Props and Slops: April 6-12
Apr 13th, 2009 by Capsun
IN MEMORIAM
- David Lance Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons (April 7)
HAWAII
- Props: A tie. First, local CBS affiliate KGMB9 for winning 3 Edward R. Murrow awards. News Director Chris Archer (@KGMB9Archer) has more details on his witty and well-written blog. Second, Hawaiian Airlines (@HawaiianAirline)for being named the top in airline quality in 2008 and for being the nation’s most on-time airline in February.
- Honorable Mention: Honolulu for being named the 8th best walking city in the U.S.
- Honorable Mention: Honolulu for being named the 8th best walking city in the U.S.
GEEK/TECH/BLOG
- Props: Jeanne Thomas, a Florida woman who caught burglars in her home using a web cam from work.
- Honorable Mention: Technology, like Second Life, for allowing artists to make a living online.
- Slops: Online criminals in Hawaii for making us rank #8 in the nation for cybercrime.
POLITICS/GOVERNMENT
- Props: The U. S. Department of Defense for lifting a ban on journalists witnessing the return of fallen service members. It comes with restrictions, and only if the fallen soldier’s family consents. The ban had been in place since the Gulf War.
- Honorable Mention: Same-sex marriage advocates for making headway in Washington, DC (on the local level, not in Congress), Vermont, and New York.
- Slops: Sheikh Habib Al-Habib, a Saudi judge, for upholding a marriage of an 8-year-old girl to a 47-year-old man. Now, I usually try to be accepting and tolerant of cultural differences, but this is just wrong.
PROP AND SLOP OF THE WEEK
- Prop of the Week: Kauai residents for being featured on CNN for fixing Polihale State Park in only 8 days – using no State resources.
- Slop of the Week: Texas State Rep. Betty Brown, a Republican, for suggesting Asians should change their names to make it easier for other Americans to pronounce. If you’re as outraged as many others, there’s even a Facebook group called Down with Betty Brown.
That’s it for this week. Be sure to visit next week for another edition of Props and Slops, my favorite feature on Capsun’s Corner.
Mahalo!
Please note: The views expressed here are mine and mine alone. While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.
Congrats to KGMB and Hawaiian Airlines. I was also glad to hear about Jeanne Thomas. That was an awesome piece on CNN that they did. Same with the Kauai piece. I really was impressed. I again am sitting on the fence about the lifting of the ban on journalists being allowed to be present on the return of fallen service men/women. I don’t know what I would do if it were my child because in some respects it’s a tribute to all they did for us but on the other hand it’s a very sad and emotional time. Your two slops, one about Sheikh Habib Al-Habib totally disgusts me. I cannot believe he ruled that way…but there again, I don’t live in that culture and understand it but to me it’s just wrong and the one on Betty Brown #%#&@^%#&%&@^%!&@^#%&!^%&!^%. She should be forced to resign for such a comment. I better stop this comment before I start using swear words for real
You know what scares me most about Rep. Brown? She was voted into office.
And I have an observation about cultural perspectives, while this post bemoans Brown for showing cultural prejudice, it calls for the social condemnation of the Saudi’s. Please don’t get me wrong, I believe the child is too young to be married, and I would much prefer she be allowed to grow up, fall in love and choose her own husband. For you and for me, her marriage is horrible and wrong — but in Saudi, her marriage actually offers her a form of protection she would not have if her father’s debits leave him destitute or in debtor’s prison. Is that “protection” worse than life on the street, or as a slave or a prostitute? I suppose that depends upon the nature of the man.
Thank you Quilly for saying what you did. That’s what I was trying to say and didn’t do it correctly about the Saudi marriage. I don’t understand their culture and maybe if I did it wouldn’t disgust me so much.
[...] including Station Excellence and News Excellence. Mind you, that’s on top of the three Edward R. Murrow Awards I mentioned last [...]