Moore to Say

Political correctness of this country should make you furious, if that’s ok

-By Mike Moore-

He was inspired by religion, armed with a gun, and when the dust had finally settled, 13 Americans lay dead. The horror at Ft. Hood a few weeks ago has made national headlines on a nightly basis since, which, if you think about it, has been the biggest problem yet.

Think about the facts for a second. A man, an Arab man, snapped for one reason or another. He had no care for those around him, those he was supposed to serve with, or himself, for that matter. He was seen in traditional Arabic garb, at a 7-11, which some may find funny. Then he was seen gunning down soldiers of this country, soldiers who were preparing to deploy, to, you know, the real dangerous place, in Iraq or Afghanistan. He chanted the traditional Arabic phrase of “god is great,” as he unloaded his weapon.

Those who’ve seen beheading videos, suicide bombings or anything else associated with the atrocities that happen while we complain about traffic jams understand that phrase and what it’s associated with. Terrorism. You know, the same phrase many, if not all, the 19 hijackers used when they were inspired by religion, used planes as weapons, and, when the brick, molder and bust had settled, left some 3,000 Americans dead. Sound familiar?

You wouldn’t know it by watching cable news or listening to the current administration talk about this event and the “man caused disaster” that’s come with it. Which brings me to the key point of all this. Can we please call Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan for exactly what he is?

A terrorist. A terrorist inspired by his radical Muslim beliefs.

Instead, President Obama barely mentions the entire event, meanwhile saying we have to wait for all the facts. Instead, we have the left-wing media making up conditions for Hasan, conditions that prompted and caused his outburst. Instead, we hear excuses on a daily basis for why the death of 13 is anyone’s fault but his.

But as the toxicology reports of this murder emerge, we learn the true facts. Facts that include how he has been in contact with Al-Queda. Facts that he has “Soldier of Allah” on his business card. Facts like his well-known support of suicide bombings.

Here are some more facts. This was not a case of post-traumatic stress disorder, as some (left wing) media have reported. It’s tough to have post stress when you have yet to be deployed. But here’s the key fact. If those who had seen, heard and known about Hasan’s radical beliefs, contacts and behaviors hadn’t feared prosecution or worse in reporting it, this whose tragedy may have never taken place.

But that is the world we live in. That is the society, post Sept. 11 mind you, that we find ourselves buried in. A spade may be a spade, but be wary of calling it such. Think back to the CIA prosecutions Obama has promised. The same CIA that, with their methods to be prosecuted, prevented further attacks in Los Angeles, Chicago and who knows where else.

Then you have the decision to bring terrorists that planned the Sept. 11 attacks, admitted to said plans and accepted a death sentence, who will now be prosecuted in a civilian court where they can plead “not guilty” and have every right to air any and all criticisms of the United States for the public to hear. And heaven forbid a jury sees fit to throw out the case and said terrorists flip the switch and sue the US for “torture” or anything else.

Hey, OJ got away didn’t he?

And then Nov. 24 the story of all stories broke. Think back to 2004 when four security guards, United States citizens, were abducted in Iraq. They were tortured, murdered, burned and had their charred bodies hanged from an overpass like a pair of kids shoes tossed around a traffic light.

If you haven’t seen the pictures, search for them, I dare you.

(or click here - that is an American citizen, mind you)

It was reported Tuesday that the mastermind behind the abduction, murder and hanging, Ahmed Hashim Abed, was captured by a group of Navy SEALs. Three of those SEALs are now facing criminal charges because Abed “told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it,” as reported by Fox News.

These are the same SEALs that train in conditions none of us would dream of, experience a living hell on earth all in the name of protecting this country. And now they will face criminal charges for an alleged punch.

The scary thing is, I usually have an opinion as to what should happen next, or a way to get out of a certain situation. But I see these stories, read these reports and am left scratching my head. Who would have ever thought the political correctness of a country that used to see itself as the best in the world, would cause the death of 13 soldiers within our borders, allow admitted terrorists to speak out, in court, against us, and prosecute three men who should be receiving a parade?

But this is our country now. This is the vision one man had, and 50-some million were blinded into voting for.

I’m afraid to imagine what’s next.

Mike Moore can be reached at mjm12@albion.edu

On Sept. 11, 2009, I'm afraid we have forgotten

-By Mike Moore-

The pictures were back on the screen, the emotions back on display. One day, every year, we’re reminded of what happened on that fateful Tuesday morning. One day every year we allow those images to reignite the fear, anger, shock, desperation and helplessness we were flooded with some eight years ago.

Eight years since our country came under attack. Eight years since a mode of transportation was turned into a weapon against our own people, eight years since we ultimately learned how much we were hated, and just how vulnerable we were.

