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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/10/AR2007091001153.html
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https://web.archive.org/web/2007091719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/10/AR2007091001153.html
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Greening the Gear
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From natural cleaning products to hemp clothing, the Green Revolution has transformed the contents of our kitchen cabinets and closets. Now, sporting and fitness goods manufacturers are taking the trend outdoors, marketing upscale products that boast a new sensitivity to the environments in which they are used.
"When you paddle out [into the waves] and you see Styrofoam cups, plastic bags, cigarettes, what enters your mind is what you're buying and . . . what you're riding in the ocean," says Travis Wilkerson, membership director for the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association, a trade association for the suppliers of surfing products, including several that sell surfboards made of materials selected for their eco-friendly composition.
Just as hybrid cars win customers despite the higher prices they command, sporting products that claim to be green can give manufacturers a "marketing edge," says Paul Schmitt, president of PS Stix, a premier manufacturer of skateboard decks.
Is this new spin on the green movement simply a marketing ploy or a reputable effort to improve the environmental impact of outdoor products? That's a question that Frank Scura, co-founder and executive director of the Action Sports Environmental Coalition, hopes to address. The nonprofit, which greened the X Games by encouraging skateboard ramps to be built out of Forest Stewardship Council-certified lumber, is developing guidelines for a "green stamp" that would certify that a product meets ASEC standards. But, Scura understands, there's a lot of mistrust to be overcome before consumers can be confident that these supposedly green products merit their price tags and perform as well or better than traditional goods.
We looked at some products, spoke to some users and asked the opinions of several experts, including Ken Segal, a composite materials engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and Hugh Casey, former head of the materials technology division at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The abrupt 2005 closing of Clark Foam, which supplied up to 90 percent of the market's blanks (the uncut and unshaped boards), roiled the surfing industry and caused surfboard prices to double; it also drew attention to problems with the materials used to make the blanks. Clark's blanks were composed of TDI (toluene diisocyanate) and coated with polyester resins, both considered harmful to the environment and to workers who handled them, according to the
Some manufacturers, including Patagonia, Surftech, Ice-Nine and Aviso, have since adopted epoxy resins, natural composites or blanks composed of less environmentally toxic MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate).
A user's view: Darryl Hatheway, co-founder of the Washington chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental protection group, swears by the greener products; he has eight Surftech boards that he brings to worldwide surf expeditions. "Normally your [polyester resin] board would be damaged before you got to the airport," he says. Not so with his epoxy Surftech boards, which stand up to bangs and scrapes. Hatheway also says epoxy resin works well with blanks made of polystyrene, a foam that doesn't absorb water. Although epoxy boards ($450 to $700) cost 10 to 20 percent more than polyester resin boards ($375 to $600), Hatheway says he finds they last 10 times longer. They're lighter, easier to maneuver and float well, too, he says.
Expert take: Segal still considers the new MDI "a hazardous material; the chemical makeup is pretty close [to that of TDI]" and he thinks lightness and maneuverability have more to do with how a board is shaped than its composition. Casey agrees that engineering and design are as important as materials.
Also, from his experience developing NASA spacecraft coated with epoxy resins, Segal finds epoxy "has good mechanical properties that essentially let you get good strength and durability when bonding materials together." Plus, Segal says, epoxy is environmentally friendly: Ultraviolet rays don't cause it to deteriorate, and water doesn't weaken it. But there's a downside, too: Casey says epoxy is "like a glass window; it doesn't break, it shatters. . . . [It's] so hard and brittle that it can't bend or flex." Engineers can fix that flaw by altering a board's design or reinforcing the epoxy with another material.
What's new: Most traditional high-end sports balls are made with a polyurethane or synthetic leather outer shell and a rubber air bladder. Aggressive harvesting of rubber can deplete forests.
Fair Trade Sports makes balls that have both an inner bladder and a coating over the synthetic leather made of FSC-certified rubber. FSC certification means the product is from a responsibly managed forest, as dictated by international rules. "Given that about 300 grams out of the typical 420-gram full-size soccer ball is rubber, it was the best place to start building eco-friendliness into the product," says Scott James, founder of the Seattle-based company.
James says his company's professional-quality soccer balls, volleyballs, futsal balls, rugby balls, footballs and soon basketballs are priced competitively with those from the big-name companies; midrange balls for competitive play cost from about $30 to $60.
Becky Bavinger, club organizer of D.C. Stop Modern Slavery Group, a local advocacy group, recently set up a soccer match with the recreational Washington Soccer Society; the two teams played with a Fair Trade Sports soccer ball. "We couldn't tell the difference. . . . It played just as great with no change in texture or feel," Bavinger says.
Expert take: Performance-wise, natural rubber has pluses and minuses. One plus: It has more friction when it meets an object, such as a kicking foot, Casey says. This lets players put a spin on a ball, creating more sophisticated maneuvers. But there's a trade-off. "Natural rubber has better mechanical properties than synthetic" -- it's stronger and retains its original shape better -- "but ages faster," Casey says.
Considering how popular skateboarding has become in the past 20 years -- "12 million [kids skate] in the U.S., more than [those enrolled] in
," says John Bernards, executive director of the International Association of Skateboard Companies -- and the fact that kids can be expected to break at least one board a year, the industry probably has sacrificed a lot of trees for the sport.
Manufacturers such as Comet, Habitat, Loaded Boards and Sector 9 have taken the lead in introducing eco-friendly boards; Habitat boards incorporate bamboo or hemp fiberglass, Loaded Boards use bamboo and Comet uses FSC-certified maple and water-based coatings.
Some manufacturers say the cost of FSC-certified wood or the special processing needed to work with bamboo is excessive. Besides, Comet's Jason Salfi says, the question of sustainability with bamboo "is just like anything else; if you're growing corn in a way that is not sensitive to the environment, sure, you're going to make more food, but how long is it going to last?"
Also, Schmitt of PS Stix, whose company produces the bamboo and hemp fiberglass decks for Habitat, says that because the industry is dealing with a demographic of 10- to 15-year-olds who are spending their allowance on boards, increasing prices is not sound business practice.
Others disagree. "The performance is phenomenal. It's a little pricier, but it blows the other materials away. . . . You can run over a [bamboo] board with a car and it probably won't break," says Don Tashman, founder of Loaded Boards.
A user's view: It can be hard to get old-timers off their traditional boards, but some longboarders who have tried green boards prefer them. Herndon resident Justin Metcalf races and rides to his classes at Virginia Tech on a $250 Loaded Boards Pintail bamboo board. "Because of the bamboo construction, the board is quite springy and flexible, yet at the same time is surprisingly strong," he says.
Christopher Newport University freshman Brendan Redler is also a fan. "They're lightweight, resilient and have some life to them," he says. "I'd say that I prefer the ride of bamboo to wood almost hands down as a general longboard."
Expert take: NASA uses the same technique as Comet to build carbon fiber-reinforced structures, Segal says. Pressing boards one at a time with heat pulls out air, thus strengthening boards. The bond-strengthening technique also allows companies to use less resilient woods, such as maple.
For 20 years, Calfee Design has been building high-end racing bikes out of carbon fiber -- a strong but lightweight material used in everything from sports equipment to aircraft. But after seeing his dog try and fail to gnaw through a stalk of bamboo in 1996, Craig Calfee introduced aline of bike frames made out of bamboo and hemp as a publicity stunt.
Calfee describes bamboo as "tougher than carbon fiber in terms of impact resistance." It's less prone to fracturing than carbon fiber, and the bamboo bike is "about one pound heavier than carbon fiber," Calfee says. Bamboo also absorbs road vibrations well, allowing cyclists to ride longer without tiring. (According to Steve Chang, in charge of Calfee sales and production, one customer rode 500 miles in one day on a Calfee bamboo bike.) Since the stunt, Calfee has produced about 100 bamboo frames, each starting at $2,695 -- in the mid-level cost range for Calfee products.
A user's view: Larry Black, founder of eco-friendly College Park Bicycles, received a bamboo bike from Calfee a year ago. He says, "Eyes closed, it's hard to tell the difference between this and other bicycles. There's a little bit of novelty involved . . . [but] it's quite comfortable."
Expert take: Familiar with carbon fiber from his work at Goddard, Segal says some claims about bamboo's ability to surpass carbon fiber's strength are applicable, "but the manufacturer's stretching it." Strength depends, in part, on what grade of carbon fiber you're working with. If you're using "too little material or material in the wrong direction, you're going to have a different feel" and strength, Segal says.
Further, variations are inherent in bamboo because it is a living thing; some stalks may be weaker than others because they grew in poorer soil or had access to less water. And carbon fiber absorbs vibrations, too -- one reason it is popular.
Anyone associated with winter sports is particularly aware of global warming's potential impact. "The industry is dependent on snow, dependent on the natural surroundings for its success," says Lisa Branner, who with her husband, Klemens, started Venture Snowboards eight years ago in
. So it's no wonder snowboards are going green. Companies such as Venture Snowboards and Arbor (which also constructs green skateboards) are using sustainable harvested wood, bamboo and organic cotton and hemp.
Officials at Arbor, which builds boards from bamboo and other sustainable harvested woods, and Venture Snowboards, which uses FSC-certified wood from Pennsylvania with a hemp and organic cotton top sheet, say they're unwilling to sacrifice performance. If boards break or don't perform well and "enter the waste stream that way, you're not doing any good," says Lisa Branner, whose boards start at $495.
Some companies, after testing these new materials, claim they may be even better than traditional components. For example, Arbor's marketing manager, Jessica Ng, says bamboo is "lighter, more responsive and more durable" than wood, plus it offers "more pop . . . [or] liveliness to the board" when making jumps.
A user's view: According to Ryan Jeffries, inventory manager at Fairfax's East Coast Board Company, Arbor boards "are pretty stiff, but they're good boards. . . . Out west, where the snow is deeper, they might be better."
Expert take: Based on his experience with his home's new bamboo floors, Casey describes himself as suspicious of bamboo "unless it has a coating . . . but coatings get dings, so then moisture seeps in," making the board warp, become heavier and more difficult to maneuver. (That's why skis evolved from being made from wood to incorporating better-performing materials.)
On the other hand, Segal is receptive to bamboo since it's a natural, fast-growing alternative, but he doubts it is more responsive or has more pop. Jumps happen so quickly, he says, that it may be hard to detect any supposed improvement.
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From natural cleaning products to hemp clothing, the Green Revolution has transformed the contents of our kitchen cabinets and closets. Now, sporting and fitness goods manufacturers are taking the trend outdoors, marketing upscale products that boast a new sensitivity to the environments in which...
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Bush to Endorse Petraeus Plan
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After meeting with Bush yesterday at the White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) expressed similar dismay with the Petraeus plan. The general has refused to commit to further reductions until he can assess conditions on the ground next March.
Pelosi said she told Bush that he was essentially endorsing a 10-year "open-ended commitment." Reid said the president wants "no change in mission -- this is more of the same."
White House aides said they are working on a 20-minute prime-time speech that Bush will give tomorrow night, in which he will endorse the main elements of the strategy outlined by Petraeus and Crocker on Capitol Hill this week.
They said the president plans to emphasize that he is in a position to order troop cuts only because of the success achieved on the ground in Iraq, and that he is not being swayed by political opposition. Aides said that he plans to outline once again what he sees as the dire consequences of failure in Iraq and that he will make the troop cuts conditional on continued military gains.
Bush did not tell congressional leaders yesterday exactly what he plans to announce tomorrow night but left the clear impression that "he was going to follow Petraeus's advice," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.).
Although some Republicans, such as Rep. James T. Walsh (N.Y.), came out yesterday against Bush's war policy, administration officials and outside lobbyists said they detected little change in the basic politics of Iraq in Congress, where a majority of lawmakers want to bring the war to a faster close but lack the votes to overcome a presidential veto.
But the new criticism from some unexpected quarters in the GOP had leaders in both chambers casting about for new formulas that might attract bipartisan support. Such legislation might include calls to shift the mission in Iraq and begin troop withdrawals -- but without the hard and fast timelines that have previously invited Bush veto threats.
Even Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), a mainstream conservative who has never publicly strayed from the administration's position on Iraq, made it clear that she would now support "what some have called action-forcing measures."
"The difficulty of the current American and Iraqi situation is rooted in large part in the Bush administration's substantial failure to understand the full implications of our military invasion and the litany of mistakes made at the outset of the war," Dole said.
In a second day of testimony on Capitol Hill, Petraeus and Crocker reprised the generally optimistic points they made to two House committees on Monday. Appearing before the Senate's Foreign Relations and Armed Services panels, Petraeus said the additional troops have helped reduce violence in Iraq, and Crocker said he is hopeful that the Iraqis are beginning to take small steps toward political reconciliation.
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Plans by President Bush to announce a withdrawal of up to 30,000 U.S. troops from Iraq by next summer drew sharp criticism yesterday from Democratic leaders and a handful of Republicans in Congress, who vowed to try again to force Bush to accept a more dramatic change of policy.
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HOW SIGNIFICANT WOULD THE PULLBACK BE?
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The "five Army brigade combat teams, a Marine expeditionary unit and two Marine battalions" designated for withdrawal from Iraq by July "represent a very significant force. They are the force, in fact, that have helped us substantially in achieving some of the recent gains that our troopers have fought so hard to achieve. And posing that withdrawal, I believe, is a very substantial withdrawal."
-- Gen. David H. Petraeus
VIDEO | Excerpts from Gen. David Petraeus's testimony before Congress about the success of the troop surge as well as military and political progress in Iraq.
The U.S. military drawdown that Petraeus backed largely traces the long-planned ebbing of the troop "surge" dictated by a 15-month limit on Army deployments. Under that limit, the five Army brigades that made up the bulk of the buildup were scheduled to begin departing from Iraq in March or April, with one brigade moving each month through July or August.
Petraeus's recommendation accelerates that plan, by calling for one Army brigade with about 3,500 troops to leave in mid-December and not be replaced, followed by four others at one every 45 days. In addition, two Marine battalions would depart by next summer without being replaced.
The gradual decrease from 20 to 15 combat brigades, if approved, would bring U.S. forces closer to the pre-buildup level of about 130,000 troops by the end of next summer, allowing other U.S. forces to stay for an unspecified period.
The first contingent to depart, beginning this month, would be the approximately 2,200 Marines of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is completing a seven-month overseas rotation after five months in Anbar province. The Marines were extended in Iraq for about a month beyond their scheduled tour to conduct operations against insurgent sanctuaries in Anbar's Lake Thar Thar region.
Marine deployments in Anbar were first increased in November by the top U.S. commander in the Middle East at the time, Gen. John P. Abizaid, who deployed an extra Marine expeditionary unit there after a senior intelligence officer described the province as "lost" to the group al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Petraeus outlined the possibility of a reduction to 12 combat brigades after July but said he could not make a final recommendation until March. A chart displayed during his testimony had the number of brigades on one axis and "time" on the other, but the "time" axis lacked some labels.
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The "five Army brigade combat teams, a Marine expeditionary unit and two Marine battalions" designated for withdrawal from Iraq by July "represent a very significant force. They are the force, in fact, that have helped us substantially in achieving some of the recent gains that our troopers have ...
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WHAT ARE IRAN'S INTENTIONS?
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"On a less encouraging note, none of us earlier this year appreciated the extent of Iranian involvement in Iraq, something about which we and Iraq's leaders all now have greater concern. . . . It is increasingly apparent to both coalition and Iraqi leaders that Iran, through the use of this Quds Force, seeks to turn the Iraqi special groups into [a] Hezbollah-like force to serve its interests and fight a proxy war against the Iraqi state and coalition forces in Iraq."
-- Gen. David H. Petraeus
VIDEO | Excerpts from Gen. David Petraeus's testimony before Congress about the success of the troop surge as well as military and political progress in Iraq.
The White House did not anticipate Iran as a rival in Iraq. Indeed, the ouster of Saddam Hussein was initially seen as a potential spur for change in Iran, too. Today, however, even critics of U.S. policy agree with the assessments of Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker that Washington and Tehran are vying for influence in Iraq and the wider region.
"On Iran's activities, they are probably right. If anything, we may be seeing only the tip of the iceberg and the problem," said Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA, National Security Council and Pentagon official who opposed the war and the troop buildup.
"What is striking about what they said today, comparing U.S.-Iran talks with five years ago on Afghanistan, is that we're dealing with an Iranian government that feels the wind is behind it and America's moment in the Middle East is receding -- and Iran wants to give us a firm push from behind as we depart so we will never, ever think about intervening on the ground in the Gulf again, and certainly not into Iran," Riedel said.
The Bush administration's decision to hold the first formal bilateral talks with Iran in almost three decades has not helped. In contrast with Iran's cooperation on the transition after the Taliban's ouster in 2001, the three sessions held in Baghdad between Crocker and his Iranian counterpart have been a flop. Iran's arms shipments and meddling have only increased, say Arab and European sources.
Yet Petraeus's description is too simplistic, said Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations. "It's not the Iranians who want to fight against the Iraqi state. They're probably happy with the Shia domination of the Iraqi state," he said. "These [Iraqi Shiite] groups are also not looking to be Iranian proxies. . . . It's much more a give-and-take."
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"On a less encouraging note, none of us earlier this year appreciated the extent of Iranian involvement in Iraq, something about which we and Iraq's leaders all now have greater concern. . . . It is increasingly apparent to both coalition and Iraqi leaders that Iran, through the use of this Quds ...
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The General Does Battle With . . . a Broken Mike
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The best historical analogue for Gen. David Petraeus's appearance before Congress yesterday might be found in the days of the Roman Republic.
Then, returning generals wearing laurel wreaths and purple robes and riding in chariots were greeted at the city gate by senators and led through a "Triumph" ceremony that included trumpeters and the slaying of white bulls.
VIDEO | Washington Sketch: Dana Milbank sketches General Petraeus's testimony on the progress of the war in Iraq in Congress on Monday.
There were no animal sacrifices in the Cannon Caucus Room yesterday, but Petraeus -- even the name is a felicitous echo of the Latin "patronus" (protector) -- enjoyed the modern equivalent: Taking his place on a raised platform in the middle of the room, the general, with four stars on each shoulder and a chest full of ribbons, was surrounded by more than 50 cameras and lawmakers lining up to pay respects.
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led his wife through the throng to meet the great man. "What a pleasure! What a pleasure!" Lantos called out.
The lawmakers used their allotted questioning time to heap linguistic laurels on the visiting general, and, to a lesser extent, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker: "America's finest. . . . Our nation's most capable. . . . The capability, the integrity, the intelligence and the wisdom. . . . Nothing but admiration."
And that was from the Democrats.
With even the antiwar members of Congress fearful that criticism of Petraeus would be seen as criticism of the troops, the main adversity the general faced yesterday was of the technical variety.
When the long-anticipated moment finally arrived -- Petraeus giving the testimony that would shape the future of the Iraq war -- the commanding general in Iraq discovered that his microphone was dead.
"We will have to ask you to stand a bit closer to the microphone," said Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Still nothing. "Would somebody please fix the microphone?" the chairman asked. Nobody could. "Is there any way to trade microphones from the front row?" Nope: Those were dead, too.
Alas for the chairman, his own microphone worked too well. While technicians scrambled to fix the audio problem, the 75-year-old Skelton could be heard on C-SPAN muttering vulgarities.
For months, Petraeus's report to Congress had been billed as the moment that could change the direction of the Iraq war. And so, they turned on the chandeliers in the Cannon Caucus Room and brought in extra flags. They draped blue cloths over folding card tables so 100 members of Congress -- nearly a quarter of the House -- could face Petraeus. An hour before the big show, the star witness took what he called a "recon" walk through the chamber.
The long-anticipated moment never came, however, as even many of the antiwar Democrats on the panel acknowledged that the military "surge" Petraeus has led in Iraq has been a tactical success.
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The best historical analogue for Gen. David Petraeus's appearance before Congress yesterday might be found in the days of the Roman Republic.
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Kennedy Center Honors Are Giving Them Excitations
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Diana Ross and Brian Wilson are at the top of the charts again, but this time it's the list of Kennedy Center Honorees.
Apparently, when this year's awards were decided, someone at the center was channeling the '60s, when Ross's Supremes and Wilson's Beach Boys were blasting on the radio.
Director Martin Scorsese, pianist Leon Fleisher and actor-writer Steve Martin (who also won the center's 2005 Mark Twain Prize for humor) completed the list.
Martin, who is filming "Pink Panther Deux" in Boston, said in a statement: "I am grateful to the Kennedy Center for finally alleviating in me years of covetousness and trophy envy."
Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman said the five 2007 honorees had "transformed the way we, as Americans, see, hear and feel the performing arts."
This is the 30th anniversary of the Kennedy Center Honors, which recognize lasting contributions to the arts in America.
Wilson, 65, formed the Beach Boys in 1961 with his two younger brothers Dennis and Carl and his cousin Mike Love; he eventually added friend Al Jardine. From their home in California, they captured a youthful sound of bounce and harmony in a series of hits such as "Surfin'," "Surfin' U.S.A.," "Surfer Girl," "Little Deuce Coupe" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice."
Wilson's post-surfing compositions are admired by a cross-section of musical architects, from Philip Glass to Paul McCartney to Burt Bacharach to the Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan. The Beach Boys' 1966 album "Pet Sounds" is considered a landmark recording.
Wilson is currently at the Royal Festival Hall in London, performing a new work called "That Lucky Old Sun (a Narrative)." Enjoying good reviews after opening night, Wilson said that receiving the Kennedy Center Honors was unique. "I felt very thrilled to be in the presence of these amazing artists," he said yesterday.
In a career that has had its high points and setbacks, Wilson settled on remembering the best times. "Making 'Good Vibrations' in the studio. Making 'California Girls' in the studio. And playing for 750,000 on the National Mall," he said. The Beach Boys' four-year reign at the Mall's Fourth of July celebrations came to an abrupt end in 1985 when officials decided they wanted something more "family-oriented," said a National Park Service official at the time.
The Beach Boys and the Supremes vied for control of American teens' ears in the summers of 1964 with "Fun, Fun, Fun" and "Baby Love," and the next year with "Help Me Rhonda" and "Stop! In the Name of Love."
Ross, 63, came out of Detroit's Brewster-Douglass Projects as a teenager and joined friends Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard in creating a new sound, an urban amalgam of blues, R&B and pop ballads. Ross was the face of Motown. She led the trio through hit after hit -- including "Come See About Me," "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "I Hear a Symphony." Altogether, with the Supremes and as a soloist, Ross has had 70 hit singles. She also established herself as an actress, earning an Oscar nomination for her interpretation of Billie Holiday in 1972's "Lady Sings the Blues." She played Dorothy in the 1978 movie musical "The Wiz."
Ross, who was in Los Angeles yesterday preparing for a West Coast tour, said she was "taken aback. It is a huge, huge honor and I am excited to be in this class of people." Though she considers raising her five children a singular accomplishment, she recalled other special events in her life. There was her concert in Central Park to raise money for children's playgrounds. When blinding wind and a rainstorm forced her to suspend the concert, she told everyone to come back the next night, and 500,000 people showed up. And there were her appearances with tenors Placido Domingo and Jos? Carreras.
"As I travel I become an ambassador for the U.S. People ask me questions about life here. I can sit on an airplane and sit next to someone and find out I have been part of their lives for their entire lives. You just wouldn't know your song meant so much to them," Ross said.
Fleisher, 79, who was born in San Francisco, made his Carnegie Hall debut at 16. He went on to an international career as a soloist; his recordings of Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms concertos have become classics. In 1965, after he lost the use of his right hand, Fleisher turned to teaching and conducting, and revitalized music created for the left hand. He was a co-founder and director of the Kennedy Center's Theater Chamber Players and associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony. In his long association with the Peabody Conservatory and the Curtis Institute of Music, he has trained another generation of artists, such as pianists Andre Watts and Yefim Bronfman.
At 67 he regained the use of his right hand. Tim Page, the classical music critic for The Post, said, "Indeed, I would rather listen to Fleisher, even in his current, delicate shape, than to most other pianists now before the public."
"My heart stopped," Fleisher said yesterday, describing his reaction to the Kennedy Center Honors. "I have received honors from the French government and many doctorates, but to be honored by your own country and your peers is special."
Last year was one of the busiest of his long career, he said, with 60 engagements. "For a person of my age, with all the challenges of traveling, that is something." He said that when he is in the classroom, he reminisces about that Carnegie Hall debut. "I go back to the time where my students find themselves, and help them deal with what information to ingest to make good musical decisions."
Martin, 62, a native of Waco, Tex., was raised in Southern California. He has projected a manic, urbane, smart persona in television and movie roles since the late '60s. He is the "wild and crazy guy" from "Saturday Night Live." He is the put-upon parent from "Father of the Bride." He is also the refined collector of modern art by Picasso, Hopper, Hockney and Frankenthaler.
He won a best actor award from the New York Film Critics Circle for his role in 1984's "All of Me" and Grammys for two comedy albums. He played the banjo in the Earl Scruggs video "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," which won a Grammy. His play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," about a fictional meeting between Picasso and Albert Einstein, won the New York Outer Critics Circle awards in 1996 for best off-Broadway play and best playwright.
Scorsese, 64, a native New Yorker, thought of being a priest and went to the seminary after high school. But he changed his mind and built a catalogue of great films, many of which are considered the best of their time. "Raging Bull" was selected as the greatest American film of the 1980s by American Film magazine and ranked second in another international poll of the top 10 films of all time (behind "Citizen Kane"). He produced films of searing intensity and violence, including "Mean Streets," "Taxi Driver," "GoodFellas," "Cape Fear," "The Last Temptation of Christ," "Gangs of New York" and "The Departed." The last one brought him his first Oscar. He is in post-production on a documentary of the Rolling Stones called "Shine a Light!"
In a statement, Scorsese said, "I'm very honored to be receiving this recognition from the Kennedy Center and proud to be joining the company of the very distinguished individuals who have received this honor in years past."
The awards will be presented the first week of December during a gala weekend in Washington. The two-hour show will be televised Dec. 26 on CBS.
Last year's winners were composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, conductor Zubin Mehta, country singer Dolly Parton, singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson and director Steven Spielberg.
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Diana Ross and Brian Wilson are at the top of the charts again, but this time it's the list of Kennedy Center Honorees.
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In a Blood Test, U.S. Ties N. Korea in Opener
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CHENGDU, China, Sept. 11 -- With 28 minutes remaining in the U.S. national soccer team's opening match of the Women's World Cup on Tuesday night, the star striker was in the locker room getting her bloody scalp stitched, the goalkeeper was trying to keep her composure after conceding a comical goal and the three defenders were wondering if the wave of North Korean forays was ever going to subside.
And then there was this sobering detail: For the first time in almost a year, the Americans were losing.
"We knew we had time and we knew we just had to play," team captain Kristine Lilly said. "That is what is so great about this group, because we haven't been in this situation and we did come out with a point."
Heather O'Reilly's 69th-minute strike salvaged a 2-2 tie for the Americans, who did not perform anything like a team that has not lost in regulation time in 48 games and is favored to win this 16-team tournament. The North Koreans were faster, dominated the midfield and, to the delight of most of the 35,100 at rainy Chengdu Sports Center Stadium, seized the lead with two goals while the U.S. team played shorthanded during a chaotic stretch of the second half.
The result, combined with Sweden's 1-1 tie against Nigeria, left Group B in a four-way deadlock (each team has one standings point) heading into Friday's doubleheader in the Sichuan capital. The Americans remain in good standing but will need a better performance against the Swedes, runners-up in 2003, to validate their championship aspirations. Group play will conclude next Tuesday with the top two finishers advancing to the quarterfinals.
"We knew what a difficult group this would be," Coach Greg Ryan said.
North Korea, which has never reached the elimination round, nimbly negotiated the slippery field and combined a long-passing game with its usual short combinations to generate several quality scoring chances during a scoreless first half.
The Americans did end the half on a strong note, with Abby Wambach's header hitting the underside of the crossbar, and then took the lead five minutes after intermission on Wambach's 14-yard strike that Lilly had made possible with a clever touch into the penalty area.
But things began to unravel for the two-time champion U.S. team a few minutes later. Wambach, the physical forward who creates so many opportunities, slammed heads with a North Korean player in front of the U.S. goal and began bleeding profusely. She had to leave the game, but would it be temporarily or for good? In a tight match, Ryan figured he could not afford to lose his most dangerous player. So instead of using a substitute, he decided to wait for her to return.
"It was a very tough call," Ryan said. "The doctors said they could get her back in just a few minutes. Abby is such an important player to this team, I thought we could withstand playing 11 against 10."
They couldn't, although in reality, both North Korean goals could have been prevented. As Wambach was walking behind the U.S. bench toward the locker room, goalkeeper Hope Solo allowed Kil Son Hui's 22-yard shot to slip between her hands and tie the match.
"The conditions were very slick, very wet, those balls spin like crazy, but no excuse, it happens," Solo said.
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In the 69th minute, American Heather O'Reilly rips a perfectly placed shot to the upper corner to salvage a 2-2 tie against North Korea.
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Craig Asks Court to Waive His Guilty Plea
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The Idaho Republican wrote in a sworn statement that he never engaged in "offensive, obscene, abusive, boisterous or noisy conduct" in the restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on June 11, when he was arrested in a sex sting that led to demands from many Republicans that the three-term senator resign. Craig has said that if he cannot overturn the guilty plea by a self-imposed Sept. 30 deadline, he intends to step down.
Craig's attorneys filed motions in Hennepin County District Court asking for a speedy hearing and arguing that the plea should be waived because the undercover officer who arrested Craig had promised the senator he would not call the news media -- a major concern to Craig because the Idaho Statesman newspaper had been investigating his sexual orientation after allegations from a gay rights activist.
"Deeply panicked about the events, and based on [the officer's] representations to me regarding the potential outcome, my interest in handling the matter expeditiously, and the risk that protracting the issue could lead to unnecessary publicity, I did not seek the advice of an attorney . . . and I made the decision on that date to seek a guilty plea," Craig said in his statement filed with the court.
Led by high-profile lawyer Billy Martin, Craig's attorneys contend that the officer's promise of keeping the case quiet was improper and should lead to a judge allowing the plea to be withdrawn.
The second point of Craig's legal argument is that the facts of the case do not constitute a crime. Craig is accused of using signals that police said are known to men seeking sexual encounters in restrooms, including tapping his feet, bumping one foot into a foot of the undercover officer in the stall next to him and swiping his hand under the partition dividing the stalls. The lawyers argue that that was the officer's interpretation of Craig's actions and that no inappropriate behavior occurred.
"Viewed in its worst light, [Craig's conduct] doesn't even rise to the level of annoying, much less disorderly," Martin and Thomas M. Kelly, Craig's Minnesota-based attorney, said in the court filing.
The motions also argue that Craig is not a lawyer and so his plea was "not knowingly and understandingly made." Craig is a rancher and has served on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of the federal judiciary and criminal procedures.
Patrick Hogan, spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, said the airport police plan to "strenuously defend our case in court" and will soon file a written response to Craig's motion. "The police officer acted appropriately and used standard investigative procedures," Hogan said. "Our intent is to ask the judge to uphold the plea that the senator has already agreed to."
Andrew S. Birrell, a criminal lawyer in Minnesota, said Craig's attorneys appeared to be trying to show that the plea was coerced by the undercover officer. He said that might meet the requirement in Minnesota law that withdrawal of a guilty plea can occur only to correct a "manifest injustice."
"To correct a manifest injustice is a very high standard in the law. These are not frequently granted requests," Birrell said.
The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reported on the plea deal Aug. 27, sparking widespread criticism of Craig by his fellow Republicans, including a call by the Senate GOP leadership for an ethics committee investigation.
In the week after the revelation, Craig declared "I am not gay," denounced the Idaho Statesman for a "witch hunt" into his sexuality and announced his "intent" to resign Sept. 30, only to say days later that he would serve out the remainder of his term, through 2008, if he could get the guilty plea withdrawn by the end of the month.
That timing may be difficult. Birrell said that there is a chance a ruling on the plea could come by Sept. 30 but that the best Craig could then hope for would be a "speedy trial," which under Minnesota law would mean a trial starting within 60 days.
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Sen. Larry E. Craig yesterday sought to withdraw his guilty plea to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in an airport men's restroom, saying he had been "deeply panicked" that the incident would prompt a home-state newspaper to publish allegations that he is gay.
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Books: 'Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush'
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GQ magazine national correspondent Robert Draper was online Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his book " Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush," which uses interviews with the president and his top advisers to take readers inside the conflicts and dynamics of his administration.
Review: Do-er's Profile (Post, Sept. 9)
Draper has been a national correspondent for GQ magazine for the past decade, and prior to that was senior editor at Texas Monthly. He is author of a novel, "Hadrian's Walls," and the biography "Rolling Stone Magazine: The Uncensored History."
Robert Draper: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Robert Draper, author of "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush." I'm an assiduous reader of washingtonpost.com's Online Chat series, so it's gratifying to be on the other end of the cyber pipeline. There are already a lot of questions in the bin -- no surprise when it comes to a subject matter as polarizing as this one -- so let's get started. If my answers seem the least bit unfocused, I ask you to place the blame where it belongs, on the GQ party I attended at Cafe Milano last night!
Washington: Mr. Draper, why did you write this book?
Robert Draper: A pretty simple question, but the answer's somewhat complicated. Basically, my view was that whatever one thought of this president, his was a consequential presidency and therefore deserved biographical study. By the summer of 2004 there were more than a hundred books about Bush, but virtually all of them were either polemic or narrow. None really purported to be a straightforward literary narrative of this rather tumultuous presidency. I assigned myself the task, at the time not knowing what if any cooperation I would receive from the White House. Fortunately, over time they warmed to my approach.
Free Union, Va.: Do you believe that President Bush has a conscience?
Robert Draper: I do. It's evidenced by his willingness to visit wounded soldiers and the families of killed soldiers. Though the president often says that he sleeps untroubled, his wife indicated to me that the grind of war wears on him. And the president himself hinted at this when he said to me of his visits to military hospitals that "the healer gets healed."
Raleigh, N.C.: Good afternoon! I'm putting your book on my Christmas list. Were you surprised at the access you were given? Was there a seminal moment when you thought "holy cow, I can't believe they're telling me all this stuff"? Was there a moment when you sort of got used to it, or were you bemused right until the end?
Robert Draper: Was I surprised? It's funny -- as a journalist, you sort of grind away, taking rejections as they come, building on whatever advances you've achieved. My access was very slow in coming. Throughout 2005, I probably didn't talk to more than two dozen people in the White House. By March of 2006, I'd spoken to more than a hundred members of the administration. Certain senior staffers (whom I can't call out, because the interviews were on background) were particularly helpful, and I think some of this owes to the fact that they'd never spoken to a reporter before and frankly were grateful for the opportunity to share insights and recollections. The experience was enormously gratifying. Occasionally I would have to remind myself that this was no ordinary thing, shuffling in and out of the West Wing lobby several times a week.
Palo Alto, Calif.: Your book is wonderful work that leaves me shaking my head and full of questions. I have to believe your expressed fondness for your subject is sincere, but I can't for the life of me figure out how that can be. This president has created nothing but disaster for our nation, a disaster that has bled the military, the nations treasury, and erased our good standing in the world of nations and cost countless lives and limbs. Given these unmistakable facts, how can you maintain this fondness?
Robert Draper: I don't want to paint myself as some kind of saint -- that would be laughable -- but I do think I've been able over the years to write humanely about subjects who are controversial and even contemptible. For Texas Monthly and GQ, I've profiled pedophiles, stalkers, serial rapists, prison gang members and corrupt politicians. I didn't find it difficult to suspend judgment about President Bush and take him on his own terms. And I have to say, he's a likable fellow, whatever else one thinks of his deeds.
Ithaca, N.Y.: In your interview at Salon.com, you state that Bush's optimism is basic to him and genuine. I ask this with all sincerity: Do you think that the circumstances of his life have something to do with that? That is, he always had a "rich family," a safety net to catch him, he never had to go to war, he had jobs handed to him even after he failed, etc. Who wouldn't be optimistic?
Robert Draper: That's a very salient point, and it was certainly in my mind as I sketched Bush's character. As I mention in the Texas chapter, this was not a man possessed by Biblical torments -- his travails fell short of mythic. I also would add that there's an interesting dimension to Bush's optimism, which my book highlights -- a kind of determined, self-enforced, don't-look-down aspect, as opposed to the sunniness intrinsic to, say, Ronald Reagan.
Philadelphia: How open did George Bush appear to you to different ideas? I ask because other reporters have claimed that George Bush has continued to believe all his policies on the Iraq War are correct, even when challenged by Colin Powell and Andrew Card and intelligence reports. What makes Bush so steadfast in his views on Iraq?
Robert Draper: I'd sum it up this way: The president rather enjoys hearing opposing viewpoints from his subordinates, as long as they're opposing each other. And he can in fact be budged from small and/or tactical decisions he's made. It seems nearly impossible, however, to turn him around on major issues, fundamental precepts, etc. "There's no need to argue about the Freedom Agenda," he told me during one of the interviews. Of course, many people would disagree with that. This quality of Bush's can be seen as steadfastness or as abject stubbornness -- hence the title of my book.
Baltimore: Mr. Draper, Re: the dissolution of the Iraqi Army -- was President Bush really so blase about not knowing why Jerry Bremer dissolved the Iraqi Army? The quote I have seen in which he tells you "Hadley has notes about that" is pretty astonishing, given that sending tens of thousands of armed Iraqis home without a job is seen as the signal blunder of the early phase of the occupation. Thanks for any further insights.
Robert Draper: I was myself astonished, given that this policy reversal had dramatic consequences. There has been some controversy on this point, with Bremer releasing a memo to Bush that mentions, albeit as a virtual afterthought, that he intended to disband the army. I don't know why Bremer didn't mention this memo either in his book or in his interview with me. Regardless, the real point is that his decision to reverse policy received no serious discussion either by the president or by those in State and the National Security Council who had vigorously opposed this approach.
New London, N.H.: I've been studying the debate transcripts for four years. Is the president an angry person?
Robert Draper: I think what you saw in the 2004 debates was a man who, according to one of my sources in the West Wing, "wasn't used to anyone getting up in his grill." He was peevish, indignant and thrown off-stride. However, I don't think of Bush as a particularly angry person. If anything, he has a facility for not harboring grudges, for letting things roll off of his back after momentarily bristling.
Boston: How smart is President Bush, and what role does faith and personal providence play in his foreign policy decisions?
Robert Draper: The matter of Bush and faith properly has preoccupied scholars and will continue to do so. My sense is that he's not messianic, but rather calls on his faith as a source of strength. Obviously one could argue about whether his policies reflect those of a true Christian, but I have no doubt that he is one. He's also a smart man, assuming one goes by these measures: Does he read? (A lot, and not simple books, either.) Is he an adroit arguer? (Yes. He has a great talent for finding the weak thread in a point of view.) I've never found him to be a simpleton, though I think the caricature has served him well in that his adversaries continually "misunderestimate" him.
Eastern Shore, Md.: As you may or may not know, many conservatives (as opposed to Republicans, perhaps) are very disenchanted with Bush's presidency. For instance, most conservatives oppose his big spending policies and his immigration policies, among other gripes. Does President Bush even acknowledge the conservative angst with his administration, or is he so isolated that he thinks all is hunky-dory between him and conservatives?
Robert Draper: Bush always has viewed himself as an "activist," which flies in the face of some conservative notions, such as the federal government's role in education. The failed Harriet Miers nomination was the first real evidence of a divide between Bush and conservatives, and I think it remains a sore spot with him. He understands their distress regarding immigration reform, but the matter of a temporary guest worker program is an abiding passion of his, not to mention evidence of political foresight, given Bush and Rove's shared belief that Republicans alienate the Hispanic demographic at their peril.
Lyme, Ct.: Did you get a sense of the flow of information within the White House? Who does George Bush listen to and hear advice from? What level reports reach him, and which level reports are appropriate that they do not pass the vice president or the chief of staff? Finally, does George W. Bush seem satisfied with his staff and how things operate? Does he seem to respect loyalty, as has been written, and how does he reward loyalty?
Robert Draper: Bush made a point of emphasizing to me that unlike his father's administration, his was one of significant "walk-in access" to the Oval Office. Of course, there's a distinction between occasional and constant contact, and without question the president has relied on an inner circle (consisting of Rove, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rice, Josh Bolten, formerly Dan Bartlett and Karen Hughes and Alberto Gonzales, Joe Hagin and a couple of others) to the near-exclusion of others, including Cabinet members other than Rice. Loyalty is huge with Bush, and Exhibit A of this is the long tenure of certain highly loyal senior staffers who were kept on arguably longer than would've been prudent.
Baltimore: Does president bush ever comment on people like Keith Olbermann or other liberals who really hate him?
Robert Draper: Never! He is not one to pay attention of any kind to his critics. And for that matter, Bush told me, he doesn't watch TV ... though it's untrue that he doesn't read the newspapers.
Springfield, Mo.: I have not read the book yet but I fully intend to. Why is it so difficult for some individuals to accept the fact that a biography can be anything other than a whitewash? In my view that kind of narrow-mindedness is the analogy of radicalism without serious judgment.
Robert Draper: I appreciate the sentiment. It was my intent all along to write a nonjudgmental narrative of Bush's presidency. Along the way, a number of liberal friends of mine expressed disgust that I would spend time on such an endeavor. One even told me that my refusal to strangulate Karl Rove while interviewing him bordered on treason! But I meant it when I said to the president that I didn't think anyone 50 years from now was going to care what I thought about George W. Bush. What they'll care about is: who was this undistinguished Midland oilman who changed the world?
Bennett Point, Md.: What will President Bush do in his 25 years or so as ex-president? Is he out of politics almost completely, more or less like his father, Dwight Eisenhower, LBJ and Ronald Reagan, or is he more active like Harry Truman, Herbert Hoover and Bill Clinton?
Robert Draper: The president openly talked to me about his impending retirement. He said that he would like to open a "Freedom Institute" as an adjunct to his presidential library in Dallas, and that he would be active in that self-styled think tank when not reposing in Crawford. He also told me that he would hit the lecture circuit, a comment which has generated a fair amount of controversy, though I don't really think Bush is a greedy man.
Rochester, N.Y.: My question for you this: How do you think Bush's psychology and decision-making processes compare with other recent presidents? My impression is that he is very much an aberration, that other recent presidents generally were compromisers by nature -- even Nixon and Johnson to some extent. Do you think his intransigence is the result of a limited political background, as opposed to the years of compromising other recent presidents had to do before they got into the White House? Thanks again for the chat and for your fine book.
Robert Draper: Thanks for this excellent question. I think there's an underlying insecurity to Bush with a rather classical genesis -- namely, his being the eldest son of a famous father. (Someone pointed out to me recently that all presidents had "father issues.") I think this has propelled his need to be distinctive, to do Big Things. Insecurity is a dominant theme in the personalities of Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Clinton, among others, and it doesn't always have injurious consequences. I think your point about intransigence and inexperience is a fine one and goes to this matter of insecurity, of not wishing to have his fundamental precepts challenged.
Boston: How aware is Bush of all the backroom policy machinations of Cheney and his staff? Did he understand the levers of power when he initially delegated so much power to Cheney?
Robert Draper: This is the $64,000 question, of course. I learned from a member of the West Wing a few weeks ago that the president was furious about The Washington Post series on Cheney ("The Angler"). What galled him was its basic premise -- namely, that even though Bush is "The Decider," Cheney decides what's on the menu from which "The Decider" decides. For whatever reason, Cheney's machinations haven't felt threatening to the president -- who indeed selected him as vice president in no small measure because, as Bush told me, "he didn't want it."
Arlington, Va.: The Hadley-has-the-notes comment reminds us that when they leave office, Bush and Cheney by law will turn over their records and those of their advisors to the National Archives. These obviously have the potential to illuminate or fill in the blanks on a number of issues. Do you think the president's confidence in himself and the path he chose while in office will show itself in a willingness to permit a maximum amount of information to be released from the archives for scholars to study? Or do you have a sense that the restrictive records order that Bush signed in 2001 points to future struggles regarding historical disclosure after he leaves office?
Robert Draper: We're all dying to find out, of course. This is where the rubber meets the road. Here we have a president who has come to value history and historical analysis -- who has read a multitude of texts that owe their existence to the disclosure of the very kind of documents you're describing. Will he capitulate to history, or maintain his aversion to disclosure?
Washington: Is the President a "Texan"? As someone who worked for the Texas Monthly and who has spent substantial time with the president, you are uniquely qualified to answer this. Here is a guy whose entire family has roots deep in New England, who went to one of the most prestigious prep schools in the nations, did his undergrad at Yale and has a Harvard MBA, yet displays himself as brush-clearin', boot-wearin', pickup-drivin', "g"-droppin' son of the Texas soil. Am I the only one who wonders if Mr. Bush authentic?
Robert Draper: Listen, if anything, Bush is a Texan to a fault! I think that he's vintage Midland, from his scruffy mannerisms to his his embrace of the entrepreneurial ethic that ultimately gave rise to his Freedom Agenda and the Opportunity Society. Now, do I think he plays up his Texan-ness? Without question. He's hardly the first Texan to do so.
Washington: Please understand that I respect you and your work, but I must say that historians will look back at "Dead Certain" and be amazed that in the waning moments of a failed administration such a positive tome could be published. There is certainly value in getting the perspective of all sides, but after almost seven years the public record speaks for itself. There is a cognitive dissonance between the leader you portray -- confident, self-assured -- and the reality outside the White House, at home and abroad. What we have in the Bush II presidency is the most outsized example of the Emperor's New Clothes imaginable. And I'm afraid your book is another invisible article of clothing.
Robert Draper: Your point is well taken. For what it's worth, I've gotten it from both sides. Yesterday I was told by a White House senior staffer that my book was "disdainful" of the president, and I've been labeled a "betrayer," among other things. What I attempted to do in this book is to examine the "confident, self-assured" persona rather than accept it at face value. The title of the book should suggest a kind of edge, the belief that his certainty is both real and at the same time akin to protesting too much.
Lansing, Mich.: Wouldn't "Dead Wrong" have made a better title?
Robert Draper: Maybe a little too obvious!
Freising, Germany: Apparently staffers found it very hard "to stick one's arm into the fiercely whirring gears of Team Bush's institutionalized optimism and say, 'Let's ... slow... down. And rethink this.' " Where did this institutionalized optimism come from? Was it an extension of Bush's personality or a product of the group dynamics of Team Bush?
Robert Draper: I don't think Bush is driven by "group dynamics." For better or for worse, he is first among equals at the Executive table. Though the immensity of the Executive Branch is such that a Rove or a Cheney can wield a vast and somewhat clandestine portfolio, no one who knows Bush can honestly think that he is a bystander to his own presidency. As for the optimism, I think it's a native quality of his -- borne out in part, as someone noted earlier, by his privileged upbringing -- but there's also a whiff of fear to it: we cannot afford to fail, therefore we must succeed, therefore we are succeeding!
Alexandria, Va.: Given that John Roberts specifically has repudiated your claim that he recommended Harriet Miers for a Supreme Court nomination, why should we rely on the accuracy of anything else in your book?
Robert Draper: I don't blame Chief Justice Roberts for attempting to disassociate himself from an ill-advised recommendation. But two well-placed administration officials told me about Roberts' advice, and I'm confident in their veracity. By the way, his spokesperson's statement was parse-worthy: "Chief Justice Roberts did not recommend Harriet Miers to President Bush." I believe that's correct; according to my sources, Roberts didn't issue his recommendation directly to the president.
Washington: Ordered your book on Amazon, but I wondered -- you said on one of the shows that Bush might be surprised his quotes were coming out so soon. In the same way he told you he was playing for October or November, is that when he thought your book was coming out? Otherwise, why would he be shocked that the quotes from him came out sooner?
Robert Draper: The president knew when my book would be published and in fact asked me more than once "now, when is this book coming out?" before answering a question. I don't think he anticipated that several of the quotes in the book would dominate the news cycle. Neither did I.
Robert Draper: Thanks very much for all of the questions. This has been a vigorous exchange, and it's gratifying to me that so many of you have found this book worthy of discussion. Have a great day.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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GQ magazine national correspondent Robert Draper discusses his book "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush," which uses interviews with the president and his top advisers to take readers inside the conflicts and dynamics of his administration.
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The Call of Comic Books Reaches a New Level -- Cellphones
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sean Demory realized a long-held dream of becoming a published comic book writer when "Thunder Road," a post-apocalyptic adventure he developed with artist Steven Sanders, was released.
"I've been plugging away and pitching things for 15 to 20 years," Demory said. "This is the first one that landed in fertile soil."
But don't look for the tales of Merritt and his buddies on the shelves of a comic bookstore or even the Internet. "Thunder Road" is the first comic book released in the United States exclusively via cellphone, part of a lineup of mobile comic books offered by Kansas City-based uClick.
"It opens up a market that wouldn't necessarily be seen as a traditional comic market," Demory said of the launch last month.
Several companies are experimenting with putting printed material on mobile phones, including publisher HarperCollins's announcement this summer it would begin putting excerpts of new books on Apple's iPhones.
Mobile comic books are still in their infancy in the United States -- uClick says it's grown to about 55,000 readers a month in the first year of offering its GoComics service.
But it touches on two strengthening trends: Comic book creators looking to leap to the digital arena, where production and distribution are cheap, and the demand by wireless providers for data-rich applications to drive future revenues.
"Obviously comics have a pretty large following," said David Oberholzer, associate director of content programming for Verizon Wireless, which offers GoComics along with competitors AT&T and Sprint Nextel. "You want to mimic what's out there already and have that on your deck."
For $4.49 a month on Verizon, or $3.99 a month for AT&T and Sprint, subscribers can view nearly a dozen different traditional comic books. There's also a separate subscription service for Japanese comics called manga.
The comic books range from well-known names like "Bone" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" to up-and-coming books, such as crime noirish "Umbra" and Hindu-folklore-inspired "Devi." The comics site adds new chapters or issues for each title every week.
Jeff Webber, vice president of product development for uClick, the digital arm of newspaper feature distributor Universal Press Syndicate, declined to provide revenue figures, saying some of the 55,000 monthly readers are using free trials.
But he said the company, which already lets people view comic strips on their wireless devices, is pleased with the comic book feature's growth and may allow users this fall not only to subscribe but buy whole issues over the phone.
"We know there's a lot of interest out there, and we're trying to find the best way to serve the customer," Webber said.
Mobile comics have been a cellular mainstay for years in manga-crazy Japan, where some titles already begin life on cellphones before going to print.
Stu Levy, chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based TokyoPop, one of the leading U.S. publishers of manga, said the domestic market is still way behind Japan. But he said he could see comics being released in the United States on mobile phones before coming out in print regularly in the next few years.
Levy, whose company provides most of GoComics' manga titles, said his company already is experimenting with adding animation and other cinematic touches to manga stories and tying in manga-themed games, ring tones, wallpaper and other content.
"I think that we're all still in the experimental stage," Levy said. "But I think with video and with technology that will allow the experience on the cellphone to become more engaging and more involved, we'll be able to touch more customers in a number of areas."
The GoComics reader displays each comic book one panel at a time, reformatted from the printed versions with larger typeface in word balloons, although some comics are harder to read than others. The phone's buttons advance each frame, allowing the reader to scroll across larger pictures.
Sanders, who did the art for "Thunder Road" as well as Image Comics' "Five Fists of Science," said the smaller screen does pose some challenges, as space is at a premium. But he said the single panels also allow creators to better control how their audience reads the story, preventing them from ruining surprises by glancing at the next page.
He said he was initially attracted to the project because he believes digital publishing is a faster and cheaper way to get to market.
"I think the future of comics itself lies in digital format," he said, noting that the 10-cent comics of yesteryear have been replaced by $3 and $4 books. "It's lost that bang for the buck that you used to have as a cheap form of entertainment. There's not a lot of incentive for people who aren't already heavily invested in or used to reading comics to go out and buy them."
Wireless companies are still undecided on the future of mobile publishing, as small screens and short battery lives make online reading a chore.
But Charles Golvin, a wireless analyst for Forrester Research, said comic books could be different because they're what he called "quick-hit content," like ring tones and wallpaper.
"There are plenty of niches," he said. "My sense is that in the long term, as displays get better and networks get better and there's a better experience for all sorts of content, I think the comic book stuff makes a little bit more sense to me."
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Redskins' Jansen Will Undergo Leg Surgery
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Right tackle Jon Jansen will undergo surgery to repair his fractured fibula and dislocated right ankle this week, an injury the Washington Redskins expect to effectively end his season. Coach Joe Gibbs said yesterday he has not decided whether veteran Todd Wade or undrafted rookie Stephon Heyer will take Jansen's spot Monday night in Philadelphia.
Jansen, a second-round draft pick in 1999 and the longest-serving player on the roster, was hurt early in the second quarter of the Redskins' season-opening 16-13 victory Sunday, when Miami Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas fell on his legs. The severity of the injury was immediately apparent, Jansen said, and excruciatingly painful.
Although doctors reset the ankle on the field, the extent of the ligament damage will not be known until surgery, which will take place tomorrow or Thursday. Jansen's ankle was twisted in the wrong direction after the injury.
Jansen, 31, started 80 straight games to begin his career, then suffered a season-ending Achilles' tendon rupture in the 2004 preseason opener.
He played every game in 2005 despite breaking both thumbs, and played through several lingering injuries in 2006, eventually missing one game, Dec. 17 at New Orleans, because of a calf strain.
"I felt three or four pops and it was instant pain," Jansen said in a conference call with reporters yesterday. "That was really what was different. When I tore my Achilles' it really didn't hurt much at all, and this time it was quite painful. It was a little less painful after they reset [the ankle] on the field there. It definitely wasn't something I would wish on anybody. It wasn't much fun, but it's over and I'm looking forward to surgery and getting that behind me."
Jansen was writhing on the field for several minutes, as doctors and athletic trainers attended to him. Team physician Ray Thal reset the ankle and Jansen was able to muster a fist pump as he was carted off.
Jansen spoke to a few teammates from home Sunday night. "He definitely wasn't happy with the situation, obviously," center Casey Rabach said, "but he understood that's football and stuff like that happens."
Gibbs said the injury is similar to the broken leg and high ankle sprain guard Randy Thomas suffered in 2005, and the prospects of a full recovery look good. "It's just one of those things that can happen," Gibbs said. "You hate it."
Jansen believes he will be ready to resume playing in roughly four months. He will spend six weeks in a cast and on crutches, after which he will wear a walking boot and should be able to put some weight on the ankle.
Within 12 weeks after surgery, he should be cleared to run and after three to four months, he should be able to train fully.
Surgery could reveal more extensive ligament damage, which would affect his recovery, and Jansen said he was unsure if or when the Redskins would make the decision to put him on the injured-reserve list, freeing up a roster spot but making him ineligible to play again this season.
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Warming May Be Hurting Gray Whales' Recovery
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As many as 118,000 gray whales roamed the Pacific before humans decimated the population through hunting, and human-induced climate change may now be depriving those that remain of the food they need, according to a study released yesterday.
The research, based on a detailed analysis of DNA taken from gray whales living in the eastern Pacific, highlights how human behavior has transformed the oceans, the scientists said.
Today there are only about 22,000 Pacific gray whales, including about 100 in the western Pacific. By examining the genetic variability of the current population, scientists at Stanford University and the University of Washington at Seattle calculated that there were between 76,000 and 118,000 gray whales in the Pacific before commercial whaling in the 1800s shrank their numbers.
Federal officials took eastern Pacific gray whales off the endangered species list in the mid-1990s, but a rise in sea temperatures appears to have limited the whales' available food. A recent spike in deaths among gray whales may suggest "this decline was due to shifting climatic conditions on Arctic feeding grounds," the researchers wrote in the paper, being published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"There definitely are large-scale ecosystem effects going on," said Stanford doctoral student S. Elizabeth Alter, the lead author, in an interview yesterday.
"One of the most exciting things" about DNA analysis, she said, is that it gives us "the opportunity to look back in time and see what the ocean looked like before human impact."
The decline in gray whales has affected the ocean in a variety of ways, according to the researchers. Because the animals feed on the ocean bottom by sucking in and expelling sediment that contains shrimplike creatures called amphipods, the scientists wrote, historic populations may have redistributed enough sediment to feed a million seabirds.
Aboriginal tribes are currently allowed to kill as many as 125 eastern Pacific gray whales a year under International Whaling Commission rules, though this practice has sparked controversy. In light of the new data suggesting that the whales' numbers were more depleted than was previously known, international officials need to reconsider the amount of gray whale hunting they currently allow, the researchers said.
On Saturday, five members of Washington's Makah tribe shot and killed a gray whale without the required permit. Coast Guard officials caught the men and turned them over to tribal police. On Sunday, tribal council leaders issued a statement denouncing the men's actions and vowed to prosecute them.
Stephen R. Palumbi, a professor of marine sciences at Stanford and a co-author of the study, said the research suggests that given the right conditions, the number of gray whales could increase in the years to come. But a warmer Bering Sea could impede this recovery, he said, because it is killing off some of the food the whales consume.
When emaciated gray whales washed ashore between 1999 and 2001, scientists initially speculated that the animals were exhausting the ocean's "carrying capacity," Palumbi added, but it could be instead that global warming is to blame.
"It's not a conclusion we can come to. It's a hint," he said in an interview. But if humans are affecting the ocean's "capacity to support life, it's got to make you worry, it's got to make your wonder."
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As many as 118,000 gray whales roamed the Pacific before humans decimated the population through hunting, and human-induced climate change may now be depriving those that remain of the food they need, according to a study released yesterday.
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A Lost Art: Instilling Respect
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There's been a fundamental change in family life, and it has played out over the years in my office. Teachers, pediatricians and therapists like me are seeing children of all ages who are not afraid of their parents. Not one bit. Not of their power, not of their position, not of their ability to apply standards and enforce consequences.
I am not advocating authoritarian or abusive parental behavior, which can do untold damage. No, I am talking about a feeling that was common to us baby boomers when we were kids. One of my friends described it this way: "All my mother had to do was shoot me a look." I knew exactly what she was talking about. It was a look that stopped us in our tracks -- or got us moving. And not when we felt like it.
These days, that look seems to have been replaced by a feeble nod of parental acquiescence -- and an earnest acknowledgment of "how hard it is to be a kid these days."
In my office, I have seen small children call their parents names and tell them how stupid they are; I have heard adolescents use strings of expletives toward them; and I remember one 6-year-old whose parents told me he refused to obey, debated them ad nauseam and sometimes even lashed out. As if on cue, the boy kicked his father right there in the office. When I asked the father how he reacts at home, he told me that he runs to another room!
It came to me like a lightning bolt: Not only are the kids unafraid of their parents, parents are afraid of their kids!
What ever happened to the colorful phrases our parents relied on to put us in our place? "Keep your shirt on." "On the double." "What do you think we are, made of money?" "Because I said so." "If you want sympathy, look it up in the dictionary." Or one of my personal favorites: "Don't bother me unless you're bleeding," which a friend's mother said to her six kids when she sat down to read before dinner.
Today's generation of children is the most closely observed, monitored, cherished and scheduled in our history. They are also the most praised. Families are smaller, and there are fewer children upon whom parents can beam their attention.
Today there are moms and dads who aren't just parents -- they believe in "parenting." They read volumes and volumes about how to be good parents and view parenting as both an art and a science that must be studied and updated and practiced self-consciously. Letting children run around the neighborhood and be bored some of the time is anathema to them.
Many parents these days don't expect their children to contribute much around the house, although they do expect them to achieve outside the house. They have strong beliefs about what makes children successful and happy-ever-after, and underpinning those beliefs is the concept that they -- the parents -- are all-important in this quest. Such parents believe that self-esteem is the key to lifetime success, and to this end they compliment their children a lot.
They are egalitarian, and they believe families should be democracies. Needless to say, they don't give orders. They believe that children will do things when they are ready to. They ask their child politely if he or she will do something and are surprised and dismayed when the response is "no."
It's as if parents have rewritten the Fourth Commandment to read, "Honor thy children."
And, boy, are they paying for it.
When a teacher, pediatrician or therapist suggests that perhaps these "parenting" behaviors are not helping but in fact causing harm, such earnest parents can be hard to convince. They don't want to have to hear that their New Age concepts for raising kids not only do not work, but actually are prescriptions for disaster.
Let's take the constant parental praise. I first noticed it when my three children were small, and I would hear mothers lauding their kids' incredible artwork or rich vocabulary. I can recall one mother who brought her 6-year-old to my office after the school observed some social difficulties. "Isn't she scrumptious?" she said, in front of her beaming daughter. (I made a mental note to myself: This may be part of the problem.)
After all, there is a difference between appreciation, which is from the heart, and flattery, which is from the mouth.
Starting in the mid-1990s, a team led by psychologist Carol Dweck did a series of experiments on fifth-graders over a 10-year period. One study compared two randomized groups of children in a classroom setting. In one group, researchers attributed children's achievement to their effort and in the other to their intelligence. Those praised for their hard work, it turned out, were more likely to attempt difficult tasks and performed better than those praised for intelligence. Children who were told that innate intelligence is the key were less likely to expend effort and take risks, perhaps because they were trying to maintain an image that they felt was not under their control.
A later study that Dweck conducted among seventh- and eighth-graders confirmed these findings and found that an effort mind-set also led to higher achievement, as measured by math grades.
More-serious concerns were raised by a 1996 review of 200 studies on self-esteem by Roy Baumeister, a psychologist at Florida State University. Rather than promoting success, he found that an "unrealistically positive self-appraisal" was linked to aggression, crime and violence.
It all makes a therapist long for the days of the good old inferiority complex. And for parents who could put children in their place. Some interesting research on interpersonal attraction has shown that self-confidence in combination with some degree of vulnerability makes a person more appealing to others. Unshakable self-regard is a liability. And dominance is the kiss of death.
Over-parented and under-disciplined children can also have trouble later as young adults with the process of separating from home and creating an independent life. Kids who were constantly praised often become thin-skinned adults who have trouble taking negative feedback on their job or in their personal lives. And I have had more than one client over the years who was positively indignant when a boss expected him or her to be at work on time and to call in sick only when necessary.
Kids who were told, "You can do anything," may have extremely high expectations that can be hard to attain in our multifaceted modern lives. In her 2006 book, "Generation Me," Jean Twenge, a psychologist at San Diego State University, documented an enormous rise in young people's expectations from the late '60s to the late '90s. Twenge refers to a quote from the character Tyler Durden in the movie "Fight Club": "We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very [ticked] off."
Maybe it wouldn't be so painful if parents would sign on to the following manifesto: Let's expect more help from our kids around the house and withdraw some of our frenetic investment in their academic, sporting and social achievements. Let's shore up boundaries and let them be kids in the kid zone. And let's allow them to experience some of life's disappointments. Let's talk on the phone and go out on weekends with our friends. Let's start worrying less whether our kids are happy all the time and more about whether we are enjoying them and ourselves. Let's get a life in the parent zone. And last but not least, let's resurrect an old concept: Father and Mother Know Best. ?
Patricia Dalton is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Washington. Comments:health@washpost.com.
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There's been a fundamental change in family life, and it has played out over the years in my office. Teachers, pediatricians and therapists like me are seeing children of all ages who are not afraid of their parents. Not one bit. Not of their power, not of their position, not of their ability to ...
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Educator Tapped for Planning Post Finds That Old Foes Have Surfaced
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For a policy wonk with a rumpled appearance, Hoover Institution scholar Williamson M. Evers has a colorful history. He has helped revamp the Iraqi school curriculum, worked as a Libertarian Party activist, advised both of President Bush's campaigns and led an intellectual drive for stricter curricula, testing and accountability in schools.
All of which makes it hard for Evers to figure out exactly who is behind a whispering campaign on Capitol Hill that appears to be blocking his Senate confirmation as assistant secretary for planning, evaluation and policy development at the Education Department. His confirmation has been pending since February.
His list of potential enemies is long. "In the world of education standards, he is either hero or villain, and not a lot in between," said Joanne Jacobs, an influential education blogger and friend of Evers's. "He's probably on a lot of dart boards."
Evers declined to be interviewed, he said, "out of respect for the Senate's advice and consent role."
For her part, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said: "Bill is an accomplished academic with extensive credentials and experience studying and writing about education policy issues. His focus on developing policy that is proven effective by scientifically based research will make him a valuable asset to the Department and students and families across the country. I hope the Senate will move quickly to confirm Bill so he can hit the ground running in this important role."
Samara Yudof, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, said officials were not aware of any congressional impediments to his confirmation. But close friends confirmed that Evers is frustrated amid rumors of resistance to his nomination and talk that an unknown senator may place a hold on his appointment after a Committee on Health Education, Labor and Pensions hearing. Several friends and acquaintances have been asked by Evers's camp to call and write to senators to counteract criticism.
One of more than 160 civilian nominees in limbo during lawmakers' August recess -- their names submitted to Congress but not yet approved by Senate committees -- Evers is neither the most controversial nor most well known among them. His case is unusual because he has largely escaped the interest of even liberal activists who might be expected to oppose appointment of a staunch conservative to the department.
The most public critics are taking aim from well outside the Beltway. They mostly include individuals whose encounters with Evers date back the 1990s in California, where he made his name as a back-to-basics advocate of rigid educational standards. Their principal worry: his manners.
"Rude, brusque, overbearing, pushy -- he's basically an intellectual bully," said Erwin Morton, one of several parents in the Palo Alto school district who defended teachers whom Evers and others denounced in1993 for the textbooks they selected and how they taught algebra.
It was concern about the schooling his own children were receiving in that district that moved Evers, a political scientist by training, to turn parent-activist and to focus his scholarly work on education policy. He brought a "traditionalist" approach, in which he rejected local teachers' preoccupation with teaching concepts over facts and their worries about students' self-esteem. That angered the likes of Morton, who describes Evers as "the single most harmful person" to schools in the area because he drove teachers away. He recently wrote to senators expressing his concerns about Evers's appointment.
In 1996, Evers was appointed by then-Gov. Pete Wilson (R) to a 21-member commission assigned to determine the academic content and standards in California schools. And again his critics focused on his demeanor.
