Kids Survivor: Don’t Even Think About Itl

The new CBS reality TV series Kid Nation is receiving the type of controversy-driven publicity that would make Michael Moore turn green with envy. A parent has complained about conditions bordering on abuse and neglect, the whether state laws were broken, and the Smoking Gun has published the show’s contract with parents.

CBS’s promotion of Kid’s Nation describes the show as follows:

“Forty children, forty days, no adults. They’re eager to prove that they can build a better world for tomorrow in the new reality show, KIDS NATION. Setting in Bonanza City, New Mexico, once a thriving mining town, but now deserted, these kids ages 8 – 15, all walks of life, will build their own new world, pioneer style. They will confront adult issues while coping with classic childhood emotions such as homesickness, peer pressure and the urge to break every rule. Episodes end with a town meeting in which the kids award one child $20,000 all leading to a grand finale, with an unimaginable test, the biggest awards, and a special surprise for every kid.”

Just from this description, we would think that any normal parent would decline to let their child participate. Going a step further in this concern, a 22-page contract was signed with parents and the producers that allows the producers almost full custody of the child for the duration of the show’s production. One particular paragraph that interest us:

Parents of minors starring in "Kid Nation," the controversial new CBS reality show, signed away their rights to sue the network and the show's producers if their child died, was severely injured, or contracted a sexually transmitted disease during the program's taping. The blanket liability waivers are contained in a detailed "participant agreement" prepared by the show's producers and signed by parents. That document also gave consent to CBS and its production partners to make medical treatment decisions on the minor's behalf (including surgery), though the network made no promises about the "qualifications or credentials" of medical professionals that might treat the stars of "Kid Nation," which was originally titled "The Manhattan Project." The show, which debuts next month, features 40 children (ages 8-15) living in a New Mexico "ghost town" for 40 days without adult supervision. Concerns about possible violations of child labor laws have prompted state officials to investigate the TV production. A copy of the participant agreement was provided to TSG by the New Mexico attorney general's office in response to an open records request. By signing the agreement, a parent gave CBS the right to search the Minor's person and the Minor's belongings (including, without limitation, by x-ray or similar device)." Additionally, the agreement notes, "Kid Nation" participants "will have no privacy" except when they are in the bathroom.

Why would any reasonably thinking parent sign any contract that would require this of their child and relinquish their own parental rights? A parent has complained about conditions bordering on abuse and neglect, the New Mexico Attorney General’s office is investigating whether state laws were broken, and the Smoking Gun has published the show’s contract with parents.

Instances have been reported in Entertainment Weekly the purpose of the project was to watch youngsters build an adult-free society. They cooked their own food, washed their own laundry, used outhouses, and even cleaned their own kitchen. And that's how one participant on Kid Nation (premiering Sept. 19) has mistaken a water-and-bleach solution for ginger ale. He thought it tasted funny, so naturally, he asked three friends to take a swig.

We all know that reality TV appeals to industry executives due to the cost efficiency of it. Why splash out on a sumptuous period drama or a star-studded comedy when all you need to guarantee a ratings hit is a few wannabes and a camera? Now Hollywood unions are fighting back after one reality show that featured children allowed to run their own town, has been condemned for going too far. Jeff Hermanson, assistant executive director of Writers Guild of America, West has fumed that: “To me, this is the sweatshop of the entertainment industry” adding that such shows are exploited to avoid having to pay the salaries of talented writers and actors.
Still we sit in amazement about how this fiasco has gotten then far. Kids’ Nation is set to air on September 19.

Facing a salvo of criticism - and potential lawsuits - CBS has little choice but to air a safe, predictable show about 40 kids ages 8 to 15 taking over a New Mexico ghost town. Don’t expect Lord of the Flies. Some will get homesick yet miraculously harness the strength to stand on their own. Nerds will find friends. Bullies will learn to show their soft sides. Hugging will become a team sport. Not exactly what we might expect. Such a white-wash would squelch some of the mystery of the show.
Still Paul Petersen, a former child actor said, “It's ghastly and a shame," Petersen runs A Minor Consideration, a non-profit watchdog and advocacy group that monitors child labor in the entertainment industry. "I've never seen anything like this, in terms of wanton disregard for the lives of children."

Can kids legally choose to enter into an intimate relationship? The parents can't speak publicly about the show without the network's permission. They face a $5 million penalty if they do. For the honor of letting their children become human guinea pigs, each family could receive a whopping $5,000 or $20,000 for the best participants. While CBS was careful to add countless disclaimers in the contract, there is one they can't use: "There were no kids harmed during the production of this show."

