CBS employee fired over Paterno episode

Poynter reports:  Former CBSSports.com employee Adam Jacobi says CBS let him go after he published a story last Saturday night saying that former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno had died when he was still alive.

If this was a first time mistake, I’d say CBS committed overkill in letting Jacobi go. Instead he might have been suspended for a month, told to make a formal apology to the Paterno family (I believe he did that already) and given an opportunity to apply what he had learned from his mistake to help CBSSports.com be better at what it does.

BTW: The Wrap’s Tim Malloy reported that others jumped the gun in erroneously reporting Paterno’s death: :

“By then several news outlets and reporters, including TheWrap, The Huffington Post, CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Howard Kurtz, the host of the journalism standards show “Reliable Sources,” had written about the death, all after the CBS report. Even the group Poynter, a champion of accurate journalism,  tweeted that Paterno had died.”

The burden of proof remains on CBS and others to do better. I suspect most who screwed-up would admit so.

Hopefully, all these organizations have new vetting guidelines in place to remind journalists and other news employees that independent fact verification is a non-negotiable part of every news story published, tweeted, or broadcast,,,,,and every news organization’s credibility with their audience.

See: Premature reports of Joe Paterno’s death raise questions about some news organizations -and- Post script: Premature reports of Joe Paterno’s death raise questions about some news organizations

 

Post script: Premature reports of Joe Paterno’s death raise questions about some news organizations

Former Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno died Sunday, but not before several news organizations erroneously reported Saturday that he had died. Photo: Associated Press

More revelations today about news organizations that failed to independently confirm unsubstantiated reports last night that former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno had died. Paterno has since died, but at the time he was still alive.

Saturday night, Penn State University student website Onward State tweeted that Penn State football team players were notified by email that longtime former head coach Joe Paterno, diagnosed with lung cancer, had died at age 85.

The email was false. Paterno was still alive.  CBSSports.com tweeted the erroneous “Paterno is dead” report based only on the Onward State tweet without independently confirming the story.

The Wrap’s Tim Malloy reports that the New York Times and CNN were among the first to get a denial from a Paterno family spokesman that the 85-year-old, who was battling lung cancer, had died.

Wrote Malloy:

“By then several news outlets and reporters, including TheWrap, The Huffington Post, CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Howard Kurtz, the host of the journalism standards show “Reliable Sources,” had written about the death, all after the CBS report. Even the group Poynter, a champion of accurate journalism,  tweeted that Paterno had died.”

Malloy pointed out that the reporters and organizations quickly changed their stories as the CBS account came into doubt. “So began an ugly game of finger pointing in a media hall of mirrors, where primary sources were initially hard to come by,” wrote Malloy.

The Wrap also cited the CBS death story without first contacting a Paterno spokesman. “We regret this error,” wrote Malloy.

Why did this happen?

Sloppy, lazy journalism, which really isn’t journalism at all. Misplaced values and priorities could be a culprit too. Is it possible that newsroom cultures are more easily seduced by a burning desire to be first to report news in order to build website traffic without independently vetting the story?

Eric Wemple of the Washington Post writes:

“…….the Paterno-death mistake, let’s face it — this is the way our contemporary media work or don’t work. The Huffington Post can say that its policies were violated; CBSSports.com can say its policies were violated; and we can believe that they regret what happened. However, the pressures that bear on a Saturday night aggregation team at CBSSports.com and HuffingtonPost.com point in the direction opposite of those policies. The imperative is to pounce on news when it happens and, in this case, before it happens. To wait for another source is to set the table for someone who’s going to steal your search traffic.”

Many of the news organizations that jumped the independent confirmation gun apologized. CBSSports.com, which started the major media fail to independently confirm domino effect said: “CBSSports.com holds itself to high journalistic standards, and in this circumstance tonight, we fell well short of those expectations.”