"If he was a child in school, you would think he had attention-deficit disorder," said Delaine Eastin, then California's superintendent of public instruction, the highest-ranking education official. "I'm talking about not letting people talk -- being rude, being unprofessional, thinking that because his voice was loudest he should dominate," she said, adding that she knows several people who experienced Evers's "temperament." Like her, she said they are now briefing influential friends in Washington about his unsuitability for the department's post, but doing so quietly.
Evers's supporters, who include a number of Democrats, say his booming voice and uncompromising commitment to high standards give the misleading impression that he does not listen. They portray his detractors as a vocal minority -- sore losers, angry that Evers stood his ground and won over more senior officials during California's contentious education reforms.
John Mockler, former executive director of California's Board of Education, said Evers is "not exactly the smoothest guy," but has an "intellectual commitment to quality-based standards" in schools. He said he is not surprised that Evers's former opponents remain bitter even 10 years later and are anxious to prevent his confirmation. "That's how politics is," he said. "People still remember those days."
Evers "was always focused basically on the bottom line, which is student achievement," said Leon Beauchman, who served on the Santa Clara County board of education with Evers, adding that the Hoover fellow was always willing to "shake up the status quo." "He is opinionated, and very direct and [lets] you know exactly how he feels about the issues . . . [but] the relationships certainly were not adversarial."
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Evangelicals Hesitant About Thompson
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-- Prominent evangelical leaders who spent the summer hoping Fred Thompson would emerge as their favored Republican presidential contender are having doubts as he begins his long-teased campaign.
For social conservatives dissatisfied with other GOP choices, the "Law & Order" actor and former Tennessee senator represents a Ronald Reagan-like figure, someone they hope will agree with them on issues and stands a chance of winning.
But Thompson's less-than-clear stance on a federal gay marriage amendment and his delay in entering the race are partly responsible for a sudden shyness among leading evangelicals.
"A month or two ago, I sensed there was some urgency for people to make a move and find a candidate," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a Washington-based conservative Christian group. "Right now, I think people are stepping back a little and watching. The field is still very fluid."
A loose network of influential evangelical leaders known as the Arlington Group met privately Wednesday and Thursday in Washington to discuss presidential politics and other issues, participants said.
Although the group does not endorse candidates, individual members have done so in the past, and one of the organization's founding principles is to get the movement's leaders on the same page when possible.
Some in the meeting shared their presidential leanings, but the consensus was that more time is needed to gauge Thompson's performance, according to a participant.
A clearer picture may develop Oct. 19-21 during a "Values Voter Summit" in Washington that will include a presidential straw poll.
In June, Thompson met privately with several Arlington Group members, many of whom are uncomfortable with the GOP top tier for various reasons: Arizona Sen. John McCain for championing campaign-finance overhaul and labeling some evangelical figures "agents of intolerance"; former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for backing abortion rights and gay rights; and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for his social-issue policy reversals and _ for some members _ his Mormon faith.
With the post-Labor Day primary push under way, the 65-year-old Thompson faces a crucial month to prove he is the best alternative for a key GOP constituency.
"He's got a real opportunity to be the most credible conservative candidate across the board," said Gary Bauer, a one-time presidential aspirant who heads the advocacy group American Values. "Whether he can put it all together remains to be seen. But he's got a real chance to emerge as the major conservative alternative to Giuliani."
Others are skeptical about whether Thompson can fill that role.
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-- Prominent evangelical leaders who spent the summer hoping Fred Thompson would emerge as their favored Republican presidential contender are having doubts as he begins his long-teased campaign.
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50 Cent's 'Curtis': A Changed Man
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In 1987, when rapper Milk Dee boasted, "I get money/money I got" on Audio Two's classic jam "Top Billin'," he didn't have any. Twenty years later, a digital sample of Milk Dee's voice supplies the anthemic chorus behind 50 Cent's new single, "I Get Money." But 50 ain't lying.
"I take quarter water/sold it in bottles for two bucks," he raps. "Coca-Cola came and bought it for billions/that's what's up." Indeed: Forbes has reported that 50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson, made upward of $100 million this year upon the soft drink giant's purchase of Glac?au, in which the rapper gained a 10 percent stake in return for his endorsement of VitaminWater.
Wealth can free artists, or make them soft. On his third album, "Curtis," 50 Cent acknowledges that much -- "I ain't even got to rap/I'm filthy, mang!" he laughs on "Straight to the Bank." With "Curtis," 50 still does what he does best: write tight pop songs about guns, girls and green over the best beats money can buy. But the charm is gone. Hearing a broke rapper brag about cash is quaint. Having a multimillionaire bully you with his financials is just mean.
Those willing to pay for this kind of pecuniary cruelty will find that 50 does share some treasure on "Curtis." After shooting a blank with his last single, "Amusement Park," he returned fully loaded with "I Get Money," already one of this year's dominant tracks. Bubbling behind it is the arpeggiated mania of "Ayo Technology," a paean to pole-dancing that guest-stars the two-headed musical monster Timbaland and Timberlake.
When that song crests, radios will likely be blessed with bangers like "All of Me" (featuring Mary J. Blige), "Fire" (featuring Nicole Scherzinger) and "Follow My Lead" (featuring Robin Thicke). On this CD, 50 does enough commercial collaborations with his showbiz brothers and sisters to make anyone cry uncle.
Pop songs aside, 50 Cent doesn't want us to think he's let his guard down: "While Jay and Beyonc? was 'mmwa-mmwa' kissin'/I was cookin' one thousand grams in my kitchen/While Nas was tellin' Kelis, 'I love you, boo'/I was shinin' my nine, you know how I do," he raps on "Fully Loaded Clip." Now that's the humor and spunk of the once-struggling 50.
There's plenty of other superlative gangster fare on "Curtis": spooky, slow tracks that evoke the mean streets of Southeast Queens so much that you might forget he lives in a mansion in Farmington, Conn., likely with enough VitaminWater to keep him hydrated for life.
Hearing 50 Cent rap is still the mealy-mouthed delight it always was. But it's an empty pleasure now. His recent halfhearted challenge to Kanye West gives the impression that he can't even find a suitable enemy to fight, and that he has no clue what to do now that the fight's gone out of him. On "Curtis," 50 Cent is a rapper in perfect form, at the top of his game, playing flawlessly, without inspiration.
DOWNLOAD THESE:"I Get Money," "Fully Loaded Clip," "Ayo Technology"
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In 1987, when rapper Milk Dee boasted, "I get money/money I got" on Audio Two's classic jam "Top Billin'," he didn't have any. Twenty years later, a digital sample of Milk Dee's voice supplies the anthemic chorus behind 50 Cent's new single, "I Get Money." But 50 ain't lying.
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Operation Vacation
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On learning he needed heart surgery last spring, Larry Shaw's first question was: How much?
The surgeon's fee, between $1,500 and $2,000, was within Shaw's means as a self-insured businessman. But the angioplasty, including placement of a thin tube in a clogged artery, would require a one-night hospital stay. He called the closest major medical center to his Dallas home. Estimated charge: $47,000, not including anesthesia.
Shaw's next calls were to Thailand and India.
The price at Bangkok's private Bumrungrad International Hospital: $6,400, including a two-night stay, surgeon's fees, anesthesiologist and drugs. The Apollo hospital in New Delhi: $4,600.
A few weeks later, in late June, Shaw and his wife, Kathy, are more than 9,000 miles from home, walking the marble floors of a Bangkok hospital lobby that looks like the entrance to a newly renovated Hilton. Shaw, by economic necessity, is joining an ever-growing trend: medical travel, sometimes referred to as medical tourism.
The reputation of outstanding U.S. hospitals has long drawn wealthy patients from around the world. But today, traffic also heads in the opposite direction. It's a trend that quietly has been expanding well beyond facelifts, tummy tucks and dental crowns to embrace all sorts of non-emergency treatments.
Most American patients are seeking significantly lower prices. But some go abroad for treatments not yet available or not yet widely practiced in the United States. Others head overseas for the personalized service emphasized by high-end private hospitals working to appeal to an international clientele.
"There is a fierce, pitched battle for medical tourists, who are the highest-value tourists in terms of how long they stay and money spent," says Ruben Toral, marketing director of Bumrungrad Hospital. "Governments in Southeast Asia and now in Dubai view it as an important extension of regular tourism."
Medical travelers logged an estimated 19 million trips and spent $20 billion in 2005; the numbers are expected to more than double by 2010, according to Tourism Research and Marketing, a London consulting firm. Thailand last year served 1.4 million medical tourists, including 65,000 Americans, some of whom were already living abroad. Singapore and India also have a strong network of hospitals drawing foreign tourists, as does Malaysia.
Other parts of Asia rushing to develop medical tourism: South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines. Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico also attract Americans seeking cosmetic surgery or dentistry, but "the infrastructure isn't in place for extensive, invasive procedures," says Josef Woodman, author of a how-to guide called "Patients Beyond Borders: Everybody's Guide to Affordable, World-Class Medical Tourism."
A medical tourist, as opposed to a medical traveler, will use some of his or her savings on medical care to enjoy a holiday abroad. Take Dana Updyke, 62, of Los Angeles, who was recently on a ferry between Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands. She had come to Thailand several weeks earlier for a hip resurfacing, a less-invasive alternative to a hip replacement that is not yet widely practiced in the United States. After recuperating in a five-star hotel on the beach, a stone's throw from a satellite hospital Bumrungrad operates in Phuket, she was ready to move from one Thai tourist destination to an even more exotic one.
Some international hospitals broker deals with resorts. The Apollo Chennai in India, for example, staffs the ritzy Taj Fisherman's Cove on the Bay of Bengal with an intern and nurses prepared to do routine follow-up care.
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Find Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland travel information, including web fares, Washington DC tours, beach/ski guide, international and United States destinations. Featuring Mid-Atlantic travel, airport information, traffic/weather updates
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They're Big, but Not Yet Stars
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NANJING, China -- On the street, they are often the target of laughter or cruel whispers. Individually, they have all been denied jobs or their parents' praise.
On stage, however, the four members of a singing group known as Qian Jin Zu He are strong and confident, belting out their signature rap song, "So What If I'm Fat," passing out photographs of themselves and signing autographs.
VIDEO | Band Defies Stereotypes in China
The lead singer, 26-year-old Xiao Yang, is 375 pounds; the others in the group are between about 200 and 300 pounds. Together, they tour the country, performing at nightclubs, paint factories, garment industry conventions and shopping malls.
Their success has been modest, but given the powerful discrimination against the obese in China, Xiao said her discovery by a talent agent has been "like a tree branch saving me in the water."
The story of precisely how Xiao's group came to be is a window onto the challenges of being obese in a country where the ideal form of feminine beauty is delicate, girlish and small-boned. As China has grown more prosperous, the percentage of overweight citizens here has also grown. Still, those who are obese continue to struggle in relative solitude. Only about 7 percent of the population in China is considered obese, compared with 30 percent of the population in the United States.
Not long ago, having overweight children in China was viewed as a sign of prosperity. Even today, grandparents who can remember famines, especially in the late 1950s and early 1960s, tend to spoil and overfeed their grandchildren.
But chubby is no longer in fashion here, and image has become more important than ever. Summer boot camps for the overweight are springing up. In an increasingly competitive market, employers demand height and weight information from job candidates. And in higher education, fitness can now be a reason to reject college applicants, officials say, all other factors being equal.
"Chinese people now have a higher requirement for fashion and healthiness," said Wang Zeqing, a social psychologist who is leading a nationwide project analyzing the psychological health of Chinese. "Being fat, in people's minds, means not trendy and healthy."
Discrimination against the obese is inevitable, Wang said: "It's how society is now. Employers have countless choices. They can easily turn down a fat person and choose a better-looking one."
It was against this backdrop that Xiao struggled to make a life for herself. Growing up in the city of Xuzhou, in the eastern province of Jiangsu , she took weight-loss pills at age 5. Her embarrassed parents refused to hold her hand in public and enrolled her in what she recalls as a "devil eating program" that allowed participants to eat only fruit and drink only water.
Xiao recalled being rejected from three technical schools because of her obesity. She had wanted to become a chemistry teacher; though her test scores were not low, she said, officials feared she couldn't stand up in a classroom for 45 minutes at a time.
Four years ago, in desperation, Xiao placed an ad in a local newspaper, begging for someone to help her lose weight or find a job. Hu Zhi, a public relations agent based in Nanjing, saw it. He decided to add her to his roster of "special people" with unusual talents.
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NANJING, China -- On the street, they are often the target of laughter or cruel whispers. Individually, they have all been denied jobs or their parents' praise.
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How To Change Iraq
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The threshold question in any war is: What are we fighting for? Our troops, especially, deserve a convincing answer.
In Iraq, the list of missions that were tried on but didn't fit includes: protection from weapons of mass destruction, creating a model democracy in the Arab world, punishing those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks and stopping terrorists from catching the next plane to New York. The latest mission, linked to the "surge" of troops this year, was to give Iraqi leaders the security and maneuvering room needed to make stabilizing political arrangements -- which they have thus far shown little interest in doing.
A cynic might suggest that the military's real mission is to enable President Bush to continue denying that his invasion has evolved into disaster. A less jaded view might identify three goals: to prevent Iraq from becoming a haven for al-Qaeda, a client state of Iran or a spark that inflames regionwide war. These goals respond not to dangers that prompted the invasion but to those that resulted from it. Our troops are being asked to risk their lives to solve problems our civilian leaders created. The president is beseeching us to fear failure, but he has yet to explain how our military can succeed given Iraq's tangled politics and his administration's lack of credibility.
This disconnect between mission and capabilities should be at the center of debate as Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker report on the war's status and congressional leaders prepare their fall strategies. Despite the hopes of many, this debate is unlikely to end the war soon; nor will it produce fresh support for our present dismal course. Although U.S. troop levels will surely start to come down, big decisions about whether and under what circumstances to complete the withdrawal seem certain to remain for the next president, when he or she takes office. Yet this should not preclude Democrats and Republicans from trying to agree on ways to minimize the damage before then.
According to the National Intelligence Estimate released last month, the recent modest but extremely hard-won military gains will mean little "unless there is a fundamental shift in the factors driving Iraqi political and security developments."
Given the depth of the sectarian divisions within Iraq, such a fundamental shift will not occur through Iraqi actions alone. Given America's lack of leverage, it will not result from our patrols, benchmarks, speeches or "surprise" presidential visits to Anbar province. That leaves coordinated international assistance as the only option.
The Balkans are at peace today through the joint efforts of the United States, the European Union and the United Nations -- all of which worked to help moderate leaders inside the region. A similar strategy should have been part of our Iraq policy from the outset but has never been seriously attempted.
Is such an initiative still viable? Perhaps. The United Nations has pledged to become more involved. Europe's new leaders -- led by Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel and Gordon Brown -- understand their region's stake in Iraq's future and seem willing to assist. The Saudi, Jordanian and Syrian governments all view Iraqi instability as a profound security threat. Turkish and Kurdish representatives recently signed an agreement to cooperate along their troubled border. Iran is the wildest of cards, but it would be unlikely to isolate itself from a broad international program aimed at reconciliation. If it does, it would only hand a political victory to us and to the many Iraqi leaders, Shiite and Sunni alike, who would prefer to minimize Iranian influence.
President Bush could do his part by admitting what the world knows -- that many prewar criticisms of the invasion were on target. Such an admission would be just the shock a serious diplomatic project would need. It would make it easier for European and Arab leaders to help, as their constituents are reluctant to bail out a president who still insists that he was right and they were wrong. Our troops face death every day; the least the president can do is face the truth.
A coordinated international effort could help Iraq by patrolling borders, aiding reconstruction, further training its army and police, and strengthening legislative and judicial institutions. It could also send a unified message to Iraq's sectarian leaders that a political power-sharing arrangement that recognizes majority rule and protects minority rights is the only solution and is also attainable.
If there is a chance to avoid deeper disaster in Iraq, it depends on a psychological transformation so people begin preparing to compete for power peacefully instead of plotting how to survive amid anarchy. The international community cannot ensure such a shift, but we can and should do more to encourage it.
The writer was secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. She is principal of theAlbright Group LLC.
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The threshold question in any war is: What are we fighting for? Our troops, especially, deserve a convincing answer.
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Advantage Hillary
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Democratic consultant Bob Shrum, who does not have a candidate this time around, correctly interpreted the decision by Clinton and her two principal competitors, Barack Obama and John Edwards, to follow Democratic National Committee rules. On NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Shrum said: "That actually, in a perverse way," could "help Senator Clinton. If no one campaigns and she wins . . . the primary in Florida, wins the primary in Michigan, that could have a knockout effect."
Being forced to stay out of Florida and Michigan leverages Clinton's vastly superior name recognition in the two high-population states and could counterbalance potential defeats in less-populated Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. This poses a dilemma for Obama, Clinton's main challenger, that key supporters admit he cannot resolve. Obama probably cannot win the excluded states without campaigning in them.
While Clinton's backers trumpet her inevitable nomination as the Democratic candidate and she widens her lead over Obama in national polls, she faces hotly competitive races in early primary states. She is more popular in states where she has not campaigned than in states where she has, replicating the condition of Robert J. Dole, a similarly anointed Republican candidate in 1996.
The worst-case scenario for Clinton would see her tripped up in the four originally scheduled early tests locked in by the DNC: the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 14, the Nevada caucuses on Jan. 19, the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 22 and South Carolina's primary on Jan. 29. Clinton could lose all those (except perhaps Nevada), ravaging her national standing right before the avalanche of "Tsunami Tuesday" primaries on Feb. 5. In 2004, Howard Dean did not lose his national standing until he started losing early contests.
But Michigan and Florida did not want to miss out on the election-year fun, rejecting the anonymity of the Feb. 5 mob scene. Defying DNC rules, Florida moved its primary to Jan. 29 and Michigan switched to Jan. 15, not specifying whether it would be holding a caucus or a primary. The early states then said they would adjust their own dates to make certain that they voted first. The DNC imposed sanctions on the rebellious states: the loss of their national convention delegates and a prohibition on candidates campaigning there. The word in Democratic circles was that Florida and Michigan would get back their delegates before the convention and that nothing could stop presidential candidates from campaigning in those states.
But a week ago all the Democratic candidates agreed to follow DNC rules. Contending that early primary states "play a unique and special role in the nominating process," the Clinton campaign said "the DNC's rules and its calendar provide the necessary structure to respect and honor that role." What its statement did not say is how much Clinton actually welcomed Michigan and Florida's rule-breaking.
Assume that Clinton starts by losing Iowa and New Hampshire after more than a year of campaigning. Such losses could be nullified in campaign-free Michigan, where a poll gives Clinton a 19-percentage-point lead over Obama. Assume Clinton then loses in South Carolina, where she has campaigned hard. That could be nullified in campaign-free Florida, where polls show Clinton with a lead as large as 30 points.
What is Obama to do? He cannot set foot in Michigan or Florida before Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina vote, for fear of offending voters jealous of their prerogatives. Nor, his supporters believe, could he slip into Florida for a little campaigning during a gap between the South Carolina primary and the voting there, because that would smack of desperation. Clinton truly has gotten a gift from the politicians of Florida and Michigan.
? 2007 Creators Syndicate Inc.
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Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign hints that agreeing to refrain from campaigning in outlaw Florida and Michigan primaries is a noble sacrifice, bowing to party rules. Some of the news media bought into that, with the New York Times reporting: "The decision seemed to dash any hopes o...
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Ford's '57 Titanic
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Leaving no talent untapped in its quest for perfection, the Ford Motor Co. asked Marianne Moore, one of America's foremost poets in the 1950s, to suggest a name for the product it would debut in late summer, 50 years ago. She replied: "May I submit Utopian Turtletop? Do not trouble to answer unless you like it."
Ford instead named the product for Henry Ford's late son Edsel. The Edsel would live 26 months.
The short, unhappy life of that automobile is rich in lessons, and not only for America's beleaguered automobile industry. The principal lesson is: Most Americans are not as silly as a few Americans suppose.
No industry boomed more in the 1950s than the manufacturing of social criticism excoriating Americans for their bovine "conformity," crass "materialism" and mindless manipulability at the hands of advertising's "hidden persuaders." Vance Packard's "The Hidden Persuaders" was atop the New York Times bestseller list as Edsels arrived in showrooms. No consumer product in history had been the subject of so much "scientific" psychology-based market research.
Remember the basketball coach who said of his team, "We're short but we're slow"? The Edsel was ugly but riddled with malfunctions. So many malfunctions that some people suspected sabotage at plants that had previously assembled Fords and Mercurys. Those two Ford divisions perhaps hoped the Edsel would bomb.
"It was," John Brooks, a student of American business, wrote in the New Yorker, "clumsy, powerful, dowdy, gauche, well-meaning -- a de Kooning woman." Chrome seemed to be piled upon chrome. Potential buyers recoiled from the vertical egg-shaped grill, which reminded them of a toilet seat. The transmission was worked by push buttons placed -- convenience sacrificed on the altar of novelty -- in the center of the steering column. The larger Edsels weighed more than two tons, were 219 inches long -- longer than the grandest Oldsmobiles -- and 80 inches wide. These were not the cars for a year in which the surprise success was American Motors' little Rambler.
By Oct. 13, barely more than a month after the Edsel's debut, anemic sales caused the company to preempt "The Ed Sullivan Show" with a Sunday evening Edsel extravaganza featuring Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. But there was no sales spurt. Nine days earlier, the Soviet Union had launched its first Sputnik satellite, provoking a crisis of confidence in America's technological prowess and a reaction against chrome-laden barges as emblems of national self-indulgence. On Nov. 27, Manhattan's only Edsel dealer gave up his franchise and switched to selling Ramblers.
In the spring of 1958, S.I. Hayakawa, a professor of semantics (and later a Republican U.S. senator from California), ascribed the Edsel's failure to the Ford executives' excessive confidence in the power of motivational research to enable them to predict -- and modify -- Americans' behavior. In their attempt to design a car that would cater to customers' sexual fantasies, status anxieties and the like, Ford's deep thinkers had neglected to supply good transportation.
" Only the psychotic and the gravely neurotic act out their irrationalities and their compensatory fantasies," Hayakawa wrote. "The trouble with selling symbolic gratification via such expensive items . . . is the competition offered by much cheaper forms of symbolic gratification, such as 'Playboy' (fifty cents a copy), 'Astounding Science Fiction' (thirty-five cents a copy), and television (free)."
In 1958, with the Edsel already turned to ashes, John Kenneth Galbraith, with bad timing comparable to the launch of the Edsel, published "The Affluent Society." It asserted that manufacturers, wielding all-powerful advertising, were emancipated from the law of supply and demand because advertisers could manufacture demand for whatever manufacturers wished to supply.
This theory buttressed the liberal project of expanding government in the name of protecting incompetent Americans from victimization and having government supplant the market as the allocator of wealth and opportunity. But all of Ford's then-mighty marketing prowess could not keep the Edsel from being canceled in 1959. Brooks calculated that it would have been cheaper for Ford to skip the Edsel and give away 110,000 Mercurys.
Today, the United Auto Workers union and General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are trying to reverse the slide of the American automobile industry. Fifty Septembers ago, the country was atingle with anticipation of a new product that turned out to be a leading indicator of the slide. As Detroit toils to undo some contractual provisions that have burdened the companies with crippling health-care and pension costs, it should remember the real lesson of 1957: Americans are more discerning and less herdable than their cultured despisers suppose, so what matters most is simple -- good products.
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The short, unhappy life of the Ford Edsel is rich in lessons, and not only for America's beleaguered automobile industry.
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OnFaith on washingtonpost.com
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Why does a merciful God allow human-caused and natural disasters to happen.
I doubt whether there's ever been a natural disaster in which it's not been natural for thoughtful believers to ponder the question, and there are libraries full of answers, none of them informed, because humans do not know the mind of God.
Their answers cancel each other out, or are based on contrived reasoning of intellectual sleight-of-hand.
This does not mean that there's no value in discussing the theme: it helps us sort out other aspects of our experience of and witness to God.
Whatever else believers in the Bible find in the book, it all stops back with the observation that "he makes his rain to fall and his son to shine on the just and on the unjust."
Where biblical authors do address the issue, it can get pretty scary, as it does in Isaiah 45:7, Yahweh speaking: "I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe." And in the Book of Job we get three chapters of "who do you think you are?" questions when we want final solutions to our existential problems.
When good things happen, the believer is licensed to give thanks, but claiming to know why a hurricane cloud blew where it did or our team or army won--that's tricky, because then "when bad things happen" one cannot skip out and say that someone can know the "why."
Not having the answers in the ultimate sense has not deterred (us) believers from expressing belief. They, we, have instead to be more humble about what we claim--and do what we can to prevent man-made disasters.
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Martin Marty on OnFaith; Visit http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/martin_marty/
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Judge Invalidates Patriot Act Provisions
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A federal judge struck down controversial portions of the USA Patriot Act in a ruling that declared them unconstitutional yesterday, ordering the FBI to stop its wide use of a warrantless tactic for obtaining e-mail and telephone data from private companies for counterterrorism investigations.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in New York said the FBI's use of secret "national security letters" to demand such data violates the First Amendment and constitutional provisions on the separation of powers, because the FBI can impose indefinite gag orders on the companies and the courts have little opportunity to review the letters.
The secrecy provisions are "the legislative equivalent of breaking and entering, with an ominous free pass to the hijacking of constitutional values," Marrero wrote. His strongly worded 103-page opinion amounted to a rebuke of both the administration and Congress, which had revised the act in 2005 to take into account an earlier ruling by the judge on the same topic.
Although a government appeal is likely, the decision could eliminate or sharply curtail the FBI's issuance of tens of thousands of national security letters (NSLs) each year to telephone companies, Internet providers and other communications firms. The FBI says it typically orders that such letters be kept confidential to make sure that suspects do not learn they are being investigated, as well as to protect "sources and methods" used in terrorism and counterintelligence probes.
The ruling follows reports this year by Justice Department and FBI auditors that the FBI potentially violated privacy laws or bureau rules more than a thousand times while issuing NSLs in recent years -- violations that did not come to light quickly, partly because of the Patriot Act's secrecy rules.
"The risk of investing the FBI with unchecked discretion to restrict such speech is that government agents, based on their own self-certification, may limit speech that does not pose a significant threat to national security or other compelling government interest," Marrero said.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the ruling. "We are reviewing the decision and considering our options," said spokesman Dean Boyd.
But Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit in the case, said the ruling "is yet another setback in the Bush administration's strategy in the war on terror and demonstrates the far-reaching efforts of this administration to use powers that are clearly unconstitutional."
Marrero's decision would bar the use of NSLs to demand data from electronic communications companies, a procedure that was the focus of the lawsuit. But the ruling appears to leave untouched the FBI's ability to demand bank records, credit reports and other financial data related to counterterrorism and other probes, because those authorities are covered by other statutes, according to legal experts. Marrero delayed enforcement of his order for 90 days to give the government a chance to appeal.
Although the FBI has had the ability to issue NSLs for many years, the Patriot Act, enacted in October 2001, significantly relaxed the rules for using them while increasing the secrecy requirements. The result has been a surge in NSL requests, from fewer than 9,000 in 2000 to nearly 50,000 in 2005, according to Justice Department records.
Yesterday's ruling marks the second time that Marrero has struck down the Patriot Act's NSL provisions. In 2004, after the ACLU filed suit on behalf of the same plaintiff -- an Internet service provider identified as John Doe -- he ruled similarly that the NSL provisions were unconstitutional because they silenced recipients and gave them no recourse through the courts.
While a government appeal was pending, Congress passed legislation in 2005 aimed at solving the problems identified by Marrero. But the judge ruled yesterday that the revisions were not adequate and that under the new law, "several aspects . . . violate the First Amendment and the principle of separation of powers."
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A federal judge struck down controversial portions of the USA Patriot Act in a ruling that declared them unconstitutional yesterday, ordering the FBI to stop its wide use of a warrantless tactic for obtaining e-mail and telephone data from private companies for counterterrorism investigations.
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Iraqi Army Unable To Take Over Within A Year, Report Says
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Iraq's army, despite measurable progress, will be unable to take over internal security from U.S. forces in the next 12 to 18 months and "cannot yet meaningfully contribute to denying terrorists safe haven," according to a report on the Iraqi security forces published today.
The report, prepared by a commission of retired senior U.S. military officers, describes the 25,000-member Iraqi national police force and the Interior Ministry, which controls it, as riddled with sectarianism and corruption. The ministry, it says, is "dysfunctional" and is "a ministry in name only." The commission recommended that the national police force be disbanded.
Although citing recent "tactical success" and favorable "strategic implications" resulting from the Bush administration's current war strategy, the commission recommends that U.S. troops in Iraq be "retasked" in early 2008 to protect critical infrastructure and guard against border threats from Iran and Syria, while gradually turning internal security over to Iraqi forces despite their deficiencies.
The assessment by the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq is one of several independent progress reports ordered by Congress for delivery before the administration presents its own scorecard next week. Members of the 20-member group, headed by retired Marine Gen. James Jones, traveled throughout Iraq over the summer and met with hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi officials as well as leading nongovernmental experts on the Iraqi forces. Jones will present the 152-page document, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, in testimony today before the Senate and House Armed Services committees.
As he ended a year in charge of training the Iraqi security forces in 2005, then-Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus said that Iraq's military had made "enormous progress" and that its readiness to take over from U.S. forces was growing "with each passing week." President Bush said of the Iraqi forces, "As they stand up, we'll stand down."
The report expresses concern about what it calls the massive U.S. military logistical "footprint" in Iraq and its effect on perceptions and problems. "The unintended message conveyed is one of 'permanence,' an occupying force, as it were," the report says. It recommends reconsideration of "efficiency, necessity . . . and cost" and calls for "significant reductions, consolidations and realignments" of U.S. forces.
All of Iraq's 18 provinces should be transferred to government control, the report says -- only seven currently have that status -- and a formal status-of-forces agreement should be pursued with the Iraqi government. "We believe that all [U.S.] bases in Iraq should demonstrate evidence of Iraqi sovereignty," including flying the Iraqi flag, the report says. "There is a fine line," it says, "between assistance and dependence."
Although the administration has said repeatedly that security improvements will create "breathing space" for Iraqi sectarian and political forces to move toward national reconciliation, the commission turns that equation on its head, saying that long-term security advances are impossible without political progress.
Despite all that remains to be done on the military front, it says, "the single most important event that could immediately and favorably affect Iraq's direction and security is political reconciliation. . . . Sustained progress within the Iraqi Security Forces depends on such a political agreement." All progress, it concludes, "seems to flow from this most pressing requirement."
In a separate development, the effectiveness of joint U.S. civilian-military reconstruction teams in Iraq was questioned yesterday by the government agency that audits U.S. programs there. The $2 billion Provincial Reconstruction Team program is designed to reach out beyond the central government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad with locally based employment and reconstruction assistance.
In testimony before a House subcommittee, Ginger Cruz, the deputy special inspector for Iraq reconstruction, said that the program is "one of the most valuable the U.S. runs in Iraq" but is underfunded, lacks clear objectives and suffers from repeated leadership changes. She said that fewer than 5 percent of PRT staff members have the cultural knowledge and Arabic-language skills needed to work with Iraqis.
The administration -- whose own Iraq progress report will be delivered in testimony next week by Petraeus, now a four-star general and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, as well as through a written White House assessment -- has said little about the independent scorecards, including a critical assessment yesterday by the Government Accountability Office.
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Iraq's army, despite measurable progress, will be unable to take over internal security from U.S. forces in the next 12 to 18 months and "cannot yet meaningfully contribute to denying terrorists safe haven," according to a report on the Iraqi security forces published today.
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Fred Thompson Makes A Late-Night Late Entry
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He followed that up at midnight with a longer video on his campaign Web site outlining his reasons for running, citing threats to national security and the economy and the need to change Washington. "I know that reform is possible in Washington because I have seen it done," he said. "I do not accept it as a fact of life beyond our power to change that the federal government must go on expanding more, taxing more, and spending more forever."
Thompson's Republican rivals appeared unbowed by his entry and used their forum to take potshots at him for skipping the debate. "Maybe we're up past his bedtime," Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) quipped. Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani joked: "I think Fred is a really, really good man. I think he's done a pretty good job of playing my part on 'Law & Order.' "
Asked by Leno why he wasn't in New Hampshire, Thompson said, "I'll do my share, but I don't think it's a very enlightening forum, to tell you the truth."
Thompson's long-awaited announcement brings a potentially formidable candidate into the Republican race. His Southern roots, conservative message and celebrity appeal from movies and television have already pushed him into second place in most national polls, behind Giuliani.
But Thompson's late start leaves him well behind his rivals in organizing his campaign in early-voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, where former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has used television ads to build a lead in the polls, and in South Carolina and Florida, where Giuliani is currently ahead.
Thompson's entry could quickly alter the dynamics of a wide-open Republican nomination battle that has evolved rapidly through the course of the year. When the campaign began, McCain was seen as the likeliest candidate to claim front-runner status, but his campaign ran aground by mid-summer.
The summer belonged to Giuliani and Romney. Romney surged in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire and capped off August with a victory in the Iowa Republican straw poll -- a contest that Giuliani, McCain and Thompson skipped. For Giuliani, the summer months helped change a story line that said, despite his celebrity appeal, he had little chance of becoming the Republican nominee because of his support for abortion rights and gay rights. Now he is seen as a credible, if conventional, threat for the nomination.
The summer also helped to establish former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as the dark-horse candidate with the best chance of surprising one of his better-known rivals.
Now will come another phase in the race, in which Thompson attempts to capitalize on the lack of enthusiasm among Republican voters for their presidential choices. Thompson brings to the race a Southern conservative, something that has been missing since prospective candidates such as former senators George Allen (Va.) and Bill Frist (Tenn.) saw their prospects fade even before the campaign began.
But his start-up period proved extremely rocky. His early fundraising did not set any records, and he went through a succession of senior campaign advisers before recruiting Bill Lacy, who managed his 1994 Senate campaign. Lacy has replaced several high-level advisers with others who have more experience in campaigns.
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DURHAM, N.H., Sept. 5 -- After months of testing the waters, former senator Fred Thompson (Tenn.) jumped into the race for the Republican presidential nomination on late-night television Wednesday, as his eight rivals clashed here in a debate that featured sharp exchanges over Iraq and immigration.
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Opera World Loses a Leading Ambassador
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Luciano Pavarotti, 71, who died last night of pancreatic cancer at his home in Modena, Italy, combined a lustrous lyric tenor voice with a radiant and expansive personal charm to win the largest and most diversified audience ever accorded an opera singer.
Millions of listeners who never came close to setting foot in an opera house knew and loved Pavarotti through his countless appearances on television and in stadium concerts -- especially the spectacularly successful Three Tenors marathons with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. The Decca recording of their first collaboration became far and away the best-selling classical album in history, with upward of 15 million copies distributed to date.
Connoisseurs acclaimed Pavarotti for his voice of surpassing sweetness, full and vibrant throughout its range, and for his warmly lyrical performances of standard Italian roles, such as Alfredo in Verdi's "La Traviata," Nemorino in Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore," Rodolfo and Caravadossi in Puccini's "La Bohème" and "Tosca."
But Pavarotti -- in tandem with his shrewd, aggressive longtime manager, Herbert H. Breslin -- also courted a popular audience with unprecedented zeal. And so Pavarotti made commercials for the American Express card, led New York's Columbus Day parade, clowned through the expensive Hollywood flop "Yes, Giorgio" and posed for press photographs with mountains of pasta.
The world was kept informed of Pavarotti's joie de vivre, his ebullient flirtations and his halfhearted struggle with his weight, which fluctuated between 250 and 350 pounds. At the peak of his career, he received more than 50,000 fan letters a year, and it was said that he never turned down a request for an autograph, a picture or a kiss. His rivalries with other singers -- notably Domingo (which was mostly friendly) and the soprano Renata Scotto (which was not) -- were also widely chronicled.
Yesterday as Pavarotti's death grew imminent, Domingo said in a statement: "One of the most gratifying aspects of my life is that Luciano and I became friends in spite of what many important people in the entertainment industry had planned for us. They thought that feuding would not only be good for promoting our then still young careers but also for the music business in general. What really happened was that our careers encouraged each other. . . . Eventually we both fooled everybody by becoming real friends who respected each other for their individual strengths and weaknesses."
Some found the unrelenting onslaught of personal publicity distasteful, but it helped make Pavarotti the best-known and highest-paid classical artist of his time. And he could not be dismissed: Behind the huggy-bear, "I'm just a happy, regular overweight Italian guy who loves to sing" persona was a great and serious artist.
Ultimately, Pavarotti captured the public imagination as no tenor since Enrico Caruso, whose name he regularly invoked. "Probably the biggest similarity between Pavarotti and Caruso is the way each could envelop an audience," the late soprano Rosa Ponselle, who knew both men, said in 1979. "Each could make every person feel that he or she was being sung to individually."
Luciano Pavarotti was born Oct. 12, 1935, in Modena, a city renowned for its love of opera. Even his father, a baker by trade, sang tenor in local productions. His mother labored in a cigarette factory with the mother of soprano Mirella Freni, who became a frequent leading lady to Pavarotti on world stages.
Standing over six feet tall and somewhat athletic in his youth, Pavarotti excelled in soccer as a young man. He gravitated to opera as a profession and was good enough to qualify for voice training at Modena's Istituto Magistrale, which he said saved him from his mother's attempt to make him into an accountant.
He taught elementary school and sold insurance while vying in opera competitions. Among his early instructors were Modena tenor Arrigo Pola, who sensed his brilliance and taught him for free, and Ettore Campogalliani in the city of Mantua. Pavarotti underwent intensive regimens on posture, spending six months alone on how to hold his jaw.
After several misses, Pavarotti won an opera contest in 1961 and made his debut that year as Rodolfo in "La Bohème." After years touring Europe, he made his American debut in 1965 with the Greater Miami Opera in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" when he substituted for another tenor at the last minute.
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Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia obituaries, appreciations and death notices.
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Russia, Indonesia Set $1 Billion Arms Deal
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MOSCOW, Sept. 6 -- During a one-day visit to Indonesia on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin witnessed the signing of a $1 billion arms deal that many analysts here see as part of a broader Russian effort to restore diplomatic and military clout in the Asia-Pacific region and make some money, as well.
Indonesia, which until 2005 was under a U.S. arms embargo because of human rights abuses, will purchase Russian tanks, military helicopters and submarines. Last month, Russia said it would sell six fighter jets to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, as part of the deal.
"The deals signed in Indonesia are part of a Kremlin strategy to expand its influence in Asia and the Middle East," said Alexei Makarkin, an analyst at the Center for Political Technologies in Moscow. "Russia is trying to pursue a multipolar policy in the world and considers itself to be one of its poles."
But unlike the former Soviet Union, he added, today's Kremlin is willing to ship arms only "to those countries who can pay."
Russia is helping Indonesia do that by providing a $1 billion line of credit, repayable over 15 years. Weighed down with foreign debt in the 1990s, Russia now has the world's second-largest foreign currency reserves after China because of soaring prices for its vast stores of oil and natural gas.
"We agreed to develop our cooperation in energy, mining, aviation and the telecommunications sector," said Putin, who stopped in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on his way to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Australia. "There's also a good perspective in defense and military."
For Indonesia, the country's defense minister said, the deal comes with none of the strings that encumber similar purchases from the United States and Western Europe.
"Requirements for purchasing arms from Western countries are complicated, with preconditions attached, such as human rights, accountability, not to mention licensing," Juwono Sudarsono told reporters in Jakarta. "In our past experience with Britain, we were not allowed to use Scorpion tanks in Aceh, even though we were facing armed separatists."
In 2005, a peace agreement between rebels and the government ended three decades of conflict in that province. Since the lifting of the U.S. embargo later that year, Indonesia has mostly obtained spare parts and technical support from the United States, once its primary arms supplier.
Sudarsono said Thursday that he was glad to be able to "reduce dependence on the United States."
Under Putin, Russia has become determined to project its military, diplomatic and energy power into the Pacific, an area it neglected after the fall of the Soviet Union. Besides the arms deal, Russian companies have signed billions of dollars worth of deals in the mining and energy sectors with Indonesian companies, Russian officials said.
This year, Putin signed a $200 billion, seven-year rearmament plan for Russia's military. The package includes money for the Pacific Fleet, a major Pacific submarine base and new land- and sea-based intercontinental missiles. Last month, Russia resumed global patrols by its long-range strategic bombers, sending two of them far across Pacific Ocean waters to the vicinity of Guam island, site of a major U.S. base.
On Thursday, Britain and Norway scrambled jets to trail Russian bombers conducting the new patrols. The Russian Defense Ministry described the flights by eight strategic bombers as a "routine exercise" and said that although the aircraft had encountered planes from NATO countries, there were "no incidents."
Last month, Russia conducted a joint military exercise with China, one of its major arms customers. And it has made or is negotiating other arms deals across Asia, including with India, Malaysia, Burma and Vietnam.
Some observers remain skeptical that Russia will become a major competitor of the United States and, increasingly, China for influence in the region.
"In my view, what is happening is that when certain rough edges appear in relations between the USA and such countries as Malaysia or Indonesia, Russia immediately makes an attempt to squeeze in and fill this gap," said Alexander Golts, a military analyst and journalist in Moscow. "Its policy is developing these kind of niches. But we can hardly talk about any serious influence."
After a meeting, Putin and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said they had discussed Iraq, North Korea and Iran, among other subjects, and they obliquely criticized the Bush administration's approach to global issues.
"The two presidents strongly believe that international and regional conflicts . . . should be settled by peaceful means," they said in a joint statement. "The use of force is admissible as the last resort and only in accordance with the United Nations charter."
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World news headlines from the Washington Post,including international news and opinion from Africa,North/South America,Asia,Europe and Middle East. Features include world weather,news in Spanish,interactive maps,daily Yomiuri and Iraq coverage.
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Germany Widens Probe Into Bomb Plot
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BERLIN, Sept. 6 -- Authorities said Thursday that they are investigating at least seven more people suspected of aiding a multinational cell of Islamic militants plotting to bomb American interests in Germany, including two who may have trained at camps in Pakistan.
Prosecutors said they had identified five of the alleged helpers, mostly Turkish and German nationals. But they said they were still trying to decipher the aliases of others who might have assisted three men arrested Tuesday as they transferred bombmaking chemicals from a rented house in the German village of Oberschledorn.
According to prosecutors, the three defendants in custody had traveled to Pakistan last year to train in camps run by the Islamic Jihad Union, a Central Asian group affiliated with al-Qaeda. Investigators said two other supporting members of the German ring may have trained in Pakistan as well.
Other evidence has surfaced recently indicating that Europeans are being recruited to attend camps operated by a variety of Islamic militant groups along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
In June, the Taliban circulated a DVD among local journalists in Pakistan that purported to show a training camp graduation ceremony. Among the 250 graduates were more than a dozen white-skinned young men. One Taliban figure in the video was identified as the leader of a small group of German recruits, according to a copy of the video viewed by a Washington Post correspondent.
The primary speaker at the ceremony was Mansour Dadullah, a leading Taliban commander. "Oh, Americans and your allies, these suicide bombers are going to chase you in your countries," he said.
Authorities said Thursday they were confident that they had broken up the group accused of plotting attacks against Americans and that it no longer posed a security risk.
"We are trying to identify all of those who were working in the shadows," Deputy Interior Minister August Hanning told ARD public television.
The arrests Tuesday shocked many Germans, particularly because two of the suspects were native-born Germans who had converted to Islam, including one named Fritz. The case also stoked a long-standing debate over whether German lawmakers need to give police more leeway to snoop on suspects and make it a crime to train at militant camps outside the country.
The three defendants have been charged with membership in a foreign terrorist organization, an offense that was not made a crime until after an al-Qaeda cell in Hamburg planned and carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
Authorities had been aware for several months that the three had trained in Pakistan and returned to Germany, but said they didn't have sufficient evidence for a strong court case until recently.
"We have to be able to prosecute those people who went to terrorist camps to commit attacks in Germany," Johannes Schmalzl, president of the domestic intelligence service for the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemburg, told the magazine Der Spiegel.
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World news headlines from the Washington Post,including international news and opinion from Africa,North/South America,Asia,Europe and Middle East. Features include world weather,news in Spanish,interactive maps,daily Yomiuri and Iraq coverage.
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Bush Urges Pacific Rim to Expand Free Trade
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SYDNEY, Sept. 7 -- President Bush on Friday called on Pacific Rim leaders to support efforts to expand free trade, saying that open markets are a crucial element in strengthening the "forces of freedom and prosperity."
Speaking to business leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum at the famed Sydney Opera House, Bush said free trade is the only route to long-term freedom and growth, despite the short-term pain it often causes in industrialized nations in terms of lost jobs and stagnant wages.
"The surest road to stagnation and instability is the path of isolation and protectionism," Bush said. "And the only road to enduring prosperity and stability is through open markets and open trade."
Bush wants leaders at the summit to push for progress in the so-called Doha round of the World Trade Organization talks, which have been stalled largely over differences between the United States and the European Union over tariffs and farm subsidies.
Bush also urged Pacific Rim leaders to address energy security and climate change in an "integrated" fashion, while continuing to battle terrorism.
Bush's address, his major speech at the 21-nation APEC conference, came one day after his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao. In the 90-minute session, Hu assured Bush that his government is very concerned about the safety of products made in China, noting that they are sold not only overseas but also to consumers at home, White House aides said.
The session between the two leaders touched on a wide variety of other issues, including the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Hu reiterated an invitation to Bush and his family to attend the Games, Bush said. "I was anxious to accept," he recounted afterward.
Sensitive to concerns about China's human rights record, a Bush aide added a caveat to Bush's acceptance. The president would be attending "for the sports" and not to make any political statement, said James F. Jeffrey, a deputy national security adviser.
Bush and Hu described their meeting as cordial and open. "He's an easy man to talk to," Bush said. "I'm very comfortable in my discussions with President Hu."
Bush said that in the meeting, "I had a chance to share once again with the president my belief in religious freedom and religious liberty." That amounted to a criticism of China's control of religious expression. Aides said later that Bush told Hu that he would attend a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony for the Dalai Lama in Washington in October.
Contamination in Chinese-made food and products sold in the United States has become a major point of friction between the two countries in recent months, leading the Chinese government to launch a public relations offensive to shore up its reputation as a world trader.
Bush said Hu had been "quite articulate about product safety, and I appreciated his comments." Bush did not elaborate.
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Find Washington Post science, politics and opinion coverage of the growing threat from global warming.
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Immigrants and Mental Health
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Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: Hi Everyone, I am Dr. Ben Lee, and I am a psychiatry faculty at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. I have special interest in the mental issues related to minority populations, especially among Asian Americans. I hope to discuss and answer some of the questions you posted.
Dallas: To have access to treatment the immigrants need to have a culturally and linguistically sensitive place. Research on Latinos indicates that there are 29 mental health professionals for every 100,000 Latinos in the United States. What is your recommendation to increase the number of mental health professionals that are culturally sensitive and able to speak the immigrants language?
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: This is a great question that many cross-cultural, clinical investigators are wondering about how to maximize available human resource of bilingual health workers. By definition, there are few. One approach is to train bilingual "community health workers" under supervision of nurses and doctors as a gate keeper. Another approach would be to work with unique aspect of each ethnic community. Among Koreans, utilizing churches as the outreach center has been successful.
District Heights, Maryland: Not a question but a comment. I am a member of the Mental Health Committee at the church that I attend in MD and I feel this issue not only deals with immigrants but residents who were born and raised here as well. And they, like many immigrants, are less likely to seek help with their mental health issues. The real issue is that it takes a caring community to assist those that have problems. We have to help them get help for themselves.
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: You are absolutely right. Stigma and lack of knowledge about mental health issues are pervasive in all communities. I admire your church for having a committee devoted to this issue. For immigrant communities, however, there are additional barriers such as language issues, lack of insurances, etc.
Oklahoma City, Okla.: I feel stigma of mental illness is the greatest barrier, that prevents many individuals of marginalized communities from seeking treatment for mental helth problems. What can we in the grassroots efforts do to get past the preceived stigma?
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: At the grassroots level, I believe continuing to bring these issues to the public attention is the greatest service to the community. At the same time, working with the locally influential people (e.g. politicians and government officials) to direct resources to these areas that are often neglected in our community. It is very hard to make a career for many well-intentioned health workers and researchers in minority health issues at the moment.
Baltimore: How can immigrant clinicians and therapists overcome the fact that while they are immigrants from other countries, they have been trained in their profession in the Western education system? Many theories and "evidence-based practices" do not apply to non-Western cultures.
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: While they are trained in the Western educational system, they often have developed special rapport with the patient population. There is one study, I recall, that matched the ethnicity of the clinician and the patient improved compliance and outcome of mental health services. We also need a way of training these ethnic physicians in these intracacies of detecting culturally specific symptoms.
I work with several communities in the Midwest that have significant new populations of Latino immigrants. Domestic violence and substance abuse in some of the households contribute to mental health needs, but fear of discovery of undocumented immigration status is compounding the challenge of effective engagement of these immigrants by the mental health and social service systems that are committed to offering help and support.
What strategies can you suggest that might help these communities to effectively connect with those who are in need?
Frank Rider, Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: I am not sure how to answer this question about the plight of illegal immigrants and their mental health issues. General health of illegal immigrants in U.S. is a major issue in our society that is beyond my knowledge. Whether this is a responsbility or burden to our health system is also beyond me as well.
Baltimore: This is more of a comment. I am a psychology major and one class assigned the book "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down". Although I cannot remember the author, the book was an account of a small village family from Asia coming to the US and the chaos in diagnosing their young daughter who suffered from seizures. The dialect they spoke was so rare, it took months to find a translator. In the meantime, the family brought in herbalists and even a healer from their village to heal the girl and refused to give her medications from the doctors. The translator said the family had a name for her illness which translated into "the spirit catches you and you fall down." It was a very true account of what both sides face when dealing with this issue such as mistrust and science versus religion.
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: Language barrier is indeed the greatest barrier in terms of access to health care for minority groups. Imagine that your symptoms are not physical and only mental, and that you can only express it to the physician in a foreign language. In psychiatry, this language barrier becomes much more magnified than any other medical fields.
Washington, D.C.: Dr. Lee, I am helping to develop a federally funded online curriculum, Promoting Healthy Mental Development. The curriculum is geared toward primary care providers (PCPs) who work with children and their families.
Although lots of information has been published on cultural competence, much of it is rather general. As a faculty member, do you have any specific training resources or links to suggest that might help PCPs effectively engage and support families from diverse cultures? Thank you.
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: I cannot think of specific resources at the moment. However, at the state level (especially New York), there has been efforts to develop screening tools (especially depression: PHQ-9) for the primary care physicians as they are dealing with patients from various ethnic backgrounds. Outside of this, I cannot think of a consolidated effort to train primary care physicians in terms of detection, diagnosis, treament, and follow-up for mental disorders among minority patients.
Raleigh, NC: I work for a United Way agency that assists people with HIV as a bilingual client advocate. One of the most important parts of my job with Latino clients is informing and convincing them that here in the U.S. HIV can be lived with and that it is nothing to be ashamed of. I take the same road with mental illness. I explain to them that it is very common here in the U.S. to treat depression or whatever other mental health issue is going on. I also let them know that going to a therapist is common in this culture and can be very helpful. I try to get them away from the idea - common in the Latino culture - that mental health meds and therapy is for folks that are crazy.
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: Thank you for your comments. Indeed it is very important to address the stigma issues. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website also lists specific resources for Spanish-speaking patients.
Washington, DC: The question of mental health and immigrants is obviously spurred by the Va. Tech. tragedy last spring. The mentally ill student who killed 33 people that day had been through an interview with a mental health social worker in Dec. 2005. During that interview, would it be normal for the interviewer to ask questions like whether the student had ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition or if he had ever received medical treatment/medication for a mental illness?
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: Appropriateness of the privacy questions depends on the context of the interview. If it is within a clinical context or counseling context, it would be appropriate. Could you tell me more about it?
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: Thank you.
Philadelphia, Pa.: I am reminded of the episode of "The Sopranos," where art imitates life, on how it is considered weakness that an Italian American would get mental health assistance, and Tony Soprano has to gently break the news before the rumor gets out that he is seeing a psychiatrist. I like how Paulie Walnuts comes to his rescue where just about the most psychotic character in TV history admits that even he "has issues." My question: I don't know if you saw this scene, but did it accurately portray the feelings of some people in the Italian American community that only weak people get help (the show is supposedly written with an air of authenticity by people who grew up in New Jersey)? Even if you did not see this, does television portrayal of people like Tony Soprano seeing a psychiatrist help send a message to the viewers that it is alright to get help, and maybe TV helps break down some of these barriers?
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: I haven't been keeping up with the HBO specials, but mass media does play a major role in lifting the stigma attached to mental disorders. I certainly hope that the biological aspect of psychiatric disorders continues to be highlighted in the mass media to emphasize the need for health services.
Philadelphia, Pa.: What mental health programs? They've been cut so much, how does anyone get help? There are parents in Philadelphia asking judges to adjudicate their children because the only available youth mental health programs are in the correctional facilities? Thus, for your purposes, I guess it would be harder for immigrants who have difficulty understanding our mental health operations to even understand these intracacies where people have to bend the system to get help?
Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee: Yes, I agree.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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Dr. Hochang Benjamin Lee takes your questions about the cultural barriers that prevent some immigrant families from seeking treatment for mental health problems.
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Apartment Life Live
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Welcome to Apartment Life, an online discussion of the Washington area rental market, featuring Post columnist Sara Gebhardt.
Inher monthly exchanges with the audience, Gebhardt discusses rental issues and lifestyle matters.
Got roommate troubles? Our interactive guide is packed with tips and advice to help you make the most of a group living situation. Check it out: Lessons Learned: How to Survive Living With Roommates.
Check out our special feature: Think Smart: Apartment Hunting Made Easy.
Read Sara's latest Apartment Life column.
Sara Gebhardt: Good afternoon to everyone who is joining today for another installment of the Apartment Chat. I am here to field any and all types of questions related to renting. For those of you who are back after last month's chat (and who have managed to remember the question which had a lot of people interested), I have an update. The person who wrote in to say that her aunt, with whom she had been living for free, was nay-saying all of her apartment choices, had said that her aunt was telling her to keep looking after she had been to 30 places. The poster confirmed that it had nothing to do with her "free-loading"--which a lot of chatter were eager to suggest--but only because she wants the questioner to make the right decision and does not understand that she can only afford so much.
Capitol Hill, D.C.: Sara, I live in a cute basement apartment that is great except for one issue that concerns me: The stove is hot to the touch. Very hot. The owner says it's no big deal -- it's just that the pilot light is always on -- but it just sounds dangerous and the thought of lighting a match in the kitchen freaks me out. Is this common/safe?
Sara Gebhardt: A lot of gas stoves are hot to the touch. I am pretty sure it's safe, but let's see what other's have to say.
Washington (Re: Smoking): Hi, Sara. Just wondering -- can an apartment building in the District ban smoking inside the apartments? Some of the nonsmokers where I live want that to happen (smoking already is banned in the hallways and other common areas), but of course the smokers are opposed. Also, would it be possible to do like some hotels do, and designate "smoking floors" or "smoking wings" of the building? (I think floors wouldn't work as well as wings because the smoke and smell travel up through the vents or the floors.) Many thanks!
Sara Gebhardt: It is my understanding that if an apartment building's management decides to go smoke-free, they are allowed. This is a general ruling, so I'm not positive how it jibes with DC's rent control laws. But, there are buildings around the country (and somewhat of a movement in this area, particularly in California) that are going smoke-free. So, talk to your management about it once you gain some sort of consensus. It seems like it would actually be good business sense for some buildings to make this sort of change since there are so many renters who don't want to risk moving into a place where smoke might waft into their units.
Washington: How do I find out when my apartment building was built? I live in a nice building in Northwest Washington that has been undergoing major renovations for the past year. It's been something of a pain to live with, and now I found out that they are raising rent 30 percent to 40 percent when people are up for renewal, essentially trying to drive us out so they can finish renovating individual apartments and charge even more for them. From what I've read, rent control only applies to building that were built before a certain year, but I'm not sure how to find out if that includes my building. If the building is exempt from rent control, do we as residents have any recourse against such huge increases? I really don't want to move, and the management company has been no help -- we've been through about four managers during the process and only intermittently get updates. Thanks.
Sara Gebhardt: Hi there. You can contact the District of Columbia's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Information about whether your building is under rent controls is kept on file there. Also, you can obtain other help from the Office of the Tenant advocate. Call 202-442-4400 or visit http://www.dcra.dc.gov.
Montgomery County, Md.: Wow! Okay, so I just started looking at apartments for a November 1 move, and I'm learning that the D.C. market is vicious and fast! First off, apparently, I've started looking too soon? Is 30 days out the best time to start? Also, is November a time when the apartment market will be a bit slower so I have time to look and won't have to hustle to the city in mere hours to drop a deposit on a place sight-unseen? Sara, I'm scared!
Sara Gebhardt: Oh, don't be scared. The early bird gets the worm! Or not. Apartment hunting depends as much on research as it does on luck and timing. I think 6-8 weeks is a fine amount of time to find an apartment--it's often much faster (3-4 weeks) if you know what you want, where you want to be, etc. You certainly don't have to settle on a place site unseen if you just keep plodding along in your search. The best thing for you to do is not be nervous, and just take your time, since you have it. Also, given typical patterns, the market should be slightly slower in November--end of summer is always a big time for moving and winter or late fall less-so.
Washington: Hi Sara. Not sure if you can answer this question, but I thought I'd try. I'm getting married in a few weeks. We've been fortunate enough to receive many gifts of housewares, and I'd like to donate what I already had (used but still serviceable) to an organization that helps place poeple in transitional housing (or similar). Do you or the chatters know of any such organization that could use plates, pots, glasses, etc.? Thanks!
Sara Gebhardt: There are plenty of charitable organizations that would probably love your donations. You could check out churches and synagogues locally or donate to a Salvation Army or Goodwill store. Anyone out there have more specific organizations in the city that might be in need?
Washington: How would you recommend D.C. renters (and perhaps those in other jurisdictions) go about improving D.C. law, code and enforcement? I recently found out from the D.C. Consumer and Regulatory Affairs office that landlords are supposed to provide five days notice before entering an apartment for nonemergency work. In the decade I've lived in my apartment, my landlord (a large management company) only once has provided five days notice; usually they give only a few hours or no notice.
When I asked the DCRA representative what I could do, she replied I could inform the management company of the law (they know it and that would place me at risk for retaliation). The District would take no action -- not even sending the management company a warning letter. While this problem is not as bad as many others renters face, it is indicative of how little support D.C. renters have from the government.
Sara Gebhardt: You should contact local tenants rights organizations to see what kind of action you and other DC renters can take collectively. Two such organizations are the Tenant Action Network (TAN) and DC Tenants Advocacy Coalition (TENAC).
Washington: Hi Sara -- thanks for taking my question. I am writing because I am having a problem with my roommate, who is extremely environmentally-conscious. She works for a D.C. nonprofit that deals with recycling issues. I am completely in favor of being green, but she has taken it a bit far. All summer, she has been turning off our air conditioning and leaving the windows wide open, which is a problem first of all because I'm an athsmatic and open windows kill me, and second of all because we live on the first floor of my building and there have been some break-ins through open windows recently.
She also has been leaving literature about saving the environment around our apartment and gives me a hard time every time I don't recycle the tiniest piece of something. I had a party a few weeks ago and she even started recycling the beer and soda cans the second my guests put them down empty! I've tried speaking to her about it nicely, but she seems to care more about the environment than our living situation; I've tried to be reasonable, and we've got another eight months on our lease; I've met her halfway, recycling everything that I can think of. Any suggestions?
Sara Gebhardt: I think you've been trying to do the right thing by talking to your roommate about her uber-environmentalism. You definitely have to come up with an understanding of how to live together if you have 8 months left on the lease. First of all, you have to find a compromise about the open windows if you really cannot survive with them open. The literature, well, seems like a passive aggressive ploy to get you to up your environmental level. While I'm all for environmentalism, I think that you should just tell her you have checked out her literature, see her point of view, and are doing the best you can. Make it clear that your living situation will suffer if she doesn't concede you some space to live as you'd like (responsibly with nature, of course).
Hot oven/range: I have a new gas range in my condo. When it is on it is warm all over, but not hot enough to burn instantaneously. It certainly is not at all hot when it is not being used (the stove top or the oven).
Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for the information. Yeah, usually gas stoves are warm, but not hot enough to burn you when out of use.
Northwest M Street, D.C.: Sara, I have new neighbors down the hall, and coincidentally I've noticed a strong pot odor in the hallway twice in the past week. Should I call my building's management or the police?
Sara Gebhardt: If the odor bothers you, you should feel free to take some sort of action. I would suggest talking to the new neighbors first. Introduce yourself and make it known that you are bothered by the odor they're producing. If it persists, then do what you feel is the right next step, whether that be floating the idea to building management or dealing with the police. It is just nicer to try to work out problems with neighbors with them directly, so that you don't make snap judgments and so that you can avert future resentment and animosity by blindly complaining without having tried to work it out or obtain all the facts.
Arlington, Va.: We temporarily are living in an apartment while our house is being renovated. It's going well, except there is a constant stench of cigarette smoke in our bathroom. I imagine we share a vent with neighbors who smoke, but it is just awful. Any suggestions from apartment veterans out there as to how to get rid of/cover up the smell? Thanks so much.
Sara Gebhardt: I've written about this in the past, and the best tips to rid a place of smoke seems to be twofold. First, seal all openings/gaps/cracks in your bathroom (in your case, this would include a vent, which might pose a problem) that you share with the neighboring unit. Second, get an air purifier--with a HEPA filter. These are known for taking out impurities in the air. I'm not sure how well they work, but people have told me they work to some extent. By the way, I've also heard that covering up the smell (with scented smells) is usually a lost cause.
Donating Kitchenware: Try Bread for the City-- it's a great organization that provides many services to the area's poor and homeless. Community of Hope or Calvary Women's Services also serve the homeless. Green Door helps the mentally ill find work and homes.
Sara Gebhardt: Here are suggestions for the person who wants to donate her housewares. Thanks.
Green Asthmatic: Not to be passive-agressive, but how about leaving literature on how bad humidity/ozone weather alerts are for asthmatics? I am one also, and feel for the poor girl who has to deal with the weather knowing there's an AC that can be used.
Sara Gebhardt: I see your point. I don't think the passive aggressive routine is a good one at all, but clearly the environmentalist roommate needs to consider her roommate's asthma in this equation.
Pilot Light: When I first moved in to my apartment, the gas stove was very hot to the touch. The pilot light was too high, so the maintenance guy turned it down. The stove may be a little warm to the touch, but if it is hot it is possible the pilot light is on too high.
Sara Gebhardt: Okay, thanks for this tip. Others writing in are also suggesting calling the gas company. It would seem that having your pilot light checked out by a professional is a good start to easing your worries about a stove that feels too hot to the touch.
Re: Donating Household Goods: Arlington Refugee Services, which is an organization in Arlington which helps resettle refugees when they first arrive in the U.S., often accepts and are in need of household goods and furniture to stock up refugees' new homes. I'm sure there also are other resettlement organizations in the area too.
Sara Gebhardt: Another tip for where to donate. Thanks.
Washington: Oh how I wish more apartment buildings would ban smoking. It's just hell on nonsmokers to live near smokers. Smoke permeates under doors, through electrical outlets and via the HVAC system. I don't understand, when 80 percent of the population does not smoke, why there are not more nonsmoking apartment buildings. Smokers increase the risk of fire, and smoke damages apartments too, so you'd think landlords would want to ban it. (Just to be clear, I don't care what lifestyle choices people make -- I make some bad ones of my own -- but I care when they affect me.)
Sara Gebhardt: Well, here's fodder for a non-smoking rental property movement.
Er, the District isverytenant-friendly, so...: I'm not sure what the poster is talking about. They ought to try living in any number of other jurisdictions. While the city government isn't going to be the police officer so to speak in every situation (there are much more egregious violations of the law going on vis-a-vis landlords and tenants) the tenant is free to petition the relevant housing/landlord-tenant court for an order telling the landlord to start giving proper advance notice of entry, and that court may find the landlord in contempt if he/she refuses to do so.
Sara Gebhardt: Here's a thought about the District's tenant-friendly status. I'm not really going to take a side here. I've heard both good and bad over the years.
Anonymous:"It seems like it would actually be good business sense for some buildings to make this sort of change since there are so many renters who don't want to risk moving into a place where smoke might waft into their units."
Or someone accidentally could set the place on fire by not properly disposing of ashes/cigs or falling asleep while smoking. When I was looking for an apartment and then a condo, I was interested in smoke-free places with sprinklers. Ironically enough, right about the time I was moving in, the building across from mine experienced a "room and contents" fire from a smoker who fell asleep (there wasn't much left to the mattress), but the damage was minimal because of the sprinkler system. I also would think it cuts down on the main insurance policy premium.
Sara Gebhardt: Another vote for the non-smoking apartment building.
Ohio: Re: Hot stove -- report excessive heat to your landlord/super, etc. You need a stove installed that has electronic ignition of the gas. Much safer, less worry.
Sara Gebhardt: More advice for the person with the gas stove. It's getting complicated!
I know it's my fault but... (Virginia): I am only six days late on rent for September and I already have a unlawful detainer on me! I even looked on the online court case info and my name is there up in lights (or should I say behind bars?).>I intend on paying the rent, plus late fee, plus legal fees on Monday (pay day) ... should I still report to court on the day of the trial?
This is my first time ever paying rent late and I am shocked I was given a court date already! I am also hopeful this won't stay on my record and hamper me from getting another apartment elsewhere (lease is up in December and of course everyone else will check for court action)! I am asking because I have heard of other people being months behind before they were taken to court, and I am taken immediately for six days? This is a major management company by the way. Thanks for your insight!
Sara Gebhardt: Wow. Okay, first, read your lease. See what kind of penalty you have incurred and how many days grace period you're entitled to (should be at least 5). Next, start contacting people involved. Tell your lanldord that you are going to pay your rent on Monday--figure out why you've been reported so quickly and if your landlord can somehow wipe out the action that was taken against you. I'm not a lawyer, though, so if you don't make any headway doing this, then contact your local housing office and seek help from the tenant/landlord office.