Now they say you don’t know how good something is until you’ve lost it. On that Tuesday morning in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, we lost our sense of invincibility. We were stripped of that protectionism none of us had ever seen challenged before.

But what’s more is what we gained in those days, weeks and months following the attacks. Never before had a country been so politically united. Never before had strangers become friends in a heartbeat. Blood banks were overflowing with donations, volunteers risked their own health and safety for people they had and would never know, patriotism reigned supreme.

Bloodied and bruised we were, but united we stood.

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I had someone say to me that “after eight years, time heals, but in this case it shouldn’t dampen anger.” That is where my fear comes in. Newscasts and headlines all day danced with the idea of “never forgetting.”

I’m afraid we already have.

Put yourself back in that moment, the first time you turned on the news, the first time you saw a human being jumping from those towers. Put yourself in their shoes, a sudden death by concrete was more desirable than the flames quickly climbing their way. Try and remember your emotions as you placed yourself on those planes, witnessing the murder of flight attendants, battling the panic and fear of what was happening next, only to look out the window and see the New York city skyline getting closer by the second, your death, now inevitable, starring you right in the face.

Think back to when you were the fireman, weighed down by dozens of pounds of equipment, hysterical people running in the opposite direction while you trudged upward, one floor after another, a blind ambition of duty and sacrifice carrying you into a building just moments from collapsing.

Now remember when that phone rang, and it was your son, daughter, wife or husband, fear trembling from their voice as they explained the horror that was happening on the plane they were seated. Think back to those words they used about men with bombs, the ignorance they had about what had already happened, and the fate in your heart of hearts you knew they were in for.

Look ahead to the future you now have, a child without a parent, a husband without a wife, a mother without a son. Recall that entire day, that entire night, the shock you woke up to, the despair you went to bed with and anxiety that controlled you every moment. It was hell on earth, a day never to forget, a lesson never to ignore. Things would never be the same. The life we had lived to that moment would be altered forever.

Put yourself in any one of those positions, on that day, Sept. 11, 2001, and envision the world we now find ourselves in on Sept. 11, 2009.

The divisiveness the country finds itself in across political lines, the simple way people treat one another or the fact that patriotism has slowly become something to be fearful of. Look out your window and count the American flags on your street, a handful would be a blessing. United we stood, and in God we trusted. Now, it’s each man for himself, and don’t even think of saying “Merry Christmas.”

The term “terrorist attack” has been replaced with “man-caused disaster.” The very people behind and in ways responsible for that day are having their prison closed, and are receiving trails, representation from lawyers and sympathy from American people. An administration, as far left as we have ever known, seeks to investigate, prosecute and punish the very people who prevented more of these attacks because they used “scare tactics” to do so.

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We now have a president who travels the world, apologizing for American’s actions, bowing before foreign leaders, accepting gifts from communist dictators while listening to speakers call American’s terrorists. All the while he’s ordering FBI operatives to read detained terrorists, captured on the field of battle, their Miranda Rights.

We have a speaker of the house referring to everyday citizens as “Nazi’s” because of their use of freedom of speech. We have congressmen comparing moms and dads, grandparents and neighbors to the Ku Klux Klan because of their opposition to a government takeover of health care. We have Czars, government owned auto companies, government seized banks and debt in the trillions to countries who don’t particularly fancy us.

A child-molesting pop star is granted weeks of coverage after dying, while soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan are pushed to the back page. That same president who handed out $740 billion in tax-payer dollars, wants to cut military spending, tax anyone with a paycheck, all the while promising a bigger, better and brighter future, without the slightest clue as to how to fund it.

There was an America I saw in September of 2001, a country envied by all, and fearful of none. I’m afraid in eight short years, those memories and that anger, while not gone, have been seriously dampened, by our policies, our leaders and our leader. There’s a song, written not long after 9-11 by country star Darryl Worley that simply begs the question, “Have you forgotten, how it felt that day?”

I’m afraid to admit we have.

They say you don’t know how good something is until you’ve lost it. Some eight years ago I knew a country that backed down from nothing, defended its people in the face of danger, no matter the way, no matter the cost, stood united in the cause of freedom and operated with a take-no-prisoners type attitude.

I now know how good that was.

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Mike Moore can be reached at mjm12@albion.edu

His vision is what you see

-By Mike Moore-

DETROIT — Mark Iacofano has the best job in the world, just ask any of his friends.

“They tell me that all the time,” Iacofano says with a smile and a quick shake of the head. “They think I work about four hours a day and see every Tigers’ game of the season. It’s pretty funny.”

And accurate — somewhat.

