Hot Button Editorial Blog

Panties in a bunch

Long ago I got my pilot's license.  I learned a simple rule.  It's better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here.  And so each and every time I flew I did everything necessary to ensure my aircraft was safe, including following a pre-flight checklist.

I'm still a frequent flier, but now it's on commercial airlines.  I still want to know that everything has been done to ensure the safety of my aircraft.  Each time, every time.  No excuses.

The sad fact is, among the dangers of flying these days is the possibility that someone will try to bring down your plane.  Only a technical malfunction, perhaps Divine Intervention, kept a Nigerian suicide bomber from blowing up a Northwest Airlines jet on Christmas Day.

Anyone who flies knows our system of aviation security is at best inadequate and at worst a joke.  Little old grandmas take off their shoes and endure pat-downs while young bombers buy one-way tickets with cash, don't check luggage and board with impunity.

It's time to start profiling at the airport.  Every airport.  Every flight.  No excuses.  Profiling based on logic, experience and careful training, not necessarily on race, religion or skin color. And for any of you who get your panties in a bunch over my saying that, let me remind you of two things.  First, it works.  Israeli airliner El Al has proven it.  Click here to see how they do it and how everyone else should do it.  And second, though I was born in the Midwest and have lived most of my life here in Louisiana, I am of Mediterranean descent.  So I may well be the guy in line who gets the extra scrutiny.  You know what?  It's OK with me.

It's time we as a nation grow up.  Profiling is almost always the wrong thing to do, but when it comes to ensuring the safety of thousands of captive travelers, it should be on every pre-flight checklist.  And anyone who gets their panties in a bunch should just get over it.

Truly effective airline security requires proven technology...that includes full body scans...and profiling to target the terrorists themselves. 

Remember, it's better to be down here with your panties in a bunch than up there with a terrorist with a bomb in his panties.

Cartoon courtesy Mike Lukovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A call for Citizen Soldiers

Commander in Chief Barack Obama got an earful from General Stephen Danner the other day.  Danner is adjutant general for the Missouri National Guard.  His message: We need average everyday Americans to help keep the peace here or win wars elsewhere.

Danner joins a rising chorus suggesting it's time to take the best of the Guard and the rest of the military and evolve it to better tap into the resourcefulness and knowledge of hundreds of millions of American civilians.  Many have the energy and desire to work side by side with our men and women in uniform if only there was a means to do so.  Danner's proposal:  a new military branch, a purely civilian force, that works under the auspices of the National Guard and assists all the other military branches as appropriate.

Nowhere is the domestic role of the National Guard as well as its international role as well honed and understood as it is here in Louisiana.  As a citizen-soldier force, the local ties to our state's communities are already strong.  Certainly Fort Polk comes to mind as a place where civilians could be trained and deployed.

Winning wars as needed will always be a core mission of the military.  Winning the peace and securing our homeland against threats both natural and man-made is increasingly critical.  Who better to rise to the challenge than our own citizens, working in concert with our military?  We think it's an idea worthy of further exploration.

Merry Christmas

This week marks the annual observance by Christians of the divine made flesh.  It's also a time for gathering family and friends, and for most kids it's simply the best time of the year.

For some, this Christmas comes at a time of economic hardship.  Yet we are dazzled by the generosity of Southwest Louisianians who continue to give selflessly to others.  Through your generous support, Channel 7, Capital One Bank and the Red Cross were able to provide food and toys to 500 needy families in our area through KPLC's Community Christmas and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

I continue to hear some folks say they're going to just "skip" Christmas this year.  For them, I'll share some wise words posted online which point out that for Christians, skipping Christmas really isn't an option.

"What if Jesus, knowing that Good Friday was coming, had chosen to skip Christmas?  The fact that God knew what his beloved Son would face but still thought we humans were worth redeeming should give us hope in ourselves and a real reason to celebrate wisely."

We see many signs of hope that the nation's economy will rebound.  So what better time than right now to focus on rebirth and hope, and also to give kids lasting memories of this special holiday they'll always remember, long after Mom and Dad's current economic woes are forgotten.

Throughout Southwest Louisiana, to our military personnel defending our God-given but human-earned freedoms.  From our KPLC family to yours, we pray for peace on Earth, and wish each of you Good Will, happiness, and a very Merry Christmas.

