A great night for Wenatchee journalism

I just got home from the kickoff of the new WHS Journalism Booster Club, nicknamed the “J-Boosters.” The group just formed and agreed to host a kickoff event to raise awareness and money, to reactivate the dormant Quill and Scroll chapter and to plan an end-of-year publications banquet.

Tonight’s kickoff, during Scholastic Journalism Week, was an out-of-ballpark homerun. We had over 80 parents, students and a few friends (newspaper publisher, radio host, my predecessor, etc.) who each paid the $10 admission. Pre-event donations were over $1,000. The local newspaper announced a donation of $500, and the main radio station announced a $250 donation. Other donations rolled in tonight, too. When we passed two pails — one for the newspaper and one for the yearbook — we collected another $850 (that includes when we auctioned off four extra unopened cheesecakes and made $20 each). It all totals well over $3,000 for a one-night event. Pretty good I must say. Oh yeah, the parents who organized decorations and food donated the materials, so our costs were minimal.

But the real reward is not the generosity of dollars but of the people who are so excited to be supporting scholastic journalism — a program not just for their kids but for all of our students. It was awesome to see the donations come in from parents of students that graduated two, five, seven years ago. And tonight the parents socialized with each other so much, looked at past yearbooks and newspapers, ogled the table of plaques and certificates, and watched students demonstrate InDesign and Photoshop. There was such an electricity in the air, and it was all about scholastic journalism at WHS.

I am so glad I finally got this program started, and I can't believe I waited so long to do it. I’ve learned the parents are just waiting to be asked, and they want to be involved in what their kids are doing. The small investment on my part to help get the ball rolling has more than paid off. Two months ago, the J-Boosters didn’t know what else they could do because they had no idea what to expect financially. Best to start conservatively, but now — who knows? They’ve got cash and they will need to spend it. And every penny goes to my kids. That’s a great night for Wenatchee journalism.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Another national voice on student expression

This opinion piece from the American Press Institute does a good job of explaining the differences between legislation in Washington state and in Kansas. In Washington, the bill would give final authority to publish legal speech to students. In Kansas, the bill would mandate approval by an appointed board of review. Kansas already has a free press law for students. A snippet:

The debate in statehouses and elsewhere ought to be about providing increased opportunities for education, information -- and perhaps even a bit of inspiration -- to student journalists, rather than getting bogged down in already-futile exchanges over regulation.

Students will express themselves in some fashion regardless of what parents, lawmakers, school officials or others decide. The focus should be on providing funds and staff to ensure student journalism is made an integral, effective part of the educational experience.

The alternative won't guarantee either control or sensibility. More likely it will marginalize student voices and send them increasingly to unregulated and unsupervised communication methods - the Web and social-networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube with their ever-growing number of unregulated imitators and innovators.

Gene Policinski of the First Amendment Center wrote the above passage as part of his guest editorial, and the rest is worth a read also. Policinski's words are so important. They help raise the awareness and understanding of this important issue.

It's clear through editorials like the one printed in The Seattle Times a couple weeks ago that there are many, many professional journalists who would easily trade away student rights for the perceived superiority of their own jobs. We must work to change that perspective. The commercial media do not operate under the same set of standards of ownership as the public media do. And students are not agents of the state, nor should they have to submit their ideas for approval by school government officials.

Thank you, Mr. Policinski, for your important opinion piece. May more follow in similar forums.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

USA Today supports student free speech

USA Today's editorial page had a strong editorial this morning supporting student freedom of expression. The headline said "Schools fail Free Speech 101." The secondary headline said "Muzzling student publications sends the wrong message.”

The editorial said, "A major function of schools is to prepare students for life in a democracy. And one of the cornerstones of democracy is the free exchange of ideas. Lessons in bowing to life under censorship shouldn't be part of the curriculum." The editorial specifically mentions the legislation in Washington state, and encourages legislators to enact the bill.

The opposing piece contains so many ironic statements from the school principal (from Grandview, Wash.). It’s interesting to see the fallacious logic. In one particularly weak example, the principal says that students should not be able to offer written expression about a fellow teen's suicide because it might encourage copycat suicides and only adults are mature enough to be able to see that. Of course, a rational person can see that writing about a suicide won't cause more suicides. There are a few logical reasons that make good arguments for the principal's position. Too bad she did not mention many of them.

The national media have done a great job of highlighting this important issue. It's the state media that have, with few exceptions, missed the target on why this is important to the future of democracy but also to the future of their own industry. Meanwhile, the bill is still in the House Rules Committee, and it's not known whether it will move anytime soon.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Sen. Murray is center stage

The Seattle Times' weekend feature, Letter from Washington, reports that Sen. Patty Murray, the Washington Democrat who won a seat in 1992 as a self-proclaimed "mom in tennis shoes," has a major role in the Senate leadership and that she is becoming the loudest voice from Washington state against the war in Iraq. Interesting stuff. The Letter from Washington accurately points out that Murray is the No. 1 favorite senator from these parts in the minds of veterans. They love her. That also gives her credibility on veterans and defense issues.

Murray has had a role in leadership for a few years now, since Sen. Tom Daschle included her in an advisory capacity back when he was Democratic leader. Now, she's the Democratic Conference Secretary. It's god clout for Washington state, and this "mom in tennis shoes" knows how to get things done in D.C.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

The latest WJEA News

The Washington Journalism Education Association, of which I am an active member, has a Weblog on blogspot as well. It's been revitalized and should be plenty active with a bunch of updates on legislation moving through Olympia that would guarantee free press rights to high school students (HB 1307).

