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timesleader.com
THE TIMES LEADER
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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2012
KEVIN BLAUM IN THE ARENA
Bright legacy remembered on Abe’s birthday ALFRED RUBERY was 20 years old when he took up arms against the United States. A British subject traveling in California, Rubery joined a group of Southern sympathizers planning raids along the Pacific coastline to divert Union resources during the Civil War. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles ordered several ships, including the USS Wyoming, named for a river valley in Pennsylvania, to patrol on watch for such attacks. The Confederate plot eventually was uncovered and the conspirators transported to a Union military fortification on “The Island of Pelicans” — Alcatraz. Rubery was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. His relatives, constituents of John Bright, a member of British Parliament, were stunned by the news of his offense and imprisonment. In the mid-19th century John Bright was one of Parliament’s brightest stars. A radical defender of liberty, Bright was an outspoken supporter of emancipation and the Union cause throughout the Civil War. Many British officials were hoping the Southern states would prevail. Bright opposed them at every turn. Bright is often credited with preventing England from entering the conflict on the side of the Confederacy. Said one biographer, “During the most fateful years, when no one knew from month to month whether England would not lend her aid to the secession of the South, the scales were turned in favour of peace … by the efforts of individual men … among whom John Bright was the first and foremost.” President Abraham Lincoln admired Bright for his staunch support from across the sea. Sen. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts wrote to inform Bright, “Your full-length photograph is on the mantle in his (Lincoln’s) office, where the only other portrait is of Andrew Jackson.” President Lincoln was to receive a bust of John Bright as a gift commissioned in his honor. It arrived too late. Our first president born outside the original 13 Colonies, whose birthday we commemorate today, died on April 15, 1865. The contents of Lincoln’s pockets on the night of the assassination were not made known until 1976. That fateful night the president of the United States carried a linen handkerchief “slightly used” with “A. Lincoln” embroidered in red, two pairs of spectacles, a pocketknife, watch fob, a wallet containing a five-dollar bill (Confederate) and a New York Tribune clipping from October 1864 advocating his re-election … All who have deplored the calamities which the leaders of secession have brought upon your country, who believe that slavery weakens your power and tarnishes your good name throughout the world, and who regard the restoration of your Union as a thing to be desired and prayed for by all good men, are heartily longing for the re-election of Mr. Lincoln. They are hoping with an intense anxiety that Mr. Lincoln may be placed at the head of your Executive for another term. Looking on from this distance …we see in it an honest endeavor faithfully to do the work of his great office and a brightness of personal honor on which no adversary has yet been able to fix a stain. — John Bright, MP In December 1863, at the behest of Bright and in recognition of the indispensable role Bright played in keeping England “officially” on the sidelines, Lincoln issued: “Now therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America … and especially as a public mark of the esteem held by the United States for the high character and steady friendship of John Bright, do hereby grant a pardon to the said Alfred Rubery.” The bust of John Bright meant for Lincoln, “rediscovered” by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, today occupies a place of honor in the White House. Happy birthday, Mr. President. Kevin Blaum’s column on government, life and politics appears every Sunday. Contact him at kblaum@timesleader.com.