Washington: I have a question, I guess, about neighbor etiquette -- a couple of weeks ago I noticed that a neighbor had left their keys in the front door of the apartment -- apparently it wasn't a new development, as my companion noted that the keys were there when he arrived nearly two hours before. Now, I don't know these neighbors at all, but I felt like I had some sort of obligation to notify them that their keys were just sitting there leaving them open to god knows what. I ended up knocking many times (to no avail) and ultimately penned a quick note that I stuffed under the door in the hopes that they'd see it from inside and come to investigate.
A friend of mine told me that I should have opened the door and tossed the keys inside, or at least taken the keys out of the door to return to them later. I'm having trouble with the idea that either of these things would have been appropriate. And for what it's worth, my roommate thinks I should have just left it alone (he harbors great resentment toward these neighbors for leaving their trash bags outside their door -- filled with soiled diapers no less -- rather than walking them all the way outside to the dumpster). What kind of neighborly obligation is there, here? The building itself is locked, if that matters to your analysis...
Sara Gebhardt: Thank for the question. It's a definite first in the department of neighborhood etiquette. I think you did what you thought was right by knocking and leaving a note. I'm not sure you should think too much about it, but maybe the next time you see this neighbor, just mention that you saw the keys in the door and left a note. (I'd probably have been wary to open someone's apartment too without permission.)
Sara Gebhardt: Well, folks, time's up for today. Thanks so much for a nice discussion, as usual. Feel free to email me at aptlife@gmail.com before next month's chat. Take care, all!
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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Join live discussions from the Washington Post. Feature topics include national, world and DC area news, politics, elections, campaigns, government policy, tech regulation, travel, entertainment, cars, and real estate.
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Remembering Effi Barry
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Effi Barry, 63, a regal first lady of Washington who endured her husband's very public sex and drug scandal during his tenure as mayor, died early this morning of leukemia at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis.
H.R. Crawford, former member of the D.C. City Council who served while Marion Barry was mayor of the District and personal friend of Ms. Barry, was online Thursday, Sept. 6, at 3 p.m. ET to talk about the former first lady of Washington.
H.R. Crawford: A very elegant lady who brougt class style and confidence to the office of the Mayor. She complimented her husband, Marion Barry extremely well. In a time of termoil she sat very stately with a warmth and the presence of a lady of distinction and character.
Washington, D.C.: How did Effi Barry seem to deal with her husband's frequent problems?
H.R. Crawford: Publicly she dealth with an unknown quality, uncommon and rarely seen in the District of Columbia political circle.
Whenever problem in the Office of the Mayor developed she handled it with a quiet, graceful and intelligent approach.
Washington, D.C.: Did Effi Barry really like D.C. politics? She seemed like maybe she didn't like being in the public eye,
H.R. Crawford: More or less she tolerated it.
Fairfax, Va.: Was Effie Barry political at all? What did she do while her then-husband, Marion Barry, was mayor of D.C.?
H.R. Crawford: She was not very political at all, but there was a quiet character she exuberated in the presence of others that complimented Marion Barry. She took his office to higher level. She played her role as the first lady, very gracefully.
Fairfax, Va.: Was Effi Barry's former husband, Marion Barry, close to her toward the end? How is her son, Christopher, taking his mom's loss? I remember Mrs. Barry well. I always admired her serenity and poise throughout her many challenges.
H.R. Crawford: I'm sure Marion is very humbled and feels the loss of Effie. During her illness and treatment they remained in close contact and very supportive. I have not had contact with Christopher since her passing. I'm sure he is distraught at this time. Christopher is her only child.
Washington, D.C.: I'll always remember her as a very classy woman who exuded much style and grace especially during the mayor's public problems with crack and his womanizing.
How do you feel she would like to be remembered?
H.R. Crawford: As a person who cared about the public, whom shared her illness publicly, which demonstrates her efforts to both share and educate the public concerning her illness and to bring an awaraness about the desease and possible treatment.
Fairfax, Va.: I have always thought of Ms. Barry as a Jacqueline Kennedy-type of public figure, who contributed greatly...but graciously and in the background. Will there be a formal, lasting tribute of some kind to Effi Barry to celebrate her life and contributions to the District?
H.R. Crawford: Plans are being developed now. I'm certain efforts will be made toward addressing her concerns regarding the welfare and health of the less fortunate particular persons dealing with HIV/AIDS
Silver Spring, Md.: Wow, I was stunned and sad to hear about Effi. She was a class act. How long has she been ill? And do you know if she ever found out who was her Italian father?
H.R. Crawford: I'm not certain about her father. Effie suffered with this illness well over a year.
Federal Triangle, Washington, D.C.: How is their son doing? I see him slowing emerging as his own man. Any politcal future in him.
P.S. -- I went to Morehouse with one of your sons, how are they doing?
H.R. Crawford: George is during just fine. As far as Christopher is concerned a number of us will be looking out for him and working with him. At this point I don't think he's interested in politics.
Linthicum, Md.: What did she do re HIV/AIDS?
H.R. Crawford: She was very instrumental in dealing with AIDS prevention and educational programs in dealing with this problem, particularly in Southeast, Northeast Washington.
Silver Spring, Md.: I was so sad to see this news.
The last I'd read of her she was going to have a bone marrow transplant. Did that not take?
She was faultless during various Barry dramas. I think she is deserving of respect for the composed way she behaved herself.
There is a great deal of truth in the saying that "only the good die young."
H.R. Crawford: I strongly agree.
Fairfax, Va.: What would Ms. Barry want her legacy to be?
H.R. Crawford: At this point I'm not sure. In the near future there will be a number of us during something meaningful in her memory.
Washington, D.C.: What was Effi Barry doing up until her death? I lost track of her, where did she go and what was her work?
H.R. Crawford: She was involved in AIDS Prevention and HIV programs. She resided in Southeast Washington, Ward 7.
College Park, Md.: Was she a reluctant participant with her husband Marion Barry during his tenure? She didn't seem like she was that enamored by it all. What's the true story?
H.R. Crawford: Not to my knowledge.
Crystal City, Va.: Was she involved in any programs in the city? Did she take on a any public role in the administration or working for causes of any kind?
H.R. Crawford: Yes she was. Preventive medicine, AIDS Awareness, AIDS Programs, HIV Prevention.
Silver Spring, Md.: Do you know if she has any siblings? Also, did she ever teach at Howard or UDC
H.R. Crawford: I'm not certain regarding siblings, but she did teach at the University level for awhile.
H.R. Crawford: Presently we are emotionally drained and are attempting to make final arrangements. Keep us in your prayers as we remember DC's First Classy Dignified FIRST LADY, Effie Barry
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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H.R. Crawford, former member of the D.C. City Council who served while Marion Barry was mayor of the District and personal friend of Ms. Barry, talks about the former first lady of Washington.
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The Redskins
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Read Jason's blog, Redskins Insider.
Jason La Canfora: Hey there, let's get it going here. What do you have for me?
Aren't people overreacting a bit about the O-line chemistry thing? I mean we have 4 out of 5 veteran starters returning, and Kendall is an experienced vet that has changed teams like this before. Yeah, Samuels may not be 100 percent, but I'll take a 4-time Pro Bowl LT at say, 80 percent, over most LT's in the league. Know what I mean? Thanks.
Jason La Canfora: Guess it depends on the context. In terms of the season, it's a minor blip, something that will be conquered before October.
Now, if you're talking about this Sunday, facing that defense with Jason Taylor on the edge in what could be a hot sun against a Dom Capers zone blitz scheme aiming at a young QB, and Samuels himself admits he won't be 100 percent fit and might be lagging by the 4th quarter, while Kendall is still feeling his way through this system and learning the system ...
Yeah, I'd call that a big deal for the first few weeks, and especially in this opener for an offense that is still trying to get on track.
Leesburg, Va.: While I am certain he is respected as a person, is Joe Gibbs still respected as a coach among NFL coaches and GMs?
Jason La Canfora: He doesn't get a whole lot of kudos out there for his overall work as a personnel guy in this new role he's been cast in the last few years, and people mock a lot of the decisions made around here.
As a football man and a coach, he remains widely respected, but a lot of people wonder if the Gibbs/Vinny/Snyder form of team management will ever really work.
Three things will make or break our season:
2 - Defensive pressure on the opposing QB
3 - The emergence (or not) of other viable wide outs besides Santana Moss.
Jason La Canfora: I'd say those are huge factors to watch, absolutely.
Stopping the run doesn't get talked about much, but it's the foundation of everything and they got gashed on the ground far too often. When you see them part with Salave'a and Wynn - guys who are generally paid to stop the run - it's an indication they need to be better there and think they will.
I'll put it this way - a healthy and in-form Cornelius Griffin makes the defense go, and a 100 percent Santana Moss is the key element to the offense.
If they have big seasons, I think the Redskins will be more than okay.
NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year: Laron Landry. Book it. Jason, just going on record with that so I can say so -- but are there some other candidates on other teams?
Also -- an alternative to iPod shuffle, is pandora.com. You just plug in a band you like (Pixies) and it will serve up similar artists along w/the band you chose.
Jason La Canfora: Pandora, eh? Never heard of it. I'll have to check that out.
Thanks for the heads up.
Got to the Park late and was just firing up the iPod right now.
As for LaRon, I think he will be put in every position to make plays on the ball and attack the passer. I would not be surprised if he was in the discussion for ROY if he stays healthy and the other guys on this defense perform to their ability as I think they will
Washington, D.C.: Jason -- this Chris Wilson guy reminds me of rookie Dexter Manley. This preseason I noticed him in the very same way I did when Dexter was a rookie.
What are coaches saying about him?
How the heck did this guy make the team without ever being on any NFL teams radar screen?
Jason La Canfora: Funny you should ask (is this a question from inside the Post??).
Check out Sunday's paper to learn about Chris -- a great kid with a pretty amazing story.
Now, as much as I like him, let's not ever compare him to Dexter just yet. He has a ways to go and his position in the NFL is by no means assured yet.
But he is a hard worker, loves to soak up coaching and has something you can't teach -- elite speed. Needs to get bigger and might never be big enough to play the run and be an every down guy at this level -- has trouble keeping his weight over 240 -- but there are a lot of people here who think he can far surpass what Chris Clemons did here in 2004-2005 as a rush end in the nickel package.
After getting to know him over the past few weeks I can say that he's the kind of kid you can't help rooting for.
20010: Any movement on another WR - Gabriel, Caldwell, McCardell?
It sounds like the FO likes the young, speedy KR guy (forgetting his name), but will he actually contribute at all this season?
Jason La Canfora: Nothing going on now ... but that's pretty much true around the league. If you sign a guy of their tenure now they are "vested veterans" and their base salary basically becomes guaranteed if they are on the roster Week 1. After that week that changes, so all of them will get more sniffs next week.
Gibbs seems to like Bodiford, but he's been oft-injured, and, if anything, with his skill set would displace someone like Lloyd - 5-11, great speed, deep threat, not so much over the middle - while they really need a legit 6-2 guy or taller as a possession guy to move the change and go up and get some jump balls from Campbell in the red zone.
(I would think Clarence Moore, a 6-6 dude who can make plays on the ball in the air, would be a perfect compliment to their other WRs, and maybe they'll come calling next week).
Pittsburgh: I always thought it was interesting that although the Redskins love to pursue free agents, they haven't tried to go after a proven kicker since they signed John Hall a few years ago. I'm not sold on this Suisham fellow quite yet. I hope the kicking situation doesn't come back to haunt us like in 2000.
Jason La Canfora: Only time will tell. There is no way to replicate the pressure and emotion of game day for kickers, who must shut off that adrenaline rush and deliver or hit the unemployment line.
Shaun has been very good since getting here, but it's not easy to establish yourself. It's true, since Hall it's been guys like Ola Kimrin, Novak and Suisham.
But often all these guys need is a few chances and they find a Pro Bowler. Ask the Bears what expectations they had for Robbie Gould before they brought him in on a lark ... and he ended up being a huge asset.
Burke, Va.: I love and respect Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff, but isn't it about time they hang up their headphones? The Redskins radio broadcast is becoming more comical every year. Larry Michaels does a decent job all things considered, but the number of errors from Sonny and Sam is quite frustrating. Danny boy should try and get Joe Theismann now that ESPN has let him go. Your take??
Jason La Canfora: I'm the wrong dude to ask, because I admit my bias for those guys as human beings and on the radio as well. That's all part of their charm and in a business that is often so cookie-cutter, all of their Sam-and-Sonny-isms make it worthwhile.
I actually think those are the two guys who make it work at all and give it some flavor and the other guy is a typical company guy who offers very little.
Do you get a sense of how the Redskins offense is specifically preparing for Miami? A lot of sprint right to get away from Taylor?
Jason La Canfora: I actually think they will run at Taylor and Porter quite a bit. It's hard to get big chunks of yards against Miami, but I expect a close game and I think they need to stick with the run and keep pounding it, even if it's 3 yards per carry -- which could be the case against this D -- to help protect Campbell, protect the football and grind the clock.
No style points here -- old school NFC East football and a dedication to a ground-based game plan at all costs is imperative in this one, home opener or not. I wouldn't get too cute with the football.
McLean, Va.: Jason, any word on when the 'Skins are planning to wear the throwback uni's this year? Can't wait to see the yellow helmets again!
Jason La Canfora: They will wear them at one home game from what I am told, but it's a super, double-triple secret when they actually do.
Vienna, Va.: Jason, do you think the game has passed Joe Bugel by ?
Jason La Canfora: I don't really think it works that way and these guys work way too hard to simply get passed by.
Now, do I think they have a flawed player procurement model that leads to people being put in positions they are not fit for. Not enough checks and balances there.
Rockville, Md.: Where did Howard Bryant go? I like you better, but he seemed like a cool dude? Did you pull some strings to get him fired because you felt threatened by him?
Jason La Canfora: That's pretty funny.
A) If I had that kind of pull I wouldn't be a beat slug.
B) Howard is one my favorite people in the business and is indeed a cool dude. No threat there. It takes a village to cover this football team.
C) If I did in fact get Howard whacked, I'd also make sure one of my boys got hired to help me cover the team.
D) Howard got the deal of a lifetime from ESPN and trust me, he's not lamenting not being in this media room out here at The Park anymore. His career could not be in better shape right now.
What is up with your boy Fred Smoot. What can we expect from him this year?
Jason La Canfora: Pookie? I am a man of many nicknames - J, J-La, Laca, Jackson, J-Bird, J-La-C, Jason Lackacommensensa (my personal favorite, La-can'treporta (my second favorite) .. but never Pookie. I think you have me confused with someone else.
Anyway, Smoot had a good camp. He should be good in that nickel role and at the very least if healthy is an upgrade over Kenny Wright. Staying healthy has been difficult for him the last few years, though.
Bend, Ore: Last year at the start of the season, I asked your former colleague Howard Bryant who would have a break out season for the Skins and he correctly predicted Ladell Betts.
How's your crystal ball working? Who breaks out this year for the Skins?
Jason La Canfora: Rocky McIntosh
D.C.: Why has Montgomery surpassed Golston on the depth chart -- has Montgomery outplayed him?
Jason La Canfora: I must have received 10 e-mails on this the last two days -- first with Brunell listed as the No. 2 Qb and now this about Montgomery.
That depth chart has zero meaning, is not done by coaches and could not be more unofficial. To spare me the agony, if nothing else, there should be a disclaimer on that thing letting people know it is by no means an accurate depiction of the starters.
Jdawg in Woodbridge: After watching preseason last year, I knew the Redskins were in trouble - and they were!
Everyone said the Al Saunders offense takes a year to work.....
Do you get the feeling from players and coaches that its going to roll this year?
You saw camp this and last year.....what stands out as different this year, both positive and negative?
Jason La Canfora: From what we got to see of camp, the offense had much more tempo, was crisper, people knew what was going on, Jason can definitely get the ball downfield ...
But they have to do it against other teams and for three years this offense has been helter-skelter.
I think the defense will carry them again early in the season and I believe the offense will be better, but it'll take time and with a young QB, expectations must be tame.
Richmond, Va.: Any word on how Portis's knee is doing? Is he going to be at least close to 100 percent for Sunday?
Jason La Canfora: He can't be 100 percent fit in game shape after missing so much time, and this will be the first time he is really getting hit on the knee, so like anything else only time will tell how it responds.
They won't know anything themselves until he gets some carries under his belt.
If they don't really on Betts a lot early in the season I would be surprised. It just makes too much sense.
Baltimore: The way I see it, Brandon Lloyd could really be the X factor this year. They DESPERATELY need him to step up and make plays - go across the middle, go long, block, the whole works. If he steps up, I think it will really help there chances of making the playoffs. Would you agree that he could be the key??
Jason La Canfora: I don't know about him being THE key, but he is definitely a player who needs to live up to his contract if he wants to be around here a year from now.
Thanks for answering my Howard Bryant question. What about you? Any chance you will move to ESPN one day? You have a nice writing style and you even make us feel like you are a 'Skins fan.
Jason La Canfora: Yikes, that part about making you think I'm a Skins fan is a no-no. Trust me, Joe Gibbs would debate that depiction with vigor, and that's how it should be. I am a fan of football as a sport, but no team.
I need to be the eyes and ears of the fans around here and present information and opinions the Redskins would never want out there, being fair and accurate. But you can't have a rooting interest in the team you cover and do the job even close to how it needs to be done.
Thanks for the compliment though. As for ESPN, you'd have to ask them what they think of me. They've gone after quite a few washingtonpost people over the years, so I guess they know where to find me (and if not Howard could always draw them a map, eh?)
It seems like the margin for victory (and error) in today's NFL is super thin. A bad call, missed FG or a dropped pass can change a game or a season.
If the 'Skins get some of those bounces to the positive where to you see them ending up record wise?
Jason La Canfora: I think they already got the two biggest breaks you could ever imagine in the preseason:
Their Pro Bowl LT and (potential) franchise QB both came inches from season ending injuries within a few weeks of August. And instead both are starting Sunday.
That's the season, folks. They already got more than their fair share of luck.
Richmond, Va.: How do I get a sweet job like you got and cover the 'Skins all day?
Jason La Canfora: I actually won it in an eBay auction, so I'd definitely check on-lin auction spots as often as possible ...
No, seriously, if you have some writing experience and have covered other teams, send a resume and some clips to the paper and shoot an e-mail to our sports editor, Emilio Garcia-Ruiz (garciaruize@washpost.com).
Good luck. Hopefully we'll be working together and Emilio won't actually give you my job, but you never know. This is a crazy business.
I was speaking more to your knowledge of the team than of your rooting interest. You've done your homework and the fans appreciate it. As for ESPN, I'd prefer you stick around here. That's just my two cents though buddy!
Jason La Canfora: Thanks boss, no worries either way, and I think it's a point some people don't grasp.
The Washington Post has been great to me and I've enjoyed my eight years here. With any luck there will be more to come.
Sonny and Sam: Good lord, they're the only thing that makes the radio broadcasts worth listening to - it's like Statler and Waldorf Talk Football! Larry Whatsisname is mediocre at best, and if all Theismann can come up with is "the longer they're in the league, the more experience they have" - that was one of his gems from the Jacksonville game - we're better off without him.
Jason La Canfora: Amen brother
Anonymous: Does Dan Snyder have any type of relationship with the players ? I know some owners get more involved on a personal level.
Jason La Canfora: Yeah, sure. There have been certain guys he has spent more time around than others -- LaVar was once his favorite; he sure got to see a lot of Coles during the whole PlasmaGate thing -- and he is often in his golf cart watching practice and around the team.
Chris Wilson....: Can you please provide a link to the story? My neighbor's teenage rapscallion stole my paper.
Thanks Jason, and thanks especially for your blog. Perfect antidote for Cube Farm Dementia, which manifests itself in a belief that the Skins are a playoff team this year.
Jason La Canfora: I wish I could ... but the story will be in this Sunday's paper, so at the risk of playing Carnac, I'd just be guessing.
I imagine it'll be posted on the Web by Saturday night and is set to run in Sunday's paper.
As O seeks sweet harmony.
Jason La Canfora: HaikuMan, sweet HaikuMan. Always happy when you are in the house.
what the grim reaper is to
Hershey, Pa.: What do you think the probabilities are of getting a bigger, possession receiver this season off the wire rather than the speedy munchkins we have presently? What are your thought for why this was not dealt with in the offseason? Is it because they believe that Cooley gives them that?
Jason La Canfora: I think they ran a whole bunch of guys -- maybe 15 WRS here in all during camp -- and Bradford and others just were not good enough. And they made a run at McCardell before but did not want to spent too much for 4/5 WR (and with all they are paying the top 3, I understand that)
Like I said before, Moore, McCardell, Doug Gabriel - they could look at one of them next week.
Reston, VA: So has Jon Jansen taken a lot of abuse this week about his Wolverines choking away their National Championship hopes?
Jason La Canfora: Oh yes. Most definitely.
He predicts them returning to glory quickly, of course, and can still envision a Big 10 title, so you've got to admire his spunk if nothing else.
Centreville, Va.: If we do not have full faith in Suisham why do we not go get Vanderjagt?
Jason La Canfora: No one has faith in him, not even the CFL.
No one wants a lippy kicker even when he is at the top of the game; when you're kicker is a loose cannon and he needs help kicking off and blows some big kicks and seems to be on the decline, well, you can end up waiting a long time for that next call.
Pittsburgh: Am I the only one who thinks there is NO WAY we can lose to Miami at home this Sunday? That offense headed by Trent Green just doesn't pose a threat to me with the way our defense has been playing. Unless there are a number of turnovers against the Redskins, I've got 20 - 6 'Skins.
Jason La Canfora: I think you are in the minority and that's stands for any game in this league.
There is a way any team can lose to any team on any given Sunday (hate that cliche but it's true).
Turn the ball over 5 times.
Lose in the kicking/punting game.
That can pretty much do it right there, even if its Indy vs. Oakland.
New Name: How about 'Jason LaCantbeforya'
Jason La Canfora: Hey it works for me. But I'm easy.
Tampa Wideout: Jason... keep up the good work. Your blog is tree-mendous!
I have two questions for you today. First I understand there is an adjustment going from one level to another especially college to the pros. Everyone talks about the speed in the pros. I'd say almost all of the QBs in the pros started out as QBs in high school and kept doing the same in college. One undeniable quality a QB must have is leadership. How does a successful field leader up to now just blows it in the pros?
The second question is as I said your blogs are great and these discussions/chats are too but I really miss the BB chatter that the fans could talk to each other. It seems that the BBs ended when the blogging got started. Its been what one or two years since its been gone! Any chance of the powers to be letting it come back any time soon?
Again Pisano keep up the good work.
Jason La Canfora: Wow, thanks for the questions. Great thoughts and I wish I had the answers (and if I did for the first one I would be applying for a job as a GM).
There are certain qualities a QB must have that seem to translate at all levels, but whether it be a lack of confidence, the level of competition, the scope of the offense, whatever, can make you a complete flop at the next level.
Hey, go back to the Peyton Manning vs. Ryan Leaf debates. I remember the big story in SI before that draft quoted a lot of very smart football people saying how they'd rather have the whacko from Washington State. You just don't know how it will play out and, to steal a phrase from Gibbs, they are "picking people" as much as "picking players" and some guys just can't fit in in the ubber-macho world of the locker room, on the field, etc.
As for the BB, do you mean bulletin boards? I think the powers that be have decided to move to this blog platform instead -- and, again, all of this is way over my head -- and if you e-mail Emilio he could give you the best info and let you know what we have planned for the future.
Thanks so much for reading the blog and being a part of it.
In the Quiet of the Locker Room: Who do you think the Skins fear most this season?
Jason La Canfora: Fear itself?
Toronto,Ontario: Do you honestly feel this will be Joe Gibbs's last year if this team fails to make the playoffs?
Jason La Canfora: I don't think it's as cut and dry as that, and I think that the health of his grandson, his own health, the thoughts of his wife, the state of his NASCAR team, the way the Redskins end the season .. all of that would have to be going through Joe's head by season's end.
I'm a diehard Skins fan - always optimistic no matter the odds - but level with me using your journalistic impartiality -
what should we expect this year (6-10 or 10-6)?
Jason La Canfora: I think closer to 10-6 than 6-10.
Arlington, Va.: There is much debate over how much "spirit" or "team cohesiveness" or whatever one wishes to label it as, but: do the Redskins seems like a team that can excel as a team, or are they more apt (as we seem to see with some teams) to be a collection of talented individuals, who seem to play more to make themselves look good rather than concentrating on the good of the team?
Jason La Canfora: I wish I could answer that one straight away too, much like the Ryan Leaf/Manning thing.
Chemistry develops over time and winning early has a whole lot to do with it, I can tell you that. I think the new guys generally will fit in pretty well, but certainly that was not the case last year and it had a lot to do with that lost season.
Wish I had the answers myself, but I'm not nearly smart enough to have it figured out.
Durango, Colo.: Good morning, Jason and all, This isn't a direct 'Skins question.
Does the league's concussion policy have any enforcement teeth to it? What I mean is will there be suspensions of coaches, head coaches, if there's a finding that players were coerced or allowed to practice or play before recovery from a concussive injury? That'll be the only way a difference is made. Congrats to the Broncos for sitting guard Hamilton while he recovers.
Jason La Canfora: Good question. The league is allowing for whistle blowers to be protected and trying to create a means for this problems to be addressed, but this is also a sport and league that has been defined by chewing up bodies and spitting them out. There is a culture of playing hurt and getting back out there one play after getting "your bell rung" so it's going to take a lot of time to foster a climate where players and coaches are really stepping forward.
Players will tell you the NFL means Not For Long (non guaranteed contracts in this contact sport? Are you kidding me?) and the careerspans are short, so you don't want to be labeled soft or whatever. It's a tough issue to bridge but at least steps are being taken in the right direction.
Jason La Canfora: Hey guys, thanks as always for the questions. You rock.
Wish I had more time but about to run out on the field to watch practice. In the old days I would just send that hack Howard Bryant out to watch for me and I'd sit here and keep chatting with you, but now he could buy and sell me, so I'd better go do it myself.
Hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the game. I know I can't wait to watch a real game and feel that energy that only comes on Sundays. I can always be reached at lacanforaj@washpost.com or lacantreporta1@espn.com (just kidding) and on the blog, Redskins Insider.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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Join live discussions from the Washington Post. Feature topics include national, world and DC area news, politics, elections, campaigns, government policy, tech regulation, travel, entertainment, cars, and real estate.
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Kendall Confronts A Chemistry Test
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It only took guard Pete Kendall about a day to pick up the terminology used by his new Washington Redskins teammates and coaches. But now, he conceded this week, comes the tricky part of changing teams in late August: developing chemistry with the unfamiliar players who surround him.
That means learning to interpret center Casey Rabach's gestures at the line of scrimmage. It means sensing when tackle Chris Samuels needs a little help on a blocking assignment. And it means knowing where quarterback Jason Campbell is without having to look around.
These take considerably longer than learning the lingo of the Redskins' offense. How much longer is one of the biggest questions facing the Redskins as they prepare for Sunday's season opener against the Miami Dolphins and their all-pro defensive end Jason Taylor at FedEx Field.
"It's a veteran group, so we'll do whatever it takes, as best we can, to speed up the learning process," Kendall, 34, said.
The past two weeks have been a whirlwind for the 11-year veteran, who was acquired from the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick on Aug. 23. He has rented a furnished home in Ashburn, moved his family from their native Weymouth, Mass., and helped his wife, Michelle, enroll their three children, Peter, 9, Madison, 7, and Andrew, 5, in school.
Living with his family is something else Kendall will be adjusting to this season. But this adjustment, he said, is a welcome one. When he played for the Jets, Kendall lived on Long Island during the season while his family remained in Weymouth. On Monday afternoons, he would climb into his pickup truck, drive four hours on traffic-choked highways, arrive home in time to tuck his children into bed, spend Tuesday with his family, then return to Long Island in time for practice on Wednesday morning.
His commute in the Washington area is going to be considerably shorter.
"I'm excited," said Kendall, who was a first-round draft pick by Seattle in 1996 after a standout career at Boston College. "I haven't spent an autumn with my family since 2003."
Driving weekly from Washington to Weymouth was impossible, he said. "It was the combination of the fact that it was un-drivable and that we were able to secure something as quickly as we did. If weren't able to secure something so quickly, I would have been in JetBlue's frequent flyer program."
Despite the seemingly never-ending list of to-do's Kendall has dealt with in recent weeks off the field, and the learning curve he's faced on it, he said he couldn't be happier about his new situation.
He had been in the midst of a contentious contract dispute with Jets management at the time of the trade. An offensive co-captain in New York, Kendall reportedly sought an additional $1 million over his $1.7 salary, a raise he felt had been promised to him. But when the Jets refused to broach the subject in the spring, Kendall went public with the details of the disagreement on the first day of minicamp in June, angering management.
The Redskins, meantime, had been seeking a left guard to replace departed free agent Derrick Dockery after failed attempts to fill the void with tackle Todd Wade and backup Mike Pucillo.
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Info on Washington Redskins including the 2005 NFL Preview. Get the latest game schedule and statistics for the Redskins. Follow the Washington Redskins under the direction of Coach Joe Gibbs.
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The Whole 10 Yards
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After 20 minutes spent painting the Robinson High School football field, Mike McGurk already had ruined his third outfit of the day. White paint covered his brown tennis shoes. Blades of grass clung to his athletic socks. His black cotton shorts and blue T-shirt were drenched with sweat. McGurk would have considered changing outfits again, but he didn't have any clean clothes left.
McGurk, the Robinson athletic director, had barely begun his most difficult week of the year, but already he felt like Sisyphus. He pushed a $1,000 paint machine up the field, stopping every yard to bend and paint, bend and paint, before shoving the machine forward again. Finally, exhausted, McGurk shook the sweat off his sunglasses and looked back at his progress. He had only covered 15 yards.
"This will probably take me another three hours," McGurk said. "But at least when I finish, I'll be done with about one-fiftieth of my to-do list."
While Robinson students reveled in their final week of summer vacation, McGurk and several other athletic volunteers sometimes worked from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. to set up the Robinson football team's home opener against Lake Braddock on Aug. 30. Among other chores, McGurk and his volunteers arranged for police coverage at the game, organized 3,000 individual items to be sold at the snack shop, raised an American flag over the field, hung sponsorship banners, tested the public-address system and edited the football program.
It was a hectic and stressful rush, one that will be repeated this weekend across the Washington area when more than 100 schools host their first home football games of the 2007 season (most public schools in Virginia opened play last week). Even though McGurk had repeated this 75-hour week for five home openers as Robinson's athletic director, he walked around school with a checklist jammed in his pocket, terrified that he would forget something.
"Everything has to be in place, really has to be perfect," McGurk said. "More people will see your stadium and make an impression of the school based on that facility than on anything else. People almost never go inside your school, but everybody sees the field. That's where they see what you're all about."
With that in mind, McGurk spent much of last week standing alone on a field of Bermuda grass, obsessing over hundreds of white lines. He used a metal detector to find spikes planted underground, which designated the Robinson sidelines. Then McGurk outlined the rectangular field grid, sprayed lines across the grass every five yards and meticulously spaced out four rows of one-yard hash marks. By the time he finished painting late on the Tuesday afternoon before the game, McGurk had used more than 25 gallons of white paint.
"Some people look at me, all covered in this white mess, and ask why we don't have a ground crew or something," McGurk said. "But that's not the way it works in high schools. Everybody pitches in on everything."
None of the mothers who arrived just after 7 on Tuesday night had spent much time working at the Robinson football snack shop. They had volunteered to be here because, frankly, the job sounded remarkably simple. How hard could it be to make popcorn? Except now, confronted with a strange machine, a few milk jugs filled with kernels and 500 red-and-white-striped FRESH POPCORN boxes, nothing about this assignment seemed effortless.
"I don't know where to start, you guys," said Linda Stewart, one of the mothers. "We'd better call Ted."
Five minutes later, Ted Kornhoff sprinted through the door of the wooden shack located behind the end zone of the Robinson football field, threw his arms out to the side and announced: "It's okay! Ted's here!"
Kornhoff had volunteered at the shop since his daughter began her freshman year at Robinson in the mid-1990s. It was a story Kornhoff now loved to retell as joke: "My kids have moved on, but I haven't," he said. "I never miss a football game."
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At Robinson High School, officials and volunteers scramble so that everything is picture perfect for the football team's home opener.
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'No Child' Loopholes Decried
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Should suburban schools that barely miss federal learning targets be allowed to escape penalties, while inner-city schools that never even hit the dart board are required to give free tutoring and let students transfer to better schools?
That question is at the heart of an emerging argument in Washington over how to improve the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Influential House Democrats and Republicans have circulated a draft proposal that would take many schools off the hook if they raise achievement for most students but miss the mark for a few.
Yesterday, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings pushed back hard against that approach. "To move from reasonable accommodations to big loopholes would be a huge mistake," she said.
In a speech to the Business Coalition for Student Achievement, which supports the federal law, Spellings said she is willing to consider proposals to allow states to use more than just annual tests in reading and math to rate schools and to treat differently schools that fall only slightly short of targets. But she said she is not willing to bend if the changes mean struggling students won't get the extra help they need.
Under current law, which requires reading and math tests in grades three through eight and once in high school, schools must show annual progress for all groups of students toward a goal of 100 percent proficiency by 2014. This year, 68 Fairfax County schools missed at least some target scores, falling short of adequate progress, more than double the county's previous total.
The law also has shined a spotlight on schools that have missed targets in other jurisdictions, including the District and Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Schools that miss targets year after year and receive certain federal education funds face progressively steeper sanctions.
Spellings' speech was the Bush administration's sharpest response to efforts in Congress to placate many schools, often those in nice neighborhoods with powerful parents who think the federal targets are too hard on their children.
"I'm counting on you to stand up against policies that say some kids just can't learn or that some kids count more than others or that if some kids are improving, its okay to let others fall behind," Spellings told members of the coalition of business, education, community and civil rights groups.
The targets of her remarks were sitting placidly 10 feet to her left: Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.), who had circulated the proposals. The Democratic chairman and senior Republican on the House education committee indicated afterward that her remarks were part of a long conversation. They had earlier thanked Spellings for her helping seek improvements, and she called them "mighty warriors" in the fight for better schools.
At the moment, the debate seems to be about exactly how many children would be affected by the suggested changes. Spellings said her staff had calculated that sparing more schools the tutoring and transfer requirements would mean "roughly 250,000 fewer children will get tutoring." She said the change would result in a 75 percent reduction in the number of Utah schools and a one-third reduction of Texas schools subject to the tutoring and transfer requirements.
Miller said that he did not accept those numbers and that he would have to investigate the matter further. He has scheduled hearings on changes in the law this month and called for a final version to be passed by the House before October.
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Should suburban schools that barely miss federal learning targets be allowed to escape penalties, while inner-city schools that never even hit the dart board are required to give free tutoring and let students transfer to better schools?
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Britain to Allow Creation of Hybrid Embryos
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Capping a months-long scientific and ethics review, British regulators said yesterday that they are prepared to allow the creation of embryos that are part human and part animal for use in medical experiments.
The ruling by the Human Fertilisation and Embryo Authority, which oversees human embryo research in Britain, means that two previously submitted proposals to create hybrid embryos -- on hold while the agency considered whether it would even look at them -- will be evaluated in detail. Decisions on those proposals, widely anticipated to be positive, are expected in November.
The prime goal of the research is to create embryos from which embryonic stem cells that may be medically useful can be extracted. The embryos would be made by injecting human DNA into cow or rabbit eggs whose own DNA has been largely, but not fully, removed.
Until now, scientists making human embryos for research have generally used human eggs from women treated with hormones, a procedure that poses medical risks and so raises ethical concerns.
But opponents have argued that it is no less unethical to create partly human embryos solely to harvest their stem cells, and some opponents have raised the specter of rogue scientists growing the embryos into weird human-animal creatures.
The embryo authority acknowledged those concerns and promised to watch the field closely.
"This is not a total green light for . . . hybrid research, but recognition that this area of research can, with caution and careful scrutiny, be permitted," the agency said in a statement.
Some organizations vocally opposed such experiments, as did the nation's chief medical officer, citing a lack of public support. But the British Medical Association and Britain's major science funders, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust, lobbied hard for a positive ruling, along with several Nobel laureates and others.
Although more than half of British adults recently surveyed said they support research using human embryos, 35 percent support the creation of embryos that are "mostly human and a small amount of animal genetic materials" -- the kind of research being proposed for now -- and nearly half said they are opposed.
Many expressed concern that the work constitutes meddling with nature and might lead to more troubling experiments. Others said they fear that some hybrid embryos -- which scientists call chimeras, after the mythical Greek creature with a lion's head, a goat's body and a serpent's tail -- might be transferred to women's wombs, where they might develop.
British regulations demand that all human embryos used in research be destroyed within 14 days after their creation. Supporters also point to research suggesting that chimeric embryos have little potential to survive beyond the earliest stages of development because of incompatibilities between their human and animal strands of DNA.
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Science news from The Washington Post. Read about the latest breakthroughs in technology,medicine and communications.
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10-Term Ohio Congressman, 68, Found Dead in His Arlington Home
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Arlington police are investigating the lawmaker's death, but police spokesman John Lisle said it seems to be from natural causes. "It does not appear there was anything suspicious at this time," he said.
Gillmor had stents implanted to prevent heart attacks, a source familiar with the investigation said.
Bradley Mascho, Gillmor's communications director, said the congressman had complained of being tired during a trip last week through his district in northwest Ohio. "He said he was tired and he didn't feel well," said Mascho, who added that Gillmor appeared to be doing better by the end of week.
The congressman did not show up for a 10:30 a.m. hearing on Capitol Hill, Lisle said. Two aides went to his townhouse near Crystal City between 11 and 11:30 a.m. and found Gillmor's body lying near the steps leading to the second level.
House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R) went to the House floor to hail his fellow Ohioan as "a good friend to all of us, a colleague of mine who served for two decades. . . . He's going to be missed."
For Republicans, the death is yet another blow. Jennifer Dunn, 66, a former congresswoman from Washington state who was once a prominent member of the House Republican leadership, died yesterday, her family said. The House GOP conference lost Rep. Charles Whitlow Norwood Jr. (Ga.) to cancer this year.
Gillmor's northern Ohio district is considered safely Republican, although in the Democratic tide of 2006, Gillmor was held to 57 percent of the vote.
For a House veteran, Gillmor did not attract a lot of attention, but he was lauded by Republicans and Democrats alike as a kind and decent lawmaker. "Paul Gillmor was a man of genuine humility and deep conviction -- a great public servant and a good friend," said House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).
Gillmor was elected to the Ohio state Senate in 1966, at age 27. He worked his way to the post of president of the Senate before taking his House seat in 1988, winning the Republican primary by 27 votes. It was the last close race of his career.
Mascho, one of the staff members who found the body, said Gillmor had flown back to Washington on Tuesday after spending the Labor Day weekend with his family at a lake house in Ohio. He drove to Capitol Hill for his final vote at 7:59 p.m. Tuesday before heading home to Arlington that night.
When Gillmor did not show up for a 9:15 a.m. staff meeting, the staff tried his cellphone but was not concerned because the congressman often went to the post office to resume his mail delivery after coming back from a recess. After Gillmor missed a 10:30 a.m. meeting of the House Financial Services Committee, staffers called and e-mailed him again. Mascho and Gillmor's chief of staff, Mark Wellman, went to the house and let themselves in with a spare key. They found Gillmor's body at the base of the stairs near the entryway.
Mascho said it was unclear whether Gillmor's wife and five children would be coming to Washington or would stay in Ohio.
"I just can't say 'shock' enough," Mascho said. "We're all in complete shock. The family is in complete shock.''
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Rep. Paul E. Gillmor (R-Ohio), a quiet conservative in his 19th year in the House, was found dead yesterday morning in his Arlington County townhouse, police and House Republican leaders said. He was 68.
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Lost in the Shuffle, a Milestone
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The Senate is full of pomp and circumstance at the slightest historical moment, so it was a stunning oversight on Aug. 3 when not a bit of attention was given to Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), with a 45-year career in the chamber, as he cast his 15,000th vote.
No laudatory speeches that night, no commemoration, no pause to recognize an achievement reached by only two other senators: the late Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), who cast 16,348 votes; and Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who was sitting on 18,081 roll calls as of the start of this week.
Just how upset was Kennedy at the slight? Not the least bit -- because he had no clue of his accomplishment.
After some cajoling from On the Hill yesterday, Kennedy offered a confession about his momentous vote: He had "absolutely no idea" that he had reached the threshold when voting "nay" on President Bush's preferred plan to expand domestic surveillance of alleged terrorists through courts overseen by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
In fact, no one in the chamber or on Kennedy's legendarily loyal staff was aware of the importance of the moment until aides realized the historic nature of the vote "about three or four days ago," said Kennedy, who was vacationing at Hyannis Port when he recognized just how big a deal -- personally and politically -- the FISA vote was. "They called me at the Cape," said Kennedy, 75, laughing at the oversight.
So, after recognizing the slip-up, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) tried to pay proper respect to the senatorial lion, opening the chamber Tuesday with a tribute to Kennedy's milestone and noting that it occurred during the frantic final day of the summer session, during which the chamber passed a flurry of bills and everyone was in a hurry to bolt for the four-week August recess.
Kennedy confessed that the tributes from Reid, Byrd and others on Tuesday were more touching than he expected. He recalled his first campaign, in 1962, trying to take the seat his brother John F. Kennedy had held before moving to the White House. Teddy Kennedy, 30 years old at the time, was told by his critics that his problems were "youth and inexperience."
"And I said," Kennedy recalled yesterday, "that can be overcome with time."
Talk about going the extra mile for your boss.
Phil Singer, a veteran congressional aide who is now spokesman for Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, is raising money for the Marine Corps Marathon, which he plans to run for the worthy cause of -- get this -- Hillary Clinton for President.
In the previous two marathons he ran, back when he worked for the senior senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Singer raised beaucoup bucks to fight Parkinson's disease, cancer and tuberous sclerosis. This time, he's raising money to fight Barack Obama and John Edwards.
"Running a marathon is hard. So is running for president," Singer wrote in a recent e-mail solicitation. "That's why I'm dedicating my marathon effort to helping my boss -- Hillary Clinton -- raise money for her marathon effort to become the next President of the United States."
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Latest news on the US federal government. Information and analysis of federal legislation, government contracts and regulations. Search for government job openings, career information and federal employee benefits news.
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Breast Cancer More Deadly in Black Women
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-- A new study gives a possible explanation for why breast cancer is more deadly in black women: they are more likely to have tumors that do not respond to the hormone-based treatments that help many others with the disease.
The study is the largest yet to link a biological factor to the racial disparity, which also has been blamed on black women getting fewer mammograms and less aggressive treatment.
We can help you find the right work environment with competitive benefits.
"This puts biology more to the forefront," said Dr. Julie Gralow, a cancer specialist at the University of Washington School of Medicine familiar with the work. "It's not just access to care, access to treatment and other factors that have been implicated in the past."
The study was led by Dr. M. Catherine Lee of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and is to be presented at a conference starting Friday in San Francisco, organized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and other cancer groups.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women. An estimated 178,480 new cases and 40,460 deaths from it are expected in the United States this year.
Blacks are less likely than whites to develop breast cancer but are more likely to die from it, doctors have long known. Blacks also are diagnosed at younger ages and at later stages of disease.
Researchers for the first time used the National Cancer Data Base, a tumor registry maintained by the American College of Surgeons, to explore these issues, using more than 170,000 cases diagnosed in 1998. Ten percent were in black women.
The study focused on the 95,500 women whose cancers were invasive rather than still confined to a milk duct. About 39 percent of such tumors in black women were estrogen receptor-negative, or ER-negative, compared with 22 percent of those in white women.
Estrogen helps tumors grow. Drugs that block this hormone, like tamoxifen and a newer class of medications called aromatase inhibitors, work against these cancers.
ER-negative tumors are resistant to such therapies and harder to treat. Other tools like chemotherapy, radiation and targeted biological drugs then become more important for such women, and doctors should consider this when they evaluate black women with the disease, Lee said.
In the study, ER-negative tumors were more common in black women at every stage of disease and at all ages.
For example, only 17 percent of early stage tumors in white women were ER-negative, but 31 percent in black women were. Of the most advanced cancers, 31 percent in whites and 46 percent in blacks were ER-negative.
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-- A new study gives a possible explanation for why breast cancer is more deadly in black women: they are more likely to have tumors that do not respond to the hormone-based treatments that help many others with the disease.
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It's After Labor Day. Time for the Beach.
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The Labor Day weekend exodus at the beach is a lot like a bar manager turning on the lights at closing time. "It's definitely like someone's pulled a switch," says Ocean City spokeswoman Donna Abbott.
Yet September is ideal for a beach vacation: The cost of rentals and hotel rooms drops. Restaurants don't have 45-minute waits. The ocean's edge is finally devoid of that minefield of plastic toy buckets. And if you time it right, that trip over the Bay Bridge is a snap.
Beach town demographics change, too. The group-house denizens and families with super-size broods head home. Those whose lives aren't ruled by a school calendar show up, including retirees, empty-nesters, families with preschool-age broods -- and, this year, maybe you.
Here's a look at three popular regional beach towns and what they offer in the too-good-to-be-off-season.
Rehoboth Beach, Del. | Ocean City | Virginia Beach
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Find Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland travel information, including web fares, Washington DC tours, beach/ski guide, international and United States destinations. Featuring Mid-Atlantic travel, airport information, traffic/weather updates
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Thinking Beyond Maliki
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The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has had more than 15 months to try to pacify the Sunni insurgency by offering national accords on oil-sharing, provincial elections and de-Baathification. It has done none of these. Instead, Gen. David Petraeus has pacified a considerable number of Sunni tribes with grants of local autonomy, guns and U.S. support in jointly fighting al-Qaeda.
Petraeus's strategy is not very pretty. It carries risk. But it has been effective.
The Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad, however, is not happy with Petraeus's actions. One top Maliki aide complained that they will leave Iraq " an armed society and militias."
What does he think Iraq is now? Except that many Sunni militias that were once shooting at Americans are now shooting at al-Qaeda.
The nature of the war is changing. In July, 73 percent of the attacks that caused U.S. casualties in Baghdad were from Shiite militants, not Sunnis. Maliki is no fool. As more Sunni tribes are pacified, he can see the final military chapter of this war coming into focus: the considerable power of the American military machine slowly turning its face to -- and its guns on -- Shiite extremists.
Of the many mistakes committed in Iraq, perhaps the most serious was to have failed to destroy Moqtada al-Sadr and the remains of his ragged army when we had him cornered and defeated in Najaf in 2004. As a consequence, we have to face him once again. The troop surge has already begun deadly and significant raids into Mahdi strongholds in Baghdad.
Sadr is hurting. On Wednesday, after many were killed in Shiite-on-Shiite fighting in Karbala, he called for a six-month moratorium on all military operations in order to permit him to " rehabilitate" his increasingly disorganized forces.
At the same time, however, Maliki is denouncing us for overkill in our raids on Shiite areas. A rift between Washington and Baghdad is opening. It will only widen as long as Maliki is in power.
Now, Maliki is no friend of Sadr or Iran. He knows that if they ultimately prevail, they will swallow him whole. But Maliki is too weak temperamentally and politically to make the decisive move in the other direction -- toward Sunni and Shiite moderates -- in order to make the necessary national compromises.
So he hedges his bets. He visits Iran and, then, while on a Syrian visit, responds to calls for the Iraqi parliament to bring his government down by saying, " Those who make such statements are bothered by our visit to Syria" and warning darkly that Iraq "can find friends elsewhere."
Maliki is not just weak but unreliable. Time is short. We should have long ago -- say, when national security adviser Stephen Hadley wrote his leaked memo last November about Maliki's failure -- begun working to have this dysfunctional government replaced.
Even the French foreign minister, upon returning from a recent fence-mending trip to Iraq, called for Maliki's replacement. (One can discount his later apology as pro forma.) Such suggestions are often denounced as hypocritical and contrary to democracy. Nonsense. In a parliamentary system, a government serves only if it continues to command confidence.
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The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has had more than 15 months to try to pacify the Sunni insurgency by offering national accords on oil-sharing, provincial elections and de-Baathification. It has done none of these. Instead, Gen. David Petraeus has pacified a considerable num...
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Global Warming: Not So Hot
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Americans think global warming is real and serious. Poll after poll shows that there are not many climate skeptics left. The issue has received an enormous amount of media attention over the past several years, but it still doesn't rank at or near the top of issues people want the president and Congress to address.
In January, when the Pew Research Center updated its yearly poll on priorities for the president and Congress, global warming ranked twentieth of twenty-three issues. Pew described concern about the issue as "lukewarm." The poll was taken before the latest wave of media attention to global warming, but other more recent polls show the same pattern. In a survey taken in late May and early June by The Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University, the issue ranked eighth of ten issues examined. And it isn't just sentiment in the polls. According to the Pew Project on Excellence in Journalism, the media ratings for the July "Live Earth" concerts orchestrated to draw attention to the issue were "disappointing," with smaller than normal Saturday summer viewership. Why doesn't the issue have a bigger public opinion footprint?
First, many people see global warming as a problem for the future. Other issues such as the war in Iraq and health care seem more immediate to larger numbers of people. For most people, there have been few tangible manifestations of global warming. Polling on environmental issues over the past several decades shows that people are usually most concerned about problems they can see in their communities. Weather patterns seem unusually severe in many parts of the country, but the vagaries of the weather are a familiar story.
Another possible explanation relates to changing views of the media. When the environment emerged as a powerful political issue in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the media had more credibility than it has today. The media has joined government, labor and big business as powerful institutions about which the public is skeptical. In Gallup polls taken yearly since 2001, around three in ten have said the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated, while around 35 percent say it is generally underestimated. In Pew's most recent media usage survey from 2006, just 20 percent said that they believed all or most of what they read in Time magazine, for example. Time's overheated tag line for its April cover story on global warming, "Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid," probably only confirms the skeptics' suspicions about exaggeration.
It is also possible that Americans think they have been heard on the issue and will let politicians, interest groups and others take over. Again, the manner in which the environment emerged as an issue is instructive. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Americans decided that a clean and healthful environment was important to them. Once they agreed on the ends policy should serve, most people pulled away from the debate about the means -- that is, exactly what kinds of legislation should be enacted to ensure environmental progress. They had neither the time nor the knowledge to get involved in complex debates about ambient air quality or energy options. Americans aren't indifferent, but they are inattentive. Their benign neglect is a backhanded compliment to representative democracy, an indication of confidence in the process. Lobbyists and activists can't pack their bags and go home. The debates in Washington on global warming will be as intense as ever, but most Americans will be on the sidelines. Interest groups will claim they have public opinion on their side in terms of how to respond to global warming, but how you word questions on complex hypothetical policy choices often determines the answers.
Finally, there may be another reason Americans have not elevated the issue. Most politicians younger than 81-year old House Environment and Public Works chairman John Dingell grew up with the environmental movement. We're all environmentalists now, and it is hard to make a political issue out of a commitment shared by most of the population. George Bush's marks on virtually every aspect of his presidency are negative, including his handling of global warming, and Democrats lead the Republicans in every poll as the party better able to handle the issue. In a new Newsweek poll, 68 percent say Bush hasn't done enough, but in another question only 4 percent say they will vote on the basis of global warming. Nearly six in ten say the issue will be one of a number of issues that will be important to their vote. There is little evidence from the polls that taking on George Bush or the Republicans on the issue will make it a top-tier issue or increase its political weight.
Karlyn Bowman is a senior fellow at AEI. where she studies public opinion.
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Americans think global warming is real and serious. So why doesn't the issue have a bigger public opinion footprint?
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Justice Dept. Probing Whether Gonzales Lied
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The Justice Department's inspector general indicated yesterday that he is investigating whether departing Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales gave false or misleading testimony to Congress, including whether he lied under oath about warrantless surveillance and the firings of nine U.S. attorneys.
The disclosure by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine in a letter to Congress signals an expansion of the department's internal investigations into Gonzales's troubled tenure, probes that were not previously known to be focused so sharply on the attorney general and his testimony.
Fine's office has also separately expanded a probe into whether senior Gonzales aides improperly considered partisan affiliations when reviewing applicants for nonpolitical career positions. As part of that inquiry, Fine sent hundreds of questionnaires in the past week to former Justice Department job applicants.
In the questionnaires, Fine asks applicants whether they were quizzed by political appointees about their party affiliation, favorite politicians and judges, voting history, campaign contributions, and views on the death penalty and terrorism, according to a copy of the Aug. 24 questionnaire obtained by The Washington Post. Recipients are also asked to say whether White House aides participated in the interviews and to confirm if they were asked "what kind of conservative you were (law and order; social; fiscal)."
Gonzales announced his resignation Monday after seven months of sustained conflict with Congress over the prosecutor dismissals and other issues, telling aides that his credibility with lawmakers had been too damaged for him to continue. Democrats and some Republicans had urged him to resign amid allegations that he and his aides repeatedly let political considerations taint the law enforcement mission at Justice.
The scope and pace of the investigations suggest that public attention on Gonzales will probably continue long after he leaves his job on Sept. 17. But officials declined yesterday to say whether Fine's expanding investigations played a role in the attorney general's resignation.
Gonzales had said as recently as late July that he was intent on staying on the job to "fix the problems" at Justice. But his contradictory or murky congressional testimony, including his repeated assertions that he could not recall key events related to the firings, prompted several Senate Democrats to call on the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to consider perjury charges against him.
Fine, in a letter yesterday to Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), said his office "has ongoing investigations" related to Gonzales's testimony on several key issues, including the prosecutor firings and allegations of improper hiring practices, the National Security Agency's Terrorist Surveillance Program, the FBI's use of national security letters, and Gonzales's characterizations of his conversation with an aide before a House hearing.
Fine had previously confirmed that he was looking at whether Gonzales tried to improperly influence potential testimony by talking about the prosecutor firings with the aide, former senior counselor and White House liaison Monica M. Goodling.
Goodling testified in May that she had "crossed the line" by considering political criteria in hiring career professionals at Justice, including looking up political donations by some applicants. She and D. Kyle Sampson, Gonzales's former chief of staff, also admitted using such criteria in the appointment of administrative immigration judges, who are considered career employees.
Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that questions about Gonzales's testimony had "eroded the public's trust and undermined morale" at Justice. "The current Attorney General is leaving, but these questions remain," he said. "It is appropriate that the Inspector General will examine whether the Attorney General was honest with this and other Congressional committees about these crucial issues."
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The Justice Department's inspector general indicated yesterday that he is investigating whether departing Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales gave false or misleading testimony to Congress, including whether he lied under oath about warrantless surveillance and the firings of nine U.S. attorneys.
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Killer's Parents Describe Attempts Over the Years to Help Isolated Son
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Sometimes, Hyang Im Cho would become so frustrated with her son, Seung Hui Cho, that she would shake him. He rarely spoke. And when he did, it was just a few words, barely above a whisper. He never looked anyone in the eye. It was as if he lived walled off in a world of his own. Try as she might -- with countless visits to counselors and psychologists, treatment with antidepressants or art therapy, and attempts to find him friends at basketball camp or taekwondo or church -- no one could break through.
Like any mother, she wanted her son to fit in. Like any immigrant, she felt that no sacrifice was too great to make sure he found a place for himself in this new country, even if it meant overcoming the deeply ingrained stigma in Korean culture of admitting mental illness.
She knew he was troubled and isolated. But it wasn't until her son killed 32 students and teachers at Virginia Tech on April 16 that she knew just how twisted his private world had become.
And how little she knew him.
Hyang Im Cho, along with her husband, Sung Tae Cho, and daughter, Sun Kyung, spoke about Seung Hui Cho to the panel appointed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) to investigate the Virginia Tech shootings. The panel's report, formally released yesterday, paints the most complete portrait to date of Cho's frail and sickly childhood; his hopeful middle and high school years bolstered by intensive psychological therapy, medication and a supportive school environment; his misplaced aspirations to become a famous writer; and, as that dream slipped away, his descent into madness.
The report also provides for the first time some perspective from Cho's family. They were shocked when they learned of his violent writings. Cho had always been so secretive, typing away on his computer but refusing to share what he wrote. They had no idea that he had been briefly hospitalized at a psychiatric institution during his junior year at Virginia Tech and had been declared mentally ill. The son, the hospital and the court never told them.
"We would have taken him home and made him miss a semester to get this looked at," the Chos told the panel. "But we just did not know . . . about anything being wrong."
Until now, the family's only public comment had been a statement of deep remorse in the days after the tragedy. "We never could have envisioned that he was capable of so much violence," they wrote at the time. The Chos, who own a townhouse in Centreville, have been in seclusion since April. Cho's sister, a graduate of Princeton University, has been on leave from her job as a contractor with the State Department. Wade Smith, the Chos' attorney, who released the statement, did not return repeated phone calls yesterday. Smith arranged for the Chos to meet with the panel for a three-hour interview. Sun Kyung translated, as she had for many of her brother's conferences.
Although the panel said neither it nor the police had uncovered a motive for Cho's rampage, his sister provided a key piece of the puzzle. Cho began his college career as a business information technology major but, by the time he was a sophomore, decided to switch to English, which was one of his weakest subjects. Nevertheless, he was convinced that he could be a great writer. He had written a novel, which he described to teachers as "sort of like Tom Sawyer except that it's really silly and pathetic," the report said.
Later that year, after his sister found a rejection letter from a New York publishing house, she noticed that he became increasingly depressed and detached. His English grades ranged from B's to D's, and his rage grew as he felt no one understood him or his talent.
Life had always been difficult for Cho. As an infant in South Korea, he developed whooping cough and was hospitalized with pneumonia. Doctors told the family that he had heart troubles and, when he was 3, they performed an invasive procedure to examine him. From then on, Cho did not like to be touched.
In Korea, Cho had a few friends he played with. But once the family moved to the United States in 1992 to provide a better education for the children, Cho became more withdrawn. If he talked to anyone at all, it was to his sister. Even then, he would never tell her what he was thinking or feeling. She knew he was being taunted for his accent and inability to speak English, as was she. But whenever she'd ask him about it, he would always say he was "okay."
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Sometimes, Hyang Im Cho would become so frustrated with her son, Seung Hui Cho, that she would shake him. He rarely spoke. And when he did, it was just a few words, barely above a whisper. He never looked anyone in the eye. It was as if he lived walled off in a world of his own. Try as she might ...
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Stocks Mixed On Short-Term Credit Report
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NEW YORK, Aug. 30 -- The Dow Jones industrial average slipped Thursday as investors looked past an upbeat report on the economy and instead focused on data showing weakness in a crucial corner of the corporate-lending market.
That data, from the Federal Reserve, showed that the commercial paper market -- where companies go for short-term loans -- remained abnormally tight, raising concerns that the economy would be harmed if businesses are forced to reduce spending.
The Dow, comprising 30 blue-chip stocks, fell 50.56, or 0.4 percent, to 13,238.73. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, a broader market measure, fell 6.12, or 0.4 percent, to 1457.64. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, rose 2.14, or 0.1 percent, to 2565.30.
The total amount of corporate commercial paper outstanding fell $62.8 billion during the week ended Wednesday, to $1.98 trillion, the Fed said. The drop followed declines of more than $90 billion in each of the previous two weeks as companies had trouble finding buyers. Since Aug. 8, the day before turmoil in the credit market hit financial markets around the world, the amount outstanding has dropped 11 percent.
Much of the decline has come from commercial paper backed by assets, such as mortgages, subprime loans and credit card debt. The total amount outstanding of asset-backed commercial paper, which accounts for half of the market, fell $59 billion during the week, to $998 billion.
Companies that have relied on such short-term credit include mortgage lenders Countrywide and H&R Block, Wall Street firms Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, and Capital One, the Virginia-based bank, according to Thomson Financial.
"No one is stepping up to the plate to purchase this paper," said Frank Scaturro, vice president of corporate advisory services at Thomson Financial. If a business needs "capital for day-to-day expenditures, whether that's to do a buyback or run your base of operations . . . it may cause you to rethink certain strategies because you can't tap the credit markets as easily."
The next big market event will come Friday morning when Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is to give a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Investors will listen for clues to what the central bank's policymaking committee will decide when it meets Sept. 18. The market is counting on it to cut the federal funds rate, which would lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, which in turn could help stocks.
So far, the Fed has responded to the credit market turmoil in several ways, but has not cut that benchmark short-term interest rate. On Thursday, the central bank put $10 billion more into the financial system, bringing the total of amount of such injections to $147 billion since credit markets began their fall on Aug. 9.
The central bank also has cut the rate at its discount window, where banks go to borrow directly from the Fed. Data released by the agency Thursday showed this borrowing rose for the second week in a row, with daily borrowing averaging $1.32 billion for the week ended Wednesday. That amount surpassed last week's average of $1.2 billion, which had been the highest since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Shares in all sectors ended lower Thursday, except for tech stocks, which rose by 0.4 percent. Among the movers were Motorola, whose shares rose 1.7 percent, to $16.75, after Lehman Brothers upgraded the phone maker's stock.
After the market closed, Dell reported second-quarter profit that beat analysts' expectations. Shares of the computer maker rose 2.2 percent, to $28.46, before the earnings report.
The financial sector continued to be a drag. Freddie Mac shares, the mortgage funding giant, fell 5 percent, to $60.07, after the company reported that its quarterly profit fell by nearly half in part because it had to set aside more money to cover expected losses from defaults on loans.
Adding to investor nervousness about the state of the housing and mortgage markets was an analyst report from Lehman Brothers, reduced its earnings forecast for four of Wall Street's biggest investment firms through 2008. Shares of the companies named in the report -- Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns -- all fell Thursday.
"The reality, in our view, is that 3Q earnings will be significantly impacted by the dislocation in the credit and asset-backed/mortgage markets," the report said.
Also Thursday, traders and money managers largely ignored a favorable report on the economy, which measured activity from April to June, before much of the turmoil in the financial markets took place.
The report from the Commerce Department showed that gross domestic product rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 percent in the second quarter, but analysts said it shed little light on how the economy would look given the problems in the credit market.
"Most people are probably just totally discounting the second quarter report as, 'That's in the rearview mirror, and we're in a whole new ballgame,' " said James W. Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Wells Capital Management.
More telling, some analysts said, was the weekly unemployment-claim figures released Thursday. Claims rose by 9,000, to 334,000, in the week ending Saturday, the Labor Department said.
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NEW YORK, Aug. 30 -- The Dow Jones industrial average slipped Thursday as investors looked past an upbeat report on the economy and instead focused on data showing weakness in a crucial corner of the corporate-lending market.
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Reid Opens Door to Pact With Antiwar Republicans
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LAS VEGAS -- Saying the coming weeks will be "one of the last opportunities" to alter the course of the war, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he is now willing to compromise with Republicans to find ways to limit troop deployments in Iraq.
Reid acknowledged that his previous firm demand for a spring withdrawal deadline had become an obstacle for a small but growing number of Republicans who have said they want to end the war but have been unwilling to set a timeline.
"I don't think we have to think that our way is the only way," Reid said of specific dates during an interview in his office here. "I'm not saying, 'Republicans, do what we want to do.' Just give me something that you think you would like to do, that accomplishes some or all of what I want to do."
Reid's unwavering stance this summer earned him critics who said he was playing politics by refusing to bargain with antiwar Republicans. In the interview, he said that his goal remains an immediate return of U.S. troops but that now is the time to work with the GOP. He cited bringing up legislation after Labor Day that would require troops to have more home leave, forcing military leaders to reduce troop levels, a measure that has drawn some Republican support.
During the week of Sept. 10, Congress will hear a progress report on the war from the U.S. commander in Baghdad, Gen. David H. Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker. After those hearings and a formal report from President Bush, lawmakers will renew their debate on the war.
That debate screeched to a halt in late July after the most poisonous confrontation since Democrats took control of Congress eight months ago. Reid convened an all-night session that infuriated Republicans, who blocked a Democratic withdrawal measure. Despite antiwar stirrings within the GOP, just four Republican senators broke ranks on the vote, and several chastised Reid, saying he wasted the Senate's time on a publicity stunt.
Reid then dropped the war debate, hoping to highlight Republican obstructionism. But the delay has provided the administration with breathing room to build its case that Bush's strategy is working. Petraeus is expected to report to Congress next month that there are some signs of progress in Iraq and that a precipitous U.S. withdrawal could be disastrous.
"I don't think we had any choice," Reid said, shrugging off past skirmishes. "I have no regrets about the way that I have tried to marshal the troops. It's been hard to keep all the Democrats together, but we've done that."
But looking forward, Reid said he will encourage new coalitions to develop, with a more bipartisan hue. "There is no reason that this be Democrat versus Republican," he said. But his GOP colleagues, he added, must be willing to stand up to Bush, as few have so far. "All these people saying September is here, September is the time -- they're going to have belly up to the bar and decide how to vote," Reid said.
One measure Reid said he will seek to resurrect would tighten rules on the use of troops by requiring soldiers' leave times to be at least as long as their most recent deployment. The proposal, offered by Sen. James Webb (D-Va.), would not set withdrawal terms, but it could effectively limit U.S. force levels. A vote of 56 to 41 in favor of the measure on July 11 fell four votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a GOP filibuster, but it had seven Republican supporters.
Another approach, left hanging when Reid terminated the July debate, was a proposal from Sens. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) to turn the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group into official U.S. policy. The study group's proposals, offered in December and mostly ignored by the White House, include setting the stage for a new regional diplomatic initiative and transitioning U.S. combat forces to more specific roles, including training and counterterrorism. If progress isn't made, troops would begin withdrawing early next year.
The Salazar-Alexander bill has attracted 12 additional co-sponsors, half of them Republicans. Reid said he is willing to listen to their pitch, but he remains concerned that the language is too cautious and may now be outdated.
Alexander said he and Salazar are discussing tweaks to reflect changing circumstances. But he believes that the study group report contains "the seeds for consensus," and he said of his proposal, "It's not withdrawal with a deadline, but it's finishing the job."
