Ervolino

Wednesday 11-11: My new site info

OK, folks, it's MOVING DAY. Within minutes, unless I totally screw this up, this blog will be moving to its new address. The new link is as follows: ERVOLINO BLOG

You will need to change the current bookmark you use to get here. I mean, THERE. I mean...well, you know what I mean.

 As far as I can tell all of the content has been moved and the new site looks quite nice! I may have some problems posting at first -- I've never been very good at this stuff -- but I should have all the kinks worked out by the end of today.

 As always, thanks for visiting me HERE and please continue to visit me THERE.

  

 

The Sniper Case

It was only seven years ago that DC residents found themselves terrorized by an unknown killer who "experts" surmised was a white man in his 30s. John Allen Muhammad, who was ultimately captured and tried for the crimes -- with young accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo -- didn't fit the known profile of most serial killers. He also wasn't driving the mysterious white van that some witnesses reportedly saw near crime scenes.

 Muhammad faces execution today for killing at least 10 people, a murderous spree that was apparently part of some grand-scale post 9-11 terror campaign. What still isn't quite clear is if Muhammad -- born John Allen Williams -- was seeking to kill his ex-wife and gain custody of their children (a claim made in court by prosecutors) or if the events in his personal life had pushed him over the edge.

 I will always remember this case because of the manic television coverage it inspired. All of the cable news networks went into overdrive on this story, with round-the-clock reports, updates and panels incorporating the aforementioned serial killer experts who, for all their expertise, got everything wrong.

 Muhammad's story wasn't extraordinary and that may be what scared me the most about him. He seemed like to so many other people wandering around nowadays with no direction or purpose and not much to look forward to. He eventually embraced the Nation of Islam (which has since distanced itself from him) and felt an affinity for those who attacked his country a year earlier. His plan (as explained by Malvo) was to assemble an army of kids who Muhammad hoped to train in Canada and then unleash on the U.S. in a series of random attacks.

 It seems unlikely that Muhammad would have ever managed to pull this off. But it is frightening to think that a man who served in the U.S. Army National Guard and then volunteered for active service, would then become so disillusioned with his country that he would even THINK of something like this.

 It's tempting to make comparisons between him and the suspect in the Fort Hood rampage last week. It also has to make you wonder how many other people out there are disillusioned, lost, angry and looking for an opportunity to make some bold, deadly statement that only seems to make sense to them.

 Many well-known serial killers come from mangled backgrounds and have histories of strange behavior that goes all the way back to their childhoods. It's creepy to think that people who didn't have these problems -- who, in fact, had otherwise normal lives -- could suddenly reach this point, plotting out mass murders and bizarre schemes to create havoc.

 Before his arrest, Muhammad didn't fit the accepted profile for someone capable of this behavior. Well, perhaps it is time that we seriously try to understand his particular type of madness because -- unfortunately -- there are plenty of people just like him all around us. 

 

 

 

 

Monday

I'm speaking today at Bergen Community College, as part of a series I do twice a year through the Record. Friends always ask me 'What are you going to speak about?" I'm never quite sure, so I usually just go there and ask what they WANT me to talk about.

 One thing that just irked me -- for the 9,000th time -- was some stupid chain email about all of Michelle Obama's "lackeys" "servants" "attendents" etc.

 I think most of you realize now that 98 percent of chain emails about real people are made up idiots with nothing else to do with their time. They tend to feed off people's fears, prejudices or political persuasion. And some, like this Michelle-o-gram, also take a swipe at the media. 

 As I've said on many occasions here, anyone who wants you to distrust the legitimate mainstream media is not someone to be trusted. Sure, we make mistakes and our editorial pages do promote a certain opinion. But a free press is the hallmark of a democracy and the first thing dictators go after is a free press.

 Newspapers -- and all of the media in this country, for that matter -- are going through an awful time right now. We are trying to survive all sorts of challenges and keep our heads above water.

 When people go after the legit media (and I'm talking now about real news providers, not chat shows, radio loons or supermarket tabloids) it is a direct attack on this country, on you and on the freedoms we all hold dear.

 If I sound like I'm over-reacting, well, maybe I am. But, I am sick of this rhetoric, and of these carefully designed email that are designed to get a gut reaction from people, even though the "facts" they offer are fictional or have been presented in such a way as to be misleading.

 I assume all of these emails are baloney, but since a few (VERY few) are actually positive and CORRECT, I often go to snopes.com to check out their take on the matter. They have a great track record when it comes to these things and their information, in my experience, is correct and well-documented.

 Now, have a good day and

 VIVA LA FREE PRESS!!!!

Words, etc.

Thanks to Janet K for passing this along:

  Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. The winners are: 

     1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs. 
    2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained. 
    3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach. 
    4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk. 
    5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.. 
    6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you 
    absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown. 
    7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp. 
    8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash. 
    9.. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you 
    are run over by a steamroller. 
    10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline. 
    11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam. 
    12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by 
    proctologists. 
    13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist. 
    14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with 
    Yiddishisms. 
    15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your Soul 
    flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there. 
    16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by 
    Jewish men.

Sunday, Nov. 8

Beautiful morning -- with a high in the upper 60s expected? I guess this is as good a day as any to get back to work. Type. Type. Type.

 I will be taking a break this afternoon to get together with Lee, the old friend I ran into last weekend. Tomorrow I'll be speaking to a class as Bergen Community College as part of its In the Record series. I do this twice a year, so I shouldn't have too many problems with that. (Although I hate classrooms -- or any other rooms -- without windows. Doesn't that make you crazy???)

