This week was the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attack on American soil in which close to 3,000 of our citizens were murdered. As I reread some of the accounts and watched the documentaries on television I could not help but think about what the terrorists have done to this country since the attack. I know we have not had a similar attack since and I am thankful for that, but I can’t help but look at all of the costs, in terms of lives and liberty.

Dealing with economic issues all day every day I want to look back over the last eleven years to some important economic statistics. I took these statistics from zerohedge.com.

Silver has risen from $4.18 to $33.52. Gold from $271.40 to $1,731.00. Crude oil from $25.03 to $105.28. Corn from $89.74 to $332.17 per metric ton. Gasoline from $1.51 to 11 years later, $3.85 per gallon. Unemployment from 6.88 million to 12.5 million. Unemployment rate from 4.9 percent to 8.1 percent. Total government spending as a percentage of GDP from 33.05 percent to 40.27 percent. Number of people on food stamps from 17.85 to 46.7 million.

Now, there are few of these items that I can directly connect to previous terrorist attacks on the U.S., but certainly a significant part of the national debt can be attributed. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan account for more than 1.3 trillion of debt. (Before anyone writes to me, I know that President George W. Bush is responsible for a large portion of this debt.) It is probably impossible to calculate all of the peripheral costs, i.e., TSA costs, airplane and airport regulations and hypersensitivity to any perceived threat like an abandoned grocery bag on the street corner.

As far as giving up my liberty, I don’t know where to start. We face Internet monitoring, street corner cameras, frisking and being X-rayed before flying, metal detectors in most office buildings in New York City and other major cities and everyone looking suspiciously at everyone else, this is not the type of society that is most desirable for me.

The past 11 years have been very good in many ways and very disconcerting on other ways. I rarely fly anymore because I feel the TSA routinely violates my Fourth Amendment rights. In my career there have been years where I would routinely fly 60,000 to 65,000 air miles. Needless to say, I am no longer a preferred flier with membership to the Sky Club.

The most disturbing statistics are for the cost of food and energy, unemployment and the number of people on food stamps and disability. All of these indicators tell us that the path ahead is going to be long and bumpy.

The question is, “What can we do now to move in a positive direction?” I think a lot will depend on the results of the election. The economy needs to go in a completely different direction than we are headed now.

Profit needs to be designated a positive term again as well as low taxes, self-reliance, and the greatness of America. Sept. 11 is a time to never forget and reflect on what happened then and why, but also to reflect on the time in between anniversaries.

The Sept. 11 tragedy brought out the best in the American people and a commentator on TV made a great statement when he said, “America may sometimes choke on a gnat but we can swallow a tiger whole.”  Never forget.

Gary L. Rathbun is the president and CEO of Private Wealth Consultants, LTD. He can be heard every day on 1370 WSPD at 4:06 p.m. on “After the Bell with Brian Wilson and the Afternoon Drive” and every Wednesday and Thursday evening at 6 throughout Northern Ohio on “Eye on Your Money.” He can be reached at (419) 842-0334 or email him at garyrathbun@privatewealthconsultants.com.

Tags: 2001, A View from the Gulch, Gary Rathbun, Sept. 11

This entry was posted on Friday, September 14th, 2012 at 12:42 pm and is filed under A View from the Gulch, Toledo Business Link.
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Last week, I looked at the first four nominees for Best Picture. And now, the adventure continues!

“Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen’s comedy is a bit of a contradiction — it’s a movie clearly in love with a city and an era, but oddly enough, it’s also a cautionary tale about idealizing things. The story, about a screenwriter (Owen Wilson) who finds himself going back in time to meet some of the classic artists from Paris’ past, is a great idea that’s a little muddled in the execution.

Take away the beautiful surroundings and fun cameos, and we have another tale of a misunderstood guy who struggles against a world and a fiancée who doesn’t understand him. Wilson — playing the Woody Allen role — is so detached he almost seems to not even be there, and the movie suffers from some annoying and distracting subplots. The end result is a film with loads of potential that ends up not being all it could be. (Now available on DVD.)