"I respect that some Democrats want us out tomorrow, and some Republicans want a victory like Germany and Japan, but that's not going to happen," Alexander said. But he warned that, given the onset of the 2008 presidential campaign season, "September may be our last best chance" to force a legislative solution.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who works closely with Reid on Iraq policy, noted that with each new phase of the Iraq debate, "we've picked up more votes." But to meet the Democrats' ultimate goal of ending the war, he added, "There's only so many things you can do."
The antiwar community also is warily eyeing the clock, frustrated that Bush remains firmly in control of Iraq policy. Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, called the all-night session in July "a good step in the right direction" but said of Reid's efforts to force Republicans to concede, "We'd like to see it go further."
The Senate has proved to be punishing terrain. Although Democrats technically control the chamber 51 to 49, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) has been absent all year for health reasons, and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), an independent who is a member of the Democratic caucus, votes with Bush on Iraq. Given that controversial Senate bills require 60 votes to pass, Reid starts out 11 votes short.
Reid's friends see the wear on him. "I think he has agonized over this," said Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), who has known Reid since she was a teenager. "I can see it. It weighs on his shoulders. But he's approaching this for all the right reasons, and I admire him for that."
Few Democrats have come as full circle on the war as Reid himself. On Oct. 10, 2002, as Senate minority whip, Reid became the most senior Democrat to endorse the war resolution. "They gave us the information, and I accepted what they told us," he explains.
It took a while to let go. "I did not wake up some morning and say, 'I oppose the war.' It built very slowly," Reid said.
One glimmer came when Frederick E. Pokorney Jr., a 31-year-old Marine from Tonopah, died on March 23, 2003; he was the first Nevada resident to be killed in Iraq. Reid called Wade Lieseke, the man Pokorney considered his father, to offer condolences. When Lieseke told him, "This war is worthless," he was taken aback. "I'm not sure that's right," he thought to himself. But with every new call, Reid later said, "I reflected back on that."
Reid also recalled his first visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. "I say to this young man -- he's missing part of one leg and the other one's up in a sling, and I try to be nice -- 'I know we need to go get you more armor.' " The young man responded: "We don't need more armor. We need to get out of there." That comment lingered, too.
This March, the senator returned to Walter Reed, where he met a young Ohio man recovering from a bomb attack that had "vaporized" his friend. A 22-year Army veteran told Reid she had lost her memory because she'd been knocked unconscious so many times. Reid left the hospital and headed to the Senate floor, where he delivered a passionate speech in favor of Webb's bid for troop-deployment limits.
"That did it for me," Reid said of the Walter Reed visit. "I never looked back. I'm not really proud of the fact that it's taken me so long to realize how bad it's been, but I'm there."
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LAS VEGAS -- Saying the coming weeks will be "one of the last opportunities" to alter the course of the war, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he is now willing to compromise with Republicans to find ways to limit troop deployments in Iraq.
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Music to His Ears
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Sarah Huckabee has known her father, Mike, as many things. When she was little, he was the man whose wallet she could dig into with any sentence that began "Daddy, I need . . . ." Later, he was the man whose ascent to the Arkansas governor's office ripped her away from her friends and familiar surroundings the summer before she entered high school. Now, as his national field director, she's known him as a Republican Party candidate for president and charismatic speaker. But, she says, she's never known him as "hip."
VIDEO | Huckabee Does Keith Richards Impression
"We'd have to work on some of his clothing options before I'd say that," the 25-year-old Huckabee says during lunch Wednesday at a brew pub here where her father -- sporting a prep-school ensemble of a blue-striped oxford shirt and blue blazer -- eats with a local newspaper columnist.
But hip is precisely what Huckabee has become in the weeks since he placed second in the Iowa Straw Poll on Aug. 11. Indeed, since walking into the media filing room that night and being swarmed by the media as if he were -- these are his words -- "Britney Spears being released from prison," Huckabee has been seen as the cuddly antidote to what has been an awfully tough-talking Republican field. He's the affable, compassionate, good guy and rock-and-roll evangelical who plays guitar and wants to hang with the Rolling Stones.
It's hard to think of a candidate in recent political history who felt such a bounce and media hug after a second-place finish in a nonbinding contest where three of the top-tier candidates or almost-candidates -- John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson -- didn't bother to show. But man, is he working it.
"Oh, gosh," Huckabee says when asked to recall the media appearances he's done since his surprise showing at the straw poll. "I did Colbert, Maher. I did Fox News Sunday. 'Face the Nation.' I can't even remember them all. It's just a blur." (Bill Maher, who had Huckabee on his HBO program on Friday, the candidate's 52nd birthday, ended his interview with the former governor by saying, "Rudy Giuliani scares the hell out of me, so I hope you win.")
"I'd like to think the people of the country are looking for somebody that's not running because he's mad and angry," Huckabee says in an interview here. "My two strongest critics are the extreme right and the extreme left, both of whom say the same things about me. It's not unlike 'The Manchurian Candidate' -- the original, which I think was better. The extreme right and extreme left are so extreme that they join together at the other side of the world. That's really what that movie was about. At some point, extremism almost loses distinction."
Even those who think little of his political accomplishments can see Huckabee's appeal. Randy Thompson, whose advertising and consulting group has long aligned itself with the Democratic Party establishment in the former governor's home state, can spend 15 minutes bashing Huckabee's decade as governor, only to go soft.
"Everyone who's spent time with him whether they thought he was the best governor in the history of Arkansas or the absolute worst can agree that he's a nice man," Thompson says. "I think there's a certain freshness to that. That's what the people supporting him in Iowa saw."
Now, with the help of the national media, that's what the rest of America has begun to see. Huckabee's rare combination of down-home folksiness, compassion and ability to intelligently articulate conservative views has helped his transformation from former Baptist minister to the avatar of the post-Jerry Falwell evangelical movement. Once ridiculed for holding his hand up during a debate when asked which candidates didn't believe in evolution, he's risen above the label of religious zealot into, well, a conservative whom liberals such as Maher kind of like.
Though Huckabee's national poll numbers currently linger at single digits, political analyst Charlie Cook calls him a candidate with "good crossover appeal to social conservatives and more secular Republicans."
"The question to me is, will he get the resources?" Cook says. "Will he be able to take advantage of the vacuum that's out there? Nobody's really taken off, but will Huckabee be able to find the resources? I just don't have the answer to that."
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DES MOINES Sarah Huckabee has known her father, Mike, as many things. When she was little, he was the man whose wallet she could dig into with any sentence that began "Daddy, I need . . . ." Later, he was the man whose ascent to the Arkansas governor's office ripped her away from her friends and ...
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Fred Thompson Confirms Bid for GOP Nomination
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Actor and former senator Fred D. Thompson confirmed yesterday that he is running for president, ending a political flirtation he has been conducting since March and thrusting himself into the thick of the battle for the Republican nomination.
In a conference call with elected officials and party leaders backing his bid, Thompson campaign manager Bill Lacy said Thompson has finished "testing the waters" and will file papers making his candidacy official next Thursday. Thompson will announce his decision on that day in a webcast, with the campaign encouraging supporters nationwide to attend house parties on that day as the former lawmaker from Tennessee begins a trek through the early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), who launched an effort to draft Thompson into the race earlier this year, predicted that Thompson will quickly become the candidate to beat.
"Fred has been working out with a personal trainer. There's a saying in the South that a lean dog hunts best," Wamp said after the conference call, one of several the campaign conducted yesterday. "He is a lean candidate, on his toes. Jeri and the kids have given him a new adrenaline in life. He has a presence that the other candidates do not have."
In an e-mail sent out yesterday afternoon, Thompson said the campaign is "an opportunity to change politics in Washington and across the country, and take on these challenges the way every generation of Americans has faced the challenges of their time -- with unity, hard work and a belief that we will come out on the winning side."
According to polls, Thompson's entry sets up a three-way battle for the mantle of GOP front-runner, with former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as his main rivals.
"Romney's trying to consolidate his position on the right. Giuliani's trying to solidify his position [as] national front-runner," said Mike Murphy, a GOP consultant who advised Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during his 2000 presidential bid and has also worked with Romney. "The new factor will be: Can Fred Thompson launch a campaign successfully?"
That remains an open question, rival campaigns said.
Thompson's slow rollout of his candidacy has been plagued by staff shakeups, slower-than-anticipated fundraising and unexplained delays in the announcement of his bid. And his work as a lobbyist and lawyer has already presented political vulnerabilities, including controversial clients and a stint working on behalf of an abortion rights group.
Critics of Thompson have also questioned the wisdom of jumping in so late. But Thompson aides said exit polls from past campaigns overwhelmingly suggest that voters make up their minds in the last weeks before an election.
Even with those lingering issues, Thompson has fared well in national and some state polling, establishing himself in second place nationally and as having strong support in some crucial primary states. Aides told participants in the calls yesterday that they have raised $6 million so far, according to Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who initially backed Romney but was an early addition to the Thompson camp.
Added Murphy: "What you really have got to do is to take this great, mythic Fred Thompson that everyone seems to be interested in and somehow campaign on a day-to-day basis."
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Actor and former senator Fred D. Thompson confirmed yesterday that he is running for president, ending a political flirtation he has been conducting since March and thrusting himself into the thick of the battle for the Republican nomination.
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Too Late for Thompson?
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Chris is away for the rest of the week but politics -- thankfully -- goes on.
This afternoon former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) inched even closer to formally entering the presidential race by announcing his plans to kick off his campaign on Sept. 6. The sort-of announcement came during a conference call with campaign supporters and donors and that confirmed the obvious: Thompson will be a candidate for president in 2008.
Lingering over the proceedings, however, is the question of whether Thompson has waited too long to get into the race. Most Republicans concede that if Thompson had entered at the height of the buzz around him -- some time in July -- he might have even unseated former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as the GOP frontrunner.
But now, after a month of negative press centered around a number of staff departures, Thompson finds that momentum blunted somewhat. The inside-the-Beltway crowd -- in truth, never Thompson believers -- seem to be convinced that his moment has passed. Polling, both national and in key early states, shows Thompson in the game but falling slightly from his numbers in mid to late June and early July.
So, is Thompson's announcement too little too late or not? Does he still have a chance to sell himself as the conservative alternative to Giuliani and former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) or not?
By Chris Cillizza | August 30, 2007; 4:54 PM ET | Category: Eye on 2008 Previous: Vacation (For Real This Time) | Next: Midnight Riders
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Posted by: qxgvka awcsxkf | September 29, 2007 5:51 AM
If you look at the Thompson Internet performance starting the week of 7/26 to present you can clearly see a growing market share online compared to other formally announced candidates. This is very interesting as it shows a proactive effort to use the Internet to market him online.
http://spartaninternet.com/2008/bycandidate.asp?tab=3&id=8 Fred Thompson - Weekly Internet Performance Ranking (Online Candidate Market Share)
If you take a look at all of the 650 factors used to calculate this market share and compare that to performance of other candidates it's very interesting how a non-candidate can outperform an actual candidate.
Posted by: Robert McPhee | September 6, 2007 9:55 PM
I have been blogging now for nearly ten months about these presidential elections. At this point, I do a search for Fred Thompson on Google and nearly everything is negative. The majority of the people who were supporting Thompson are now supporting someone else who seems to be divided between Romney and Paul as candidates. At least, that is what they are telling me.
Fred Thompson is behind in Iowa, New Hampshire, and several other key state polls. He does not have much of a team put together. I do not know where he stands on issues because his website is more geared to getting him into the nominating process then what his stand on issues are. I don't entirely trust his life as a Senator in relation to issues, but as a lobbyist where he dosen't have to report his activities to the people because of "attorney-client privilege."
So far, he still has the issue of his activities as a lobbyist in question. Lobbyists are well known for buying politicians, at least that is a major perception issue he will need to overcome. I seriously doubt this perception will be an easy one to eliminate in this generation.
I don't see the media changing their perspective on Thompsons' entry into the arena. They will likely continue to hold grudges against Thompson for not commiting earlier. The voter will also likely follow the media in terms of perception. The very idea that Thompson is entering after significant straw-polls have taken place is apparently looked at as an unforgiven sin against them in terms of lost money. Now, here is a case study for you. Let's look at McCain and how he has faired once the media showed biasness towards him. It appears to me that McCain is all but officially out of the race.
Another challenge Thompson will have is the idea that he is an actor. With publications like the National Enquirer demonstrating the terrible state of life among people in that profession, it will likely be a significant challenge that awaits him. Who knows what other skeletons are in the closet?
Posted by: ceo1 | September 1, 2007 9:19 PM
The saddest part is that millions of ignorant and childish Americans won't differentiate between the character and views of Arthur Branch(?) and Fred Thompson.
Until we improve our educational system to the point where we teach our children critical thinking skills and ensure that they know how our government works, there will always be the possibility of G.W.'s and Thompsons running for the presidency -- with the former getting eleced.
Posted by: FemaleNick | September 1, 2007 4:19 PM
Whether he got in the race in July or in September, it's an uphill climb, and he doesn't look up to it--either personally and physically, or by dint of his staff. His bona fides are, like other Republicans, a mile wide and an inch deep. And they'll be exposed if his candidacy becomes a serious threat to Mitt and Rudy.
He becomes the Barack Obama of Republicans: presence (but handsome?), well-known as an actor, maybe personable (but not as good as Gov. Huckabee) with a resume that serious people will probably dismiss.
He's a pasteboard cutout for his TV career, and--as other posters have eloquently pointed out--not half the politician (or communicator) that Reagan was.
I'm no fan of Reagan (thanks to the huge budget deficits), but he did communicate well enough to help unify much of the country around a common enemy. I do give him credit for that.
Posted by: pacman | September 1, 2007 3:20 PM
Thomson wanted to show he had it.
Posted by: John Bailo | August 31, 2007 11:52 PM
i'm praying for a thompson win too...that fat lazy windbag will sputter right from the start. he's more of a 'here's another chance for me to be popular' candidate than someone with a true desire to run this country, and his campaign will sputter and die. out of all possible contenders, as a loyal dem i'd most rather face fred. but i agree with chris; fred could've made a serious run at the gop nomination but now he's just another flash in the pan. i think it's over for him, but i hope i'm wrong because he's easily the most beatable republican out there.
Posted by: oregonliberal | August 31, 2007 6:00 PM
Golly "UMich96", if IMMIGRATION really is the BIG ISSUE out here beyond the Beltway--and being over 7,000 miles away from it, you can't get much more "away"--and one of your candidate-types win, who's gonna do the dirty work in your neighborhood? Trim the trees, repair the infrastructure (pipes, potholes, etc.), do all the scut work since you and your ilk by now have proved they certainly won't? And who's gonna work in the fields to provide your food? Or watch your kids while you toil? Nah, let's just ship all them illegals back to where they came from. (FYI: My daughter, who graduated from Blair HS in Silver Spring, is UMich '07; she was discouraged her first month in Ann Arbor (because she thought she was, to hear what the right-wingnuts always said, at Berkeley Mid-America) when she kept running into all "these Republicans foaming at the mouth". She survived her four years nicely however.
Posted by: fracas | August 31, 2007 5:40 PM
If anything ,the entrance of Fred Thompson will kill any momentum Huckabee has and will blunt Romney's numbers. Having Thompson in the race, IMO, only helps Guiliani and McCain believe it or not as it throws another big name into the race of the conservative quintet. Any Romney supporters who question his authenticness on issues such as abortion will defect to Thompson because he is everything Romney claims to be without the questions of truely being them.
Guiliani won't be touched much by Thompson because his supporters aren't looking for a more conservative candidate. They already know about his liberal posititions and obviously don't care about them.
Romney will be hurt the most as Thompson will take directly from him.
McCain, and possibly Huckabee if he can keep his momentum going, will behelped some as Romney's numbers come back toward them and they again compete for a top 3 slot in Iowa.
Brownback could be killed by this but if he stays in, he only furthers assists McCain and Huckabee stay closer to the top.
Posted by: Rob Millette | August 31, 2007 4:03 PM
Fred Thompson is boring and his wife is scary
Posted by: Anonymous | August 31, 2007 2:12 PM
So he is entering, but he is far from victory. When you look at the polls, they already include F. Thompson. Now, this just divides the vote into a 3 way frenzy: Guiliani vs. Romney vs. F. Thompson. If Romney wins Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, F. Thompson takes South Carolina and Guiliani take Florida we have a 3 way race. If F. Thompson wins most of the southern states, Romney wins the midwest and Guiliani takes New York, Fl., Cali., Ill., Conn., New Jersey and all those traditionally liberal states...it will be a tough nomination fight but gives Guiliani his best hope. If Romney or F. Thompson can defeat the other one and reduce him, then they will win the nomination.
Posted by: reason | August 31, 2007 2:09 PM
Thompson is already washed up. The traction that other candidates have is not going to go away now. He does not have a record of getting things done and the public wants to hear from people with strong records. Hence, the growing popularity of Mike Huckabee (further right than Thompson) and most especially Ron Paul.
Ron Paul particularly is doing VERY well across the board with Republicans especially, but also with independents and anti-war Dems.
Thompson is a has-been before he ever was.
Posted by: T is for Texas | August 31, 2007 2:05 PM
Adams, JQ adams, Kennedy, Truman...
I'd put Reagan in with Taft, Taylor and Eisenhouer, Clinton. Middle of the road.
Bush gets official '2nd coming of Hoover' award.
Posted by: The Hall of Presidents | August 31, 2007 1:15 PM
My favorite comment on this board... Reagan in the top 5 for our Presidents ...sure if your head is in the sand. try mixing any of these up and see if there is room for the "great communicator "
Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Jackson, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson ...
please Reagan just like Thompson will be a joke !
Posted by: Jimmy | August 31, 2007 1:04 PM
Other than both being actors, I don't see the similarity between Fred Thompson and Reagan. Reagan possessed executive experience as governor of California and had run against Ford in the 1976 primary. Reagan left acting behind and became a politician. Additionally, Reagan was a strong figure in the Republican party and fairly well regarded (although one can't forget the "voodoo economics" dig by Bush). Reagan also had strong cross-over appeal inspiring the term "Reagan Democrats" and he performed well in the Democratic bastions of New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and West Coast. While I don't believe he was one of our five greatest presidents, he was certainly one of the five best communicators and excellent at articulating a vision for the country. I look at Thompson and I see a dilettante. He seems like any number of big name/reputation candidates from the past (Clark, Bradley, Hart, Romney the elder, etc) that jump in and are forgotten by February of the election year. He just further fractures the religious right/conservative vote between Romney and Huckabee. I can't see him knocking of Giuliani. Even "real/normal/regular" people who don't participate in these boards probably have an inkling about Giuliani's positions now and have made up their mind. Thomspon's greatest "achievement" might be to do in McCain which would be a real shame as McCain is a better politician and a better leader. I don't think Thompson ever had an ideal time to jump in any earlier he would've been the Republican version of Howard Dean.
Posted by: Sean | August 31, 2007 1:01 PM
Yes, that's a big problem: Pro border lockdown is essentially anti-business in the eyes of the laissez-faire free traders.
Also, there's a big crossover between anti-immigration crowd and the anti-outsourcing crowd. Also no friend of the big business side.
Basically the uneasy truce between east coast fiscal conservativism and bible-belt has come to an end, since that only worked because they had a winner on their hands. No more on that end.
Posted by: DCAustinite | August 31, 2007 12:17 PM
As poster Ed Lulie says - "...the issue is IMMIGRATION..." He's absolutely right. As a conservative, I have experienced it as the one issue that can be discussed with agreement in any crowd. Liberal, conservative or anywhere in between.
Posted by: UMich*96 | August 31, 2007 12:14 PM
Dave C, at 11:50, what you are observing, though may not yet realize it, is that the GOP doesn't know what it stands for anymore. That coalition that Bush/Rove built to get into office in 2000 & 2004 is fractured. Fiscal conservatives are fed up with the growth of government under the Bush administration. Social conservatives are fed up with broken promises about abortion & gays. The 'lock down the border & send 'em all home' crowd can't find agreement with the 'hey, we need cheap labor' crowd.
None of the GOP contendors can rebuild this coalition of voters in order to win the White House.
Posted by: bsimon | August 31, 2007 12:06 PM
Thompson is the only candidate the Republican Party has come up with that has the charisma needed for the presidency. What he will really have to deal with is an unpopular current Republican president. He is light-years ahead of the others. Come on, Guiliani is a Republican in name only. Romney was pro-choice, and McCain made himself very unpopular with that immigration bill that (thank God) failed. What about Ron Paul? Why don't we hear more from him?
Posted by: Dave C. | August 31, 2007 11:50 AM
Oh I see you're right, Loudoun, his candidacy is still pre-born!
We wait for baited breath for yet another tediously predictable, rich, chickenhawk whitebread Republican demagogue/Revisionist Reagan wannabe/corporate sock puppet to declare...
Posted by: drindl | August 31, 2007 11:23 AM
Not even news anymore. He's a joke who doesn't even take the position for which he wants to run seriously. I heard recently that he would be skipping a debate to go on one of the late shows? (maybe this is not correct but it certainly aligns with the image he's portrayed up to now).
I get the feeling that he's only in the race to entertain himself. If he was serious he would have been in there all along with everyone else.
Posted by: Paul S. | August 31, 2007 11:23 AM
now now drindl -- this was just the announcement of the announcement. 8>D
Posted by: Loudoun Voter | August 31, 2007 11:10 AM
Finally, Thompsons' entry gives us an alternative to the stale GOP choices of rich, white men!
Posted by: RON PAUL | August 31, 2007 11:05 AM
As a lifelong Democrat, I certainly hope Thompson stakes his campaign on taking an unrealistic but unrelenting enforcement-only, border-centric approach to the immigration issue. It is working as well for candidates Tancredo and Hunter as it did for President Pat Buchanan...oops. Sure, take some campaign advice from JD Hayworth, John Hostettler, Randy Graf, etc., and boldly stand on the wrong side of history (bash gay people while you're at it). I don't think it will get traction even in the primaries, but it will certainly help Dems with moderate, Latino, immigrant, and Catholic voters and anyone else who would rather see politicians solve problems as they are rather than defining enemies as they aren't.
Posted by: Andi Medi | August 31, 2007 11:02 AM
Could Thompson have picked a WORSE time to announce? Nobody is paying attention -- it's Labor Day weekend for chrissake. Maybe ivory tower folks who don't live and work on regular schedules understand that. But it's just another example of his tin ear and failure to connect with real people.
Posted by: drindl | August 31, 2007 10:38 AM
Reagan's "greatness" is in part a product of the embarrassments who served before and after him. Nixon, Carter, Bush, and Bush all among the worst ever. Only Clinton was any good -- but of course had certain "flaws" himself.
But that's neither here nor there.
If the case for Thompson is that people hurled the same insults at Reagan, then Thompson is in trouble (that's for Peanuts fans). I knew Ronald Reagan, and Thompson is no Reagan.
Posted by: Spectator2 | August 31, 2007 10:38 AM
Reagan one of the greatest presidents? Ah, the ability of wingers to revise history. Reagan had severe Alzheimer's the entirity of his presidency and Nancy made all the decisions, with the help of her astrologer. Those of us who were alive at the time have to laugh when the delusional indulge in their revisionist fantasies.
Posted by: Clark | August 31, 2007 10:19 AM
i'm not socially conservative the way huckabee is, but out of the whole slew of Republican candidates, I gotta tell you: he's the one who I like the most; he oozes charm and integrity. Why hasn't he garnered more support? I'm surprised. Is it visibility? His guys have gotta get him out there.
Thompson DOES look like the creature from the black lagoon. All those talking heads who have been touting him as handsome have to get their heads examined. And what the hell has the guy ever done?
Posted by: janet | August 31, 2007 9:37 AM
Thompson is as phony as that beat-up red pickup truck he rented as a prop for his last campaign... and about as folksy as the highpaid Hollywood hack that he is.
Posted by: Daisy | August 31, 2007 9:33 AM
I think Thompson had his best window a month ago. It isn't closed but the amount of work he'll have to do as a candidate is enormous-- and he doesn't strike me as a guy who likes working hard. On a separate front, he might have the right qualities to appeal to the base, but is America really interested in a candidate that appeals to the hard right? I don't think so. This will be a change election and Thompson isn't enough of a change from what we have now. None of the R's are.
Posted by: DB | August 31, 2007 9:08 AM
Many of these same accusations were made against Ronald Reagan when he was running, and history has shown us that he was one of the four or five greatest presidents.
Ummmmm, I'd say that definitely depends on your point of view. Most historians that I've read would not agree with that assessment of Reagan.
Regardless, I certainly don't recall hearing any "Reagan is too lazy to win" talk way back in 1980. If you could provide examples, that would be terrific.
Posted by: Fishbone McGonigle | August 31, 2007 8:10 AM
If he wears a Reagan mask, he'll be fine.
Posted by: Steve Barry | August 31, 2007 7:23 AM
Not. Now that Huckabee's getting traction he doesn't have enough room on the right. He'll probably have to effectively skip Iowa now.
Posted by: AJ | August 31, 2007 7:16 AM
Yes, Fred Thompson might be able to win the South, but that's all and the South is all the Republicans themselves are going to win this time around, apart from a few neanderthal states like Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. I think the Republican party is seeing its last days. Enjoy them while they last, rednecks.
Posted by: JGG | August 31, 2007 7:10 AM
Fred Thompson looks like the creature from the black lagoon and he has a reputation for being a lazy tired man (again, he looks the part). Fred Thompson would have a claim to be true conservative, but frankly, his record on abortion (including a lobbying stint for an abortion firm) and multiple marriages put him in the same category as Rudy and Mitt, someone whose conservative credentials don't really hold up to scrutiny. So I don't really see him adding more to the race. His announcement is yet another sign of how the Republicans can't put up a true contendor this year. What will be amusing is if Newt Gingrich who has the charisma of a newt also throws his hat in later. It will make the Republican presidential field look even more shallow and inauthentic.
Posted by: JGG | August 31, 2007 7:08 AM
Posted by: adipex diet pill | August 31, 2007 5:53 AM
Posted by: adipex side effects | August 31, 2007 5:51 AM
Um, Reagan never really stopped running after 1976 (and, btw, he stopped being an actor and became a full time politician back in the 1960's). Thompson, on the other hand, started in politics, then got into acting, spent a few years in the Senate but rediscovered why he hated it, and went back to acting (talk about committment issues...). To compare Thompson to Reagan is almost as stupid as arguing you should vote for him because he's really tall... oh wait, someone already did that...
LEt's face facts, the guy's been one of the most dreary candidates for President I've ever seen (what's all this talk about how much he worries for the country, Reagan was always an incredible optimist), for all the talk of his acting skills he's proved to be a horrible speaker, he can't put a decent organization together, and his strategy to this point seems to have been to let everyone else destroy one another so he can skate to the nomination at the last minute by being the new kid on the block- not a lot of confidence. This whole campaign announcement on the internet just seems like the most ridiculus thing of all. Keep pulling for the guy, though. Obama-Napoltano will blow him out of the water. Guiliani isn't running as a conservative, all this does is hurt Romney by dividing the anti-Guiliani vote even more.
Posted by: Michael | August 31, 2007 3:03 AM
One major difference between Fred Thompson and Ronald Reagan is that Thompson hasn't spent a long stretch being governor of a major state like California. Reagan's days as a B actor were long behind him when he ran for President, whilst that (and a short spell in Congress) are all Thompson's done.
Posted by: davric | August 30, 2007 11:29 PM
While it's true that Sen. Thompson has lost a little bit of ground since July, being late to the party didn't stop Reagan in 1980.
While Guiliani and Romney compete with each other to wear the crown of "authentically conservative," Sen. Thompson simply strides to the podium and smiles. And it's a knowing smile, because Thompson understands that in the moral high ground of Republican Red America neither Guiliani nor Romney can match the "true authenticity" of his deep-timbered Southern drawl.
Thompson knows that "Southern-Fried Reagan" is the kind of comfort food that Red County America is craving in a time of tremendous social, economic, and moral insecurity.
Too late? We think not. And, for Democrats, Thompson's candidacy is a real wake-up call. He might not be the strongest Republican candidate in decades, but he's got a powerful persona, some serious height advantage, and the big dog swagger that consistently wins over the voters in Purple State America.
Peter S. Cohl The Political Brandwagon http://www.politicalbrandwagon.com
Posted by: Peter S. Cohl | August 30, 2007 10:46 PM
You know its funny. Last time I heard this much talk about a surething election was Bush 1 before Clinton arrived. Thompson will not only win the nomination but will win in 2008. What about Iraq? That won't be the issue, the issue for all you blind inside the beltway types is IMMIGRATION. Not a single dem is on the right side (the fix the borders first side). Nows the time to get that degree in psy. because with the depth of delusion around in the mainstream media (and the WP) waking up after the election in 2008 might be the traumatic event of a lifetime for those on the left and have their shrinks overburdened with those in shock. There isn't another GOP candidate that can win even against the worst fake smile fraud ever, Hillary. But Fred can and will.
Posted by: Ed Lulie | August 30, 2007 10:34 PM
As Judge Crater pointed out, there is a lot of unhappiness among many conservative Republicans about the leading candidates. Many evangelicals are suspicous of Romney's religion. Many more are suspicious of his sudden conversion to religious right social issues stands. Giuliani is pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-gun control - need I say more. If Thompson had entered the race 2-3 months ago, he might have cornered the market on the "real conservative" alternative to Romney or Giuliani. I think Huckabee is better positioned to take that mantle. Huckabee has problems with the Club for Growth crowd since he actually tried to accomplish things in Arkansas and had to raise the revenue to do it.
As I have maintained for months, the longer the Republican race has 3 or more serious contenders, the better Giuliani's chances are.
Posted by: JimD in FL | August 30, 2007 10:22 PM
Thompson should show how hip he is by ditching the tired "ImwithFred" crap and spunk it up a bit. I suggest utilizy the image of the gay rockers from England: RightsaidFred.com ... "I'm too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it hurts....I'm a model you know what I mean and I do my little turn on the catwalk..." Sex sells. Thompson aint got much else, lets face it, he's never done anything and even folk down the deep south may cotton on to the phony pickup truck driving bullsh*t he's dishing out.
Posted by: Tdaniels | August 30, 2007 10:18 PM
Realistically, who does Fred Thompson appeal to? Aren't we finally getting rid of a lazy, intellectually stunted "true-believer", who really wants another one?
Posted by: Dijetlo | August 30, 2007 10:18 PM
Absent a scandal, I think FT will play well in TX. Do you not think that the Rs now seem likely to have a contest at the Convention?
Posted by: Mark in Austin | August 30, 2007 10:17 PM
Fred Thompson?! A Hollywood TV actor? To save the GOP?! Enough said.
Posted by: Frederick | August 30, 2007 10:08 PM
It seems to me that someone trying this hard to skirt the edges of the financial laws for running for President couldn't be trusted not to play hard and fast when it came to following the law if he became President. The entire existence of his "non-campaign" in it's eternal "testing the water" style is evidence of his lack of character and basic honesty.
This is more like a man trying to cheat on his taxes without getting caught then someone running for President.
Posted by: ThomasR | August 30, 2007 10:04 PM
Yes, it's too late. Just like Wesley Clark in 2003, Thompson is a sub-par, overrated candidate who started too late. Had he gotten in and actively participated in the Ames straw poll, he might have had a chance. Huckabee has benefited from Thompson's procrastination.
Posted by: Paul Algire | August 30, 2007 9:47 PM
Oh, please, let Thompson be the nominee! Please, please, please, please, please! I'd love to see a lazy windbag lead the GOP charge against folks who work for a living.
Go, Fred Thompson supporters, go!
Posted by: Jen Q | August 30, 2007 9:31 PM
Senator Fred Thompson is the only conservative with a chance of defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Hussein Obama or John "Pink Sapphire" Edwards. Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain (Rudy McRomney) are Republicans In Name Only (RINOs) and the rest of the pack are unelectable. That leaves Fred. Here is his website:
Posted by: Alan Srout | August 30, 2007 9:09 PM
Great, another old geezer actor wants to be president. Hey Fred, that's quite an impressive record of accomplishments you compiled during your six year senate career...oops, soory, forgot you did NOTHING in those six years..another well qualified republicant.
Posted by: pj45 | August 30, 2007 9:07 PM
All this talk about "too late, too thin, no fire in the belly, trophy wife, staff shake-ups, too lazy" and all that amuse me. Many of these same accusations were made against Ronald Reagan when he was running, and history has shown us that he was one of the four or five greatest presidents. Fred Thompson will grab the GOP nomination and beat Hillary Clinton next year in a landslide. You heard it here first!
Posted by: Fred Paxson | August 30, 2007 8:57 PM
According to a report on CNN, Fred is going to announce at midnight, on the internet.... now that should stir lots of excitement!
I guess it'll be up to the MSM whether or not it's a big deal... and what else is going on in the news.
He should have announced in person.... think he got bad advice.
Posted by: Truth Hunter | August 30, 2007 8:10 PM
I like younger,blond women with big yabbos. So vote for me!
Posted by: Hi, I'm Fred Thompson! | August 30, 2007 6:26 PM
Actually, George, it seems to me that to the extent that there IS any momentum on the GOP side in Iowa, it would belong to Huckabee... who didn't pay to bus his supporters to the poll (as Mitty did) and didn't put on the dog for them once they got there (again, as Mitty did.) Add to that the fact that turnout was noticeably light, and you get the sense that there wasn't exactly a wave of enthusiasm for Mitt and his plastic fakery. I would remind you that those of us who have lived through his disinterested grandstanding as MA governor are not fooled. (although we are glad to be rid of him)
Posted by: Bokonon | August 30, 2007 6:24 PM
from the Slate link thoughtfully provided by proudtobeGOP:
Is it wise to use a "wide stance" when you go to the bathroom?
No. When you're sitting on the toilet, spreading your feet and leaning forward tightens the levator ani muscles that control defecation. If you're having trouble passing stools, you should take the opposite of a wide stance, and lean back. Doctors recommend this technique to relax the bowel muscles.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 30, 2007 6:15 PM
Well at least he seems to like girls
Posted by: Anonymous | August 30, 2007 6:14 PM
Posted by: Loudoun Voter | August 30, 2007 6:01 PM
Thompson's biggest problem will be cash flow. Can he raise enough to compete when states are playing primary/caucus leapfrog?
My guess is that he'll be all right there. He can probably tap the far right donor base now, although I think that will start to dry up a little once Romney and Guliani start hitting him. His record appears to be fairly inconsistent on so-called "values" issues.
In the end, his nomination is probably the best chance for the GOP to keep the White House, if for no other reason than he's probably values-conservative enough to keep a third-party candidate from emerging from the Christian right.
Posted by: JamesCH | August 30, 2007 5:53 PM
His chance passed. He waited way too long. Mitt has already won the straw poll. He has all the momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire and Michigan. Thompson waited and now his moment is gone. Too bad.
Posted by: George | August 30, 2007 5:52 PM
Posted by: proudtobeGOP | August 30, 2007 5:50 PM
Oh, BTW, if Chris isn't writing this blog then who is? The Unknown Blogger? Shouldn't you replace CC's image with a guy/girl with a paper bag over his/her head?
Posted by: Judge C. Crater | August 30, 2007 5:38 PM
"...is Thompson's announcement too little too late or not?" If polling is to be believed, no. The R's are NOT happen with their slate of current choices and Thompson still looks like shimmering mirage of hope. The idea that a few staff departures have even registered on the conciousness of the average R voter is laughable. Ha, ha, ha.
"The inside-the-Beltway crowd -- in truth, never Thompson believers -- seem to be convinced that his moment has passed." This is precisely why we don't listen to the inside-the-Beltway crowd. Not that Thompson's honeymoon will last long as all of his warts/skeletons are waiting to be revealed to an electorate accustomed to finding flaws. Not to mention that his opponents will be happy to point them out.
Posted by: Judge C. Crater | August 30, 2007 5:35 PM
Hey great -- now there are two boards for Thompson shills to fill. Go for it guys!
Posted by: Spectator2 | August 30, 2007 5:15 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
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Chris Cillizza is the author of The Fix, a blog on national politics. Cillizza provides daily posts on a range of political topics, from the race for control of Congress to scrutinizing the 2008 presidential contenders.
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The Dawn Of Their Bond
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Twelve years ago, five families from the Washington area came to this city in China's eastern Jiangsu province to adopt children. They found little girls to welcome into their worlds and, in doing so, joined a new generation of American families that had only recently begun to adopt from this country.
Overnight, an infant named Chang Chunhe became Maddy Conover; another infant named Chang Chungui became Maryann O'Connor Roe. Four other girls were adopted, one of them a year later.
Last month, the five families made their first roots visit to China, an attempt to reintroduce their daughters to the country of their birth and to dig up clues about the first several months of the girls' lives. It was the kind of trip an increasing number of American families are making as the tens of thousands of children who have been adopted in China come of age.
"We wanted to give the girls a sense of who they are," said Janet Bass of Bethesda, who adopted one of the girls, Alison Staffin. "We came here without children, got to know each other's stories and became friends. There's a special bond between the girls, and we wanted Alison to be proud of her background."
Parents say it's a background coaxed out at home with trips to the Sackler and Freer galleries of Asian art or with lessons in martial arts or Mandarin Chinese. It's a background the girls are curious about and eager to explore.
But in the case of the Washington area families, the babies who left China were returning as all-American preteens. And they faced a challenge familiar to other adoptees who make the trip back: how to learn about a homeland whose traditions -- and politics -- they never really knew in the first place.
In Tiananmen Square, for example, the families tried to unfurl a red banner that said "Journey of the Dragon 2007." It was for a group photo in honor of their trip and not in any way connected to the bloody 1989 crackdown on democracy protesters there. But the police, wary of any public displays at the square, immediately confronted the families and rolled up the banner. For the girls, it was eye-opening.
"In America, you have a lot of freedom of speech," Alison said. "You can have a big banner that says 'I hate Bush' or something, and the police don't tackle you."
During the trip, at various stops along the way, the girls' speech, posture and habits set them apart. At a restaurant, they squealed, "Eeeww, gross!" and reached for the french fries when served a whole turtle. They struggled gamely with chopsticks. And when they hung out at their hotel, wearing flip-flops and shorts, they rehearsed "Breakaway," the hit by "American Idol" star Kelly Clarkson, which one of the girls had brought to China on her iPod.
"Grew up in a small town, and when the rain would fall down, I'd just stare out my window, dreamin' of what could be," the girls harmonized. "And if I'd end up happy, I would pray."
More than 50,000 Chinese babies have been adopted in the United States since 1989. Last year alone, the State Department issued 6,493 visas to orphans from China. But those facts aren't well publicized here. Everywhere the families went, they drew stares -- so much so, that they started to hand out pink cards that read in Chinese and English: "We are Americans. Our children were adopted from China and we have returned to visit China because we want our children to be proud of their Chinese heritage and see the beautiful country."
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World news headlines from the Washington Post,including international news and opinion from Africa,North/South America,Asia,Europe and Middle East. Features include world weather,news in Spanish,interactive maps,daily Yomiuri and Iraq coverage.
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The Redskins
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Read Jason's blog, Redskins Insider.
Jason La Canfora: Hey there, sorry I am a few minutes late -- traveled back from Jacksonville and had some reporting to catch up on. Have a feeling this will be Brunell-mania on here, but let's see what ya got for me.
Bowie, Md.: What's the report card on Andre Carter this preseason? Do you expect a breakout year?
Jason La Canfora: He's in great shape -- and much better mental shape than when he was trying to adjust to a new lifestyle, new teammates, position switch, new coaches, etc. -- and I think he will be solid. Don't see him being a monster sack guy -- not great size -- but if he can play all of 2007 the way he played last December, it should help the Skins greatly. He needs to get to the QB more, period, and I think he will, given the changes in the scheme.
Miami: Why does Sean Taylor look so thin this year?!
Jason La Canfora: According to the Redskins roster, he is down like 12 pounds from last year; according to Sean he is the same weight he has always been. It's obvious he changes his body type some in the offseason, with less bulk but still ripped, and Sean does concede he trained differently this offseason and is eating better now, too. Coaches and players believe he is lighter than a year ago and I imagine the team scales are accurate.
Stumped (Portland): Where was Waldo (er, I mean Lloyd, Brandon) last night?
Jason La Canfora: He's had a lingering shin splints problem and they held some guys out who had minor stuff. I would imagine he would be full-go come Week 1, and he was not listed with the injured players last night.
Upper Marlboro, Md.: What impact will a Brunell trade have on the salary cap for next season?
Jason La Canfora: Not much, given his new deal. He already has received $500,000 in roster bonuses this summer, which counts, and the prorated portion of his original signing bonus is still there either way ... all he has a left is a nonguaranteed $1.5 million salary
Bethesda, Md.: Since you mentioned Brunell, what do you think the Redskins could get for him? Would teams actually give up something like a fourth round pick for this guy?
Jason La Canfora: No way -- they'd be lucky if they got a conditional sixth for him, which is why I think there is not a great shot of something getting done, because Gibbs's value of him would be greater than how the rest of the league sees him.
Seattle is by no means chasing Mark with abandon or anything -- they made an exploratory phone call as they are seeking an upgrade at No. 3 QB. To expect to get much of anything in return is crazy -- Mark is likely to be the No. 3 QB here at this point -- and teams call around like mad this time of year as a rule. Seattle just as easily could sign Chris Simms or something if he's cut, and is trying to get a feel on which teams might be cutting loose a QB with NFL experience.
This thing got way blown out of proportion on TV. No trade is imminent and the Skins have to determine if they even would be wanting to move him at all given that they have no other decent options for a third quarterback themselves.
New York: Jason, Jordan Palmer looked pretty bad last night ... sure makes you wonder why they got rid of Casey Bramlet so quick. He looked okay as a quarterback for Atlanta recently. If they trade Brunell I would rather have Casey than Palmer as my third. Your thoughts?
Jason La Canfora: They kept Jordan because he was a draft pick and they invested some money in him ... but as I blogged way back in mini camp, he never has looked anything other than very poor from what I have seen. He is nowhere near being ready to throw a pass for you on Sunday, and the prospect of the Redskins being one hit away from possibly having him as the backup quarterback, assuming they were to deal Brunell, would have to scare Gibbs silly.
If the Skins dealt Mark they essentially would be committed to two QBs to start the season -- Palmer could go on practice squad (doubt anyone would claim him) -- and that would open up a roster spot at another position, which could help. But if Campbell or Todd got hurt they'd be scrambling to sign some sort of veteran QB off the street (like a Parcells-Testaverde situation) only this guy would not know the system, and it could be pretty ugly.
Washington Navy Yard: Jason, in all seriousness do you think this will be Coach Gibbs' last year if we don't make it to the playoffs? I love the man dearly but I'm not sure we can continue on this course for years to come. What do you think?
washingtonpost.com: Gibbs Believes in His Team. Do You Believe Him? (Post, Aug. 31)
Jason La Canfora: If the team does not show signs of turning the corner, then that may be it for him. I think the health of his grandson will be a big factor, as well as Joe's health, as it always is. It's way too soon to tell.
Falls Church, Va.: Jason, can you shed any light on the actual physical status of Clinton Portis? Have the coaches just kept him under wraps, per his wish, or is he really struggling to rehabilitate that knee? Thanks.
Jason La Canfora: A little bit of both -- he's in no rush to play and they were in rush to play him. It's a big deal anytime a guy like him misses the entire preseason with a knee injury, and they definitely are concerned. It's an unknown to everyone as to how the knee will respond to game conditions, being hit, etc., and their best hope is that all of the time off will have allowed the tendinitis to subside. But there is no way to know for sure until he puts it through the rigors of game day, and they chose to delay that until the last possible time, Week 1 itself.
Dallas: How much is Cooley looking for in his extension?
Jason La Canfora: If you look at the money Graham got in free agency, I'd say that's a good ballpark. I am sure the $17.5 million Landry got guaranteed from the Skins this summer did not go unnoticed by Chris's camp as well.
I wouldn't be surprised if he cut them a little slack, but not a whole lot. The sides are not close and I wouldn't be surprised if they end up throwing the franchise tag on him at the end of the season, 'cause the tight end numbers usually are not nearly as bad as other positions.
Things always can change -- and I am sure the prospect of getting hurt while there is all this money on the table will weigh on Chris at times -- but both sides are gambling at this point.
RFK Stadium: We know what the rest of the league thinks of Stephon Heyer -- what's your take on him? I thought the kid was impressive (except for that mix-up between him and Pucillo)?
washingtonpost.com: Redskins Stay Course With Heyer and Pucillo (Post, Aug. 21)
Jason La Canfora: I think he is a very raw prospect who showed some signs but must refine his technique significantly to play on Sundays.
New York: How did Pete Kendall look last night, and do you think he will fill the void Dockery left behind?
washingtonpost.com: Redskins Bolster Left Guard By Getting Kendall From Jets (Post, Aug. 24)
Jason La Canfora: Pete held up okay, but it was a very small window with which to judge. He continues to say how far he must go, but it was a positive first step. Getting him and Samuels in sync is going to take some time, because both essentially are going to be going into Week 1 cold. It's going to take a few weeks at least for the line to hit stride, but once they do -- barring injuries -- it's hard to imagine them not being legit. They had a helluva second half last year.
Bethesda, Md.: If the Brunell trade goes through, any chance the Skins put Palmer on the taxi squad and go with Randle El as their game day No. 3 quarterback?
washingtonpost.com: Redskins Notebook: Seahawks Inquire About Obtaining Brunell (Post, Aug. 31)
Jason La Canfora: As I mentioned earlier, they might go with two QBs in this scenario, and Randle El could throw a pass in a pinch ... but the phrasing of that question is off. Seattle made a phone call to express a little interest, and that's it. This kind of thing is going on right this second between teams all over the league, and 99 percent of the time it leads to nothing.
The only reason I even wrote about it at all last night is because the report on the post-game show took on a life of its own and a lot of people truly believed a trade already had been made. They have a long ways to go before getting close to a trade. Like I said in the previous question -- first the Skins have to decide to part with him, then Seattle or some other team would have to make an actual offer, and that offer would have to come close to being worthy of what the Skins think he's worth. That's a lot of stuff to overcome.
Roanoke, Va.: Jason, I caught that writer from Philly (who's a Skins fan) on Washington Post Live the other night. I didn't know Comcast allowed people on TV that were under the influence of hallucinogens. I mean, I'm a Skins homer and hope they pull out 10 wins and squeak into the playoffs ... but 12-4 and in the NFC championship is ridiculous! Not really a question, just a comment.
Jason La Canfora: Gotta love that guys enthusiasm. It was fun doing the show with him.
Bethesda, Md.: JLaC -- I thought Marcus Mason ripped off a few nice runs last night and overall showed some promise. Any idea how he finished stat-wise? What do the coaches say about him? Will he make the 53-man roster? Thanks for doing these chats.
washingtonpost.com: A Young Man in a Rush (Post, Aug. 18)
Jason La Canfora: I like this kid. I thought he had wrapped up a spot on the practice squad before Blaylock got hurt, and he could end up making the 53 as the No. 4 running back ... but I think a ton will depend on who is cut Saturday.
They could decide to keep an extra FB or TE and go with three RBs to start the year -- even with an iffy Portis -- or they could go with three to start Saturday, then sign a RB if they like one out there, and put someone on waivers then. I know they would like to hold on to him, but guys have to clear waivers before going on the practice squad -- and Blaylock's injury can't hurt his chances.
I also think Rock is cool as the third RB for at least a few weeks, but I admit that I'm a Rock guy. I've got a soft spot for him.
Washington: With the injury to Espy, then Blaylock, who's next up to be the depth in the return game? And what happened with Eubanks wheeled off on a cart last night?
Jason La Canfora: Eubanks had a hamstring injury that they seemed to imply was fatigue/heat related and might not be too bad. He was on the bubble of making the team either way, and this may not have helped. They can use Thrash in either return role and have in the past, and Randle El will be doing punts in the regular season. Westbrook got work there in practice but he's a practice squad guy at best at this point.
Accomac, Va.: Has The Washington Post selected another reporter to help you with the 'Skins beat? Who? And are you going to be Batman or Robin?
Jason La Canfora: Batman. Absolutely Batman. After four years on this beat with four different partners, I ain't riding in the sidecar like The Boy Wonder. Jason Reid, formerly of the Los Angeles Times, will start Thursday, I believe. Don't know him, never talked to him in my life, but I am told he's a good dude.
So, Brett Haber on Channel 9 Was Wrong?: Jason, Brett Haber on Channel 9 spoke with so much passion last night that it hardly seemed like a casual discussion with the Seahawks. If the situation with the 8-car is much as you describe, why would Haber even go there? I don't see it as an attempt to drive ratings, and why stir something like this up with Gibbs? What you say makes sense, but I tend to think that there is more to this. What say you?
Jason La Canfora: I say people make mistakes and get things wrong all the time. Your question is best directed at him. I cannot, not would I ever want to, vouch for his reporting.
Washington: In retrospect, do you think the Skins should have traded Portis in the offseason, when the word was that he'd be 100 percent by September? Everything I've read recently makes his future prospects here seem bleak.
Jason La Canfora: Everyone who was brought in during 2004 is essentially on a one-year contract at this point -- that's the nature of how they structured all those contracts, as we wrote at that time and have since then. They were all really three- to five-year deals, with the base salaries getting nutty in 2007 or later for the most part. They've redone Portis's deal like three times since then, and Gibbs loves him.
Would other coaches or scouts have been comfortable dealing him this offseason? Definitely, but it's not their call, and also the guy's contract is huge and his value is as low as it ever has been in his career given all the injuries in the past year, so it would be another case of buying high and selling low, which has doomed the Skins for a long time.
He needs to have a big year here to keep this contract with the huge base salaries (nonguaranteed) but that's no different than what LaVar went through, and Springs, Daniels, Brunell (obviously), Griffin and a lot of guys who have been injured lately are carrying huge cap numbers the next few years.
Ashburn, Va.: JLC, is it really reasonable for Portis not to play at all in the preseason? Are the other players upset about CP's special treatment? It is really looking like a bad trade ... we gave up a draft pick and a future Hall of Fame cornerback for a running back who doesn't like to practice, had one good season with the Redskins and at the age of 26 is considered to have a lot of wear and tear.
Jason La Canfora: Everyone is just waiting to see what happens when it counts -- he is all about doing his thing six days a week but then bringing the heat on Sunday. If he can bring the heat and stay healthy, then no one will be moaning -- too much, at least -- about the CP rules. If not, yeah, it's definitely an issue, and I still believe and have since the end of last season that Betts is going to have a very prominent role this season.
Washington: Jason, why are so many helmets coming off in games this preseason?
Jason La Canfora: Not enough Stickum?
Baltimore: Fed Hill in the house -- J, are Portis and Samuels going to be in game shape for the opener? And what do guess the compensation would be for the Skins to trade Brunell to Seattle?
Jason La Canfora: Fed Hill ... I was getting my swerve on at The Market right now. Friday Happy Hours used to be a beautiful thing there.
As for CP and Chris, no, they won't be in top game shape -- that's just the reality of the situation. As for Mark, I think a conditional sixth based on playing time or amount of time spent on the roster or active on game days -- some contingency like that -- would be as good as it gets.
Germantown, Md.: Hey Jason, love your posts. Are the Eagles in trouble with no viable backup to McNabb? Also, why do some media outlets predict that the Skins will have a bad year? Where do they get their information from? What is your record prediction for the Skins? Thanks.
washingtonpost.com: Backup Feeley Breaks Hand in Eagles' Loss (AP, Aug. 31)
Jason La Canfora: They'll be sniffing around for help at QB, 'cause as much as Reid went out on a limb for the rookie QB there, it's hard to imagine he's close to being ready and hard to see McNabb starting all 16 games given recent history.
As for media predictions, I will never figure out why anyone cares, or especially why people get so worked up about this stuff. No one knows. No one! I am the first to admit it. Everyone is just guessing and it means absolutely nothing and has no impact on the actual outcomes of games and seasons. Let's let it go.
Most writers/talking heads who make predications do it for one reason -- their editors/producers make them. It's just following orders. Very few people do it because they actually think they are the smartest guy in the room and want to brag ... for the most it's just part of the job.
I never do it unless asked, and even then only reluctantly. So why do editors/producers keep making people do it? You'd have to ask them, but I am guessing it might be because it gets everyone talking and the message boards get all fired up and it creates a stir, whether it's ESPN or a local paper. My advice is to just ignore it. Who cares, honestly? Come Sept. 9 the answers to all of this will start taking shape, so just enjoy it and take it as it comes.
Waldorf, Md.: J-lac, you've been getting hammered a lot by folks on the insider blog recently -- waddup with that?
Jason La Canfora: I don't know, dude, and I honestly don't care. Some people can't handle the truth I guess.
Lexington, Va.: Is there any indication that Saunders is adjusting his playbook to fit this team, or is the team adjusting to fit Saunders' playbook? Neither?
Jason La Canfora: A little but of both. Jason is obviously more active and better on bootlegs and stuff outside the pocket than the other two QBs, but each week is different than the next, or the last. The playbook is tailored to what is working well and to the strengths and weaknesses of each opponent.
Atlanta: Is there some kind of curse of the "Core Guy" going on in Redskin Land. Time and time again you hear Gibbs talk about keeping these players and then they get shown the door. I love Salave'a and his heart, and after hearing that he had a solid camp and was healthy again I can't understand why they did him wrong like this. I get the feeling this youth movement on the defensive line will amount up to a couple snaps throughout the whole season for guys like Alexander and Buzbee. Why not just put them on the practice squad and keep big Joe? Plus my wife just bought me a $300 custom Salave'a jersey three months ago. I'm feeling kind of stung right now.
washingtonpost.com: Redskins Cut Veteran Salave'a (Post, Aug. 29)
Jason La Canfora: I love Joe, and if these kids don't work out or guys get hurt I would not be surprised to see Joe back in October or November. I don't think any teams are going to jump on him right now -- he's Gregg's guy and if Gregg let him go, teams take that as an indication.
As for the youth movement, Golston is going to start and Montgomery is essentially the No. 3 tackle -- those dudes are going to get more than a few snaps. Either Wilson or Buzbee could be a rush end from the left side in the nickel and dime packages -- that's a big deal, too. Alexander might make it as another tackle, and they have good veteran depth inside already, because Wynn and Evans easily can fill in at tackle and get reps there in certain packages and situations, and Daniels already is playing tackle in the nickel and dime.
I think they had to start heading in this direction ASAP, and a year from now Daniels and Wynn will be in the same situation and they're going to have to have some known commodities here with the kids and already have seen them in some game situations to know what they can do. Heck, this line was hardly full of spring chickens back when they put it together in 2004, and 2004 is like a decade ago in NFL years with the turnover in this league and how quickly guys age in the trenches.
Bridgewater, Va.: Miami has a very good defense and now with Trent Green a potentially good offense. A good test for us -- your thoughts, especially in light of Campbell's opening drive against Jax?
Jason La Canfora: I smell an ugly, defensive slugfest that turns on a turnover or field goal. Green knows this system inside out from his days playing in it and has had two months to talk to the defense about what to expect. Miami's defense is big-time to begin with, and Samuels could have his hands full with Jason Taylor after missing so much time. A real test for the left side of the line right off the bat.
Miami's run defense is very tough as a rule and I just don't see the Dolphins moving the ball much on the Skins as well. One of these defenses will make a play or two that wins the game is my guess, and the Skins D will have a perfect chance to make a statement about whether the sack/takeaway drought is really over.
Washington, DC: Jason, great articles so far (see the links above!). Last year, the Tom Friend article made safeties coach, Steve Jackson, sound like a pouter. Your LaRon article made him sound great. Are the coaches getting their mojo together better this year? Also, is child No. 2 sleeping better or worse than his bigger sister at the same age?
washingtonpost.com: Redskins Have a Hit At Safety (Post, Aug. 23)
Jason La Canfora: Thanks so much for the kind words. Unfortunately, Chloe is now by far the better sleeper of the two, which ain't saying a whole heck of a lot. Rocco won't nap more than 30-40 minutes and still wakes up two or three times at night. But heck, everyone is healthy, so that's all the matters -- this too shall pass.
As for the LaRon article, I didn't really see it as Jackson coming through good or bad, and I think the Friend article, as I wrote at the time, was based off less-than-rigorous reporting and overly slanted. He essentially hinted that Jackson and Williams would be fired, said the entire defense had quit and that everything needed to be blown up and everyone had figured Gregg out and it was hopeless. If this defense plays in the regular season like it did in the preseason, well, draw your own conclusions.
Herndon, Va.: JLA -- whatup, no music comments? Carlos "Double Move" Rogers feeling any pressure with Smoot in camp? Any competition there? How does each one look?
Jason La Canfora: I am at home right now, so no music. Hoping one of my kids actually takes a nap.
Carlos has had a strong camp and it was imperative to make him fight for a job a bit (Rumph and Wright weren't scaring anyone other than their own coaches last season). It seems to have brought out the best in Carlos. We shall see if it carries over to the regular season, but it's time for him to step up.
Georgetown, D.C.: Re: Portis and "injuries" -- I seem to recall several times when Riggo would be injured or some such, so he practiced seldom, if at all. Of course, come Sunday, he still ran over, around and through opposing defenses. So, even under Gibbs I, such occurrences could happen. It appears we'll see whether CP can pull that trick off.
Jason La Canfora: Those guys are built very differently, though. Not even close in the heft department.
Charlotte, N.C.: Jason -- in his previous life, Coach Gibbs was known for making great half-time adjustments and pounding teams in the second half of games. It seems that Gibbs 2.0 has been on the receiving end of those second-half poundings much more often than not. Any thoughts on what might have changed?
Jason La Canfora: Not sure what has changed, but the slow decisions, poor second-half offense, wasted timeouts, too much deliberation about going for it or not, management of the coaches challenge ... all of it needs to be better in 2007.
Jason La Canfora: Hey guys, my time is up. Thanks for the great questions and sorry if I seemed a little distracted. I am trying to make phone calls and stay on top of five things at once here. Very busy time.
As always, thanks for taking part and feel free to email me at lacanforaj@washpost.com at any time. Have a great weekend. Cheers.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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Appearing every Wednesday and Friday in The Washington Post Style section and in Sunday Source, Tell Me About It offers readers advice based on the experiences of someone who's been there -- really recently. Carolyn Hax is an ex-repatriated New Englander with a liberal arts degree and a lot of opinions and that's about it, really, when you get right down to it. Oh, and the shoes. A lot of shoes.
Mail can be directed to Carolyn at tellme@washpost.com.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Carolyn. A semi-fluffy wedding question for you. My maid of honor keeps suggesting wedding colors and bridesmaid dresses that I, frankly, hate. First, how do I deal with these suggestions without turning into an "It's my wedding!" bridezilla?
Second, do you think chocolate brown dresses with flowers in assorted shades of pink would look good? That's what I want, but the MOH and mother claim it doesn't match. (But I like it!)
Carolyn Hax: If this is "semi," what is fully?
Let's call the rhetorical--not sure I want an actual answer.
Tell them you're not trying to match.
Virginia: How come The Post says your column is "away" but you're still doing the chats? Very curious to know.
Carolyn Hax: Often when I take a vacation, I still do my show. Plus, by the time my column is "away," I'm usually "here," since I file in advance.
Grumpy, Washington, D.C.: Any quick tips on cheering up? I've been in a funk lately. Are you always cheery? I bet you are!
Carolyn Hax: I don't know how a person who's always cheery could write advice; the way I see it, it demands at least some experience visiting some very dark places.
The only quick fix I know to a foul mood is doing something nice for someone(s) else. Give it a shot and report back.
Wedding Colors: Chocolate with pink flowers sounds great to me. (if she's soliciting opinions)
Carolyn Hax: I've always wondered about flowers and "matching" anyway. Do flowers ever clash with dirt? Blue skies? Gray ones? Sunsets? Their own stems?
Comparison to the ex: Hey Carolyn,
Is it a problem when you keep thinking about an ex during a current relationship? Especially when you never want to date that ex ever again but can't help making comparisons? I don't know how to get the internal comparisons to stop. I know they're not useful.
Carolyn Hax: Oh no, they're extremely useful. Every ex--the one you miss, the one you don't, the one you regret, the one for whom the word regret isn't strong enough since you'd really rather erase your whole inner hard drive--teaches you something about yourself. If you're constantly comparing, then don't try to force yourself to stop. Instead, try to make it useful. Break down why you're doing it, what you are and arent' getting from this relationship, when you've felt good with someone and why, whether it lasted. There's important information in here somewhere.
Georgia: My mother once told me that my older sister had been sexually touched by a man down the street when she was a little girl. My mom (who is an alcoholic in denial) was drunk at the time she told me and doesn't remember ever telling me this. She also told me that my sister was too young to have remembered it.
My sister has always had lots of emotional/self esteem issues and I've wondered whether she has a repressed memory that has been the trigger for the emotional stuff that has been hitting the fan for years. Should I mention this to my sister? Or would that make it worse? What is my responsibility?
Carolyn Hax: Take all the details you have to a reputable counselor, and explore your best course of action from there. That way you could lay out the details of your sister's struggles, and of your family circumstances, before a trained set of eyes.
How to compromise?: My girlfriend and I get along really well, love each other deeply and mutually support our respective goals in life. But we do have our differences. She is a bit of a slob and I'm a neat freak. She's overweight and I'm a health nut. So far we've compromised on neatness issues that makes us both comfortable enough. I am OK with her weight for the most part but every now and again it bothers me (and my lower back). Any ideas on how to move past this issue? (We've talked about making healthy eating choices and she knows she needs to lose weight. I don't feel the need to tell her what she already knows but I do see her make poor eating choices constantly, like drinking two sodas with a meal instead of something with less sugar)
Carolyn Hax: The two questions in your question--"How to compromise?" and "How to move past this issue?"--are actually two different questions with two different answers.
To the first, my answer is, there is no (further) compromise. You pretty much say it yourself--there's nothing to be accomplished by telling her what she already knows. She has chosen to be heavier than she has to be, in exchange for the ability to have two sodas at dinner.
So it's the second question that really applies here: How to move past this?, which I take to mean, how to get to a point where this doesn't bother you?
Your lower back might not be something anyone can help here (unless you choose to break up, obviously), but there is a way you can at least try to accept her two-soda way of life, even though it's one you consciously don't choose for yourself. Extend the reasoning of the preceding sentence: You've consciously chosen someone who makes conscious choices that differ from yours. In other words, you aren't dating your clone--and that's a good thing, right? You're with her because she has traits that you admire, and maybe wish you also had?
For example, she may be sloppy and overweight by one estimation, but by another she may be relaxed, fun, disinclined to get snared by details. One person's shaky self-discipline is another's "carpe diem."
So if you're tired of veering back and forth between enjoying her and wanting her to change, maybe it's worth a closer look at exactly what it is about her you're enjoying during those good times. That alone can burnish the image of the things you once thought as detractions. Maybe she lightens you up.
It could also point out that you're enjoying her more when she colors inside the lines as you would, and while it's not as happy an ending, it is another useful answer. It means you're waiting for her to change, and you're getting disappointed when you see she hasn't changed. Then it might be time to acknowledge you're not a good fit.
Carolyn Hax: I should have posted that as a two-parter. sorry.
Washington, D.C.: I think that a truly fluffy wedding question has to do with the consistency of the cake.
Carolyn Hax: or the hair.
Georgetown, Washingotn, D.C.: My girlfriend is considering a breast augmentation. She has asked my opinion repeatedly about this. So far I've gotten away with hedgey answers such as I like the way she looks now and am happy as long as she's happy, but she's really serious about this idea, and honestly, it could really enhance her figure. I love her either way, but is it helpful if I tell her I think it's a pretty good idea?
Carolyn Hax: Speaking of strained backs. Mine is trying to push my forehead into the keyboard, but I'm determined to answer it straight.
If she's making a serious decision, then you owe her a serious answer. But that means an informed answer--no, "It could really enhance your figure," but a well-researched, well-thought out response that rests on knowledge of the risks, the effects on the body, the predictability of the results, the costs, and all the little stuff no one would expect you to think about, like jogging, aging, breastfeeding, posture, fitting into clothes, and a host of others I can't even think of right now. This is surgery on someone you love, not bikini stuffing on someone you stand next to in photographs.
Working Mom Burn Out: Carolyn, I've been doing this working mom gig for nine months and I am fried like a green tomato. How are we supposed to manage it all?
Any tips you want to share about balancing things better? I guess the hardest part is that I feel nothing is getting 100 percent.
Carolyn Hax: If you were home full-time, you would feel that nothing is getting 100 percent. Small children are a 24-7-365 enterprise, and no one, no one, is fresh for that many hours for that many days for as many years as it takes. Just be as loving as you can at home, as competent as you can at work, and try not to confuse the two.
Washington, D.C.: The fluffy question is also about owning your own choices. I am coaching a bride-to-be friend on how to accept all manner of advice from her mother and her best friend at the cost of having the wedding they want and not the wedding she wants. Bridezilla = crazy lady demanding that everyone wear pink to match the flowers.
Carolyn Hax: Darn it. You're right. Thanks.
Maryland: I will be visiting and staying at my boyfriend's parents' house for the first time (I have meet them before but not at his house). I do not want to show up empty handed, but I'm confused on what would be a proper gift. Chocolate? Tea? Anything out there for less than $50? Somebody suggested flowers but we will be taking a six hour plane ride to get there (Seattle to Florida) so... not exactly ideal for me. Thank you!
Carolyn Hax: People who take six-hour plane rides to stay with people are not expected to schlep gifts. A good and prompt thank-you note will suffice, and if you'd like, you can also send a small gift, if after spending time in the home an idea comes to you.
If you really feel funny with the empty-hands idea, I think a nice pair or two of candles won't weigh you down, and they fill the something-they-can-consume requirement without requiring knowledge of their taste in food. (Though your BF should be able to help you with that.)
Nothing is getting 100 percent: That's perfectly acceptable. We live in a country where we're supposed to super mom, super dad, super student or super whatever.
Getting a B is okay. Allow yourself that. Stop thinking of it as "not an A."
Carolyn Hax: Standing and clapping, thanks.
