Posted by
Dave Tindell on Saturday, July 22, 2006 7:59:29 AM
Hello from northwest Wisconsin! I've been a viewer of Townhall's columns for awhile now, and couldn't resist their invitation to start a web log. I'm not a real aficionado of blogs, but I think they're right when they say that blogging is starting to change the way the news media operates, and that's definitely a good thing. If for no other reason than we need to do more to keep the mainstream media accountable, blogging is good.
I will be using this forum to discuss my views on various topics and I invite your comments. What keeps a democracy vigorous and moving forward is participation by the electorate, and not just every two or four years of going to the polling place. The exchange of information is vitally important, and that has never been easier---or more important---to do than it is now, thanks to the Internet. We may not always agree on things, but I think almost all of us can agree that making our voices heard is very important. Some politicians and media editors may disagree, but the train has left the station on this one and they will ignore the people's voices at their peril.
So let me begin by telling you a bit about myself. As my bio states, I work for the US government, specifically the Social Security Administration. (It was tempting to say "I work for the federal government" and leave it at that---most people assume that involves something covert, and indeed when I meet new people I often say only that, just to see their reactions.) After a 20-year career as a radio broadcaster, I decided to try my hand at something else, so after a year of selling cars and three years at a telecom, I got this government gig, and it's a good one. I'm married to a great gal who owns a travel agency; I have two fine kids, a daughter who graduated UW-Milwaukee in 2004 and now works at the Milwaukee Art Museum, and a son who will attend UWM this fall; I hold a black belt in the Korean martial art of taekwondo and have also studied the Korean art of hapkido and the Russian art of Systema; I'm a history buff, specifically US and German history; I collect Theodore Roosevelt books and memorabilia; and as for languages, I am (barely) conversational in German and have dabbled a bit in Italian and Spanish.
There are a number of topics I will discuss on this blog and I invite your comments. The first thing I'll start with is a question: did you hear Newt Gingrich last night on NPR's "Week in Review" program? He really nailed the whole Middle East situation, as far as I was concerned. What was especially entertaining was the reaction from the liberal guest and the callers, almost hysterical in their disagreement. One guy could hardly speak, he was so upset. That's been my experience, too, when the subject of the War on Terror/War vs Radical Islam/World War III comes up. Conservatives (who could also be called "realists" in this scenario) state their views and liberals start foaming at the mouth. It would be nice to be able to have a civil discussion of this issue but for whatever reason that doesn't seem possible these days.
Anyway, what do you think?