“I certainly work more than they think,” Iacofano says, standing just outside Comerica Park on a warm and sunny July afternoon. It’s roughly 4:30 p.m., and he “punched in” more than three hours ago to begin a routine he’s very accustom to, one he’s done nearly every day of summer since 1998.

You may have heard him mentioned before, although his face is as unrecognizable as his last name can be difficult to pronounce. But without his work, without him doing the job his friends think so highly of, well, those next-day discussions about last night’s game would be limited to only those lucky enough to have been in attendance.

~~The man behind the curtain~~

Iacofano has been to thousands of Red Wings games during his career, never once, as he explained, “have I sat inside Joe Louis to watch.” Instead, during those winter months he holds down the same seat he is on this July 8 afternoon, in the far side of the FOX Sports Detroit production truck.

His job title is producer, but in reality he’s a maestro, conducting his grand opera in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers on a nightly basis.

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Mark Iacofano has produced Tigers and Red Wings games since
1997 for Fox Sports Detroit.

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“In a way, my vision is what people watching at home see,” said Iacofano, a Lake Orion resident who’s been with FS Detroit since its inception in 1997 and produces Red Wings and Tigers games. “People don’t realize the work that goes into putting a game on the air. From the office personal, to the stage manager to the commentators to the people in the truck, it’s a complete team effort every time.”

But he’s the leader, the man with the “C” on his shirt, if you will.

For a 7:05 p.m. game, Iacofano is usually at Comerica by 1 p.m.

“We’ll fire up the truck, camera’s and anything else we need,” he explained. “Whatever preproduction material we’re going to use, we’ll start working on. We build graphics, gather sound bites from players and coaches, line up highlights and introductions, prepare the audio clips … Essentially everything we are going to possibly use during the broadcast is done beforehand.”

Most of that is completed before the crew of 30-40 takes its lunch break around 4:30 p.m.

After dining, things kick into another gear.

“I’ll talk with Mario (Impemba) and Rod (Allen) about the pregame elements, what they’re going to discuss and the kinds of graphics they’ll need,” Iacofano said. “We’ll rehearse the pregame show, dot our i’s and cross all our t’s.”

~~Still gets that rush~~

Iacofano has been in this position more than a thousand times, a with every passing second, the moment that FS Detroit theme song will be cued draws closer. The adrenaline and nerves are still there, though, even some 11 summers after the first broadcast.

“Once that red light goes on you get that rush,” Iacofano said, smiling. “We want people at home to feel like they have the best seat in the building.”

While he oversees the activities of 20-30 people in the production truck, cues replays, graphics, stat boxes, camera angles, audio and everything in between, Iacofano summed up his job as simply as he could by saying, “I try to make Mario and Rod look as good as possible.”

He’s in constant communication with the tandem throughout the game. He’ll inform them of graphics about to appear on screen, describe when or what type of replay is set to roll, or do his best to accommodate a request from the broadcast booth.

“Anything and everything we do well starts with Mark,” Impemba said. “The toughest part of a broadcast for us is juggling all the different things we have to take care of, on top of talking about a baseball game. He’s the guy that keeps us focused and on track. He keeps this ship steering in the right direction.”

“He gets it,” Allen said of Iacofano. “A great leader. A great communicator, and he understands what it takes to do this. … We’re at a point now where he’ll know exactly what kind of replay to send me without me even asking.”

~~From the field to the truck~~

“I always wanted to be a major league player,” Iacofano explained of his career, which included time on the University of Dayton team. “Then when I was 22 I essentially had a scout tell me I couldn’t run and I couldn’t hit.”

With one door closing, the window of television soon fired open.

He spent the last two years of college taking courses in television production and received Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. He worked in a number of small markets at first, using internships and less glamorous jobs as away to move ahead.

“You have to cut your teeth and learn the business,” he laughed. “Experience is everything.”

And it’s been the experiences he’s enjoyed over the years that make the long nights and road trips — Iacofano is one of eight staff members to travel with the team — worth every minute.

“I’ll never forget (Justin) Verlander’s no-hitter a couple season’s ago and how crazy it was trying to juggle replays and capture the emotion on the field,” Iacofano said. “In 2006 when they clinched the playoffs in Kansas City, I was talking to Mario and Rod and trying to figure out the locker room scene and who we’d interview next. … Sometimes the more hectic things are the more fun it all is.”

He spoke with a certain pride while describing the job he has. He also did so in a way that gave some credence to his friends and just how they think of him.

“It’s tough to argue their premise,” Iacofano said, before pausing. “I feel like I do have the best job in the world.”

This story was originally published with C&G News Aug. 5. To see that version, please Click here

Mike Moore can be reached at mjm12@albion.edu