The right to hawk

Free speech won a victory out in suburban Glendale.

The 6t U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-7 Friday that lawyer Chris Pagan has the right to stick a “For Sale” sign in car he parked on a public street. The village, known for stately houses and shady streets, threatened in with a fine in 2003 if he didn’t remove the sign.

The municipal justification was not that Glendale doesn’t want its byways looking like a used car lot, but that such signs create traffic hazards when prospective buyers slow down to check them out.

Of course, out in Glendale motorists also slow down to check out the squirrels chasing nuts, but the village has never tried to outlaw squirrels.

The court majority said the sign ban violated constitutionally protect commercial speech. The minority wrote in dissent that “common sense” should all for a ban of such commercial activity in the street.

It's Wonderphone!

The setting:
In the car, as my 17-year-old daughter and I run errands:

The dialogue:
Jessa: "Can I talk to you about something?"

Mom (always slightly panicked by such a question): "Sure. . . . "

Jessa: "I know I haven't had my cell phone for all that long. . . . and it's a nice phone. . . but I was wondering if we could talk about maybe getting an iPhone."

Mom: "We can talk about anything." (Translation: We can talk about anything -- which doesn't mean we're buying anything.)

Jessa: "It's the pinnacle of modern technology." (She really said that -- where does she get this stuff?) "It has a touch screen -- that's huge. It's not just a cell phone, it's also an iPod, camera, mobile web. It has huge memory. It makes you want to communicate more."

Silence.

Jessa, lamely, seeing the sales pitch is going nowhere: "Steve Jobs and the Apple guys won the race to make communication coolest." (He must be IMing her these lines.)

Mom: "So how much does it cost?"

Jessa: "$499, I think. . . maybe $399?"

Mom: Silence

Jessa, wistfully: "The phone itself is so sweet, who wouldn't want one?"

Mom, picturing herself being hunted down and reminded of errands, deadlines and duties: "Me."

Are any of you being pestered by a child or spouse to get an iPhone?

Stolen trees robbed us all

As crimes go, it was not the most sensational in recent memory, certainly not the most serious.

No shots were fired, no one was killed or injured and there were no reports of threats or intimidation, even though the witnesses lie mum.

Even so, the theft of four sculpted copper trees on display at Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum was an insult visited on the entire community.

These trees, called “Copper Copse 2007,” were the work of local artist Alicia Emley, who works under the name of Lish. There were five trees with thick copper tube trunks, each with stylized willowy whips, tangled branches or palm-like fronds made from metal tubing. They were part of Spring Grove’s first Bi-Annual Sculpture ShowÖ until somebody cut four of them off at the ground last week and hauled them away.

The value of art is incalculable. It’s measured in the joy and inspiration it brings to those who view it. It may inspire, provoke or entertain. The thieves saw none of that, probably selling them off for their worth as scrap – the latest in a recent upsurge in copper thefts that have been reported in the area. Police alerted local scrap dealers to be on the lookout for the distinctive pieces, but the trees may well have been shredded, compacted or melted down by the time the report was made.

These thieves (it’s hard to imagine a single person lugging away 5-foot high metal trees) were vandals. They destroyed as well as stole, clearly having no understanding, or desire to understand, what they were taking.

The sculptor told Enquirer arts reporter Sara Pearce that while she was shocked at the audacity of a theft from a fenced, gated and patrolled site, she was particularly saddened for Spring Grove and the patrons of the show. “I think this situation makes a powerful statement about how public works of art deserve respect and protection.” Pearce has been reporting about the trees and the theft on her Art blog here and here.

Spring Grove is a national landmark. Recognized as an arboretum as well as a cemetery, it also is the setting for frequent concerts, tours, walks and now, in conjunction with Summerfair, an art show. This theft violated that public function.

Free speech takes a 'BONG HiT"

Where’s Douglas Ginsburg when you need him? Ginsburg, you may remember, was the U.S. Supreme Court hopeful who had to withdraw his nomination in 1987 when it came out he had smoked marijuana while on the Harvard law faculty. Had he been confirmed, he might have been on the bench to talk some sense into his colleagues, who ruled 5-4 on Monday that school officials can prohibit student expression that makes even the most obscure, nonsensical reference to drugs.

This, of course, is the now-famous “BONG HiTS 4 JESUS” case in which Juneau, Alaska high school student Joseph Frederick was suspended in 2002 after he unfurled a banner with that phrase during an Olympic torch parade, off school property but during school hours. Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, the majority decided this was an acceptable limit on student speech. “The message of Frederick’s banner is cryptic,” Roberts wrote. “But Principal (Deborah) Morse thought the banner would be interpreted by those viewing it as promoting illegal drug use, and that interpretation is plainly a reasonable one.”

No, it’s not. It’s a silly nonsense phrase Frederick picked up from a snowboard and put on a banner in an obvious attempt for attention and TV time. Not even the court could figure out exactly what it meant. No serious observer could construe that the sign was literally advocating drug use “4 JESUS.” Come on. “It is one thing to restrict speech that advocates drug use,” wrote Justice John Paul Stevens in dissent. “It is another thing entirely to prohibit an obscure message with a drug theme that a third party subjectively – and not very reasonably – thinks is tantamount to express advocacy.” Or as Ginsburg might have asked his colleagues: What are you guys smoking? (Ironically, the stuffed-shirt majority included Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was Reagan’s successful nominee after Ginsburg’s bid went up in smoke.)

The majority justices took pains to say it’s a narrow ruling that won’t restrict speech on political or social issues. But often the lines aren’t so clear cut. Isn’t drug policy a political and social issue? Can a student on a debate team argue for changes in drug law or policy without being accused of advocating drug use? This “ham-handed, categorical approach," Stevens wrote, "is deaf to the constitutional imperative to permit unfettered debate, even among high-school students, about the wisdom of the war on drugs or of legalizing marijuana for medicinal use.”

Despite the majority’s denials, this decision could broaden schools’ power to determine what kinds of student expression are in conflict with their “educational mission” and can be banned. That’s why organizations identified with the “religious right” as well as civil liberties groups took up Frederick’s cause. In Stevens’ words: “Even in high school, a rule that permits only one point of view to be expressed is less likely to produce correct answers than the open discussion of countervailing views.”

Dealing with Darwin and 'soul' survivors

We have a fascinating, passionate debate continuing at our Community Conversation page about creationism vs. evolution. It's sparked, of course, by the recent opening of the Creationism Museum in Petersburg, Ky. -- just two exits west of CVG Airport on Int. 275.

I call your attention to a package of stories in today's New York Times on the latest scientific thinking about evolution. A link to the main page is here. Most fascinating, I thought, was this piece on the human soul that describes recent findings on something that seems impossible to study, but perhaps not.

