Latest Blog Posts
Lefty Rag
Just because it’s a popular topic right now, I want to point out two ”the Journal Star is biased” letters in today’s LJS letters to the editor. The first complains about the Journal Star’s coverage of the LYPG mayoral debate, which Eric Lemke thinks focused too much on Chris Beutler. The second complains about coverage of a Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty poll that showed that 51% of Nebraskans favor repeal of the death penalty.
I’ll be honest: I used to get uppity about the Journal Star’s biases. These days, I just can’t work up enough indignation to care. In part it’s because my politics have changed. (Before you ask: no, my politics don’t neatly line up with the LJS.) But more importantly, it’s because I disagree with sentiments like this, from Mr. Lemke (first letter above):
Being a news organization, your duty is to deliver news to the public that is unbiased and forms no opinion.
That simply isn’t true. That may be the case for news paid for by our tax dollars (hello PBS!). However, a private company’s only duty is to make money for its shareholders, and the company’s employees’ only duty is to be true to themselves and their values.
Besides, objectivity is relative. One man’s objective analysis is another man’s hyper-partisan screed. Few stories can be told in a way that is free of the author’s passions and biases. So what? In the Journal Star’s case, it doesn’t seem to me that any of their reporters or columnists are going out of their way to hide who they are.
None of this is to say that Lincolnites shouldn’t get fired up about the Journal Star if they really want to. If you don’t like the way the LJS swings and you want them to change, by all means, demand change. It’s your duty as a consumer. (There’s that word duty again.) I would, however, like to see folks drop the implication that the Journal Star’s motives are somehow sinister. The “Journal Star” has no motives beyond the collective motives of its employees, and its individual employees’ motives are no more sinister than “I want to finish this damn article so I can go home and watch ‘The Office’”. To think that the LJS as an entity has a single motive requires assigning it a level of sophistication it does not have.
Premium on Gas
Why is there a $0.15 premium on gasoline on the south side of town compared to the north? Is there some hidden tax on south-siders that I’m not aware of?
LJS Endorses Beutler
In case you missed it, the Journal Star endorsed Chris Beutler for Mayor over Ken Svoboda. Unfortunately, the endorsement doesn’t contrast the two candidates to give us a better feel for why the LJS made the decision it did. (Not that I would expect it to; endorsements typically just focus on the one being endorsed.)
With just one week to go, have you made your decision? Will you vote for the Yalie or the Husker? The outsider (uhh...sort of) or the insider? The D or the R?
If Lincoln Were Wi-Fi’d
It seems that Boston’s free wi-fi network doesn’t like BoingBoing. Well, that’s not entirely true: as it turns out, the filter software Boston is using just got a little twitchy because of a single URL. Still, it raises some good questions about the extent to which municipal internet services can or should censor the content served over the network. If Lincoln were to go wireless (or wired via LES), these sorts of things will inevitably come up.
For the record, I’m in favor of zero content blockage. I wonder if the system would have to have a maximum upload/download limit per user, though? That seems reasonable.
What, No Posts?!
This is just a lame “sorry for the lack of posts today” post. I pulled an all-nighter last night doing some freelance work. I may have some time to post something over lunch. In the mean time, anybody have a Friday Five they want to share?
Warm Fuzzy of the Day
Susan Ames Rivers of Raymond wrote to the Journal Star with a nice story:
On March 30 at 8:20 (think rush hour traffic), I witnessed an amazing event. I was at a service station getting gas when a Mountain Dew delivery truck lost several cases of pop off the back of his truck. They were scattered all across Ninth and Q streets. In many places, people may have just chuckled to themselves and kept in their own business, but not here—not in Nebraska. There were at least 10 people who stopped, ran a block down the street even, just to help this guy out. There were businessmen and women, my service station guy and even a couple of Department of Roads guys who came to his aid. The Department of Roads guys even parked their truck to deter traffic. It was such a cool sight to see, I was almost moved to tears, seriously.
Don’t you feel all tingly inside now? Like Susan, I get a kick out of seeing things like this. And thanks to my dad’s good example while I was growing up, I get a kick out of participating in these things, too. (Thanks, dad!) I don’t know if Nebraskans are more or less likely than anyone else to help out in these situations, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? All that really matters is that we help out when we can.
I have to laugh at the thought of the incident happening closer to campus. I can see a horde of students in a frenzy, each of them thinking “Screw altruism, I see FREE CAFFEINE!”
