John Rocker: At It Again! , September 20, 2006

SOME SIX OR SO YEARS AGO, AMERICANS who weren't baseball fans were introduced to a young man named John Rocker. The young Braves closing pitcher garnered the national spotlight after making what many considered racist remarks about foreigners in New York City who, among others things, refused to speak english. I even cringed when I heard the remarks. I remember saying, "Wow! The guy really stepped in it by saying that!" I imagined he would pay for those remarks. In some ways he did. But in other ways, it set the stage for what was to come a few years later.

Back then, the brash young athlete said what many Americans were thinking but were afraid to say. Fast forward to 2006 and John Rocker is at it again. There's a big difference this time though. A few years the wiser, more polished and refined and complete with a public relations advisor, Rocker has begun his "Speak English" 2006 media tour. Today he was on FNC, presenting his message and explaining why he feels that it is important that the message be heard.

Rocker's main assertion is that one of the reasons many immigrants (both legal and illegal) have the problems they do here in America is that they refuse to speak english. He also says that he believes that angers many Americans, especially when the government spends so much money on programs to try and teach english to immigrants who refuse to learn.

During the course of his interview, he told of learning spanish so he could function better in society while he played ball in Central and South America. Rocker said that by making that effort, he was received as someone welcome in the countries he visited and lived in despite his well known verbal gaffes earlier in his career. He went on to say the purpose of his media tour and related merchandise sales is to try to encourage civil discussion on this topic which has come to the forefront in the last few years.

After watching his appearance today on FOX News, I have to say I was suprisingly impressed. At first I thought it was going to be an anti illegal immigration message. While he did dance around the edges of that issue, his message was mostly about foreigners in America learning or at least making an effort to learn English. I think his message this time around is one that will strike a chord with a large segment of Americans if they have the opportunity to hear it. As I listened, I was reminded of the time I spent overseas in Portugal, Japan, and the Middle East and my attempts to learn the local languages. In some cases, I wasn't very successful but the effort was noticed and appreciated by those whose country I was a guest in. I, like John Rocker, see no reason why that same standard couldn't and shouldn't be applied here. It's expected of Americans overseas, so why should Americans be ridiculed and chastised for expecting the same from foreigners in America? First we have to get past the talking points and venom of the politically correct extremists posing as illegal immigration advocates. Only then will we as a nation be able to hold a civil disscussion on this issue.

Rocker's next media appearance will be on Thursday 9/21/06 live on the Mike Gallagher Show at approximately 10:35 am EST. Some stations tape delay the show though. So to check for a station near you that carries the show and the air time, just go to www.mikeonline.com . If you get the chance to listen, I think you'll be pleasantly suprised. I know I was. You can also learn more about other John Rocker activities at www.johnrocker.net .

Til next time........

Originally posted 9/20/06 on Yahoo 360

Age = Wisdom...Not Always!, March 11, 2006

Age = Wisdom…Not Always

There’s an old adage that age equals wisdom. As we get older, our accumulated life experiences make us wiser and smarter. I remember learning from my mother and father that I should always respect my elders because they were older and had learned and experienced things that still hadn't learned or experienced yet. Earlier this week, I found myself once again reminding my youngest son of the concept. As I explained this to my son for what seemed like the umpteenth time, it occurred to me that not everyone gets wiser with age. In fact, with some people, exactly the opposite takes place. This especially holds true with politicians and people in the media. A couple of great examples of this would be Al Gore and Ted Turner.

Al Gore comes from what used to be a very influential political family in Tennessee that belonged to the Democrat Party. Make no mistakes though, it was not the same Democrat Party we see trying to undermine America today. We used to call them “Southern Democrats”…. moderate to liberal on social issues, but very conservative in matters of family, finance, and national security. The Gore family did many great things for the state of Tennessee over the years. As Al made his way into state and national arena, he carried the family “banner” with typical Gore Honor. He voted for pro-life legislation 27 times early in his career. He was also well known throughout the south as an advocate for gun ownership. He was a friend of military and many still remember the very public battles his wife Tipper waged with the music industry in an eventually successful campaign to get warning labels placed on music that was considered inappropriate for children. While this was Tipper’s pet project, Al made it well known that he strongly supported her in this effort to help America’s families.

What a difference a few years has made though. After a couple of failed presidential bids and 8 years as Bill Clinton’s VP, Al Gore seems to have done a total 180 on almost every issue that he once claimed as near and dear to his heart. Now he is “anti-everything” except abortion. At one point, he even had some less educated folks thinking he was responsible for the creation of the Internet. Judging from some of his recent speeches overseas, his attitudes border on seditious and at the least extremely anti-American. It also appears, at times, that he has a hard time telling the difference between fact and fantasy.

Another example would be media icon Ted Turner. From a business standpoint, Turner was probably one of the smartest people of his time. Turner was the consummate businessman, always the financial conservative but never afraid to take a chance if he was convinced he would win. On the rare occasion that he did lose, he wouldn’t view it as a loss. Instead he chose to view those rare occasions as educational opportunities on “how not to do it next time.” He was never afraid to criticize the mainstream media for their deceitful ways either. When his father committed suicide, he took his father's bankrupt billboard company and turned it into Turner Broadcasting System, the premiere broadcasting company of its day. You know the names…. CNN, Headline News, TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, and The Cartoon Network, plus The Atlanta Braves from Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, just to name a few. Several years after becoming a millionaire, the man still drove a Volkswagen and cut his own hair. When asked about the latter, he would often joke, “Why pay someone else to do something I can do myself?”

However, during his later years, some of Turner wiser traits seem to have fallen by the wayside. A marriage to Jane Fonda, a multi-billion dollar donation to the United Nations, and the demise of his broadcasting empire as it was absorbed into the Time-Warner Corporation are just a few episodes that have left many people shaking their heads.

Al Gore and Ted Turner are just a couple of prominent examples of why age doesn’t always equal wisdom, even as we convince our children it does.

(originally posted 3-11-06 on Yahoo 360)