Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Captain Crunch, Captain Hook, & Captain Mike

What, you may well ask, do all these Captains have in common? Well, at least one's existence is doubtful & the other two are unclear.

While "Wild Man" Tom Kalinowski was reading & blogging about the NDN Guest Editorial on Tues., I was also reading the notorious Pt. 1 & wondering about Captain Mike Caldwell's bio (great minds DO think alike). I thought it rather odd that a guest editorial would feature someone who had no current "status" anywhere. So I dug.

While the reported bio says that he has been a Middletown resident for 10 yrs., he is not on any of our recent tax rolls, not listed in phone books, & is not a current pilot listed as residing here. He also has no voting record. The only info on him is a recent Projo letter in the same ilk as his new "guest columnist" status.

This alone makes me doubt all of his given bio- pilot, degrees, etc. So who is Captain Mike or has the NDN been bilked?

Sorry about the lack of posts lately, but I'm delighted that the "Wildman" has been on the job. My 2 yr. old Dell laptop died less than 1 mo. after its warranty expired. I'm now borrowing my son's set-up. It just ain't the same. New one coming (not a Dell).

I'm so sad that Tom wasn't able to make his voter signature quota to run for St. Rep. That task is not as easy as you may think, especially when you're a working-Joe (or Tom).

His previous post on the NAACP lege candidate forum was a delight to read. I get awfully sick of generic love-fests by the NDN. The neutrality lasts until they sock us with endorsements a few days before election with often elusive reasoning behind them & an attending quick grotty quip on the unendorsed slob or, worse yet, nothing at all on the sucker. They "love" candidates in the generic until they actually run.

I have sat in an editorial interview when the question was, "Why are you running?" My opponent, the good Sen. Gibbs, then seem flustered & responded that she really didn't know what else she would do. Hey, I was trying my best to give her a chance to find out- I'm big-hearted like that. A heckuva answer, don't you think? But you never saw a word of that show up in print. And I could continue. Giving us only some of the facts and not delving into backgrounds (e.g., you get a yearly Lege run-down on attendance & bills introduced but nary a word on missed votes or committee no-shows) doesn't really give a complete picture, let alone remain neutral. Just quiet. Picture the 3 monkeys who see, hear, & speak no evil.

Publishing some actual campaign press releases which Projo is now doing, might actually give us all a clue as to what's going on in campaigns, rather than the measly coverage we now get. I remember when WADK actually used to do reporting, too.

Mind you though, I'm happy that we still have a daily rag with local ownership. A recent improvement in local coverage is also noted, although much of what we read is features with in-depth reporting often consisting of "he said," "she said," and self-forum coverage. Where are Clark Kent & Brenda Starr when we need them? How many times has the NDN gotten scooped in its own backyard because of its seemingly defunct coverage of local topics e.g., poverty, lack of affordable housing, health care, and various political topics. The best job I've seen recently was their coverage of the local immigration raids which featured some actual reports. Dead topic now, I guess, although I' m hearing of Immigration officials now permanently stationed here.

But I digress. Later.

1 comment:

Thomas Kalinowski said...

Aha! Now I see through Sheila Mullowney's cunning plan! It's all a plot to discredit conservatism by running these cretinous pieces and pretending a conservative corporate jet pilot wrote them.

You may have fooled the rest of Newport County, Ms. Mullowney, but you don't fool me!