Saying “I’m sorry” isn’t enough if you repeat the mistake over again. The burden of proof is on news organizations to do better. Would it hurt to have  more vetting guidelines in place. Sure, they might slow down the rush to be the first to break a story. On the other hand, they’d help remind journalists and other news employees that independent fact verification is a non-negotiable part of every news story published, tweeted, or broadcast,,,,,and every news organization’s credibility with their audience.

Premature reports of Joe Paterno’s death raise questions about some news organizations

News about Joe Paterno’s rapidly declining health was misreported Saturday evening. Several publications reported that the former Penn State football coach had died. Photo: Los Angeles Times

It’s a sin in the journalism profession to fail to independently confirm rumors as fact before reporting them.

Usually, you confirm the facts from more than one source.  That’s a basic Journalism 101 rule.

Unfortunately, it happens too often, especially in the online world where the race to be first to report a story sometimes comes before confirming the story facts.

Some journalists and news organizations learn quickly from such painful and embarrassing mistakes. Others make the same mistakes over and over.

It happened again Saturday tonight. The Penn State University student website Onward State tweeted at 8:45 p.m. that Penn State football team players were notified by email that longtime former head coach Joe Paterno, diagnosed with lung cancer, had died at age 85.

Shortly after Online State published the erroneous word of Paterno’s death, Paterno family spokesperson Dan McGinn told the New York Times that the report of Paterno’s demise was “absolutely not true. “

Joe Paterno’s son, Jay Paterno tweeted that his father “continues to fight.“  Scott Paterno, Joe Paterno’s other son wrote:

Online State Managing Editor Devon Edwards apologized for the anguish it caused the Paterno family. Photo: OnwardState.com

Online State retracted the story and tweeted an apology. Not long afterward, Online State Managing Editor Devon Edwards wrote an online letter  apologizing for the mistake and anguish it caused the Paterno family and Penn State community.

  Edwards also wrote:

“…… I hope you will continue to stand by us as we do everything in our power to make amends.  To begin that process, I will be stepping down from my post as Managing Editor, effective immediately. I take full responsibility for the events that transpired tonight, and for the black mark upon the organization that I have caused. I ask not for your forgiveness, but for your understanding. I am so very, very, sorry, and we at Onward State continue to pray for Coach Paterno.

Sincerely, Devon Edwards

Forgiveness called for

I believe in Edwards’ sincerity and remorse for this journalism sin. He was quick to take responsibility for his actions. He recognized the pain the inaccurate report caused the Paterno family as well as the credibility damage it could cause Onward State.

As a young journalism practitioner I hope Edwards will reconsider his resignation. According to his bio, Edwards is not a journalism major. He’s a senior majoring in sociology and political science. I wonder what journalism training he has had at Penn State. I wonder if others at Onward State helped fact check the erroneous Paterno story too.

I hope Edwards will rededicate himself to using this painful experience to improve the journalism profession. He should openly preach the importance of independent fact confirmation to other young journalists so they may never make the mistake Edwards made Saturday night.

I’m less forgiving of professional news organizations such as CBSSports.com who tweeted the erroneous “Paterno is dead” report based only on the Onward State tweet without independently confirming the story.  Where are their fact checkers?

According to the New York Daily News:

 ”At 8:47 tonight, CBSSports.com published a brief story saying Paterno was dead, linking to Onward State’s tweet. Before 9 p.m., HuffingtonPost.com also posted a report of Paterno’s death, without citing a source.

Elsewhere around the Internet, websites such as NJ.com (The Newark Star-Ledger’s website), TheBigLead.com and BleacherReport.com published stories citing the CBS report.”

CBSSports.com apologized to the Paterno family for the unsubstantiated reporting, saying

The Huffington Post published this:

There is a distinction

It’s one thing for a college student, with little reporting experience, to make this type of mistake. It’s worse when a professional organization such as CBSSports.com or the Huffington Post do it, especially with less transparency than college publications like Onward State.

