Hidden cameras needed among potential jurors

Out of the 40 people being questioned in my group, I was probably the only one who wanted to serve on the jury recently. But I wasn’t picked.

I don’t have a hidden agenda nor am I eager to convict someone; I just wanted to be involved in the process as part of my civic duty.

I wish I had had a hidden camera in the waiting room in which we sat off and on for four days. Has Dateline or 20/20 ever done a story on juror apathy?

Most everyone said they resented being there and it made me question whether fair verdicts are reached. They had their theories on how to get dismissed—“carry a newspaper, be in the medical field, demonstrate intelligence, mention financial hardship, say you have young children.”

They complained about parking, walking, waiting. They had an irreverent demeanor.

I bet if these people didn’t serve, however, they would be the first ones to complain about guilty persons running free.

Many thoughts crossed my mind: Would these uninterested citizens pay attention? Would they hurry through deliberation because they didn’t want to be there? Were people on Death Row put there by these types of people?

To want to serve your civic duty is certainly not liberal, said a friend of mine, who I complained to about the types of people who get selected. “To show respect for the court and the system in general is not liberal. It’s just plain American. To want an intelligent jury of your peers is fundamental to our system of justice.”

Don’t get me wrong, the American judicial system is the best in the world and I don’t have a better idea for choosing jurors.

What was most shocking was how many of the 12 in the jury box being questioned with me were victims of a crime—five. The prosecuting attorney said robberies were most common.

Six in one group of 12 said someone in their family had committed a crime—sons, brother, father, cousin, stepchild.

I could understand emotion coming into play in these situations, if you were related to the defendant, a victim or law enforcement handling the case, but acting like you don’t understand the Fifth Amendment on purpose to get released puzzles me.

Some potential jurors didn’t want to send an 18-year-old person to prison and thought a mandatory life sentence was too severe because of its cost to taxpayers. I know we all have different views, but surely they were just skewing answers to get released.

The judge said to not take it personally if not selected. A co-worker made me feel better, saying maybe I didn’t get picked because I wasn’t the defendant’s peer (if he was carrying a gun when he wasn’t supposed to be, as was implied).

Perhaps they select the people who are reluctant, so as to prove a point and demonstrate their authority over them, said my cousin. “Bureaucrats love wielding their so-called power.”

The standing joke is that when you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty. I think it is the other way around; you are foolish and selfish if you do not want to be chosen. Wouldn’t you want conscientious people judging you?

In 2023, I saw a WSJ letter to the editor that had an attorney thinking the guy carrying the WSJ should not be picked because all he cares about would be the stock market. There was some mistakes in who he chose due to a quick time constraint and the guy ended up being foreman and voted to help the lady who was suing over her car warranty not being honored.