Breast augmentation boyfriend again : Thanks for your answer. Honestly I hadn't even thought it through that far -- I was working on the assumption that the surgery would be fine and that I'm just deciding between the way my girlfriend looks now and the way she'd look later. I really don't have a preference whether she does it or not. I'm just worried about her potential resentment if she chooses the alternative I didn't advocate. Sorry I made you jam your forehead into the keyboard.
Carolyn Hax: Tsokay, it wouldn't have been with full force. But you really do have to think of it in terms of cutting into your own body for the sole purpose of making yourself more attractive--without the guarantee it would work, as some very famous people have very famously demonstrated for us all to see.
Would you do it to yourself? That's really the first question you need to answer.
Fat and sloppy...: But...when he met her was she "fat?" I mean, either he saw then that she was bigger than what he liked and said whateva, she's hawt or he's been waiting all this time for her to lose that extra weight so she can really be the perfect woman he knows she can be...
Carolyn Hax: Either way--waiting for her to get back to her old shape is no different from waiting for your relationship to get back to the way it was in your first six months together. At least for predictive purposes, the only reality that counts is the current one.
Standing and Clapping For Mediocrity?: Why are you so enthusiastically embracing mediocrity? It's slacking off and the celebration thereof that is ripping this country's social fabric. We're a bunch of lazy fatties, and you think that's great? Come on!
Carolyn Hax: You're right. I'll now stand and clap for the people driving 15 mph over the speed limit through residential neighborhoods on 4 hrs sleep, jacked on ventis. Then this country would be back to its imaginary glory days when everyone did everything and it was always great and the world merely stood back and admired.
Unless you were kidding, then I'll stand and clap for a good one.
To the neat-freak, health nut: There's a difference between loving someone and respecting someone. Sounds like you may love this girlfriend but perhaps your respect for her has fallen as she hasn't shown initiative or determination in adopting the lifestyle choices that you espouse. If you don't respect someone I think you might have a hard time making them your partner.
Carolyn Hax: That, too, thanks.
Plane rides don't negate etiquette!: ALWAYS bring something to the hostess. Take care to find out what you can but don't be too familiar if you don't know them well. Tea or coffee is good and not too heavy. If you're arriving and can stop at a store for a nice bottle of wine/liquor. Homemade cookies.
Although I recently brought banana bread to someone allergic to bananas and coffee beans when they had no grinder... eek! But the bread was consumed by the other houseguests!
then you behave, help with cooking, cleaning, don't make unreasonable requests, participate in family activities as long as reasonable, are polite and interested in others, and definitely write a thank you note!!!
Carolyn Hax: The last paragraph gets an A, but even Miss Manners will give a pass on the hostess gift under certain circumstances, as long as there's good guest behavior and a note.
Breast augmentation:"Would you do it to yourself?" Huhhh???
Possibly the guy doesn't want to undergo potentially dangerous surgery to enhance a secondary sexual characteristic, but apparently the girl does (she brought it up; surely she's researched the risks).
I'd just stick with "it's your decision."
"Cutting into your own body for the sole purpose of making yourself more attractive." That was the antecedent to, "Would you do it to yourself?" She was asking him for an opinion, and he, as someone who cares about her, should make it an informed opinion. I understand, this is way controversial advice, but I'm sticking to it.
Provo, Utah: I would just like to say that I don't think any bridesmaid relishes the idea of wearing a brown dress. Pink flowers are great -- that's not it. They are trying to tactfully tell this bride that she needs to choose a more flattering color for her bridesmaids.
Carolyn Hax: Then they need to stop being tactful and say, "Brown looks really bad on me, can we try a different color?" That's in fact even more tactful, since it's then about the bridesmaid's skin tone (fate), vs. the bride's taste (choice).
Plenty of bridesmaids relish the idea of wearing a brown dress. It's generalizations like this that turn a perfectly good fluff question into one with much bigger things to say about human behavior.
Can't we just say...:...that there's a lot of space between mediocrity and perfection?
Carolyn Hax: Can't we just say, perfection doesn't exist?
Dollywood, Tenn.: What is the correct answer to "Does this make me look fat?"
Carolyn Hax: Depends on how reversible the decision is to wear this:
If you're in the dressing room, say, eh, it's fine, but not the most flattering thing you've ever worn.
If you're at home and the tags are still on, same.
If you're at home and returning the item isn't an option, then suggest pairing it with other things, if it isn't a flat-out lost cause. "I like it, but the top/shoe/belt isn't right."
If you're already at an event, then you say, don't worry, you look [supportable compliment here].
Etiquette re-examined: I'd disagree with the idea that you have to show up with something, especially in these days of baggage weight limits, restrictions on what you can bring, etc. - ask your boyfriend what they'd like, and you can always send it after. That counts too - so does picking up something while you're there, seeing a need and filling it.
Carolyn Hax: Thanks for the backup.
Arlington Va.: OR, the fat girlfriend doesn't respect herself OR the boyfriend. Not taking care of yourself is disrespectful to yourself and the relationship. She could bother to become interested in something he is -- exercise -- and offer to take walks with him. Being sloppy is disrespectful to his wishes. He obviously cares about her and takes into account her personality and wishes; we don't know that is reciprocated.
Carolyn Hax: Why does she have to take care of herself to -his- standards for it to be considered respect? If she's well-groomed and at a steady weight, is that not considered a sign of self-respect if the BMI table says it isn't? Why does she have to exercise just because he does?
I agree that obesity is a serious problem in this country, and that there are many things we as a society have to do to address the problem. But pointing fingers at total strangers as if it's our business how they eat and live is not one of them.
Re: Dollywood: I think the correct answer is "please stop asking me that question."
Carolyn Hax: But isn't that a yes?
Silly questions:"No, you always look fat."
Carolyn Hax: Standing, clapping and whistling.
I'll remain anonymous, obviously....: The boyfriend with the overweight girlfriend doesn't sound to me to expect perfection. Rather, I think he has a very real concern about healthy behaviors. It's not unreasonable to worry about someone's health, and weight is an important aspect.
My husband was a triathelete when we married, and now is pretty overweight. Geesh, we have two small kids. But I worry that he drinks too much soda and eats too many chips - as you get older, it's harder to lose the weight. Not that I wish I didn't marry him, but it's a real concern that goes beyond whether he looks good in his swim trunks.
Carolyn Hax: This is a great example, because it has all the elements necessary to round out (he he) the other side--wasn't always this way, making unhealthy choices, something very significant is at stake that isn't about him or about you.
It also brings the issue back to the whole character of a person, and what you can do about that.
Starting with the second issue, you can express your concern, you can make a point of not having soda and chips in the house, you can invite a person to take walks with you, but you can't stop him from eating what he wants to eat. You also can't stop a falling piano from dodging an overweight chip-eater and landing on a triathlete. So, maybe the most important thing you can do is have a good perspective on the risks before you decide to do or say anything.
An important part of that decision has to be, again, the character of the person. Some people are more receptive to intervention than others, some people have more willpower than others, some carpe more diems than others. Know him, know the true risk, know the limits of what you can do, and respond accordingly. This advice could be for you, or for the guy whose post started it all.
More on brown dress: I look terrible in dark red, but that's what my best friend chose for her bridesmaid dresses. So what? I wore it with a smile because it's not really important if I'm a bit washed out in the photos. Just suck it up and let the bride pick what she wants and don't whine about it unless it's truly hideous (I had no choice but to nix the dress that made me look like a porn star mixed with a german milkmaid).
Carolyn Hax: She picked the St. Pauli Girl dress?
Re: Arlington: Wow, so Arlington doesn't like fat people.
Taking care of yourself emotionally is just as important as taking care of yourself physically. If I had a boyfriend who thought 10 extra pounds was a moral failing, I'd sneak a pound of butter into everything he ate, watch him blow up like a balloon, then dump him.
Can we all please let go of the idea that if you don't fit a certain body type, it's because you're a failure as a person?
Carolyn Hax: I'll post it, but won't get my hopes up. When you give up cheesecake, you need to find your pleasure somewhere else.
Hostess Candles: Oh PLEASE, no more candles, "special" coffee, or any other kitschy thing that would be "so thoughtful" as a hostess gift. If I'm having you stay in my home, it isn't because I'm just aching to fill my drawers with more thrift store fodder. Please, just feel welcome, be cheerful, clean up after yourself, and don't complain about my crazy cat. I'll consider myself blessed with that, candles not required.
Carolyn Hax: There it is.
FWIW, if you don't use candles, you can use them as firestarters.
I'm tired of wallowing in my own venom all the time. I used to have a career in broadcasting, and due to a move (to a city I love) I now have a job that I hate and am ill suited for (customer service). I've had 15 interviews in the past 2 years, the most recent for doing exactly what I did in my career, and did not get the job. People now only see my recent work as relevant. I have serious doubts my smaller TV market talents will ever be needed in the large city I live in. I have a great guy, a fun volunteer gig twice a month, great health, supportive family....but I am still a raging bitch 40 hours a week and extremely bitter about the job thing. Short of lobotomy, I can't see cheering up about it anytime soon. I have no idea of what job to look for next and feel washed up professionally at age 52.
Carolyn Hax: You'll never cheer up about it if you keep seeing your career choice as a binary one. In fact, intimidating as it is, it's really an everything-but-binary choice. You need to rule out the career you once had, and the career you now have, and get creative with the rest. For the last part, it would probably be helpful to have a professional to consult with. The career field is a little fuzzier and a lot newer than, say, medicine, so it's not like you can check your insurance plan to find a specialist. But if you make a few key calls--to a past mentor, to a college career office, to headhunters--you might be able to put together a workable list of leads. Find someone, brainstorm, maybe even look for signs in the "fin volunteer gig."
Pennsylvania: Do you read the comments people post after your columns?
Carolyn Hax: Very rarely. Mail sent directly to me takes precedence, and I can barely get through that, since I save it for when I've finished my columns for the week. The comments I have read seemed like a conversation among readers; if there's something there intended for me, the place for that is tellme@washpost.com
Anonymous: My ex is getting married soon. This is the man who freaked out over keeping a toothbrush at my house. I know he wasn't right for me and I have a new boyfriend who treats me well and who I know loves me. So why am I so sad? I feel like I'll never really feel that in love again. It's been four years and I've been in therapy but I'm still in mourning over the whole thing. My brains knows better but my heart is on a whole different page.
Carolyn Hax: Is your heart involved with the new boyfriend? Because his treating you well and loving you is great, but it's only half of what you need. Reciprocating feels pretty good too.
And, the whole I'll-never-really-feel-that-in-love-again? Good. I can't help but see the big dramatic "love" of these impossible relationships as a result of strong attraction mixed with desperation. Take away the desperation and, yes, absolutely, the feelings aren't as strong in the sense of their being a day-to-day distraction, but they can actually be deeper, more enduring, and a whole lot more rewarding.
What if it's not about food?: My husband smokes pot. Every day. When we met, it was rare, when we married, it was occasionally. Fast forward a few years, and it's every day. Not only does it feel a lot like lack of respect, it has started to feel like "I need drugs because you're not good enough to make me happy." Ouch. FWIW, we've talked about it, he knows how I feel, so now he avoids smoking around me - in the other room, before I get home, etc. I'm not an ultimatum kind of gal, but it sort of seems like he's already made his choice...
Carolyn Hax: Ya. What's yours? (Families Anonymous or a private counselor who specializes in families of users might be able to help you a lot with this.)
Candles/Firestarters: Almost completely off topic, but your comment made me think of it: at one point I bought "holy smokes" fire starters from the gift shop at the National Cathedral. They're made from bits of wood and the stumps of church candles. A hoot, and useful, and a way to support the Cathedral. Win-win and people loved them as gifts. I've been away from DC for a while now, so don't know if they still sell them.
Carolyn Hax: It is on the topic of hostess gifts, right?
Can I blame this chat for : making a lunch out of some guacomale and chips?
Carolyn Hax: Go for it. It holds blame really well.
Boyfriend's Etiquette: We're all nervous in these situations, but I would make sure, girlfriend, to see how your boyfriend handles everything here during the visit to his parents. Other than focusing on how much the parents like you, remember that you have your first best opportunity to see his family life... For starters, if the parents are going to get huffy because you brought the wrong hostess gift, rather than focusing on this woman he's bringing to meet them, think about why your boyfriend didn't help you to know what to expect?
Reunited.... And It Feels So...: My in-laws were estranged from their son long before I married my wife. He recently patched up his relationship with them to general joy in our family. Over the past few years, my in-laws have given to me a number of family mementos like cufflinks, a watch, etc. that would have gone to their son. I know my in-laws would LOVE to pass them on to their son and also know they would never ask me to give them back. Should I offer to give them back so they can gift them to their son? I know our love for one another isn't connected to these items so I wouldn't miss them. They are sitting in a safe deposit box anyway.
Carolyn Hax: I think it would be good of you to offer, though I'd leave out the they're-just-gathering-dust part. Even if it would mean more for them to be able to give these gifts to their son, I'm sure they hoped you'd see them as meaningful, and your choice not to use them could be misunderstood. Best just to avoid that line of discussion.
THANK YOU!!!: I had my family reunion recently and got to use "Wow" to a rude relative I wasn't looking forward to seeing. It worked great!
Carolyn Hax: Thanks--I've gotten a couple of posts from happy testers. I haven't tried it yet myself.
RE: Comparison to the ex: I always love your advice, but have to disagree with you. I've always found that comparisons are deadly. "If I only had more money" or "If he were more like X" doesn't do anything but frustrate you. You've got to deal with the current situation, not compete with the past or unattainable goals.
Carolyn Hax: And a window into dealing with the current situation is examining the comparisons. "If only I had more money," for example--why? What would that improve, specifically? And saying, "I could be on the beach" is a cop-out; I mean what Specific Problem would it solve? That in itself is a useful exercise. It's like emotion--no, it's not good to be angry all the time, but deciding, "I will stop being angry" isn't going to help much. You have to get to the "why," and that's sitting--usually in plain sight--inside the "what." Which, in this case, are the recurring comparisons.
Maryland: Georgia's question hit a nerve for me. I come from the standard dysfunctional family but problems are so much more severe than my siblings and I'm terrified of relationships. I've only had one and it was a disaster. I've often wondered if something no one will tell me about happened to me when I was too young to remember clearly. How do you find out or am I looking or an excuse? I certainly couldn't approach my mother about it.
Carolyn Hax: Do you have a sibling you trust? If you're in touch with all or most of your family members, you could also go on a fact-finding mission, just getting them to reminisce without leading anyone anywhere specific. I hope, too, you've explored the idea of counseling; it won't offer eyewitnesses to your childhood, but it could help you with the decision and the process of tracking them down. You might also find it's not that different things happened to you, but that the same things happened to different people, who then all showed different effects. Good luck tracking this down.
Sunny Florida: My sister and her husband have an almost three-year-old daughter (an only child). Lately, I've noticed my brother-in-law undermining my sister's attempts at discipline and giving in to my niece whenever she whines or cries. Mom says daughter can't have something, dad gives it to her. Mom says daughter can't do something, dad lets her do that very thing. It's not like my sister is asking a lot of a three-year-old -- telling her she can't have candy before dinner (niece whines, dad gives candy to her), telling her she has to eat two more bites of dinner before she can leave the table (niece cries, dad lets her go play). And so on...
I'm worried that my niece is going to become a brat because she's learning that whining and crying is the best way to get your way, and that she will grow up to treat my sister with the same lack of respect her father shows. There are other examples where I think my brother-in-law doesn't treat my sister respectfully, but when I see him teaching it to my niece, it really bothers me.
So... do I suck it up and ignore it since she's not my kid? Do I talk to my sister about it? Talk directly to my BIL? I'd appreciate advice from you and the gallery...
Carolyn Hax: Unless you have a testy relationship, I'd talk to your sister about it. "I notice X undermining your efforts at discipline a lot lately; that must drive you nuts."
Carolyn Hax: I shouldn't posted that and run, but, oh, look at the time. Wait, I forgot this:
Richmond, Va.: Go for broke: Yes, you look fat, especially in a brown dress, and without a doubt -- without exception even -- when you are wearing a brown dress, holding pink flowers, and the tags have been removed. Then again, it would all be good if your boobs were bigger.
Carolyn Hax: So. Bye, thanks, have a great weekend, and type to you next Friday.
"Wow": Can you refresh my memory on the "wow" response? I remember reading about it in a discussion, but I can't remember the details...
Carolyn Hax: Sure. Summed up here:
Why are you so enthusiastically embracing mediocrity? It's slacking off and the celebration thereof that is ripping this country's social fabric. We're a bunch of lazy fatties, and you think that's great? : Wow.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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In E-Mails, Political Pressure on Ex-Surgeon General
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White House officials viewed former surgeon general Richard H. Carmona as a public relations tool, pushing him to make political appearances and promote the Bush administration's agenda while he was in office, according to a series of executive branch e-mails released yesterday by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).
The 18 pages of e-mails back up Carmona's testimony before a House committee in July that he routinely battled Bush appointees who sought to rewrite his speeches, send him on political trips, and suppress his reports on global health, prison health and other politically sensitive topics. President Bush and other administration officials rejected the accusation.
An e-mail on Feb. 6, 2006, includes a memo to Carmona from then-White House political director Sara Taylor requesting that he deliver the keynote speech to the Alabama Republican Council's annual fundraiser in Birmingham on March 4 of that year. "WH would be grateful if you could do this event," Jamie Burke, the White House liaison at the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in her cover note.
Carmona replied that "this one may present a conflict since it appears to be a fundraiser and OGC [Office of General Counsel] has previously told me to stay away from those type of events." He did not attend.
Richard Finley, chairman of the Alabama group, which represents black Republicans, said yesterday that he wanted Carmona to discuss health concerns in the black community.
In January 2006, Burke sent Carmona several e-mails asking, on behalf of the White House political office, whether he would speak to a Fraternal Order of Police gathering in Nashville on Feb. 11. "Just found out this is a HUGE push from WH -- can you do this event?" Burke wrote on Jan. 23. "Sorry to be such a pest." Carmona made that trip.
Carmona served as the nation's top public health official from 2002 to 2006, when he was abruptly told he would not be reappointed. The e-mails show that, early in his tenure, political appointees considered him uncooperative. In an April 14, 2003, message, for instance, William Turenne, a former Eli Lilly executive who was serving as a high-level consultant at HHS, told then-White House liaison Regina Schofield that she had "a mess" on her hands in Carmona.
"He needs to be the SG [Surgeon General] with specific speeches, on specific topics addressing the Secretary's and the president's agenda -- which will become more political as the re-elect gets underway," Turenne wrote.
In a Sept. 25, 2002, e-mail to Schofield, Turenne described Carmona as "wandering" and "not focused on the president's/secretary's agenda."
"These documents confirm that White House and HHS officials improperly sought to influence the activities of the Surgeon General to achieve political goals," Kennedy wrote yesterday in a letter to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt.
Kennedy, chairman of the Senate health committee, obtained the e-mails as part of a probe into political interference in public health matters. In his letter, Kennedy noted that many of the White House e-mails were sent from Republican National Committee accounts held by White House officials, and he requested more documents.
Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said, "If Dr. Carmona had concerns about how his office was running, he had an obligation to raise those concerns while he was in the position."
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Latest politics news headlines from Washington DC. Follow 2006 elections,campaigns,Democrats,Republicans,political cartoons,opinions from The Washington Post. Features government policy,government tech,political analysis and reports.
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So, What Made Me an Addict?
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Many people think they know what addiction is, but despite non-experts' willingness to opine on its treatment and whether Britney or Lindsay's rehab was tough enough, the term is still a battleground. Is addiction a disease? A moral weakness? A disorder caused by drug or alcohol use, or a compulsive behavior that can also occur in relation to sex, food and maybe even video games?
As a former cocaine and heroin addict, these questions have long fascinated me. I want to know why, in three years, I went from being an Ivy League student to a daily IV drug user who weighed 80 pounds. I want to know why I got hooked, when many of my fellow drug users did not.
A bill was introduced in Congress this spring to change the name of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to the National Institute on Diseases of Addiction, and the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) to the National Institute on Alcohol Disorders and Health. In a press release introducing the legislation, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) said, "By changing the way we talk about addiction, we change the way people think about addiction, both of which are critical steps in getting past the social stigma too often associated with the disease."
But opinion polls find weak support for the concept of addiction as a disease, despite years of advocacy by such agencies as NIDA and NIAAA and by recovery groups. A 2002 Hart poll found that most people thought alcoholism was about half disease, half weakness; just 9 percent viewed it wholly as a disease.
So what does science have to say? Addiction research has advanced dramatically since my high school years in the early 1980s, when I began using marijuana and psychedelics, then cocaine, in the hope they would relieve my social isolation. My progression from psychedelics to coke was fed by a definition of addiction that still causes widespread misunderstanding. In 1982 -- around when I first tried cocaine -- Scientific American published an article claiming it was no more addictive than potato chips. This was based on the fact that cocaine users, unlike heroin users, do not become physically sick when they try to stop taking their drug.
Addiction, by this reasoning, is a purely physiological process, one that results from drug-induced chemical changes in the brain and body. Over time, with heroin and similar drugs, the article explained, the user develops tolerance (needs more of the drug to experience the same effect) and eventually becomes physically ill if he doesn't have access to an adequate dose. Addiction, by this theory, is primarily an attempt to avoid physical withdrawal.
I bought into this idea because it was confirmed by my experience: I never had a problem stopping marijuana, LSD or mushrooms, none of which cause significant physical dependence. I expected cocaine to be similar and, therefore, safer than heroin. With no physical withdrawal to avoid, stopping should be a snap. Or so I thought.
By the time I got suspended from college for my involvement with cocaine, I was smoking it, often daily. And because I believed that my suspension meant I'd already ruined my life, I felt I had no reason not to try heroin. I just didn't care.
Heroin became my drug of choice. It calmed me, gave me distance from my obsessions and anxieties. Over time, cocaine made me feel anxious, but heroin always soothed and smoothed. I continued taking both, injecting higher and higher doses.
Today's most widely accepted definition of addiction -- used in psychiatry's latest edition of its diagnostic manual, the DSM-IV-TR -- recognizes that compulsive use of a substance despite negative consequences is key. And that's exactly what I experienced: At least six times, I made it through the physical sickness of heroin withdrawal -- the shaking, diarrhea and vomiting -- only to use again because I wanted the drug. This compulsive aspect helps explain why we can now consider video games and, yes, even potato chips more addictive than we did in the past.
But the DSM retains a focus on physical aspects of addiction: It calls addiction "substance dependence," suggesting that physical need is critical. Tolerance and withdrawal are part of the criteria used to diagnose the condition, even though pain patients taking opioids as directed may experience both and not actually be addicted. Studies find that less than 1 percent of people who take pain medications and don't have a past history of drug problems become addicted. Many pain patients who stop opioids after the source of their pain has been removed even undergo withdrawal without realizing it: It's called "hospital flu." But the vast majority have no difficulty refusing further medication.
As a result, experts -- including NIDA director Nora Volkow -- have called for the official name of the disorder to be changed from "substance dependence" to "addiction" in the next edition of the DSM. They say the confusion between physical dependence and addiction leads to under-treatment of pain: Surveys find many patients, even those who are dying, don't receive enough medication for effective relief. Physicians are even criminally prosecuted for "over-prescribing" when patients with painful conditions become physically dependent on opioid drugs.
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Many people think they know what addiction is, but despite non-experts' willingness to opine on its treatment and whether Britney or Lindsay's rehab was tough enough, the term is still a battleground. Is addiction a disease? A moral weakness? A disorder caused by drug or alcohol use, or a compuls...
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Dip in Scores Chalked Up To Broader Participation
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Prince George's County showed a substantial increase in numbers of students taking the SAT last year, schools officials said yesterday. Although the county's average scores fell in the college entrance exam's three categories, the drops were less steep than the state average.
The county released its statistics yesterday, two days after the College Board released national SAT numbers. The data showed that the number of county students taking the test jumped 12.6 percent, from 4,473 to 5,038 students. Statewide participation on the test also increased, by 7.3 percent.
John E. Deasy, the Prince George's superintendent, said the increase illustrated growing college readiness among county students.
"I think the story for us in performance is about the very large increase we had in the students who are taking it," Deasy said. "One would expect a corresponding decline in scores."
The county's scores dropped from 437 to 432 on the critical reading section of the test. They dropped from 424 to 420 in math, and 433 to 429 in writing. Overall, average scores declined from 1294 to 1281, but the 13-point drop was exceeded by that of the state, which fell 17 points, from 1492 to 1475. National average scores also dropped, from 1518 to 1511.
Deasy attributed the smaller decline to the overall academic gains made by the county.
Officials of the College Board, which administers the SAT, have said the lower scores reflect greater participation among students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who previously might not have aspired to attend college.
Deasy said the county has actively encouraged such students to take the test and helps financially needy students pay for taking it.
"We've done a huge outreach for kids who didn't know about the test, having them understand the importance of it, making sure there was no financial barrier to it," Deasy said. "You can't get into college without taking it."
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Prince George's County showed a substantial increase in numbers of students taking the SAT last year, schools officials said yesterday. Although the county's average scores fell in the college entrance exam's three categories, the drops were less steep than the state average.
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Two U.S. Priests Defect To Anglicans in Kenya
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NAIROBI, Aug. 30 -- Two American priests were consecrated Thursday as Anglican bishops in Kenya, the latest in a string of conservative priests who are defecting to African churches in a dispute over gay clergy.
Bill Atwood of Texas and William Murdoch of Massachusetts left the Episcopal Church -- the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion -- because it allows the ordination of gay priests.
"The Gospel . . . must take precedence over culture," said Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the West Indies, one of 10 Anglican leaders or representatives who attended the ceremony in Nairobi's All Saints Cathedral. "Homosexual practice violates the order of life given by God in Holy Scripture."
The spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, has asked African archbishops not to consecrate U.S. priests to help avoid a schism. Kenyan Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi said there had been no direct communication with Williams over Thursday's ceremony.
Williams has no direct authority to force a compromise because each Anglican province is self-governing.
The Anglican Communion has moved toward the brink of splitting since the Episcopal Church, its 2.4 million-member U.S. branch, consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, in 2003. Most of the fellowship's 77 million members are based in the developing world, where homosexuality is strongly discouraged and often illegal.
A split would be a financial hardship for the communion because the small but wealthy Episcopal Church provides a significant chunk of the budget.
After Thursday's ceremony, Atwood and Murdoch plan to return home to minister to their congregations with Nzimbi as their spiritual adviser. Because they are no longer affiliated with the Episcopal Church, the men will have to find new church buildings and funding.
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NAIROBI, Aug. 30 -- Two American priests were consecrated Thursday as Anglican bishops in Kenya, the latest in a string of conservative priests who are defecting to African churches in a dispute over gay clergy.
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A Different Sort of Faith
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Strebor. 271 pp. Paperback, $15
If Sonsyrea Tate wrote this memoir to provoke, she certainly succeeded. Her African American mother, who chose to stay home -- in accordance with the tenets of her faith -- and raise 10 children, is sure to entertain some uncharitable thoughts about her condescending daughter. Her father might feel the same way. Her useless, no-good, philandering, attempted-murdering ex-husband should be hopping mad, too, whether he's still behind bars or not. But mostly, the elders of Tate's branch of Islam ("My family followed Elijah Muhammad's son into Orthodox Islam when he took over,"she explains) must right now be searching some theological rule book under "F" for fatwa. Though who knows? They might be turning pages to find "F" for fearless. Tate, while appreciative of some of the things she learned from her strict Islamic upbringing, has left that faith behind and developed some highly individual spiritual beliefs of her own.
But "Do Me Twice" is less a theological argument than an account of what it was like to go through adolescence in an iffy section of Washington in a particular time and place, as a member of a practicing Muslim family. While her first book, "Little X," chronicled the rigors of an Islamic childhood, "Do Me Twice" begins as 18-year-old Sonsyrea engages in a classic fight with her equally youthful boyfriend -- literally, the boy next door. She doesn't like her Valentine's Day present; it's a single, cheesy, plastic rose. They quarrel, and a third voice is heard: "If you're ashamed of my son, then he needs to find somebody else to be with. . . . My son is a good man, and he's gon' take real good care of you one day." His mom says this while driving them around like the children they are.
But their quarrel is about a lot more than that rose. Sonsyrea's mother stays home with those 10 kids, refusing to get a job, on the grounds that Allah will provide. Her father is living what turns out to be a double life: Half the time he's a pillar of the mosque, the other half he's a jazz musician and drug dealer. Ron, Sonsyrea's boyfriend, whom his mother defends so stoutly, "had been in and out of juvenile detention centers and jail since he was fourteen. The last time he was in, charged with attempted robbery and attempted murder, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Dawud. Of course, I didn't know the extent of his lawlessness, nor did I know about the twenty-years-to-life sentence hovering over him when I embraced him." What Sonsyrea is lobbying for, far more than a decent Valentine's Day present, is to get married, so that she won't burn in Hell when she has sex with Ron.
On the other hand, since she's in college and has another whole set of motivations, when she discovers she's pregnant, she goes ahead and has an abortion. She doesn't agonize about it; she simply wants to finish her education. She doesn't want to get trapped in the life of the projects. But her expectations are so touching, contradictory and naive! Ron does marry her. They set up housekeeping (with a fair amount of stolen and shoplifted goods); they spend evenings together playing Monopoly. Except that Ron, who fathered another child at the age of 15, spends more and more nights out with his girlfriends and never gets a job. He insists on sex even -- or especially -- when Sonsyrea doesn't want it, and the next thing she knows, he's back in jail and his relatives keep calling her day and night, insisting that she bail him out because she's the only one with a credit card. Besides, she's his wife; she has to stand by her man.
The miracle of this is that she keeps going to school. No matter what, she retains that sense of direction, that ambition, falling like a plumb line through the chaos of her life. She's always felt that she's come from a "good" family, a family that prays five times a day and tries to follow the demanding strictures of the Koran. But she sees her mother becoming more and more desperate as the electric bill goes unpaid and her father ratchets up his drug-dealing business. One day she hears her sister, Sakinah, playing a hand-tapping game with her girlfriends:
Your muva's in the kitchen cooking rice,
Fatha's round the corner shootin' dice,
Brotha's in jail raisin hell,
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DO ME TWICE My Life After Islam By Sonsyrea Tate Strebor. 271 pp. Paperback, $15 If Sonsyrea Tate wrote this memoir to provoke, she certainly succeeded. Her African American mother, who chose to stay home -- in accordance with the tenets of her faith -- and raise 10 children, is sure to entertain...
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Pirates of the Mediterranean
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Welcome to our nation-state. It is 43 feet long and 23 wide -- a bareboat catamaran, if you prefer. We are plying the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey, wandering at will among bays and coves, tying up where we like, doing whooping cannonballs off the bow. Our chartered craft flies the French flag, but we aren't French. It makes us feel like pirates.
There are eight of us -- friends and friends-of-friends. We are bad sailors with good attitudes. Our skipper is Captain Marco, a Californian (like most of us) who last roamed these waters 15 years ago as a charter captain. He will maneuver the boat with more ease than I could pilot a bathtub toy, transform us into a crack crew and regale us with tales of his past exploits -- whether we like it or not. These waters are known as the Turquoise Coast. They could well be the source of the word "turquoise," which is simply French for "Turkish." If not, they deserve to be. Looking out to sea, we summon up all the words we know for "blue" and still leave shades unnamed. The water is so clear that, in shallows, it glows incandescent from rays of sun bouncing off the sea floor.
Over the next seven days we will sail from Marmaris to below Fethiye and meander back up to Gocek. We'll snorkel among shards of ancient amphorae, cavort in mud and play amateur archaeologist. Two Dutch yachties will stand on their stern, serenading us with harmonica chanteys as we dance an impromptu jig. One morning, I'll come up from my cabin and spy Winston Churchill, reincarnated as a bulldog, strutting along the deck of a sailboat docked next to us. Another, I'll be awakened by Pavarotti, the opera-singing donkey. We'll fix cucumber salads and fry up lamb chops onboard. We'll wash down smuggled French chocolates with duty-free grappa.
Our shoes -- banished to the hold by Captain Marco -- will ferment, forgotten, sloshing in a splash of seawater.
As Mamaris dims to a murmur in the distance, we test ourselves at sea, taking the cat up to eight knots under sail. Stealing speed from the air makes us giddy. We think we could go anywhere.
We turn east and overnight in Ekincik, at a restaurant-with-a-dock that serves up food and hot showers to boaters. "I'm Captain Marco!" our skipper shouts to the kid who comes to catch our stern line. "Captain Marco! Remember me?" At most, the boy has seen 15 summers. Marco is sweetly oblivious to math and time.
At night, we rock below deck, in four tiny cabins wedged into the boat's double hulls, lulled by the slap of waves and the groan of mooring ropes.
In the morning, a battered wooden motor launch fetches us up the Dalyan River, past a powdery crescent of beach where sinuous flipper tracks from breeding loggerhead turtles disappear into the sea. We weave through tall reeds to the harbor town of Kaunos, which lies marooned by silt -- as well as by history. It dates from the 9th century B.C., though the remains are mostly Greek and Roman. Outside an amphitheater sited to catch sea breezes and dispense panoramic views, a goat climbs halfway up a tree to snatch tender leaves.
Past the shell of a Byzantine church and ruined baths, down a stone road, warehouse foundations and mysterious monuments are all that's left of the harbor's bustle. One in our party helps a French woman descend from a crumbling wall. "This is not the first time America has come to the aid of France," her husband says with a touch of irony.
Upriver, Lycian tombs dominate the cliffs. Their carvings mimic Greek temple facades, with pediments and columns, hovering halfway up the rock face. The Lycians ruled this slice of coast long before the Greeks arrived. They had their own language and alphabet, created the first known democratic union and were fiercely independent. Lycia was the last holdout on the entire Mediterranean coast before finally being absorbed into the Roman Empire in the 1st century A.D. These tombs are remnants of their ancestor worship.
Further upriver, we wallow like pigs in a mud bath, coating ourselves in sulfurous gray ooze, then letting it dry and crack in the sun. We look like bush tribesmen but feel like fools -- until we stand rinsing off in communal showers and discover how soft our skin has become.
At Dalyan town, we forage beyond the tourist shops rimming the dock and find a greengrocer who sells us strange, leafless branching vegetables that look to have been bred on an alien planet. She breaks off a piece for us to taste, and it's salty. (Later, back home, I find out they are "sea beans" grown in marshlands.) Through pantomime and a bit of English, she tells us the freaky greens should be boiled then tossed with olive oil and lemon. Her proud friend elbows into the cooking lesson to show us photos of her son living in North Carolina. She points to each person in the snapshots and explains all about them in Turkish.
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Michael Vick's Self-Defeat
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" I'm upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God."
When I heard disgraced Atlanta Falcons phenom Michael Vick utter those words before the cameras in his mea culpa moment just after pleading guilty to a federal dogfighting charge, I let out a primal scream of disbelief. Finding God -- like going to rehab -- seems to be the refuge of choice for celebrities on the wrong side of the law.
Sitting in a chair at Walls Barbershop a short time later, I paid close attention to the reactions of the black men there as the Vick story blared over the radio and that sound bite was played. A gentleman waiting for a haircut snickered. Before leaving, I asked him why he reacted the way he had.
I'm thrilled not to be alone in not giving Vick a free pass. In the days leading up to Vick's dramatic moment Monday in Richmond, I was growing weary of many African Americans treating him as if he were the victim of an overzealous prosecutor. There were the demands to not rush to judgment. There were the reminders that in America everyone is innocent until proven guilty. And there was the creeping belief that Vick was being singled out because he was a black man who had grown so rich that the white man had to take him down.
Have there been and will there be blacks disproportionately bearing the brunt of criminal prosecutions? Yes. But I refuse to circle my wagons to protect the likes of Michael Vick.
If there is a twinge of anger in that last sentence it's because, as a black man, I am angry -- at Vick and other black men of incredible talent who achieve enviable stature against the odds and then throw it all away. The 27-year-old quarterback in December 2004 signed a record 10-year contract worth $130 million. Yet all it took to snuff out his own career was a criminal dogfighting enterprise called "Bad Newz Kennels," which Vick financed and where he participated in cruelly snuffing out underperforming and losing pit bulls.
His guilty plea came after weeks of lying. He lied to Arthur Blank, the owner of the Falcons. He lied to National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell. And he lied to the legion of fans who marveled at his prowess on the gridiron.
All that money. All that prestige. All that power to do good, to be a positive role model for black boys and men across the country. Black pride in action.
I should have known he wasn't cut out for such a lofty mission when he flipped the bird to booing fans at the Georgia Dome last season after the Falcons lost a game. But while Vick fell short, there are black heroes out there.
The father who comes home every night and provides for his family is a hero. The mother who works two jobs so her children can go to a better school or grow up in a better neighborhood is a hero. The grandparents who give their children and grandchildren a sense of self and worth and place in the world are heroes. But even heroes need someone to turn to. Someone of stature and character who will reinforce the view-- through words and actions -- that the path to success is paved with sacrifice, hard work, perseverance and a whole lot of gumption.
"I want to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts, and, you know, what I did was, what I did was very immature, so that means I need to grow up," Vick said in a tone that did strike me as penitent. "I hope that every young kid out there . . . will use me as an example to using better judgment and making better decisions." That's a good first step on the road to redemption, but it will be a very long time before Vick claws his way back to respectability in my book. If ever.
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I refuse to circle my wagon to protect the likes of Michael Vick.
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Which Past War Is Iraq?
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Analogies are designed as a shortcut to reality, but as everyone knows, shortcuts often lead elsewhere than their planned destination. So it is with President Bush's attempt to link our current predicament in Iraq and past failures in Vietnam. The analogy, meant as a warning against withdrawal, relies on an abusive rhetoric that evokes the "unmistakable legacy" paid for by "millions of innocent [Vietnamese] citizens." Previously, Bush had used the Vietnam analogy, though less explicitly, to warn against escalation against an enemy that is "never tired, never sated, never content with yesterday's brutality."
Clearly, the President and his senior advisers, who had shown little awareness of geography while planning for war five years ago, could also use lessons in history as they insist on putting some fancy clothing on an unappealing present. Whether Iraq was a war of choice or a war of necessity can be argued on moral and national security grounds; but not repeating in Iraq the undisputable show of failure that ended the war in Vietnam responds to both a moral and a national security imperative that can be argued more effectively than by returning to a failed past.
For once, Mr. President, the facts are on your side. Unlike Vietnam, where the fear of failure reflected a frame of mind that bore little resemblance to reality, the predictable consequences of retreat in Iraq are real. The war in Vietnam was a civil war that was turned into an American war; the war in Iraq is an American war that has become a civil war. To that extent Iraq is the true quagmire that Vietnam did not have to be. A precipitate withdrawal would unleash Iraq's civil war into ever larger killing fields of vital significance not only to the United States, but to the rest of the region and beyond.
Admittedly, the U.S. retreat from Vietnam nearly 30 years ago caused political chaos in the United States, a crisis of authority within the Atlantic Alliance, and a global Soviet challenge that seemed to peak as America was said to be declining. But a few years proved to be sufficient to still the political chaos at home, restore U.S. leadership in the alliance, and bury the Soviet challenge abroad. By comparison, an abrupt retraction of U.S. military power from Iraq would plunge the world into a lastingly significant political crisis, create nearly chaotic conditions in the Middle East, exacerbate dangerous tensions in East Asia, and compromise current efforts to contain the spread of weapons of mass destruction. On this score at least, history delivers an inescapable verdict: Whatever is thought of a strategy of preponderance, it is not nearly as bad as a strategy of preponderance that fails.
No small cause for the inadequate -- if not inept -- management of postwar Iraq grew out of another earlier analogy. Some in the Bush administration thought of Iraq's future in terms of Germany's past, an allusion favored by then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The best that could be said of that analogy -- and the least that should have been known about post-Saddam Iraq -- is that Iraq lacked the vital dimensions of Germany's recovery after 1945: a national will to reinvent itself, a homogenous people and a home-grown leadership of unusual vision -- as well as a geographic location in a region that had, on the whole, lost its taste for war. Absent these conditions, a more apt analogy for postwar Iraq should have been with post-1919 Germany (and Europe), embittered and bent upon revenge as opposed to post-1945 Germany, defeated and bent on redemption.
However divided, angry, concerned and even fearful we may be in the United States over why we went to Iraq and why we are still there, it is all too clear that leaving will be hard, slow and dangerous. Withdrawal, not to be confused with retreat, can begin at once, and it probably will. But pointedly enough, all leading U.S. presidential candidates now agree that it will not end any time soon, pending a number of factors. Iraq needs a measure of self-induced security that would progressively rely on the contributions of better trained, equipped and motivated Iraqi military (and even police) forces; it needs a partial reconstruction of the country's infrastructure and economy, in parallel with improved and improving security conditions; and ultimately it should aim at the rehabilitation of the Iraqi state as the loose federation recommended by U.S. Senator Joe Biden.
The future holds no "date certain" for withdrawal, although, and without a doubt, the earlier the better. But the past offers even less of a date certain for redemption, and going back to Vietnam as an alibi for explaining a delayed withdrawal from Iraq only serves to obfuscate further a war that the administration failed to explain when it was launched, and now fails to understand after it has failed.
The author holds the Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy at the Center for Strategic & International Studies and a professor of U.S. foreign policy at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. His next book, Architects of Delusion: Europe, America, and Iraq, will be released this fall.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions; accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in these publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.
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The aftermath of the war in Iraq could resemble that of a 20th century American war, but it isn't Vietnam.
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OnFaith on washingtonpost.com
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I am surprised at the flurry of discussion and concern about this aspect of Mother Teresaâs inner life, because spiritual teachers have long taught about the dark night of the soul. St John of the Cross spoke eloquently about this phenomenon, that in many ways it was a common occurrence, God seeking to wean us away from the consolations of God so that we would turn our hearts towards the God of consolations. Even Jesus in a way experienced this desolation when he cried out on the Cross, âMy God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?â
Mother Teresa wonderfully was no plaster cast saint. She has helped to affirm many who are passing through this period of desolation and dryness when God seems so remote. St Theresa of Avila after one such bout cried out in frustration to God, âNo wonder your friends are so few given how you treat them!â My regard for Mother Teresa has been enhanced.
Doubt can be an integral part of faith, when the evidence is never so overwhelming, so incontrovertible. St Thomas is our patron Saint for doubters. We live by faith not by sight and frequently the evidence does not make the leap of faith redundant.
More Posts About: Anglican , Christian
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Desmond Tutu on OnFaith; Visit http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/desmond_tutu/
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OnFaith on washingtonpost.com
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The current press conniption over Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta amounts to a tempest in a teapot, although one that illustrates the media's ignorance about the spiritual lives of saints far more than it does the life and struggles of Mother Teresa.
That the diminutive Albanian nun and Nobel Peace Prize winner had, for decades, experienced a sense of living in a spiritual desert had been well known to those paying attention, ever since excerpts from the "positio," the critical biography prepared on behalf of her beatification cause, were published before her beatification by Pope John Paul II in October 2003; those interested may wish to consult Carol Zaleski's insightful and sensitive article, "Mother Teresa's Dark Night," in the May 2003 issue of First Things. So there is, in fact, no news here (except, perhaps, the "news" that religion reporters an editors should put www.firstthings.com into their computers).
The current flurry does, however, help underscore an old point: there is no contradiction between faith and questioning, or between faith and a sense of spiritual aridness. Everyone who tries to lead a serious life of prayer experiences the desert from time to time; the challenge is to keep walking, as Mother Teresa did, in the conviction that God's grace will, eventually, lead us to the spring water. Even the most brilliant theologians have experienced intellectual difficulties about this or that aspect of Christian faith; the challenge here is to think again, to re-examine, to "think with the Church" (as the ancient theological maxim has it), and to consider the possibility that ancient wisdom may have more to it than we might think -- to consider the possibility that the Creed stands in judgment on our understanding, so to speak, rather than the other way around. As the great John Henry Newman famously observed, ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt.
Mother Teresa displayed personal and spiritual courage of a sort that might make even Christopher Hitchens reconsider his views of her work -- that's the lesson to be drawn from this latest burst of media interest in someone whom millions of people, all over the world, invoke through intercessory prayer every day.
Please e-mail OnFaith if you'd like to receive an email notification when OnFaith sends out a new question.
More Posts About: Catholic , Christian
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George Weigel on OnFaith; Visit http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/george_weigel/
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Brian D. McLaren
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Doubt, in my experience, is like a spiritual drought that forces our roots to go deeper. Nearly all of us experience these dry, dark, difficult times when God doesn't seem real and it's hard to keep going, much less growing. Sometimes these low tides of faith are connected with events ⦠the death of a loved one, a broken relationship, the loss of a job, a prolonged illness, questions raised by a book or professor. But sometimes they seem to come out of nowhere; it's sunny and bright outside, but inside you feel dark, cloudy, gray, empty.
As a pastor, I have had to deal with matters of faith and doubt on a daily basis. But it's not just other people's faith struggles I have had to face; I experience my own high and low tides of faith even in the midst of ministry. Through it all I have learned that doubt is far more common than most admit. That's why it helps so much when leaders like Mother Teresa are honest about their doubts.
When people come to me to talk about their doubts, one of the first things I say to them is this: doubt is not always bad. Sometimes doubt is absolutely essential. I think of doubt as analogous to pain.
Pain tells us that something nearby or within us is dangerous to our physical body. It is a call for attention and action. Similarly, I think doubt tells us that something in us ⦠a concept, an idea, a framework of thinking ⦠deserves further attention because it may be harmful, or false, or imbalanced.
There is also a dark kind of doubt, an exaggerated and self-destructive kind of doubt, that leads to despair, depression, and spiritual self-sabotage. I think of it like this: an imagination is good, but imagination out of control is called psychosis. Fear is healthy, but fear out of control is called paranoia. Sensitivity is a wonderful gift, and anger is a necessary emotion, but sensitivity or anger out of control can lead to depression. Doubt is the same way. Out of control, it becomes unbelief, a hard heart, an arrogant or defeatist cynicism. But in balance, it is our Geiger counter for error. Without it, we'd be gullible, naïve, stupid ⦠not great spiritual qualities!
Frederick Buechner expresses this ambivalence about doubt beautifully:
"Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God, if you don't have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving" (from Wishful Thinking). I assume that right at this moment I'm wrong in hundreds of my beliefs, and I hope that God will keep leading me to doubt those beliefs so I can embrace better ones.
In my book "A Search for What is Real: Finding Faith," I talk in some detail about the role of doubt in the life of faith. I describe how faith seems to grow in a kind of iterative, ascending spiral that has four stages. I call the first stage simplicity, where everything is simple and easy, black and white, known or knowable. Then there's complexity, where you focus on techniques of finding the truth â since the scenario has gotten more complex. Then there's perplexity, where you become a kind of disillusioned learner, where you doubt all authority figures and absolutes, where everything seems relative and hazy.
I used to call the fourth stage maturity, but a friend pointed out it would be better called humility, because in stage four you come to terms with your limitations, and you learn to live with mystery, not as a cop-out, but as an honest realization that only God understands everything. You carry out of stage four a shorter list of tested and cherished beliefs that you base your life on, and a lot of your previous dogmatisms are now held more lightly. In a sense a person keeps finding faith and then becoming frustrated with it and in a sense losing it, and then finding a better version of it, and so on, maybe like a software upgradeâ¦
I sometimes think that our religious lives are like California, built on a San Andreas fault of suppressed doubt. Under a beautiful surface, the pressure of unexpressed, unresolved doubt is building for more and more people, and sooner or later, the whole landscape will crack and crumble. The situation is intensified by this precarious point in history in which we find ourselves, where unquestioned religion is too often used as ammunition.
Some people have an excessive and distorted confidence that leads them to kill and hate in the name of their beliefs. Others have an insufficient confidence that leaves them without purpose and direction and strength to face the challenges of the day. What we need is what Mother Teresa had: a faith that is tried and tested by doubt, and remains strong enough to send us into the world with love for God expressed through love for our neighbors, especially those most in need.
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Brian D. McLaren on OnFaith; Visit http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/brian_d_mclaren/
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PostGlobal on washingtonpost.com
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There is no right or wrong answer to whether the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan was a mistake. Were mistakes made? Sure. Are mistakes still being made? Absolutely.
The fact remains that for Pakistanis, it is far too dangerous to acknowledge such a question publicly because to question partition is to question the legitimacy of Pakistan (the same goes for Bangladesh). Certainly the younger generations may not have a proper sense of the losses and gains that were suffered by both sides and so any doubts may evaporate with time. It is natural that they feel closer nationalistic ties to modern day Pakistan and not to a greater subcontinent that was bitterly divided over half a century ago. The older generation that witnessed the bloodshed and migration, meanwhile, has good reason to second guess partition given the current political instability.
Like with so many conflicts in history, the partition of India and Pakistan was seen as a way to avoid civil war. Muslims in the now partitioned Punjab, for example, were the most impoverished residents which naturally created a sense of resentment. Many then recognized the opportunity to draw upon the more salient religious identifications as a means of building linkages and drawing distinctions. We mustn't forget that in much of India prior to 1947, Muslims and Hindus for the most part lived harmoniously (as they do today in most of India) and partition by some was seen more as a precaution to avoid religious marginalization following the colonial exodus.
As for India, one of the headlines in the Times of India last week said it all: "60 and getting sexier." Three factors contribute to India's stability: political democracy, military security, and economic development. In fact, there is much that contributes to this 'sex' appeal India proudly flaunted as it rang in 60 years of independence from British rule. For one thing, it is by and large one of the most successful secular democracies in the world. The country's economy is growing at 9% (although poverty and malnutrition remain rampant). Meanwhile, India's ambitious nuclear program (which has received thumbs up from the United States) is an understandable intimidation to Pakistan and so it is no surprise that its neighbor would look to secure its own borders via nuclear proliferation.
In many ways, partition may be viewed as a failure for Pakistan. The Islamic Republic has stumbled both politically and economically over the last 60 years. It lacks a functional democracy and remains one of the poorest countries in the world. It undertook a path that stunted democratic political development. The influential elite had to be incorporated into the political process, which they then manipulated to their benefit. As a result, Pakistan remains a dictatorship and its domestic situation is growing increasingly volatile.
Something worth considering is a comment made by Pakistan's exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto last week at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York. She noted that Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah died "a year after Pakistan was founded," and so Pakistan lacked "a national leader with the authority, the respect to help [it] develop democratic political institutions," whereas India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who ruled for 17 years "provided the leadership that could help a new nation strengthen its democratic institutions," Bhutto said.
It is far too difficult to look back on the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan as a mistake; just as it is equally difficult to look ahead and envision a partitioned Iraq, for example. There is too much damage control that needs to be done today and looking back will only further delay things. Pakistan must work to establish political and economic stability on the ground, and India should make a genuine effort to assist its neighbor in this time of turmoil. Otherwise, divided or united, the subcontinent will face even greater challenges to come.
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Vivian Salama at PostGlobal on PostGlobal; blog of politics and current events on washingtonpost.com. Visit http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/vivian_salama/
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PostGlobal on washingtonpost.com
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Perhaps because heâs an artist Behn speaks openly even though his story is not an easy or a safe one to tell. âThey could grab my father whenever they want...and start torturing him again,â Behn says. Even at home in Los Angeles, Behn fears Iranâs Revolutionary Guard. I watch as censorship transcends borders.
Back in May before launching off to
, I visited Los Angeles, or â
â as some interviewees called it. I wanted to practice video-blogging and hoped to visit Iran sometime soon. I figured they'd have strong perspectives to explore.
So I spent two weeks talking with taxi drivers, artists, comedians, fashion designers, politicians, communists, and tortured revolutionaries. I found America was central to their vision for a better Iran.
Now in DC planning which countries to visit next, I thought it would be a good time to publish this material and explore the sentiments of this unique community with you. Let's start with Behn.
In a back alley about thirty minutes southeast of Westwood, this artist toils away in an industrial studio -- a cross between an auto-mechanicâs shed and a New York painterâs loft. Behn creates vast works of modern art using acrylic and glass -- Buddhas, Geishas and hippies. Behn's wild gray hair glowing, he laments how disconnected he feels from the artistic traditions of Iran.
Over two decades in America, Behn's worked hard to distance himself from his country of birth. It hasn't been kind to him. He witnessed the worst of the Iranian Revolution growing up and tries to forget it, but his father's recent decision to return to Iran makes it impossible for Behn to shake his fear.
Back in 1975 Behn was ten years old and his father was colonel in the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's army. Sensing tough times ahead, Behn's father decided to send his kids to private boarding school in Britain. So from age ten to fourteen, Behn and his brother studied abroad. His father's premonitions proved true, and when the Shah was deposed in 1979 and Ayatollah Khomeini stepped in, Behnâs father, as a military man, lost almost everything and had to pull one of his sons home to save on tuition costs. Behn, the younger one, was picked to return. "From British private school to a Islamic public school -- it was hell."
The situation got worse. His father was arrested in 1984 in the midst of the Iran-Iraq war for his previous role in the army and spent a year in solitary confinement. Occasionally heâd be called out with other inmates and pressed brutally for information. Behn's mother read the paper each morning, checking for her husbandâs name among the dead. It didnât come to that. Behnâs father was released and moved his family to the United States. There it was calm and safe.
But Behnâs father couldn't shake the fear. He was constantly uncomfortable. His American story is a common one for wealthy Iranian Americans who fled Iran after the revolution (it's also the story of the movie The House of Sand and Fog). From being well known and well respected in his hometown, Behn's father became an anonymous driver, alone and disconnected.
In a back alley about thirty minutes southeast of
. Unable to deal with his precipitous drop in status, he abhorred the "materialism of this place, the money and the fancy cars around him." By the mid 1990s, Behnâs father decided it was worth the risk of returning to Iran. He wanted to "live a simple life", what he remembered life in Iran to be -- with connection, friends and extended family. "His American skin made him uncomfortable," Behn explains. "And his Iran is --"
Suddenly, mid-sentence Behn stops. He tosses up his hands and says, âAnyway, I donât want to get into all of this right now.â We take a break from recording, get coffee. He smokes. And then the camera comes back on.
âYou know, my dad, he did nothing wrong. Heâs harmless. Heâs now out on his own farm tending to it, to the animals. He has many bees. Heâs just living out the rest of his life in peace, you know?â¦He loves Iran. He has to be there. Itâs a risk heâs willing to take...It's worth it...â Behn keeps on going, defensively, as if I am judging him. The conversation feels strangely different.
And then I realize Behn's no longer speaking to me. He's speaking to someone else, far off in Iran, someone who could be watching, and would be willing to torture his father again.
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America on PostGlobal; blog of politics and current events on washingtonpost.com. Visit http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/america/
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Musharraf Agrees to Resign as Army Chief
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The agreement, if completed, would probably permit Musharraf to continue as president and allow Bhutto to return to Pakistan after eight years of exile to try to win back her old job as prime minister, officials said. More broadly, the deal would fundamentally alter the political landscape in Pakistan, a top U.S. ally on counterterrorism but also a haven for al-Qaeda and other extremist groups.
A top aide to Musharraf confirmed that the issue of the president's military status had been settled and that he would be making an announcement soon.
"It's solved," said Sheik Rashid Ahmed, a federal minister.
Later, in a telephone interview from London, Bhutto also said that while one or two issues needed to be worked out with Musharraf, the question of whether the president would stay in uniform would not be a "stumbling block."
"General Musharraf understands that the people of Pakistan want him to take the uniform off. And he wants to make the people happy," Bhutto said.
An agreement would have been highly improbable six months ago. The president, who derives much of his power from his army post and refers to his khaki uniform as his "second skin," had long resisted resigning from the military. He had also rejected the idea of Bhutto or former prime minister Nawaz Sharif returning to Pakistan ahead of elections slated for later this year or early 2008. The three are bitter rivals.
But since March, when an attempt by Musharraf to fire the chief justice led to civil unrest, Pakistan's politics have been in deep turmoil and the general's standing has fallen precipitously.
With the chief justice reinstated in July and likely to block Musharraf's plans to win a new term in office, analysts say the president's options had narrowed considerably.
An agreement between Musharraf and Bhutto would be welcomed in Washington, where Bush administration officials have been pushing for an alliance of moderates in Pakistan to battle rising forces of extremism.
Although the United States had not been actively involved in the negotiations, it had been prodding the two sides to come together and had helped to facilitate the talks, according to people familiar with the U.S. role.
Daniel Markey, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who until recently was a South Asia expert at the State Department, said a deal between Bhutto and Musharraf was the best among a set of imperfect options.
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 29 -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has agreed to step down as army chief as part of a broad and once-unthinkable agreement being finalized with his chief political rival, Benazir Bhutto, officials on both sides said Wednesday.
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Sadr Orders 'Freeze' on Militia Actions
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BAGHDAD, Aug. 29 -- The powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr publicly ordered his huge militia Wednesday to "freeze" operations for up to six months, but U.S. and Iraqi officials expressed skepticism of the cleric's intentions and his ability to control the fractured network of fighters who kill in his name.
Sadr issued his order following a day of Shiite-against-Shiite gunfire that killed 49 people during a religious ceremony in the holy city of Karbala. In a statement, he said the freeze would apply to his Mahdi Army militia "without exception in order to have it restructured in a way that would retain for this ideological body its prestige."
Some officials interpreted the statement to mean Sadr had called off attacks on U.S. soldiers as well as Iraqi opponents, but a source close to Sadr said some fighting would continue in the name of "self-defense."
"This does not cover all military activities because there are violations being done by the occupation forces every now and then and we expect that these violations will continue in the future, and in these cases the Mahdi Army members will defend themselves," said the source, who spoke from Sadr's headquarters in the southern city of Najaf. "This decision was made in effect to calm things down, especially in Karbala."
Tuesday's street fighting took place as hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims milled around Karbala during a festival marking the birthday of a 9th century Shiite imam.
By official accounts, the fighting pitted government security forces against unidentified gunmen. But many people in Karbala described it as a battle between the two main Shiite militias vying for power in southern Iraq, the Mahdi Army and the Badr Organization, the armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.
Officials from both groups condemned the bloodshed and denied that their fighters had taken part.
Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Badr Organization, said that neither the Karbala governor and police chief nor the shrine guards involved in the fighting are members of his organization. He and Sadr aides said that outlaw fighters who claim to be members of the Mahdi Army mounted the attacks.
"These undercover Baathists were trying to create strife and draw the matter into a Shiite-versus-Shiite battle between the Sadr followers and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council," Amiri said in an interview.
The government evacuated thousands of people from Karbala, as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared an indefinite curfew in the city following the violence. Touring the city, home to two shrines central to the beliefs of Shiite Muslims, Maliki declared that order had been restored.
But retaliatory violence broke out at Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council offices in Baghdad and several southern cities, with some of the offices burned and ransacked. Six Badr members died in the fighting and four others were injured, Amiri said.
The legions of Shiite men who claim to be members of the Mahdi Army are described by Iraqi and U.S. officials as a relentless force in killing and displacing Sunnis, running extortion schemes and expanding Shiite dominance in Baghdad. Sadr's organization has also opened dozens of offices to provide social services to Shiites.
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Washington Post coverage of the American occupation of Iraq, the country's path to democracy and tensions between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
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Idaho Senator Asserts: 'I Never Have Been Gay'
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Senate Republican leaders called for an ethics investigation of Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) yesterday as he dug in for a legal and political fight to save his congressional career after acknowledging that he had pleaded guilty to disorderly-conduct charges stemming from an incident with an undercover police officer in an airport men's room.
Craig denied doing anything wrong and said he had "overreacted" in pleading guilty after his June 11 arrest at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. He said that he is "not gay" and vowed to continue to serve in the Senate.
VIDEO | Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) responded to criticism over his guilty plea to disorderly conduct tuesday in a press conference from Boise, Idaho. He was arrested in June during an undercover police sex sting operation in the men's room of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.'
"While I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct at the Minneapolis airport or anywhere else, I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in the hope of making it go away," Craig, 62, told reporters in Boise, Idaho.
He said that he has retained a lawyer to review his guilty plea, though earlier this month he signed court papers declaring that he had read the police report of the incident and understood the nature of the crime and he paid a $500 fine. Legal experts said that would make any challenge difficult.
Craig said yesterday that he pleaded guilty because his hometown newspaper, the Idaho Statesman of Boise, had been conducting an eight-month investigation into his sexual orientation. He said he hoped that quietly resolving the case -- without telling any of his family members, friends, staffers or colleagues -- would settle the matter without bringing it to light for what he called the newspaper's "witch hunt."
"Let me be clear: I am not gay. I never have been gay," he said.
Senate Republican leaders issued a rare joint statement minutes before Craig's news conference, complaining that none of them had been told of his legal troubles until yesterday. The senators asked the ethics committee to investigate the matter, vowing to consider other punitive sanctions.
"This is a serious matter. Due to the reported and disputed circumstances, and the legal resolution of this serious case, we will recommend that Senator Craig's incident be reported to the Senate Ethics Committee for its review. In the meantime, leadership is examining other aspects of the case to determine if additional action is required," Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Minority Whip Trent Lott (Miss.) and three other elected leaders said.
The only GOP leader not on the statement is Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.); he is the vice chairman of the ethics panel, to which Craig's case is being referred.
In his statement, Craig repeatedly apologized to his family, friends, staff and constituents, but not to Senate colleagues.
Yesterday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R), whose Idaho presidential campaign Craig headed until the charges came to light, compared Craig's behavior to President Bill Clinton's encounter with a White House intern and to the case of Mark Foley (R-Fla.), who resigned from the House of Representatives last year in a scandal involving male pages.
"I think it reminds us of the fact that people who are elected to public office continue to disappoint, and they somehow think that if they vote the right way on issues of significance or they can speak a good game, that we'll just forgive and forget," Romney said on CNBC's "Kudlow & Company." "We've seen disappointment in the White House, we've seen it in the Senate, we've seen it in Congress. And frankly, it's disgusting."
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Senate Republican leaders called for an ethics investigation of Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) yesterday as he dug in for a legal and political fight to save his congressional career after acknowledging that he had pleaded guilty to disorderly-conduct charges stemming from an incident with an...
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A Senator's Wide Stance: 'I Am Not Gay'
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From the opening line of his statement yesterday, Sen. Larry Craig was in trouble. "Thank you all very much for coming out today," he began.
"Coming out" was perhaps not the best phrase for a guy who had pleaded guilty to some rather un-senatorial conduct in an airport men's room -- and now stands accused in his home-state paper of a homosexual encounter in Union Station.
VIDEO | Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) responded to criticism over his guilty plea to disorderly conduct tuesday in a press conference from Boise, Idaho. He was arrested in June during an undercover police sex sting operation in the men's room of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.'
Alas for the Idaho Republican, it was not his first mistake.
No, his first mistake was on June 11, when he went into a restroom stall in the Minneapolis airport and, according to the arrest report, tapped his foot in a "signal often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct."
This was followed closely by his second mistake: handing the arresting officer his business card and asking, "What do you think about that?"
Mistake No. 3? Explaining to the police that his foot touched the undercover officer's foot in the next stall because he has "a wide stance when going to the bathroom."
Mistake No. 4: Pleading guilty on Aug. 8 to disorderly conduct, and telling nobody -- not even a lawyer or his wife -- before the news broke Monday and Craig's spokesman chalked it up to a "he said/he said misunderstanding."
This quartet of errors landed the senator before the television cameras yesterday outside the Wells Fargo building in downtown Boise. Standing next to his wife, who wore sunglasses and looked as if she felt ill, the senator almost shouted as he asserted his heterosexuality.
"Let me be clear: I am not gay. I never have been gay," Craig said. Evidently, Craig did not think this was clear enough, because moments later, he explained why he kept the arrest a secret. "I wasn't eager to share this failure, but I should have anyway -- because I am not gay!"
The Associated Press rushed out a bulletin: "Sen. Larry Craig says, 'I am not gay.' " CNN put up a "Breaking News" banner announcing, "Sen. Craig: I am not gay, and never have been gay."
The Drudge Report went with the headline "Brokeback Bathroom."
As the Craigs departed, somebody in the crowd that had gathered called out after the senator: "Hey, what if you were gay?"
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From the opening line of his statement yesterday, Sen. Larry Craig was in trouble. "Thank you all very much for coming out today," he began.
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Taliban Begins to Free South Korean Hostages
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The Koreans, church volunteers who had been traveling on a bus down a notoriously dangerous highway in Afghanistan when they were abducted July 19, were handed over in small groups throughout the day to representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Red Cross reported that the freed hostages -- 10 women and two men -- "appeared to be in good physical health."
"So far, everything is going exactly to plan. We see no reason it should not continue that way," said Greg Muller, a delegate for the Red Cross, which facilitated negotiations that resulted in a deal Tuesday.
Muller said the hostages were being released in groups for logistical reasons. During their captivity, they had been split up and held in various locations.
According to the agreement, the South Korean government promised to withdraw its 200 noncombat troops in Afghanistan by the end of the year, which it had decided to do before the hostage crisis began. The government also said it would ban South Korean missionaries from traveling to Afghanistan.
The Taliban had kidnapped 23 South Koreans, the largest group of foreign hostages it has taken since the start of its insurgency in 2001. The captors killed two of the hostages, including a church pastor, and freed two others.
The Taliban insisted the hostages were missionaries, but the South Korean government and relatives said they were in Afghanistan doing aid work. The group was kidnapped in the central Afghan province of Ghazni as it traveled from the capital, Kabul, to the southern city of Kandahar.
Abdullah, a top Taliban commander who helped orchestrate the kidnapping, said in a telephone interview that the episode had been a strategic victory. "We showed to the world that the United States is not taking care of its allies in the so-called war on terror," he said. "We will continue such a strategy to isolate the U.S. and its installed government in Kabul."
He called kidnapping "a good and cost-effective strategy for putting pressure on the enemy."
The Taliban initially demanded the release of prisoners but later dropped that request. The Afghan government said it would not engage in any more prisoner exchanges after a deal in the spring involving the release of an Italian reporter backfired. This time, Afghan authorities stayed out of the talks and allowed South Korean officials to negotiate directly with the Taliban.
