The Leader (Corning NY) letters-to-the-editor leader By Gerald J. Furnkranz 2005-09 and a few others I followed.

11. OPINION
The LEADER
MONDAY | AUGUST 4 | 2008 | PAGE 4A
Dennis Bruen | Publisher
Joe Dunning | Managing Editor
34 WEST PULTENEY STREET | CORNING | NEW YORK
ARTIST’S VIEW
McCain shows
early
desperation
THEEDITORIALBOARD
Dennis Bruen | Publisher
Joe Dunning | Managing Editor
Stella DuPree | Assistant Managing Editor
COMMENTARY | ROBYN BLUMNER
Marriage of thought and paper
A
m azon .com really
th in ks I n eed a
Kin dle. You kn ow
wh at th at is: th e Web
store’s portable, wireless
readin g device th at in stan t-
ly down loads virtually
wh atever you m igh t wan t
to read. Feel th e im pulse to
dive in to Ah ab’s cetacean
obsession ? Just sen d alon g
th e electron equivalen t of
m on ey an d voila, th e elec-
tron equivalen t of
Melville’s classic appears.
It is irksom e th at every
tim e I sh op at Am azon , ads
for th e Kin dle appear fron t
an d cen ter. Th e Web store
claim s to be able to in tuit
wh at I would wan t to read,
so wh y can ’t it figure out
th at I don ’t wan t a Kin dle
an d actually resen t th e
th in g? I am n ot “platform -
agn ostic.” I worry about
book publish in g in a post-
Kin dle world. Will paper
survive?
I can ’t quan tify th is, but
a percen tage of m y book-
readin g pleasure – an d n ot
an in substan tial on e – is
derived from th e ph ysicali-
ty of readin g. I love h old-
in g a book in m y h an d an d
th e stolid way it occupies a
space. I love th e sen se of
accom plish m en t as th e
pages on th e un read side
dim in ish . An d it’s n ot just
a m atter of h ow m an y
pages are left, but of in ch es
read versus in ch es to go, as
th e weigh t of th e book
sh ifts.
A book of sign ifican t
len gth is a statem en t of
gravitas th rough bulk. Th e
earth boun d book com m u-
n icates som eth in g about
itself an d its reader by
bein g so im posin g. Readin g
it is a project, a com m it-
m en t.
In con trast, e-books are
by th eir n ature captured
sun beam s – eph em era –
offerin g n o troph y for read-
in g.
I write th is wh ile sur-
roun ded by books on over-
packed sh elves. I peruse
th em with pride, readin g
bin din gs an d allowin g m y
m in d to m om en tarily
rem em ber th e upsh ot:
“Con sider th e Lobster,” by
David Foster Wallace – a
clever take on th e odd an d
ban al; “Th e Power Broker,”
by Robert Caro – Robert
Moses was an arrogan t
gen ius; “My An ton ia,” by
Willa Cath er – life was sim -
pler th en .
Not th at I’ve read every-
th in g.
Th e Span ish ph ilosoph er
Jose Gaos on ce wrote:
“Every private library is a
readin g plan .”
Th is is true of m in e.
Every fifth book th at m y
eyes wan der over is n ot yet
read. It is waitin g for m e to
pick it up. Som e would
th in k th is a terrible waste,
but I take com fort in h av-
in g books at th e ready. I get
to m an y even tually, but I
h ave to see its bin din g an d
be en ticed by th e cover to
wan t to pluck it from exile.
I’m guessin g th at e-books,
sittin g stored in Kin dle,
don ’t call out in th e sam e
way.
In 2006, William Powers,
m edia critic at th e Nation al
Journ al an d a fellow at th e
Sh oren stein Cen ter at
Harvard, wrote a wh ite
paper titled: “Ham let’s
Blackberry: Wh y Paper is
Etern al.” It was very h ope-
ful to us paper-ph iles.
“Th ere are cogn itive, cul-
tural an d social dim en sion s
to th e h um an -paper
dyn am ic th at com e in to
play every tim e an y kin d of
paper, from a tin y Post-it
n ote to a groan in g Sun day
n ewspaper, is used to con -
vey, retrieve or store in for-
m ation ,” Powers writes.
“Paper does th ese jobs in a
way th at pleases us, wh ich
is wh y, for cen turies, we
h ave liked h avin g it
aroun d. It’s also wh y we
will n ever give it up as a
m edium .”