These articles may not change anyone's mind, but they're worth reading for anyone who has ever hungered for answers to the most basic questions of all.

The myth of the perfect family

Pro wrestler Chris Benoit's longtime driver described the Benoit family as "the happiest people."

Friend after friend who responded to an online board on Fort Thomas resident Robert McCafferty described his family as "the perfect family."

The words have an eerie ring to them now that police say that Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his young son before hanging himself Monday, and are holding Cheryl McCafferty for her husband's murder.

Such tragedies make us wonder how much we really know about even our close friends and family members, how much pain goes on in homes and people's heads that we've never imagined.

Perhaps the "happiest" and "perfect" images are ultimately part of the problem.

Advertising, entertainment and even the social "competitions" that go on within neighborhoods, companies, schools and families push us to hide our weaknesses, deny our problems, project our most successful image to the world. We try to trump one another with the size of our homes, the scope of our travels, the breadth of our social circle, the length of our resume, the college-acceptance list of our offspring.

In the end, being a perfect family isn't nearly as important as being a healthy one -- where people can admit their shortcomings, acknowledge their dependency and seek help with their problems.

Speeding up

As of Tuesday, stretches of Interstates-71 and -75 south if I-275 are eligible to have their speed limits raised from 65 mph to 70.

Congress repealed the national maximum speed law in 1995 and many other states already have raised their limits on rural sections of highway.

Today is the effective date of Kentucky’s revised speed law, but it will be up to the Transportation Cabinet to then do traffic studies to decide which eligible roads are safe enough to raise the limits. It should be noted that nationwide as speed limits have been raised, so have traffic fatalities.

Once the limit is raised, it probably won’t be long before the Kentucky State Police write their first ticket for some driver who thinks 70 really means 80.

Another shoe drops in Ohio data caper

Yet another “other” shoe dropped Monday in Ohio’s continuing Saga of the Stolen Data. Actually, “dropped” isn’t quite the word. The agency in charge quietly set it down in a teensy little e-mail, probably in hopes that it wouldn’t get noticed. The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation revealed that a laptop containing Social Security numbers and other personal data of 439 injured workers was stolen from the home of a BWC auditor.

While that’s small potatoes compared to the data on 225,000 taxpayers and 64,000 state employees on a backup computer tape stolen from a state intern’s car on June 10, it’s another glaring example of sloppy, antiquated and nonsensical Ohio data security practices that have to be corrected – now.

But here’s what is most troubling. The laptop was swiped on May 30. BWC Administrator Marsha Ryan says she wasn’t even told about it until June 15 – not coincidentally, the same day Gov. Ted Strickland revealed that the tape was stolen. Only then did BWC even think to determine whether sensitive data had been on the laptop. And it waited until June 25 to make public the nearly four-week-old laptop theft. Why the delay? And why did Ryan’s subordinates fail to tell their boss until two weeks after they reported the theft to the Ohio Highway Patrol?

Strickland has won kudos for informing the public about the tape theft early, often and in no-nonsense, no-passing-the-buck language. Contrast that with BWC’s handling of the laptop theft. Is it a sign that disarray continues to plague the agency? Ryan said the stolen laptop was “password protected,” which means that the average 15-year-old should have no trouble accessing the workers’ information. “As a public institution, we must be more diligent in protecting the personal information contained on both internal and external digital devices,” she said. Do tell.

To all those other state agencies that have unsecured laptops and discs and flash drives and, who knows, maybe 8-track “Disco’s Greatest Hits” tapes floating around with Ohioans’ personal data on them: Get serious. We need more than lip service here.

It's OK to study the "R" word

A thumb goes up to Kenton County Judge Executive Ralph Drees for daring to use the "R" word -- regionalism. Drees is pushing a study of the advantages and disadvantages of governmental consolidation. The advantages and disadvantages are worthy of debate and there are nearby models -- Lexington, Louisville and Indianapolis -- to examine. Skyrocketing costs to provide services and unfunded state mandates for prison and pension costs are good reasons to mobilize officials to look.

Whenever this issue erupts around the country, there's a knee-jerk response that goes like this: "Government is better when it's closer to the people." Sounds good, but it's the wrong proposition. Instead, public officials should frame the debate with this question: "What level of government is most appropriate to provide this service?"

We don't ask the federal government to plow our streets; we don't ask Lakeside Park to handle national defense. Certain services seem to scream for regionalism -- parks, the water district and library services come to mind. In other cases, the "closest to the people" model might work best. Let the debate begin.

Pushed into adulthood

The following is a guest post from Sharon Morgan, editorial assistant to the Enquirer Editorial Board:

The case of De Ante Winfrey, 17, sentenced June 18 for killing his mother’s allegedly abusive former boyfriend, left a lump in my throat. Children can be charged as adults in the courtroom. Now, he’s facing life in prison with no chance for parole for at least 18 years. Where can you get Prison 101 training? I’m certain the TV shows that De Ante has seen will not match up to the experience he’s yet to face.

Too often children, especially teenagers, think they have to be the man or woman of the house in a single-parent home. But they must be assured that it is not their responsibility. Their role is to be a child and that means the single parent has to do double duty until the next “Mr. Right” or “Miss Right” comes along.

Children should be allowed to be childlike and experience the levels of adolescence, teenager and adulthood. Their lives become complicated when they accelerate to the “Adult 101” course without experience; their worlds are tough enough – school bullies, exams, social skills. Parents can take the opportunity to explain how to handle conflicts. Help their teens understand the choices that can be made and the consequences of those choices. Maybe stress management and handling conflict courses should be added to the school curriculum.

No child likes seeing a parent hurt, but they seldom know the full circumstances.
They feel an obligation to protect their parent, just as parents feel obligated to protect their children. I’m certain this was the case of De Ante and his mother, Michelle. There’s always the “if only” scenario. But it’s too late and the crime has been committed. Perhaps another teen can be saved.

Revenge is a course of action taken when someone has been wronged. Let’s teach one another the act of forgiveness. Let’s remind our children that their responsibilities are school and household chores; that our responsibilities as parents are providing the basic needs – food, clothing, and housing.

In this society, there are double standards – age 16 is old enough to drive but not vote; a 12-year-old can baby sit an infant but is not allowed to drive; a teenager can be old enough to fight in a war but not old enough to purchase a firearm.

It’s no wonder they’re confused. Have we silenced the laughter of our children? There was a time when being a child was all about fun, and now it’s all about acting like an adult.
Let’s let children be children; it’s only 18 years of their lives. They have plenty of time to be adults.