“War Horse” So often, critics of Steven Spielberg like to derisively use the word “Spielbergian” when criticizing his work, indicating their disdain for what they see as clichéd elements of his films. This is usually a narrow-minded and unfair dismissal, but I must admit that after viewing “War Horse,” “Spielbergian” was the first word that came to mind.

The film plays like a travelogue of World War I, told through the eyes of a horse and the boy who loves him. But it doesn’t offer any real insight into the war that’s going on, and the tale of the horse itself doesn’t generate a lot of sympathy. Unlike “Saving Private Ryan,” which truly seemed to capture the essence of the conflict it was depicting, this film ends up feeling like an extended “Lassie” episode, only with Mr. Ed playing the dog. (Now playing at Fallen Timbers 14.)

“The Artist” Please, please dismiss from your mind any preconceived notions of what an “art film” is. Forget that it’s in black and white, and silent. Just think of “The Artist,” first and foremost, as a movie, and you’ll find that it’s one of the most purely entertaining works to play in theaters in a long, long time.

Michel Hazanavicius’ movie is about the golden age of Hollywood, and that treacherous time when silent movies were giving way to sound. It is a film that is in tribute to that age gone by, but also inspired by it. The story is told in grand, broad strokes, just like the silent movies it’s emulating, but also is subtle and emotional enough to have true power. The result is a delight, for any audience. (Now playing at Levis Commons 12.)

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” Thomas Horn, who plays the young hero Oskar in “Extremely Loud,” is a very, very fine actor. He must be. It takes considerable talent to create a hero this unlikable. This is a child who lost his father (Tom Hanks, no less) on Sept. 11, 2001. He should be able to generate all the sympathy in the world. And still, through sheer will, the movie made me hate him with white-hot intensity. An impressive achievement.

Little Oskar is trying to find the lock that will open with a key he finds in his late dad’s closet, which takes him on a quest he hopes will bring him closer to his father’s memory. The result is a wildly unlikely fable where this pint-sized genius walks all around the city. (Now playing at Fallen Timbers 14 and Franklin Park 16.)

“Moneyball” Baseball is a game devoted to statistics, and yet it took years for someone to use those numbers the way Billy Beane did. That’s the idea at the heart of Bennett Miller’s sports movie, a film about the 2002 Oakland A’s, which after being gutted the year before, rebuilt  with a mish-mash of cheap players other teams didn’t want, and ended up changing the way the game is played.

The script, by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, is written with an economy of smart, interesting dialogue that sounds and feels authentic. None of the performances is over-the-top or showy, but they all are set toward the goal of telling an interesting story in an interesting way. It’s not the equal of Sorkin’s brilliantly written “The Social Network,” but it’s a fine, fine movie. (Now available on DVD.)

Email Toledo Free Press Star Pop Culture Editor Jeff McGinnis at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com.

Tags: "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", 2001, Aaron Sorkin, Academy Awards, Bennett Miller, Billy Beane, Jeff McGinnis, Michel Hazanavicius, midnight in paris, Moneyball, Mr. Ed, Oakland A's, Oscars, Owen Wilson, Paris, Pop Goes the Culture, Saving Private Ryan, Sept. 11, Steven Spielberg, Steven Zaillian, The Artist, The Social Network, Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, War Horse, Woody Allen

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 11:29 am and is filed under Film, Star.
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For two years in the mid-1990s, I watched July 4 fireworks from the steps on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The epic bursts of color and light soar over the Washington Monument and the reflecting pool on the National Mall, while 1 million people “ooh!” and “ah!” It’s a definitive experience, like spending Christmas at the North Pole or Halloween in Salem’s Lot.