It's worth checking.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

The Dems are off and running

I caught the last half of the announcement speech of Sen. Barack Obama this morning, live from Springfield, Ill., at the old statehouse. The site was symbolic, evoking the history of Abraham Lincoln, who served eight years there, and Obama's own history as a state legislator. And, man, that guy can speak!

My thoughts on the candidates:
Sen. Barack Obama: Obama's candidacy is being called the first by an African American who is mainstream and who has a legitimate chance at claiming the nomination and perhaps the presidency. By all measures, he is a rock star, and he is smart to make his run while his popularity is rising. Maybe I am a traditionalist, but I like my presidential candidates to have some experience as an executive or as a legislator on the national level. A good speech and a lot of heart both help me feel good about being a Democrat and an American, but when it comes time to mark a box, I want some experience in there. My prediction is really that he will flame out. A combination of the liberalism of the Democratic primary voters versus his moderate positions (especially involving faith), the split of the black vote (very loyal to Clinton and Gore) and the fact that he has not continued to increase in popularity since he announced he was interested in running all point toward an exit before the convention.

Sen. Hillary Clinton: She's been labeled the front-runner by the media, but I don't think that means a heck of a lot with a year before anyone starts actually voting. She has a long time to screw up her campaign. I do believe the campaign is hers to lose, though. So far it seems like it is Hillary and then everyone else. She is far to conservative for me as a primary voter, and I think she is far more valuable to the nation as a legislator than as an executive. Still, it would be awesome to see her campaign against whomever the Republicans put up.

John Edwards: This is th guy who has been running for president pretty much since he lost the race with John Kerry in 2004. He should be the front-runner. He has focused sharply on domestic issues such as poverty and has kept his profile high. He has the experience of a national campaign -- both his primary campaign and as the vice presidential candidate last time around. He has the strongest network in the first caucus state of Iowa, and he should be very popular in the second primary state of South Carolina -- at least enough to offset the black vote that might go to Obama or Clinton. I think Edwards seems to have maintained his centrist roots while beefing up his populist credentials. He could be the tested alternative people turn to if Obama and Clinton flame out.

Vice President Al Gore: I wouldn't count out the 2000 nominee. He's had a great year -- the go-to guy for all things global warming, a runaway hit movie in "An Inconvenient Truth," nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global climate change. With all that, why would he want to get back into presidential politics? Well, to claim what was rightfully his from 2000. Gore could be a nice safe alternative -- tested, sharper than 2000, refocused. How cool would it be if he announced his candidacy if he gets to make an acceptance speech at the Academy Awards. Maybe that would be a reason for Academy voters to propel the film to the stage.

Gov. Bill Richardson: The New Mexico governor has the best resume of any candidate in the field after Gore -- Latino governor of a swing state, congressman, ambassador, international day-saver. He's still the one people turn to for negotiations with North Korea. He's been on the short list for veep twice. He's also the kind of candidate the Dems should be turning to -- people actually out in the trenches working on the issues that American voters think are important, such as health care and immigration. New Mexico is also a state that will be crucial for the Democrats in what is finally shaping up to be a Southwestern strategy. Holding the 2008 convention in Denver was also a smart move. Richardson is in a position to look like the one who can say,"Been there, done that." If he doesn't get the nomination, Obama or Clinton or Edwards or Gore should definitely pick him as a running mate. He's golden.

Gov. Tom Vilsack: The former Iowa governor was a veep short-lister in 2004, a moderate who has a record of success in a Midwestern state. Problem is, outside Iowa, where he obviously has great name recognition for the early caucus, he will have a really hard time getting any coverage in the shadow of the big stars.

Sen. Joe Biden: Dude, it was over before it began. This is a year when you have to be a star and dig out a niche. The niche he dug was for someone who can't articulate his message and chokes on his own foot on the same day he announced he was running. Get out now and dust off the resume for Secretary of State.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich: The fringe lefties love this guy, but he is a non-starter. There are other anti-war candidates, and his main role is to keep everyone honest. Bless him for running and for standing up for his convictions. Someone has to.

Sen. Chris Dodd: The Connecticut senator may have had a chance in 2004, and his connections as a former chair of the DNC would be helpful, but come on. He's up against two mega-stars and possibly a former nominee and a former vice presidential nominee. No way.

Gen. Wesley Clark: His year was 2004, and he didn't capitalize on it. I like the mix of military toughness and centrist politics, but I think a former general is not the guy to knock off the front-runners in this crowded campaign. Get out and save face for a top administration post.

The nice part is there are also some others out there to help, such as Sen. Evan Bayh (Clinton, Edwards or Obama would be smart to pick him as a running mate). A crowded field should thin by the end of 2007, and I suspect there will be just a handful of legitimate candidates when the actual voting starts in January 2008. The downside is that if the last candidate standing will still have a long time for the media and Republicans to dig up dirt. Other factors such as YouTube and bloggers make this dangerous waters -- just ask George Allen. Could be a nice way for someone to be drafted to save the party. We'll see. There's a long time till the voting begins.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Readers have their say about The Times

The Seattle Times published in its Thursday edition four letters about its editorial of a week ago. The letters and editorial are regarding HB 1307, the student free press bill.

Read the letters here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003561457_thulets08.html

The four are from a Tacoma student, a Puyallup teacher, the president of our state journalism teachers' association and a Colorado teacher. Colorado already has a law similar to the one proposed here.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Public praise

The school newspaper I advise was the front-page feature in the community newspaper this evening. It was a bit of a delay from when my students earned a major award in November. Still, it was a nice feature to see, and I suspect there will be much complimenting at work tomorrow. The students had some nice things to say about me, and that was pleasant, of course.