--Sharon Morgan

Can you be addicted to video games?

Is excessive use of video games a bad habit, a fun pastime or a mental disorder?

Parents might choose the first answer. Gamers might choose the second. And by early next week, the American Medical Association might vote for the third.

The AMA is considering recognizing video game addiction as a formal diagnostic disorder when its policy-making body meets June 23-27. The topic is on the table because multiple studies have shown some link between playing violent video games and temporary increases in aggression, particularly in children under age 10.

While nobody's suggesting heavy video game use leads to serious crime, there's much research to suggest that violent screen images have a short-term negative affect on children's behavior and developing social skills.

The AMA will also vote on recommending that parents limit children to one to two hours of total screen time daily and review rating standards for video games.

The AMA has no regulatory powers in these matters, but its concerns might make parents think twice -- especially in the freewheeling summer -- about how much time their kids spend in front of any screen, what images are before them and what other, more beneficial activities they're missing out on.

Meanwhile, wonder how much time Mom and Dad spend in front of a tube. . . .

Standing up for better schools

Let me start with a link to our story about some troubling education statistics my friend Helen Carroll shared with a group of Northern Kentucky community leaders earlier this week.

The gist is this: Education has come a long way in Kentucky, but there is a long way to go. It's not just about buildings, teachers and school districts. It's also about parental leadership, community values and the importance attached to making sure our kids get a world-class education. We must go way beyond any self-satisfaction about how far we've come.

That's why plans are afoot for an "educational summit" in Northern Kentucky in late fall that will involve about 900 attendees to accept the challenge to be "education champions."

It's a stirring slogan, but obviously slogans aren't enough. If solutions were easy, everyone would be executing them across the country. The start, however, is to first acknowledge that the problem is real and big. Please read Helen's list. What jars you the most? The one that grabs me is that out of 100 ninth graders, only 15 will graduate from college.

The lamest excuse I ever heard

Krista Ramsey's June 15 post below about domestic violence ought to be mandatory reading for any male old enough to stand.

Unfortunately a recent commenter seems to be one of those guys who will just never get it. As I noted in a response:
"Anonymous 1:02 seems to be invoking a "she hit me first" defense for domestic violence. I hope I'm not the only one who sees how absurd that excuse is. Comments?"

The dreams lost to college debt

College costs freak out almost every family, but the way some make peace with them -- or rationalize them -- is to view them as an investment that will pay off with higher salaries down the road.

But not every profession worth entering comes with the likelihood of high salaries.

The average undergraduate debt -- $19,000 -- seems burdensome but not utterly daunting if you have a great resume and enter a field such as business or engineering. Young people entering medicine or law can take on six-figure debt and still probably manage to sleep nights.

But what if your heart pulls you toward social work, early childhood education or the clergy?

A story in the Tennessean points out that the average student-loan debt for new pastors in 2001 was $25,000 -- up from $11,000 a decade earlier. According to a study by the Auburn Theological Seminary, that will increase to $54,000 by 2011 with 84 percent of all seminary students having to borrow money.

Even people who see their work as a mission, or a humanitarian contribution, must wonder how they can assume such debt with no high salary waiting at the middle -- or end -- of the professional pipeline.

Some second-guess their decision to enter the field. Others follow their heart and make financial sacrifices. Others may compromise their effectiveness by working multiple jobs to pay off their debt.

We all suffer when dedicated people are forced to abandon or curtail their life's work because of the high cost of an education.

Finally flexing those veto muscles

Rob Portman’s resignation Tuesday as White House budget director served to draw attention to what he’s been able to accomplish in that post. In barely more than a year, Portman has:

• Crafted a spending plan to reduce the federal deficit faster than previously planned.
  
• Spearheaded passage of limited line-item veto legislation.
  
• Created the first federal database of earmarks, those heretofore unaccountable “pork” projects.
  
• Headed off attempts to circumvent new rules restricting the use of earmarks.
  
• Persuaded President Bush to finally use his veto power to rein in spending.

You almost wish Portman had been Bush’s budget director all along, especially when you hear how Bush is characterizing his push – actually more like a newfound conversion – on fiscal restraint. Last weekend, when he announced that he’s prepared to veto spending bills, he said “the American people do not want to return to the days of tax-and-spend policies.”

Return? America returned to those days, at least the “spend” portion, several years ago – thanks largely to Bush’s refusal to impose any real fiscal restraint on Congress while it was in GOP hands. During the Bush years, spending bill after spending bill ballooned the federal bloat without being punctured by Bush’s veto pen. In 2004, three years into his presidency, total federal spending had gone up 23.7 percent – including 31.5 percent growth in discretionary spending. Much of that was related to 9/11 and to the Iraq conflict, but much wasn’t – like the huge Medicaid prescription drug expansion whose lowball estimate of $400 billion will take its place among the pantheon of budgetary howlers. Bush went 5½ years without using his veto power – and the first veto was on a stem-cell research bill.

Now, he’s taking aim on the $37 billion Homeland Security bill, which exceeds his request by $2.1 billion. Compared even to the $17 billion in extraneous spending attached to the Iraq reauthorization bill Bush signed last month, that’s chicken feed. Besides, if there’s anywhere extra spending might be justified, it’s Homeland Security, unless the items are unrelated pork projects – which they don’t appear to be (an additional $600 million for AIDS in Africa, for example).

So why the fiscal prudence now? As Portman explained in his phone call Tuesday announcing his resignation, Republicans got whacked in the 2006 election – and particularly in Ohio – largely because voters believed the GOP had “lost our way on taxes and spending.” Bush has to burnish that fiscal image, and fast, if Republicans are to have any chance of holding onto the White House and/or weakening the Democrats’ hold on Congress. Evidently, Portman has convinced Bush that there’s nothing like a few line-in-the-sand vetoes to accomplish that.

Hoops scholarship too much, too soon

The University of Kentucky's new basketball coach, Billy Gillispie, just made a scholarship offer to a hot prospect: Dakotah Euton of Rose Hill Christian in Ashland, Ky. Euton is a 6-foot-8 power forward who has been listed as a Top 10 national prospect. It's a coup for UK.

What made me stop and pause is this: Euton is in Rose Hill's Class of 2010, meaning he still has three years left to play. Coaches, recruiters and Web sites that follow prospects have been touting this kid since eighth grade. Given the age gap between the overheated adults and the children involved, it comes weirdly close to stalking.

Euton seems like a kid with a good head, but something isn't right when full-ride scholarship offers are going to athletes three years before they're going to graduate from high school. Such decisions shouldn't be made when you're 14 or 15. It's hard at 18. Hey, if we're going to do that, let's start chasing the math, science and computer stars of the future, too. Did you know that the entire state of Kentucky only graduated one high school physics teacher last year? What's happening to those kids?