The difference

Professional reporters and editors are hired to get facts right. They’re supposed to independently confirm them. Their audiences are bigger. They make quite a bit of money. Some of their reports don’t identify the authors of the story.

These organization’s mistakes don’t just damage their own credibility. They also damage the credibility of journalists in general. I won’t even bother discussing the obvious legal liabilities associated with such poor reporting.

 A fix is needed…so is more transparency

Here is what I suggest professional news organizations do when they report unsubstantiated information:

1. Immediately publish a correction with confirmed, accurate information.
2. If needed, issue an apology signed by those responsible for the inaccurate report.
3. Publish an editor’s note to viewers, readers and listeners explaining what the news organization will do to prevent such mistakes from happening again.
4. Send an internal memo to news organization employees explaining what went wrong, why it went wrong, and what it will do to prevent such mistakes from happening again.
5. Explain that repeat offenders may be suspended or fired for dereliction of duty.

These suggestions won’t stop unsubstantiated reports from  being published by news organizations. They might reduce the volume though of bad reporting.

Hopefully, they would remind journalists of their important responsibility to independently confirm facts before publishing the news. After all, it’s a basic rule of  journalism. It’s a basic rule of human courtesy too.

Engineer raises concerns over Keystone XL pipeline

Dust hangs in the sunset sky above the Fort McMurray, Alberta Suncor Millennium mine. The open-pit oil sand project would feed the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Photo: Peter Essick, National Geographic

An interesting commentary by civil engineer Mike Klink in our local paper today. It’s about TransCanada, the company proposing to build the Keystone XL pipeline across Nebraska.

Klink shared his concerns from his days working on the first Keystone pipeline project. Klink, who lives in Auburn, Ind., is now seeking whistleblower protection from the U.S. Department of Labor. Said Klink:

“Despite its boosters’ advertising, this project is not about jobs or energy security. It is about money. And whenever my former employer Bechtel, working on behalf of TransCanada, had to choose between safety and saving money, they chose to save money.”

Mike Klink, a civil engineer who worked on the first Keystone pipeline, testifies at an Oct. 2011 U.S. State Department hearing on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Klink says the Keystone XL pipeline is not about jobs or energy security. It's about money. Photo: C-SPAN.

Klink explained that as an inspector, his job was to monitor construction of the first Keystone pipeline. He oversaw construction at the problematic pump stations on the original pipeline, that have already spilled more than a dozen times.

Tell the truth

Klink said he is speaking out because his children encouraged him to tell the truth about what was done and what covered up.

“When I last raised concerns about corners being cut, I lost my job,” said Klink. “What did I see? Cheap foreign steel that cracked when workers tried to weld it, foundations for pump stations that you would never consider using in your own home, fudged safety tests, Bechtel staffers explaining away leaks during pressure tests as “not too bad,” shortcuts on the steel and rebar that are essential for safe pipeline operation and siting of facilities on completely inappropriate spots like wetlands.”

Oil in standing water outside Ludden, ND pump station, TransCanada Keystone pipeline system, May 9, 2011. Photo: Pete Carrels

Sharing concerns

Klink said he shared his concerns with his bosses, who communicated them to officials with TransCanada, but nothing changed.

“TransCanada didn’t appear to care. That is why I was not surprised to hear about the big spill in Ludden, N.D., where a 60-foot plume of crude spewed tens of thousands of gallons of toxic tar sands oil and fouled neighboring fields,” Klink said.

Construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in South Dakota.

If Klink’s experiences are  true, it’s disconcerting to read about the reaction Klink  got when he reported to Bechtel and TransCanada his concerns about poor materials, faulty workmanship, and “fudged” safety tests on the first Keystone pipeline.

Questions raised

  The reaction Klink claims he received from Bechtel and TransCanada may also raise fair questions about both company’s business and ethical practices.

Safety?