Interestingly, the reporter wanted to see a typical layout night, which honestly doesn't happen very often. She and the photographer arrived at school around 4 p.m., when the mood was light and the amount of work accomplished was on track. However, the night ended up being the longest we've been there all year, in some part due to the distraction of the photographer and reporter. Still, we ended the night fine and it was good to get the coverage.

By the way, turns out the reporter is a former student of one of my good friends and colleagues from the south Puget Sound area. Small world.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Student Free Press Update

The politics section of the blogs at The Seattle Times has a nice little write up over this week's Times editorial about the Washington student free press bill in the Legislature. There's a link to Mark Goodman's SPLC letter, which appeared in full via Romenesko at Poynter.

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/davidpostman/

Still no letters printed or online in The Times as of Sunday (the P-I had one Thursday but not in response to any story, just a general support letter). You can read and/or post comments to the blog, though. The comments represent an interesting cross-section of rants (and a couple well-reasoned ones from me and colleagues).

Meanwhile, on Saturday, The News Tribune of Tacoma co-sponsored a forum on student free press rights. Read a story about the event.

UPDATE to the Update: The Daily, the newspaper at the University of Washington, has an article about HB 1307 moving from the House Judiciary Committee to the Rules Committee. The article quotes my testimony from teh Jan. 26 hearing in Olympia.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Making youngsters hate the media

As part of the debate about House Bill 1307, a bill in the Washington Legislature which would protect the free speech and press rights of high school and college students, The Seattle Times published an editorial on Feb. 1 that demonstrated a true misunderstanding of the facts involved in the situation. The Times suggested, among other things, that a compromise in the bill could be reached by having the teacher, not the school administrator, serve as the person who has the "final say" as to what gets printed. That's absurd. It would only increase the pressure on students and teachers to "tow the line" because it would be a rare teacher who would have the confidence to encourage students when his or her own neck is on the line. Why can't we just trust the students to make a good decision once we have taught them the law?

Unfortunately, The Times' editorial board represents the exact same thinking we have seen from newspapers in Yakima, in Walla Walla, in Vancouver and in other people all over the state. The sad part is, if the commercial media are so unwilling to go to the mat for young people, how will we ever expect average citizens to do so? Yet, many individuals who work in schools, individual parents and certainly individual students immediately grasp what The Times could not: students at schools can be trusted with full rights and, in fact, this law is needed because some school administrators create climates in their schools where the only acceptable speech or writing is that does not embarrass or criticize the school.

Read The Seattle Times editorial.

Then, a wonderfully articulate response from Mark Goodman, the director of the Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va., posted to an e-mail discussion list for journalism educators to which I subscribe.

By Mark Goodman, Executive Director
Student Press Law Center

Why young people hate the media

A big part of our job here at the Student Press Law Center is helping young people understand and appreciate the role of the media in a free society and the importance of press freedom to all people. That job has never been more of a challenge than it is today for two reasons. First, school censorship of the student press has become so institutionalized in many communities that a generation of young people believe it's only appropriate that government officials dictate what the public may read, watch or hear.

But the other reason is one that's especially galling to us, given our organization's mission: time and again, young people see a commercial news media that believes the First Amendment should only be big enough to cover its own behind and that press freedom really isn't that important unless it is somehow the direct beneficiary of its protection. (There are exceptions, especially among the organizations of professional journalists and a growing group of individual reporters and editors who understand that the future of a free press is in the hands of the next generation. But on editorial pages around the country, reading of support for student voices is the rare exception, not the rule.)

Today, the Seattle Times published a mind-bogglingly naïve editorial opposing a bill pending before the Washington legislature that would provide basic (and minimal) free press protections to public high school and college journalists. The bill proposed in Washington is similar to those that have been enacted in six other states, none of which have experienced the dire educational consequences the Times editorial suggests will result. (Ask those involved in high school education in Iowa, for example, whether student journalism has suffered since their student free expression law was enacted in 1989. They will tell you just the opposite; it's only grown stronger because students and school administrators have a clear definition of their legal rights and responsibilities.)

Yet the Times believes the bill would not allow journalism teachers to teach "editorial judgment," implying that the only way to do that is from censorship by a school official. The Times solution: make the adviser the censor, the one who has the final say over the content of the publication. It's a system reminiscent of the old Soviet Union; let the government appoint the censors (who of course are paid by the government and whose jobs depend on keeping their government employers happy) and suddenly the censorship isn't a problem any more, it's "editing."

The irony, of course, is that in Washington state (and everywhere else), high school journalism teachers are the biggest proponents of these student free expression laws. (Both the Washington Journalism Education Association and the state's largest teachers' union, the Washington Education Association, endorsed the bill.) The educators on the front lines of teaching journalism in American schools don't want to be determining the content of their students' publications; they want to teach and advise. They know that the only way they can instill the true meaning of the First Amendment in the hearts of young Americans is to teach them by example what a free press and free expression means. And they also know that if they are the ones responsible for making content decisions, their jobs will be on the line if they let anything that reflects negatively on the school see the light of day, no matter how factually accurate and journalistically sound it might be. The Seattle Times editorial board could not be bothered with those facts.

So if I am one of the more than 100 young people who packed a hearing room of the legislature last week to show their support for the bill (or the thousands of their peers who couldn't get out of school but were there in spirit), what do I make of this? Once again, the commercial news media has betrayed us. They are desperate for us as readers to stop the precipitous decline in circulation of their publications, but they can't be bothered to consider our perspective on the issues that matter to us most and that are directly related to the future of their profession.

Our work at the Student Press Law Center got harder today. But we aren't giving up. With the support of many allies in the commercial media and education, we will continue our efforts to help high school and college students understand that a free press is really as important as the First Amendment suggests. Too bad the Seattle Times did the exact opposite.