Maybe CBS should have cast Michael Vick and his dogs instead. Well, maybe not!. That would have been inhumane.

Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter pressed CBS to cancel the show. "This has all gone far enough," he wrote. "It's time for CBS to cut its losses, apologize for an idea that was well-intentioned but ill-considered, and pull Kid Nation from the schedule.” Deadline Hollywood blogger Nikki Finke concluded her column by urging a Congressional investigation of "this latest scandal because it involves children.” On the other hand, Alex Koroknay-Palicz, executive director of the National Youth Rights Association, told Britain's Guardian newspaper, "This show is challenging a social taboo that needs to be challenged ... that kids need to be kids and need to be sheltered from life, which isn't the case at all."

What encourages a TV network and parents of 40 kids to submit to such a premise in a TV show? We believe, simply, it is greed, avarice, etc.

We need to stand up and be counted in opposition to such nonsense on TV. Shame, shame on the parents for giving up their precious privileged of being a parent. We need to speak out in opposition to television that promotes greed. We need to demand that well scripted, well-acted shows be developed.

Do you remember Howard Beale, the news anchor who lost his job with the network? He encouraged his viewers to find some common ground to stand upon to make changes and cure ills of the society. His best quote was.

“'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!’ I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!’ Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!'

You may want to consider watching a DVD on September 19 th.

Michael Vice is a Disgrace

There are many comments of Michael Vick's guilty plea include criticisms of those who target icons such as Vick. It is troublesome that a person who would find sport in dog fighting is called an icon. Michael Vick was involved in a sport that at one time was acceptable, but is now considered brutal and inhumane. He not only financed this activity, he raised dogs to participate in the sport and he slaughtered dogs that did not perform up to expectations.

It has suggested that we not be so sensitive about this and everything. If we desensitize ourselves, then we will fail to acknowledge the wrongs in the world and speak out against those wrongs. Do we fail to be sensitive about the genocide in Darfur, the dieing of thousands of children every day, the children who are uninsured for basic health care, those who are still suffering the affects if hurricane Katrina, and the list goes on. We must not become insensitive.

As to the banning of Pit Bull Terriers because they are use by the uncaring to fight, the breed is not the problem. Even the Boston Terrier was originally bred for fighting originally.

Some say that we are getting too sensitive about Vick's crime an that we should get real. Getting real is standing up for what is right and not accepting the world for what it is. It takes strong people to stand-up and be counted and protest the wrongs of the world.

Michael Vick had been an icon of the NFL and should have accepted his responsibility to live a life that is exemplary to the people who cheered for him during every game. Sports icon was paid too much not to give back to their fans and to a place that has so richly blessed them. The NFL Commissioner agrees and has suspended Vick. The Atlanta Falcons are consideration demanding the return of payments that have been made to him. These payments include, but are not limited to: the last signing bonus.

Yes, it is a mean, cruel world. Michael Vick had become a part of that. He should be punished for his crime. The privilege of earning grossly big pay checks should be taken away from him. Perhaps this example will encourage others to a more sane world.

Parts of this essay have previously been published on the Helium website.

Look Closely at Guiliani

There are some real possibilities about what the White House might hold for us in the next administration. Unfortunately, I do not see a lot of the cream rising to the top. Bill Richardson is making some headway in his campaign. I can only wish him good fortune.

On the Republican side, I am not sure there is any candidate that will ever rise to the top. The election is not a shoo-in for the democrats. Even so the Republicans have one candidate that could out-worsen G. W. Bush. Giulani's rhetoric is beyond comprehention. His speeches only succeed in making Bush's orations sound fresh.

Guiliani's concepts on foreign policy are founded deep in nothing. His platitudes are often well used and tend to bore me:

We are at the dawn of a new era in global affairs, when old ideas have to be rethought and new ideas have to be devised to meet new challenges ...

The United States must not rest until the al Qaeda network is destroyed and its leaders, from Osama bin Laden on down, are killed or captured ...

We must seek common ground without turning a blind eye to our differences with [China and Russia] ...

It is clear that we need to do a better job of explaining America's message and mission to the rest of the world, not by imposing our ideas on others but by appealing to their enlightened self-interest ...

America will win the war of ideas ...

We must learn from our past if we want to win the peace as well as the war ...

It is better to give people a hand up than a handout.