Regarding safety, last October TransCanada promised Nebraska state legislators it would take additional steps to protect environmental safety if the project was approved by the federal government. The Canadian pipeline company said it would back a $100 million bond to ensure adequate funds to clean up after any oil spills.

That bond may not be enough to clean-up a major pipeline oil spill. In July, 2010 more than 800,000 gallons of tar sands crude spilled into Michigan’s  Kalamazoo River system through a rupture in the Enbridge pipeline.  The clean-up cost for that spill is now estimated at about $700 million — 20 percent more than Enbridge’s previous estimate of $585 million.

A pipeline now?

Interestingly, Klink’s comments come on the heels of an Associated Press report this week that said America is on pace to ship more gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel this year than any other single export. The last time the U.S. was a net exporter of fuels was 1949, when Harry Truman was president.

The Associated Press reports that the United States is on pace to ship more gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel this year than any other single export. Photo: Texas Comptroller

Motives for the XL pipeline? The article said the volume of fuel exports is rising as the U.S. uses less fuel because of a weak economy and more efficient cars and trucks. That allows refiners to sell more fuel to rapidly growing economies in Latin America, for example.

The domestic downside to America’s growing role as a fuel exporter?- Experts say the trend helps explain why U.S. motorists are paying more for gasoline. The more fuel that’s sent overseas, the less of a supply cushion there is at home.

Gasoline supplies are being exported to the highest bidder, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. "It's a world market," he says. Photo: Wall Street Journal

Gasoline supplies are being exported to the highest bidder, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. “It’s a world market,” he says.
Refining companies won’t say how much they make by selling fuel overseas.

According to the A.P. article, analysts say those sales are likely generating higher profits per gallon than they would have generated in the U.S. Otherwise, they wouldn’t occur.

Unless the oil companies, refiners and Keystone can promise that every drop of the tar sands oil piped from Alberta to Texas is dedicated for domestic use, to give America energy security and keep consumer gas prices low, isn’t it fair to ask why the pipeline should exist at all?

Hyatt Hotels: Please reconsider your action on the Skywalk Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri

Mr. Farley Kern
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Chicago, Illinois

Dear Mr. Kern,

Thirty years after the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel skywalks collapsed, I have learned that the Hyatt Hotel Corporation will not contribute to a memorial for the victims of the worst structural failure in U.S. history. “We are disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to continue to operate the hotel and as such, Hyatt will not be making a donation to the Skywalk Memorial,” said a letter dated Nov. 30 from Rusty Macy, general manager of the former Hyatt Regency Crown Center.

The scene on July 18, 1981, the day after the collapse of the skywalks at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Kansas City. The collapse killed 114 people. Photo: Kansas City Star

The disaster killed 114 guests and employees at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City and injured more than 200 others.

I suspect the Hyatt Hotel Corporation has made millions of dollars operating the hotel during the past three decades.  It should donate a small portion of those profits to the Skywalk Memorial.

I admit, I do take this personally. I covered the tragedy that terrible night as a reporter. I saw first hand the suffering that took place. The memory haunts me and  many others to this day.

I implore the Hyatt Hotel Corporation to reconsider its action; For the sake of your company’s credibility and out of respect for the victim’s of the Hyatt Regency skywalk collapse.

The skywalk collapse was the worst structural failure in U.S. history. Photo: Kansas City Star

Where is the Hyatt’s corporate responsibility? Your company is in the hospitality business. Why is it inhospitable to the memories of the hotel guests and employees who died in your hotel? Where is your corporation’s sense of human decency?

Because of the Hyatt Hotel Corporation’s action, I must now boycott Hyatt properties as an act of conscience dedicated to the memories of the innocent men, women and children who died and were injured in the Hyatt Regency Hotel collapse.

Please reconsider this decision. Honor and help memorialize those Hyatt Regency Hotel guests and employees who died at your property 30 years ago.