"The Taliban found out that release of prisoners is not in the hands of the Koreans. That's why they gave up that demand," said Mohammad Zahir Kharuti, a tribal elder who mediated the talks.
While previous hostages in Afghanistan have been exchanged for cash, Kharuti said the Taliban never demanded money this time.
When the time to release the hostages came Wednesday, Kharuti said, the Taliban recorded the event with mobile-phone video cameras. The Taliban also ordered the women to cover their heads with green and red shawls.
After being released to the Red Cross, the freed hostages were turned over to South Korean authorities and were expected to return home soon.
Special correspondents Javed Hamdard in Kabul and Imtiaz Ali in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 29 -- The Taliban on Wednesday began making good on a promise to release 19 South Koreans who have been held captive for a month and a half, freeing 12 and promising to turn over the rest in coming days.
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Reprimand Is Sentence For Officer at Abu Ghraib
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Army Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, the only officer to face trial over the Abu Ghraib detainee-abuse scandal, was issued a reprimand yesterday by a military jury, a punishment that spares him all prison time after he was convicted this week on one count of disobeying an order.
The jury could have sentenced Jordan to as much as five years in prison and ordered his dismissal from the Army. Instead, he received one of the lightest punishments available. Jordan was convicted for contacting other soldiers about the military's 2004 investigation into the Abu Ghraib abuse after he was ordered not to discuss it with anyone.
Originally accused of abuse and failing to supervise soldiers who committed abuse, Jordan was exonerated Tuesday on all charges related to the abuse of detainees, clearing him in a case that lasted more than three years.
Jordan had repeatedly asserted that he was not in charge of the facility and not responsible for the interrogation tactics used there. In an interview yesterday, Jordan said that he thinks the jury panel "did the fairest thing they could" and that he feels as though a "huge weight has been lifted" off of his shoulders.
"Today was a vindication for my family, myself, and all the professional soldiers and civilians at Abu Ghraib that did an outstanding duty in such an austere environment that was, in essence, undermanned, under-resourced and under constant attack," Jordan said in an interview yesterday. "For the first time since the spring of 2004, I have some idea of a clear future."
Jordan said he plans to stay in the Army as an active-duty officer while he weighs his options. He said yesterday that he wants to someday become a grade-school teacher. In an earlier interview, Jordan said he felt that the Army used him as a scapegoat in an effort to show that it had put at least one officer on trial for abuse, and he echoed those sentiments yesterday.
"When they're playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, that's a fun game until you're the donkey," Jordan said. "That's how I've felt these last 3 1/2 years, that I was the donkey."
The final military trial related to the notorious abuse at Abu Ghraib ended as a major victory for the defense team of Jordan, who at one time faced a potential sentence of 16 1/2 years. The final sentence was lighter than Jordan would have received under an administrative punishment that an investigating officer recommended to commanders late last year, which would have included a letter of reprimand and dismissal from the Army. Prosecutors had long suggested that the case be concluded as an administrative matter, but senior commanders ignored that advice and pushed ahead with a public court-martial.
Jordan's punishment is lighter than the administrative punishment received by Army Col. Thomas M. Pappas, who was the top officer at Abu Ghraib and who admitted inappropriately approving the use of dogs in interrogations. Pappas, who received immunity to testify in courts-martial related to Abu Ghraib, received a reprimand and an $8,000 fine.
A reprimand can be career-ending because it enters an officer's permanent military file, meaning that Jordan probably would have had trouble seeking a promotion to colonel, if he desired such a move. Jordan and his attorneys said they plan to file a clemency petition to Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe Jr., the commander of the Military District of Washington. The jury's verdict needs to be confirmed by Rowe, who can only lessen the punishment.
Different sets of prosecutors over the past three years have recommended not proceeding with a court-martial for Jordan, and it was evident during the weeklong trial why the lawyers had been hesitant to bring the case to court. Jordan did not appear in any of the photographs of abuse that surfaced in 2004, and no witnesses in the trial said that Jordan ordered the abuse, specifically knew about it or commanded the soldiers who were involved in it. The one charge that stuck was Jordan's violation of an order from Maj. Gen. George Fay not to discuss the abuse investigation, something Jordan has maintained he did by mistake.
Brig. Gen. Louis Weber, the president of the jury, said his impression from the trial was that Jordan is "a superb leader and officer." Referring to the abuse-related charges, he added: "From my perspective, the evidence that was presented didn't support the allegations."
Capt. Samuel Spitzberg, a member of Jordan's defense team, said Army commanders had expressed a desire to have a public airing of the Abu Ghraib charges, but he noted that the case against Jordan aired little about the prison or the abuse.
"For us it was never about Abu Ghraib; for us, it was about Lieutenant Colonel Jordan," Spitzberg said. "We are pleased with the result overall. It really is a vindication of his position throughout."
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Army Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, the only officer to face trial over the Abu Ghraib detainee-abuse scandal, was issued a reprimand yesterday by a military jury, a punishment that spares him all prison time after he was convicted this week on one count of disobeying an order.
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The Local Delegation: Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.)
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Related Discussions: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Rep. Albert R. Wynn.
Rep. Moran has been a U.S. congressman serving Northern Virginia since 1990. Moran is a co-founder of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of approximately 75 centrist House Democrats committed to fiscal responsibility, free trade, technology, and maintaining America's security and economic competitiveness.
Rep. Jim Moran: Good afternoon. Glad to be with you. Looking forward to some thought-provoking questions.
Lawrence, Kan.: You're one of the chief proponents of moving Gitmo prisoners to lockups stateside -- including to Fort Leavenworth, just a few miles down the road from where I'm writing. There's lots of local concerns that such a move would raise our profile as a terrorist target. How do you answer such objections?
Rep. Jim Moran: We prosecuted the so-called 20th hijacker in Alexandria, Va., without problems. Fort Leavenworth has many prisoners who would be a greater threat than the vast majority of Gitmo detainees would represent. Bear in mind that about 5 percent of them actually were involved in combat against U.S. forces.
San Francisco: What is up with your colleague Brian Baird from Washington State? Has he completely gone over to the dark side on the Iraq occupation for his fifteen minutes of CNN fame? It's scary how quickly Democrats get television time when they decide to support the president's policy.
Rep. Jim Moran: I just returned from Iraq and I can understand why Brian got the impression he did. Our military and the Iraqi government all are singing off the same song sheet -- which is to say that everything is going on schedule and the worst thing that could happen would be to withdraw our unlimited support for the operation. This is the same spin that Gen. Petraeus provided two months before the '04 election, i.e. that as head of training he could attest that more than 200,000 Iraqis were trained and ready to defend their country. The mission was accomplished, in other words -- President Bush was re-elected.
The fact is that while our military is doing an outstanding job, the result of their efforts is going to be a Shia-dominated theocracy where women's rights and human rights are going to be suppressed, and Iran's influence in the region will be enhanced. How is this worth the sacrifice of thousands of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars?
Alexandria, Va.: As a co-founder of the New Democrat Coalition, I am curious about your philosophy regarding earmarks in lieu of the New Democrat Coalition's pledge to be more fiscally responsible and transparent.
Rep. Jim Moran: Every dollar gets earmarked, it's only a question of who does the earmarking. When the administration chose to cut the funding to New York City and Northern Virginia by 45 percent so as to spread it out to more rural areas (read, larger Republican constituencies) we saw the result of executive branch earmarking. I can defend every dollar I have earmarked for my congressional district. Now that we have full transparency -- which I strongly supported -- I think that the public is more equitably served, and the democratic process will regulate any abuses.
Arlington, Va.: Arlington and Fairfax trying to put light rail down Columbia Pike. Do you support this? Will there be federal help in making it happen?
Rep. Jim Moran: Not only do I support putting light rail down Columbia Pike, I have been earmarking money for this purpose in the Transportation Appropriations bill for the past several years, and will continue to do so until we get an administration that recognizes the need for public transit in urban communities like Arlington.
Alexandria, Va.: As a Virginian with consistent and pretty accurate views, what is your prediction on whether Sen. Warner will or will not retire after this session?
Rep. Jim Moran: I would be surprised if Sen. John Warner were to run again -- just as I would be surprised if Rep. Tom Davis doesn't run for his seat against former Gov. Mark Warner.
Frederick, Md.: Rep. Moran, do you believe that the Shiite militia roll-back will affect Congress's view of political progress in Iraq? With this being one of the key "milestones" in the funding legislation, I wonder if this will affect the negotiations. I for one don't believe it should.
washingtonpost.com: Al-Sadr Orders Six-Month Shutdown of Mahdi Army (Post, Aug. 29)
Rep. Jim Moran: The Shiite militia, the largest of which is the JAM (Jaish al Mahdi) is still a dominant factor in Iraq -- and is working in fairly close coordination with the Iraqi police forces, which are dominated by Shia extremists. They already have turned multi-ethnic Baghdad into an overwhelmingly Shia city. The pull-back of the militia is a temporary thing and in my view done solely for the American public's consumption.
Washington: What are your thoughts on the Clean Money, Clean Elections bill that would allow public financing of congressional campaigns? Do you believe that it would save taxpayers more than it would cost?
Rep. Jim Moran: I support public financing of elections. It is the only way to ensure that our electoral system is more beholden to voters than contributors.
Alexandria, Va.: What is the status of the Public Service Academy bill that you introduced last session?
Rep. Jim Moran: We have insufficient support in the Congress today for expanding and improving the civil service at any level of government -- but with 90 percent of senior executives and half the civil service eligible for retirement in this decade, this attitude will improve. But it will take a president who respects the role of the public sector and understands that not all government work can be contracted out to the private sector to make the necessary investment to rebuild our civil service. When we have that environment, I do think that a public service academy comparable to our military academies will become an idea well worth considering, and I will do everything I can to make that happen.
Anonymous: Did the Democratic Congress give in to illegal surveillance of the phone calls and e-mails of American citizen because they expect to be in the White House in 2008 and want the same ability to spy on us?
Rep. Jim Moran: No. The Democrats were afraid that if there had been a terrorist strike in August, they would have been vulnerable to criticism from the White House that it had been because of the NSA's inability to wiretap communications. The Senate had passed the president's bill and then gone home, and so if the House had passed a bill that was more respectful of the Constitution nothing would have gotten done until after Labor Day. Nevertheless, I argued strongly in the Democratic Congress against giving in to this White House ploy, and voted against the bill that passed.
Bethesda, Md.: What changes do you believe should be made to No Child Left Behind so that education emphasizes learning rather than increasing test scores?
Rep. Jim Moran: Our federal education policy should reward improvement from the beginning of the school year in September until the end of the year in June. The deficiency of the No Child Left Behind law, which I voted against, is that it takes a cookie-cutter approach to all school systems without sufficient consideration for the proportion of non-English speaking immigrant children and the socioeconomic backgrounds of the children in many urban systems, whose single parents too often have less than a high school education. These are the very students that the federal government needs to be providing extra assistance to, because in many ways the conditions in which children are born are a reflection of federal policies. It is not surprising that across the nation, the state with the lowest standards is Texas. The reward system is perverse.
I have spoken with Rep. George Miller at length on this and I can assure you that the Democratic majority is going to change the NCLB law radically to reflect common sense and a more equitable distribution of federal funds.
Arlington, Va.: Rep. Moran: Dulles rail is on the brink of collapse and there is plenty of blame to go around, as pointed out by Amy Gardner's excellent article this morning. I think most people recognize that the project has been mismanaged horribly and will not serve its stated purpose of addressing traffic and growth in Northern Virginia. What will you do to put an end to this mess and ensure that the people of Northern Virginia get the solutions they deserve? For example, there are other transit technologies that cost less and work better than our mechanically and financially-challenged Metro. Why are we not exploring these as options? By the way, I ride Metro everyday, and I would not recommend building another inch of new Metrorail service until the many problems with the existing system are resolved.
washingtonpost.com: As Dulles Rail Staggers, Players Share in Blame (Post, Aug. 29)
Rep. Jim Moran: Thanks for the question on Dulles rail. We knew from the beginning that this was going to be an uphill climb to secure $900 million in federal money because Dulles rail has the lowest cost-benefit ratio of any of the transit systems competing for the diminished pot of federal dollars. This is largely because of the cost for putting in four stations at Tysons.
The problem we have is that if we go around Tysons in order to get the system out to Dulles most efficiently and inexpensively, we will lose even more potential ridership, and those who drive into Tysons will experience even worse traffic congestion for decades to come.
I do have misgivings about the sole-source bidding process that goes all the way back to the Gilmore administration, but the Fairfax County Board, the state and the Washington Airports Authority allhave concluded that this is the best approach given the time and fiscal restraints we have to operate under. If the State, counties and property owners were willing to forgo the federal money, we certainly could start all over again with much greater decision-making latitude, but I don't think anyone is willing to give up the federal funds even with all their regulatory limitations -- such as the need for a time-consuming and costly environmental impact statement for any change in construction plans, including tunneling under Tysons.
Pittsburgh: What are the prospects for appropriations to repair/replace deteriorating infrastructure, including old bridges?
Rep. Jim Moran: It is imperative that we invest more money in rebuilding our nation's physical infrastructure, much of which hasn't been replaced for 40-50 years. But there is no money with which to do this as long as the reduction of $3.5 trillion in federal revenue from the tax cuts of the past five years -- and the $500 billion we've put into the Iraq War -- continue to be higher priorities.
Alexandria, Va.: Regarding civil service reform, what advice would you give a young person willing to leave the private sector and come work in Congress? How difficult is it to make this transition?
Rep. Jim Moran: Send us your resume.
Bethesda, Md.: Sens. Dodd and Hagel ironically introduced legislation to focus more on and to finance infrastructure repairs and maintenance just hours before the bridge collapsed in Minnesota. Do you favor more emphasis on maintaining and repairing current infrastructure?
Annandale, Va.: Congressional ratings are miserably low. From your perspective, what are the top three reasons why? And if you were in a leadership position, what would you do to improve them?
Rep. Jim Moran: The House has passed every bill it promised in the 2006 campaigns. Only two have gotten through the Senate, because their 60-vote requirement to end a filibuster by the minority stalled the rest. The minimum wage bill only was signed by the president because it was attached to the last Iraq Supplemental spending bill, which I opposed.
He vetoed the stem cell research bill and we were unable to override that veto. Similarly, we would be unable to override any veto of the legislation we are confident the American people want us to pass. As a result, we are at a stalemate, and the American people's frustration is well-warranted.
I think that we have to continue to do what we believe is right while working to create a political environment that will better reflect the priorities of our constituents. I have no realistic expectation that anything will change until after Jan. '09.
Alexandria, Va.: Mr. Moran -- it has been shown that there will be no need for a full Environmental Impact Assessment if a tunnel were considered under Tysons Corner. National Environmental Protection Act experts have said that. The tunnel represent less of an impact to the environment. Will you insist on the American Way -- competitive bidding of this project to reduce costs?
Rep. Jim Moran: I don't know who it is that "has shown" you that an Environmental Impact Statement or even an Environmental Assessment is unnecessary for a tunnel through Tysons -- every federal official that we have talked to has said expressly the opposite. If you have info to the contrary, I'd sure be interested to see it -- as would my congressional colleagues.
Richmond, Va.: How hard are you all going to fight the president on his $50 billion extra for the Iraq war?
washingtonpost.com: Bush Wants $50 Billion More for Iraq War (Post, Aug. 29)
Rep. Jim Moran: I am going to urge that the additional $50 billion the president is requesting be rejected and that the pending supplemental of approximately $145 billion become available only for the purpose of concluding our misguided military mission in Iraq.
The task of moving out our soldiers, equipment and facilities is going to be time-consuming and expensive -- all the more reason we should start now.
Rep. Jim Moran: Thanks for all your questions. I wish I had the time to answer all of them.
Enjoyed the dialogue. Hope we can do this again soon.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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Lost Book Club: 'The Wizard of Oz'
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Jen Chaney and Liz Kelly -- co-authors of washingtonpost.com's weekly "Lost" analysis (in season) -- continue the "Lost" Book Club series with a discussion of "The Wizard of Oz," one of several books that may offer some clues into the past, present and future of "Lost."
Liz Kelly's day job is Celebritology blogging, while Jen Chaney presides over washingtonpost.com's Movies section. Both consider "Lost"-watching a passion.
Visit washingtonpost.com's new "Lost" hub.
Liz Kelly: This was my first time actually reading the actual Baum text. But, I thought at the outset, how different can it be from the movie -- which remains a favorite from childhood. As it turns out, a lot different. Gone are the eerie Kansas links to Oz -- the Wicked Witch as Miss Gulch, the trio of the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow as farm hands Hunk, Zeke and Hickory and Oz as traveling fortune-teller Professor Marvel and gone is the main thrust of the movie -- Dorothy's progress through Oz bedeviled by a Wicked Witch who knows this child from the sky may mean her undoing. So no "My little pretty," no "And your little dog, too" and no "Surrender Dorothy" painted across the sky. In fact, the book even lacks the movie's quintessential quote: "There's no place like home." Still, I enjoyed the book very much. As described in the 100 anniversary edition I read, "Oz" really does read like the first American fairy tale. Still, I think we owe shout outs to Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf, who adapted "Oz" for the big screen. They managed to preserve the flavor of the book while adding details that only made the experience richer. And, I can't help but wonder if the movie is also an influence on our little show. After all, the book is relatively straight-forward, where the movie adds foreshadowing. But back to the book -- shades of "Oz" are definitely visible all over the "Lost" island, which maybe we should start referring to as Oz. Many are laid out nicely in the first question Jen will answer below, so I won't rehash here. I think one important plot point to remember -- from both the book and the movie -- is that the Wizard turns out not to be a wizard at all. In fact, he himself says: "I am a humbug." Actually, the quote I was really looking for is: "I'm really a very good man, but I'm a very bad Wizard." So is "Lost's" man behind the curtain -- whoever he may be -- also a good man who has made bad choices? It remains to be seen.
Liz Kelly: Oh, and of course, at the end of today's chat we'll announce the next title in our Book Club series -- along with the name of a special guest who will be joining us to discuss it.
Jen Chaney: We are very excited about the special guest, so we can't wait to reveal. Liz introduced us very nicely, so I say we just jump right into the discussion.
Washington, D.C.: The last time I read "The Wizard of Oz" I was 10 years old and I was amazed at not only how much I had forgotten but also by how much the memories of the movie have taken hold. For instance, I had forgotten that the Wicked Witch of the West had an eye patch! Shades of McPatchy! You don't suppose Mikhail is the Wicked Witch in drag or vice versa? If so, it seems the evil Charlie killing b---- has gotten over his aversion to water.
While I was wondering just who is the man behind the curtain is (Henry? Jacob? Christian Shepard?) while reading, I also wondered is The Island Oz? The version I read for the Lost Book Club was "The Annotated Wizard of Oz," edited by Michael Patrick Hearn. In one of Hearn's notes, he stated that "in Baum's unproduced and unpublished play "The Girl From Oz" (1909) a character says that Oz is "some island far away in the Pacific.'" We also have to remember that Oz is a popular nickname for Australia. One last quote from Baum via Hearn from "The Scarecrow of Oz:" "it is astonishing how many little countries there are, hidden away in the cracks and corners of this big globe of Earth. If one travels, he may find some new country at every turn, and a good many of them have never yet been put upon the maps." Sure sounds like the Island to me! I wonder if future Jack's desperation to get back to the Island might not stem from a longing to get back to a lost land like Oz or Shangri-la. After all I do remember that Dorothy also longed to get back to Oz in the sequels, so much so that she eventually moved Aunt Em and Uncle Henry there.
Keep a look out for falling houses!
Jen Chaney: Wow, so many good comments in this, thank you. For starters, I totally thought of McPatchy during the description of the Witch's single eye. I have no idea exactly how the two might connect, but it suggests that maybe Mikhail is more important to the story than we think. Perhaps that's how he kept surviving; he used his magic hat and the Flying Monkeys hooked him up and revived him. Next season, I hope he comes back to life, then melts while shouting "What a world!" More interesting, though, is the notion of the island functioning as Oz. I thought about this, too. As you imply, the flash-forward at the end of the season suggests the flipside of the movie's (and the book's) conclusion: It's not that there is no place like home. For Jack at least, there is no place like the island. Or, to take it a step further, maybe the island is really the home our castaways were always meant to experience. You mentioned the Oz sequels, which I have not revisited at all since childhood. (And only a little bit back then.) But if you look at the plots -- conveniently described in this Wiki entry -- they actually take Dorothy to Australia, where she apparently falls overboard (in "Ozma of Oz"). In the next book, she goes from Australia to California. Come on, how freaky is that? The journey the Losties take certainly parallels Dorothy's journey, the question is whether we can take anything from Baum's stories and apply it to figure out what will happen on the show.
Alexandria, Va.: Have you heard Rick Polito's movie review?
"Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again."
Liz Kelly: Yes. I love it. Only imagine what he could do with the Grimm bros. oeuvre. By the way, my favorite characters were the Hammer Heads. Maybe it is just WW Denslow's laugh out loud illustrations, but I love the little guys with no arms who launch their heads at any comers.
Jen Chaney: Those Hammerhead dudes scared me. It is odd, isn't it, that a child should not only be asked to commit murder but be commended for it? Odder still that it never struck me as odd when I was a kid. Speaking of strange creatures, the spider/elephant/generally freaky creature the gang encounters in the forest reminded me a bit of the smoke monster, only because he sounded so elusive and bizarre. The Lion was able to overcome him. But who is the Cowardly Lion on "Lost"? I think maybe Sawyer, the seemingly savage (not to mention sexy) beast who masks his insecurity.
Seattle, Emerald City: To me "Lost" seems to draw more upon the later books in the Oz series, especially those about the Gnome King and other such books. Do you think we'll see some magic eggs and talking chickens?
Liz Kelly: Are you telling me I need to keep reading the series?
Jen Chaney: As my previous post indicated, I think you are on to something. Hurley did, during a dream sequence, say "Have a cluckity cluck cluck day." (A reference to his gig at Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack.) Doesn't make him a talking chicken, but it's close enough.
Liz Kelly: Oh, and for anyone out there lurking for lack of reading the book, we're game for straight up "Lost" questions, too. So bring 'em on. And, on the flip side, we're also happy to talk "The Wizard of Oz" on its own.
Wow. I feel bad that I never realized that this Liz is the same as Gene's Chatwoman. I am a dope.
Did you listen to Carlton and Damon's podcast from the San Diego Comic Con? If so, did you glean anything useful from it (other than Michael's return, obviously)?
Liz Kelly: I did not listen to the podcast, but I'm betting Jen did. Lots of casting news lately. The latest is the addition of Jeff Fahey ("Lawnmower Man") to the cast. Here's EW's scoop. Oh, and speaking of scoops, Politico last week had this scoop: Terry O'Quinn (Locke) visiting Annapolis.
Jen Chaney: Liz, you know me too well. I listened to the podcast, but only after watching video of the Comic-Con panel as soon as I could dig it up online. Two useful things I gleaned (and don't read this if you don't want spoilers): That Claire will find out this season that she is Jack's sister. And that Libby will return at least briefly to tie the loose ends of that storyline. Was particularly excited to hear that. By the way, I am also willing to have a side conversation about how "Heroes" and "Lost" are interrelated. Since I reviewed the "Heroes" DVD, I crammed through the whole season. I knew there were parallels there, but they were pretty stunning, especially when watching the whole season in a chunk.
I'm off to see Ben Linus: So aside from the Henry Gale/Wizard connection I was having trouble seeing links between the book and the show -- although much like "Watership Down" this book involved a journey to find "home."
I also thought it was interesting to think of Dorothy as the "castaways." Trying to figure out what she needs to do in order to get back to Kansas. (Which if you think about "Not in Portland" is a nice parallel)
I wonder, however, if this latest attempt to get home in "Through the Looking Glass" is much like Dorothy's failed attempt to get on the Balloon with the Wizard at the end of the book. Maybe our Losties need to find thier Glinda -- and some silver shoes (or ruby slippers) to find their way home.
Okay, maybe I did find more links than I thought I did...
Incidentally -- I thought the Land of China was hilarious!
Jen Chaney: A couple of thoughts here. Re: the "Lost" gang finding their way home: Remember, Dorothy had the ability to get home all along. She just didn't realize it. That could hold true for the castaways. I think the home all of them are seeking is a metaphorical one, found in redemption for their past sins and the notion that they can start over. Perhaps they don't realize they have always had the capacity to redeem themselves. And I actually think the Wizard is more like Jacob, not Benry. As the episode "The Man Behind the Curtain" proved, Ben thinks Jacob is running the show. And the description of Oz in the book being able to take on any form he wishes really reminded me of Jacob. This is why I think he looked like Locke (I'm standing by this, darn it) when Locke saw him. He's a shape shifter and presents himself in different ways to different people, much as the "wizard" does in Baum's book.
Liz Kelly: Yes, but it turns out that it is all smoke and mirrors, Jen. Oz is not able to take on any form he wishes -- he's cobbled together those forms with papier mache and string. He's a hack. A humbug. Which doesn't really jell with the supernatural encounter we had with Jacob last season. Unless, of course, that too was a sham -- one successfully perpetrated on Ben, too, since he was a child.
Liz Kelly: Riffing on Jen's answer above, too, about the Lion killing the spider/elephant thing and Dorothy killing the witch. I think one thing that was off-putting about the book was the anti-climatic scenes of triumph. As children of the celluloid/video/DVD era and writers like Stephen King, we tend to expect building tension, a plot twist, then ultimate triumph of good over evil. In the case of the deaths of both the Wicked Witch of the West and the spider thing, both are dispatched in a matter of a paragraph. The lion, after hearing about this menace who has terrorized the forest, merely claws its head off while it sleeps. Dorothy, in the book, accidentally splashes the witch with water while cooking and calmly continues as if to say, "Now that that's out of the way..." I don't think this has much bearing on our show, but did make for a different reading experience. I mentioned Malory above. Oz is written very much in the same fashion -- straight-forward recounting of adventures, with all of the adventurous spirit left out.
Jen Chaney: I agree, Liz. The movie handles the death of the witch much more climactically. I also thought the book ends really abruptly. Dorothy gets home, but we don't know how she felt about our trip, whether Henry and Em think she's a wack job when she talks about Oz, how Toto feels about the whole situation. The prose is almost maddeningly straight-forward, I think. Which, in a way, is a testament to how strong and inventive the story is. Even a somewhat lame literary approach can't squelch the basic narrative's power.
Washington, D.C.: Admittedly, I've never read any of the Oz books, so I'll open it up to Lost questions...
The one thing my mind keeps coming back to: who's in the coffin? Walt? Vincent? Sun's baby?
And we know Nikki's eyes opened as she was being buried alive. Will she and Paolo dig their way out?
Jen Chaney: Harold Perrineau made a comment during the Comic-Con panel that strongly suggested Michael was in the coffin. I think that's because the obit Jack reads on the plane says that the deceased is survived by a teenaged son. That doesn't necessarily limit us to Michael, though. Re: Nikki and Paolo, I believe LindeCuse have said they are definitely dead. I had the same thought, too, though.
Liz Kelly: I think we have seen the last of Nikki and Paolo. No matter how influenced the producers and writers may be by cultural touchstones like the books we're reading in this series, they are also incredibly aware of ratings and public reaction to their choices. The public reaction to Nikki and Paolo was instant and lasting distaste. They shortened their arc on the show because of that.
Munchkinla, ND: I think Hurley is the Cowardly Lion, if anyone. Sawyer is the Tin Woodman. Sawyer thinks he has no heart, but is actually rather tender.
Liz Kelly: So Hurley may someday surprise us by being the only one able to vanquish a powerful enemy? Maybe Hurley is more of a Toto. Who, I wonder, is the scare crow? Is it Jack, who takes it upon himself to lead the "Losties?" And where does Locke fit in to a "Oz"-ian interpretation?
Not in Kansas Anymore, D.C.: Has anybody every noticed the resemblance between "The Wizard of Oz" and "Heart of Darkness"/"Apocalypse Now?" Someone must make a physical journey (down the road or up the river) that is a metaphor for an internal journey to find someone from the traveler's home world who has set himself as a demi-god among less sophisticated natives.
So the opening scene of "The Wizard of Oz" should have been an extreme close-up of Judy Garland's eye with her muttering,"Kansas. I can't believe I'm still in Kansas."
Liz Kelly: Good observation, D.C., though I think the metaphorical physical journey is a pretty commonly used device in literature traceable all the way back to Beowulf and "The Holy Grail." (If only LindeCuse would work in some Malory, I'd be set). The difference, I think, between Oz and Heart/Apocalypse is the entity discovered at the end of the road. Oz turns out to be a benevolent, if selfish, kind of man. While Kurtz has been twisted into a depraved tyrant. But I think I see what you're saying, which is that what "Lost" needs is a little drunk Martin Sheen.
Jen Chaney: This is a valid comparison. But there are also many others that could be made. That's how influential "Oz" is. "Pan's Labyrinth" is an "Oz"-esque journey. And Anthony Lane of the New Yorker once wrote the most beautiful piece of film criticim I've ever read, which proved that "E.T." is essentially "The Wizard of Oz." Would explain why I adored both movies so much as a child.
Manassas, Va.: I think Hurley is the lion, and Sawyer the Tin Man (no heart). But who is the Scarecrow?
Jen Chaney: I don't think Hurley is the lion because he's not ferocious enough. I'm going to throw this out there, with the knowledge that this theory will be torn to shreds. I think Kate is our Dorothy, Sawyer the Lion (again, outwardly ferocious but a scared little boy on the inside), Locke the Scarecrow (he is obsessed with more cerebral issues) and Jack the Tin Man (definitely trying to reconnect with his heart). But that's just me spitballin'.
Liz Kelly: I dunno. I kind of had Jack figured as our Dorothy. Even though "Lost" has an ensemble cast, there is definitely a greater emphasis on the story as told through the prism of Jack's experience. So, if we look at it that way, perhaps that makes Kate our tinman. She, too, has lost her heart, but tends to act out emotionally anyway.
Jen Chaney: Good point. You're right, Jack is the center. And Matthew Fox would look fab in a gingham dress.
Munchkinla, ND: There are serious scholarly analyses of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a political-economic allegory. The general idea is that Dorothy represents the United States population, the Cowardly Lion is the government or sometimes William Jennings Bryan, the Tin Woodman is industry or the industrial worker, and the Scarecrow is the American farmer.
In order for prosperity to be restored after the economic upheaval of the 1890s, the government must find the courage to regulate the economy, industry must acknowledge the humanity of its workers, and farmers must learn to intelligently apply modern methods. Then the country can follow the gold standard (yellow brick road) to prosperity and riches (Emerald City).
The silver slippers (not ruby as in the movie) are possibly the silver standard. The wicked witches, the Wizard, and Glinda have corresponding political figures. The cyclone is a metaphor for economic upheaval and revolutionary changes.
I think this sort of thing would appeal to Perdidophiles.
For other interpretations, and more information, start with the Wikipedia article, "Poliitical interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Jen Chaney: I have read some of these theories, yes. Baum says he intended this as a children's story and nothing more, but these interpretations are certainly interesting and historically relevant. Not sure they can apply to "Lost," but I do think the show has some political implications for sure.
Washington, D.C.: Do you think the writers/creators/whoever for Lost actually had all these books and connections in mind when planning the series? Are they that well read that they can pull from all these sources? Have they acknowledged connections to any other stories? Or is this all just coincidence or overanalysis?
Liz Kelly: Hard to say. I've said before that the writers/creators strike me as incredibly literate. English majors who read the basic required texts but have managed to re-awaken their relevance by inserting strategic references in "Lost." Do I think every similarity we and others notice is/was intentional? No. But I think some were. And what better place from which to draw dramatic story lines than the great classics of yesteryear?
Jen Chaney: I'm with Liz. I don't think any decent writer could sit down and craft a narrative while saying to him/herself, "I'm going to create a story that's a hybrid of 'Watership Down,' 'The Wizard of Oz,' etc. etc." A person could do that, but I don't think he'd create a particularly great story. However, I do think that the "Lost" writers may draw from certain narratives at key points in the story to provide hints to the viewer. Showing "Watership Down" so early on, for example, provided a preview of things to come for those who were paying close attention.
Spoilerville, USA: Season 4 has started production already in Hawaii. Since only 16 episodes are being produced, I suspect primary photography for the entire season will be done before the premiere in February. This should lead to lots of spoilers on the Net. Already there are spoilers up indicating which character will be the focus of the Season 4 premiere.
Just wondering how you (and the chatters) are planning to deal with spoilers for Season 4. Last season, I followed them until the last few weeks because I didn't want to ruin the big surprises of the finale. I'm glad I did. I'd like to avoid them this fall and early winter as well, but I'm afraid waiting until Feb. for the premiere will leave me desperate for Lost fixes, and I won't be able to resist!
Liz Kelly: We haven't actually decided how to deal with spoilers this season. Maybe the thing to do is have one of us follow spoilers and watch the shows with them in mind while the other remains blissfully unaware of what's to come. And since I'm blissfully unaware most of the time anyway, maybe that person should be me. Seriously, though, I hate spoilers. Beyond knowing basic things like casting decisions, I'd rather enjoy the show in real time, then as per usual, spend the next week over-analyzing and dissecting. Why take all the fun out of it?
Jen Chaney: Ooh, that's going to be a touch fight, Liz. I tend to dig into spoilers but I also really don't want to. I agree that it ruins the show. Re: the question about production, you're dead-on. The entire season will be in the can before the first episode even airs. And that will make clamping down on spoilers that much more difficult this season. Having read your posts, I swear, my brain is going, "Need to go look at spoilers ... RIGHT NOW!" At the same time, it's saying "Must resist ... must resist..."
Washington, D.C.: I realize this doesn't relate exactly to the book club, but do you know exactly when our favorite show is going to return. I hear 2008, but that's it. Thanks!
Jen Chaney: It's back in February. I have not heard a specific date. Does someone else have that info?
Surrender Dorothy: I thought that was from the movie After Hours?
Liz Kelly: Another fabulous movie, "After Hours." Actually, "Surrender Dorothy" is also from that Beltway overpass near the Mormon temple in Maryland. So apt. What idiot removed it?
Jen Chaney: Not the same at all, but "Surrender, Dorothy" also strikes me as a predecessor to Save Ferris. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" -- yet another magical journey.
Bali, Indonesia: I almost cried when the Wizard's hot-air balloon took off without Dorothy in it -- I honestly wasn't prepared for that. I got goose bumps when Oz said, "I can't come back, my dear ... Good-bye!" It was just so typical of the "Lost" experience. And I'm thinking, maybe that part of the story gives us a hint that not all of the Losties will end up being rescued -- the helicopter -- or whatever -- will fly off and leave some of them behind, because of lack of space or maybe some mid-rescue mishap.
And speaking of hot-air balloons, wasn't the real Henry Gale supposed to have crashed on the island in a balloon? (My memory of that is a bit fuzzy. Good excuse for me to go and re-watch Seasons 1 and 2, though.)
Liz Kelly: Right you are, Henry Gale -- the real one, that is -- did indeed crash into the island on a balloon. Ben Linus merely borrowed his identity. So yet another point to add to our list of similarities. And thank you for mentioning the helicopter. The show ended just as the helicopter landed amidst our Losties. Obviously someone will leave the island via it. If we continue our line of reasoning of Jack as Dorothy, it will be him. By the way, Bali, I'm reading a book about Indonesian cooking right now called "Cradle of Flavor" (courtesy of food blogger Kim O'Donnel) that is fabulous. I think Indonesian/Malaysian cuisine has now supplanted Indian as my favorite. Can I come for a visit?
Jen Chaney: Can I come to Bali, too? As Liz said, you're right about Mr. Gale. And I think you're right about some of them being left behind. In the flash-forward (if memory serves) Jack refers to a deal that he and Kate (and maybe some of the other people) made to get off the island. I suspect that Jack's sense of guilt and urgency is related to the fact that some people were indeed left behind. The fact that he keeps flying on planes, hoping they will crash, is his way of clicking his heels together and saying "There's no place like home." But in his case, tragically, it isn't working.
Have a cluckity cluck cluck day: Okay, I'm down with many of the comparisons, but this seems like a stretch.
Jen Chaney: Of course it's a stretch. I was joking. I stretch when I have to just to keep things interesting.
Annandale, Va.: Can you give us some examples of the Lost-Heroes parallels?
Jen Chaney: How much time have you got? Both shows feature lots of hopping through time. Both include comic book homages. Both have a young boy with special powers (Walt=Micah). At one point on "Heroes," Adrian Pasdar's character even says that if he knew where all the people with superpowers were, he'd "round us all up and stuck us on a lab on an island in the middle of the ocean." Most importantly, as EW pointed out long before this chat, Damon Lindelof and Tim Kring, creator of "Heroes," worked together previously and have talked about having their two shows dovetail mythology-wise. But apparently they could not fully pursue the idea since "Heroes" is on NBC and "Lost" is on ABC. Stupid separate corporate entities.
Falls Church, Va.: Watership Down? Oh, do tell. I didn't start watching LOST until the second season, so I missed that reference... and that has to be one of my fave books of all time. Thanks!
Liz Kelly: You must have missed last month's discussion, durn it.
Jen Chaney: But not to worry. Go to our "Lost" hub and you can catch up very quickly and easily. We aim to please, Falls Church.
Washington, D.C.: Unrelated to "Lost," I was struck by some noticeable similarity between "Oz" and Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings." The forest where trees come alive and capture those wandering through. The one-eyed witch with telescopic vision and her lust for the powerful shoes being worn by a naive, innocent being. I wonder how much influence Baum had on Tolkien's work.
Jen Chaney: That's very interesting. I also was struck by similarities between "Oz" and the "Harry Potter" books. The notion that Dorothy is marked by having defeated the evil witch reminded me a lot of the scar Harry earned after battling Voldemort.
Liz Kelly: Good point. I didn't pay that Good Witch lip mark much heed. But it does keep Dorothy safe -- the Wicked Witch is unable to kill her because of it.
Munchkinla, ND: I think you miss the point of the things the characters are seeking when you say things like, "Sawyer the Lion (again, outwardly ferocious but a scared little boy on the inside)."
The Lion actually already HAS courage on the inside, the Scarecrow actually already HAS intelligence (note how he figures things out), the Tin Woodman actually already HAS a tender heart, and mostly Dorothy already HAS the ability to return home. I don't think the parallels to Lost characters are very good here, but in any case, the quests are both to know oneself, not to win something new.
Liz Kelly: I don't htink we're missing that, Munchie. Jen made reference to the fact that Dorothy had the ability to go home all along and that maybe our Losties do, as well. They need only be helped to that realization. And I think the "Lost" creators have done a bang up job of creating layered, complex characters who don't always realize the mettle (no pun intended), heart or intelligence they already possess. As alluded to earlier, Sawyer is both brave and has a huge heart, though he would be the last to realize that. Even Sun and Jin, when they first arrived on the island, thought their love (aka hearts) had been excised. They were trapped in a loveless marriage. The island helped both to see that the love was there all along. It only needed a little coaxing to reassert itself. I think, too, that we've yet to see some of the qualities possessed by the Losties reveal themselves. We're bound to find out more about Walt since at least Michael will be back -- why did the Others want him and is he really able to see things/make things happen?
Jen Chaney: Amen to everything Liz just said. Look, obviously we have to stretch a little to find the character parallels. The strongest ones in "Oz" are the overall journey, as you describe, and the issues related to Jacob. Character-wise, I thought our bunny friends in "Watership" tracked much more closely with the characters on "Lost." At least, as Liz rightly points out, as far as we know thus far. Part of this whole book club exercise is just to have some fun, too. Hence, the cluckity-cluck-cluck day comparison, which shall go down in washingtonpost.com "Lost" analysis infamy.
Do you think the writers/creators/whoever for Lost actually had all these books and connections in mind when planning the series?: No, they are making it up as they go along, based on our chats. Just one opinion.
Jen Chaney: Yes, these chats are transforming what happens on the show even as we speak. If that were true, Sawyer's shirt would be off for the duration of each episode and Boone would have permanently returned from the dead. Not that Liz and I watch the show for the attractive men or anything...
Liz Kelly: Ha. Speak for yourself, Jen!
Silver Spring, Md.: I don't recall the helicopter landing amid the Losties at the end of the Season 3 finale. Didn't the interior island (radio tower) plot end with Jack radioing the freighter, and whoever answered the call saying they would send a helicopter? I believe the freighter and its crew are still a big unknown.
Liz Kelly: You're right. I assumed the copter was a done deal and somehow that became part of my "Lost" memories. I should have said "As our Losties" awaited a helicopter rescue." Jen will chastise me appropriately and take my "Lost" fan club badge.
Jen Chaney: An understandable mistake. No one will revoke your badge (or your book club bookmark -- print it, use it, love it!) anytime soon. Wouldn't it be awesome if the pilot of the helicopter were Henry Gale? Or the somehow reincarnated pilot from the plane, who happens to be Greg Grunberg, the cop on "Heroes"? Man, my head would explode into many, many pieces if that happened.
I didn't start watching LOST until the second season,: Borrow 1st season from Netflix or download from iTunes. I think you need some of the background.
Jen Chaney: I agree. This is a show where seeing every episode is crucial. And season one rules.
Quadling, Oz: Locke would be the Tin Woodman, no? Once crippled, now able to walk, but still vulnerable to injury that might put him back in a wheelchair. And he's pretty handy in the woods/jungle, too. The heart thing maybe be his quest for what the powers of the Island are all about.
Liz Kelly: Good point -- Locke was indeed crippled and was made mobile again when Dorothy arrived and intervened. Here's one difference to consider between the two texts: Dorothy and Toto arrive in Oz alone and meet the other main characters (Tinman, Scarecrow and Lion) along the way. They are a part of Oz, not of Kansas. Does that signify anything for our interpretation? Should we be looking at different characters from the show as their equivalents? What of Juliet or Alpert?
Alexandria, Va.: Will all the book club books start with a "W"?
Liz Kelly: Yes. In October we'll be reading Why Men Marry Bitches: A Woman's Guide to Winning Her Man's Heart. It really informed the creation of Kate's character.
Jen Chaney: Then in November, it's "Where the Wild Things Are." Can't wait to make my case that Jack is Max and Jacob is his mother. (Liz, they are going to take us seriously. Should we set them straight? Nah....)
Rochester, Minn.: There is actually an Oz/Apocalypse 'mashup' movie out there called: 'Apocalypse Oz.'
Apocalypse Oz. The plot summary is...odd!
"A cineclash film hybridizing the screenplays of "Apocalypse Now" and "The Wizard of Oz." Dorothy Willard, delinquent Amerasian offspring of the Vietnam War, lives very out of place in Kansas with her abusive aunt and uncle. Deciding that "there's no horror like home" she accepts a dream mission, one that takes her deep into the desert to hunt down and "terminate with extreme prejudice" an insane, renegade U.S. Army colonel -- codenamed 'The Wizard'..."
Liz Kelly: We'll have to trust you on this one and watch after the discusison ends. Speaking of which...
Jen Chaney: We do need to bring this chat to a close. Thanks, as always, for so many thought-provoking observations and great questions. For those of you who don't already know, our next book will be ... "Watchmen." I'll let Liz share the news of our super-exciting special guest...
Liz Kelly: We'll be joined by EW's "Lost" guru, Jeff "Doc" Jensen, who -- it could be argued -- wrote the book (or at least reams of articles) on both "Lost" and "Watchmen." See you here next month.
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Svrluga covers the Nationals beat for The Post and writes the Nationals Journal blog for washingtonpost.com. He's also the author of "National Pastime: Sports, Politics, and the Return of Baseball to Washington, D.C."
Barry Svrluga: Hello, folks. Looks like another perfect day. I love L.A.
(Actually, just channeling some Randy Newman. I actually get pretty uncomfortable any time I'm away from the East Coast, so that red eye is looking pretty good tonight.)
Much to discuss. A five-game losing streak. Rosters expanding. Shawn Hill on the hill. Thanks for stopping by -- and understanding the hour delay, as I had to meet with Manny Acta at 10:30 a.m. local time here. Let's chat.
Gloom and Doom: Aren't we be a tad premature with the "here we go down the toilet" storyline? To me there's a difference between playing poorly (ie FLop's errors) and playing beyond our depth. We've had some tough losses this road trip, but we've always been in the game. Losing games because of errors is frustrating and somewhat unforgivable, but it is in theory fixable. If we were getting pummeled each and every night, then might I consider packing it up.
Barry Svrluga: The other side might be that it's remarkable that they played .500 baseball for almost 100 games -- 49-49 between May 11 and Monday. If they win today, that's .500 for 100 games -- a huge chunk of the schedule.
But I do think -- and I know Manny Acta believes -- that they could fritter away some of that good work over the next month if they're not careful. The style of some of these losses, with key misplays by Lopez and the huge blown four-run lead by Cordero, have been frustrating. If you lose to, say, Brad Penny because he pitched great, that's one thing. But if you lose because of things you can control, that's frustrating.
Bowie, Md.: Boswell's column was right on but here's my problem: I won't commit good money (for a ticket plan) if I don't feel confident that that money is getting me something in return ... like a seat with a view instead of a bill of goods promising me a seat wherever they want to put me. The impression people have is that red tape and complaints still prevail, that once they have your CC number you are ignored, so why should I send my money in not knowing what I am getting in return? Fix that and people will sign up fast. Look at Camden Yards in the early days, sellouts all the time despite a lousy team (well, there was Cal).
Barry Svrluga: Everyone should read Thomas Boswell's column this morning. It's important to note that the Lerners have significant concerns about the parking situation, and the fan base has concerns about whether the Lerners are going to follow through on promises to put as much money into the new park as they said they would.
Your view is likely shared by many fans who want to see before they buy.
Little Havana: Ross Detwiler, another strong outing! I know it's early but is this novel truth or fiction in your opinion?
Barry Svrluga: Detwiler, the Nationals' top pick in the June draft (taken sixth overall), has had two good outings for Class A Potomac in a row. I have the feeling that he'll get a call-up when rosters expand Saturday -- or perhaps Sept. 4, after the minor league seasons are over -- just to give him a taste of the majors. He won't necessarily pitch that much, but they believe he's close to competing for a spot in the rotation.
Maryland: Does Jesus Flores have any plausible chance of becoming the Nationals starting catcher for 2008?
Barry Svrluga: I just don't think so. Not yet. Flores is hitting .229 with a .299 on-base percentage, which is similar to Schneider's struggling season (.227/.314). But as one club insider told me on this trip, "If Flores played every day, he'd hit .180."
The thought is he needs more seasoning. We'll see how he does in the Arizona Fall League and in winter ball in Venezuela. It's a very interesting situation to watch over the winter.
Norfolk, Va.: Of the parts of the two or three games I have seen on MASN in the past week it seems that Lopez has made critical errors at shortstop that either have directly given up a run or extended an inning. So, why is he still starting?
Barry Svrluga: You prefer D'Angelo Jimenez? You might remember the error he made that finished off the Cordero blown game in Colorado last Friday.
Lopez: For better or worse, this is what they have right now. He is arbitration eligible after this season, a free agent after 2008. It'll be interesting to see what direction they decide to go in the future -- and even in 2008, when the current thinking is Lopez would move back to second base and Cristian Guzman, in a contract year, would be the shortstop.
Ballston, Va.: Um, why is the whole parking issue only coming up now? I've been thinking about this for at least a year now; I drive through the new stadium area every day and it's clear that parking will be a problem (in addition to traffic on M Street). Makes me glad I work at the Navy Yard and can park there for games.
Barry Svrluga: Been around for a long time, Ballston, including when the plans for the stadium were ultimately improved. And it's probably going to be around for a long time to come. When I go to cities like Denver, you can see what a neighborhood around a ballpark can be. But it's going to take a long, long time for that to happen in DC. The next five-eight years are huge for development down there.
Section 310: So, not even two weeks later, it certainly appears like Wily Mo has made an impact!
Not only his 4 HRs in 34 at-bats, but just his presence in the lineup changes everything. To say it beefs it up a bit is an understatement! The guy is HUGE!
Barry Svrluga: He could play tight end for the Skins (sorry, Cooley). A big man.
I agree that his presence changes the lineup, at least giving them the kind of threat they didn't have. But that's a statement about the state of the Nationals' lineup that a contender's castoff can transform things. I wrote this in the notebook in this morning's $.35 edition: Pena has four homers in 34 at-bats for Washington; he hit five in 156 at-bats for the Red Sox.
Wanted to mention that I thought the Zimmerman story, that you panned, was terrific. I knew it would be good because you panned it, which is a trait I see in most good writers.
This leads me to my question/comment: I wish The Post would let you do more stories like this on the Nats. Too often I feel like you are constrained and The Post wants to cover baseball and the Nats like a baseball team that just happens to play in town. I know they're struggling and perhaps that's the reason for the coverage, but I just feel that they need to turn you loose!
The Post needs to let you cover the hell out of these guys, and give you the space to do it. People keep saying this is a Redskins town, but that's because they've had a virtual monopoly on the sports scene for so long. If the Nats got 2/3s of the coverage and resources the bumbling Redskins get, I think there'd be more interest in the team.
Just my two cents... Keep up the great work, we're lucky to have you here.
Barry Svrluga: You are kind, D.C., but really, the lack of featurey stories has more to do with the baseball schedule than anything else. They play nearly every day, so you cover a game nearly every day. I try to write as much featurey stuff in the gamers -- details from the clubhouse that you might not find elsewhere, thoughts about how decisions were made or what guys are feeling like -- that they're more interesting.
Off-day stories are a chance to spread out a bit, and I enjoy doing them. There's just not that many off days.
Columbia Heights, Md.: The Nats are about to enter a long stretch of games where they're playing only division rivals, most of whom are in the playoff hunt. Given how shaky the pitching has been, the wheels could be about to fall off the bandwagon.
How do you think the team is going to handle it? Acta's optimism works well when the team is winning, but can it work when they drop 15 of 20?
Barry Svrluga: Acta is aware of this. No doubt the Phillies, Mets and Braves are aware that their games against Washington are almost essential. As Acta said the other day, "It could be a long month," just by virtue of the quality of opponents and what they're playing for. His goal is to make sure his team plays hard through the last game -- kind of like running through the bag at first on a routine grounder.
This will be an interesting month, I think, to see how Acta handles things, and how individual players handle themselves. You can learn something about commitment and caring from individual guys in the next 29 games.
Crystal City, Va.: Any rumblings on potential Aug. 31 deals involving the Nationals?
Barry Svrluga: I'm sorry to say that I do not have any rumblings on this kind of thing. Again, I've long thought Ray King would be a candidate, and he's been much better lately. But he'd have to go to a contender who absolutely needs a lefty specialist.
New York: There was a comment about Austin Kearns online this week that said, "There have been times this season when I've felt Kearns was given a free pass by ... certain members of the media when it came to his offensive production."
Have the gloves come off in the press box?
Barry Svrluga: This is an interesting point. Kearns was awful for a long stretch, and I think one of the reasons he was given a pass -- if that's the case -- is because he was the first one to admit it. He hit a huge homer at RFK maybe a month or six weeks ago, one that might have changed his season, and I asked him, "How would you evaluate your season?"
Reporters -- and, I would think, fans -- would appreciate that kind of realistic self-evaluation. He didn't say "I've hit the ball harder than my average," blah blah blah. He took it on himself.
His performance since the break has helped, too. Before the all-star break, he hit .250 with a .323 OBP and .369 slugging percentage. Not good enough. His .296/.399/.465 since is much more palatable.
Mount Vernon, Va.: Have the Nationals made any progress with prospects internationally this year? They had some announcements earlier this year but have been noticeably quiet since?
Barry Svrluga: They have not had the big splash signing like Esmailyn Gonzalez last year ($1.4 million), but they're still plugging away. They fielded two teams in the Dominican Summer League this year, and the last time I talked to Jose Rijo, he was very excited about a couple of the pitchers that were there.
I would watch for more movement on the international market this offseason -- but it might be from Asia. I'm going to look into this some soon.
Section 108: Has there been any talk about shuttling people in by bus from other areas like they do at FedEx field?
Barry Svrluga: Yes, there has. And you want to know from where? RFK.
Fantasy Baseball: I have this (sick) fantasy of a team full of linebacker wannabees: Darryl Ward, Dmitri, WMP, Livo --- all of whom can hit. If you send the ball far enough out of the park, it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get around the bases.
Whaddaya think? Would that team be better than ..say, the O's of the past 10 days.
Barry Svrluga: Throw in Adam Dunn, and you've got the all huge team. Maybe Mo Vaughn could manage or coach first base.
Downtown: Do you feel complicit in the poor attendance at RFK this year since you and all of the other "journalist" decided to give your opinions on radio and in print that the Nats would be terrible and that there wasn't any real reason to have any interest till next year? I think a lot of borderline fans stayed away because of your opinions and predictions. Please keep covering the team but let us draw our own conclusions. It's not a beat reporters place.
Barry Svrluga: No, I don't feel complicit in driving fans away. I would hope individuals are smart enough to evaluate for themselves. My preseason prediction -- 62-100 -- was based on an assessment of the roster (particularly the starting rotation) and the competition (particularly in the division). I thought it was completely fair then and I think it was completely fair now. And let me remind you that this isn't just an opinion. It's an analysis. There's a difference. There were people within the organization whispering (shouting?) that things could be really bad.
The attendance problem is extremely complex, and it'll be fascinating to watch in coming years. Kasten believes it takes 3 million fans to operate a franchise the right way. He's got a lo tof wood to chop.
428: Has Acta given you a feel for how he'll handle the young pitchers they call up Sept. 1st? Will they get starts or be seen out of the bullpen? Will they call up all 15?
Barry Svrluga: No, they will definitely not call up 15 players. It doesn't work that way. They will call up Matt Chico, to be sure, and he's a possibility to start on Sunday. And I'd expect to see a couple of those bullpen arms in Columbus. But I wouldn't expect to see anyone called up to play every day.
St. Louis: I saw a quote on NFA that the organization wants Shawn Hill and Jason Bergmann to play winter ball to get their innings up and keep their arms strong so they can pitch 200 plus innings next year. Will they do it and what is the "Company Line" on keeping your arm strength up and not coming into Spring Training with a tired arm?
I also heard that Detwiler won't be pitching at all this winter so he can go back to Missouri and finish his degree, if that is true which of our Future Arms should we watch for in off-season leagues?
Barry Svrluga: To be honest, I have not asked specifically about offseason plans for Hill and Bergmann, but I will. It would make sense that if their arms are healthy -- and both appear to be -- the Nationals would support a plan that allowed them to get their innings in because they spent so much time on the DL. I'd be surprised if they allowed them to approach 200 innings, but getting up to 150-170 would seem normal.
I'll follow up on that and report to you in the $.35 edition.
Minneapolis: Watch out, Barry! All that objective criticism is bound to be mistaken for an attack on the home team (by those who refer to the Nats as "we" instead of "they").
Just ask Jason La Canfora over at Redskins Insider if you don't believe me.
Barry Svrluga: Haven't seen the attacks on Jason, but it's part of the territory. I'm just trying to explain the job a bit. I think most people understand. Some don't, and that's fine.
Upper Bowl of RFK: Since last night's loss assured us of a losing record in August, I decided to think about losses. While I would much prefer to win (and win often), I can't figure out whether I prefer the one run losses, where we almost won, or the larger losses.
Assuming that the Nats were giving their all, playing their hardest, but still lost, which kind of loss would you prefer to see (of course, always preferring the win).
Barry Svrluga: I prefer interesting. Take back-to-back games over the weekend. I would argue that Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Rockies was mundane. The kid Jimenez for the Rockies pitched well, Tim Redding was mediocre, and that was about it. But the loss on Friday -- in which Cordero blew the four-run lead -- and the one on Sunday, in which Joel Hanrahan couldn't have walked the ball across the plate, were both fascinating to break down. Completely different games, but each fun to write because of the intricacies involved.
Right Field: On Kearns: last night Don Sutton and Carpenter were talking about how Kearns won't get the props but should be considered for Gold Glove - only 1 error all season and 8 put-outs from RF and he has made some really tough catches lately. Given his batting troubles, he hasn't let it affect his defense. I think his low key, nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic is great. People often mention this about Zimmerman, but not so much about AK.
Barry Svrluga: I was going to tag something on about his defense, which has been spectacular, but I thought I would come across as a Kearns apologist (which, of course, I just might be).
Believe me: There are times when I have thought he was the easiest out in the lineup. But Dmitri Young believes Kearns is hitting the hardest .265 in the league. The intriguing question, though, has to do with the future: What kind of player is he on a good team? Does he hit .270 with 25 homers and 95 RBI? We'll see.
Silver Spring, Md.: Wily Mo Pena is hitting better because he's playing in the National League. Nothing more, nothing less. He's not more comfortable. He's not getting used to playing every day. He's He's not any cliche that we'll wind up hearing if this continues.
He's playing in the National League, and getting play against National Leaguers makes anyone look better than they did playing in the Majors. Hello, Joel Piniero!
Barry Svrluga: There's obviously something to that. But I would argue that the sample size is too small to draw conclusions, too. Plus, he spent a ton of time in the National League with the Reds, and he didn't come through as a major force. He has always been about potential. Will that potential turn into production here? Who knows.
Why isn't Acta penciling in Logan as the leadoff hitter for the rest of the 2007 season?
With how well Logan's been hitting since giving up switch-hitting and his great stolen-base success rate, shouldn't he get a chance to prove that the Nats have a possible answer right under their noses?
Especially with how badly Lopez has been struggling all season, even more so over the past few weeks?
Barry Svrluga: Logan is hitting first for the second straight day today, with Lopez behind him. We could see more of this to be sure.
Hats for Bats:1. Any waiver rumors with Nats players? Wondering if there is any Livan-like trade in the works.
2. There seems to be a glut of outfielders now, along with talk of a free-agent signing in the offseason. Where will Church and Logan be next year?
3. Finally -- what happened to the opening day LF Casto? (Castro?)
Thanks and here's hoping the tailspin ends soon.
Barry Svrluga:1. I really haven't heard anything, as I said.
2. Actually, the team has just four outfielders on the major league roster right now. But the outfield problem is extremely interesting for next year. Is Church on this team next year? My guess is he's traded. Does WMP get to play every day? If so, is Kearns your everyday RF again, and then what improvement do you make in center? I would strongly, strongly bet against the status quo in 2008 in the outfield.
3. Kory Casto wasn't up for Opening Day, but was called up after Nook Logan's injury in that game. Casto is hitting .250 in 107 games for Class AAA Columbus.
To take a question I got from your prompt in the Journal (is that allowed, can we crossbreed?), it seems clear that our middle infield needs to be revamped, especially to compete with the Reyes-Castillo, Renteria-Escobar, Rollins-Utley and Ramirez-Ugglas of the world (wow, I just realized the NL East must have the best middle infielders, period). My question:
Is Smiley projecting to be a Tejada? If not, when does Ramirez become a FA? Should we be crossing our fingers that the Marlins don't get a new stadium?
Barry Svrluga: I made an entry on the Journal -- part of our position-by-position breakdown that the Journal staff is helping me put together -- about the middle infielders and their futures here (Lopez, Belliard and Guzman). Check it out (as well as previous position-by-position breakdowns of catcher, first base and closer).
Esmailyn "Smiley" Gonzalez -- no, not a Tejada. Not that much power. Ramirez: He was a rookie last year. He'd be a free agent after 2011.
And you're right about the NL East. And if you think the middle infielders are good, check out the third basemen (David Wright, Miguel Cabrera, Chipper Jones and Ryan Zimmerman).
Not Lompoc, Calif.: Do you think that Lenny Harris is going to come back next year as hitting coach?
The team under him doesn't seem as patient as they were last year.
Barry Svrluga: I do not believe Lenny Harris will be the hitting coach next year. You have to understand the position Harris was put into: He was a roving minor league infield instructor recently removed from his major league career asked to perform a job he had never performed before.
If and when Harris is taken out of this position, it will be a huge, huge hire for the Nationals. They need someone in this position with the right mix of experience, knowledge and work ethic. One of the more important offseason developments, really.
Arlington, Va.: The McGeary deal! Explain to me how this is a good idea, it seems the Nats are paying him $1.8 million NOT to be a professional baseball player. He won't be able to practice year around like his peers in the minors and at college. If anything this will stunt his development... it seems really gimmicky and I don't see how the media can let Bowden keep complementing himself for it...
Barry Svrluga: He will be able to play from June through the beginning of September. Here's one way it works: 18-year-old pitchers are protected anyway, with their innings strictly monitored. He wouldn't be throwing 200 innings from April through September at this age anyways.
He will also spend at least a week -- possibly two -- with the Nationals in spring training, and will be available to fly in for a weekend or two when the coaches want to check on him. "It'll be like an ROTC program for a normal student," one person told me.
It's creative, and it's no guarantee to work. But no draft pick is a guarantee. It'll be interesting to watch how this process develops.
Meridian: Everyone needs to calm down about the parking. Everyone understood that neighborhood's development will take a few years. No one expected everything in place for the first opening day.
As for this year's attendance, it is entirely attributable to the decline in season ticket sales, which was primarily the fault of (1) TERRIBLE customer relations and (2) the team's overt decision to cut salaries and field a terrible team, saving the $$$ for 2008 and 2009.
So everyone needs to stop panicking. A good team -- and a decent ballpark experience -- will draw fans.
Barry Svrluga: Yes, but Stan Kasten knows as well as anyone that customer experience -- a positive one -- is a big part of getting people to come back. If it takes an extra hour because you have to find parking or shuttle to the park or walk an extra mile, that will affect how many people return -- and thus have an impact on attendance.
This is an extremely important issue.
Washington, D.C.: I'm going to be up in Burlington, VT this weekend and I'm going to a Lake Monsters game. I know that there is a ton of good young pitching up there, but is there anything else to look for while I'm up there? Also, I heard that McGeary might be in Vermont for the end of the season -- do you know if he's up there?
Barry Svrluga: McGeary hadn't been promoted the last time I checked, which, come to think of it, was yesterday. Enjoy Burlington. It's a beautiful town, and Lake Champlain is spectacular. I am envious.
(My love of northern New England is hard to hide.)
Alexandria, Va.: At the beginning of the year, I thought Nook Logan was Exhibit A proving that the Nats just didn't care to try to win this year. Now all of a sudden he's hitting over .300 since he gave up switch hitting? Is he for real? What are his chances to be the opening day CF next year?
Barry Svrluga: There's no question Logan has helped his case. There's no overstating how close he was to being designated for assignment earlier in the year. But is he an everyday center fielder on a good team? I absolutely don't think so. If the Nationals do upgrade the position, it's possible Logan has made himself a candidate for a defensive replacement/pinch runner/bunt guy in the future.
Put it this way: If Logan's the Opening Day CF in 2008, the Nationals better have improved themselves in lots of other ways.
Silver Spring, Md.: Give us three things to look out for as the Nats' season comes to a close?
Barry Svrluga:1. Shawn Hill. He should have maybe six more starts. Does he continue to pitch the way he has -- 11 starts, as many as 3 earned runs given up exactly once -- and does he stay healthy?
2. Dmitri Young: Don't look now, but the guy who doesn't exactly beat out a lot of infield hits is a contender for the NL batting title.
3. The callups: If you see a Detwiler or a Lannan or a Chico in the mix, and you likely will, those guys could change some ideas about how the team is going forward. Guys could put themselves in the mix -- or remove themselves from it -- in the last month.
Arlington, Va.: Just wanted to say thanks for the great coverage (stories, all the blog entries, and chats).
It is a lot of fun reading your writing.
Could you address the rumors about your plans for after this season?
Barry Svrluga: You are kind for caring. Not trying to dodge the question, really. I'm certain we will do some shuffling of staffs in the offseason, and I do know that I'm going to Beijing for the Olympics next August, so I wouldn't be able to be the day-to-day guy all year. But I also know I'll be involved in lots of the coverage running up to the new ballpark opening, etc. The fact is, we don't have everything finalized yet, and I'll certainly let you know how it's going to work out as soon as I do.
Barry Svrluga: Indeed, just checked that, and you are right. It'll be interesting to see how they perform.
St. Paul, Minn.: I know that Acta loathes the small ball and after watching Frank fritter away rally after rallies with pointless bunt after pointless bunt, I'm not clamoring for it, but weren't there a few opportunities later in the game for Acta to put on some plays? There was a situation late where Ryan Church was up and runners were on first and second. He ended up hitting into a double play, something the Nats do regularly because they never put plays on.
Have you asked Acta about this? Is it just rooted in his statistical analysis? Do you think he'll ever adapt?
Barry Svrluga: It is, in fact, rooted in statistical analysis. Acta buys into the idea that the bunt is frequently the worst play in baseball, and I've heard him talk about how the chances of a runner scoring from first base with no outs is better than the chances of a runner scoring from second with one out. He will bunt in late innings in close games with the right kind of hitter at the plate. But Church is (supposed to be) one of the guys who has some pop on this team, and Acta is loathe to bunt guys who might drive the ball.
DC: You promised me and my dad some trivia....where is it?? Pretty please??
Barry Svrluga: Oh, wow. I forgot. I'll put some on the Journal. I promise.
George Mason University: Hi Barry,
An article in the most recent Sports Business Journal talked about the struggles the Nats new concessionaire, Centerplate, will have at the new stadium. It pointed out that most concessionaires sign deals 2 years in advance of a building opening to allow for proper planning. The Nats are giving Centerplate seven months to get ready. This, in addition to the parking problems pointed out by Boz in his column today, how worried should we be?
Barry Svrluga: These are all significant concerns. There are lots of factors here, and as it relates to Centerplate, there are concerns about traffic flow and space, etc., at the new park. In a conversation with Mark Lerner last week, he indicated that the club will have to work with the District to make changes that Centerplate wants during the first couple of road trips next year -- and maybe delay some changes until the winter of 2008-09.
This much is important, though: You, as fans, have been promised a superior experience at a ballpark for which the District paid $611 million. Excuses should be treated as just that -- excuses. There was no, "We promised you a great fan experience as long as all our partners did their job." So please keep bringing that stuff up here, and I'll try to track stuff down as I can.
Downtown: Sorry if my attendance post was kind of mean spirited but some of the interviews you did on wash post radio rip was mocking the teams prospects in an attempt to be entertaining and funny. I just think that it can drive away the marginal fans that take what the radio and the paper says as gospel.
