Let's get our priorities straight

Published: Feb. 8, 2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Trying to predict what current event will capture our collective interest is a fool's errand. I gave up years ago.

For example, I never could understand the avalanche of news coverage on, or public reaction to, the Elian Gonzalez story several years back. The circumstances, while sad, involved one child. Yet politicians and media were consumed with the ordeal for more than a year.

Now consider the recent information security blunders by state government and the relatively small amount of attention they garnered. One case involved Social Security numbers printed on the outside of tax booklets for about 171,000 Wisconsin taxpayers. Some were recovered, but most were mailed.

It made me wonder: Were we really more concerned about Brett Favre's return to the Packers than actions that could have potentially compromised the identities of thousands of taxpayers?

I hope that is not the case, but the amount of public and media interest for each topic might suggest otherwise.

That Social Security saga for me began with a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue on Jan. 27. It was reminiscent of unscheduled invoices from my home builder that always arrived on a Saturday when I could reach no one at his office. The builder's strategy, I believe, was so I'd have a couple of days to cool off before he'd hear from me. Better to spoil my weekend than his, I suppose. (The strategy worked.)

Similarly, after reading the letter from the Department of Revenue and an accompanying one from the printer informing me that an error put at risk my wife's Social Security number along with thousands of others, my first reaction was not printable in a family newspaper. My second reaction was: Wow, this is a reporter's dream for a slow news day because it was the first I had heard of it (although the Journal Sentinel reported on the blunder on Dec. 30).

How many staffers will get sacked, I wondered? Who was responsible for overseeing the process before, during and after Social Security information was distributed to the printer? How can a security breach reported by the Department of Revenue to news outlets on Dec. 29, and described in its letter dated Jan. 12, not reach me until Jan. 27?

What a story, I thought. I can't wait to see the firestorm from angry citizens. I'm still waiting.

On Feb. 3, there was an article in the Journal Sentinel's Metro section with the headline "Personal information theft hits Assembly." It described another government-bungled possession of Social Security numbers.

This time, a human resources aide took a report containing Social Security numbers of state officials and tossed it in her car before going to the gym. A thief stole the report and other items from her car.

I wonder if all the privacy wonks so unhinged over Bush administration surveillance measures to track down terrorists care about this colossal carelessness with our Social Security numbers.

In his recent "state of the state" address, Gov. Jim Doyle talked about financial incentives to stem global warming, a problem that, by definition, requires action from national and international policy-makers.

We'd benefit more from Doyle's efforts to change what is in his earthly sphere of influence. We need added attention to concerns like spending reform and tax reform and a renewed sense of urgency for internal controls at state agencies handling our personal data or managing procurement with state funds.

Oh, and welcome as it is, Favre's return next year won't alleviate those concerns.

Media images and our kids

Published 1.19.2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Why should we care what children watch or read? Are we simply riding a high horse when complaining about parental indifference and the deluge of sex and violence surrounding our kids? Does it border on censorship?

I called a local radio talk show once to comment on the ever-increasing flow of sex and violence polluting our airwaves, and the host's predictable response was something like, "Well, if you don't like it, just change the channel."

Of course I can change the channel, pal. What I worry about is the impact on young people who won't change the channel.

In many communities and particularly in our inner city, teen sex and pregnancy rates are beyond crisis proportions. It helps when Bill Cosby comes to Milwaukee to discuss personal responsibility for part of the population, but the problem is funded by people across all racial lines and economic strata.

Can anyone make a movie targeted at younger people without the perfunctory scenes of two people chewing on one another? (Sorry, I forgot about the artistic value of those scenes and their importance to plot development.)

We know that media images absorbed by youths affect their behavior. It isn't even worth debating. So why do gratuitous images of sex and violence continue to proliferate?

Part of the answer could be analogous to why some of us are overweight. Creators of junk stay in business by appealing to our worst instincts like a craving for delicious and fattening food. And you can't eat just one. So we watch, and our kids watch again and again.