This week marks the annual observance by Christians of the divine made flesh.  It's also a time for gathering family and friends, and for most kids it's simply the best time of the year.

For some, this Christmas comes at a time of economic hardship.  Yet we are dazzled by the generosity of Southwest Louisianians who continue to give selflessly to others.  Through your generous support, Channel 7, Capital One Bank and the Red Cross were able to provide food and toys to 500 needy families in our area through KPLC's Community Christmas and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

I continue to hear some folks say they're going to just "skip" Christmas this year.  For them, I'll share some wise words posted online which point out that for Christians, skipping Christmas really isn't an option.

"What if Jesus, knowing that Good Friday was coming, had chosen to skip Christmas?  The fact that God knew what his beloved Son would face but still thought we humans were worth redeeming should give us hope in ourselves and a real reason to celebrate wisely."

We see many signs of hope that the nation's economy will rebound.  So what better time than right now to focus on rebirth and hope, and also to give kids lasting memories of this special holiday they'll always remember, long after Mom and Dad's current economic woes are forgotten.

Throughout Southwest Louisiana, to our military personnel defending our God-given but human-earned freedoms.  From our KPLC family to yours, we pray for peace on Earth, and wish each of you Good Will, happiness, and a very Merry Christmas.

Oh say can you see the Saints?

What can you say about the Saints?  They've gone from cause of the blues to making the news.

Now they're 13 and 0 and many of you are asking us why you can't see them on one of the local TV stations this Saturday.

Well, the short answer is, the NFL is only allowing the game to be seen on its own NFL Network, from which it makes lots of extra money since actually going to an NFL game in person is so inexpensive for us fans these days. 

The league allowed stations in New Orleans and Dallas to bid for this game since they are the teams' home markets.  Everywhere else (like here), they want fans themselves to pony up.

Get used to it.  Before long, you'll have to pay see all NFL games on the tube, both regular and post season.  That's their plan.

As broadcasters, we think some things should be available free to everyone.  Local and national news, weather and emergency coverage.  And football games.  But it seems lawmakers of both political parties are doing everything they can to gut America's system of free, advertiser-supported local television, instead helping to pad the pockets of other businesses not required to serve the public interest. 

Next week we'll begin airing information on the latest attack on our public airwaves by Washington bureaucrats.

For now, Geaux Saints.  And for now, if you want to see them beat the Cowboys, head to Dallas or New Orleans or a local bar with the NFL Network.  Or just listen to the game on the radio, use your imagination and hold onto your wallet, because the NFL's coming after it.

Hector and Brian: -30-

Frequently when you peek behind the curtain of how things work, you'll find they're not quite as they seemed.

Viewers of KPLC and readers of the American Press are probably used to the idea that the two local news media compete fiercely for news stories and for advertising.

What you may not know is that behind the scenes we're all pretty good friends and supportive of each other when the chips are down.

So our hearts are heavy right now as our colleagues at the Press say goodbye to the second staffer in only a month.  32-year veteran reporter and city editor Hector San Miguel lost his battle with leukemia this week. 

Only recently sportswriter and columnist Brian Guilbeau died.  Both left us way too soon, leaving behind loving wives, children, and many saddened friends and co-workers.

KPLC's relationship with Hector was especially close.  Not only did he take great joy in scooping us...something he did frequently...but he was family to us as well, married to our own Theresa Schmidt.  Talk about journalistic royalty.

Log onto the Hot Button page of kplctv.com for Hector's funeral details and also for information on how you can help out the San Miguel and Guilbeau families.

Our hearts go out to our colleagues and their families.  Brian and Hector's legacies will live on.  They were consummate professionals whose fine reporting and commentary will inspire those left behind at the Press, at KPLC, and throughout our community.  But they were also dear friends and exemplary family guys who in their passing leave a hole in so many of our hearts.

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HECTOR SAN MIGUEL FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS:

Friday, Dec 11th: 4pm-9pm Visitation at Johnson Funeral Home, with a 6pm Scripture service and Rosary.