Sincerely,
Bernard Rogers McCoy
Lincoln, Nebraska
ruconverging@gmail.com

Wildlife refuge for migrating birds draws thousands of visitors

Barney McCoy for NET News (2011-12-02)

Click here to listen to my radio report on NET News.

SQUAW CREEK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, MO (NET Radio) – Ten miles east of Rulo, Neb., the Missouri River floodplain gives way to Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge. This week, Squaw Creek’s 7,400 acres of woods, grass and marshland is home to a several hundred thousand migrating snow geese.

“It’s just really cool to see that many in the sky at once,” said Mickey Sigmund, a National Wildlife Service intern at Squaw Creek. He said the sound of 200,000 honking geese is hard to describe.

Photo courtesy of Barney McCoy Snow geese feeding and resting at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, just across the Missouri River from Rulo, Nebraska. Click here for more photos of migrating cranes, geese and ducks, as well as other Nebraska nature and wildlife.

“It’s so loud that you have to turn you music down and say, Was that on the radio?’ ” No, it was the birds.’” For thousands of years, time in the Missouri River Basin has been measured by this annual migration. “They’ve got to have a place to stop, going from Canada down to the Gulf, and we’re one of the big stopping areas,” said Ron Bell, the manager of Squaw Creek. Missouri River floods But it’s not as big a stop this year as in past years. The five months of Missouri River flooding wiped out food for some migrating wildlife, Bell said. “Unfortunately, everything flooded to the west of us, so areas that would have had corn stubble or something, it’s gone,” he said. Mike Stoekes, an Audubon Society volunteer, guides visitors through Squaw Creek’s thousands of marshland acres to see the migrating snow geese. “The geese will stay around here until the water starts to freeze up,” he said, “and then they’ll move further south.” That might not be long from now. Day-long freezing temperatures are in the forecast for next week, and could push this show of nature south. But while it’s here, Kansas City photographer Brad Richmond says it’s something everyone should see. “It’s something you ought to put on your list of things that you really should do that don’t cost much, and reconnect you with the natural beauty that’s around us,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Brad Richmond Snow geese feeding and resting at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, just across the Missouri River from Rulo, Nebraska. Click here for more photos of migrating cranes, geese and ducks, as well as other Nebraska nature and wildlife.

A bit of history

It wasn’t that way here 75 years ago. It was the Great Depression, and one in four Americans were unemployed.

At the time, then-President Franklin Roosevelt said, “My most immediate concern is carrying out purposes of the great work program just enacted by Congress.”

Part of that economic recovery plan, called the New Deal, provided for the Civilian Conservation Corps, or the CCC.

“Franklin Roosevelt very much wanted to preserve and restore the natural habitat,” said UNL history professor Lloyd Ambrosius. He said the CCC put 3.5 million jobless men to work.

“A federal aid project to save and enjoy a country,” touted a newsreel from the period. “To keep nature unsullied and unspoiled wherever possible.”

Workers earned 30 dollars a month working on more than 1,300 conservation and nature restoration projects nationwide – projects like Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge.

“I’m amazed at the insight that people had 75 years ago or more, when people thought about these areas, setting them aside,” said Bell, the refuge manager. “And if they hadn’t been set aside, then they probably wouldn’t be here today, at least in the condition that they’re in today.”

Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge today

75 years after the CCC developed Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, the area attracts 140,000 visitors annually. Most come in the spring and fall to watch and listen to more than 300 bird species as they migrate through. Like Mike Stoekes and Brad Richmond, for many, a visit here evokes deep emotions.

“I still get a little choked up just talking about it, but it’s dramatic, and somebody who loves nature, you just never get tired of that,” Stoekes said.

Richmond said it’s more than just beautiful – it’s a necessity.

“We have to have nature,” Richmond said. “Especially these grand collections of nature like this, which remind people how profound life is and how beautiful this planet is and everything on it.”