For example, I like boxing, but it is no longer enough to satisfy those who want full contact. We now have mixed martial arts fights where you can flout the "rules" and beat your opponent to a bloody pulp even after the guy lies helplessly. It's unfortunate all that testosterone can't be usefully directed at fighting terrorists abroad and out of sight.

But you still think that what we watch has no impact on our children's behavior?

Nebraska sociologist Mike Hendricks wrote about the impact of the popular 1999 movie "Fight Club." He notes on his Web log that the movie "depicted disaffected young adults competing in bare-knuckle boxing matches in underground clubs" and that since the movie's release, "real fight clubs have been popping up all over the country."

He continues, "Arrests have been made in large cities such as Seattle, Provo and Milwaukee." Hendricks concludes, "There is no record of any fight clubs being in existence before the movie was made. Now it is an activity that is sweeping the nation."

When NBA player Ron Artest vaulted into the stands in 2004 to beat up some ignoramus who tossed a beer at him, the lasting damage wasn't that a game was disrupted. The harm extended to youths who idolize Artest and infer from the incident that this is how real men settle scores.

One way to reduce a growing tumor is to cut off its blood supply. If we discourage others from using their cash to patronize print, video and audio businesses of people we disagree with, like a blood-starved tumor, these "products" will also begin to wither.

One can also support political leaders committed to restoring cultural sanity, such as Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), or we can align ourselves with national organizations found at Web sites such as http://www.parentstv.org/

Either way, it's up to us. Then again (pass the dip, please), we can always leave it to someone else.

Offering gifts and hopes this holiday season

Published 12.21.2006 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
As this is the season of giving and sharing, I wish to publicly share the following holiday gifts and warm wishes for the new year to some specific recipients.

To project managers of the Marquette Interchange reconstruction or anyone else supporting this multiyear mess: I give a hand-selected bag of high-caffeine coffee that will speed up the work (whether or not it is ahead of schedule now). May all the inconvenience caused by the next state highway project take place no closer to me than Plover but no further from you than your favorite grocer.

To all Wisconsin men and women in the armed forces who won't be home this holiday season: I offer my gratitude for your service and prayers for a safe trip home. For those who want to give more than good wishes, go to the state Department of Veterans Affairs Web site: dva.state.wi.us/supportourtroops.asp or call (800) 947-8387. There are a number of ways to get gifts to our service members overseas.

To Sen. Hillary Clinton: I give the strongest encouragement to run for president in 2008 and speak your mind without reservation. Your candidacy is the single best hope Republicans have to retain the White House.

To the aging, sniveling cynics who welcomed back American soldiers from Vietnam by spitting on them or calling them "baby killers": I didn't have time to get you anything, so why don't you just meet me for a quiet drink at the local VFW? Oh, and take a cab. I have some friends who would be happy to give you a lift home. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself as our service members return from the Middle East and that your children don't act as disgracefully as you did in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

To the anonymous donors of $25 million to Marquette University: You are doing God's work. No joke. However, my Christmas fund is almost depleted, so I believe I can scratch you from my list without much worry that you'll miss the Sam's Club membership card I had intended to send. I'm not sure where to send it anyway.

To the Milwaukee Public Schools and City Hall: No gift to you would be sufficient in that you already have given so much to Milwaukee taxpayers in the form of that inadvertent (but perhaps temporary) $9.1 million tax break. Now, could you extend your good deed by convincing Madison lawmakers that the rest of us in Wisconsin need more tax relief, too?

To the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents: At considerable personal expense, I have had made several engraved copies of the Supreme Court's 2003 decision striking down the practice of the University of Michigan's Law School to award an extra 20 points to its applicants purely on the basis of minority status. Please read it with a warm holiday beverage in front of your fireplace and recall what your dear grandma once said about two wrongs never making a right. Discrimination of any kind is unacceptable, even the kind that works in reverse.

To every jewelry store owner or jewelry department manager in southern Wisconsin: I give a large bag of price tags. Please place them in plain view in your merchandise displays so I don't have to repeatedly waste time or feel embarrassed by asking the price of items that I cannot afford to buy.

