KCTU 43 FORUM

A couple of weeks ago, a nation of travellers held their breath as the Thanksgiving holiday weekend approached.
As the phrase “don’t touch my junk” seemed destined to become forever ingrained on the American psyche, a group of people called for a nationwide act of civil disobediance on the biggest travel day of the year: they wanted everyone to go through pat-downs in the security lines at airports.
And so, a nation held its breath as... nothing happened. People showed up at the airport three hours early—like we’re all supposed to do and nobody ever does—went through the lines in an orderly manner, stood for scans as needed, and almost nobody went for the pat-downs unless no other options were available. The airline industry says this may have been the smoothest Thanksgiving weekend on record.
Then, the media did their job, and checked on the so-called “organizers” of this protest. As it turns out, none of the so-called “organizers” had even planned to fly that weekend. In fact, the only known protest of any kind occurred in Phoenix, where a couple held up signs in front of a gate at Sky Harbor Airport.
Another interesting note in the “for what it’s worth” department: polls taken at the time the “protests” were announced showed 61 percent of those surveyed opposed the way the Transportation Security Administration handled the security checks; a USA Today survey released Tuesday—two weeks to the day from the first poll—showed 70 percent approval.
How do you figure that?
The same reason over half the young voters who voted for President Obama in 2008 stayed home in 2010... they saw it on cable TV, but they never really processed it. Thus, they didn’t so much act on conviction as react to outside stimulation.
Bottom line, we’ve become a society where everybody wants to go to heaven--but everyone wants somebody else to die for them.
Look at the Tea Party. Nearly all of them are people in their 50s or older—people who remember when television was four channels or less.
What we have now are two generations of Americans who have no sense of community, no concept of citizenship, and next to no clue about personal responsibility.
And it’s not going to get any better if we elders continue to sit on our anterior regions.
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I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the passing of Elizabeth Edwards.
While a handful of telephone calls and handshake hellos hardly makes for a friendship, I got to know her a little bit from my work as a volunteer in John Edwards’ 2004 presidential campaign and their visit to Lawrence, and later as one of the Kansas coordinators of his 2008 campaign.
The thing that struck me about Elizabeth was that she always seemed so organized. She always seemed to know where everything was, could keep track of two young children even in the heat of a political campaign (trust me, it’s not as easy as it looks), and just kept everything together.
She was the heart and soul of both campaigns. You came for John; you stayed--and you fought harder--for Elizabeth.
Heaven has gained one very organized angel.

I can't possibly be the only person for whom the front Wal-Mart restroom is habitually closed. It never seems to fail that upon entering a Wal-Mart store, my bladder immediately begins to crave release. Since it's always a long walk to the center from wherever I happen to be, my need reaches urgent proportions before I get there. Joyfully anticipating blessed relief, I start to enter the ladies' room, but I'm stopped short by a rope and a sign informing me that the restroom is being cleaned. I am informed that I can go the the other public restroom at the rear of the store. Are you kidding me? I barely made it this far! The frustrating part of this story is that it seems to happen to me EVERY time. And, at every Wal-Mart I've ever visited.
How do they know!? It doesn't matter what day, what time, or what store, the story is always the same. Is there a conspiracy? Some kind of silent alarm as I cross the threshhold of the store that triggers the cleaning crew to head to the ladies' room?
I usually wind up walking, or nearly running to the back of the store so I can use the facility, but I fantasize about breaking past the dreaded rope, and, in spite of the wet floor, and the outraged restroom attendant, locking myself in one of the stalls, and taking care of business. Or, even more brazenly, enter the men's room, (which never seems to be cleaned)and save myself the long trip to the back of the store. Do you suppose Security would be summoned to chase me out? Interesting thought. I wonder how many of the men who might be there would take it in stride. After all, I assume the men's room has doors on the stalls too.
If I scolded them out loud for not putting the lid down, they'd probably just think they were at home after all.
If Quik-Trip stores and McDonalds restaurants can continue to conduct business even amidst minor construction work, why can't Wal-Mart keep their restroom open while cleaning? There's generally only one person cleaning (female, I might add). She can't possibly be cleaning all four stalls simultaneously. And the wet floor sign is adequate warning to watch my step. I may be only a high school graduate, but mathematically speaking, it's got to be more efficient to just let me in when I have to go, rather than follow my trail to the back of the store with a mop.