Packing Mom and Dad off to camp

Don't tell my kids about this, but it's now possible to send moms and dads off to "Parent Camp."

You won't have to buy a new toothbrush or sleeping bag -- the camp is four sessions in July with no scary overnights and is run by Catholic Social Services (info: 241-7745).

Topics include setting boundaries, learning how to nurture your offspring without overdoing it and establishing your family's values even when they clash with societal values.

Here's what I'd add to the camp curriculum:

Family reputations and fortunes are not made or ruined by who wins a soccer match.

Small children who are rebellious, obstinate and opinionated are sometimes being just what small children should be, developmentally. Their "No!" is a sign of self-confidence and growing personal influence and shouldn't be a threat to parental egos or cause for punishment.

Children's needs should always come before those of Mom's boyfriend or Dad's girlfriend.

There's a difference between making your child feel "special" and making him feel that no one and nothing matters more than his being continuously accommodated, placated or entertained.

Children's lives can be "enriched" to the point of poverty; unscheduled, do-nothing time is one of the best gifts you can give a child.

Feel free to add your thoughts.

Thumbs for racism, response and retirement

Thumbs down: To the troubled vandals who went into two Boone County subdivisions Friday night. They left racial epithets and graffiti painted on signs and five homes. Investigation is continuing, as is depression that such things still happen. But check out the next item. Click here to join our discussion thread on this subject.

Thumbs up: To the neighborhood response for Sharon Leonard in the Hearthstone subdivision. Leonard, who is African-American, was one of the victims. Neighbors started working around 1 a.m. with buckets and soap to quickly scrub the message off the family's garage. "We're not going to hold hatred in our hearts toward those who have hatred for us," Leonard said.

Thumbs up: To retired State Rep. Paul Marcotte, who was honored last week at a tribute dinner sponsored by the Friends of Big Bone. Marcotte worked for years to ensure adequate funding to preserve and enhance Big Bone Lick State Park in Boone County. It's much more than a pretty campground. Big Bone is a treasure trove of significant archaeological information. Artifacts are in museums around the world and dinosaur bones even got the attention of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Marcotte also pitched an interesting idea at the dinner: The great majority of scientists believe dinosaur bones are millions of years old, unlike the beliefs of the founders of the new Creationism Museum in nearby Petersburg who believe men and dinosaurs were on the planet at the same time, a few thousand years ago. Marcotte proposed day tours for people to go to both places. "This is a unique opportunity," he said, "to see a faith-based interpretation of creation and a science-based interpretation of creation in one day."

Readers are invited to submit their own “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down” items by replying to the “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down” post at this blog. We’ll publish some of the best ones on the Community Forum page of The Kentucky Enquirer as well.

No such things as secrets

Maybe it’s time we just accept the fact that we have no privacy.

There are no secrets, no confidential information about our finances, our medical conditions, our taxes or our Social Security accounts.

If we aren’t willing to give up our secrets, we will have to stop putting such information on computer discs and turning it over to the nearest intern for “safekeeping.” That, as we all now know, is what the Ohio Office of Management and Budget did with a disc containing the names and case numbers of 84,000 welfare recipients, the names and federal tax ID numbers of 1,200 vendors that receive payroll deductions from the state, the names and Social Security numbers of all 64,000 state employees, banking records of the state’s school districts and Medicaid providers and details about more than 53,000 people in the state’s pharmacy benefits management program and their dependents. The intern with all this classified data, left it in a portable computer storage device on the seat of his car, from where it was stolen. The disc was a back up to data kept at OMB’s offices – just in case something bad happened to the office computers.

The state’s response to the theft is to hope that the thief, who also took a radar detector, was more interested in the hardware than the data and will be willing to give the disc back. To that end a post office box has been set up in Columbus where it can be returned anonymously.

Welcome to the Information Age.

Caregiving -- from a distance

Because I've been involved in the care of my mother and my very ill sister, I often read studies and articles about caregivers. More than 44 million Americans have some hand in the care of an ill or aging relative or friend, and it is a difficult life.

Caregivers are likely to have suppressed immune systems, depression and chronic disease. Of the 60 percent who also work outside the home, 9 percent will leave the workforce and an additional 10 percent will cut back from full-time to part-time hours. A MetLife Mature Market Institute study of couples who juggled childcare and elder care showed 10 percent of the men missed 12 days of work per year; 18 percent of the women missed 33 days.

Like many of you, I suspect, I live hours away from my ill family members and find the distance a huge complication. I feel guilty when I don't go "home" often; I feel guilty when I give up weekends with my husband and children to try to make a tiny dent in the needs of my mother and sister. Mostly, I just never feel I do enough, give enough, fix enough.

Any of you struggling with the same issues? How do you balance the competing demands of extended family, immediate family, work and the needs of everyday life? Does your workplace accommodate your needs to juggle it all? Any advice to families who have not yet experienced the situation?

Time to reach higher than Carew Tower

The following comes to us as a guest post from Tim Bonfield, editor of the Enquirer's Butler-Warren County Bureau--

It’s time for Cincinnati to stand tall.

When the Carew Tower was completed in 1931 – 76 years ago – it was hailed a shining example of progress.

The art deco design was modern and bold for its time. The city-within-a-city concept of the building and arcade were unlike anything built to date in Cincinnati and rarely seen nationwide.
For years, the height of the Carew Tower was utterly beyond the scale of the rest of downtown.

Yet now that a proposal for a new tallest building in Cincinnati has re-emerged, detractors fear the new building would clash with the stately, historic anchor of Fifth and Vine streets. They say a new tower could change the entire character of the Cincinnati skyline, and perhaps change the image of the city itself.

Well, I hope so.

I find it stunning that nothing taller than the Carew Tower has been built in seven decades.
Rather than a symbol of progress, the Carew Tower is becoming a sign of stagnation.

This city could use a bold new statement. This city could benefit from a fresh symbol that – like the Carew Tower did in its day – rises toward the future with strength and optimism.

My biggest concern about the proposed Queen City Square is that it may not be tall enough, striking enough or bold enough. I urge the designers and the financiers to be daring enough to make a world-class statement – and I challenge our political leaders to be strong enough to stay out of the way.

-- Tim Bonfield

Real men don't abuse

Over time males have been challenged to do all sorts of things to prove they're "real men." On Sunday, in the pages of this newspaper, 400 local men will earn the designation -- by signing their names.