I've also seen letters of response from the Washington Journalism Education Association, the Journalism Education Association and the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Sen. Kennedy shows outrage on minimum wage

It's been 10 years since the federal minimum wage was raised to $5.15 per hour. The House Democrats made raising the federal minimum wage one of their top priorities during the recent "first hundred hours" push. It passed.

As the measure moved over to the Senate, Sen. Edward Kennedy, the longtime Massachusetts Democrat, pushed hard for its passage. Yet, the bill has faced numerous amendments and offers of tax breaks for small businesses, making the passage difficult. The situation has frustrated Democrats, to say the least. And to say Kennedy was upset is an understatement. He went to the Senate floor Thursday evening and raged about the situation -- raged. He gave a red-faced and fiery speech that should be electrifying to everyone.

Kennedy's outrage should be echoed by every decent person in a position to help America's wage workers. Despite the fact that many states have minimum wages higher than the federal minimum, that we allow employers to pay someone $5.15 for an hour's work is shameful. Washington state's minimum is now $7.93, the nation's highest, and there has been little evidence of the higher wage slowing the state's economy.



-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Inspirational day in Olympia

It was a chilly morning in Olympia, Wash., today when dozens of journalists, school teachers, interest parties and students attended an 8 a.m. hearing of the state House Judiciary Committee regarding HB 1307, the free student press bill. Staff had to open the overflow area of the hearing room to accommodate the crowd, which included teachers and students from several Washington state schools. I estimated about 40 high school students in addition to several dozen educators, college and university students, professional journalists and others. This hearing preceded one for the proposed reporter shield law.

The bill info is available here. An audio file of the hearing is available from the TV Washington Web site.

I was among the first four citizens to speak in favor of the bill, and I sat next to Ken Bunting, associate publisher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, who was an articulate and reasoned voice on behalf of the student press. In Friday morning's P-I, Bunting laid out the case expertly.

My testimony is about 15 minutes into the audio, in case you just wanted to listen to me. Others were more compelling, but I had been designated because supporters knew I would be present and could have something reasonably helpful to contribute.

Three other Washington advisers testified. Students from at least five schools testified, sharing their experiences and passion for journalism. The hearing continued for almost 90 minutes, far longer than we expected. The chair was very accommodating and so enthusiastic about the students present. In fact, the hearing itself was an affirmation for student empowerment. One adult speaker even deferred his time because he said he found the student voices so compelling.

It is January, a time in Washington state usually known for thick clouds and gray days. But as we left the state capital today, the sun was shining. It was an inspirational day, one where the best of scholastic journalism shone bright, too.

I'll keep posting on the progress of this important legislation.

One highlight for me personally was the fact that my suit fits me again. I was a bit nervous when I tried it on a few days ago and it was, well, snug around the waist. Thankfully I think that was just the effects of a huge dinner, and I had no problems at all for Friday's suit-wearing. I looked darn good if I say so myself.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Let's give this another go

I had a chance this weekend while driving on a trip to Western Washington, to think a little, and I decided I would give the blog another look. I had gotten to the point where I was writing the posts less for me as an outlet than I was trying to post things I thought would interest others or attract traffic. I have not posted for a while because I have simply not been motivated to do so. I sure have had plenty of things to write about and thoughts rolling around inside my head.

So I will try to make at least a post weekly and see how it goes. I have a couple things to share today, and more things coming in the next few days.

-- Wenatchee, Washh.

Student publications improve awards showing

The Nashville convention brought another round of awards to my students. The newspaper earned its third straight national Pacemaker Award, the highest honor in scholastic journalism. The paper also placed fifth in the Best of Show contest for papers with more than 16 pages. The 2006 edition of the yearbook earned fourth place in its page-count category of 275-324. That’s the highest placing ever for our school’s yearbook.

One student, the newspaper’s editor in chief, earned an “excellent” rating in the on-site contest for commentary writing. The topic was how music downloading was hurting artists and performers.

The Best of Show and Write-Off contests are always a toss-up as far as I am concerned. We’ve had great products and talented students come away with no awards, and we’ve had some surprises, too. But I was starting to sweat the Pacemaker announcement. This year six Washington state news publications were among the 55 finalists. Typically about half the finalists are named Pacemakers, announced in no particular order. Four Washington finalists were named winners right away in the announcements but not us. I waited as several more were called and finally our name was read. I admit that I would have been disappointed to have not been named this year – one, because I believe the work was the best my students have done, and, two, because it is tough to lose when you’re sitting right next to all the winners. Also, during Best of Show for newspaper, just as I said as an aside to my colleague that things did not look good for placing, my school’s name was called. Ironic.

Three in a row is also an achievement of which I am particularly proud. I am glad it shows sustained excellence and I think at this point the newspaper’s reputation for string journalism can be cemented not just with people who know what a Pacemaker is or who support free expression but with casual readers and with those without long-term or close knowledge. It’s a reward and a validation of effort and toil. And it feels pretty darn good.

-- Composed in the airspace over the Midwest (posted from Issaquah, Wash.)

Nashville highlights

I took six students to the national high school journalism convention in Nashville, Tenn., over the Veterans Day weekend. As usual it was a blend of unexpected kinks in travel plans, fantastic learning seminars and speakers, and exposure to interesting and new cultural experiences.

The best laid plans: In order to save a bit of money and to arrive in time for the opening keynote presentation, I arranged a 6:30 a.m. departure from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, meaning we would need to arrive by 5 a.m. That meant leaving Wenatchee by roughly 2:15 a.m. I knew I could not ask a parent to drive us, but luckily one parent said we could borrow the Suburban vehicle. So, Wednesday night I went to bed at 8 p.m., woke at 1 a.m., loaded the kids at 2 and we were off. No traffic, weather or security troubles.