Fireworks are fun, but crowds, bugs, heat and traffic are problematic for my increasingly cranky and fussy demeanor (and for 3- and 5-year-old boys who take potty breaks every 45.8 seconds, a frequency that exponentially increases the further from a potty they are). My family was fortunate this year; a friend of ours booked a room and hosted a viewing party at the Park Inn for the July 3 Downtown Toledo fireworks.

Eleven stories above Summit Street, the view to the horizon provided an amazing warm-up show. Fireworks displays in Oregon, Rossford and throughout Toledo (official and otherwise) provided a constant tableau of color and distant booms. We were at the wrong angle to see the Mud Hens’ fireworks over Fifth Third Field, but we could see the reflections and hear the cracks, roars and rumbles from that display, which we knew signaled the imminent blast of Toledo’s show.

We tuned the hotel clock radio to 94.5 ’XKR to hear the simulcast music for the fireworks. The fireworks display was a tremendous and exciting big-league effort, and the music simulcast provided an eclectic soundtrack and tribute to America’s birthday.

Blade staff writer Zoe Gorman described the music as “an All-American classic rock soundtrack,” which it kinda sorta was, excluding appearances by England’s Beatles (twice), Rolling Stones, The Who, Jeff Beck, Yes and Pink Floyd and Australia’s AC/DC (twice).

The soundtrack was produced by ’XKR’s program director, Dan McClintock. McClintock, a former Toledo Free Press contributor, is a veteran radio executive whose rocker credentials are beyond reproach.

McClintock had an unenviable task; he had to produce a July 4 mix tape for a citywide audience that stayed true to his station’s tone. Defining the success or failure of such a project is as subjective as choosing a favorite color; 1,000 people could take the challenge and none of them would produce something that would please every musical taste.

Having said that, among its many triumphs, there were — to my ears — some odd moments in the mix.

The Sunday event started with Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park” and segued to a loop repeating the title from Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.” By now, it must be common knowledge that this song does not celebrate America; it is harshly critical of its politics and failures. Either McClintock took the license to separate the words from their context, or he perpetrated a subversive and radical move by opening the fireworks with sarcastic irony. My guess is McClintock would stress the former action, but the latter theory is actually more faithful to the visions of the American Revolution.

The mix spiraled through a series of Attention Deficit Disorder edits, pulling snippets of songs that used words such as “freedom” to form a chain of staccato beats that set the aural framework.

In an email conversation, McClintock said the 22-minute mix took about 15 hours to assemble.

“94-5 ‘XKR is a Rock station but the soundtrack also really needs a wide appeal as you have an audience from eight to 88 and then some, and a lot of songs are must-haves,” McClintock wrote.

He said while he had input from sponsors and Zambelli’s Fireworks, “There really was no approval necessary. It was more like an exchange of ideas to get the right dynamics and flow.”

The mix featured a run-through of songs about America (including the Lynyrd Skynyrd staple “Sweet Home Alabama,” a song whose ambiguous racial politics have been dulled by time and repetition).

It included some great choices — “America the Beautiful” by Ray Charles, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” (another song that sounds patriotic but is a biting indictment of the American system — maybe McClintock was being subversive) and a slick Jimi Hendrix-to-Whitney Houston blend of “Star-Spangled Banner” versions.

Two odd moments slowed the mix to a stop. One was a segment from SSgt. Barry Sadler’s No. 1 record from 1966, “The Ballad of the Green Berets,” which related the death of the green beret. I understand the deference to sacrifice and respect the sentiment, but playing the song during a fireworks display is like playing Terry Jacks’  “Seasons in the Sun” during a wedding reception or Verve Pipe’s “The Freshmen” at a high school reunion — it’s piling on emotionally.

The mix stopped to pay respects to the upcoming 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. A series of news clips and speech snippets told the story as the fireworks splashed across the sky. That was followed, not by a fight-back song by Toby Keith or a rumination such as Alan Jackson’s “Do You Remember,” but by an instrumental version of … “Over the Rainbow”?

“That’s Jeff Beck from his last studio CD,” McClintock wrote. “That was a suggestion from John Greer at Zambelli … I popped it in after the 9-11 tribute.”