Finally, my personal holiday wish to all readers, regardless of what you celebrate at this time of the year: God bless you, and may 2007 be just a tad better for us all.

With speakers, courtesy wins

Wikipedia image

Supposedly, our most common fear is public speaking.

Yet some speakers, overly comfortable at the stump, blithely deliver presentations with so little regard for their audience, one wishes they’d contract this phobia and never speak publicly again.  And yet other speakers, who are utterly paralyzed by the prospect of giving a speech in public, are the ones we ought to hear from. Sad paradox.

Fortunately, most public speakers are conscientious enough to adhere to a few intuitive rules and share their knowledge, views, etc. in a useful manner. Only simple courtesy and common sense are required. 

Back in 1992 retired U.S. Admiral, Stanford University professor and Ross Perot running mate James Stockdale began to speak at a vice presidential debate by asking, “Who am I?” “Why am I here?”  That opening was greeted with laughter and later parodied on TV. I laughed too. 

At that moment, Mr. Stockdale sounded slightly out of touch player before a worldwide audience.  This was unfortunate since the Admiral was a genuine American patriot, scholar and highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who suffered years in captivity.

Although Mr. Stockdale, who died last year, was mocked for those lines, he began that debate by trying to explain exactly who he was and why he stood before us.  Totally appropriate and so simple, yet how many times do other speakers drone on without giving even the most perfunctory information about who they are, what their organization does, or what we can expect to learn from them today?

Before drafting your presentation, consider what your audience really wants or needs from you.  Then stick to it. Save the meandering town hall style for friends and family.  Start by explaining who you are, your organization’s mission and your role. Share an agenda or an outline for the presentation that tells your audience the sequence of topics you’ll cover. Mention that after your prepared remarks, you’ll take questions (if that's part of the format). Don’t leave us guessing or assume we know any of these things mentioned above. We don’t.

Of course, some famous speakers don’t require much introduction or a clearly stated agenda because those things are obvious to the audience. But famous speakers don’t get a free pass. We come to hear them for the same reason we come to hear ordinary people. We want a better understanding about something the speaker knows and the speaker’s job is to transfer that understanding as effectively as possible in the time allotted.

Years ago I attended a breakfast event in Chicago where the keynote speaker was a renowned economist. People, who had paid handsomely to eat cold eggs and hear her views, packed a hall at a swanky downtown hotel.  Midway through her presentation, she began talking about her relationship with one of her children. I don’t mean a short, illustrative anecdote that related to her topic. No.  I’m talking about multiple paragraphs spewed out to an audience that politely "listened".  

Although I witnessed some eye rolling; I doubt anyone in the audience was inherently uncaring.  Rather, the problem was a speaker who forgot her purpose and indulged an impulse to stray from the expected topic for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, if you use technology to underscore your points, please make sure it works beforehand or don’t use it at all. If you can’t connect to a website, get that video clip to run properly, etc. don’t hope for the best knowing you can summon an attendant while your audience waits.  Think about a paper chart or sock puppets instead.

In sum, as a present to all of us subjected to public speakers from home, school, church, government, nonprofit organizations, or business - when it’s your turn to speak; please respect your audiences’ time and they’ll respect you for it.

Unity among the divided

Published: Oct. 5, 2006 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

There was a time when we didn't require hyphens to describe our citizenship - we were all just Americans. There was a time when no one, not a head of state or a popular rapper, would have the temerity to call the president of the United States a devil or a racist. There was a time when no one, Republican or Democrat, would go to an opposing party's Milwaukee offices to slash car tires on election day.

Times have changed. Yet there are still bright moments for those who believe we have some collective principles as a people. If you ever felt moved after someone you don't care for takes a public stand to defend you, you'll know what I mean. Something triggered that feeling recently.

Consider the words uttered on national television Sept. 21 by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.). Rangel is a highly visible politico, a street fighter with a law degree who never minces words for his base on the left (some would say far left). He is a formidable debater who usually manages to alienate people like me - until recently.

Referring to the anti-Bush blather delivered at the United Nations by Venezuela's Fidel Castro-adoring president, Hugo Chavez, Rangel said: "You don't come into my country, you don't come into my congressional district and you don't condemn my president."