Powers quotes studies
fin din g th at paper h as
in h eren t ch aracteristics
th at facilitate th e “full-
im m ersion , deep-dive” kin d
of “sh ut out th e world”
readin g focus.
He says th at paper’s
im m utability m ean s th at:
“Th e book you place on
your n igh tstan d as you
drift off to sleep will be
exactly th e sam e book
wh en you wake up in th e
m orn in g.” Th is com forts
us.
Also, Powers n otes th at
th e ph ysical boun dedn ess
of paper n ecessitates th at it
be selective – as opposed to
th e lim itlessn ess of cyber-
space – an d th is “im poses
order on th e vastn ess of th e
in form ation un iverse.”
He says th at for e-paper
to replace paper, it will
h ave to become paper.
You can fin d Powers’
writin g on lin e at:
h ttp://www.h ks.h arvard.ed
u/presspol/research —publi
cation s/papers/discus
sion —papers/D39.pdf.
But to give it your full
atten tion , I’d recom m en d
prin tin g it out.
■ You can respond to
Robyn’s column at
blumner@sptimes.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Public education
showsitsweakness
TO THE EDITOR |
Quibblin g between Carl
Hayden , SUNY Board of
Trustees ch airm an an d for-
m er NYS Board of Regen ts
h ead, an d Elm ira Sch ool
Board Presiden t Dan
Hurley reveals m ajor weak-
n esses in public education .
Hayden pon tificates, “I
am waitin g with in creasin g
im patien ce to h ear a con -
versation in wh ich th e
board of education discuss-
es teach ers, th eir circum -
stan ces an d th e policies
an d strategies th at will be
adopted th at will h elp
th ose teach ers tran sm it to
th e n ext gen eration th e
skill an d kn owledge th at
th e youn g people n eed to
succeed.” Hayden serves
education un ion s, associa-
tion s an d lobbies th at h ave
lon g failed public
education .
Like h is Regen ts testin g
plan an d sch ool readin ess
project, h e supports educa-
tion in dustry expan sion
over im provem en t.
Soun din g off about th e
sch ool readin ess project,
Hayden prom ised Corn ell
an d Colum bia Un iversities
would track th e efforts.
Twen ty m on th s later Ben
Riggs blew sm oke h ailin g
th e project, because n o
data was available.
Hurley’s respon se was as
in sigh tfully idiotic as
Hayden ’s sn ipe. Hurley
in sisted th e quality of
board m em bers, adm in is-
tration an d teach ers was
excellen t, “secon d to
n on e.” Neith er seem s reali-
ty based!
Hayden was righ t sayin g
boards’ perform an ces are
woefully im m ature an d
petty. So are adm in istra-
tors’ an d teach ers’ selfish
beh aviors! New York state
takes position s erodin g
boards, th erefore educa-
tion ; in surin g low quality
followers, n ot leaders,
would com prise th em .
Wh ere was Hayden wh en
illegal cam paign in g for th e
board an d budget ran ram -
pan t in Horseh eads an d
was applauded by educa-
tion com m ission er Rich ard
Mills? Silen t in bed with
th e covers pulled over h is
ears an d eyes, h idin g from
th e problem s, th e truth !
Gerald J. Furnkranz
Millport
E-mail address
has been stolen
TO THE EDITOR | On
Jun e 19, 2008 m y e-m ail
address was stolen alon g
with all m y folders an d
con tact list.
Wh om ever took m y
e-m ail accoun t is sen din g
letters askin g for m on ey;
it’s n ot m e.
I’m writin g th is to m ake
people aware it’s n ot m e,
an y n ew bills m ade on or
after Jun e 19th aren ’t m ade
by m e.
Th e e-m ail address was
dar7858@yah oo.com .
Darlene A. Rhoads
To average
viewer,
Olympics about
the medals
W
h en 8.8.08 fin al-
ly arrives th is
week, don ’t
expect th is kid to be ch eer-
in g in fron t of h is TV set.
NBC, th e n etwork with
th e TV con tract to cover th e
Beijin g
Olym pics,
h as worn m e
out with its
m on th s of
con stan t
prom os an d
guest
appearan ces
on h alf of its
sch eduled
attraction s by som e kid
wh o’s worked for years to
h ave th is great ch an ce, an d
it n ever would h ave been
possible with out th e support
of h is m oth er.