Doctors, businessmen, athletes, educators, clergyman and a professional football coach have endorsed a public letter committing to end domestic violence. They pledge to never "look the other way" again, never to ignore or passively abide the fact that 2.5 million American women are abused by their partners, 4,000 of them fatally.

Domestic violence has long been viewed as largely a women's issue. Experts say that even when men have served time in jail, paid fines and faced restrictive orders because of it, they often can commiserate with a male friend and get support, not shunning.

How encouraging to see strong, smart, successful males put their collective weight down on this issue. Abusers look pathetic alongside them.

Sunday's ad focuses on abuse of women, but does mention children. Let's hope men step forward as forcefully against child abuse. This week's excruciating story about the brutal abuse and murder of little Trustin Blue, a 3-year-old who was raped and beaten so badly that his bones tore away from his body, is cause enough for all men and women to add their voices the crusade.

Don't sell urban high schools short

Urban schools carry lots of baggage -- suitcases full of stereotypes and perceptions about race, class and culture. In the name of accountability, government has devised all sorts of measuring tools, and many urban schools don't measure up well.

Holmes High School in Covington comes to mind. For example, using the respected Standard & Poor's website on school performance, you will see a school with lots of issues made most obvious by low test scores in math and reading. The school is not making adequate progress under the guidelines of the No Child Left Behind law either.

But such stats don't tell the whole story. I hope Kentucky Enquirer readers noticed a full-page ad Friday, which was placed by a Covington law firm, that saluted Holmes for making Newsweek magazine's list as one of the top high schools in the country. Holmes even scored better than the other two local schools on the list -- Ryle in Boone County and Highlands in Fort Thomas. Talk about debunking stereotypes.

Newsweek's rankings are based on an index that adds all the students taking advanced placement and similar tests; then divides this by the number of graduating seniors. That seemed like a thin premise to me until I read the article by Jay Mathews that explained how and why he did this. Here's an excerpt:

"Test scores, the usual way of rating schools, are in nearly every case a measure of parental wealth and education, not good teaching. Every study shows that if your parents fill their house with books, include you in conversations and take you to plays and museums, you tend to score well on standardized tests even if your school is not the best. So, with the help of some astute AP teachers, I developed a scale called the Challenge Index, which used each school's rate of participation in college-level tests like AP to indicate which schools were the most demanding and supportive of all students.

"Educators in schools with large numbers of low-income students that ... have succeeded in coaxing students into demanding courses say the list has given them recognition they never thought they would get."

So, let's give Holmes a thumbs up today. In that spirit, click to our recent story about Holmes' top four students from the Class of 2007. Kayla Kinker, Kati Fossett, Michelle Glass and Christina Kuchle (from left) are pictured here.

Would you ban this face from the Square?

His name is Duffy. He’s a sweet old Golden Retriever who’s loving, gentle with kids, well-trained, always looking to make new friends. And he’s a chronic lawbreaker, it turns out. During Duffy’s 13 years living downtown, I have walked him around and through Fountain Square many, many times. Children and their parents have delighted in petting him and shaking his extended paw. For several years, our daily morning walk went right through the Square, where he became a familiar face to the folks doing WKRC’s “Good Morning Cincinnati” broadcast from the Fifth Third Tower.

It turns out that was all against city regulations, according to a story in Thursday’s Enquirer. Lydia Stec, organizer of an Opera Dogs event last weekend that ran afoul of the ban, is starting an e-mail campaign to the Fountain Square Management Web site to change it. But until the Opera Dog fight, who knew it was a rule anyway? Duffy and I must have walked past police officers on the Square dozens of times – officers who evidently were as completely unaware of this silly 1975 ban as I was. Not once did an officer slap on the pawcuffs.

Ignorance of the law may be no excuse, but what’s the excuse when a law is so ignorant? This ban does not recognize economic and social reality, which these days is that downtown Cincinnati is increasingly a place where young professionals choose to live their lives – lives that include pets. Duffy has lots of new acquaintances in the neighborhood.

And certainly, he is neater than some of the humans that use the Square. He’s never made a mess there. He’s even been useful at times, scaring away the pigeons. Most folks weighing in on our message board about this issue support allowing dogs on the Square, but some say dog owners should keep their pets in the back yard. Well, Fountain Square is part of Duffy’s back yard. Go ahead, look at that face and tell me he should be banned.

Stopping the summer brain-drain

Although very few American students spend their summers baling hay or milking cows, the U.S. education system runs on an agricultural schedule that crams things into children's brains for nine months then sends them off to real-world learning (translate: computer games and instant messaging) for the summer.

Communities have talked about changing that system for years, mostly focusing on year-round schooling. I'd like to share a less radical approach that makes summer a time for a fresh and different kind of learning.

My daughter is enrolled in an Advanced Placement English literature and composition class for the fall and, as with many other courses, it comes with summer assignments. A big part of this work, however, is choosing a book from a list of 10 (classics and other interesting choices), then while reading it, "discussing" it with classmates on an online discussion board.

Forget the "I like it, it has a good beat" brand of criticism. The syllabus sets clear standards for discussion: "The postings should extend others' ideas, not only parrot or agree with them. The threads should reveal analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Keep in mind the spirit of inquiry of these assignments."

The goal, the teacher says, is engaging with literature on "an emotional and social level." But it comes with a warning -- "The writing should demonstrate a control of standard syntax, structure, grammar and mechanics. You are NOT instant messaging!"

If you are not into syntax and synthesis, perhaps this will sound like a fun-sucking assignment. My daughter, who likes to read and loves to discuss, thinks it rocks -- especially if there could be a cup of Starbucks at hand.

I think giving students wonderful literature to encounter, a choice in what they read and a discussion vehicle -- technology -- that is comfortable and familiar to them is a very cool way to extend their learning into the summer, yet vary the pace, setting and approach from the traditional school year.

Sure, these are charged-up learners or they wouldn't be taking AP classes, but I think we underestimate young people's responsiveness to assignments that engage them, challenge them, guide them and allow them to take the initiative for their own learning.

And, with computer access at public libraries, schools themselves and other places, and laptops to be lent at some schools, technology is not quite the barrier it used to be. Making sure young people have access to computers is a job for society, not just for schools.

I get tired of hearing the gross over-exaggeration that everything is being dumbed down, that students don't want to challenge themselves, that instruction has become deadly dull.

I wish this summer assignment had been around when I was in high school.