 Oh, well...back to business. Columns to write, people to see....

 Have a great day.

Saturday

Nice sunny day. Going to the gym. Resume my column-writing tomorrow. Stay-cation over. Thank heavens! How y'all doing? 

Friday

Like all of you, I was deeply disturbed yesterday afternoon by the rampage at Fort Hood. Throughout the day and night, it was troubling to hear the descriptions of what happened and the profile of the suspect who (as many of us were shocked to learn late last night) is still alive and in custody.

 A new wave of anti-Muslim sentiment in this country seems almost inevitable if the posts I read on other blogs and news sites are any indication. And I'm sure that the video of the suspect buying coffee in traditional Muslim garb on the day of the shootings pushed some people over the edge -- even though we don't know enough about him yet to fully grasp how significant (or insignificant) that was.

 Since September 11, 2001 this country has needed some prominent American Muslims to step forward and become part of the cultural landscape; to speak to all of us regularly on any number of issues and, in the process, to defuse the US vs. THEM mentality that has festered in the wake of the 2001 attacks.

 At the moment, what little we know about the Fort Hood suspect suggests he was an ongoing victim of this mentality and that he eventually succumbed to the very disorder he was treating in the military. 

 On Friday, the president reminded us that we still don't have enough information to understand what happened or why it happened. He's right, of course. But, in the meantime, it would be helpful if there were some familiar Muslim faces on the news to reassure those who need it that the majority of American Muslims condemn this act of madness.

 Such condemnations are on the news wires now from Muslim organizations I've never heard of. This is somewhat helpful. But, it's hard not feel that we need more from this community; specifically: representatives and leaders who can bridge the cultural divide that has allowed so many Americans to view Muslims with suspicion and scorn.

 Perhaps this is the media's fault -- for only seeking out Muslim spokespersons when something awful happens. But, whatever the reasons, it needs to change. Going online this morning and reading so many anti-Muslim statements -- from all around the country -- was unsettling. 

 At the moment, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan -- still referred to as "the alleged gunman" -- remains an enigma. I think most of us realize that he is not representative of an entire religion. But, some feel differently about that. This has to change. And I believe it depends on the emergence of Muslim-American leaders who can successfully represent the majority and create a true social and cultural bridge that, eight years after 9/11, is still severely lacking in this country.

 

 

Thursday

I've never considered myself much of a Yankees fan, but I always find myself glued to World Series games and this series was terrific, right up until last night's triumph for the Bombers. I rooted for them, and enjoyed seeing these two well-matched teams take it to six. Last night was fun, although Sunday's game was probably my favorite. All that last minute action....I hadn't jumped around and howled so much in a long time.

 Anyway, congrats to them and to all you Yankees fans who are so hopelessly devoted to this club. 

 My friend Troy came over last night for game six and I made some chili -- actually my own concoction with skirt steak, beans, zucchini, carrots, onions and diced tomatoes. I also made a guacamole-like appetizer and a huge spinach salad with mushrooms and bacon. We could barely eat the salad though. I made way too much food.

 Later on we had some chocolate ice cream with bananas. Funny, but no matter how stuffed I am, I can usually find a little room for ice cream.

 Hope all of you are well and enjoying what appears to be a nice, bright day. I am tired -- didn't sleep much -- and wondering now whether to go back to bed or get on with my day and take a nap later. Oh, decisions, decisions.

 There are so many end-of-summer markers, but the last of them -- the World Series -- is finally out of the way. I saw Christmas decorations in the store yesterday and even saw a neighbor in Wood-Ridge who already has his decorated Christmas tree in the front window of his house.

 I know its fun to complain about rushing things every year, but I don't really care, anymore. If you need a little Christmas, be my guest. Actually, I think it would be fun to have the decorations up before Thanksgiving. 

 I start writing again this weekend -- my column resumes on Wednesday -- after yet another stay-cation. I can't believe I still have more time coming to me, but that's not happening until after Christmas.

 Have a great day and weekend. I'll check in periodically. And, as always, if anyone has a topic of special interest to them please post...

Post-Mortem

No real surprises in yesterday's election. Bloomberg spent his money effectively. Corzine didn't.  

 I knew nothing about Chris Christie, but in the last four years, I can't remember anyone ever bringing up Gov. Corzine in conversation. And this has just been one of those years. People who were disgusted with everything were more likely to vote than people who were merely depressed.

 Did the Republican wins reflect on Pres. Obama? I don't think so. Despite the Obama-haters who get more airtime than their numbers merit, I don't think most Americans are angry at this president. Yet. But, let's face it: Things have to start turning around soon, or next year's election will be ALL about Obama.

 I haven't seen turnout numbers yet, but I can't imagine they were too high around here. I think we're all still exhausted from last year's election...

 Did any of these results surprise you? How about the repeal of same-sex marriage in Maine? Court rulings have made gay marriage legal in some states. Voters still reject it, but consider the numbers. Had anyone told me 25 years ago that 47 percent of voters in Maine would be in favor of same-sex marriage, I would have been stunned. Older Americans -- even many older gay Americans -- still find this concept foreign. But, every year, the numbers seem to shift slightly. And what was initially an almost-shocking notion no longer seems like such a big deal to most of us.

 If any of yesterday's races reflected REAL politics in this country, it was the congressional race in upstate New York, which most pundits agreed had everything to do with feelings of disillusionment and confusion within the Republican party. The GOP continues to spin around in circles, which isn't good for either party. 

 Oh, well. Another election passes into history. Now, let's get this World Series over with...

 

 

Election Day