As the geese depart, the endangered bald eagles have begun arriving to feast on weaker migrating waterfowl. So this weekend it’s Squaw Creek’s Eagle Days, and the public’s invited.

“We’ll have scopes set up for people to see eagles in the wild,” Bell said. “We’ll have a good number of eagles here, between 150 and 200.

“We’re preserving things for the future,” he added. “For other people to enjoy.”

In the Moment

A chilly fall day raking leaves. As my wife and I watched our dog Makai frolicking in the leaves I was reminded how dogs (kids too) are so great at living in the moment. Shouldn’t we too? Click the video below and enjoy the joyous moment.

Fall in Lincoln, Nebraska

Today was one of those memorable fall days in Lincoln, Nebraska. A cold, clear morning. The streaming sunlight shined on leaves that clung to branches or lay, fallen and scattered, on the ground.

The tree colors burn brightly for a few weeks, sometimes just days, then fade to brown and black. Play the video below to sample what I saw today.

 

XL pipeline- Getting the facts straight

Pieces of the Keystone XL pipeline await construction in South Dakota. Photo:North Platte Post

Every big controversy seems to generate its own information fog.  Facts may be  incomplete or missing altogether. Reporting can get fuzzy.

The debate over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline is no different. Rhetoric abounds. Facts may be iffy.

The question is whether the fact omission is deliberate or accidental.  Both happen. Either may detract from what should be an informed, vigorous public discussion.

Take Darrin Goode’s Politico article this week entitled “On Keystone XL Pipeline, Democrats slow to probe.”  Goode writes:

“Labor unions — an important constituency for Obama and a lot of other Democrats — are backing the pipeline and the jobs it could bring.”

Goode’s statement is inaccurate. Early today, I wrote the following to Mr. Goode and requested a correction in his Politico article.

“You did not note that large labor unions also oppose the Keystone XL pipeline. They include the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU). The two unions represent more than 300,000 workers in the U.S.
These unions are calling for “New Deal” type public investments in infrastructure modernization and repair, energy conservation and climate protection as a means of putting people to work and laying the foundations of a green and sustainable economic future for the United States.”
I ask that you add this correction to your story for the sake of fair and balanced journalism.”

I will let you know if Mr. Goode agrees with my clarification and makes a correction. I should note that the Politico article is not the first to make the false assumption that labor stands unified in favor of the proposed pipeline.

TransCanada's Keystone pipeline, shown here under construction. Photo: The Globe and Mail

Meanwhile, in the comment section for Goode’s Politico article I received this reply to my clarification from a reader.

“Barney,
While the ATU & TWU represents a measly 300,000 workers opposing the pipeline, they are trumped by the AFL-CIO (11,000,000 members), Teamsters (1,400,000 members) and LIUNA (630,000 members).

Last time I checked, 13,000,000 is more than 300,000.

Need more proof? Here:
“It’s the vision and competence of TransCanada in the U.S. that provides our skilled local workforce with the means to perform the trade they have been taught while contributing to their communities.” – William Hite, General President, AFL-CIO.

“TransCanada has a solid reputation for its responsible construction practices, and Canada is our largest and most responsible oil supplier. Allowing the project approval process to move forward was the right decision to make.” – Jim Hoffa, General President, Teamsters

In a protest, debate or fist-fight between a group of Environmentalists and Union workers, I will place my money on the Union workers everytime!”

To which I replied:

“Hello Van-

Yes, some unions and union members support the XL pipeline. BUT- The ATU and TWU are in fact AFL/CIO member unions who oppose the Keystone XL pipeline. Many other unions and union members in the U.S and Canada have also stepped forward opposing the pipeline.

Examples: The Alberta Federation of Labor and the CEP (Communications , Energy and Paperworkers Union), the Canadian union that represents the tar sands and refinery workers who would work on the project oppose the pipeline claiming it is “unsustainable and cuts off the possibility of creating a democratic energy policy that benefits workers in Canada for the long haul.”