The only trouble was with our plane once we were aboard. Apparently the pilots were late because of a late pickup. They also had a delay in their pre-flight paperwork and then the air-conditioning system needed a servicing. So we sat at on the plane as the pilots completed their pre-flight checks, informed us that the plane was being repaired and that we would be underway soon.

Minutes passed. My mood, normally one that would have been intensifying in stress, was calm. I knew we had a layover in Atlanta of just 50 minutes, so any delay of more than a few minutes would mean the connection would already be boarding, and we would have to hurry. The Seattle plane left almost an hour late, and still I was calm because the amount of flight time the pilot indicated would still allow us to arrive in Atlanta with just a few minutes to spare – I hoped.

As soon as the plane landed, we grabbed our gear and aggressively moved toward the front exit from Row 35. We hurried from one terminal and concourse to the next, rushing through crowds of slow walkers, pull-along bags and custodial workers as we dashed down the escalators, ran along moving sidewalks and implored the automated train to drive faster. We arrived just a minute too late. The plane was gone.

A couple bright points were that our luggage would not have made the plane even if we had, so that would have been a complication to deal with in Nashville, and we did get seats on another flight just an hour later (even though our friends from another school had to wait even longer for a replacement connection). And we arrived in Nashville in one piece, having had a slight delay that just made us hurry a bit more but did not eliminate any of our planned activities.

Saturday night’s celebratory dinner brought another set of complications to our travel plans. We decided to eat at a local restaurant legend, the Wildhorse Saloon. I knew the restaurant did not take reservations, so I planned to arrive by 6:30 p.m., early enough to avoid a long wait on a busy night. The students had also decided they wanted to travel in style – by limousine. So I arranged a limo instead of a taxi, which turned out to be just slightly more expensive.

The awards ceremony ended late, so we had to hurry back to our hotel and return to the convention hotel. As we came to the designated pickup spot, I saw a limo and looked for the valet captain to make sure it was ours. Just then the limo pulled away. Several conversations with hotel staff led me to discover that it had been our limo and that the driver had picked up the wrong group – another group headed toward the Wildhorse. We arranged a new pickup and went downtown.

By that time, about 7:15 p.m., the Wildhorse was jumpin’. Packed. Three-hour wait. So we started walking around the neighborhood looking for a place that could accommodate a group of seven with minimal wait. Problem was that most of the places open were bars.

Finally, after at least a half dozen inquiries and walking in a loop of about eight blocks, we spied a small restaurant on a corner, Rippy’s. It wasn’t full, but it was definitely a bar. Apparently in Tennessee, minors are allowed in bars until about 10 p.m., as long as they are not served alcohol. I scrambled to put a table together, and we sat down to some authentic barbecue and live country music. Everyone in our group seemed happy to experience some authentic Nashville life, and despite the tobacco smoke wafting around the room, they were warm and full. The joint was fun.

Sunday’s travel seemed to go well because the closing ceremony ended early and we arrived at the airport early by a couple hours. We had a leisurely lunch, walked around, chatted. I had a splendid 30-minute relaxation massage. The flight to Atlanta was uneventful and brief.

After our hourlong layover, we boarded the flight to Seattle. We taxied and taxied and taxied. Then the pilot announced there would be a delay as a problem had been discovered. And we had to return to the gate to have it investigated by the maintenance workers. A few minutes later, he announced that a bearing needed replacement and if available it would be at least 60 to 90 minutes of repair time. Meanwhile, we heard reports by cellphone back home that the mountain highway through Snoqualmie Pass would have nasty weather and driving conditions. It was a one-two punch for my well-planned itinerary.

We did get in the air with a shorter delay than expected, but the weather in Washington still looked bad. One of the students had called or sent a text message to a friend back home. Turns out that friend, also a member of our yearbook staff, called her father, who was staying at the family’s condo in a suburb east of Seattle. I checked my voicemail, and the dad had called offering to help in any way possible, and we made arrangements to stay the night there. Looks like it would be a big slumber party and no school on Monday.

Update: We did stay the night, and it was very pleasant and orderly. At about 9 a.m., we’re on our way.

Learning and friends: Meanwhile, the extra day will allow some additional reflection about the learning that took place at the Nashville convention. The keynote speakers, Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute, and Fred Clarke of the International Red Cross, were amazing. Clark shared his 50 writing tools, and I had a nice chat with him after his keynote as he signed my newly purchased copy of his book. I’m a real fan of his writing instruction. Clarke spoke about the collateral damage of conflict and shared his humanitarian work through photography. He presented information about conflicts I did not even know existed, and his photos made clear the point of his work.

In all, the Gaylord Opryland Hotel was a beautiful venue to host our convention, we had a good time, and we learned a lot. For several students it was a chance to recharge the batteries, while for others it was an inspiration to improve skills. I got to know each of my students better, and I look forward to returning this week (whenever we do) to put the new knowledge and experience to work.

-- Composed in the airspace over the Midwest (posted from Issaquah. Wash.)

'Borat' is offensively funny

I am so glad I had the chance to laugh my pants off Saturday night when I saw the new movie "Borat" in Seattle. The auditorium was packed, which is always nice when the crowd responds well to the humor on screen.

This movie blows "Jackass" away. It is far beyond a Christopher Guest mockmentary. It is hilarious. Just when I thought that singing the Kazakhi national anthem (sassy new words to our own tune) ar a rodeo was over the top, there is the naked wrestling match, the poop situation at a Southern mansion and the Pamela Anderson abduction. How this movie even got made despite more than 50 police interruptions is amazing.