Most of his sayings on international affairs are fresh from a Henry Kissinger "op-ed".

Reading Giuliani and imagining that he might somehow become president chills me with a profound sense of dispair. Fortunately, there is comic relief. At one of many points where he attempts to display his erudition and expertise, he notes the "cultural exchanges" that allegedly brought about the end of the Soviet empire. The example he cites is pianist Van Cliburn's concerts in Moscow, which "hastened change."

Van Cliburn played Moscow in 1958. The Soviet Union fell in 1989. If change were any hastier, the Berlin Wall would still be intact.

I encourage you not to give Guiliani a second look. We do have the potential to have something worse than Bush.

The Answer is Blowing in the Wind

Do you know the word Omertà? It is the code of silence practiced by the Mafia. The code goes like this "Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both. For a wounded man shall say to his assailant, 'If I live, I will kill you. If I die, you are forgiven.' Such is the rule of honor.” The word is not original to the Mafia and its roots also refer to manly.

It seems that the code of silence is the final bond holding the Bush administration together. The President cannot fire Alberto Gonzales. Gonzales is needed to protect White House secrets and the scheming of Cheney and Rove.

The following just might exhibit the actions of the Bush administration to keep a lid on everything:

• Honesty is dishonorable.
• Silence is manly.
• Penitence is weakness.
• Loyalty trumps law.
• Protecting higher-ups is patriotism.
• Stonewalling is idealism.
• Telling the truth is informing.
• Cooperation with investigators is cowardice.
• Breaking the code is betrayal.
  

As with the Mafia, once the code is shattered, however, no one can be trusted and the entire edifice crumbles.

Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,

Pretending he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

The President is using the longest list of Executive Privileges of any President, and we aren’t sure where it will end. The use of the privilege has gotten out of hand that we find this most exhausting, tedious quote of a witness before the Senate Judicial Committee. White House political aide J. Scott Jennings, "testifying" today before the Senate Judiciary Committee on White House involvement in the firing of U.S. attorneys last year:

"Please understand, Senators, that I have the utmost respect for this committee. And a contempt citation is not something that I take lightly. To the contrary, if a court ultimately determines that Congress' need for the information
outweighs the president's assertion of executive privilege, I would welcome the
opportunity to answer your questions on the U.S. attorneys matter.

"Until that time, however, I am compelled to abide by the president's directive, particularly given my status as a current White House employee. In light of these considerations, as well as a desire to be as consistent as possible and
avoid even the appearance of selectively answering questions, I will be unable
at this time to answer any questions concerning White House consideration,
deliberations or communications related to the U.S. attorneys matter, regardless
of whether specific documents or conversations may already have been discussed
publicly by others. To do otherwise would directly violate the president's
order."

Whew!

How many times must a man look upBefore he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man haveBefore he can hear people cry?
How many times must we hear and not understand
Before we say stop?
How many times must we see poverty?
Before we understand what to do.
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blown' in the wind.

Thanks to Bob Dylan, a fresh sound in the naïve days of my youth.

OH! That old picture! And Other Ruminations

Yes, there is a photographic representation of this writer. This was used by The Enterprise when I wrote my "Babbling Brooks" column for them almost ten years ago. I like the photo and I don't know why. Maybe because it is one of the fairest representations of me that I have. Maybe it takes me back to a time when I was meeting dead-lines and spent my summers camping in the woods of Caswell County.

Much has changed since this photo in my life. Carol and I now have two grandsons who are presents from two great sons and two wonderful daughters-in-law. A third is expected in December.

I am surviving from my deep dark bouts with depression.

I am back on course as a conservative Christian. Don't misunderstand this statement! Not the Christian Right.

• I am a believer in the teachings of Christ and the "red letters" in my Bible are my guide.
• I do not believe in abortion or gay marriages. However, I do wish that these would become more of a discussion and debate in the Church, than in the the legislatures of this country.
• I believe that every individual is a gift of God and
• that no child should have to live in poverty.
• I believe that our "Great Commission" is to help those who need help, not just with money, but with a smile and a hand up.
• I believe that God is color blind and that all the races and creeds of this world are a part of His plan.
• I believe that in America that the Bill of Rights is what we must adhere to and no established religion is just as important as free expression.
• I believe that tax dollars should be used more efficiently in solving the poverty, hunger and genocide in this world.
• I believe that good people have to stand tall and to express their opinions rather than accepting the status quo.