This is the time of the year that most Americans find themselves considering major purchases. Not just Christmas gifts, but more expensive items such as a new HD Television, sound systems, appliances and furniture. These are big tickets items that most families have to resort to finance options in order to fit them into their budget. But not to worry, the box stores such as Best Buy, Walmart, Sears and Target make it easy to get you into debt by offering "No Interest" purchase plans.
One of our viewers wrote that he had purchased an HD television as a Christmas present for the family and opted to go with the Best Buy "No Interest for 24 month" payment plan. He had planned to have it paid off in the 24 months free of interest period. As it happened, he was only able to lower the original $3200 balance down to $1100 by the end of the 24 months. Thinking that the interest would begin at that point he looked forward to having the remaining balance paid off in a year. At the end of the 25th month he received a statement for the "interest due" for the previous 24 months in the amount of $1972. That was very close to the amount that he had already paid on the total due. Suddenly his balance was back to where it began and to make things worse, Best Buy reduced his line of credit to that which was due.
Our viewer was at a loss when trying to compute the rate of interest that Best Buy was charging. He contacted Best Buy to resolve the matter and was greeted with " Read your contract and you'll see that this is what you had agreed to" and refused to make any adjustments. Best Buy had in fact charged him nearly 40% interest on the original amount financed even though he had reduced that amount by $100 each month. Computed as a diminishing balance APR, the percentage that Best Buy charged was over 60%. And they did it in an underhanded sneaky manner.
Up until the time that self-serving Kansas legislatures changed the usuary law, maximum interest was 1.5% per month and Best Buy would have been charged with a felony. Those elected officials that saw fit to change the laws in favor of the credit card, big box and fast cash industry are guilty of breaking the faith with those who elected them. The Kansas voters should step up and replace those who voted to eliminate the usuary laws. They should also be personally liable for the damages to the Kansas taxpayers who were taken advantage of. The predatory companies like Best Buy should reduce any balances due to a fair amount and refund the overcharges . There is such a thing as fair treatment of the consumers who buy their merchandise, and in our opinion Best Buy was guilty of taking advantage of this customer.
Think twice before you bite on the "Free of Interest" offers from Best Buy and others.

As I write this, tomorrow has been declared, “National Un-Friend Day” by Jimmy Kimmel.
In starting this “holiday” two weeks ago, Kimmel said:
“Here’s how you can tell who on Facebook is really your friend.
“On Friday, post a status that says ‘I’m moving this weekend and I need help’.
“The people that respond—those are your friends.
“Everyone else isn’t.”
Statistics show the average Facebook user—and there are over 500 million worldwide—has 120 friends. I currently have 550. I’ve never thought of myself as above average in the friends category.
I can’t really think of any I would want to “un-friend”.
There are the fellow professionals from television, radio and newspapers from around the world—literally.
There’s the radio talk show host in the Philippines who says that I was a role model and inspiration to him. Good Lord, have I been around that long?
Bob Lutz of the Wichita Eagle, who I’ve known for 35 years. I’ll never be one of the Facebook friends he mentions on his blog, I still think that Tex Winter is one of the four most important sports figures in Kansas even if he doesn’t, but I still like reading his work, and talking with him even more.
I like seeing all the ways my colleagues use Facebook to promote their work. Gives me a lot of ideas... if I ever had time to implement them.
There are the political connections—office holders (far too many of whom will soon be former office holders), lobbyists and fellow activists.
The legenday blogger, The Rude Pundit. I swear this guy’s channeling the spirit of Molly Ivin’s. His latest post: “Poor people demanding tax cuts for millionaires is like nerds demanding more painful wedgies from bullies”. I want to be just like him... if I grow up.
Then, there are the people you look at and ask yourself, “how the hell did they get there”?
I can’t figure out how I got to be friends with David Hope Rosser, but I’m glad I did. He lives in South Carolina, and he’s a progressive Democrat. He finds a way to give me courage almost every day.
There are the usual people on Facebook... current and former co-workers and old classmates. I’ve reconnected with a lot of people from my past—and surprisingly, the best connections have been with people I wasn’t all that close to in high school.
I’ve only un-friended a couple of people over the years, one for giving me a virus and the other because they had links to someone I’ve had issues with.
The rest of you are safe.
Sorry, Jimmy, can’t do it.