In a few spots I had no idea whether I should even be laughing. I mean, some of that stuff is offensive! When I was involved in the state leadership program, one of the staff members developed a presentation on humor and a diagram that displayed varying levels of humor on a pyramid. The lower and less-offensive types, such as self-deprication, were at the bottom, and the pinnacle of the pyramid contained the types most likely to offend, such as racial and geneder humor. Let's just say "Borat" balances on the very tip of that pyramid. But just because it is offensive does not mean it ain't funny. It is. And gross.

See it if you can!

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

One more day

As expected, the final days of the election season showed most races tightening. Some races are as close as possible, within just one percentage point. My last-minute handicapping, with predictions:

• The Montana and Rhode Island Senate races have seen a resurgence by the Republican incumbents, Conrad Burns and Lincoln Chaffee, respectively. Chaffee might be able to hold on at the last minute, but Burns is going down despite Air Force One criss-crossing the state to fire up the base. Arizona is also now a tossup, though I believe incumbent Republican Sen. John Kyl will hold on -- barely.
• Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington state Senate races all will turn or remain in Democrat control.
• Tennessee will stay Republican because Harold ford Jr. won't be able to make up the deficit, and because I really do believe racists undercurrents have inflated opinion polls to date.
• Missouri and Virginia will both flip to Democrats. The stem-cell issue in Missouri should turn out progressive voters, and if George Allen in Virginia has never been above 45% in polls as an incumbent, this Democrat tide will sweep him out.
• That means, as long as the Dems keep New Jersey and Montana, they could lose Rhode Island and still win a majority with Missouri and Virginia.
• On the House side, all indicators point towarda Democratic pickup of at least the needed 15 seats for a majority, plus an additional 15 seats or so. That will be tough to spin by the GOP on Wednesday morning.

On the local scene, the hottest race seems to be the one for Chelan County District Court judge. A Wenatchee World newspaper report showed that Nancy Harmon, the candidate who won 42 percent of the primary vote, has raised $58,000 toward her campaign with about $45,000 coming from her own money. The job pays about $125,000 per year -- well over her current salary as a Douglas County deputy prosecutor. Her opponent, Tony DiTommaso, has spent about $38,000 with about a third of that coming from his own money. They both seem like nice people to me, and I would be satisfied with either, though I am supporting Harmon and donated to her campaign. Both have run fine campaigns, if a bit snippy at times.

I think the statewide initiatives will have mixed results:

• I-920 would abolish the state estate tax, which is 4% on estates over $2 million. Family farms are exempt. Family newspapers are not, and the state's family-owned newspapers (like The Wenatchee World and The Seattle Times Company, which owns papers in Seattle, Yakima, Walla Walla and Maine) are very much in favor of eliminating this tax. I predict it will not be abolished.
• I-933 would allow landowners to sue the state for compensation when the state devalues property through eminent domain or prohibiting development. This is strongly backed by the state Farm Bureau. I predict it will not pass.
• I-937 would force power utilities with a certain number of customers to develop alternate and renewable energy resources, ultimately comprising 15 percent of their total power generation. This is something I generally believe in and support, yet the initiative does not include hydro power as a renewable resource. That's why I oppose it. The law, if passed, would force utilities like our PUD to siphon resources into untested alternatives over the current clean renewable power source from the river. Sadly, I predict it will pass. I hope it gets amended or thrown out by a court.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Are we killing journalism in America?

This came across on my e-mail discussion list for journalism educators last week. It is from the Character Counts Web site. It raises some important questions about media ownership and about the way that the media themselves are manipulated and controlled by powerful institutions.

Killing Journalism

A prominent Russian reporter famous for well-documented stories criticizing her government was recently assassinated. Her courage and commitment to the highest purposes of journalism was admirable. And the fact that she was murdered for doing her job reminds us not to take a free press for granted.

More than ever, we need a vigorous press to ferret out and publish "all the news that's fit to print" and to do so "without fear or favor." Unfortunately, the willingness and ability of the press to tell us what we need to know has been seriously threatened by investor groups looting venerable newspapers in search of greater shareholder value.

Last year, the Knight-Ridder chain of newspapers (including the largest papers in Philadelphia, Miami, Minneapolis and San Jose) were sold off in pieces. The Tribune Company (owner of 25 television stations and 11 daily newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and the leading papers in Chicago, Baltimore and Orlando) is currently poised to auction off its media assets.

Just last week, the Tribune effectively fired the very courageous publisher of the Times after he refused to make drastic newsroom cuts he thought would prevent the paper from giving readers the coverage they deserved.

Meanwhile, the news media, especially TV, seems even more dominated by a tabloidesque emphasis on lurid stories rather than important ones and political coverage designed to produce more heat than light. The great bias of the new corporate culture is not political ideology but profits. Not enlightenment but entertainment.

The big losers are a public too disdainful of journalists and too blinded by partisan perspectives to care. There is much to criticize about modern journalism, but despite the unremitting claims of bias by both liberal and conservative ideologues who label anyone who says things they don't like or don't agree with as a fool or enemy, we have the best journalism in the world. But all that is in jeopardy.

We don't shoot journalists in this country, but we are killing journalism.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.

Washington state's leadership legacy

Reunions can be wonderful celebrations or awkward affairs. I've been to a few in my life -- happy to see some of my high school classmates 10 years after graduation, and bored out of my mind meeting endless cousins at family affairs. But the reunion Saturday night at the Tacoma Sheraton was one of the most wonderful moments for me in a long time.