He'd Rather wear out than rust

Dan Rather has circled the globe to report on significant events for 40 years. I got to meet him--one of my mother’s favorite people--at a news conference on April 19 at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Sans sweater, he was still warm and friendly. He walked in, shook hands and introduced himself. “I’m Dan Rather.” And I’m even more impressed.
He spoke later that evening on what he has learned from a lifetime of reporting at the university’s Presidential Lyceum Series. He also visited students in a master class.
Rather has reported on every Presidential campaign since 1960, civil rights, Watergate, from the front lines of “green jungle hell” (Vietnam), in hurricanes and he anchored 9/11 coverage.
A Texan, Rather established the Dallas Bureau for CBS. He was the first to break the story that President Kennedy was dead, “before the government got together and made a formal announcement.”
He called the event “a hammer to the heart of the country.”
Rather said his passion for journalism hasn’t decreased. In the early months of his career, he wondered whether he could make a living.
“My dream has always been to do great journalism work in the public interest,” he said. “It began at an early age and has never waned.”
Rather, 79, said he would rather wear out than rust out.
I asked him who he has always wanted to interview, but hasn’t. The answer is Kim Jong-Il. “I’ve spent 50 years trying,” Rather said. “There is no current indication it’s going to happen, but I keep trying.”
He said he never suffered from lack of confidence, “as is the case with most people in television.”
Rather said most journalists are also greedy. “The constant prayer is to give me the right story,” he said.
Following Walter Cronkite was an impossible act in terms of expectations, Rather recalled. “You succeed him, but you don’t replace him. I said to myself I can’t be Walter Cronkite. I tried to be the best Dan Rather I could be.”
He said journalism is more competitive today because there are more news outlets and the Internet. “Four people shouting is not news,” Rather said. “I don’t believe the eras of anchors with gravitas is over.
“It is difficult to attract a large audience,” Rather said, adding that newspapers are laying off employees and radio doesn’t cover city council meetings anymore.
There is a reduction of resources that puts American journalism is in a crisis, Rather said.
He called it an interregnum, saying the old order is gone and a new business model is not yet in place to help the media survive and thrive
He said he is not predicting, but wouldn’t be surprised if any of the big three networks discontinued half-hour broadcasts.
“The gravitational pull is to do niche broadcasting,” he said.
He added that journalists, in some important ways, have “lost their gut and need a spine transplant.”
Rather said an independent press is the “red beating heart of democracy and freedom.
“We haven’t lost it, but it is in decline and demise,” he said.
Rather recalled being in Louisiana in the early 1960s when the civil rights movement took traction and “changed him as a person.” He said he interviewed a former governor “who smoked very good cigars and drank good whiskey.”
Rather has many memorable moments and said anytime he interviews a President, it is an honor and privilege. He also admired Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa “saving infants from garbage dumps.”
No one asked about the George W. Bush National Guard bias controversy and he didn’t bring up his mugging from the man who said “Kenneth, what is the frequency?”
Rather has received Emmy and Peabody awards. He now produces and hosts Dan Rather Reports, a weekly news program on HDNet.

Ban Cell Phones at Public Meetings

I gave up my cell phone for Lent two years ago and am now suggesting our legislators give up theirs entirely.
I, along with 150 other concerned citizens, attended the census hearing conducted by the House and Senate governmental affairs redistricting committee Monday night at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum.
The group gave a presentation for 55 minutes, then members of the audience who had requested to speak had three minutes to comment, give or take. The latter part lasted 50 minutes.
Of the 10 committee members on the front row lording over the meeting, three used their phones or palm devices at one time or another. One gentleman actually put his to his ear and the other two were either surfing the Internet, checking e-mail or texting.
I got even madder when I found out they received a per diem payment for nine meetings held across the state. They were working -- on our dollar -- and not paying attention. Plus, the behavior is rude and distracting and indicates that their minds are made up.
This begs investigation into an even bigger issue. Are we paying for these cellular data plans? If so, let’s stop the abuse.
I understand the importance of communication; it’s my major and vocation for 32 years. I have been attached to a phone or beeper since the early 90s and am as “addicted” as the next person. But if I can give up my personal phone for 40 days, certainly legislators can put theirs away for 40 to 50 minutes.
I regret I was unprepared to document the heads-down time of so many during this meeting and hear it’s happening amongst other elected officials. Next time I’ll be taking names and clocking the inattention to the constituents. I’ve got your number.

Meeting Morgan Fairchild

I was fortunate to hear Morgan Fairchild speak about caring for her mother who suffered a series of strokes at this year’s Go Red for Women luncheon sponsored by the Heart Association. Fairchild said both of her mother’s parents died of strokes (the mother 13 days before her wedding) and a little less of her mother came back after each stroke she suffered. It was hard to believe that her mother enrolled her in drama lessons when she was too shy to give a book report. "My fear of the stage was only second to the fear of my mother," she said. She is absolutely beautiful. "At my age, I have the face you've earned and paid for," she said.

I am Digitally Distinct

NY NY

April 1, 2010


My face made the Today Show! One of Lauren’s friends saw me on. David recorded it. Very lame crowd that day. We were front row. Visited the cathedral, of course.

We visited the 911 Memorial, which wasn’t there when I went four years ago. A perpetual scrolling of names commemorates those who were lost. Very sad. Kleenex boxes provided.

We attended the NASDAQ opening bell ceremony. It was Kelly Services, no celebrity. But very cool. You have to clap real loud. A lady who went to LSU and was a KD was next to us. In Macy’s, I had on my LSU shirt and some people stopped us. One was the aunt of someone in Caroline’s class. And my old boyfriend’s daughter, Sarah, was on our plane on the way back. Still can’t get over that. Haven’t seen her since her wedding four years ago; lives in B.R.