NBC h as spen t th e equiva-
len t of th e an n ual budgets
of several sm all coun tries to
be able to boast th at it will
broadcast h eaven -kn ows-
h ow-m an y h ours of
Olym pics coverage on th e
n etwork an d its seven cable
affiliates.
Th at’s won derful, if you’re
a dieh ard Olym pics fan , but
to we m ere m ortals, it’s
overkill. Th ere are m an y
even ts th at are sim ply
un watch able, too borin g or
too exotic for th e average
viewer to care about.
Yes, I’m in terested
wh eth er air pollution
becom es a big factor in th e
outcom e of som e m ajor
even t.
An d I’m sure th ere will be
a few feature item s about
Ch in ese lan dm arks th at I
m igh t fin d in terestin g. But
th at, too, can go too far. We
already h ave th e Travel
Ch an n el an d th at serves just
fin e, th an k you.
Wh at really frosts m e,
h owever, are th e con stan t
rem in ders of h ow th e Gam es
brin g th e world togeth er.
Th ere are in dividual cases
in wh ich in dividuals m ay
in teract perfectly, despite
cultural an d political differ-
en ces. But to th e bulk of th is
coun try’s viewers, th e all-
im portan t th in g is th e m edal
coun t. An d we’re n ot alon e.
In govern m en tal offices
across th e globe, th e first
question from th e n ation al
leader every day of
com petition will be “How
did we do?”
Th is is n oth in g n ew. Th e
Olym pics h ave been politi-
cized alm ost from th eir
m odern in ception . So to sell
th e Gam es as a global love-
fest is like tryin g to arran ge a
m arriage between a Sun n i
an d a Sh iite in our “paci-
fied” Iraq.
Yes, I’ll probably watch a
few m arquee even ts, but
m in us th e en th usiasm NBC
seem s to dem an d th at I feel.
8.8.08? A great slogan , but
on e th at sim ply m asks
wh at’s about to h appen .
•••
Got a n ice n ote from In a
Wakefield of Bath after th e
recen t colum n on Sn ug
Harbor.
Like yours truly, sh e
rem em bers bein g taken th ere
by h er paren ts wh en sh e was
just a kid an d th e place h as
left h er with n oth in g but
h appy m em ories.
“Hopefully, th e m usic will
drift across our beloved
Keuka Lake for m an y years
to com e,” sh e con cluded.
Am en , In a. You spoke for
m an y wh en you wrote.
■ Bob Rolfe, a retired Leader
reporter/ editor (1965-2002),
can be reached at
theinsider1@aol.com or write
c/ o The Leader, P.O. Box 1017,
Corning, N.Y., 14830. He is
also periodic co-host of the
“Coleman & Co.” public affairs
TV program, which airs at 10
a.m. and 10 p.m. Sundays on
WETM.2.
■ Letters should be typed
or neatly printed.
■ Letters must be kept to a
maximum of 250 words. Letters
longer than that will not be
considered.
■ Letters must be signed and
include an address and phone
number. No letters will be
published unless verified with
the author in person or by
telephone.
■ Letters may be edited for
space considerations.
■ The publication of any letter
is at the discretion of the editor.
■ All letters become the
property of The Leader and
cannot be returned to sender.
Mail your letters to:
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THE LEADER
PO BOX 1017
CORNING, NY 14830
Letters also may be
dropped off at our office:
Corning office
34 W. Pulteney St.
Fax your letter to:
Corning | (607) 936-9939
The Leader encourages members of the community to tell us their
thoughts on issues of public importance.
LETTERS POLICY | THE LEADER
A
m on th before Joh n
McCain is form ally
an oin ted as th e
Republican presiden tial n om -
in ee, h is cam paign is actin g
as if Barack Obam a is a run -
away train th at m ust be
derailed at all costs.
Desperation oozes from th e
latest McCain television ad,
equatin g Obam a with celebri-
ty airh eads Paris Hilton an d
Britn ey Spears as h uge
crowds before Berlin ’s Victory
m on um en t ch an t Obam a’s
n am e durin g h is speech
th ere.
An oth er McCain ad sh ows
a solitary gas pum p with a
wildly spin n in g m eter regis-
terin g th e cost, with a m ug
sh ot of Obam a an d a
rem in der th at h e opposes
drillin g off Am erican coast-
lin es. Both ads cast Obam a as
a slick carn ival pitch m an , or
worse.