Legend has it that an Attorney General in the 1870s told a local official that, while incompetence is listed in the Kansas Constitution as grounds to recall an elected official, “mere stupidity is not an impeachable offense”.
We don’t know for sure if that was true, because in the 1870s, according to the Washburn University Law School website, the official repository of Attorney General’s opinions, says opinions were not written.
An attorney not demanding to reduce something to writing? Either that’s incompetence, or the Legislature was too cheap to appropriate paper.
But I digress.
What’s tripped my trigger—and I hope, the triggers of a lot of long-time viewers—is a news report out of Reno County of an act of stupidity by State Representative Joe Seiwert of Pretty Prairie.
The Hutchinson News reported that Seiwart forwarded an e-mail to 40 other people—without comment, he insists—that said in part:
"Perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. They obviously cannot be both 'good' Muslims and good Americans. Call it what you wish it's still the truth. You had better believe it. The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country and our future."
The minute I saw that story, my blood began to boil. I thought of all my Muslim friends. I have many, and I’m proud to know each and every one of them.
But mostly, I thought about my friend, the late River City Forum host Dr. Nabil Seyam.
Most of you know he was Muslim.
Far fewer of you know the story of his torture at the hands of Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War.
Nabil was working in Kuwait at the time of the invasion by Iraq. His wife Carrie, who he met as a student at WSU, was teching school. As a native Palestinian, he was allowed to pass through the checkpoints... until someone found out he was an American citizen.
He was captured and taken to a hotel which had been appropriated for use by Iraqi troops.
For 15 days, he was tortured, his arms broken. He was offered a break if he would publicly renounce the U.S.
He refused. The torture continued until pressure from the ground offensive in Kuwait led to his release.
Is that something you could do, Mr. Seiwert? Yeah, like most politicians, you talk a good game. Let’s see you prove your love for this great nation the way Nabil Seyam did.
Meanwhile, let’s just take a look at Mr. Seiwart’s courage:
"There's political correctness in everything we do. Were the Carr brothers guilty? Was O.J. Simpson guilty? Everybody has an opinion, and with the right to freedom of speech or whatever, we should be able to say whatever we want to without having to be worried about what we say," Seiwert told the News.
When asked if he knew there were Muslims in Reno County, he said, "Sure, there's murderers, there's tax evasion people, there's all kinds of people live in my district.
"There are people who make negative comments about farmers all the time. I don't get upset about that.”
As the late, great Molly Ivins used to say, “the first rule of holes is—stop digging”.
Seiwart told the Wichita Eagle he didn’t think spreading the e-mail promoted it.
Neither did that paragon of propriety, House Speaker Mike O’Neal of Hutchinson.
“I see nothing newsworthy to all this,” he told the Eagle.
Siewert says his comments to the Hutchinson News were taken out of context.
Yeah, be a real man. Blame the media.
You can’t fix stupid. In Kansas, you can’t recall it, either.
Kansans are blessed with longer memories than most folks. Let’s hope the voters of the 101st District... who used to send some pretty good people to Topeka... don’t have selective memory.