We saw Wicked (No. 3 for me), Rock of Ages and The Lion King. The average applause is 15 claps, I learned. Rock of Ages worked in a Tiger Woods joke.

We ate at Sardi’s and the Russian Tea Room and Serendipity and Bubba Gump’s. Be sure and see the nesting dolls at TRT.

A cop chase made Caroline’s day. She wanted green grass, no pollution, no honking horns and smiles. Where do people work, she asked since there are so many shopping n the stores? She said all the cab drivers are named Mohammed.

We did the bus tour. We learned on the bus to ask what theaters do a lottery and that the seaport has a TKTS site much less crowded than the one in Times Square. Off-Broadway means less than 500 seats. Ask for a 10 percent out-of-state discount at Macy’s.

Planned to be there for St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the oldest and largest in the world. We only saw a little of it.

The 249th St. Patrick's Day extravaganza is to be the last of the Big Apple's world-famous parades to take place before new restrictions go into effect April 1 requiring all parades to be shorter to save money.

Chinatown is very lame any more. No designer knockoffs. Just stupid stuff. No back room trips or van trips.

I don’t think Caroline liked it as much as I thought. She didn’t want to do the ferry or Statue of Liberty.

The Naked Cowboy was out.

I lost my camera.

AmBASSador--All About the Classic Fishing Event

March 10, 2009

My all-time favorite story, still today, is the excavation of the 1,000-year-old Indian canoe along the Red River I covered back in the mid-80s.

Going from then to now, the Red River is currently in the news with Shreveport-Bossier City's lure of the Bassmaster Classic. And in between does anyone remember “Big Red by ‘80?” The river did finally become navigable and many fishermen went through the locks and dams to catch their limit this past weekend. I remember covering the unveiling of the first lock and dam in Marksville, too, with Sen. J. Bennett Johnston saying, “One down, four to go!”

Attending the Classic has been awesome. Events were free and crowds were everywhere. The Shreveport Convention Center was alive; Municipal Auditorium was utilized for a red carpet party that featured a welcome by James Burton. We beat attendance in New Orleans. Other hosts have been Chicago and Pittsburgh.

The Zac Brown Band performed Saturday, but that reality show exterminator dude was featured on Sunday; it seems like we could have found someone better to open the event.

I wanted to be an AmBASSador and still consider myself one, but the Tourist Bureau never contacted me for that, a sign for my business or the Facebook page it was supposedly creating. I heard their bag for VIPs had a measuring cup, note pad, one strand of Mardi Gras beads and a map in it until someone helped add items like Cajun recipes, restaurant coupons and the Junior League cookbook. The eight stations weren’t manned properly either, apparently, because the night of the Media Party no one was hostessing.

I was pulling for four fishermen: Edwin Evers because my father-in-law ran into him way back when he was living out of a camper and fishing on the Red and they actually fished together; Byron Velvick because he was the “Bachelor;” Kevin VanDam (KVD) because of his name and the first woman to compete, the tiny Kim Bain-Moore. Fish don’t know if they are being caught by a man or woman!

I am now a fan of Rick Morris because he seemed like an LSU fan on stage; Bryan Schmidt because he has quotes on his boat; Bobby Lane because he confirmed that birds up above mean fish can be caught below; Kenyon Hill from Norman, Okla., because of his fondness of fishing for his terminally ill father; and Gary Klein for his 27 attempts to win the Classic. I also cheered Louisiana’s lone participant, the “Hack Attack.”

I liked last year’s winner, Alton Jones, for the fact that he signed an autograph for someone, who later sent him a letter detailing how he gave the hat to a dying man, who showed it to everyone in the hospital. It brought a lot of joy to him in his last days and put a smile on his face, making a difference. Jones said it was a little thing that ended up being significant and that is what he’ll remember from his championship reign.

I’ll remember everything; it’s way better than seeing it on TV. I met Hank Parker, Bill Dance and Jimmy Houston. The founder of the tournament was a hoot, saying Parker was gay (LOL). All of the women swoon for him.

I tried to get the LSU AgCenter in the ESPN news since our research station is the closest to the river of any in four states. Mary Ann Tice with the Shreveport Sports Authority said they were talking about that in her suite. So maybe next time! I bet they return.