Barry Svrluga: You know, as it pertains to those Washington Post Radio interviews, you might have a point, but lots of times I was uncomfortable with how the hosts of the shows were obviously cheering on the Nats, expressing their sorrow and misery when they lost and wanting to hear only sunny prognostications. I am sure I acted in contrast to that because I didn't want to be lumped in with homers. That's not my job.
Conn Ave: I saw an interview with Detwiler recently where he said he hasn't received his first check because the commissioner's office hadn't yet approved his contract. I think he signed somewhere near his "slot" but Smoker and McGeary definitely did not. Do you know of a case where Selig voided a deal because it was outside (or in some cases) way over slot? I think the Tigers may have this issue as well? Thanks for the hard work.
Barry Svrluga: There was one case with a player involving the Astros and an outfielder who ended up going to the University of Texas, but that can't be the case with either Smoker or McGeary because they are both in the system right now, playing.
Sec. 511, Row 5: Barry -- I continue to enjoy every word in the $0.35 edition, and online (including these chats) -- thanks. It's especially helpful when you make sure to get your stories to us notwithstanding West Coast/deadline issues -- as you did with the article on our Third Baseman.
I'm glad that Spanky has righted the ship and again become the force at the plate that we greedily thought we'd get after watching him last year. But in your unscientific opinion, does he have the kind of personality and character to lead a team as a very young and rising star?
I'm sure that Stan the Man and Diamond Jim will go out and get some veteran presence, but the home-grown leaders seem to me to always be important to a growing, contending team. Is Zimmerman that kind of guy, or will he be more "Ripken-esque" -- leading by example demonstrated over seasons and seasons, not by personality and traditional "leadership"?
Thanks; fly home safely so that you can join us for Bobblehead night.
Bobblehead will be in Right Field for the Giants . . .
(Standing for anthem. Hang on one minute.)
I think Zimmerman is probably more of a Ripkenesque-lead-by-example guy. But he's just 22. There's a chance he would get into the face of a younger player in the future -- when he's not a younger player.
I agree with your point about homegrown guys. There's a special romance with them.
Sec. 526, Ro 3, Seat 1: Please explain the media's pitch count obsession. I read stories that include lines like "So-and-So was lifted after throwing 80 pitches in six innings." But often, it never quantifies how much duress under which a pitcher performs. Shouldn't the stat be used in context of quality versus quantity? It may be possible to throw an "easy" 80 pitches in more than six innings as opposed to a "hard" 80 in five innings where a pitcher is constantly working from behind or with lots of runners on base.
Barry Svrluga: It's not just the media's obsession. It's the pitching coach and manager's obsession. These guys typically don't throw much more than 100-110 pitches. Your point about a hard 80 or an easy 80 is a good one. Remember Tony Armas Jr.? Thought so.
Sorry for bringing that up.
Barry Svrluga: Folks, that's it. We've got a game to play, and it's a good one. Shawn Hill vs. Brad Penny. I like that matchup on getaway day.
Check Nationals Journal for lineups in a minute. Thanks for stopping by, and I'll chat with you next week from RFK. Enjoy the game -- and the upcoming homestand.
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Lerach to Leave Law Firm As He Tries to End Probe
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California plaintiff's lawyer William S. Lerach yesterday told his partners that he would resign this week to resolve a long-running criminal investigation into his tactics and business practices.
With Lerach's departure, his name will be stripped from Lerach Coughlin, the 180-lawyer San Diego firm he founded three years ago. Among the most successful class- action lawyers in a generation, Lerach and his team secured $7.3 billion for Enron investors.
In an e-mail to colleagues obtained by The Washington Post, Lerach acknowledged unspecified "mistakes" and said that his decision to step aside "will ensure continuity and stability for the hundreds of clients who benefit from your stellar work. This will end the investigation."
In recent weeks, Lerach, 61, has been in increasingly serious plea negotiations with federal prosecutors in Los Angeles, according to two sources familiar with the talks. Government lawyers for seven years have been investigating whether he and colleagues paid millions of dollars to clients in exchange for their agreeing to be plaintiffs in securities lawsuits against some of the nation's largest companies.
Prosecutors gained substantial momentum in July after David J. Bershad, who practiced law with Lerach for decades at the New York firm Milberg Weiss and who managed the finances of the law firm, agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge and cooperate with investigators. In court papers, Bershad implicated "senior partners" of the firm in a scheme to hide from judges and others more than $11 million in kickbacks to select clients.
Lerach and his former partner Melvyn Weiss, another target of the investigation, this year rejected a government proposal under which each man would serve at least three years in prison, the sources said. Neither Lerach nor Weiss has been charged with a crime, but prosecutors told a judge at a recent court hearing that they would announce a decision about whether to add defendants and charges by late September.
A plea deal or indictment of Lerach would be wrapped into a broader case against the Milberg Weiss law firm. The firm is contesting related criminal charges the government filed against it last year. Plea discussions between the firm and prosecutors have been hot and cold, faltering in part because of the legal stance of Weiss, who parted bitterly with Lerach in 2004. Defense lawyers for Weiss and the Milberg Weiss law firm did not return calls yesterday afternoon.
As recently as last week, Lerach's new firm was continuing its aggressive legal approach on behalf of investors, suing mortgage lender Countrywide Financial over allegedly false statements about the health of its business.
"We will not pause in our ongoing advocacy for shareholders and consumers," Patrick Coughlin, a co-founder of the firm, said in a written statement.
In the e-mail yesterday, Lerach took parting shots at his political enemies more than discussed the investigation that pushed him aside.
He and his colleagues donated millions of dollars to Democratic campaigns. "Now that I have outlasted Karl Rove, John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzalez [sic], it is time for me to retire," Lerach began his e-mail message. "I've also always understood that when you spend decades challenging powerful interests, the powerful interests will fight back with a vengeance."
He also borrowed a line from Theodore Roosevelt: "It is far better to dare mighty things to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
One of his most famous corporate targets, Enron founder Kenneth L. Lay, cited a similar quote from Roosevelt during his criminal trial last year. Lay died weeks after he was convicted on conspiracy and fraud charges stemming from his leadership of the Houston energy trader.
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Washington,DC,Virginia,Maryland business headlines,stock portfolio,markets,economy,mutual funds,personal finance,Dow Jones,S&P 500,NASDAQ quotes,company research tools. Federal Reserve,Bernanke,Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Campbell Will Start Against Jaguars
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After injuring his left knee in the Washington Redskins' second preseason game on Aug. 18, quarterback Jason Campbell is set to start tomorrow night in the team's preseason finale at Jacksonville. Meanwhile, tailback Clinton Portis, who has missed nearly all of training camp with tendinitis in his right knee, returned for yesterday's practice and also could play, Coach Joe Gibbs said.
Left tackle Chris Samuels (knee sprain) still is not practicing fully and will not play, while left guard Pete Kendall, acquired from the New York Jets last week, practiced with the Redskins for the first time and will play with the starters tomorrow, Gibbs said. Cornerback Shawn Springs (Achilles' tendon) expects to be back for the game, while linebacker Marcus Washington (dislocated elbow) returned to practice but will not play in Jacksonville.
One veteran the Redskins will be without is defensive tackle Joe Salave'a, a former starter and one of the team's more popular players who was released yesterday as the team reached the NFL-mandated roster limit of 75.
Campbell had been adamant about playing after working out with athletic trainers Monday, and he was back as the starter at yesterday's practice, the only one of the week. Gibbs said Monday that Campbell would have to be "100 percent" healthy before being allowed to appear against the Jaguars, and after yesterday's practice he remarked that Campbell "looks fine to me."
Campbell said he hopes to get into a "quick rhythm" against the Jaguars and does not expect to play too long, but realizes how important the preseason is for him and wants to get in more playing time before the Sept. 9 regular season opener. Campbell said he was "tense" at first in some blitz drills yesterday, leery after taking a direct blow to his blind side, but then got comfortable with his knee and relaxed. He said his conditioning was a bigger hurdle than the knee itself and he took some snaps off.
"They don't want to do too much with it, and they don't want the swelling to come back and have a setback," Campbell said. "So I'll just take my time on it, and work my way back in slowly."
Portis practiced for the first time all month. He experienced pain in his knee in May but was cleared to return to contact drills at the opening of training camp in July, then aggravated the injury July 30. The team believes the prolonged layoff will keep the tendinitis from recurring in the regular season, but Portis will have only three full practices next week before the season opener.
Gibbs said that Portis ideally would be able to get four or five carries tomorrow but admitted that "sometimes that gets taken away from you." If Portis's knee responds well to yesterday's workload, he could appear in the game. Given his druthers, Portis said he would not take part in preseason games, but he participated in almost every drill yesterday and conceded that it will take time to get his legs back.
"Hopefully I showed them enough in practice where I ain't got to play on Thursday," Portis said. "But if he asks me to play and if I got to play, then okay."
The Redskins have declared Portis the starting tailback since camp began, but many believe it would be difficult for any running back to miss so much time yet be able to instantly take on the workload required of a No. 1 tailback. Ladell Betts exceeded expectations when he replaced Portis in the second half of the 2006 season and showed his ability to carry the load, and that could well be the case early in the regular season.
Samuels, who suffered a Grade 2 sprain of his right medial collateral ligament on July 30, initially had hoped to play tomorrow but, given all his time off, that was not feasible. He did not take part in any team drills yesterday but did have pads on. Kendall will face the Jaguars, although he dubbed his practice yesterday "less than perfect." He is banking on the Redskins using mostly rudimentary running plays as he feels his way through the playbook and adjusts to his teammates.
"If they ask me to go and play with the understanding that I'm still not ready for the graduate level, I think we'll be okay," Kendall said.
On the defensive side of the ball, much of the talk was not about new arrivals but about who was gone. Salave'a, 32, had become an emotional leader of the unit, one of several unheralded players who propelled the group to a surprise No. 3 league ranking in 2004. Injuries have ravaged him the past few years, and there was a feeling this offseason that he might be nearing the end of his career. Salave'a responded with a solid camp, but the coaches are trying to establish more youth on the line, and with Kedric Golston, Anthony Montgomery, Lorenzo Alexander, Chris Wilson and Alex Buzbee making good showings, they opted to release the veteran to help improve his chances of catching on with another team.
Gibbs said he has coached "no greater person" than Salave'a, and Gregg Williams, assistant head coach-defense, drafted Salave'a when he was with the Tennessee Titans in 1998. "I'm kind of like his stepfather," Williams said, adding that Salave'a was close to Williams's children. Last week, linebacker Lemar Marshall, another player synonymous with that 2004 defense, was released and quickly signed with Cincinnati, and the Redskins anticipate that Salave'a will sign with another team as well.
"That's a tough one. That's a real tough one," defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin said. "I'm going to miss Joe. I am sure he's going to get picked up by somebody and I wish him the best. We'll still keep in touch, and when he's in town we'll still go out to dinner and have fun. We've been together for four years, and it hurts, but that's the business as well."
Redskins Notes: Washington wore a brace on his elbow and continues to hope he can play in the regular season opener. . . . In addition to Salave'a, the Redskins parted ways with three other players. Offensive lineman Ross Tucker, who has a neck injury, and wide receiver Jason McAddley (hamstring) were placed on injured reserve, and both could agree to injury settlements. Fullback Pete Schmitt (shoulder), who showed promise in camp, was waived. . . . All teams must reach the 53-man regular season roster limit by Saturday.
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Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell is prepared to start Thursday's preseason finale against the Jaguars while running back Clinton Portis, above, could see his first action.
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U.S. Poverty Rate Drops; Ranks of Uninsured Grow
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The nation's poverty rate declined last year for the first time this decade, but the number of Americans without health insurance rose to a record 47 million, according to annual census figures released yesterday.
Maryland edged out New Jersey as the nation's richest state, with a median household income of $65,144. The Washington region ranked second among metropolitan areas, with three suburban Washington counties -- Fairfax, Loudoun and Howard -- maintaining their status as the nation's wealthiest large counties. Montgomery and Prince William counties also registered in the top 10.
Nationally, however, the statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau offer a mixed picture of the economy's recovery from the recession of 2000-01.
Although median household income, adjusted for inflation, rose for the second straight year, it has not reached the pre-recession high of 1999.
The increase from 2005 to 2006 in median household income, to $48,201, appeared to be mainly the result of a jump in the number of people per household who held a full-time job rather than a rise in wages. Earnings of both men and women declined by slightly more than 1 percent.
Although the poorest households had the largest percentage income gain from 2005 to last year, income inequality remains at a record high. The share of income going to the 5 percent of households with the highest incomes has never been greater.
The 2006 poverty rate of 12.3 percent remained higher than during the recession. And the slight drop in the rate from 12.6 percent the year before was driven by a decrease in poverty among those older than 65. There was no change in the rates for children or for adults 18 to 24
The release of the statistics yesterday drew divergent responses from the Bush administration and its critics.
"To be in worse shape in the fifth year of a recovery than during the previous recession is both unprecedented and disappointing," said Robert Greenstein, executive director of the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) placed the blame on the administration's economic policies. "Enormous tax cuts for the wealthy and massive budget deficits have failed the vast majority of the American people," she said in a statement. "The rich have gotten richer, but every other income group under the Bush administration has lost ground."
White House spokesman Tony Fratto disagreed, saying that the data on household income are "good numbers," considering the many blows the economy has suffered, including the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the bursting of the stock market bubble.
"Our economy was in very bad shape for a significant period of time, and when that happens, you are going to see incomes fall," Fratto said.
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'Balls of Fury' Takes the Ping Out of Pong
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Some see the glass as nine-tenths empty; I see it as one-tenth full. So I will begin with some nice things concerning "Balls of Fury," the Ping-Pong comedy opening today.
The nicest thing is the Asian American actress known as Maggie Q, who has in two earlier American films -- "Mission Impossible III" and "Live Free or Die Hard" -- been little more than incidental eye candy. In "Balls of Fury" she's actually entrusted with a part, and she turns out to be spunky, sarcastic, graceful, athletic and entirely likable. In fact, the darling gal is absolutely adorable, and one wishes the movie had taken more advantage of her vitality. Every time she's on-screen, it sparkles; when she leaves, it droops unless . . .
Nice thing No. 2 appears, and that would be the great Christopher Walken, slumming as an international gangster named Feng with a Ping-Pong obsession so intense that he convenes a world championship death match. This is nowhere near one of Walken's great outside-the-box performances, to be treasured long after memories of the movie itself have vanished. He basically does a Fu Manchu thing here, with a pile of sleek black hair well lubricated in crankcase oil, and some froggy-eye glasses. Nothing original, nothing outrageous (given what must have been lame instructions from director Ben Garant of "Reno 911!" fame but still, it's Chris Walken and even half-asleep he's fascinating. He carries the picture along with . . .
Nice thing No. 3, the comedian George Lopez as an FBI agent responsible for infiltrating a crime ring behind the Ping-Pong-to-the-death tourney. Lopez, like Madam Q and Honorable Walken, has a vivid presence and, even laid back and talking with Audie Murphy's Texas accent, he brings a stability to the film the others can play off (even if they usually don't). What a great straight man and how nice if he were teamed with a great quipster or someone who knew how to use his calm stylings.
Alas, that ends the very short list of what works. As for what doesn't, try this: the rest of the movie.
"Balls of Fury" has an interesting conceit never quite delivered upon. It takes the standard kung-fu action plot and reconstrues it with Ping-Pong -- "table tennis," more formally -- as the zone of conflict. It has all the hallmarks of late '70s kung-fu action, with outlandish villains and garish costumes and colors and clearly over-exaggerated action sequences. It is meant, I suppose, as some kind of parody, but it's nowhere near clever enough to bring off the sophistication of actual parody, as did, say, the Zucker/Zucker/Abrahams boys in their "Airplane" and "Naked Gun" movies.
The plot has our hero -- one Randy Daytona -- as the would-be world champ who was humiliated and disgraced in the '88 Olympics. Now grown to manhood (and played by heavyweight hair-pie Dan Fogler), he is recruited by the FBI to infiltrate Feng's tournament on the suspicion that another plot is afoot. Once there, he realizes that his only means of survival is to win the tournament, where, of course, he will be opposed at the end by the then-East German who defeated him in '88.
But whoever decided Dan Fogler could front a movie? Heavy, clumsy, more a rocker than an athlete, he's by no means a gifted comic actor; this role would have been perfect for the young John Belushi or Chris Farley -- someone who could show surprising agility and speed beneath the weight. Fogler's just fat and slow, and when the camera tricks give him a world-class table tennis player's moves, it looks fraudulent.
Then there's the racism. These are ancient Asian stereotypes, complete with "concubines" lounging around the set in kimonos split up to their hipbones, dragon lady makeup, very high heels and cigarette holders. I am a reliable indicator on this issue: Whenever I am titillated by a woman in a film, you may be sure it's sexist, racist and witless.
Finally, there's the Pong itself. These guys think it's funny, ho ho ho, and a lot of the humor turns on Pong jocks chasing high bouncers into pillars or down elevator shafts. But the fact is that any sport played at the world level demands extraordinary athleticism -- speed, discipline, courage, stamina, fortitude and extreme hand-eye coordination -- and that includes Pong no less than catching or throwing footballs in the NFL. The filmmakers make fun of it, when they should use their film as a platform by which to show its grace and power. Like . . . who do they think they are?
Balls of Fury (90 minutes, at area theaters) is rated PG-13 for crude and sex-related humor and profanity.
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The Man Behind the Magic
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Michael Deaver will be remembered as Ronald Reagan's magic man, the impresario who orchestrated presidential performances, ordered up the backdrops (usually blue) and carefully staged historical remembrances such as the splendid observance of the D-Day anniversary on the beaches of Normandy in 1984. All of that is well and good, but Deaver's importance transcended stagecraft.
Deaver was one of a handful of aides who joined Reagan early in his California governorship and stayed with him through most of his presidency. His adoration, though, was not automatic: Deaver spoke truth to power at crucial moments.
Late in 1986, for example, after disclosures that Reagan had secretly approved arms sales to Iran and that national security aides had diverted some of the proceeds to the Nicaraguan contras, Reagan fired the mastermind of this diversion and the national security adviser who had known of it. He accepted the resignation of CIA Director William Casey. But Reagan refused to fire his chief of staff, Donald T. Regan, whom a board of inquiry would later say bore "primary responsibility for the chaos that descended upon the White House" after the Iran-contra disclosures.
Deaver confronted the president, urging him to rid himself of Regan. They had the following exchange:
Reagan: "I'll be goddamned if I'll throw somebody else out to save my own ass."
Deaver: "It's not your ass I'm talking about. You stood up on the steps of the Capitol and took an oath to defend the Constitution and this office. You've got to think of the country first."
Reagan: "I've always thought of the country." He then threw his pen so hard it bounced off the carpet.
Political strategist Stuart K. Spencer, the only other person present, confirmed this exchange. Spencer said nothing during the meeting, knowing that Reagan didn't change his mind when he was angry. He expected that Nancy Reagan and Deaver would wear him down over time, as they did.
Deaver was running Republican campaigns in central California when William Clark, Cabinet secretary to then-Gov. Reagan, brought him to Sacramento in 1967. He was assigned "the Mommy Watch," which meant looking after Mrs. Reagan. Many staff members were afraid of her, but Deaver realized at once that she was a tremendous political asset who needed help implementing her ideas. They became allies and then friends. Reagan appreciated what Deaver had done and over time formed a bond with him that bordered on the filial.
Reagan was normally sanguine about changes in his supporting cast as he climbed the political ladder. Deaver was an exception. In 1980, Deaver became involved in a power struggle with strategist John Sears, who had gradually forced most of the Californians out of Reagan's presidential campaign. Tired of the infighting, Deaver resigned during a meeting at the Reagan home in Pacific Palisades. Reagan followed him to the front door, urging him to stay, then returned in a fury to the living room.
"The biggest man here just left this room," Reagan said. "He was willing to accommodate and compromise, and you bastards wouldn't." That marked the beginning of the end for Sears. Within a few months he was gone, the Californians were back and Deaver would be at Reagan's side until May 1985.
That meeting was also a wake-up call for Deaver. He had been accessible to reporters in Sacramento but became a bit lordly during Reagan's presidential campaigns. After I wrote a pre-convention story in The Post in 1976 saying that Reagan didn't have enough delegates to wrest the Republican nomination from President Gerald Ford, neither Sears nor Deaver would return my calls. Deaver called shortly after he walked out of the Reagans' living room, and I asked if we were on speaking terms again. "I'm on the outs now, just like you were," he said honestly.
We had a close but prickly relationship during much of the Reagan presidency. Deaver was an excellent source, but what I wrote for The Post often contradicted his gauzy portrayals of an all-wise and resourceful president. Deaver took this in stride -- "my job is to make a good president look even better," he once told me -- and much of his spinning was at the margins, often translating earthy Reagan phrases into drawing room prose. On essential questions, Iran-contra for example, he told the truth -- to the president as well as to the media.
Deaver also had an ironic sense about the company a president keeps. After a fundraiser at the home of a Las Vegas entertainer that was attended by various unsavory sorts, many of whom clamored to have their pictures taken with the president, Deaver told me quietly, "We ought to round up all those pictures and turn them over to the FBI."
The strains of White House service took a toll that was exacerbated by Deaver's private battle with alcoholism. Against Mrs. Reagan's advice, Deaver left the White House and immediately proved successful in public relations. In 1986, he posed for a Time magazine cover (again despite Mrs. Reagan's advice) that made him a poster child for a story on influence peddling. A special counsel indicted Deaver, and he was convicted of perjury after putting up a minimal legal defense and saying that his memory was clouded -- as it doubtless was -- by alcoholism. Stripped of his assets, Deaver performed community service and entered an alcoholic rehabilitation program before returning to public relations.
Deaver's wisdom -- and his decency -- were demonstrated in his refusal to accept a pardon from President Reagan for his transgressions. He thought a pardon might tarnish Reagan's image. That was something Deaver always protected, even at the cost of his own.
Lou Cannon, who covered the White House for The Post during the Nixon, Ford and Reagan presidencies, is the author of five books on Ronald Reagan and co-author of the forthcoming "Reagan's Disciple: What George W. Bush Did to the Reagan Revolution."
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Michael Deaver will be remembered as Ronald Reagan's magic man, the impresario who orchestrated presidential performances, ordered up the backdrops (usually blue) and carefully staged historical remembrances such as the splendid observance of the D-Day anniversary on the beaches of Normandy in 19...
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Iraq's Endangered Minorities
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Sixty years ago, Iraq's flourishing Jewish population, a third of Baghdad, fled in the wake of coordinated bombings and violence against them. Today, a handful of Jews remain. Unless Washington acts, the same fate awaits Iraq's million or so Christians and other minorities. They are not simply caught in the crossfire of a Muslim power struggle; they are being targeted in a ruthless cleansing campaign by Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish militants.
This crime against humanity has gone unnoticed by the Bush administration and Congress. Iraq's Catholic Chaldean; Syriac Orthodox, Assyrian, Armenian and Protestant Christians; and smaller Yazidi and Mandean communities are seen as inconsequential. They don't sponsor terrorism, hold political power or have strong regional allies. Because they do not cause trouble, they are ignored.
The United States has no policies designed to protect or rescue them. Worse, it has carried out policies heedless of their effect on Iraq's most vulnerable. When the U.S. Agency for International Development provided for reconstruction projects, it did so without regard for whether regional authorities withheld benefits from minorities. When the U.S. Embassy sought translators and skilled workers, it hired heavily from among minority groups without considering their ability to obtain asylum if threatened. To win Shiite support for Kurdish and Sunni demands, American constitutional advisers accepted provisions for Islamic law that severely weakened the rights of non-Muslims.
Canon Andrew White, the Anglican vicar of a Baghdad church who organized an interfaith reconciliation effort sponsored by the Pentagon, left Iraq after receiving death threats. In July, he testified unequivocally at a hearing on "Threats to Iraq's Communities of Antiquity" held by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom: "Coalition policies have failed the Christians and non-Muslims."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice argues that reducing violence will help all Iraqis, but non-Muslims may have been purged from Iraq by the time the dust settles. It could already be too late for the Mandeans, followers of John the Baptist who have roots in ancient Babylon. A spokesman of the sect told the commission that only 5,000 Mandeans remain.
Priests have been beheaded; churches bombed; unveiled women burned with acid; men killed for operating theaters and barbershops; children murdered for wearing jeans, for mingling with the opposite sex or simply for being seen as symbolizing the infidels in some way. Criminals find members of religious minorities to be easy prey. During the buildup of U.S. forces this spring, a Sunni mosque in Baghdad's Dora neighborhood issued a fatwa demanding that local Christians convert to Islam or pay an Islamic tax; thousands fled.
Many Christians have left Iraq since 2003. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reports that Christians, now less than 4 percent of Iraq's population, make up 40 percent of its refugees. Thousands more Christians, Yazidis and others are moving north, mainly to the rural Nineveh plain. This is their last hope for staying. Nineveh is the traditional home of the Assyrian Christians, who trace their civilization to Nimrod, Noah's great-grandson, and their faith to the prophet Jonah and the apostle Thomas, both of whom preached there.
Pascale Warda, a Chaldean Christian who survived four assassination attempts, one of which killed her four bodyguards, while serving as Iraq's interim migration minister, told the Commission on International Religious Freedom of the "desperate" plight of Iraq's internally displaced people and the sense of abandonment they feel. Shortly afterward, the Senate went into recess without acting on a House humanitarian aid measure.
At a House hearing in May, the State Department's inspector general for Iraq, Stuart Bowen, was asked what the administration was doing to help small minority groups. Bowen said he had heard of "progress" in "creating a Nineveh province" for them. But there has been no progress, and U.S. policy in fact runs counter to the initiative. When asked about such a haven, the State Department's Iraq policy coordinator, David Satterfield, told me it is "against U.S. policy to further sectarianism." The administration has not even brought together elected and civic leaders of Iraq's non-Muslim minorities to discuss solutions.
Lebanese Maronite scholar Habib Malik has written that the Middle East's Christians and other minorities have historically served as moderating influences. Their very presence highlights pluralism, and they are a bridge to the West and its values of individual rights. These communities sponsor schools with modern curriculums benefiting all; a prime example was Baghdad's Jesuit College, whose past students include three Muslim presidential candidates in Iraq's last election.
It is in America's national and moral interests to help Iraq's Christians and other non-Muslims. The most vulnerable must be given asylum. We must also help those determined to stay. It is not favoritism to acknowledge that they face specific threats that require specific policy remedies apart from the military surge -- such as aid and protection to resettle in their traditional Nineveh homelands.
The writer is director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom and a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent government agency.
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Recent bombings in Iraq's Kurdish area nearly annihilated two Yazidi villages, killing hundreds of this ancient angel-revering, Indo-European religious group. The single deadliest atrocity of the Iraq conflict, it was also the latest demonstration that Iraq's non-Muslims are in danger of extinction.
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'Daily Show' Correspondent -- Aasif Mandvi
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Aasif Mandvi took your questions Monday, Aug. 27 at 11:30 a.m. ET about his role on "The Daily Show" and his acting career.
Framingham, Mass.: I am a big "Daily Show" fan and I think you are hilarious. Do you and the other "correspondents" write any of your own material?
Aasif Mandvi: We have great writers, but we can contribute as much as we want, it's a pretty collaborative place.
Washington, D.C.: Where ya from?
I know, you're "cardiologist slash tech support" brown, but where have you called home over the years?
Aasif Mandvi: I live in New York.
SW Nebraska: Aasif, I've watched "The Daily Show" since 2000 and hate to miss any episode.
Any possibility you'll be going to Iraq or Afghanistan following Rob Riggle? Would you want to?
Law & Order: Seriously, has every actor in Hollywood been in at least five "Law and Order" episodes?
Aasif Mandvi: Ten is the minimum to be considered a serious actor.
Charlottesville, Va.: Has your sense of humor helped you as you go though airport security or is it just a nightmare with your name to fly the "friendly" skies?
Aasif Mandvi: I've never had a problem, they all watch "The Daily Show."
Jericho: So, did the rescue of that show result in your role continuing as well?
Pittsburgh: From Disney World to "The Daily Show"!!? How would you describe the similarities/differences?
Aasif Mandvi: They are both run by a short guy in a costume???
Walla Walla, Wash.: Hey Aasif -
I love "The Daily Show," but tend to despise the audience (which is odd, given the quick turnover rate). The clapping (not during jokes, but after seemingly standard statements made by Jon or correspondents) reminds me of the State of the Union speeches. When you guys have conservative guests on, audience members are frequently downright rude, while Jon is polite and engaging. Are they told to be that way, or should I just be disappointed in the state of humanity?
Aasif Mandvi: We don't screen the audience .... too much, so i don't think we have much control over how they respond to guests.
Tampa, Fla.: I have two questions:
(1) Which do you hate more: America or the U.S.?
(2) Who would win in a Xtreme fight: Stewart or Colbert?
Aasif Mandvi: I would have them fight each other.
Washington, D.C.: Do you think many of the correspondents on "The Daily Show" are hoping to break out of "The Daily Show" and more into movies, such as Steve Carrell did? Or do you think many of them are content for the time in their supporting role on "The Daily Show"?
Aasif Mandvi: I want to make "Aasif Almighty," sure.
Sewickley, Pa.: Have you always been funny? I really look forward to your bits on "The Daily Show." I am like Pavlov's dog -- you appear and I start to laugh. "Amnesty Unintentional" was wickedly hilarious. Did you write some of it?
Aasif Mandvi: Thanks. We have great writers.
Chicago: Do you think it's more than a coincidence that Alberto Gonzalez chose to resign the week that you guys are on vacation?
Aasif Mandvi: I think he was waiting for us to look the other way.
Washington, D.C.: How many comedians have you met that are Republican or conservative? How about at "The Daily Show"?
Woodbridge, Va.: When you are "reporting from the field" how close are you actually standing to John Stewart?
Aasif Mandvi: In his lap.
Los Angeles: Why do you hate America? And if you could provide a list, that would be helpful. God bless! Oh, do you believe in God?
Aasif Mandvi: Th list is too long. I could tell you why I hate Greenland though, much more interesting list.
Burlington, Vt.: Why were you so mean to Spider-Man?
Aasif Mandvi: Because he is soooo slow that dude.
New York, N.Y.: Good morning Mr. Mandvi,
Thank you for taking my question. I'm a big fan of "The Daily Show" and your work on it, but I'm more curious about you acting. As one of the few recognizable South Asians in TV/Film, how did you find Hollywood when you were starting out and how is it different (if at all) now? Is it difficult to get parts where your ethnicity is not a factor? And what are your feelings about acting in shows like "Sleeper Cell," which do not always portray minorities in the best light? Sorry, big questions I know, so take your pick.
Aasif Mandvi: Long question, but the journey has been long and many South Asian and Middle Eastern actors compromise their personal beliefs, but you try to draw a line of things you can do and things you can't, but it's not always easy.
New York, N.Y.: At last, a show that is fair and balanced. What do you think of the reality that many people, especially younger people, do rely on your show for hard news? Indeed, while your show is for entertainment, even in your jokes you probably put some news in a better perspective than other cable news programs? What are your thoughts on that?
Aasif Mandvi: I think news satire has become the only unfiltered news on television today.
Philadelphia, Pa.: Do you sing? Have you ever thought "The Daily Show" could use more musical dancing?
Aasif Mandvi: Yes and no or maybe the other way.
WDC: Would you consider fathering my baby?
Aasif Mandvi: Yes, what time zone are you in?
Did you enjoy the process of writing your one-man play "Sakina's Restaurant"? Do you intend to write more in the future?
Aasif Mandvi: I'm always writing, it's just a question of the next time I come up with a whole show, which I hope will be soon.
Pasadena, Calif.: Hi Aasif -- I just wanted to say love the show and love your work!
Lyme, Conn..: How did you wind up on "The Daily Show"? Did you audition or did they approach you? How did they come to know about you?
Washington, D.C.: Aasif, I just want to say you have been a welcome addition to "The Daily Show." what's it like behind the scenes? Is it one big laugh fest all the time?
Kudos to "The Daily Show" for continuing to highlight the absurdities of our current political climate.
Aasif Mandvi: Thanks. It's a busy place where we have to put on four shows a week, so I wouldn't say its a laugh fest.
I was just curious about how working on "The Daily Show" compares with your previous work. I know you've done a lot of television and film work, along with the theatre you've done. Which do you enjoy most: television, film, or theatre?
Aasif Mandvi: I enjoy all of it in different ways, but "TDS" is like nothing anyone can ever prepare you for.
Dramatic roles: Is that you behind the desk of Hugh Grant's apartment building in "Music & Lyrics"? Did you have lines that got cut? I was disappointed that you didn't have more commentary on their songs. I thought you would have been great.
Aasif Mandvi: Yes and you should rent the dvd; all my deleted scenes are in it.
New York, N.Y.: Have you tried the Ben and Jerry's Colbert Ice Crean? If so, can you recommend I run out and buy some?
Aasif Mandvi: Go get some.
Mackinaw, Ill.: Who influenced you (comedicaly or otherwise) the most?
Aasif Mandvi: Tough question. I have many mentors, but things influence me every day.
Seattle: How do the correspondents get chosen for particular bits? Does Jon assign? Do the correspondents prepare bits competitively? Recently it seems it's all you, Rob Riggle and the British guy.....(not a complaint)
Aasif Mandvi: We have to arm wrestle for it... no they decide based on the story and our personalities.
Paris, France: Have you ever turned down or refused to do a story on "The Daily Show"? If so, what was it? Do you get to choose your "reports"?
Aasif Mandvi: I have as of yet never felt the need to turn down a story...i feel pretty good about most of the stuff they give me.
Alexandria, Va.: First of all, you're awesome and I love you. Second, Atty. General Gonzales resigns the first day of your show's two-week break. Do they plan these resignations around your schedule?
Aasif Mandvi: Yes definately. I think he was just waiting.
Washington, D.C.: Do you subscribe to any theories about what makes something funny? I read one of Steve Alan's book many years ago where he took an objective look at humor. I assume your humor is more spontaneous.
Aasif Mandvi: I never analyze it, I think I would be terrible at talking about comedy, I am mostly funny when i'm not trying..so i'll stick to that.
Pittsburgh: I just finished reading "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri. Have you read it? Your Wikipedia entry says you were born in India. How long have you lived in the U.S.?
Aasif Mandvi: I have lived her over twenty years.
Love your work on "The Daily Show". It seems like you have a pretty great acting career, appearing on Jericho, ER, the Sopranos, etc. What made you decide to go the comedy route and do "The Daily Show"?
Aasif Mandvi: I love the show, they offered me a job ... simple as that.
Chicago: More taped pieces. Sorry, that's not a question -- just a suggestion. Always funnier.
Fairfax County, Va.: You are one of my favorite Daily Show correspondents. I especially enjoy watching you navigate the touchiest of subjects with cheery aplomb and faux-obliviousness.
My favorite one of your reports to date, which I can't do justice to with a single line, was the explanation of the proposed immigration law, ending with our new slogan (to replace "Bring me your tired, your poor,..."), "What can brown do for you?".
Do you do some of your own writing too, or does "The Daily Show" divide the work between writers and "correspondents"?
Aasif Mandvi: The writers write it and we get to contribute as much as we want, but the writers and John have the final say.
Top Correspondent: Just wanted to give you and John Oliver shout outs as my favorite "Reporters" on the show. Great stuff.
Penfield, N.Y.: I love your daily show appearances but in the last movie that I saw you in, you played a long-suffering and non-plussed hotel desk clerk with very little chance to display your comic abilities. Was this known to you going in, or were more funny or goofy parts left on the floor?
Aasif Mandvi: Most of my stuff was cut out, but you can see it on the dvd.
Brooklyn, N.Y.: So where do you hang out after the show? I would love for you to tell me in person why you hate this country so much.
Aasif Mandvi: I hang out down by the river, come on down.
Blacksburg, Va.: How do you feel about the fact that a lot of young people are getting their news only from "The Daily Show"?
Aasif Mandvi: I think satire is all we are left with unfortunately and young people see that.. so do some old people ...and some pets.
Karachi, Pakistan: We love your shows here and watch regularily. Just curious, do you speak lnaguages other than English? Would you be willing to do a piece (e.g. an interview with someone who doesn't speak English, by choice) on "The Daily Show" in another language (with English subtitles of course)? I can see some opportunities for wicked comedy there.
Aasif Mandvi: Unfortunately the majority of our audience is English speaking so that would be hard.. but i'll suggest it.
New York: How does it make you feel to have people ask you continually why you hate this country, when I'm sure you like this country just fine?
Aasif Mandvi: No, I only hate it when Swedes ask me.
Washington, D.C. : Hey, Aasif! (This is Mary from your college days at USF.) A couple of questions -- with your busy schedule at "The Daily Show", do you ever get a chance tour your play, "Sakina's Restaurant", and that you might perform it in the D.C. area? Also, will you ever come down and mock D.C. in person, vs. via green screen? We have plenty for you to make fun of, that's for sure!
Aasif Mandvi: Is this Mary Linnegar?... Hi. And yes I will come down there, although I don't do "Sakina's" anymore, I can't fit into that dress anymore.
Anonymous: I understand that Pres. Bush considered nominating Harriet Miers to replace AG Gonzalez but decided on you instead, since at least the confirmation hearings would be entertaining. Can you confirm?
Aasif Mandvi: shhhhh.... it's a secret.
Help wanted: I want to work for "The Daily Show"! You guys need a librarian with a sense of humor?
Alexandria, Va.: Do you get more recognition from "The Daily Show", or your other TV work, or your movie work? (My wife loved "Mystic Masseur." Then again, you're her favorite correspondent. She gets this dreamy look when you do a report.)
Aasif Mandvi: I get a dreamy look when i do a report.... thank your wife for her support and yes, I do get recognized from "TDS" more than most stuff.
Vallecito, Calif.: After watching your segment on Live Earth, I gotta ask: how about developing a sitcom with you and John Mayer?
Aasif Mandvi: He's way funnier than me.
Aasif Mandvi: Okay that's it for real this time... thanks everyone.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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Aasif Mandvi takes your questions about his role on "The Daily Show" and his acting career.
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Post Magazine: Arguing for the Future
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The tendency Jermol Jupiter and Iggy Evans have to mouth off could have gotten them into deep trouble. But a debate program for disadvantaged teens made them stars at Baltimore's Frederick Douglass High School instead.
Karen Houppert, whose article about Urban Debate Leagues appeared in yesterday's Washington Post Magazine, and Pam Spiliadis, executive director of the Baltimore Urban Debate League, were online today at noon to field questions and comments.
Karen Houppert, who lives in Baltimore, is the author of "Home Fires Burning: Married to the Military - for Better or Worse."
This is Pam Spiliadis, Executive Director of the Baltimore Urban Debate League. Thank you for joining us.
This is Karen Houppert, the reporter who followed the Urban Debate League in Baltimore for the past few months. Thanks for coming.
Lyme, Conn.: I recall high school debate teams from decades ago? Are these rules about the same or is this a different kind of debate? I wish the students luck and want them to know that the ability to engage in public speaking and think on their feet will help them in their professional careers and in life.
Pam Spiliadis: It is probably a very similar kind of debate to what you experienced. We call it policy debate, it is also referred to as cross examination debate. Very research intensive, probably practiced at higher speeds than you recall.
Washington, D.C.: Such a great article! I run a Global Debate program linking students across the U.S. and 20 countries to talk about current global issues ( The People Speak for more info). This article so brilliantly captures what we are seeing in this program -- debate skills are essential in a functioning democracy and learning these skills will help transform people to citizens!
Karen Houppert: Glad you liked the article. It was eye-opening for me to see how debate really helped these students learn to articulate their ideas and really empowered them to feel like they had a right to participate in a democracy.
New York, N.Y. : I see you wrote a book on military families. Are you from a military family? What is your book about?
Karen Houppert: Yes, I'm an Air Force brat. And my book is about military wives whose husbands have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. I spent a year, checking in with them to see how the war and their husbands' absence effected their lives--and their kids' lives.
Washington, D.C.: Is the mayor, who now has control of the D.C. Public School system, interested in this program in a pro-active manner vs. tentative rhetoric? I see the chancellor has said something but promised nothing. Expanding this program is a win-win for the District.
Pam Spiliadis: The D.C. League feels that they are making good progress with the school system. We are hopeful that the support will come through.
Washington, D.C.: Why did you portray the opponents from Milwaukee as rich kids? Since it was UDL novice nationals, one would presume they are also in an uban debate league.
(This is my only quibble with your article. As a former debater -- from one of those rich white schools -- who now judges for the DCUDL and WACFL, I felt you made a very good case for getting more high schoolers of all backgrounds involved in debate.)
Karen Houppert: You're right. The Milwaukee kids were also Urban Debaters--they simply opted for the more conventional form of debate and were, I think, a bit taken by surprise by Iggy and Jermol's argument which came at them from out of left field.
Washington, D.C.: Why do you refer to the DCUDL (www.dcdebate.org) as "in its infancy" when this successful league is now entering its sixth year of operation? Moreover, the D.C. league has had many successes on the national circuit and has always at least held its own in competitions with Baltimore debaters. I understand you are a Baltimore-based writer, but it's curious that a Washington paper would be so dismissive of an important program here in D.C.
Karen Houppert: Well, it wasn't my intent to be dismissive of the District's debate teams. I attended several of their tournaments, watched several practice sessions and interviewed many D.C. debaters. The program seems terrific.
I think when I spoke of it being in its "infancy" I meant that the director had great hopes for expanding it from the 300 participants it currently has to a large program that was going strong in all the city's public schools.
Bethesda, Md.: It sounds like the league's debate style is great for teaching the kids research skills, but what kind of rhetorical skills do they learn from becoming speed-talkers and using a lot of debate jargon in their rounds? It sounds as though a typical debate round would be impenetrable to an outsider. Is this a concern? Are there any plans to try other speech events or debate styles that might emphasize rhetorical clarity more?
Pam Spiliadis: Hi, thanks for your question. Not all of the debaters debate with speed. Some make a conscious choice to emphasize eloquence and clarity. Because debate is ever evolving and is open itself to critique, many debaters in high school and college are questioning speed in their rounds and debating at a rate that a lay person could appreciate. Other students are excited by the challenge and thrill of the game with the speed element and stick with the game and all its associated academic benefits partly because of that challenge.
Fairfax, Va.: It's great that these kids from underperforming schools are winning full-fare scholarships to college, but do you think their high school education across the board is good enough to prepare them? Will they get help if they need it to handle college-level work?
Karen Houppert: That's a great question. As was clear, I think from the piece, the quality of education here in Baltimore is pretty poor at the moment. (Though we do have a brand new CEO of schools--our equivalent of your chancellor--and I recently interviewed him for an article and am feeling much more optimistic about the future of the city's schools.)
But it's true that going from an underperforming school to a rigorous university will pose some real challenges. In Iggy's case, he is very aware of that and expressed concern about how he would fare at Towson. Fortunately, in Iggy's case, he is a student that is smart and assertive enough to seek out--and find--help if he needs it. He has learned to speak up about what matters to him and I'm guessing that he'll figure out how to get what he needs from Towson.
Alexandria, Va.: Having come to the Washington area from Kansas City, I would be interested in knowing more about the University of Missouri-Kansas City 2004 study that showed a year's participation in debate improves literacy by 25 percent and makes students three times less likely to engage in high-risk behaviors such as fighting and skipping school. What schools were included in the study?
Pam Spiliadis: I do not have a list of the Kansas schools but if you would like to contact me in person I would be happy to out you in touch with the author of the study.
Washington, D.C.: Why do urban debate leagues offer only policy debate? Of all the styles of competitive high school debate, I find it to be by far the most difficult for an "outsider" to get into and understand.
Pam Spiliadis: There is no one model of urban debate. Some leagues compete in other events as well. In Baltimore we chose to initiate the League with policy debate because of how rigorous it is academically, particularly in terms of the research intensive component. We also spend a lot of our time in Baltimore debating in a completely different style in Baltimore in our community/public debates which are designed to persuade and involve a live audience.
Washington, D.C.: Thank you for this story. Almost everything we read or hear about the Baltimore Public Schools is negative. It's so nice to hear something positive that's being done for these kids. I hope Iggy and Jermol achieve great success in college and beyond!
Karen Houppert: It's true that much of what we read about the Baltimore public schools is negative--particularly, about the high schools here. It will be interesting to see how events unfold here in Baltimore with our new schools chief who, among other things, has said he will forego the usual (easier) route of focusing on improving elementary education. He says he intends spend a lot energy and manpower on fixing the city's high schools, instead of simply assuming it's too late to do much to help the teens.
Whether or not he'll manage that--given Baltimore's poor record here--remains to be seen. But certainly everybody here in the city is watching very closely; they want to believe he can turn the schools around.
Washington, D.C.: I submitted my question earlier. Just want to say thanks for writing this article; I work in early education policy, specifically as it relates to disadvantaged kids, and I think the subject of extra-curricular activities at underpriviliged high schools is an important one, so thanks for covering this issue.
Karen Houppert: Yes, from some of the experts I spoke to while working on this article I learned that extra-curricular activities often function as a hook to keep students attached and engaged in school. Sadly, such programs, along with say, art and drama and music, are often considered expendable when it comes to trimming school budgets.
Judiciary Square, Washington, D.C. : I just wanted to say that this was a great article! As a former Georgia High School debator who attended the Emory Institute, and former volunteer with the DCUDL -- I can attest to the invaluable lessons policy debate teaches. And trust me -- it isn't just about reading fast. If you don't know what to read or what you are reading, you're just talking fast!
Karen Houppert: Yes, it was pretty clear to me that these students knew very well what they were reading. After all, they compiled and/or wrote the material. And they were grilled on nearly every aspect of their opening statements as the debate went along. They clearly had a handle on the material.
Pam Spiliadis: Thanks for your interest and support. Please contact me directly at the Baltimore Urban Debate League, www.budl.org or check out the Associated Leaders of Urban Debate Web site at www.debateleaders.org to learn more about the urban debate movement and to find contact info for the D.C. and other urban debate programs.
Karen Houppert: Thanks for weighing in on the article. It's nice to hear what readers think--especially when the article is all about weighing in on the issues of the day.
washingtonpost.com: Baltimore Urban Debate League
washingtonpost.com: Associated Leaders of Urban Debate
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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The Chat House
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After reading Vick's plea today, I still have a very difficult time believing that he truly believes what he said in his document that he is truly sorry, blah , blah, blah.
What is your take on today's plea?
Michael Wilbon: Hi everybody...Sorry for starting late, but seeing and hearing and reviewing all of the Vick statements/news conferences/reaction pieces...This is the only place to start and what we'll deal with most in the next hour...
I thought that Michael Vick's 4 minute-plus statement was a pretty impressive first step. That's all. A first step. I thought it was good he spoke without notes, which would simply have made most of us feel his attorneys or some handlers wrote something that he read. But he didn't do that. I would take major exception with his contention that he made a mistake. Turning the wrong way onto a one-way street and causing a bad accident is a mistake. Vick conducted criminal activity, and according to his sleazy father, has been doing so since the late 1990s. That's not a mistake, that's a pattern of criminal behavior. Still, I thought this is the first note of apology and atonement in what has to be a two-year symphony...If Michael Vick thinks he's going to apologize 10 or 15 times and be done, he's sadly mistaken. He needs to and ought to apologize and find some desperately needed humility from this day forward. But again, I thought he started by sounding the only note we'd want to hear. What would you have him say that he didn't? He owned up to every single accusation, which to tell you the truth, was a pleasant surprise to me.
Alexandria, Va.: Mr. Wilbon -- Re: Michael Vick. Maybe I'm missing something in the ongoing coverage of Vick's problems, but I fail to see how Vick's carefully-worded plea about his involvement in "gambling" does him a whole lot of good as far as Roger Goodell is concerned. Sure it's helpful if Vick did not himself gamble on dogfights or profit from the illegal gambling. However, he financed the operation -- without him, it is pretty clear the gambling and other illegal conduct would not have occurred. In a different context, if he financed an illegal casino, with slots, roulette, blackjack, etc., but did not roll the dice or make any money, would that be okay with the NFL? I think not.
Michael Wilbon: Good point...I don't think today was the day to set up his return to the NFL, which is more concerned with the gambling than the killing of dogs, which ought to raise all of our eyebrows, by the way. Today was the day to issue a general apology, not tick off every single concern of Roger Goodell. As Vick said, he's got some downtime. He's got time to deal with every single item on the laundry list. And will need to do so.
Detroit, Mich.,: What has become of the NAACP? An organization that has done so much good is now defending convicted felons simply because they are African American? Is this the example they really want to set and what happened to personal responsibility and accountability? MLK Jr., Rosa Parks, Booker T. Washington, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass must be turning in their graves.
Michael Wilbon: I think you misread the NAACP. In fact, the national leader -- and I'm sorry, I do not know his name -- said that while the local organization in Atlanta is knee deep in Vick issues that the national organization had bigger issues to confront and would not spend its time and resources defending Michael Vick. So, cheers to him.
Re-Vick: Reading interviews with both Mom and Dad I'm beginning to see the problem here.
I'm reminded of when Bill Cosby discussed that the Mom who cries as her son is sent prison didn't do much to stop the anti-social behavior years previously that built up to this.
She doesn't know why her baby is going to jail? Everybody else does.
Michael Wilbon: Amen. I'd love to talk to Bill Cosby today. He's one of the few people who has the courage to cut right to the heart of the matter and not pull punches.
Washington, D.C.: John Feinstein argues that Michael Vick should never be allowed to play in the NFL again because he has become a "bad guy" who has forfeited his right to be cheered as a hero. Is that the new standard for professional athletes? Must be deserving of hero worship? Better call the commish, they might have a hard time fielding 32 teams this year.
Michael Wilbon: I love John, but I disagree with that sentiment, if that's what he truly feels. No second chances because you're a "bad guy?" Then leagues and networks and workplaces of all kinds would be half-empty...if that.
Iowa: Is it fair to compare the reaction of NAACP members to Vick's situation and the calls for rehabilitation to their comments in the Don Imus fiasco? As loathsome as Imus is, his comments didn't violate the law.
Michael Wilbon: Once again, Google the comments last week from the NAACP official who was widely quoted. He didn't back or endorse anything Vick said or did, and specifically distanced the national organization from Vick...Don't make up your own news. What I read in no way jibes with what you or the previous chatter have suggested.
San Francisco: Mr. Wilbon, thank you for taking the time to do this, I always enjoy your insight even when we don't agree (sometimes I like them more then -- discussion is good for the mind and soul)
Why are people so shocked and outraged about Michael Vick and all that surrounds him? Dog fighting is heinous, but are we so delusional as to think that money and the privilege that it affords changes people for the better? Maybe I am too jaded to be this young, but I feel that the sense of shock and outrage is 98 percent manufactured by people who live with blinders on. In a world of suicide bombers, how does dog fighting offend people so much?
Michael Wilbon: Even in my criticism of Vick, I very much am mindful of thoughts like yours...and thanks for leading this next part of the discussion. I feel a lot of the outrage is being led by the animal lobbyists, many of whose views and outrage over any little thing I detest. And I do mean detest. Personally, I'm frightened by the lack of outrage over players who assault women. That's MUCH more of a priority to me, and if I hear of those kinds of crimes this year and see no outrage from the NFL, trust me, I'll be swinging with both fists. I don't think the NFL, which is so powerful it goes almost without challenge, even in the media, cared much about the dog killing at all...mostly the gambling. Did you read Roger Goodell's statement Friday? What did it deal with? Gambling. That's the NFL's self-absorption...Beyond that -- and keep in mind, I'm glad Vick is going to jail -- there are people who commit sexual assault and confront less outrage. How is this possible? I wonder about private agendas and worry when the people who wield them take control of the conversation.
Reston: I find it very hard to believe that none of Vick's teammates were aware of what he was up to. Do you, and do you feel they'd have an obligation to share this information if they knew what he was into?
Michael Wilbon: Sorry about the interruption...Some kind of strange technical problem...Anyway, I might have suspicions about the behavior of somebody I work with -- and no, not Tony -- but I'm about to monitor the lives of my colleagues unless it's right out in the workplace...Also, just because players work together doesn't mean they live together or hang out together. This isn't the 1960s; you think Tiki Barber and Eli Manning went home to the same neighborhood and barbequed together? Sorry, nope.
D.C.: If dog fighting was in the news everyday, and spousal abuse and vehicular homicide were the odd stories, I think people would be much more outraged over the latter rather than the former.
Michael Wilbon: So we should only be outraged if something is odd? That, my friend, is exactly the problem. Wife-beating is every day therefore it's okay to yawn? Not here. I love dogs. I grew up with one for 14 years, from 4-18. That dog was like a second brother to me. But as much as I loved him, the dog's life wasn't as important to me as my mom's, or my brothers.
Washington, D.C.: Does Vick remind you of Mike Tyson?
Michael Wilbon: Not really, but fair question since Tyson is the last athlete of consequence in his prime to have his career interrupted by a jail sentence. But Tyson was produced by circumstances so poor and so depraved and so unfortunate...Likely there were even sexual abuse issues (Mike has talked about these things himself) that I can understand, to a degree, why Mike Tyson can barely find the tracks, much less stay on the rails. Vick has no such excuse. I'm not saying his childhood was a bed of roses, but he grew up like millions, and better than tens of millions, a child who seemed to be given everything by age of 12 or 14...except discipline. But other than being professional athletes who squandered hundreds of millions (and remember, Vick will lost the final $105 million of his contract but another $150 million plus in endorsement deals and perks) and had to do time.
Dumfries, Va.: A current phrase being used regarding Vick is that "we are a country of second chances."
If this is true for Vick, should it hold for Tim Donaghy and to what degree?
Michael Wilbon: Tim Donaghy's second chance might come in witness protection as somebody else. When you're linked with the mob it's not only up to society whether you get a second chance...if you know what I mean. Donaghy won't get a second chance with the NBA. And I think we're a country of second chances in many cases, perhaps even most cases...but not all. Anybody found to aid terrorists, for example, would be up for second-chance status in my opinion.
RE: Lack of Outrage over Abuse, DUI, etc.: There were people cheering Vick this morning as he entered the courtroom, just like people cheered for Mike Tyson - and Paris Hilton - when they were released from jail. Above all else we worship celebrity in this country, and we ignore and then forget the celebrities' transgressions.
Michael Wilbon: Yep. There's no arguing that.
San Diego: Mr. Wilbon, what is your view on Little League baseball? I don't mean the local neighborhood variety, but the spectacle that the LL World Series has become.
Don't they ruin young arms? Is all that media attention healthy for 12 year-olds?
Michael Wilbon: Good question...Kudos to the kid who hit the walk-off home run to win it all. Talk about a moment to remember for life. But no, I don't think the national TV attention is good for these kids. I think there's too much pressure; just look at their reactions. I don't know about young arms, but just think kids need to do this stuff in the relative privacy of their own communities.
Washington, D.C.: What is the number one thing that caused our US basketball team to dominate in this tournament?
Michael Wilbon: No competition. Pay a little closer attention to what the tournament is. It's not the World Championships or the Olympics. Argentina, the defending Olympic champ, didn't even bring Manu Ginobili, Oberto, Hermann or any of its best players because Argentina already qualified for the Olympics. We haven't qualified yet, but will. But the Tournament of the Americas is just this hemisphere; it doesn't include the European powers like Spain or Croatia or Lithuania...This U.S. team is better in that it's not given over the star appeal. It has four guys who've never made an All-Star team (Tyson Chandler, Mike Miller, Tayshaun Prince, Deron Williams) and all those guys are dying to simply fulfill roles. Better to have those guys fulfill roles naturally than force stars to do what they don't really do well...just to justify having them on the team.
Clarify: "Anybody found to aid terrorists, for example, would be up for second-chance status in my opinion."
I'm assuming you meant "not up for second-chance status"
Michael Wilbon: NOT be up...thank you..Luckily for me, there was already context...not be up at all...And I can think of a lot more criminal situations that would not leave us screaming for the offenders to have second chances.
Hampton, Va.: If mere "association with gamblers" draws a lifetime ban from the NFL, why does Mike Vick get an "indefinite" ban? Why not do the right thing and kick him out of football permanently? Even if the guy goes on Oprah and cries forgiveness for dog fighting, can the NFL let a guy who participated in a gambling ring back in? Ever?
Michael Wilbon: The question -- and you already know this -- is whether he bet on NFL games. If he did, I think you'll see a lifetime ban. If not, he'll be like a lot of players. You think NFL players are banned from casinos or office pools or going to the track? Think again. They're not.
Have you had a chance to read Howard Bryant's column on ESPN.com about the NFLPA's silence on the Vick issue? I think he raised some excellent questions, not the least of which is what good is a union if it's not going to defend its players? And before anyone blows a gasket, by "defend" I don't mean justifying someone's horrific actions. I mean making sure that however heinous the allegations are, the player gets a fair hearing and if guilty a fair punishment. It seems to me that the NFLPA is allowing Goodell to be judge, jury, and executioner while the union sits on the sidelines. And Vick is a dues paying member -- unlike the oldtimers that Upshaw and company seemingly could care less about.
Michael Wilbon: I think this is a very, very, very important issue to raise, and I'm glad Howard Bryant, who just left The Post for ESPN.com, raised it...Smart column and must reading. As sad as I am to see Howard leave the newspaper, I'm happy he'll get to stretch out and develop his voice, which will very likely become an important one in sports discussions.
New York, NY: No question just a comment. I just want to commend the Little League champs from Georgia for the incredible sportsmanship they displayed yesterday. They did not celebrate their victory with each other for more than a minute before they went over to the Japanese players - hugging them, consoling them and reassuring them. It was such an honest and emotional display that professional athletes should learn from. No chest bumping, no dancing on scorers tables. They represented our country well on the field, but even better after their victory.
Michael Wilbon: Great observation, and thank you...It's something we plan to talk about on PTI today...Standing O for those U.S. kids from Georgia.
Falls Church, Va.: Great Chats Mike Thanks for doing this...
Some of the recent articles on the 'Skins had me wondering about the role of a "beat reporter" and while you do not do this anymore, I know you have plenty of experience.
I know the columnist is there to comment and theorize on the happenings of the day, and often this takes the form of criticism. What about the beat reporter...should they be purely objective or should they be a bit of a homer?
Should the beat guys be true to journalistic integrity and write just the facts as they see them or do they owe the home town fans a bit of a "positive" outlook?
Michael Wilbon: Good questions. People used to know this stuff about newspapers but rarely seem to know or care anymore. And it's an important distinction. NO writers -- none -- should be homers. And none should be looking to offer a positive outlook. That's what leagues/networks/teams/players pay public relations professionals to do. We're there to look at things with a skeptical eye. It should, in my opinion, stop short of cynicism. But I don't like the use of the word "objectivity." It's a nice journalism school word. You strive for it, but never reach it because we all have our baggage. The beat writer is there to chronicle what happens...not just take the coach's word for it or settle for what the team wants to reader/viewer/listener to know, but to chronicle as best is possible everything going on worth discussing.
This might sound naive, but it needs to be said as people know less and less about what newspapers do. The Washington Post, not the Redskins, pays the beat writer who covers the Redskins, whether that was Paul Attner, Christine Brennan, Gary Pomerantz, Richard Justice, Tom Friend, David Aldridge, Mark Maske, Jason LaCanfora, Howard Bryant or anybody else (God, I hope I didn't forget somebody: that's the roster since 1977). We're not there to be positive or turn a blind eye and deaf ear. We're there to report what's happening as if it was Capitol Hill, and to be fair about it, which means getting the view of all sides included. The columnist is there to comment, which also should entail talking to people, and being fair.
H Street: I know you dislike fantasy football, but you've never addressed it in detail. You say "Cheer for your own team!," but don't you see the appeal of giving meaning to otherwise meaningless games?
Michael Wilbon: Very few if any of the games are meaningless to me. I don't need a trumped up incentive to watch, say Houston-Kansas City. If it's not worth it, don't watch it. I think fantasy football is a smart way to involve people who in the main wouldn't involve themselves otherwise. I know I'm in the vast minority on this, but I don't want to cheer for a Packers receiver for ANY reason when I'm a Bears fan...But I realize 90 percent of people now would think I'm nuts.
Washington, D.C.: Isn't it rather hypocritical of the NBA to discipline officials for legally gambling in casinos, when the Maloof brothers are owners, the All-Star game was held in Las Vegas, and a WNBA team plays in Mohegan Sun arena?
Michael Wilbon: Oh, yes. Ummmmm, yes. Absolutely and positively, yes.
Houston, Tex.: Vick made a short statement after his court appearance, saying "dog fighting is a terrible thing" and taking "full responsibility for my actions."
After years of involvement in dog fighting activities, how can he turn around and say something like this so soon? What he really means to say is "dog fighting is a terrible thing because it possibly ruined my football career, not because it is inherently bad." Am I too cynical or has celebrity spin out of control these days?
Having said that, I believe that once he's paid his debt to society and the NFL, I have no problem with him trying to play again.....
Michael Wilbon: On no, you're not too cynical at all. I wonder whether he yet feels any real remorse over anything but losing his career. I really do. And I doubt it, to tell you the truth. He HAD to do what he did today, but time will tell whether he ever gets it.
Winchester: Is Tony right when he says that the Redskins beat is the hardest one at The Post?
Michael Wilbon: Yes...Because every section's editors historically think they know what's going on with the Redskins. The sports editor isn't suggesting story ideas to the White House beat writers.
Non-Vick question: I was wondering if you have an opinion on the show "Friday Night Lights"? The best show on TV that isn't "The Wire."
Michael Wilbon: Sorry, I don't watch either...And I hear overwhelmingly great things about both...I watch SO little TV in the summer. But I'll start again next week, what with college football coming back, fall prime-time programming around the corner...I hate July/August in D.C. It's so intolerable. I can't wait for it to be over, even though it means a return to miserable traffic for the first time since Memorial Day. Anyway, we've got a lot to deal with on PTI, obviously. Tony will be coming to us life from Atlanta, of all places, where MNF is for the Bengals-Falcons game. No Chat next Monday but we'll do something later in the week before the NFL season opens.
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Ask the Post
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Deborah E. Heard: Good afternoon. Thanks for joining me to talk about the Style & Arts section. I'll dive right in and hope that you'll keep the questions coming.
McLean, Va.: Ms. Heard. My concern is that this section will become less about "Style" and more about "Arts." That is, I am worried that it represents a retreat from traditional human-interest and light commentary for which the Style section is famous, and will instead become yet another outlet for pre-packaged propaganda from the entertainment industry.
Deborah E. Heard: This section will have more of an emphasis on Arts, but that doesn't mean we're retreating from the pieces you mention. The Style staff will continue to do those stories, some of which will appear in the Sunday section. A lot of others will appear weekdays in Style and some will appear on Sunday's A1 and in the Sunday magazine. As for the Arts focus, we're planning to give you smart, inventive, surprising stories -- not pre-packaged propaganda. By the way, feel free to send in story ideas to the style@washpost.com address or call 202-334-7535.
20005: I am a daily subscriber to The Post. I don't like the combination of the arts and style sections. But The Post doesn't seem to care much about the subscribers' opinions from my view point. Such as when comic strips are added and deleted, format of crosswords change, etc. You always do what you want anyway. Why ask us? Will it change anything? No. Maybe when you don't have any subscribers -- you will take notice.
Deborah E. Heard: Yikes. I'm here answering questions because I do care what readers think. And over the past few months, I've collected lots of feedback from readers about the section and then incorporated some of those responses into my decision-making. The reality is that people disagree and it's impossible to give every individual what he or she wants. So I listen a lot and think a lot and make what I believe are smart choices. Of course, if I"m wrong, then I can make new decisions.
New section: Overall, a good move. The Sunday style section wasn't much after the introduction of Sunday Source -- just Reliable Source, the humor contest, and the haikus, plus usually one substantive article. Makes sense to combine it with Arts. And I do like the Sunday Source, btw, but I know a lot of people really, really hate it.
Silver Spring, Md.: Why do we always have to short-change art? Why couldn't you combine "sports" and "business" if you wanted to mush two sections together. There's too much emphasis on sports and not enough on arts.
Deborah E. Heard: I don't think we shortchange the arts. Now, on Sundays, you'll be getting more arts coverage than you have been because the combined section has more space that will be devoted to arts. Plus, it seemed natural to combine these two sections on Sunday because that coverage is combined Monday through Saturday.
Reston, Va.: Why the change? I was disappointed that you dropped the Haiku feature and thought some of the other changes were rather pedestrian. Sorry, it just didn't come across to me as hipper, more personalized, better stories. . . sorry. I love reading The Post each day but find myself more and more involved with news online.
Deborah E. Heard: We combined the sections because we believed that we could give readers a stronger, fresher section. Monday through Saturday, the Style staff produces one section. On Sundays, the same staff was producing two. This way, all those resources can be combined. Plus, the two sections apart were very thin. This way, readers get a fat section that we hope demands and deserves attention.
Silver Spring, Md.: I am very unhappy with the new Style and Arts section. As a Sunday only subscriber, my favorite part of the entire paper, not just the style section, was the Style Invitational. Nothing was better than a lazy summer reading the Invitational. As I read the new Style and Arts section I couldn't help but analyze each article in the section and come to the conclusion that NOTHING in yesterday's section was anywhere near as entertaining as the Style Invitational. Virtually every thing there could have been easily omitted to make room for the Invitational. I hope you will reconsider this move.
Deborah E. Heard: I too love the Style Invitational. I moved it to Saturdays for several reasons. For one, I wanted to focus this new section on coverage of culture and arts. Plus, lots of readers were already used to getting the Invitational on Saturdays. It was already appearing in the Sunday early edition that lands in stores on Saturday mornings and it's available online on Saturdays. One more thing: putting it on Saturday's page 2 means that the wonderful Bob Staake illustrations could always be in color. The Sunday page 2 is a black & white page.
Crofton, Md.: Will you continue to devote an issue to a comprehensive list of the arts events for classical music, theater, art exhibits, dance, etc. for September through Decemeber 2007?
Also, I would like to submit an item. What is the deadline for this and where do I send it?