Saturday, Dec 12th: Hector's funeral will be at 10am at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

HECTOR SAN MIGUEL DONATIONS: Make checks payable to: Hector San Miguel Benefit Fund; Checks can be dropped off at any Capital One Bank branch in Calcasieu Parish or mailed to: Capital One Bank c/o Hector San Miguel Benefit Fund 1920 Gertsner Memorial Dr Lake Charles, LA 70601

Donations may also be sent to: Lake Charles American Press Attn: Kelly Deshotel P.O. Box 2893 Lake Charles, LA 70602.  Specify Hector San Miguel Memorial Fund

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BRIAN GUILBEAU DONATIONS:  Make checks payable to: Brian Guilbeau Benefit Fund.  Send to: Lake Charles American Press Attn: Kelly Deshotel P.O. Box 2893 Lake Charles, LA 70602

Holiday Highway Safety

The Thanksgiving turkeys weren't even thawed when the inevitable holiday season mishaps began on I-10 with the flipping of a propane truck in Westlake. 

The state's carnage reached a tragic crescendo last weekend between Baton Rouge and New Orleans when a van carrying 13 children without seatbelts had a tire blowout.  Four children died plus one adult, and left five more youngsters in critical condition.

Our experience on the highway is that the same season which inspires the best human traits everywhere else seems to bring out the worst behavior behind the wheel, with speeding, dangerous lane-changing and inattention a holiday recipe for disaster.

So it's a good time to remember the basics.  Obey the laws.  Don't speed or do anything that will put your passengers or anyone else in danger.  Drive friendly (as they say but infrequently do in Texas).  Use your blinkers when turning, changing lanes or entering a highway.  Make sure your car or truck is in good mechanical shape and buckle up.

Also remember Louisiana has toughened its DWI laws.  Refuse to take a breathalyzer test and you'll lose your license for a year.  Refuse it more than twice in a five-year period and you'll lose it for another two years.  Impaired drivers cause an estimated half of Louisiana's road deaths.  So if you drink at all, let someone else drive.

Finally, thanks to all our law enforcement officers for providing the thin blue line out there.  If not for their vigilance, the roads would be even more dangerous.  So give them some room as you drive by. 

We hate covering traffic accidents on the news.  Even one highway death is too many.  The first step toward making this a joyful holiday season is to make it a safe one.

The "New 40"

Recently the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released new findings from existing research recommending that women and doctors delay routine mammograms for the detection of breast cancer from age 40 to age 50.

No surprise, the reaction was one of shock and anger from many doctors, care providers, cancer survivors and women in general. 

But beyond the reaction, there is an underlying problem with this type of public decree.  There is the prospect of insurance companies reducing covered tests and diagnostic tools to a new lesser standard.   We also hope it is not the tip of an iceberg where other standards are relaxed causing more out of pocket costs for patients that test at current intervals.

This is a much bigger story than just how we detect breast cancer.  We think it's like saying you only need to wear your seat belt when you are driving on the highway and not around town.  Relaxing prevailing standards of chronic disease detection, particularly cancer, just seems counter to the concept that identifying them early gives the best hope for a cure. 

As always, the smart play is to consult with your own physician and develop a plan of action that's right for you.  But now it's up to insurance companies to put conscience ahead of an opportunity to nudge profits.  We urge them not to jump to a radical reduction in covered services which will ultimately save lives.

Ways and Means

Calcasieu voters sent parish officials a message Saturday:  "Times are tough.  Find ways to live within your means."

Only the Sheriff's vote passed.  The parish made its case for the other taxes, but some voters told us they felt the Police Jury should first do some serious belt-tightening before trying to pass the plate again.  "Calcasieu's population hasn't grown much, but the parish budget sure has," commented one KPLC viewer.

The rest of us have already made tough decisions or taken some tough cuts in our homes and businesses this year, reflecting the fact that in challenging times the things you want must take a back seat to the things you need.

A top-to-bottom, fresh look at needs versus wants and finding creative new ways to streamline essential parish operations should be Job One for our police jurors.  An objective and transparent analysis of where dollars come from applied against the prioritized needs of the parish's voters will buy a lot of credibility the next time a tax election is considered.  It might even render a new tax election unnecessary.

Lawmakers can begin the process by conducting an equally transparent and thorough search for a new parish administrator to replace Mark McMurry, who retires next year. 