Ohio gambling: All bets are off - except the lottery

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s vow this week to squash any attempts at expanded gambling in the state – including a new electonic horse-race betting scheme at the tracks – is welcome news to Ohioans concerned about the corrosive creep of glitzy “gaming opportunities.” In particular, he called for a stop to cash payouts from gambling machines, whether they’re deemed to be games of skill or chance. Strickland and Attorney General Marc "Match 'Um Up" Dann, who ironically was working with a distributor until recently to certify a certain spinning-fruit machine somehow deemed to be "51 percent skill," cited some solid reasons for the proposed bans:

• Voters have rejected proposals to expand gambling, and the state shouldn’t allow operators to “circumvent the will of the voters.”
  
• Distinguishing between illegal games of chance and heretofore legal games of skill is too difficult, particularly when operators deliberately try to blur the line – a “cat-and-mouse” game, as Dann put it.
  
• Firms trying to get game machines certified by the state haven’t been dealing, so to speak, in good faith, Dann said.

No argument on those points. But still, I’d hold the applause after reading the other rationale Strickland floated, almost as an aside: The new machines are starting to eat into state lottery profits. Bingo! So to speak. It doesn’t take too much of a cynic to see the real, not-so-noble motivation here – protecting state government from those who would muscle in and threaten its monopoly on the misery market. Ohio is protecting its turf through the statutory equivalent of breaking a few kneecaps -- and rescuing us from the likes of "Tic-Tac-Fruit."

If Strickland were really that serious about following the voters’ will and promoting Ohioans’ well-being, he’d push to end the lottery altogether. After all, it never delivered as promised (listen to the school-funding debate lately?), and it amounts to a regressive tax that takes a disproportionate toll on lower-income Ohioans, sucking money out of their neighborhoods. It relies on a very predictable yet perverse psychology: When money is tight, a person is more likely to drop a few bucks on the Lotto in hopes that a big score will solve his problems. But when your wallet is fatter, there’s much less motivation – or desperation – to stand in line at the corner store to play the numbers in the faint hope of a windfall.

And so the state persists in the sorry business of making suckers out of what are very often its poorest citizens. Now that’s immoral. Is it too much to ask that government come by its revenue honestly and honorably?

Louisville, the NCAA & the latest blog debate

The University of Louisville, which counts a lot of alums in our area, is one of eight finalists in the College World Series. Their next game is Friday against Rice. The Series now has erupted into the latest controversy in the blogosphere.

A few days ago, Brian Bennett, a writer for Louisville's Courier-Journal, got evicted for daring to blog live from U of L's game against Oklahoma State. The NCAA, which governs major college sports, says it's against the rules for Bennett to work in real time, and Bennett was competing with broadcasters who pay to air the games.

So, what's next? Will the NCAA crack down on the fans who are sending text messages or taking pictures with their camera phones at games? It's obviously a rampant violation.

For a funny take on an absurd situation, check out this column from the C-J. Here's an even-handed overview on the controversy with additional links from USA Today.

What Young Professionals want more than happy hours

What draws bright young people to Greater Cincinnati and keeps them here?

In the past, there's been a Disneyland approach to that question -- entertain them, give them places to go, attractive people to meet and rounds of happy hours and arts events to fill up their calendars.

We underestimate them.

When Mayor Mark Mallory brought representatives from his Young Professionals Kitchen Cabinet to meet with the editorial board, they were brimming over with ideas and excitement -- not about where to go this weekend, but about how to solve the city's problems in housing, economic development, the environment and civic engagement.

The mayor recruited 100 bright young residents to serve on 10 committees that deal with just those issues, and he not only makes sure they're heard, he helps them get their ideas into play.

Mallory has his brilliant strokes -- always more people-oriented than policy-oriented -- and this is one of them. He's not only getting fresh ideas on age-old problems, but he's connecting a new generation of talented people to their city in deep and meaningful ways. Meanwhile, he's breeding a new pool of leadership.

In that vein, a local delegation is studying a national program that could expand such efforts. It's called City Year, and it's a national service program that encourages people ages 17-24 to commit to a year of service to their city in the areas of education, health and public safety.

It not only introduces young people to community issues they may have never been exposed to, but the City Year corps is a deliberate mix of educational, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. The young people begin to understand the challenges of a city at the ground-level as they tutor, run after-school programs and work on health issues. Fifteen American cities already have the program, which has been around since 1988. I hope Cincinnati becomes the 16th.

Why not encourage young people to take one year out of their life-plans and give something back to Cincinnati -- and meanwhile prepare themselves to be policymakers and civic leaders of the future, who have a fundamental understanding of local issues?

"Bickersons!" starring the Cincinnati School Board

Education reporter Ben Fischer has a great little post today over on the Politics Extra blog about the latest episode of the battling "Bickersons" as I like to call the Cincinnati Board of Education.

Rather than concentrate on things like the district's budget, whether and when a levy will be needed, declining enrollment, staffing issues or, hey, even how well the kids are, or are not, learning, the board factions spent a lot of Monday night's meeting bickering about whether or not to support each other's political posturing.

Memo to the board members: The job ain't supposed to be about you folks! It's about the kids!

Good news is no news? OK then, let's argue

As an “Anonymous” reader laments in a comment on my previous post (“Cheap beer, with a Boilermaker chaser”) about new transportation energy technology, most people would much rather argue about something that’s wrong than discuss something that’s positive. You can see it in the number of comments we receive on blog posts and message board topics: A controversy, preferably about crime or partisan politics (yes, they’re often one and the same), generates much more response than any of those “good news” items that readers often claim they’re looking for. This is nothing new. “If it bleeds, it leads” has long been an axiom in the news business.

So if it’s controversy you’re looking for on the energy-tech front, here it is:

The only way any of these “magic bullet” technologies will get a chance to become economically viable and solve our energy/environmental needs is if we make a serious effort to discourage the use of gasoline. In a market economy, this means making it – or allowing it to become – more expensive. That’s why a campaign by 17 Democratic governors, including Ohio’s Ted Strickland, to get the federal government to lower gas taxes is not only pandering to spoiled consumers, it’s wrong-headed in terms of energy policy. Cleveland Foundation energy expert Richard Stuebi, quoted in the AP story, argues instead that the gas tax should increase by 50 cents a gallon a year for five years, then a dollar a year after that. A little drastic, perhaps, but the right idea.

I’ve gotten some quizzical looks from colleagues in the past for insisting that gas prices have been too low – and that government has kept them artificially so. Stuebi calculates that a pure free-market price for gas, without all the long-standing federal breaks and subsidies, would be nearly $10 a gallon. But more taxes? That’s usually anathema to conservatives. Still, one as prominent as syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer has argued that government should set a minimum price for gas (in 2005, he suggested $3 a gallon), and that every penny that the price drops below that point should be collected in extra taxes. “It is the simplest way to induce conservation. People will alter their buying habits,” he wrote.

