox actually helps squelch competent conservative voices trying to be heard
from out there in the wilderness. Maybe Americans don't want to hear real
voices. Maybe our society is hopelessly hooked on Jerry Springer formats: the
antics of Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, and Limbaugh. It would appear that the
William F. Buckley intellectual type conservatives are as extinct as
pterodactyls. Pity.
I'll now get off my soapbox and return to more fruitful endeavors. I felt I
needed to explain my swipe at Fox News, following Lee's assessment of the
objectivity of that infamous network.
Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marcboston" <[email protected]>
To: "ENTSTrees" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 11:22:44 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [ENTS] Re: A little story
Bob, not only do you have a command on the English language but you’re
a class act. I whole heartedly agree with your stance. As for myself
I tend to lean conservative, probably because I grew up in a household
that leaned in that direction. As a owner in a business (my more
conservative side) too I find myself questioning many of the taxes we
pay out etc. That said I am socially liberal, I tend to hire a very
diverse groups of people. At my shop I have had a Baptist minister
work alongside a prominent gay leader of Rhode Island. I often
consider my shop a small version of the United Nations. We all get
along, work hard and really appreciate each other and the members of
ENTS should do the same. If Barry, likes Fox news, so what? I trust
Barry can decipher what is bull and what is relevant, he is a big
boy. He obviously is a nature lover and posts many subjects here on
ENTs. As for myself, when I get a chance to watch the news I float
between CNN, Fox and the BBC. I am not devoted to any one news
organization.
On Dec 22, 9:59 am, [email protected] wrote:
> Ed,
>
> I second your comments. You have taken the high road in reminding us that
> thinking green is not equivalent to being socially liberal. All political
> schools of thought should be able to rally around a green agenda. I think
> that among Ents there is a fairly broad range of political positions on the
> issues. So, I would hate to think anyone who wants to be a part of ENTS would
> hesitate on political grounds, fearing that he/she would be in alien company.
> A shared interest and love of forests and trees is all that matters.
>
> Bob
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Edward Frank" <[email protected]>
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 10:47:51 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: Re: [ENTS] A little story
>
> Barry,
>
> I am sure there are other conservative people who belong to the group.
> However I believe the majority of people involved with ENTS are leaning
> toward the green end of the spectrum with regard to many environmental issue.
> Given the generally poor environmental record of Republicans since Nixon,
> conservatives are a minority in the group. I have always felt and argued that
> trying to promote conservation goals and protecting our natural world should
> be one that could be and should be embraced by people at different ends of
> the political spectrum. I am disheartened by the linking of many liberal
> social issues to the green movement. The NRA is effective because they are
> focused on their main goal of protecting gun rights without dabbling in other
> issues. I think this should be the goal of the environmental community - to
> reach out to all groups regardless of their opinion on other issues. You are
> welcome to your opinion about the network, even if I disagree. I would
> encourage you to actually think about what several of the commentators are
> saying and try to verify their "facts" from other sources, rather than take
> what they say as the truth. I will not get into a debate about specific
> examples. I could say the same about the other news sources. I want to
> encourage you to continue your participation in the group. There is a place
> for people with differing political views.
>
> Ed
>
> "Beauty is a summation of the parts working together in such a way that
> nothing is needed to be added, taken away or altered." Elio Caretti
>
> --
> Eastern Native Tree Societyhttp://www.nativetreesociety.org
> Send email to [email protected]
> Visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en
> To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] Hide
> quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
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