More blather than substance?

In Ruth Tighe’s recent column, she described me to be “intrepid and exceedingly verbose.” I presume this description refers to and insinuates that the articles I submit to the media are not “succinct” enough for her and/or the readers of the island community, as well as off island.

What I find completely fascinating is that Ruth Tighe will extrapolate at length on a specific issue or subject matter in her columns to the media if she deems it appropriate, and expects the readers of the media to believe that whatever she produces will be acceptable and appropriate in terms of what she says, how she says it, and “how lengthy” it happens to be.

If one will take the time to look at the archives generated by the Saipan Tribune and peruse some of Tighe’s columns, you will clearly see that some of her columns are just as long, if not longer, than some of the articles I have submitted for publication. Some of her columns, in my opinion, are more blather than substance. In lieu of including some “short takes” in her column, her whole column should be “a long take” and people who bother to read them should take “short breaths” while they try and work their way through reading them.

For someone who appears to be well-read about issues in the CNMI and abroad and possesses formal education reflecting a graduate degree from a presumably accredited institution of higher education, you would expect her analysis regarding the writing characteristics of another individual who is active in contributing articles to the media to be more astute and objective and less personal and subjective.

With respect to Ruth Tighe’s comment about former Philippine consul Julia Heidemann’s involvement with the medical school proposal, I would not have responded with an in-depth article presented in three parts by the Tribune if she and the other investors would have presented to the island community the extremely important issue surrounding accreditation with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Since the proposal by her and the other investors was presented without informing the residents of the CNMI that this would be pursued sometime down the line, this would make anyone who comprehends the important value of legitimate accreditation by LCME, as well as bona fide professionals who comprise the medical community throughout the Pacific Rim, e.g., doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc., to be suspicious of their knowledge about what they are doing.

Tighe described Heidemann as being “well known and respected” and “makes the whole idea of the medical school proposal in the CNMI credible and reputable.” I find it difficult to believe that just because someone is well known and respected that there is any correlation with something they do or say being “credible and reputable.” There are numerous individuals in the annals of history, e.g., Adolph Hitler, that were “well known and respected” (by the German people and countries espousing Nazism), but demonstrated the converse of anything “credible and reputable.”

Once again, Ruth Tighe has shown the island community and people who are off-island that she is a columnist who has a propensity to use the First Amendment right to freedom of the press to conduct personal attacks for political or other reasons. Moreover, she continues to demonstrate that she enjoys “opening her mouth and placing a foot in it.” If she wants any criticism from others to terminate, then she will need to step back and reflect carefully on what and how she evaluates other writers and refrain from being hypocritical.

Dr. Jesus D. Camacho
Delano, California