Recounting his words still gives me a chill. You just wanted to hug the guy.

No, I don't care for Rangel's politics, but I must concede it takes integrity to rise above your differences and publicly defend a bitter adversary - after that adversary has been smeared - because your love of country compels you to do so.

Chavez's performance was reminiscent of a college speech given by some over-caffeinated student who accuses "the establishment" of causing every misfortune in the world. Instead of a youthful prima donna, though, it was a head of state. And instead of blaming everyone with a job, the target was one man.

What happened to decorum and tradition among national leaders? President Reagan even refused to remove his suit coat in the Oval Office, citing a tradition and sense of respect that previous presidents had had for that hallowed place. Contrast that with Chavez.

There are acceptable boundaries of dissent when critiquing the way American power is projected throughout the world. Once the boundaries are breached, Americans will often come together to say, "Wait! This is my country."

There must be something that unites us as citizens, something we agree on, something we'll come together on, regardless of political disposition.

In June, a Milwaukee jury came together in federal court and returned a guilty verdict for a former state official in the travel contract scandal. It's doubtful the defense team or judge would've allowed a group of stalwart Republicans to pack a jury, so people of differing political persuasions must've acted together to reinforce the ideal that Wisconsin needs a government that doles out contracts ethically and within the law.

That notion is something we can all embrace - from Racine to Rhinelander.

Whether on a local or a national stage, divided as we are, it's still gratifying when opposing Americans can come together for a common purpose.

John Maddente of Delafield works at an international audit firm. His e-mail address is jmaddente@wi.rr.com. His Web log is at www.maddente.blogspot.com

Learning to save lives

Published September 13, 2006 in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Normally, I find medical matters as interesting as a gossip column about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. So with some trepidation, I trudged off to learn about cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other first responder techniques for medical emergencies.

CPR conjures a TV image of someone blowing air into the mouth of a victim and performing a series of rapid thumps on the person's chest using the heel of a hand. With that in my mind, a dozen or so other middle-aged guys and I convened at our local church hall for evening instruction.

We were joined by two experienced emergency room nurses and a number of flaccid, half-bodied mannequins strewn across the floor. The program, which was conceived to train church helpers (in our case ushers) about emergency procedures, has been in place for some time.

The techniques have been used on more than one occasion after a parishioner turned victim during Sunday services. Ironically, my own father had his first heart attack in 1968 while serving as a church usher.

Oh, but all the things I'd rather be doing tonight, I thought.

The nurse began by discussing the church locations and characteristics of a device she kept referring to as an AED. "Excuse me, what's an AED?" I asked. Answer: automated external defibrillator. Then I knew what she meant, but again, only from television.

For the medically uninitiated like me, an AED is that box-like device with cables at the end of which are pads that adhere to a victim's chest to deliver an electrical shock. I had no idea that these machines are increasingly being deployed throughout public buildings or that AED operation is no longer the exclusive domain of emergency room doctors, paramedics and TV actors.

Of course, no one should "play" at administering CPR, operating an AED or trying to help someone who appears to be choking. It's not child's play. Without proper training, one can do more harm than good before professionals arrive on the scene.

What about the legal liability after trying to help someone who ends up dying during or after CPR you administered? Presuming that the individual trying to help has been properly trained, acts reasonably and is not paid for performing CPR, he or she will most likely be protected.

According to the American Heart Association's student workbook, all 50 states have good Samaritan laws and no "lay rescuer has ever been successfully sued for performing CPR" because these laws protect someone acting in good faith to save a life.

No, it doesn't mean that you won't get served for trying. I hope in that fateful moment when someone drops before me, I won't be paralyzed by fear of a lawsuit. Legal fears preclude a great many of us from performing otherwise humane deeds.

Still not persuaded to take the time to learn these procedures? The Milwaukee office of the American Heart Association provided me information that might compel you or someone you know to obtain training:

• About 75% to 80% of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home, and about 900 Americans die every day due to sudden cardiac arrest.