The Washington Student Leadership Program is celebrating 50 years in 2006. At the central of the leadership program are its summer leadership camps now held at the Cispus Learning Center, camps I was pleased to work for from 1992-2000. Saturday night was the gala event to recognize the founders of the program and to celebrate all that has happened in 50 years -- lives touched, students impacted and programs expanded.

I had been thinking a lot about the leadership program in the past few months, thinking about how much I liked being part of it and how big an impact it made on who I am today and how I got here. And when I heard about the reunion and celebration I knew I had to go. The program organizer had written to me in an e-mail that I would be so helpful in finding some of those "lost" former staff members. I knew she meant this because when I was on staff I used to keep track of and keep in touch with everyone -- by real mail before e-mail. But those words on the screen glared at me. I had lost contact with everyone I had worked with on staff except my friend Andy, who still works with the leadership program and who often tells me stories of his recent camp experiences, and that fact astonished me.

So Saturday night was a trip -- a trip down "memory lane" and a mind trip. I have rarely been overwhelmed by memory as I was when I walked to the entrance of the ballroom. I wasn't sure what to expect exactly. I went with Andy and I knew I would see people I had not seen in years. I've seen a few of these people over the years, and for others I have talked on the phone or by e-mail or through other people. But there was something almost magical as I saw person after person who I recognized and hugged, my jaw dropping at how much people have changed -- or really how much people are the same. And it was just like camp, just like the experience at Cispus where I always could leave my crazy life behind for a few days and just live in the ideal for a while, where everyone was friendly and by working together you could solve the problems of the world. Saturday night was a little like that.

I caught up with lots of people:
Wes and I worked together at the Cascade middle level camp for a couple years. He now owns a software company in Snohomish, Wash., and told me that his life is completely consumed by that -- but it's good. Wes and I spent some fun times laughing and playing jokes and just hanging out in the Sasquatch room at Cispus.

Ingrid and I worked together at Mt. Baker high school camp and at Cascade middle level camp, and she is now a health and fitness teacher in Bellevue and lives in North Bend. I always remember Ingrid being such a warm and fun person and she and I were buddies on many a camp activity, whether it was a skit or a song or a campfire.

Jeff and I first worked together as junior counselors at Mt. Baker, then at Cascade, where is is now the assistant director. Now working in technology at a Seattle law firm, I have seen Jeff a couple times in the past few years, and I have kept tabs on him here and there. So many of my favorite happy memories from camp involve Jeff. He always inspired me to do a better job, and his humor and stability was comforting and disarming. His genuine personality came through even on Saturday night as he shared his camp experiences with the audience.

Tricia and I also started at Mt. Baker and continued at Cascade, where she is now assistant director now. She worked for a while in Seattle private education and now teaches multicultural education classes at Highline Community College. If I ever needed a boost of self-confidence I got it from Tricia, and she is perfect for the job she has now. I remember her being pregnant at camp one summer and that child is now almost a teenager.

Jim was my high school principal and we also worked together at Mt. Baker. He's now retired from education but works for the state Department of Social and Health Services in Ellensburg. His daughter, Angie, and I served in student leadership together at Ellensburg High School and were buddies. She said doesn't remember, but we worked together at Cascade camp for at least one summer session. I have photos somewhere.

Beej, my own high school adviser, had numerous roles in the leadership program, including some recent work with the newsletter. It was great to catch up with her (she looks the same) and to find out she is a loyal reader of this Weblog.

Pam and Clay are now married and working as the co-directors of Mt. Olympus, where I worked for a few summer sessions with them. I had also worked at Cascade with Pam, who is still teaching English in Mukilteo. They looked great and also happy.

Trent and I worked together at Mt. Baker, and he was also the junior counselor I had when I went to camp as a delegate from Ellensburg High School in 1991. He has had more of an impact on me than he will know. He's now an attorney with a Seattle firm.

Vince and I worked at Mt. Baker, Cascade and Mt. Olympus together, and he is now a challenge course facilitator at Cispus and also the director of the bilingual leadership program at the new Chewelah Peak learning center near Spokane. He told me he plans to leave Washington soon to start his own leadership skill development operation in Louisiana, closer to family. But, he said he is committed to the bilingual camp in Washington for two more years.

Ken was the director of several camps, including Mt. Olympus, where I worked with him for two summers. What an inspiration! He is now retired from Bellingham schools and is the assistant athletic director and women's basketball coach at Biola University in the Los Angeles area.

And there were so many others who I wanted to talk with longer but couldn't: Susan (the program coordinator), Marty (the Cispus director), Lois, Sandy, Joe, Ruth A., Ruth C., Lana, Eleanor, Shannon.

And noticably absent were two of my closest camp pals, Mona and Steve. I know where Mona is because we share common friends, but I have completely lost contact with Steve, who was my Eastern Washington buddy and who got me into more "trouble" (and several scrapes) than I care to admit.

I had told Andy a few months ago that I was considering coming back to camp, if someone would have me. I worked camp for a lot of reasons, and I admit some of those were selfish. As a young person in college and as a newer teacher, I didn't have a lot of good things in my life, I knew I had the support of my friends from camp, and I gained the confidence to do so much of what I do now. I left in 2000 because I decided to pursue a leadership position with the journalism workshop, a position I held for seven years and left after this summer. Maybe now is the right time to return to camp. I had two offers just last night. I need to think about what I could offer and where that fits in my path, but I am thinking more and more that it could be the right choice.

-- Issaquah, Wash.

Ten and counting

Just 10 days remain before what will surely be known as Black Tuesday around the Republican National Committee offices. Control of the House of Representatives will probably switch to the Democrats -- that is almost a foregone conclusion. The main question seems to be how wide the margin will be. Two major pollsters are indication somewhere between 18 and 30 seats will change hands. The Dems need just 15 to take control.