The fact is our form of parish government is a closed loop.  The powerful administrator position is appointed by the Police Jury and in turn reports back to police jurors as well as serving as their policy adviser.

Jurors come and go, but historically administrators hold onto their job a long time.  So it's vital that the selection of our next administrator occurs at the only place where all voters actually connect to their parish's governing body.  That is a committee of the whole; all police jurors overseeing every aspect of the search together under the full auspices of the state's Sunshine Laws.

We have full confidence that Calcasieu Parish voters have elected good men and women who are up to the challenges ahead of them, starting with the most important appointment they will ever make.  But first police jurors must not ignore the clear message sent to them by those same voters last weekend.

Thanks Dan

I first met Dan Lee shortly after he took the helm of Pinnacle Entertainment.  He reminded me of Donald Trump, brusque and outspoken.  But we immediately hit it off, because I like visionaries and it was apparent that Dan was the kind of visionary places like Lake Charles seldom see.

Where other casino operators looked at Louisiana's 15 gaming licenses and saw riverboats, Mr. Lee saw something completely different.  He envisioned a destination resort which would stand among the finest of its kind in the nation, a non-polluting business hiring thousands of people, complete with name entertainment and first-class meeting facilities.

L'Auberge du Lac was the creation of many talented people, but make no mistake, it was born of a dream in the head of Dan Lee.  Southwest Louisiana would never be the same, nor would Lee's dream end there.  With the rise of Sugarcane Bay, Pinnacle's investment in our community is approaching a billion dollars including the infrastructure and spinoff investments necessary to develop a non-gaming convention industry that is the envy of other cities.

Dan Lee is not the kind of guy who backs down from a fight, and in truth we're sorry he got crosswise with an elected official in St. Louis.  But in the wake of his sudden resignation, let's not lose sight of the incredible contribution this one visionary and his company have made down here.

We are pleased that Pinnacle was quick to assure that Sugarcane Bay will remain on the fast-track in the vision of its creator.  It will solidify Southwest Louisiana's position as one of America's primary gaming destinations, estimated at 2-billion dollars annually according to one analyst.

We also say thanks to Dan Lee for his amazing vision, his tenacity, and his commitment to Lake Charles.

Do you have a comment or reply to this Hot Button Editorial?  Please send it to hotbutton@kplctv.com.

Hot Button Feedback: Toward Civility

The following Hot Button Feedback is part of an ongoing series of commentaries from KPLC viewers.  It does not necessarily represent the views of the staff or management of KPLC and is presented as a public service.
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Hello, I'm Lisa Verette, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana.

Not long ago, KPLC presented a Hot Button Editorial entitled "Civil Service."  In it, the TV station discussed a Congressman, a tennis star, and a rap artist.  What these three people had in common at the time was that they each spoke or behaved in a manner unbecoming of the basic standards of civility.  The editorial recalled a time when people could disagree and do it civilly, increasingly a lost art in our society.

Well, it's time that we started talking about civility.  More importantly, it's time we start doing something about it.

So, the Community Foundation is pleased to present an open community meeting which will feature America's top civility researcher.  Dr. P.M. Forni teaches the Civility Initiative at Johns Hopkins University.  For more than a quarter-century he has taught and written books on the subject of civility in our daily lives, and in our nation.

Please mark your calendar and join us, Wednesday November 11th, 6:00 p.m. at the Juliet Hardtner Community Lecture series.  It will take place at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd located at 715 Kirkman Street in Lake Charles.

Also please send an e-mail to dvaughan@foundationswla.org or call 491-6688 to RSVP so we can reserve you a space at this important event.  For more information on the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, click here.

Civil service begins in our homes, our schools, and in the workplace.  Now's the time to make it a priority in the lives of our families, our communities, and ourselves.

Thank you.

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Dear KPLC viewers,

Do you have a reply to this Hot Button Feedback or a new Hot Button topic you'd like KPLC to consider?  Please @mail it to hotbutton@kplctv.com.  We may post it here, use it in a future Hot Button, or ask you to record your own "Hot Button Feedback" to be seen on KPLC and kplctv.com.

Thanks,

Jim Serra, chairman, KPLC Editorial Board