• Effective "bystander CPR" provided immediately after cardiac arrest can double a victim's chance of survival.

• If bystander CPR is not provided, a sudden cardiac arrest victim's chances of survival fall 7% to 10% for every minute of delay until defibrillation. Few attempts at resuscitation are successful if CPR and defibrillation are not provided within minutes of collapse.

You don't have to invest a ton of time, either. The American Heart Association created CPR Anytime for Family and Friends as a simple, affordable way for people to learn CPR in their homes. It costs only $30 and includes a CPR mannequin, a DVD and resource booklet.

To find an American Heart Association CPR or AED course or to order the CPR Anytime kit, call (877) 242-4277.

It's more interesting than a Hollywood gossip column any day.

John Maddente of Delafield works at an international audit firm. His e-mail address is jmaddente@wi.rr.com. His Web log is at www.maddente.blogspot.com

Religion in sports? Amen

Published: Aug. 15, 2006 in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The first thing I noticed was the likeness of Reggie White and a crucifix in a half-page spread. Hundreds of miles from home, I found the prominent article about the late Green Bay Packer in a national newspaper a welcome sight.

The second thing was the not-so-humble headline: "Reggie's (whole) story." Unsure how one can reveal the "whole" anything in one opinion article, I grabbed my hotel copy of the July 31 USA Today.

The article was timely because White would be posthumously inducted into Pro Football's Hall of Fame that week.

So what was the startling news, I wondered? Reading the first paragraph about White's "regrets" of preaching while in uniform, I began to anticipate some bombshell admission made just prior to his death. Maybe someone discovered a tape White recorded before his short life ended in 2004.

I prepared to have the image of a man whom I admired not only for devastating play on the football field but also for an unabashed faith life off the field altered in some way.

However, the article failed to deliver what one might have expected from its headline, first paragraph or closing sentence: "Let's remember Reggie's story - all of it."

That's when I became more intrigued with the author - Tom Krattenmaker, who holds a master's degree in religion from the University of Pennsylvania and serves on USA Today's board of contributors.

Krattenmaker's work reveals a recurring theme of what troubles him. With all that imperils professional sports today - bloated payrolls, steroids, player scandals, etc. - Krattenmaker worries about the increasing menace of overt displays of faith practiced by Christian athletes and religious organizations supporting them.

Several of his works that sound a warning include: "Going long for Jesus," "Playing the 'God' card" and "A 'war' on Christians? No." But back to his article on White.

The first problem is that there is little new in the article. Indeed, Krattenmaker simply recycled the same quotes from his Jan. 3, 2005, piece titled "Rushing for Jesus" (published at Salon.com).

Team chaplains and public displays of faith among professional athletes are not new, either. Wisconsinites old enough to remember the Lombardi era will recall St. Vince's oft-repeated mantra to players about three priorities: God, family and football.

Yes, the framers of our Constitution took care to preserve a separation of church and state. They didn't want religious fanaticism to supplant the role of government. They also wanted to protect the rights of citizens to worship, or not, as they choose.

But Krattenmaker invokes the church-state boundary by reminding us that sports facilities used during displays of Christian faith are publicly financed. He forgets that attendees at these games are voluntarily voting with very private dollars - the same private dollars that patronize advertisers feeding the money machine of pro sports.

There is our check and balance. We do not need a separation of church and locker room.

The second problem with Krattenmaker's work is that there is no arresting feature or strong indicators to support his assertion that something is increasingly awry in professional sports due to "the conspicuous religiosity that we witness in pro sports today." And we can't know had he lived longer whether White would have fully adopted Krattenmaker's cause.

The quotes used in the article do reveal that White felt sports ministries had exploited his fame, that deeds are more important than preaching and that he was living that ethos more than before.

But that's it. I see thin evidence to justify a mission to identify what Krattenmaker calls "the appropriate place of religion in pro sports" or to control a force he describes as "problematic."

Krattenmaker is working on a book about the influence of religion in pro sports. I'm content to close this chapter with words from White's widow, Sara, addressing fans on Aug. 5: "I encourage you to live like Reggie lived."

Amen.