Lazlo’s Expands; Plus, a New South Street Diner
For those of you who don’t already know, Lazlo’s in the Haymarket has completed its expansion into the former Fireworks location. I didn’t get a chance to ask our server what will become of the old Lazlo’s space, but I miss it already. The new space lacks the atmosphere of the old, in much the same way that the south Lazlo’s lacks the atmosphere of the Haymarket location. Bummer.
In other restaurant news, I noticed that a new restaurant is taking shape at 9th and South Streets on the northwest corner. It appeared to be a diner of some sort, which is a good fit for the neighborhood. If anybody happens to notice when it opens, please let us know.
Vote For the Worst
American Idol fans are well-aware of the website Vote for the Worst. If we were to stage a similar effort for Lincoln’s mayoral election, I think Jim Wilson (no relation) is our candidate:
In a handwritten announcement, he said he supports a city manager form of government, drive-in theaters, expanded StarTran hours, a bicameral Legislature and creation of a senior citizens co-ed softball team. He said he’s pro-choice and “pro-smoker” and proposed a tobacco tax “to pay off fines at our libraries for children’s overdue materials.”
His number four goal for the city (out of fifteen), is “to see Nebraska play Michigan in football this August”. Upon hearing that, Bill Callahan smacked his forehead and exclaimed, “Why didn’t I think of that?!”
Accuracy is for Suckers
This is getting really old. First Chris Beutler was overpaid—TWICE!—by the City. Now we find out that Ken Svoboda was overpaid, too. I was willing to begrudgingly accept the explanations for Beutler’s overpayments so long as the problem was immediately fixed. But now that Svoboda, too, is a “victim” of overpayment, it is extremely difficult to think these are isolated incidents. The City’s Finance Department is broken. Somebody must be held accountable.
Unfortunately, I have my doubts that accountability will be enforced. Mayor Seng hasn’t exactly demonstrated an ability or willingness to show the type of leadership I would like to see in this sort of situation, at least not publicly. And being a lame duck hasn’t given her voice any extra oomph.
What Would Lincoln Do?
Local officials say they are as prepared as they can be in the event of a mass-victim tragedy like the one at Virginia Tech yesterday. That’s probably true. But it’s also probably true that despite everybody’s best preparations, many people could be hurt or killed long before police would have a chance to do anything about it.
Events like yesterday’s really make you think about the question of “What if it happened here?” We don’t know, of course, and hopefully we never find out. Still, today is as good a time as any to ensure that your emergency plans—for your family, business, organization, or whatever—are up-to-date. You can be sure UNL, LPS, and other local agencies are doing just that right now.
Eight a Day
Wow, I had no idea that Lincolnites reported thefts from cars at a rate of eight each day in 2006. That’s over 3,000 crimes resulting in over $1 million in damages. I wonder how that compares to other cities Lincoln’s size?
I have never had anything stolen from inside my car, though I did have my license plates stolen once. The Missus’ poor little Chevy Nova was broken into in the Lincoln Southeast parking lot several years ago. I think the thief made off with a handful of change.
Friday Five
Lincoln is generally known as a friendly community, and Lincolnites are usually very willing to help out. That doesn’t mean you’ll always get good advice when you ask for it, though. Here are five phrases that ought to tell you the person you’re talking to isn’t in the mood to be helpful:
- “Pop? Oh, you mean Coke. We call everything Coke here, just like in the South.”
- “Memorial Stadium? I’m pretty sure that’s in Omaha.”
- “Early August is the perfect time for an afternoon outdoor wedding at Tierra Park.”
- “Keep going until you hit I Street, then take a left.”
- “Amigos is wonderfully authentic, just like the stuff you’ll find at a corner cafe in Guadalajara.”
Men in Green
There’s a big game in town this weekend. But it won’t be the men in red everybody is focused on. Instead, all eyes will be on the men in green. Who do you think will come out smelling prettier: the Top Dog, or the Underdog?
John Q is Out on Q, But He’s Hep on the Haymarket
John Q. Hammons has bailed out of the Q Street project. That shouldn’t come as a surprise considering how little effort he put into his proposal. The good news is Hammons is still eager to build a hotel and convention center in the Haymarket. Could Lincoln have two new downtown hotels within the next five or ten years? That’d be something, wouldn’t it? What are the odds that the Cornhusker could survive all the new competition?
The Blogs
-
The blog that covers everything Lincoln
-
The home of the Wilsons
-
In which Mr. T mutters and muses
-
Local and national sports chatter
The Blogroll
The Archives
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004