If we’re serious about living in an environmentally friendly energy future, we can’t expect government to simply create, inconvenience-free to us, what would essentially be a new economy. It can’t do that. We have to bite the bullet – the magic bullet.

Replace Queensgate jail

Dan Gettelfinger of Finneytown has a letter that will be in Tuesday's edition saying "A walk through the Queensgate jail" that ran on Monday's editorial page was "a soft pitch" in favor of the Hamilton County sales tax increase.

It wasn't meant to be "soft." It was an obvious pitch in favor of the increase. Queensgate is a wreck in need of demolishing and the tax hike will pay for much needed new space and training and rehabilitation programs that will make the county a safer, better place to live.

Some up-and-down thumbs in KY

Thumbs Down: To a tournament format that would require a high school fast-pitch softball team -- or any team, for that matter -- to play five games in one day and eight games in two days. That's what happened to Ryle High School last weekend. The point is not that Ryle lost in the state championship game. The Raiders knew the consequences of having to come back from an early loss in the tourney format. But win or lose, this just seems crazy and physically risky to young athletes. (And do these kids get overtime for playing longer than employers would work them?) The officials of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association need to take a look at the system. Many states avoid the problem entirely with single-elimination tourneys.

Thumbs Down: To county and municipal officials in Kenton County who can't figure out a way to have a countywide 911 dispatching system. Officials have concerns about, well, just about everything: Costs, training, computer efficiency and service quality. As a result, Kenton County is working with other municipalities for one operation as Erlanger and others move closer together. Meanwhile, Covington seems to be dancing with both partners. A cost-effective, well-managed, countywide system just makes sense. The dispute also highlights the need to reform how 911 fees are generated -- from taxes on land-line telephones of so much per line per month. That's outmoded in our wireless world, and a high percentage of 911 calls come from cellphone users.

Thumbs Up: To Karen Steenken of Fort Mitchell, for what she does and what she represents. She runs a business, is mother to four children and is the new president of the Beechwood School's Parents, Teachers, Students Association. "It's true I like to be the person in the background," she told reporter Ryan Clark. "I felt like I needed to do this because I thought I could make a difference." Our communities are filled with people like that. The people who most deserve recognition are frequently those who seek it least. Clark has a lot more stories like that if you want to check out his "Folk Tales" feature or nominate subjects.

Readers are invited to submit their own “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down” items by replying to the “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down” post at this blog. We’ll publish some of the best ones on the Community Forum page of The Kentucky Enquirer as well.

A surgeon general for all the people?

President Bush’s nominee for U.S. surgeon general is University of Kentucky professor and cardiologist Dr. James Holsinger, and he has controversial views about homosexuality. Based on the available record, you can summarize by saying he sees homosexuality as sinful behavior that is primarily a choice.

So, Holsinger’s nomination has sparked an outcry from gay rights groups. Do a Google search on “James Holsinger,” and you’ll get more links and points of view than I could possibly put here.

I’ve had too many gay friends and co-workers over the years to share Holsinger’s viewpoint, and I understand why gays (including the Log Cabin Republicans) are more than a little suspicious of him. Some of his past writings certainly raise bias concerns.

However, there’s a larger question here that deserves more discussion whenever the emotional subject of homosexuality comes up: Is it possible to have beliefs such as Holsinger’s while treating gays with fairness and openness? I know people who fit that description, and many of Holsinger’s colleagues say that describes him as well.

Some examples from Holsinger’s record: He voted against the ordination of a lesbian minister in the Methodist church but rebuffed pressure from state senators to not hold a session on lesbian health issues at a UK conference in 2002. (And he reportedly supports stem-cell research, which would put him at odds with Bush.) As secretary of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, he provided leadership on subjects such as tobacco use and obesity in a state that desperately needs to get healthier.

U.S. Senate hearings on his nomination haven’t been scheduled, and Holsinger is refusing to speak publicly, which doesn’t help anyone size him up. Surely the Bush administration knew that such a nominee would be polarizing, and already there are plenty of politicians, including the presidential candidates, taking predictable stands.

I hope Holsinger gets what any nominee and the American people deserve -- a tough-but-fair confirmation hearing to determine his fitness to be the nation’s top doctor. Instead, we’ll probably get another political circus.

Send Scooter to jail

The lawyer for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby said Tuesday he didn’t know why his client was sentenced to jail because “the government did not establish the existence of an offense.”

Attorney William Jeffress must have been napping through the trial for Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff. The government quite clearly proved Libby guilty last March of one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury to the grand jury and one county of lying to the FBI during its investigation into who leaked the name of CIA employee Valerie Plame to the news media.

The fact that no one was charged or convicted in connection with the actual leak is irrelevant. Libby knew what the truth was and he deliberately chose not to tell it in an effort to mislead investigators. He would have been much better off following the examples of Presidential adviser Karl Rove or former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who did leak Plame’s name but were smart enough to tell the truth when put under oath about it.

Plame is the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who publicly criticized the administration’s claims about intelligence reports used to justify the invasion of Iraq. Revealing Plame’s identity allegedly was done to blunt Wilson’s criticism under the theory that it would be assumed he was just expressing the views of disgruntled elements at the CIA.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton sentenced Libby to 2 ½ years in prison and fined him $250,000. “People who occupy these types of positions…have a special obligation to not do anything that might create a problem,” Walton said in passing sentence Tuesday.
Actually, Libby had the same obligation as any other citizen to tell the truth during a criminal investigation.

The judge said he saw no reason why Libby should remain free on appeal, although he postponed ruling on exactly when Libby should report to jail.

That brings up the dicey matter of a Presidential pardon. President Bush expressed sympathy for Libby’s family Tuesday. But presidents generally only make controversial pardons in the final days of their terms. Staying free on appeal could run the clock down to a pardonable moment. Walton shouldn’t let that happen.

Libby is guilty. He should go to jail.

Cheap beer, with a Boilermaker chaser

Our editorial on Wednesday’s Community Forum page, “The price of beer – and energy,” discusses the problems with diverting food crops – even barley for beer, in Germany’s case – to produce ethanol as an alternative for petroleum-based fuels. And it looks at some possible ways to keep our fuel needs from leading to scarce, high-priced foods. But the ultimate solution may take a “magic bullet” – a scientific breakthrough that completely changes the technology and the economics behind fuel production. Well, bang bang: Here are a couple of tantalizing possibilities, both announced recently by faculty members at Purdue University:

• In March, Purdue senior researchers outlined a new, environmentally friendly process adding hydrogen during biofuel synthesis to provide “a sustainable fuel supply to meet the needs of the entire U.S. transportation sector” from waste crops and existing sources – without requiring an expansion of agricultural acreage. Note that bottom line: It would meet all – all – of the nation’s transportation fuel needs (including aviation), produce no extra carbon dioxide, and use no extra land or food crops. The Purdue scientists call it the dawn of a “hydrogen-carbon economy.” This may sound too good to be true, but the science appears sound enough that it’s been detailed in a paper for the National Academy of Sciences.
  