I wish for you a great day and sweet dreams. Just remember that yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. So Carpe Diem

Other's Thoughts on Karl Rove

These I Wish I had Said!

In a few days Presidential aid and confidant is leaving the White House and politics for the present. This "political serial killer who tried to forge a one-party state. But don't expect the Mayberry Machiavelli to pay for his civic sins" as described by Sidney Blumenthal.

Garrison Keillor says

"He left the White House with a wave and a grin and not in handcuffs as some had hoped, followed by the usual backwash of commentary on how important he was, or how not important in comparison to how important some people thought he was, and what I find eerie about the man is his inexhaustible self-confidence and optimism. "

"His last big assignment was to get the immigration bill passed. It failed in large part because Congress is tired of Mr. Rove and his boy-genius high-handedness."

". . .Most of the people who pick our beans and tomatoes are men and women forced to sneak across the border, and why? Because they're a security threat? No. So that we can get them cheap, that's why. "

"Mr. Rove spoke with great confidence about beans and tomatoes and showed slides and got standing ovations in many places, but he didn't get the crops in."

"No wonder they called him turd blossom! Karl Rove could put fecal matter on his lapel and call it a boutonniere. Goodbye and good riddance"

Karl Rove is one of those political operatives that was given too much authority by a President who owes him a great debt. Without Karl Rove, George W. Bush would have never been elected President. Rove's efforts to form a coalition of the Christian Right and the Republican Party is a failure. Karl had no business in the operation of the White House and this observer is convinced that his actions have hurt the United States in many ways that we may not ever understand. The White House has been used for the protection of big business, not a vehicle of conservatism as it claims.

Take a long hard look at your government at every level. Is is practiced in the open? Are issues unreasonably hidden and secrets kept? Is your Congressman one of them or on the side of good government? Is your Congressman responsive to your need? Look at the candidates for President and determine for yourself, if they are responsive or just answering what they think you want to hear?

Let's let this Administration be an example of what we do not want and what is corrupt. We haven't seen this sort of hard ball politics in decades. Maybe together we can put it out of business.

I want to thank some very special friends for bringing my attention to Garrison Keillor's comment. To my good friend from Cherry Lane, thanks!

Bear Bryant Artwork on the Walls!?

I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of reading of the collapse of aid to the Gulf region following Hurricane Katrina. The latest is the building of football condos in Tuscaloosa, Alabama,with grant money that was designed to spur rebuilding of the economy and infrastructure in the Gulf disaster area. Ten condominium projects are going up about the University of Alabama. The builders are asking upwards of $1 million dollars for each which have granite counter tops, king-sized bathtubs and what is called "Bama" decor, including crimson upholstered furniture and Bear Bryant wall art.

To set the record straight, I am NOT an Alabama fan. I have never been to Tuscaloosa. I do not hate Bear Bryant. However, the good people of the University of Alabama should be embarrassed by such use of the GO Zone grants.

Many of the investors who purchase the condos with plans to rent them. They also plan to take full advantage of tax benefits to investors under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 (GO Zone). Needless to say, the developments in Tuscaloosa are completely legal. However, many in the area are galled by development such as these. Some believe that the act was created to encourage the building of housing and shopping centers of the worst hit areas of the region. Tuscaloosa only got heavy rainfall during the storm. Many developers that the grants should not have been use for condos and other development is Tuscaloosa. They think that the harder hit areas of Mobil, Biloxi, Gulfport, and New Orleans are the most likely places for this development.

My wife and I rode around Pearlington, Mississippi, recently and observed very little improvement in commerce in the area. We also noted families still living in Katrina campers. The elementary school is not open and the post office has not be rebuilt. A great nation that we claim to be is failing at all levels. Government at the Federal Level has failed in the recovery following the worst natural devastation in our history. The displacement of the victims is terrible. Local investors, at times, would rather invest in condos decorated in Bear Bryant wall art, than to build a small subdivision in Pearlington or condos for the working poor in Louisiana. Church denominations have left existing churches instead of attempting to rebuild. Pearlington is the poorest place I have ever visited. A few months following the storm, it looked like third-world. It seems that this great nation has decided to use Katrina to rid itself of slums in the larger cities of the gulf and to make more and more homeless and displaced people.

I am approaching the time when I am going to use the character Howard Beale's call to action in the 1976 movie, Network.

I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it:'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!'

You may remember the movie and Peter Finch played the role of Howard Beale.

If we really get angry about this lack of action and inappropriate action, then maybe we can get something done.