JOE BUTKIEWICZ OPINION
Sensible people can make for spirited debate
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By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN Associated Press
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harsh, the changes still are expected to push thousands off the rolls. In Michigan, families like the Moores were caught in limbo while the state worked out how much was too much to own. When the limits were put into place last fall, recipientscouldn’thavemorethan$5,000inthebank or own cars worth more than $15,000. That’s when Moore, her husband and the couple’s 9- and17-yearold sons lost the $419 in monthly aid they were receiving because the Buick Enclave they inherited when Renee’s mother died made them ineligible. Losing the assistance for several months worsened the family’s financial situation. Moore, 51, is racing to finishherassociate’s degreeinmarketingandaninternship so she can find a job. Her husband continues to look for still-scarce carpentry and construction work. “We don’t want to depend on the government to help us,” she said. “I’m trying. He’s trying. We just need a little help.” Now, Michigan lets families exclude one vehicle and apply for food stamps as long as their second vehicle isn’t worth more than $15,000. The Moores and about 1,484 households were able to apply for aid again after the guideline was relaxed. In Pennsylvania, regulations set to take effect May1meanthathouseholdscanhavenomorethan $5,500 in eligible assets, including cash, checking and savings accounts, other investments, and thingslikeboatsandplanes.Onecarandahomeare
OWELL, Mich. — The 2010 Buick EnclaveparkedinhergaragekeptMichigan resident Renee Moore from getting food stamps for two months last year, even though her family’s income had dropped to below the poverty level, her husband’s Ford Explorer had 300,000 miles on it and her family had less than $1,000 in the bank. The reason? In the eyes of the state, she owned too much. Unlikeotherstatesthatmovedawayfromsetting limits on what families like the Moores can own beforetheyqualifyforhelp,Michiganlastyearmadeit harder for thousands of residents to become eligible for food stamps by adopting new limits on what people can own. Pennsylvania also is toughening its so-called asset test, adding new restrictions on who gets government help. Themovetoredefinewho’strulyneedycomesafter cash-strapped states saw a surge of applications for food stamp aid during the economic downturn. Still, leaders maintain the assistance needs to be targeted to those who need it most. “We’re asking tough things, but we had a huge budget deficit and we had to work through that,” Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said. “We always try to help the people in the greatest need.” Advocates for the poor have fought the new limits in both states, and while both have scaled back their original limits amid criticism they were too See AID, Page 6E
In Pennsylvania, regulations set to take effect May 1 (for food aid) mean that households can have no more than $5,500 in eligible assets, including cash, checking and savings accounts, other investments, and things like boats and planes. One car and a home are excluded, as are life insurance and pension plans, family savings accounts and personal property … About 4,023 Pennsylvania households are expected to lose their benefits when the limits take effect.
MCT ILLUSTRATION
nnoyed callers are a part of the day in the news business. People call to complain that we didn’t report what happened at a municipal meeting. A caller complained this week that our photos in the newspaper are too big. Another caller said we’ve made the type size too small. (It hasn’t changed, by the way.) Sometimes they call to complain about something in another newspaper. I’m not kidding, they do. They say: “You have rotten coverage of South America.” “Your coverage favors liberals.” “Your coverage favors conservatives.” “Why did you get rid of Mitch Albom? (He took time off to write a book, by the way.) “Who is the sour puss who got rid of Pickles?” You got me on the last one. I was the sour puss. And we brought the comic strip back. If we make mistakes — and we do — readers let us know. If they disagree with a change we’ve made — and they do — readers let us know. I welcome the calls. When people take the time to pick up the phone and call, send an email or a letter through the mail, they obviously care. We get a lot of complimentary calls, too. Either way, they care enough about “their paper” to give us an earful about what they think and occasionally — where we should go. I’m glad to have readers who care. Sometimes it’s not so easy. Earlier this week a comment was made on timesleader.com on a story about former Wilkes-Barre city administrator J.J. Murphy. The state attorney general had determined no charges will be filed regarding alarm systems bought with city funds and installed in the homes of city officials . Four private complaints were dismissed. It was front page news. Big headline. Only in The Times Leader. At about 2 in the morning a comment was submitted online. It was off topic, it had nothing to do with the story in the paper and it was a personal attack on Murphy. It wasn’t true. The comment was flagged and removed before 6 a.m. because it became apparent it violated policy. The policy is online when readers register to comment. But a few ignore it or try to sneak something by. We enforce our policy and will continue to do so. Still, Murphy and I spoke by phone and he agreed to meet later Thursday. When he worked for the city, Murphy and I occasionally disagreed about what was news and what should be reported. Sometimes we listened to each other and found we had agreed to disagree. He’s since left the city administration and our paths have rarely crossed. What struck me Thursday when Murphy and I spoke on the phone and then met in the early evening was he was a lot more calm and composed than a reader outraged that Calvin and Hobbes wasn’t in the paper anymore. Murphy was most concerned that his family was upset. He served the city. He’s served his country as an officer in the United States Air Force. He doesn’t want that denigrated. He recognizes the need for spirited debate as a part of our democracy. His concern was — is — that the anonymity of readers commenting online has polluted the dialogue. Two things make this not so easy. Murphy was a prominent public official and he was and is subject to scrutiny. The other is that anonymous commentary has a cherished and protected place fundamental to the history of our country. For a guy who might be expected to be very angry, Murphy was not. He was reasonable and said he was focused on moving forward and trying to make the situation — the community — better. Frankly, that impressed me. It reminded me of how important it is to stay connected to the people in the community.
See BUTKIEWICZ, Page 6E