In stead, th ey on ly un der-
score h is un com m on public
appeal an d th e fren zied
McCain cam paign effort to
burst th e Obam a bubble. Th e
McCain reaction would seem
to be prem ature, in asm uch as
m ost public-opin ion polls
in dicate h e rem ain s well
with in ran ge of catch in g up
to th e perceived run away
train .
Neverth eless, th e McCain
ads con firm th at th e presi-
den tial race is in deed all
about Barack Obam a – wh o
h e is, wh at h e stan ds for, an d
wh eth er h e is ready to be
presiden t. Th e Illin ois
Dem ocrat, for h is part, is
readily acceptin g th e ch al-
len ge to fill in th e blan ks
about h im self, with good
h um or so far.
As Obam a cam paign strate-
gists ch arge th at th eir rivals
h ave adopted th e 2000 an d
2004 fear playbook of Karl
Rove as Darth Vader, th e
Dem ocratic can didate h im self
slough s off th e barbs. He
claim s th e opposition h as
said h e h as “a fun n y n am e”
an d “doesn ’t look like” previ-
ous faces on dollar bills.
He won ders before m ore
large crowds wh y McCain
talks about h im so m uch
in stead of tellin g m ore about
h is own prescription s for th e
n ation ’s ills. Of course
McCain does th at too, but
wh at th e television cam eras
catch an d tran sm it m ostly
are h is an ti-Obam a rem arks.
Th is apparen t dread in th e
McCain cam paign th at
Obam a m ay be ch arm in g h is
way in to th e Oval Office h as
also begun to un derm in e th e
Arizon a sen ator’s own m ost
appealin g qualities of soft-
spoken , self-styled “straigh t
talk” delivered in a folksy
m an n er to “m y frien ds.”
After years of successful
stum p speakin g in town h alls
across th e coun try, McCain is
often captured by th e cam -
eras n ow readin g h is speech -
es from a text station ed
before h im , an d doin g it awk-
wardly an d tran sparen tly,
breakin g eye con tact with
th ose frien ds. Th e con trast
with th e con fiden tly extem -
poran eous Obam a is strikin g-
ly detrim en tal to th e often
wooden McCain .
More dam agin g to h im
th an h ow h e looks, h owever,
is h is decision to go AWOL
on h is pledge to stay on th e
h igh road by n ever question -
in g h is oppon en t’s patriot-
ism . In McCain ’s attem pt to
draw h is sh arp differen ces
with Obam a over th e war, h e
h as gon e overboard in ch arg-
in g th at h is oppon en t
“would rath er lose a war in
order to win a political cam -
paign .” Even som e leadin g
Republican s sh ot th eir eyes
upward at th at on e.
In an y even t, th e groun d
seem s to be fallin g away
un der McCain on h is earlier
talk of stayin g in Iraq as lon g
as it takes to claim victory.
His m om en tary com m en t,
slip or n ot, th at Obam a’s 16-
m on th troop with drawal
tim etable m igh t be OK
(depen din g on con dition s on
th e groun d), m ade h im seem
to be backin g off.
With Presiden t Bush h im -
self agreein g with Iraqi Prim e
Min ister Nouri al-Maliki th at
som e “tim e h orizon ” m ay
n ow be in order, an d Bush ’s
report th at th e troop surge of
th e last year is over an d duty
tours are bein g reduced, th e
war as an issue seem s to be
fadin g, before greater con -
cern s over th e state of th e
econ om y at h om e.
Here, too, desperation in
th e McCain cam paign seem s
eviden t in th e can didate’s
switch favorin g offsh ore oil
drillin g. It m ay be a tem po-
rary win n er with com plain ers
about gas prices. But it’s a
lon g-term loser with en viron -
m en talists, wh o con tin ue to
trum pet m ore developm en t
of altern ative sources of
en ergy.
Th e latest report th at oil
gian t Exxon Mobil earn ed a
profit of n early $11.7 billion
in its secon d quarter, th e
h igh est take in Am erican h is-
tory, is certain to persuade
m an y voters th at th ey’re
bein g taken to th e clean ers at
th e pum p. In all, m aybe Joh n
McCain does h ave som eth in g
to be desperate about so
early.
■ Jules Witcover’s latest book,
on the Nixon-Agnew
relationship, “Very Strange
Bedfellows,” has just been
published by Public Affairs
Press. You can respond to this
column at juleswitcover@
earthlink.net.
Bob Rolfe
THE INSIDER
COMMENTARY | JULES WITCOVER