The Senate has been a horserace all summer and fall. A couple weeks ago, things looked very good for the Democrats. The last week has seen some of those races tighten. I speculate that the undecided or uncommitted voters have started deciding or committing. The Republican candidate they may have had doubts about before might not seem so bad after all, perhaps.

First local, then the nation:
In Washington's Senate race, Maria Cantwell sent a last-minute plea for more cash to keep her ads on the air in the final days of the campaign. An Oct. 19 poll shows her leading strongly, 51-42 over challenger Mike McGavick, the former insurance executive and former chief of staff to Sen. Slade Gorton. The last-minute cash call came just as McGavick announced that he was loaning his campaign $500,000 in cash to keep it afloat in the remaining days. Cantwell and McGavick are both millionaires, and a Seattle news article this week showed they are among similar company. I sent Cantwell $50 anyway, just because I like her so much.

In Washington's congressional races, one of the hottest in the nation is the 8th District seat held by moderate Republican Dave Reichert. He faces very stiff opposition form former Microsoft executive Darcy Burner. The ads have been messing up the airwaves, with accusations of lying and inexperience and anything else that ad-makers think will stick. This one will definitely go down to the wire.

The state Democrats also think they can gain some ground in Eastern Washington. The 5th District seat held by Cathy McMorris of Spokane (and formerly by Speaker Tom Foley) is now in play. McMorris was overheard on a recent conference call to ask the speaker, Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, to mention some of her good work on veterans affairs. Craig chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs committee. A reporter was accidentally placed on mute instead of having the call blocked while waiting for the conference call to begin last week. McMorris also said the race was tougher than she expected. The challenger is Okanogan farmer Peter Goldmark. He has a Ph.D. and developed a strain of wheat that is now farmed all over the inland empire. He also served as chair of the board of regents at Washington State University and as the head of teh state agriculture department. This is a man who would be great in Congress.

In my own 4th District, Doc Hastings still has not posted a single sign in Wenatchee that I have seen. The Democrats first sent an e-mail this week praising their chances to win with Burner and Goldmark. A later e-mail included Wright. I head a couple weeks ago that the campaign was pretty much broke, but I saw a sizable ad for Wright in the local paper this week, so perhaps there has been a recent infusion of cash. Meanwhile, there has been a strong letter-writing campaign, and I have seen a Wright letter several dayes recently. No letters have supported Hastings. However, Hastings is well-liked in the district, and he does not need to convince many voters to fill the box next to his name. The "R" is good enough. I only wonder if Hastings faced a stronger and more dynamic candidate if he would be sweating more now. Wright's low-key manner would make an election night victory even sweeter.

The nation:
Go with the devil you know maybe? That appears to be the case in Montana's Senate race, where incumbent Conrad Burns has been saddled with scandal over his dealings with Jack Abramoff. Burns trailed his Democrat challenger, John Tester, by a wide margin recently, but an Oct. 26 poll shows Tester leading just 51-47. Dems are counting on this race to move them closer to controlling the chamber.

Democrat challengers in Minnesota, Rhode Island, Ohio and Pennsylvania still lead with strong margins.

The races to watch continue to be New Jersey, where the polling has been a seesaw of activity, and Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia. Each of those last three states is especially crucial and the Dems face an uphill battle. Holding New Jersey and winning just two of the other seats wins control. Yet, recent polling shows a statistical dead heat, perhaps due to the Republicans pumping money in there so they can have a small bright spot on election night.

Those three states have also been very much in the media the past week. In Missouri, a state ballot measure woud permit stem-cell research. The Democrat candidate supports that. So does actor Michael J. Fox, who filmed an ad for her, and he was shaking throughout due to his Parkinson's Disease. He was criticized heavily by Rush Limbaugh and others on the right for "faking it" but Limbaugh later apologized. It focused attention on the Show Me State, and people who support stem-cell research in Missouri might be enough to tip the scale in a very close election. I doubt this one will be resolved on Nov. 7.

In Tennessee, the Republicans aired a cheeky ad that made fun of Democrat Harold Ford's attendance at a Super Bowl party sponsored by Playboy magazine. The ad closes with a white woman winking at the camera, kissing the air and inviting the candidate to call her. Many on the left have criticized this as racist, though I have yet to see a clear explanation of just how. At the same time, I don't have a detailed understanding of race politics in the South, so perhaps just the implication that a white woman -- a call girl no less -- would go after a black man is racist. Perhaps it is also the coded language of the South, where people still might harbor prejudices and the ad hopes to capitalize on them. Again, this Senate race is back-and-forth, and I wonder if the Dems can really pull this one out. It seems less about whether a candidate will be a good Senator and more about who is white and who is not.

In Virginia, where Sen. George Allen is barely hanging on to a seat against challenger Jim Webb, the Navy secretary under President Reagan, the past has also surfaced again. Turns out Webb wrote a few novels and they contain some steamy passages. Allen is trying to capitalize on that. Don't go throwing stones -- the Republicans have their own steamy writers, including Second Lady Lynne Cheney. This race has really tightened in the last couple weeks, and I thought Allen would win despite all his "macaca" missteps. But in the remaining 10 days, Allen may just look desperate and a Democratic tide could be enough to send the not-quite-liberal Webb across teh Potomac to the Senate.

All in all, there are still a few days for Karl Rove and his machine to make some sort of October surprise. Yet, voters all over are already marking their ballots. I have mine on the kitchen counter, waiting for some big event that might change my position on one of the nonpartisan issues or on a ballot initiative. I pretty much know how I am voting, but I like to wait until election day to actually do it, even though all balloting in my county is by mail. Ten and counting -- I can hardly stand the tension.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.