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) is opposed to Keystone XL. “The pipeline will create environmental destruction, take potential upgrading and refining jobs away from Canadians, and put our country’s energy security at risk,” says CEP President Dave Coles.

The president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), Alberta’s largest labor organization, thinks the pipeline shouldn’t go ahead. “Members of the Alberta and federal governments have been acting like sales executives for pipeline company TransCanada, travelling to the U.S. to persuade Americans what a great idea the raw bitumen pipeline will be, but they are ignoring what’s best for Alberta and Canada,” said Gil McGowan, AFL president.

These examples disprove your contention that this debate is strictly between labor and environmentalists.  In fact, hundreds of thousands of union members on both sides of the border are against the XL pipeline. They’re joined by nine Nobel laureates, ranchers, farmers, first nations members, students, NASA climatologist James Hansen, politicians, clergy and others.

In short, you made a poor bet backed more by rhetoric and less by fact when you assumed all labor unions and all union members (of which I’m one) support the XL pipeline.”

Pieces of the Keystone XL pipeline await transport. Photo: National Radio Canada

Let there be a fair, factual and informed debate over the Keystone XL pipeline. Likewise, let there be fair, factual and informed reporting on the topic.  It’s in the best interest of our democracy and the credible journalism citizens rely.  It’s also how society can best demand transparency, accountability and clarity on an important issue.

The Oklahoma City bombing: 2011

So many of our American lives were changed by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. I’ve written of my own link to that day a decade ago and how our sense of security as a nation was forever changed.

The view looking west across the reflecting pool at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. The reflecting pool is flanked by two large gates. The gate on the east side of the memorial is inscribed with the time 9:01. The gate on the memorial's west end is inscribed with 9:03. The reflecting pool in between represents the moment of the blast at 9:02 a.m., April 19th, 1995. Photo: Barney McCoy

On this bright, warm autumn day I was reminded that threats to our national security may be as likely to come from within our society as from abroad. My wife and I visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial  where, preceding 9-11,  the worst  act of domestic terrorism happened on April 19th, 1995. It was the Oklahoma City bombing.

 

Damage to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building by a terrorist bomb attack on April 19, 1995. Photo Credit: FEMA News Photo

On that spring day 16 years ago, Timothy McVeigh detonated  4,800 pounds ammonium nitrate concealed in a parked Ryder truck outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The blast killed 168 people, injured 680 others, and damaged 324 buildings within a 16 block radius.

On the south side of the Oklahoma City National Memorial symbolic bronze and stone chairs represent each of the persons killed in the 1995 terrorist attack. Each chair represents the empty chairs at the dinner tables of the bombing victims' families. Photo: Barney McCoy

The bombing attack was planned by McVeigh, co-conspirators Terry Nichols and Michael and Lori Fortier as an act of revenge against the U.S. government’s handling of the 1992 FBI standoff with Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho and the 1993 standoff between the FBI and Branch Davidian members in Waco, Texas that ended with the burning and shooting deaths of Branch Davidian leader David Koresh and 75 of his followers.

The view looking towards the east gate at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. Photo: Barney McCoy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s impossible for most Americans to find justification for the taking of innocent lives. I certainly can’t, although I do admit I have tried to imagine what could convince someone to do so. I found no thought, anger, frustration or hatred profound or deep enough to convince me of a reason to take the life of an innocent child, woman or man; much less the innocent life of a countryman, woman or child.

Looking for logical answers to explain such an act leaves me a bit confused and angry. I know there’s no logic to be found, no way to bring back the innocent lives taken, restore the families who lost sons and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, or imagine what punishment could be equal to the crime for those found guilty of committing it. And yet it happened. That this crime was committed by Americans makes it a greater betrayal.

All that’s left is a gaping hole in the soul of America. In Oklahoma City, an elegant,  silent memorial marks the location where once a building stood, and people worked and played, and life seemed so normal until we learned it could never be again.