Again, all of this is incredibly subjective, but the dour and dragging version of “Rainbow” just didn’t work to my ears.

There was a too-short clip from Katy Perry’s “Firework” and a nicely edited run through the armed services themes before an effective false ending and the finale. The armed services music was directly followed by Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell,” and the production ended with the theme song of fireworks sponsor The Blade, Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold”; both choices make it hard to discount that subversive thread that wove through the music.

Kudos and thanks to McClintock for taking on the project and making his “July 4 Mix tape.” It offered highs, lows, smart moves, silly moves, corny moments, emotional moments and a mixed bag of just about everything.

A lot like America herself.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Email him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: 2001, AC/DC, Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Chicago, City of Toledo, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dan McClintock, Downtown Toledo, Jeff Beck, July 4, Katy Perry, Lighting The Fuse, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Michael S. Miller, Park Inn, Pink Floyd, Ray Charles, Rolling Stones, Sept. 11, SSgt. Barry Sadler, Ted Nugent, Terry Jacks, The Who, Verve Pipe, XKR, Yes, Zambelli's Fireworks

This entry was posted on Friday, July 8th, 2011 at 12:00 am and is filed under Lighting The Fuse, Opinion.
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On April 20, Toledo Free Press announced on our Facebook page that we are seeking regional residents who have stories or connections to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City, Washington, D.C., and in the skies over Pennsylvania. As we near the 10th anniversary of the attacks, we plan to collect and archive as many stories as we can from local residents who were in one of the affected areas or knew people who were.

As we discussed the storylines that surround what is referred to simply as “9/11,” one of the more prominent ones was the unfathomable loose end represented by Osama bin Laden, acknowledged mastermind of the attacks. For nearly a decade, bin Laden eluded capture and mocked America with periodic video messages.

That loose end was forever severed May 1, when United States Navy SEALs killed the terrorist leader in a Pakistani compound.

There was a nationwide expression of catharsis as the news broke, from impromptu street celebrations to chants at baseball games to an outpouring of emotion on social media sites.

But as someone with strong New York and New Jersey connections, I will tell you that for the people who lost loved ones on that horrific day, the death of one madman will never provide closure or end the grief wrought in the wreckage of airplanes and buildings.

Although a major part of the story has taken a dramatic turn, Toledo Free Press is committed to interviewing local residents with 9/11 stories to tell and to preserving them in a special news project that will be published Sept. 11, 2011, the exact 10-year anniversary of the attacks.

If you are a regional resident who was in one of the impacted cities, who knew someone in the attack zones or who has a story to tell about how the echoes of 9/11 reached Northwest Ohio, please consider contacting us at news@toledofreepress.com. We are compiling stories and would like to speak with you about our 9/11 project, which we are committed to making a comprehensive contribution to the archived knowledge of that sad day.

The evil bin Laden is gone, but his loss is insignificant compared to the sacrifices many of our friends and neighbors made, and continue to make, in the fallout from 9/11.

We look forward to hearing your stories and sharing them, for current readers and those far into the future.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: 2001, Osama Bin Laden, Publisher's Statement, Sept. 11, Tom Pounds

This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2011 at 12:49 am and is filed under Opinion, Publisher's Statement.
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I hope Osama bin Laden’s last few minutes of life were dominated by terror and a clear understanding that the United States military troops surrounding him were not there on a “Capture” mission. I hope the last thoughts his baneful mind sent hurtling though his nerves were babbling wails of fear that caused him to evacuate his bowels and empty his bladder as the bullets screamed toward him.

I hope the U.S. Navy SEALs who risked their lives on this mission live happy and healthy well into their 100s. (I do wish our military could figure out where to buy a decent helicopter. From the lives and helicopters lost during the failed April 1980 attempt to rescue American hostages in Tehran to the 1993 shot-from-the-sky “Black Hawk Down” choppers in Mogadishu to the 2003 Black Hawk crash in Mosul, Iraq that killed 18 soldiers and scores of other incidents leading up to the helicopter lost and destroyed during the bin Laden mission, it doesn’t seem like we have a firm handle on helicopter technology.) Those soldiers should know they did their country and their planet a great service by exterminating one of the most wicked men of our time.