  
• Last month, Purdue professor Jerry Woodall went public with his discovery: a way to produce hydrogen for vehicle fuel using a reaction between water and a metal – an aluminum-gallium alloy. Someday soon, fueling your car could be as simple as mixing some of these alloy pellets with water in a tank.. The aluminum extracts oxygen from the water, freeing up the hydrogen; the gallium helps keep an oxidation “skin” from forming over the aluminum and preventing further reaction with oxygen. Woodall actually discovered the process in 1967 while working in the semiconductor industry. It would solve one of major stumbling blocks to building a hydrogen-powered car – how to store the dangerous element safely. Woodall’s patented process (a start-up firm called AlGalCo is working on ways to commercialize it) would mean you wouldn’t have to store it, but make it as you go along.
  
  

Other researchers are experimenting with other ways – magnesium oxide pellets, silicon and sodium, even a certain microorganism – to enable controllable hydrogen production for vehicles. If a hydrogen car sounds like pie in the sky, consider that Daimler Chrysler plans to be selling such cars to consumers as early as 2012. E85 hybrids? That’s so old school.

Don't let elected officials dodge duties

We live in a republic, not a democracy. There were excellent reasons why the founding fathers did it that way. We have elected representatives to make decisions most of us would not have the time nor inclination to study in depth. And if we don't like what they're doing, we should show up at the polls and vote such people out of office.

We had a story in the Kentucky edition Monday about an alternative strategy: government by referendums. In this case, a group of local activists is spearheading an effort to repeal a KY law that allows any local body that imposes taxes to hike property taxes up to 4 percent a year. Their replacement idea is a demand that "Kentucky citizens vote on all fees and taxes," said Steve Markovich, one of the leaders.

Direct democracy. Ah, it sounds so good. However, local officials -- none of them wild-spending lovers of intrusive government as far as I know -- make a strong case for the crippling effects this could have. This could starve government of its ability to provide essential services, undermine regional cooperation and undo much of the dramatic progress Northern Kentucky has made in economic development and education in recent years. And KY could end up with the game often played in Ohio of taxing bodies begging voters again and again to approve levy hikes.

In a republic, elected officials are supposed to be accountable for the decisions we elect them to make -- including what we will pay in taxes. "Referendum democracy" not only let's them dodge their duty, it's highly unlikely to help Kentucky grow and prosper.

Is Ten Commandments debate important?

Pat Crowley, our KY political reporter, has an interesting thread on his NKY politics blog. Here's what Pat said to launch the discussion:

With the problems facing our state - education funding, job creation, improving math and science scores, fixing the Brent Spence, etc. - should the General Assembly be so worked up over the Ten Commandments? I'd like to see a little more policy and a little less religion out of our lawmakers.

To check it out or join the debate, click here. Here's a story that goes with it.

When you can't go home again

Those of you who have experienced selling your family home will understand when I say it is an intensely emotional and wrenching experience. I have just been through it, and I am feeling uprooted and slightly adrift.

Two weeks ago, my husband, son and I slowly walked through my childhood home for the last time. I opened the hallway closet door and told my son about the years of Christmas gifts that had been hidden there. I showed him the apple tree that produced the best applesauce, and the cool basement stairs where I used to hide during a violent thunderstorm. As we drove down the driveway for the final time, I felt as if my heart were being torn from my chest. My dad built that house. My mom brought four children home to it. It was the setting for my childhood, a silent companion and protector that I can only now fully appreciate.

I know that Ohio's Passport program is designed to support older people by supplying the services they need to remain in their home, but I think it is an equally important support for their families.

We act as if an elderly parent should simply go gracefully from a dwelling that has been their home for many decades, but we fail to recognize that it is the context for their lives and, often, their last physical connection to a spouse and a once-thriving family. Being able to prolong the years they can remain in their home is a huge comfort to their family and a chance to maintain the family roots -- that "home base" -- a little longer.

I will always be grateful that both my children knew my childhood home -- smelled the lilacs in May, knew where the cookies were kept, played with the same handmade toy cupboard that I did as a child.

Life is a river that flows only forward, but how lovely it is to get to pause a little longer in the middle of the stream.

A world of "perfect' babies

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is now recommending that all pregnant women be tested to see if their fetuses have Down Syndrome.

That recommendation has set off a passionate and unexpected response from parents of children with Down Syndrome. Parents in Detroit and other cities are asking obstetricians to connect them to expectant parents who have just received the prenatal diagnosis. They want to show the unanticipated joys of raising a child who has Down Syndrome and, they say, dispel the often entirely pessimistic picture newly diagnosed families are given.

Besides offering support, the group is also hoping to give families a reason to skirt abortion and give birth to their child. It isn't a right-to-life campaign, per se, but in part to make families -- and society -- realize that disabilities are part of human life. Their other motivation is to make sure that their own children with Down Syndrome don't become a smaller and smaller population, with few others like them in their communities and little support or advocacy for their care.

It is a thought-provoking and complicated issue. Should there be more widespread testing for this and other disabilities? Are we becoming a society with less tolerance and less respect for children who enter the world with physical or mental difficulties? And what kind of messages and advice should families receive when they get a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome and other disabilities? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

No more booze in the locker room

In late April, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was killed while speeding under the influence of alcohol. This week, the league extended its ban on alcohol in locker rooms to all team functions, and on team buses and flights.

Only one problem: The league was the National Football League, not Major League Baseball. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told owners and executives Thursday that continuing to make alcoholic beverages available to players “imposes significant and unnecessary risks to the league, its players and others.” The new rule affects not only players, but owners, coaches and guests.

Compare that to baseball commissioner Bud Selig’s statement after Hancock’s death that allowing beer in the clubhouses was a matter for individual teams to decide, not the league. That’s all too typical for a sport that’s been chronically feckless where its image and player safety are concerned (see: steroids).

True, Hancock was drinking at a restaurant with teammates and friends, not under the team’s auspices; his blood alcohol registered at twice the legal limit. But had he crashed his SUV into the back of a tow truck after leaving the stadium under the influence, what would the discussion be? Can MLB afford to keep taking that chance?

Suggestions that an alcohol ban restricts players’ rights are nonsense. Any business can, and generally does, impose such rules on employees in a work-related environment. Sports players are no different.