But we should take the time to examine some of our country’s reaction to bin Laden’s death, and not excuse behavior that lowers us to the dirt-level standards of our enemies.

I have a friend who was in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. Her comments upon hearing about bin Laden’s death are understandable: “I am so glad he didn’t die of diabetes or a heart attack in some cave,” she said. “I am so glad we took him out.” Amen, sister.

For the people who were directly affected by the 9/11 attacks, there must have been some catharsis in knowing bin Laden met a violent demise. But catharsis is not the same thing as closure; bin Laden’s worm-infested brain was splintered by a Navy bullet, but that does not bring lost loved ones back from the dead. That does not heal those whose legs or arms or lungs or minds were forever damaged in the attacks. It’s not a movie in which the bad guy wizard dies and everything is magically returned to normal. Those four airplanes will never fly again. The Twin Towers will never stand again. The people who were trapped in them will never breathe and walk and eat and love again.

It’s one thing for a sailor to grab a nurse in Times Square and plant a kiss on her lips when V-J Day ended World War II. But some of the immediate post-news reaction to bin Laden’s death did not bring our country great distinction.

The 10 years since 9/11 have passed with efficient, alarming speed, but the clarity of events from that day live in my  — and I believe our collective — memory.

As much as I remember specific details as the day unfolded, I remember the horror and outrage being multiplied by some of the scenes we were shown from countries where people celebrated and danced in the streets. The World Trade Center, Pentagon and Flight 93 dripped with blood and smoke and shattered lives; watching people take joy in that was disturbing, disheartening and a great motivator of hatred for many.

There is zero comparison between the 9/11 victims and their murderer bin Laden, but I did not feel proud watching Americans hold impromptu pep rallies outside the White House and as close as The Ohio State University campus. We all find different ways to express ourselves in the wake of extreme events. I do not wish to judge those who took to the streets to fist pump and boogie on bin Laden’s watery grave; I just do not understand that reaction and do not think of it as an American response.

We’re the Good Guys. When we score a touchdown, we hand the ball to the referee and get back to work. We act like we’ve been there before. I suppose the street dancing made those folks feel better, but I suspect those images will be used to convince a new wave of terrorists that we talk the morality talk but don’t always walk the morality walk.

I lived in South Florida at the time of the attacks, and had access to all the international newspapers and magazines. I remember being shocked by how many European and Latin American periodicals ran graphic images of people falling from the World Trade Center towers, people crushed on Liberty and Church streets, people burned and bleeding in the rubble.

One can argue about the historical value of such photographs, or the educational value of such photographs, or the propaganda value of such photographs, but I argue there is no news value in such images, not by the standards of decency and respect the American media has maintained in modern times.

President Obama  is acting wisely by refusing to release the images of bin Laden’s head-shot corpse. In the age of PhotoShop, such images mean nothing as a means of proof and serve only to further inflame those who already think of Americans as evil. No newspaper under my command — daily, weekly or any print format — would publish the photos of bin Laden’s corpse. Not out of deference or respect for him. Out of deference and respect for us.

Yes, the bad guys have thrown parties to celebrate our misfortunes. Yes, the bad guys have shown images of murdered Americans and have dragged the dead bodies of United States soldiers through their streets.

But we don’t do what the bad guys do. And if we start down the road of letting the bad guys set the standards for our behavior, our future will be filled with grief, remorse and the blood of thousands of  9/11 attacks.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Email him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: 2001, Barack Obama, Lighting The Fuse, Michael S. Miller, Osama Bin Laden, Sept. 11

This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2011 at 12:00 am and is filed under Lighting The Fuse, Opinion.
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