Deborah E. Heard: Yes. This year, the Fall Arts Preview section will appear on Sunday Sept. 9th, in addition to Style & Arts that week. I'm not sure about the deadlines for listings though. Pls contact Rachel Beckman (Beckmanr@washpost.com) and she can answer that.
D.C.: I love many of your writers, like Gene Weingarten and Neely Tucker who have incredible original voices while remaining great reporters throughout their pieces. But...other stories sometimes seem to have a singular "snark element." It's almost as if it's a valued part of writing for Style. Is this one editor's voice coming through? Something that is encouraged in your staff? Just happens to be the style of many of your writers? I happen to prefer the non-snark style, as it seems to be a crutch rather than leaning on great writing and reporting. Thanks.
Deborah E. Heard: Snarkiness isn't my thing either. But sometimes a situation requires a tone and perspective that walks the line. And what's snarkiness to one reader is brilliant humor to another. I want the Style section to generate a range of emotions -- from empathetic weeping to sputtering laughter -- because we have a wide range of readers.
Vienna, Va.: The Life Is Short feature was the first thing I read in the Sunday paper. Why are you killing it?
Deborah E. Heard: I decided to drop the haikus for several reasons. The volume of entries has declined dramatically over the years and those we were getting repeated familiar themes. I want the section to be fresh and surprising and I wasn't seeing that often enough in the haiku submissions. Plus, a lot of other sections of the paper now publish mini-essays. That said, if thousands of readers demand their return, we'll rethink the decision.
From the Artists' Community: The piece that you did on the chair was clever because it covered "culture," "arts," and "ideas." But do you intend to feature the work of local artists in that section of "Style and Arts" in the future?
Deborah E. Heard: Definitely. That's a new weekly feature, created by art critic Blake Gopnik to do just what you've said. i.e. spotlight the work of professional artists and let them explain their process. We expect to showcase lots of local artists and artists who do all kinds of work.
Silver Spring, Md.: The only reason you are doing this is to save money. It means one less section of the paper you have to publish. I don't like the chop job you did. Find another way or keep it the old way. It wasn't broke. Why tinker around with it.
Actually, that's not right. When my bosses asked me to consider merging the sections, money was never part of the discussion. It was simply that we'd been doing the sections one way for a while and it was time to see if we could improve them. Many weeks, one section or the other was terrific. But we want to produce a terrific section every single week. Plus, readers have told us for years that there are too many sections in the Sunday paper so I don't see this as a bad thing at all.
Arlington, Va.: Does Style have a full time video game reporter?
I've noticed that Jose Antonio Vargas, who writes about Madden and WoW, is covering politics now. Games to politics? Who's covering games now?
Deborah E. Heard: No, we don't. Too many needs and too few people. Instead, we've just hired a reporter -- Monica Hesse -- to write about all kinds of digital arts and culture for Style. Plus, the financial staff (Mike Musgrove in particular) writes a lot about video games and the Friday Weekend section features reviews of games.
Washington, D.C.: I think the worries from those of us concerned for the Arts section is embedded in your last response where you only referred to the section as the "Style" section as opposed to "Style & Arts." How will this culture shift be addressed? Please include the arts!
Deborah E. Heard: Arts is and always has been an integral part or the Style section. We have an incredible staff of critics and writers devoted to arts and entertainment. That isn't going to change. As for my language, the arts writers are part of the Style staff, just as the feature writers are part of the Style staff. That's why I sometimes refer to Style rather than Style & Arts.
Alexandria, Va.: I like the look of the new Style & Arts section, but there are two features that I really looked forward to every Sunday that have been dropped: Life is Short Haikus and Here & Now. Please reconsider these two features which contribute to making the Post unique.
Deborah E. Heard: Thanks for this. As I answered above, we discontinued Life Is Short because, based on submissions, the value of the feature had declined. But I'm keeping track of calls for its return, including a number of you who've written in today. I should add though that a number of readers have also told me that they're glad to see them go.
Starbucks in G'town: There are five of us here in Starbucks who gathered to meet you online and send you questions. We have each sent a question dealing with the Post's coverage of DC area art galleries and so far you have ignored all of us.
Can you address the new section's policy and outlook on how it will cover our hometown's art galleries and artists?
Deborah E. Heard: Well hello. You clearly type faster than I read. I've seen only a couple of questions about the galleries coverage; a a lot fewer than the Life is Short comments. The new section will indeed have coverage of local artists and local galleries. Check out the Studio feature. We're going to run one like that every week and we hope to get lots of submissions from local professional artists. Contact style@washingtonpost.com or art critic Blake Gopnik or arts editor John Pancake or arts editorial aide Rachel Beckman.
Plus, we're going to use the centerspread of the section -- the one that featured the Washington memorials yesterday -- to showcase art.
Washington, D.C.: I think the mix of arts and traditional style-type features works pretty well. But I was surprised to see two full pages of ads on pages 3 and 4, very close to the beginning of the section. Sort of clunky from a design point of view. Such material should go at the end of the section, not in the middle of content. I understand the need for ads but this made it look like the ad people are really in charge.
Deborah E. Heard: I'll pass this along to our advertising department.
Silver Spring, Md.: Rather than making these changes and then springing them on us in a "take it or leave it way - we know what's best," why not have a "Readers' Advisory Council" or some such group to review suggested changes and offer insight and feed back before you leap off a cliff and ruin our paper?
Deborah E. Heard: We did do focus groups with readers. Over two nights, we brought in four groups of people who regularly read the Sunday newspaper. Some of those were intense Arts readers; some Style; some both; some neither. And every single group liked the section and thought it was a great idea that was long overdue.
Mount Vernon area, Va.: Why is the bridge column being eliminated on Sunday, following its disappearance on Saturday?
Deborah E. Heard: I took the Bridge column out of Style & Arts because I was trying to give the section a strong cultural focus and I wanted to make room for some new things. And, while bridge has a passionate audience it is not as broad as that for theater or music.
Washington, D.C.: Everything but Art?
The Washington Post's new "Style & Arts" section made its debut yesterday.
I couldn't find any art reviews in it.
Where's the art? Or are we to expect the usual minimal coverage of D.C. area art galleries?
Deborah E. Heard: There will be art reviews in the Sunday section. Lots of them. But in this particular edition, I wanted to use the space to give good treatment to Phil Kennicott's relevatory memorials story and Bill O'Leary's incredible photographs. We can't do everything in every edition but give us a month and then send us an email (style@washpost.com) if you still believe we've ignored art exhibits.
Two thumbs up: I really like the change. Style seemed to slim down to nearly nothing after Sunday Source launched, making those great feature stories easy to miss. Now the two sections can lend each other some heft. Nice job.
Washington, D.C.: On Friday, I was worried when Robin Givhan's column was missing from my bus ride. Please tell me her fasion column was just on break this week and that she'll write both the fasion column and the new culture one! I was excited to see her byline on Sunday morning, but worried about my Friday dose of fasion!
Deborah E. Heard: Robin will continue to cover fashion, including the runway shows, profiles and trend pieces, but she can't do a regular Friday column and a Sunday column. Her Sunday column will focus on culture, but fashion, of course, will play a part.
Rockville, MD: I am extremely disappointed by your decision to discontinue the Bridge column in your new section. Why is it that everytime you folks do some sort of reorganization, we lose another day of bridge -- first Saturday, now Sunday?
Deborah E. Heard: Thanks for this. But I also have to say that there are people who ask why we run bridge as many days as we do.
Alexandria, Va.: Just a note to say that I'm looking forward to seeing how the new section develops, but so far it looks great! Style was getting too thin, Arts seeming perhaps a bit disjointed. Given that there's overlap between the two areas anyway, I think the under-one-roof approach makes good sense!
Any chance we'll be reading more of Mr. "Stoover" any time soon? (No, this is not his mother.)
Deborah E. Heard: Thanks for this. Hank will return this fall. We've missed him too.
Liking the new look!: Nice that you've taken the risk of rethinking the layout and recombining the elements. I look forward to seeing where it goes from here.
Deborah E. Heard: Thanks. Style's design director, Martha Wright, did that great work. .... My times up. Thanks for joining me and please keep reading.
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Gonzales Resignation
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One of those U.S. attorneys was H.E. "Bud" Cummins, appointed by President Bush in 2001 and who served for six years in the eastern district of Arkansas, before resigning in 2006 when he learned that Tim Griffin, a former aide to White House advisor Karl Rove, was to replace him.
Cummins was online Monday, Aug. 27, at 3:30 p.m. ET to discuss the Gonzales resignation and the significance of the U.S. attorney firings.
Austin, Texas: Mr. Cummins, how would you suggest the Justice Department move forward? Who would you recommend for attorney general, and what do you think the first three agenda items should be to get the department functioning again?
Bud Cummins: The Department of Justice is staffed by thousands of career professionals who stand ready to continue their fine work. The resignation of Attorney General Gonzales will eliminate a cloud that has been hanging over the department. I suppose he immediately will be replaced by the Deputy Attorney General, Craig Morford, who completely understands the mission of DOJ. The president will appoint a successor in due course, and that person must demonstrate that he or she has a total understanding of the need for independence at DOJ. Being AG is an incredibly difficult job because you must serve a president loyally, but never in conflict with the law or constitution. When there is a conflict, the need for independence arises. Whoever leads DOJ next almost certainly will understand that, and the White House will need to buckle in for a rough ride because there will be conflicts.
Germantown, Md.: According to Dan Balz in the morning politics chat, President Bush has indicated that Justice's Solicitor General, Paul Clement, will serve as interim attorney general. Given that Clement has been in charge of the internal investigations of the U.S. attorney firings and related items, what will his appointment do to that investigation? Why wouldn't Morford (acting deputy attorney general) be appointed instead?
Bud Cummins: I was not aware that there had been an indication that Clement would be interim AG instead of Morford, but that doesn't surprise me. I do not see a conflict of interest for either to serve as interim AG -- neither of them were involved in any of the circumstances being investigated. I would anticipate that the investigations will continue. Whoever serves as AG will have an opportunity to demonstrate independence by maintaining the integrity of those investigations free from any politics; either of those gentlemen should be able to do just that.
Richmond, Va.: Maybe this is a dumb question, but what exactly does the attorney general do?
Bud Cummins: Hard to answer briefly, but if you picture a huge national law firm (DOJ) with just one client, the U.S. government, and the head of the law firm is the Attorney General, that is pretty close. Sticking to the analogy, United States Attorneys are more or less the branch managers around the country in 93 branches of that national law firm.
The attorney general advises the administration on all legal matters and executes the laws of the land by filing civil actions on behalf of the U.S. government against people who have wronged the government in violation of the laws, and also by prosecuting criminals who break those laws. I am sure the DOJ Web site has a better explanation of the job description of the Attorney General.
West Bend, N.C.: Mr. Cummins, I have noticed several people on the Internet speculating that the timing of the Gonzales resignation suggest that there is more news coming out of Justice. The first thing that comes to mind is the recent report from Michael Isikoff concerning former DOJ attorney Thomas M. Tamm and the NSA Terrorist Surveillance Program leak. Do you think there is a connection? Thanks.
washingtonpost.com: Looking for a Leaker (Newsweek, Aug. 13 issue)
Bud Cummins: I really don't know. The idea that new, even more embarrassing or damning information may be around the corner is a common-sense possibility, but my assessment of the president is that he doesn't work that way. But who knows? As for any connection to the more detailed stuff about Tamm or NSA issues, sounds like a little bit of speculation to me, but Isikoff's sources are better than mine.
Mt. Lebanon, Pa.: Christopher Cox, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has been named as a possible successor to Gonzales. Is that likely given that on Cox's watch, Countrywide Financial Corporation -- real estate mortgage broker, packager and business bamboozler -- was ignored and essentially allowed to help drag the world markets into financial chaos? If one can't perform one's current job, why should one get another? Should Cox get a promotion? I don't think so. Thanks much from a taxpayer.
Bud Cummins: I am going to respond to you (politely) to explain that I probably will decline to get into discussions today about prospective nominees and particularly about why one should or shouldn't be confirmed. I don't know a single thing about Cox's role in the mortgage crisis, but I am not keen on hanging problems around a leader's neck only because they happened on his or her watch. Bad things happen sometimes without anybody committing negligence. I don't know enough about Cox, the SEC or mortgages to say whether he should be excluded or included for consideration for AG.
Rockville, Md.: Is there any reasonable explanation why now and not two months earlier (sorry, I just can't get over it)? Attorney General Gonzales seemed to be happy to take the abuse, and unlike Karl Rove I don't see him hitting the lucrative lecture circuit. Will we ever find out? I'm just afraid that the Bush administration has something really foul up their sleeve, and all this is part of their grand master plan.
Bud Cummins: I don't know why the timing is now. I am not big into the "master plan" theories. I think every issue has to stand on it's own. I don't think the department's failures in the firing of U.S. attorneys, for instance, proves necessarily that there are one or more problems with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance program.
As for the timing, I only can observe that Gonzales is human, has a family and has taken incredible amount of heat for many months. He simply may have had enough, which is understandable.
New York: I read a fair share of commentary on the resignation, and on potential replacements. I think the most compelling candidate for a replacement is Patrick Fitzgerald, as per The Wall Street Journal's law blog post. What are your thoughts?
washingtonpost.com: Who Will Be Our Next Attorney General? (Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 27)
Bud Cummins: President Bush is unlikely to call me for advice about a successor to the AG, and he may be unlikely to seriously consider Pat Fitzgerald for AG, but he could do a lot worse. Pat Fitzgerald is an incredible prosecutor and a great leader. He was prosecuting and hunting terrorists back when the rest of us were still worrying about Y2K. He is a fine fellow and -- like a great number of people who have been mentioned -- would be a great AG.
Baltimore: Attorney General Chertoff -- a joke, right? They're floating that name (and Ken Starr) just so that whomever they eventually do name sounds like the model of moderation and competence. Right? Right?
Bud Cummins: Chertoff is imminently qualified to serve as an AG, but his time at Homeland Security may create too much controversy for him to get through a confirmation. But in my view his resume is better-suited for AG than even Homeland Security. He was well-respected when he was at DOJ.
Los Angeles: Do you agree that one of the soon-to-be-former attorney general's greatest problems was his inability to recognize that there is a fundamental difference between being Counsel to the President, as he was in the first term, and being Attorney General of the United States? As far as I can tell, Gonzales never understood that difference, and many of the difficulties that led to his resignation today stemmed from that lack of understanding.
Bud Cummins: Yes, you said it well. It appears that he failed to recognize the difference.
Kea'au, Hawaii: Was Gonzales ever any more than a figurehead? I get the feeling that all he did was to travel around the country making speeches and do the occasional seemingly unsavory task for Bush -- what Shakespeare called a "serviceable villain."
Bud Cummins: I can't quite say you are right, but I won't say you are wrong. It also appeared to me that he spent most of his energy on the political message and left the day-to-day operation of the department to others, at his own peril. For instance, he was not nearly as engaged with the U.S. attorney community as was his predecessor, Attorney General Ashcroft.
Hampton Roads, Va.: Doesn't most of the criticism of Gonzales from the liberal media stem from the fact that they can't stand the fact that a Hispanic is also a conservative? It's a similar story as with Clarence Thomas.
Bud Cummins: I think that the major parts of the media, and certainly the Democrats, would be criticizing him even at some level if he hadn't committed some serious mistakes. But the truth is that he did make some major mistakes, including participation in a dishonorable cover-up that attempted to throw my colleagues under the bus in order to avoid fessing up to certain political activities. So, you can say the Democrats are enjoying this, but you can't say it is their fault. We (Republicans) handed them a great issue in our handling of this mess -- they simply took the ball and ran with it. I hate to get chewed out by my wife, but I really hate it when she is right. Same thing.
San Jose, Calif.: Can you speculate on possible replacements who could get through the nominating process? Sen. Orrin Hatch was mentioned a few months ago.
Bud Cummins: I really don't want to do that. I know a great number of people personally that would be great and wouldn't want to suggest one to the exclusion of another. It will be interesting, however.
Historical analogies: As the seventh in line for the U.S. presidency, the attorney general should not be considering a laughingstock and ignoramus. That being said, the U.S. has had numerous incompetents in high public office who have managed to survive. On a historical scale, how incompetent was Gonzales? Was he merely incompetent, manifestly incompetent or supremely incompetent? Which attorney general has been worse in your opinion?
Bud Cummins: I am sidestepping you on this, but I will say that his failure to act independently and to preserve the integrity of the department, and his affirmative statements and actions that he either knew to be false -- or should have known to be false -- combine to make him a poor AG. The attorney general must have maximum credibility to do his job and perform the mission. This AG squandered his credibility.
Boston: Mr. Cummins, in your supplemental written testimony to one of the Congressional Committees on the Judiciary, you had some choice words of advice about how hard it is for a prospective U.S. attorney to become confirmed, and that you saw it would be harder if U.S. attorneys were dismissed summarily without cause. Care to comment on the rather large number of positions currently held by acting or interim U.S. attorneys, and the likelihood that more than a few will be filled before Bush leaves office?
Bud Cummins: It is a great honor to be appointed by the president, and in my case it may be the best job I will ever have. But that being said, it currently takes a new president almost the whole first year to get a substantial number of his appointments made and confirmed. This is in part because of the fact that the White House has to vet every nominee ad nauseam out of fear that the opposing party will discover that they paid their maid in cash, or had a DWI in college, or something. Then, the Senate acts on appointments on their own schedule, and allow their colleagues to block a lot of nominations just because they have a personal bone to pick.
This system doesn't serve the country well. The Senate should have a quick opportunity to comment on appointments and raise serious issues, but the current process is ridiculous and undoubtedly repels a lot of potential nominees. They should take a nonpartisan look at it. It gets even worse if, after going through it, you find out that some party hack can get you fired at any time.
Louisville, Ky.: Is it ever possible for the AG to be completely independent of the President? Consider the case of the Bobby Kennedy -- would it such a nomination by the president be appropriate today?
Bud Cummins: Probably not, but you have to do better than this. ... I suspect that the Kennedy brothers were a little too cozy also.
Portsmouth, N.H.: Given your experiences/observations at Justice, would you support any of the current proposals to make the attorney general's job a less partisan position? It's my observation that many of the state attorneys general really do a superb job serving the public regardless of their party affiliation, yet the federal attorney general seems to be a constant sore spot. A staggered appointment schedule or something pretty much would avoid the Gonzales issue, wouldn't it?
Bud Cummins: I think the process is fine -- you are seeing it at work. If an AG fails in his responsibilities to the department and to the public, he will suffer the consequences. That has happened here. AG Gonzales is paying a huge price for failing his responsibility to the department. I think the system is working. The AG still has responsibilities to the White House also, and the president is entitled to put someone in there who he thinks is up to the job -- but they must do the whole job, including telling the president "no" sometimes.
Anonymous: Mr. Cummins, earlier, you included in a response: "But the truth is that he did make some major mistakes, including participation in a dishonorable cover-up that attempted to throw my colleagues under the bus in order to avoid fessing up to certain political activities." Do you have time or do you care to elaborate on some of the other "major mistakes" that Gonzales made while attorney general?
Bud Cummins: Here are a few.
1. Not understanding the U.S. attorney positions well enough to understand the potential perils in breaking precedent and firing U.S. attorneys in the manner they tried to do it.
2. Signing off on the firing plan without really understanding why these presidential appointees were being removed (overall too much delegation of authority).
3. Accepting political orders to remove U.S. attorneys who had fallen out of political favor without even attempting to use DOJ internal mechanisms to find out what the heck really was going on in the investigations, causing the political fuss. (Failing to insulate USAs from political pressure so they could do their jobs).
4. Trying to tell Congress and the public that the people were fired for "performance reasons." He willfully slandered their professional reputations. Outrageous.
Seattle: What sort of contact do you currently have with Lam, McKay, etc.? Are you coordinating responses and appearances?
Bud Cummins: I communicate occasionally with each of the fired USAs. We actually may try to get together somewhere for dinner by the end of the year. We are not in communication today, and have not tried regularly to coordinate our media responses.
They are a great bunch, and it makes the whole thing even sillier when you understand the obvious talent of the people they were trying to say they fired for "performance." They all are doing well and will do well. This was never about the injury to us caused by being asked to resign -- this always has been about the damage to the integrity of the department.
Long Island, N.Y.: Thank you for taking these questions. As a former U.S. attorney, how many personal interactions did you have with the AG Gonzales versus former AG Ashcroft? Also, was there ever vocal concern among your fellow attorneys and staffs that someone so close to the President (so close he had the nickname Fredo) was the leader of the Justice Department?
Bud Cummins: As a US Attorney, you mostly are around the AG when he visits your district, at conferences where there are usually a lot of folks competing for "face time," or in the rare case or big case that falls in your district but merits the AG's attention. I spent a little more time around AG Ashcroft than AG Gonzales. Ashcroft can be quite fun to be around, funny, entertaining -- but he also can be like a mean football coach when he wants to be. Most of us were on our toes around him. AG Gonzales was more low-key and easy to be around, but a lot less demanding and also less engaged in the business of the U.S. Attorney's Offices than was Ashcroft. I heard some concerns expressed when Gonzales was appointed as AG, but I don't think anyone foresaw this problem. He is hard not to admire and there are probably 1,000 reasons to respect him. Unfortunately, he has given us quite a few reasons to be disappointed as well. It is all very sad.
New York: Mr. Cummins, how do you think the resignation is being regarded in the assistant U.S. attorney community? Thanks for the chat.
Montpelier, Vt.: Mr. Cummins, how big a staff did you supervise in Arkansas? Did you know the probable party affiliation of any, some, or many of your staff? What are the one or two most important things a newly confirmed U.S. attorney should do or be aware of upon arriving at a district office?
Bud Cummins: Sixty people, including 25 attorneys, which is a medium-small sized U.S. Attorney office. I only knew the political affiliations of the people who wanted me to know. On my first day, one of the Assistant U.S. Attorneys marched into my office and told me straight out that he hadn't voted for me in 1996, when I ran unsuccessfully for Congress. He just wanted it out there so there wouldn't be any question. He also told me he was happy to follow my leadership as U.S. Attorney. We are still great friends.
Like most people, we sometimes talk politics in the U.S. Attorney offices, but mostly keep it out of our discussions. I can tell you that I hired a woman named Jane Duke in 2002 -- promoting her to be First Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2006 -- and that she is now the acting U.S. Attorney, and I don't have the foggiest notion of how she votes or who she has voted for. She is doing a great job as acting U.S. Attorney though -- and that is all that matters up there.
Bud Cummins: Folks, this is great, but I have to go. Thank you for your interest. DOJ is a great institution -- this will all work out. Good luck to each of you.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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Join live discussions from the Washington Post. Feature topics include national, world and DC area news, politics, elections, campaigns, government policy, tech regulation, travel, entertainment, cars, and real estate.
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Vick Pleads Guilty, Calls Dogfighting a 'Terrible Thing'
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RICHMOND, Aug. 27 -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick formally pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting charge Monday and minutes later solemnly apologized to the NFL, his team and the youth of America.
His eyes moist and his voice barely audible, the suspended former Pro Bowler spoke without notes -- "from the heart," he said -- as animal rights activists and Vick supporters gathered outside a hotel near the federal courthouse.
VIDEO | Vick Accepts Responsibility for Actions
"I want to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts," he said. "If I'm more disappointed with myself than anything, it's because of all the young people, young kids that I've let down, who look at Michael Vick as a role model."
"Dogfighting," he added, "is a terrible thing."
A humbled Vick ran a gantlet of several dozen protesters as he entered the courthouse and quietly said "Yes, sir" and "No, sir" to U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson as he entered his plea to a single conspiracy count for running a brutal dogfighting ring with three co-conspirators.
Vick had admitted in court documents filed Friday that he was deeply involved in the venture and endorsed the killing of poorly performing dogs by hanging or drowning. He will be sentenced Dec. 10, and the judge in the case warned Vick that he is not bound by the 12- to 18-month prison sentence recommended by prosecutors and his attorneys.
After the hearing, Vick hugged his fiancee in the front row and wiped away a tear before heading to the hotel. He asked forgiveness from his teammates and the public. "I offer my deepest apologies to everyone," he said. "And I will redeem myself. I have to."
Vick said he had turned his life over to God and took responsibility for what he did.
"Not for one second will I sit right here and point the finger and try to blame anybody else for my actions or what I've done," Vick said. "I'm totally responsible."
Vick added that he'd learned from the experience. "Through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness," he said.
It remains to be seen whether Vick's words and demeanor will sway Hudson, who told Vick: "The bottom line is that if I decide you deserve five years and give you five years, you can't appeal it. You're taking your chances here. . . . You have to live with whatever decision I make."
But Vick's statement -- which was worked out with his attorneys, who deliberated into the night about where he would deliver it -- was greeted with wary optimism by even some critics.
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RICHMOND, Aug. 27 -- Michael Vick formally pleaded guilty here to federal dogfighting charges Monday morning, and later apologized to the public, his football teammates and to "all the kids out there for my immature acts."
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Vick Should Never Play Football Again
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The saddest thing about the remarkably sad Michael Vick story is that it is not going to go away anytime soon.
Yes, we will be spared the specter of a trial with Vick's co-defendants and other witnesses laying out the gruesome facts concerning what happens to dogs when their lives are controlled by the kind of sick people who think that dogfighting is some kind of sport. Vick's guilty plea in federal court on Monday means that the only step left in the legal system for him will be sentencing. After that will come the perp walk when Vick is being led into prison.
But Vick going behind bars doesn't mean he or his story are going away. Even with his plea eliminating the "he's innocent until proven guilty" argument, there will still going to be plenty of people who argue that Vick really isn't a bad guy or that he was set up by prosecutors or they will use the ever-popular cliché: "He made a mistake and deserves another chance."
Does Vick deserve another chance to go on with his life once he has served his jail time? Yes. But not as a professional football player.
There are certain crimes that people commit that make it impossible for them to return to society in certain jobs. If you commit a crime against a child, chances are pretty good you won't be allowed to teach children in the future. If you are seriously involved in drugs you probably shouldn't apply for a job as an airline pilot after your jail time is up. It isn't an absolute, but anyone who has committed a felony will probably find gaining admission to most law schools difficult.
Vick's crime is both brutal and cruel. Other than beating up a woman or a child, killing dogs for sport or entertainment is about as cowardly an act as exists. Those who make the weak "how is it different from hunting?" argument miss the point. I'm no hunter (never held a gun in my life and think the second amendment should be abolished) but there are legitimate reasons why hunting is legal in some places, some of the time. It is heartbreaking when dogs or cats are euthanized legally but at least their deaths are painless and do not take place to give sick people their jollies.
Vick and his friends are sick. Even if Vick can convince people he's truly sorry for what he did -- and it says here the only thing he'll ever be sorry for is getting caught -- that doesn't mean he should be allowed to play in the National Football League again.
If you play in the NFL, you are, by definition, viewed by a lot of people as a hero. If you talk to players, you find out that the cheers mean as much to them as the money. "When I retire, I know I'm going to make a good living," Peter Boulware, a former All-Pro linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens told me a few years ago when I was researching a book on the NFL. "I own several car dealerships and I'll do quite well. But when I sell a car, there aren't going to be 70,000 people cheering and chanting my name. That's a feeling you can't get unless you're an athlete. That's what I'll miss the most."
Or, as his teammate Mike Flynn said, describing what it was like to walk onto the field in street clothes because of an injury as opposed to running onto the field in uniform during player introductions: "You go out there in street clothes, you're just another guy. You run through that tunnel in uniform, you feel like you're a God."
Michael Vick doesn't deserve to ever feel that way again. If he wants to go back to Virginia Tech and finish his degree, that's fine. There are plenty of jobs he can get when he's done his jail time. But football shouldn't be one of them.
Forget the money. He's forfeited his right to be a hero, to hear those cheers anymore.
There are those who will point out that Leonard Little, a defensive lineman with the St. Louis Rams, was convicted of manslaughter because he killed a woman while driving under the influence. Those people are right: Little should also have forfeited his right to be a hero.
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Football players get to feel like heroes, and after what Michael Vick has done, he should never be allowed to play football and have that feeling again.
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Many Take Army's 'Quick Ship' Bonus
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More than 90 percent of the Army's new recruits since late July have accepted a $20,000 "quick ship" bonus to leave for basic combat training by the end of September, putting thousands of Americans into uniform almost immediately.
Many recruits who take the bonus -- scoring in many cases the equivalent of more than a year's pay -- leave their homes within days, recruiters said. The initiative is part of an effort by Army officials to meet year-end recruiting goals after a two-month slump earlier this year. With the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the Army hopes the extra cash motivates those interested in joining or entices those just considering enlisting.
The program began on July 25, and in three weeks the Army had enlisted 3,814 recruits using the bonus, according to the U.S. Army Recruiting Command in Fort Knox, Ky. Those recruits accounted for 92 percent of the 4,149 recruits who signed contracts between July 25 and Aug. 13.
The $20,000 bonus is a hefty sum for many of the individuals the Army targets most aggressively: young men and women who have not settled on a career. The Army estimates that soldiers coming out of initial training are paid $17,400 a year on average.
But the effort, experts said, could pose problems for the Army in the coming months, because those who might have helped fill recruiting quotas later this year or in early 2008 are instead joining now.
Bethany Moore, 19, of Jessup, visited a recruiting station Wednesday, knowing that she wanted to sign up in the hopes of building a stable career. A 2006 graduate of Northern High School in Calvert County, Moore had worked a series of "regular jobs" and wanted to make a serious change. "I just wanted to do something better with my life," she said.
Although she expected a six-month waiting period to go to basic training, she learned of the bonus and immediately accepted. She will ship out within a week. "It was a welcome surprise," Moore said. "And it's a lot of money."
Military personnel experts said the signing bonuses are a transparent way for the Army to meet its annual goal of 80,000 recruits amid an increasingly difficult recruiting environment. They also said the rush to get people into uniform might have more to do with meeting numerical targets than with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, though many of those who join the Army face the possibility of deployment to combat soon.
The Army hopes the bonus will increase its recruiting numbers for August, a month whose goals are among the largest of the year. The Army will announce the August numbers in early September.
"The Army is intent on trying to meet its recruitment goals in terms of numbers by the end of the fiscal year, so they're doing just about anything they can to bring those numbers up," said Cindy Williams, an analyst at the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "To me it signals something that we've been seeing already from the Army, a trade-off in terms of quality and quantity. My sense is that right now, they're willing to take anybody who is willing to walk in the door and ship by Sept. 30."
Army officials have lowered standards and increased waivers in recent years to meet their recruiting goals, in part to deal with the strain of the wars and to quickly expand the Army. But the Army has been more concerned with nose-diving public opinion about the war in Iraq and the role of "influencers" -- parents, teachers and coaches -- who have been increasingly unwilling to recommend the military as a career option to young people.
The $20,000 bonus can be enticing, especially to those who lack a steady job, languish in debt or are worried about their future. Staff Sgt. Kevin Gordon, a recruiter in Glen Burnie, said a majority of the people who come into his office have already decided to join the service and then jump at the chance to leave now.
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More than 90 percent of the Army's new recruits since late July have accepted a $20,000 "quick ship" bonus to leave for basic combat training by the end of September, putting thousands of Americans into uniform almost immediately.
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Unknown to Va. Tech, Cho Had a Disorder
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Fairfax County school officials determined that Seung Hui Cho suffered from an anxiety disorder so severe that they put him in special education and devised a plan to help, according to sources familiar with his history, but Virginia Tech was never told of the problem.
The disorder made Cho unable to speak in social settings and was deemed an emotional disability, the sources said. When he stopped getting the help that Fairfax was providing, Cho became even more isolated and suffered severe ridicule during his four years at Virginia Tech, experts suggested. In his senior year, Cho killed 32 students and faculty members and himself in the deadliest shooting by an individual in U.S. history.
The condition, called selective mutism, is a symptom of a larger social anxiety disorder. It prompted the Fairfax school system to develop a detailed special education plan to help ease Cho's fears so he might begin to talk more openly, the sources said.
Part of his individualized program in Fairfax excused Cho from participating in class discussions, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of Cho's records. Another part of the plan called for private therapy to resolve his underlying anxiety. The therapy and special provisions were "apparently effective," the sources said.
But once Cho left the safe and highly structured high school setting that had created a cocoon of support, officials at Virginia Tech were never told of his condition and never addressed the issue, the sources said. Since the April 16 shootings, stories have emerged from Cho's teachers and classmates at Virginia Tech. They say it was common for professors to call on Cho and for him to remain silent. The teachers would become angry, and students would taunt him. The severely isolated Cho began to refer to himself as "?". All of this would have worsened his deep-seated anxiety, experts said.
"Think of the image of the little kid at the end of the diving board, just frozen. They can't move no matter how much we tell them to jump," said Robert Schum, a clinical psychologist and expert in selective mutism. "In a classroom, they feel threatened. They're trapped. And the more people push, the more it exacerbates the anxiety."
Professors and school administrators at Virginia Tech could not have known of Cho's emotional disability -- Fairfax officials were forbidden from telling them. Federal privacy and disability laws prohibit high schools from sharing with colleges private information such as a student's special education coding or disability, according to high school and college guidance and admissions officials. Those laws also prohibit colleges from asking for such information.
The only way Virginia Tech officials would have known about Cho's anxiety and selective mutism would have been if Cho or his parents told them about it and asked for accommodations to help him, as he had received in Fairfax. Cho's disability was first reported in the Wall Street Journal and will be explored further when a panel appointed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) releases an investigative report about the shootings.
Although the only way college officials could have known about Cho's problem would have been from Cho, experts said that asking for help is an almost impossible task for someone with selective mutism.
"Children with selective mutism don't want to be the center of attention. They don't like to sit on Santa's lap. They don't like their photo taken on picture day. They don't want kids to sing to them at their birthday celebration. They just want to be left alone," Schum said. "So when you put the responsibility on them and ask them to draw attention to themselves by asking for help . . . that's really tough."
Cho's parents, although cooperative with Fairfax school officials, might not have fully understood what was wrong and that their son needed help in college as well. As recently as last summer, Cho's mother had sought out members of One Mind Church in Woodbridge to purge him of what the pastor there called the "demonic power" possessing him.
Cho's family said he was always a quiet, reserved child. After he emigrated with his parents from South Korea when he was 8, a great-aunt in Korea said the boy's mother told her he had autism. "We knew something was wrong," the aunt, Kim Yang Soon, said in April.
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Fairfax County school officials determined that Seung Hui Cho suffered from an anxiety disorder so severe that they put him in special education and devised a plan to help, according to sources familiar with his history, but Virginia Tech was never told of the problem.
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The Outsider's Insider
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Sen. Barack Obama had hired Pete Rouse for just such a moment.
It was the fall of 2005, and the celebrated young senator -- still new to Capitol Hill but aware of his prospects for higher office -- was thinking about voting to confirm John G. Roberts Jr. as chief justice. Talking with his aides, the Illinois Democrat expressed admiration for Roberts's intellect. Besides, Obama said, if he were president he wouldn't want his judicial nominees opposed simply on ideological grounds.
And then Rouse, his chief of staff, spoke up. This was no Harvard moot-court exercise, he said. If Obama voted for Roberts, Rouse told him, people would remind him of that every time the Supreme Court issued another conservative ruling, something that could cripple a future presidential run. Obama took it in. And when the roll was called, he voted no.
"Pete's very good at looking around the corners of decisions and playing out the implications of them," Obama said an interview when asked about that discussion. "He's been around long enough that he can recognize problems and pitfalls a lot quicker than others can."
Pete Rouse is the Outsider's Insider, a fixer steeped in the ways of a Washington that Obama has been both eager to learn and quick to publicly condemn. The meticulous workaholic rose through three decades of unglamorous legislating to become arguably the most influential Democratic aide in the Senate when he worked for then-Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.).
"His familiarity with Washington makes him somebody whose judgment I trust," Obama said. And yet this is the Washington of "cheap political points" and "petty" partisanship that figures prominently in Obama's public speeches these days. "I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington," Obama tells his audiences. "But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change."
That has made Rouse's job of introducing Obama to Capitol Hill a complicated balancing act: He seeks to burnish Obama's still-modest credentials as a freshman senator while preventing the talented but inexperienced politician from making the kind of mistakes that have denied every senator since John F. Kennedy the presidency. "My role," he said with classic staffer discretion, is simply "to help him accomplish his priorities."
Others credit their unlikely pairing -- Rouse, a stubby 61-year-old, first started work in the Senate in 1971, when Obama was a 10-year-old in Hawaii with basketball dreams -- with helping to fuel Obama's turbocharged rise to become one of the leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination. "Barack Obama's rapid political ascent would not have been possible without Pete," said Jim Jordan, a Democratic strategist who has worked with Rouse and is now advising the campaign of Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.).
At his campaign headquarters in Chicago, Obama has assembled a strong team of political veterans to complement -- and at times, compete with -- Rouse's formidable Washington experience. His campaign manager is David Plouffe, and a top strategist is David Axelrod, two longtime Democratic operatives and former partners in a political consulting firm. A third influential campaign voice is that of Robert Gibbs, who was Sen. John F. Kerry's presidential campaign press secretary in 2003; he travels full time with Obama as the campaign's communications director.
Plouffe and Axelrod have pushed the candidate away from traditional Democratic constituency-group politics, convinced that Obama is a unique figure who shouldn't expect significant backing from the Democratic establishment and won't need it anyway.
As the center of gravity in Obama's world shifts away from Capitol Hill and toward his campaign headquarters, Rouse has been carefully monitoring the increasingly anti-Washington tone. When, for example, Obama's campaign team wanted him to propose banning anyone who serves in his administration from lobbying it after leaving, Rouse warned about the consequences: a recruiting problem for the Obama White House.
The campaign announced it anyway.
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Sen. Barack Obama had hired Pete Rouse for just such a moment.
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Overhaul of Air Traffic System Nears Key Step
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The federal government is expected this week to award a contract worth more than $1 billion to build the key components of its next-generation air traffic control system -- a high-tech network that officials say will alleviate chronic flight delays.
The system comes at a critical time, officials say, with flight delays at record levels and commercial aviation expected to continue growing steadily. The network will rely on satellites, rather than radar, to guide aircraft, and it is expected to allow planes to fly closer together and take more direct routes, saving fuel and time while reducing pollution. Government officials say it will also improve safety by giving controllers and pilots more precise information about planes.
Controllers could begin using the system to manage traffic nationally by 2013, according to officials at the Federal Aviation Administration. But consultants and airline executives don't expect major benefits of the program to be realized until at least 2020.
"Aviation is critical for the economy as we move forward, and our current infrastructure is simply too antiquated to support the level of traffic," said Marion C. Blakey, administrator of the FAA. "As you have more traffic, you are going to have to raise the bar on safety as well. There will be more planes closer together. This gives you a substantially increased safety margin."
While most in the industry support building the new system, which is projected to cost the government at least $15 billion, aspects of the program have generated controversy.
A fierce fight has erupted between the airlines and owners of small planes and private jets over how to finance the network, and Congress is facing pressure to work out a funding plan by a Sept. 30 deadline. Members of Congress also worry that contracting out the building of such a critical system could pose problems.
Some consultants and air traffic controllers say they also doubt whether the new technology will do much to ease delays.
"It won't do a thing for delays," said Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union that represents U.S. controllers. "The biggest reason for the delays isn't the technological infrastructure. It's that there is no landing space for the planes and over-scheduling by the airlines."
Government officials say they cannot wait much longer to start building the system. The rest of the world is developing similar networks, and such systems may be the only way to keep pace with expected air traffic growth.
The number of takeoffs and landings at towered airports in the United States is projected to grow by 1.4 million a year until 2020, according to the FAA. By 2015, more than 1 billion passengers a year are expected to board commercial flights, up from 740 million last year, the FAA estimates.
The foundation of the proposed system is known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) and will rely on Global Positioning System satellites. Airplanes will receive signals from satellites that will give its precise location, similar to the devices in many newer cars.
Planes will then beam that data and other information about their speed and altitude to ground stations scattered across the country. The ground stations, which are scheduled to be completed by 2013, will relay the information to air traffic controllers who guide the planes.
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The federal government is expected this week to award a contract worth more than $1 billion to build the key components of its next-generation air traffic control system -- a high-tech network that officials say will alleviate chronic flight delays.
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Russia Arrests 10 in Slaying of Outspoken Journalist
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Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika also said investigators had determined that the assassination could have been ordered only by someone outside Russia. That statement angered editors at Politkovskaya's newspaper, who have been involved in the investigation and who insisted Monday that the probe indicated no such thing.
Politkovskaya, who was gunned down Oct. 7 as she stepped into the elevator of her Moscow apartment building, had written extensively about war crimes, human rights abuses and other injustices in modern Russia. Her articles and books brought her many enemies, and her contract-style murder dealt a serious blow to the image of President Vladimir Putin, with whom she was often at odds.
In a briefing broadcast widely on state television, Chaika told reporters that one of the people arrested in Politkovskaya's killing was an ethnic Chechen crime boss whose group had organized the assassination. Three former police officers, a police major and a member of the FSB, a successor agency to the KGB, were also arrested.
Chaika did not reveal any names but said the 10 would soon be charged. Later Monday, at a news conference, a senior FSB official identified one of the people arrested as Pavel Ryaguzov, a lieutenant colonel in the security service, the Interfax news agency reported.
Putin and other Russian officials have long argued that Politkovskaya's killing was orchestrated by someone outside Russia. Chaika echoed that view in his announcement Monday.
"Our investigation has led us to conclude that only people living outside the Russian Federation could be interested in eliminating Politkovskaya," Chaika said. The killing, he went on, would have been most appealing to forces aiming to "destabilize the country, change its constitutional order, stoke crisis, return to the old system where money and oligarchs decided everything, discredit the national leadership, and provoke external pressure on our country."
While editors at the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, where Politkovskaya worked, praised lower-level government investigators for their professionalism, they were critical of Chaika's announcement.
Sergei Sokolov, the deputy editor of Novaya Gazeta, said in a telephone interview Monday that the announcement amounted to a public relations move ahead of parliamentary elections in December and presidential elections in March.
"There are several versions" of who ordered the killing, Sokolov said. "All of them have the right to exist, including the one outlined by Mr. Chaika. . . . He may well be right, but let's first find proof and then make announcements."
Alexei Simonov, the head of the Glasnost Defense Foundation, a media freedom watchdog group, said in a telephone interview that Novaya Gazeta editors had grown concerned as investigators appeared to come under pressure from higher-ranking authorities to name Boris Berezovsky, an exiled Russian tycoon living in London, as the person who ordered Politkovskaya's killing.
Berezovsky is one of the most well-known "oligarchs," who made billions by privatizing Russian industry in the 1990s. He has been accused by Putin of trying to undermine his leadership at home and his image abroad. Russian officials have suggested that Berezovsky was also behind the fatal poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko in London last November.
Before he died, Litvinenko blamed Putin for his poisoning and for the murder of Politkovskaya, which he was investigating at the time.
Politkovskaya would have turned 49 on Thursday. She was known internationally for stirring pieces about brutality in the Russian military campaign against separatist rebels in and around the southern republic of Chechnya. But she had a minor presence in Russia's key media outlets, many of which -- particularly television -- are state-controlled. Days after Politkovskaya's death, Putin condemned the murder but added, "I think that journalists should know, and experts should understand, that her ability to influence political life in Russia was extremely insignificant."
Russian journalists who, like Politkovskaya, are open in their criticism of the Kremlin are finding it increasingly difficult to reach their audience. A new law limits public discussion of extremist activities and gives law enforcement officials broad authority to suspend media outlets that fail to comply. Outside Moscow, reports of local authorities bullying or detaining journalists are routine.
Politkovskaya was the 13th journalist to be killed in Russia since Putin became president in 2000, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. None of those killings has been solved.
Chaika, the chief prosecutor, said Monday that the organized crime group whose leader was arrested in Politkovskaya's case may also be linked to the 2004 killing of Paul Klebnikov, the editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine.
The investigation into Politkovskaya's killing has previously come under criticism from groups abroad. On Monday, Reporters Without Borders released a statement saying the arrests represented "the first concrete sign of progress in the case" but expressing skepticism about Chaika's contention that only people outside Russia were interested in killing Politkovskaya.
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MOSCOW, Aug. 27 -- Russia's chief prosecutor announced Monday that 10 people involved in the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya had been arrested, alleging that those behind the murder of the well-known Kremlin critic included members of Russia's police and security services.
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PC Maker in Taiwan to Acquire Gateway
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Computer maker Acer of Taiwan announced yesterday that it would acquire Gateway, the third-biggest U.S. personal-computer company, for about $710 million in cash.
This deal, the latest investment in a U.S. company by a foreign firm, gives Acer the well-known Gateway brand, and more than doubles Acer's U.S. market share to 11.1 percent from 4.8 percent, according to Doug Bell, a research analyst at IDC. Acer has struggled to gain U.S. brand recognition and retail space, and is expected to benefit from Gateway's strong relationship with Best Buy, he said.
The deal must win regulatory and antitrust approvals and, pending those approvals, is predicted to close in December, the companies said.
"Upon acquiring Gateway, we will further solidify our position as number three PC vendor globally," Acer chief executive J.T. Wang said in a statement.
Gateway's market value is far off of what it was in its heyday in 1999, when its stock reached $82.50. Acer said it would pay $1.90 a share.
With this deal, Acer also makes a defensive move against larger rival Lenovo. Gateway said yesterday that it would effectively block Chinese-based Lenovo's planned purchase of Packard Bell by exercising its right to acquire the shares of Packard Bell's parent company, PB Holding.
"Gateway was the best acquisition on the chessboard for Acer, and it took full advantage," said J.P. Gownder, principal analyst at Forrester Research.
Lenovo declined to comment on the two Gateway announcements yesterday, but spokesman Ray Gorman said Lenovo officials "remain interested in Packard Bell and are reviewing our options."
The Acer-Gateway acquisition also touched off some security concerns.
"It's always a concern when foreign companies start buying American companies that provide services that could be used for classified work," said Dan Scandling, chief of staff for Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), who led the charge last year against the State Department's intention to use 900 Lenovo computers on its classified network. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission had notified Wolf, then an Appropriations subcommittee chairman, that using foreign-manufactured equipment could compromise the security of classified information.
Gateway and Acer said they would file voluntarily with the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States this week. That interagency group will review the deal to determine whether it would threaten U.S. national security.
Analysts do not expect the group to block the deal. Hewlett-Packard and Dell, two U.S.-owned companies, still control about half of the PC market, so the U.S. national security and intelligence interests have options for buying computers from domestic companies.
The foreign investments panel allowed Lenovo to buy IBM's PC unit, ThinkPad, in 2005, a deal that drew more criticism because it put a large American computer company in the hands of a mainland Chinese company.
Gateway's brand embraced a folksy, down-home image by packaging its simple, user-friendly products in distinctive boxes with cow spots. The company was founded in an Iowa farmhouse in 1985. Initially calling it Gateway 2000, Theodore W. Waitt formed the company with a "$10,000 loan guaranteed by his grandmother, a rented computer and a three-page business plan," according to Gateway's Web site. In 1993, the direct-sales company made the Fortune 500 list and sold shares to the public.
But during the late 1990s, Gateway started to falter.
"They overexpanded too fast at a time when prices for computers were starting to plummet," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, who noted that Gateway started building retail stores and delving into other consumer products such as TVs. "They couldn't weather it."
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Computer maker Acer of Taiwan announced yesterday that it would acquire Gateway, the third-biggest U.S. personal-computer company, for about $710 million in cash.
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Finding God on the Metro
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By William Blazek I love riding Washington's subway system, known locally as the Metro.
I love the speed, the crush of people and the crazy noise of it all. I love the idea of being in motion towards. Most of all I love the Metro because I see God there almost every time I ride. I look for signs of the Almightyâs presence, and because it pleases the Creator that His created subjects should know Him, I see Him. Not too long ago, on a commute to a clinic for the homeless, I hopped on the campus shuttle bus and met God at the Rosslyn Station escalator. We rode it deep into the earth, and on the first train downtown, I had a powerful experience of His love.
I am a member of the Society of Jesus, a Jesuit. Meeting God in the everyday is one of our great pursuits. It is part of the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola and is open to all: Jesuit and non-Jesuit, Christian and non-Christian alike. When our eyes are open, all of us can see God everywhere, in people, places and things, in ideas, actions and chance meetings.
Examining the day for traces of Godâs presence is a Jesuitâs twice-daily duty, but the discipline can enter into anyoneâs routine. With practice, it becomes more a respite from hectic everyday life than a burden, a way of being more than a particular effort or task. These exercises ask, âWhere is God?â in any particular experience. Ignatius would suggest we request a hefty dose of Godâs aid each time we undertake such a self-review.
How did I find God that sunny Friday morning? How did God find me? As on any commute, I asked God to help me while I waited for the shuttle in front of the student dining hall in Georgetown Universityâs Southwest Quad. Beginning a Rosary, I muttered the Apostleâs Creed as we bounced eastward on Prospect, and signs of God started popping out all around me. The broad rose-lit arches of the Key Bridge shimmered in the early dawn. A coed clad in curiously pajama-like attire dragged a roll-on suitcase aboard, presumably en route to the airport. I was forced to squint as, across the river, a Krypton-red sun painted a fireball in the mirrored windows of a Rosslyn skyscraper. Looking down the hill to the old towpath along the B and O Canal, I knew that running shoes were crunching in the gravel as faithful joggersâ took their morning exercise. Below on the Potomac, two four-seat sculls emerged from the mist: the rowersâ backs steamed as they pulled in rhythm at their oars. The quiet beauty of all these things assured me of Godâs certain presence.
By the time I clambered to the curb at Rosslyn Station, the presence of God was nearly palpable. Some people see God while looking at mountains, or in a babyâs smile. I seem to find Him especially on escalators. At Rosslyn the platforms are 97 feet below the surface: it makes for a two-minute ride descending what is reportedly the third longest continuous escalator in the world. If I stand on the staircase rather than running to the bottom, this piece of a half-hour commute becomes a privileged two minutes I can use to look for God.
That Friday I rode with high-heeled business commuters who clattered by in barely controlled descents while laborers in hard hats joked in Spanish about their bossâ drinking. Desert-camouflaged soldiers and Air Force officers in flight suits joined us in our journey. Most of my anonymous companions were quiet. Some conversed in twos and threes. I narrowly avoided colliding with an office worker who clutched a leaky cup of coffee. I reminded myself of my vow of chastity as I found my own eyes lingering upon a pair of young women who ascended opposite, their curious glances fixed some while upon my Roman dress. I admired a spike-haired artist bobbling an oversize portfolio and a mother in a purple sari carrying a baby sleeping in a sling. The wonder of Godâs creation shone out of all these people like the like the white on white brightness of a near-death experience.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, had these suggestions for making Steps for a "Twice Daily Spiritual Examination."
Step 1) Quiet yourself and recall that you are in the presence of God.
Step 2) Ask God to assist you in making the examination.
Step 3) Recall the people, places and things that have entered you day since your last examination. Ask where God might have been present in the sights, sounds, tastes, and sensations of your day.
Step 4) Consider where you may have turned away from Godâs desires for you in your choices or actions.
Step 5) Form a resolve based on numbers three and four above to change some behavior or attitude in yourself. Ask God to help you with this resolve. Conclude with a familiar prayer that you like.
Acutely on that morning, I felt God brush my face in a steady rush of wind that wafted up the escalator tunnel. A watery scent hinted at dark and secret courses beneath the river, I imagined subterranean chambers frequented by orange-vested Metro crews, beyond the pedestrian reach of ordinary commuters like me. I stood upon the platform, waiting for a train, while the pillars of the earth walked and ran, jostled and careened all about me.
Now ordinarily, any of the above would be sufficient fuel for an examination in the Ignatian tradition. I could review the input received from my senses to find that He was in the sight of nods given by the security guards when I made the effort to establish eye contact with them. He was in the sounds of the incomprehensible announcements that rang overhead, enumerating the elevator outages for the day. Abstractly but proximately, he was in the care taken by the engineers who designed the arched vault of the tunnelâs ceiling. Even more remotely, but nonetheless real, he was in the sweat of the miners who had labored to dig the ore that made up the steel escalator steps that whisked me down into the earth. In any ordinary examination, I would thank God for these many gifts and perhaps ask to recognize them more often, or to be more grateful. If I had found myself being rude to the bus driver, or pointedly ignoring the homeless man begging beneath a stairwell, I might ask for the grace of patience or generosity or charity. Then I would ask Him to help me in achieving this change of behavior or attitude while praying the Lordâs Prayer, or some other formal closing.
However, that particular Metro ride was something different. Once aboard a car, it was not yet 8:30 and my day was made, my joy more near complete. I wondered where the people were going, of what they were in charge or who might be in charge of them. I wondered what they struggled with at work, what prayers ran through their heads. I saw God in all my musings. The windows of the car reflected the souls of two heavy-set African-American women. With Government Printing Office ID cards dangling from their necks and colorful Smithsonian tote bags at their feet, the pair rested their eyes on the way to work. The backdrop of the tunnel walls ebbed and flowed behind them, alternately racing and slowing, lights flashing and glaring like freeway street lamps, while the car lurched towards Foggy Bottom making roller coaster rattles and eerie screeches all the way long. That ordinary morning, on a plunging high-speed run through Foggy Bottom, three stops north of the Pentagon, but before the Red Line transfer at Metro Center, the engines wound up like turbines on a tarmac and for a moment the car seemed to rocket towards someplace beyond the limits of space. Then, in a special way, at some ear-popping depth beneath the Potomac River, God washed right over me.
Hidden below the pilings and culverts, the mains and conduits whose tangles sustain the Capitol above, I rested in his love. He poured through me like an endorphin rush that crescendoed as the train sped along carrying its cargo of Godâs people to their unique and personal destinies that day. Arriving near my clinic, I took another escalator to the surface, and went about my work.
Trappist monk and celebrated author Thomas Merton once described a vision he had in everyday life that happened as he walked down a city street. "In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers." Merton later reflected, "There is no way to telling people people they are all walking around shining like the sun." I used to reflect a great deal upon those words, and wondered if I could ever love like that, or whether I could see Godâs people in that way.
When I first read Mertonâs lines, I thought perhaps his experience had been a singular event; similar to the spiritual epiphany experienced in the 1500âs by Saint Ignatius on the river Cardoner in Spain, where âthe eyes of his understanding were openedâ¦â I used to look for powerful experiences of God in discreet particular moments, but recently it seems to me that mystical contact with Him comes more frequently in repeated series of commonplace activities, such as a commute.
Recognizing the Lord in any place or time is sometimes as simple as asking, âWhere is God in this?â The question asked and Godâs aid invoked, He presents Himself in pajama clad travelers, public transit platforms, and views of rose-tinted bridges. Sometimes he touches us strongly, as in those ecstatic moments approaching the Foggy Bottom platform, but He is generally more subtle. It is increasingly apparent to me that he can be seen everywhere and in everything. For those interested in finding Him, one place to look is in the breeze blowing up the Rosslyn Station tunnel.
Dr. William Blazek, a Jesuit Scholastic, joined Georgetown University's Center for Clinical Bioethics as a Research Scholar and its Department of Medicine as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in 2006. He teaches ethics, physical diagnosis, and patient interviewing in the School of Medicineâs Preclinical Curriculum.
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A conversation on religion with Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn. Visit http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/
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Remembering Nusrat 1948-1997
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Long before 9/11 and the subsequent drum beat of a war on terror and talk of a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistan's greatest musical export, sang ecstatically about the Oneness of God and love for humanity.
Muslim, Jew, Christian, Hindu, all people with or without faith who tuned into the power and emotion of his voice were transported to another place, beyond the self-created ghettos of the mind and into a spiritual wonderland of joy and transcendence.
I was first introduced to Nusrat in 1990 by the Pakistani cricket captain, Imran Khan, for whose cancer hospital we did a fund-raising tour of concerts together. Having been born in Lahore and grown up in New York, my musical leanings were the blues and classic rock: John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Pink Floyd. As a result, I felt a little out of place arriving at Lahore's Alhamra arts council carrying a stratocaster and a guitar amp to my first Qawwali rehearsal with the celebrated Nusrat.
He sat onstage, cross legged on a Persian carpet, looking like a Punjabi Buddha, while his qawwali group brought out the harmoniums, tablas, and cups full of Lahori chai. After the traditional greetings of "Salaamualeikum" (peace be upon you) I nervously asked Nusrat what he wanted me to play on the first song "Mustt,Mustt" (lost in you), he replied with a childlike innocence: "do whatever your heart tells you to do". It turned out to be the strongest piece of career and personal advice anyone could've offered me.Nusrat's voice and the songs performed that day and later on the tour had a profound impact on my music.
To modify a Nirvana lyric, his music is "addictive and contagious". The poetry and the melodies opened doors inside my head, which allowed Rumi, Bulleh Shah and Iqbal to enter and coexist with John Lennon, Jimmy Page and John Lee Hooker. Nusrat also helped pave the way for my band, Junoon, to take the risks we did when we married electric guitars to bhangra drum and dhol grooves while chanting traditional sufi texts considered sacred by the orthodox. In fact it was Nusrat who broke the traditional mould of the Qawwali singer, when he collaborated with Peter Gabriel, Michael Brook and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.
In one particular conversation I had with him about about his brilliant album "NIGHT SONG" with Michael Brook, he told me that he favored fusion because in the Qur'an it mentioned that God loves diversity, and Nusrat felt the most powerful way to celebrate and express diversity was through music.
Years later,in 1998, when Junoon's song Sayonee raced up the pop charts in India to help us become South Asia's biggest rock band, it was a special poignant moment for me because our album "Azadi (Freedom)" for EMI had been dedicated to the memory of Nusrat who had sadly passed on a year earlier while only 48 and with all the music still inside of him.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan left behind a universal DNA in his songs, for all people to share and celebrate the yearning, the joy and the timeless message of Oneness. Can music help build the bridge of Unity between East and West?
Nusrat certainly had no doubts.
"On Faith" panelist Salman Ahmad is a Pakistani-born rock star who started the wildly popular South Asian band known as Junoon.
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A conversation on religion with Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn. Visit http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/
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Book World Live
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John Ferling, author of "Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence," fields questions and comments about his new book and the American Revolution.
Historian John Ferling is the author of nine books on the American Revolution and early American wars.
Join Book World Live each Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET for a discussion based on a story or review in each Sunday's Book World section.
John Ferling: Good afternoon everyone. The temperature in Atlanta is over 100 degrees today, but fortunately I am at the computer in my air conditioned study and eager to chat with you about the Revolutionary War, and about my new book which is a history of that conflict.
Just a quick word first about how I came to write ALMOST A MIRACLE. My book A LEAP IN THE DARK (2003) was a political history of the American Revolution, and I wanted to write a companion piece that would be a military history. In addition, no professional historian had written a history of the War of Independence in almost half a century, so I thought the time was right. Finally, I thought the story of the war in the South had been largely ignored in earlier general histories, and I wanted to try to set the record straight on that score.
Schenectady, N.Y.: It has been argued that the outcome of the Revolutionary War was inevitable and that all Washington had to do was avoid defeat. Do you agree and, if not, why not?
John Ferling: I don't think that the American victory was inevitable. In fact, I believe that Britain could have, and should have, crushed the rebellion in 1776. In the New York campaign in 1776, General Washington made so many mistakes that it was a miracle that he did not lose his entire army. Had he suffered a decisive defeat hard on the heels of the loss of two American armies that year in the Canadian theater, it is difficult to see how the United States could have survived beyond that year.
The northern states, as Thomas Jefferson said, had largely won their independence by the end of 1777. But the woes of the southern states were just beginning. By 1781 the war was stalemated. If victory had not been won that year, the war's outcome would likely have been determined by a European peace conference, and the settlement proposed by a set of monarchical nations would not have been a good one for the republican United States.
The book's title comes from General Washington's farewell to the Continental army. He said that America's victory was "little short of a standing miracle," and I think his comment was dead on target.
Wheaton, Md.: Probably the biggest maricle was Washington's army surviving the winter at Valley Forge. It seems unimaginable, the hardships they endured. Had they not survived, the Revolution would not have, either. Do you agree?
John Ferling: I think Valley Forge was important. A far better army came out of Valley Forge in June 1778 than had marched into it in December 1777. It was crucial, too, for solidifying Washington's position as commander in chief. He was virtually untouchable politically after Valley Forge. On the other hand, I don't agree that the army nearly collapsed or that America verged on having to end the war during the Valley Forge winter. After the great victory at Saratoga in October, two months before Valley Forge, it was generally presumed that France would enter the war. It was also thought that with French assistance, the war could be won, and probably fairly quickly. During the Valley Forge winter I think most Americans believed that they were too close to winning independence to throw in the towel.
Arlington, Va.: Professor Ferling, "A Leap in the Dark" was one of the finest histories I've ever read and, although I'm only 100 pages into "Almost a Miracle," it seems to be its equal. So first let me offer you my congratulations. My question: The French and Indian War was such an influence on the colonials who would later assume command of the Revolutionary Army. Can you discuss what kinds of lessons Washington et al., took from that war? Did they learn primarily military tactics, logistics, leadership, etc.? Thank you.
John Ferling: Thanks for your kind words about my earlier book. I agree with you that the French and Indian war was an important "school" for many who served in the War of Independence. Men such as George Washington, Philip Schuyler, Israel Putnam, and John Stark learned much about themselves in that earlier conflict, but they also learned how to organize and manage an army, train and discipline men, lead others, and relate to the needs and desires of the civilian population. Virtually every high ranking American officer in the Revolutionary War had served -- often for several years -- in the French and Indian War. But it was not just the French and Indian War that was a training ground. Many southerners who emerged as leaders in the fighting in the Carolinas in particular had first served in the Cherokee War in 1760-1761, a brutal struggle that provided something of an education in guerrilla warfare.
Philadelphia, Pa.: I find it interesting that many soldiers essentially signed for the military for a set term and when the term was up they left and went back to their families and their jobs. Often this was necessary as their families needed them. How did the revolution impact families and how did the military work with the problem of rotating soldiers?
John Ferling: In the first two years of the war, men enlisted for only one year. That was no way to wage a war, as General Washington repeatedly told Congress in 1775 and 1776. Indeed, few of those men reenlisted, leaving Washington to recruit a new army in the face of the enemy army. After the string of defeats in the New York campaign, Congress finally awakened to reality and, beginning in 1777, men were asked to enlist for three years or the duration of the war. The evidence suggests that the composition of the army changed dramatically once Congress went over to a standing army concept. Previously, the men in the army had represented a reasonably good cross section of America's male in inhabitants. But from 1777 onward a far greater percentage of the men tended to be single, propertyless, and from the lower socio-economic strata of society. A substantial percentage (up to twenty-five percent from some states) were immigrants.
As these men were in the service for the long haul, they were separated from loved ones for extended periods. During the winter months, however, when fighting slowed or stopped altogether, the Continental army was generous with furloughs (if for no other reason than it meant fewer mouths to feed during times of scarcity).
Logan Circle, Washington, D.C.: What could the English have done differently to win the war? And if England had held on to the colonies would America have become the tail wagging the English dog?
John Ferling: Before the fighting began, the ministry of Lord North discussed how to win the war. They did not always come to the right conclusions, but they correctly understood that it was essential to win quickly before France and possibly Spain entered the conflict. But they seemed to forget that necessity once the war began. I think the British had adequate manpower in America, and certainly adequate naval power, to have won the war in 1776 and 1777. But General William Howe was a poor choice to command the army. A more aggressive and resolute commander could have succeeded. Howe's successor, Sir Henry Clinton, recommended the appointment of a supreme commander -- something akin to General Eisenhower in World War II -- who could have coordinated British strategy between the North American theaters and the Caribbean. London not only never made such an appointment, it should have seen the need for such a commander even before the war commenced.
Richmond, Va.: I just recently finished reading "The Winter Soldiers" by Ketchum (first published in 1973). The author makes the interesting point that Washington had been so decisively defeated in New York in the Summer of 1776 (and particularly the loss of the fortifications on either side of the Hudson River at Ft. Washington and Ft. Lee in November of that year) that had he simply done nothing instead of attacking at Trenton and Princeton, or if either one of those battles had gone the other way (and they were both apparently very, very close calls) the Revolution would've definitely been over. Your thoughts please.
John Ferling: Washington's Trenton-Princeton campaign, which was one of the most brilliant ever waged by an American commander, was crucial in two ways. It enabled the American rebels to recruit a new army in 1777. (Without those victories, it is difficult to imagine that many would have wanted to serve in an army that had suffered defeat after defeat.) Some in Congress and the army were beginning to question Washington's abilities as well, so that in the long run his victories over the course of a bit more than a week in December 1775 and January 1776 may have been crucial to his own survival as commander in chief.
That said, I think the war would have continued into 1777 even had Washington not achieved those victories. Congress had already decided to recruit a standing army and, I believe, it would have continued the fight with what it thought would be a better army.
New York, N.Y.: Many people do not realize that the British essentially try to win the war with three separate attacks. First they sought to put down the revolt, which was concentrated in the Northern states. When that failed, they thought if they could divide the country into two, that it would fall, and they attempted to attack and occupy the middle states. When that failed, they thought they could starve the country by attacking the productive Southern states. I understand your book does a good job detailing the lesser known battles in the middle and Southern states. Would you please tell us about how those efforts went and of their importance?
John Ferling: Since I discussed some of the issues that you raised in answering earlier questions, let me go at it by mentioning that Britain switched strategies beginning in 1778. Before then, it focused largely on isolating New England and suppressing the rebellion in those four states. In 1778 it resorted to a Southern Strategy. Britain sought to reconquer Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. Had it succeeded, it would probably have come out of the war with a vast American empire than swept from Canada through the trans-Appalachian West, and also included the four southern provinces (plus Florida, which it had acquired in the French and Indian War) and several sugar islands in the Caribbean. Moreover, the United States would have consisted of only nine states and it would have been surrounded by the British empire. And I think Britain came closer to achieving their aims than most people any longer realize.
Charlotte, N.C.: Why has it taken so long for historians and the public to finally recognize the importance of the war in the South? Thirty years ago, one might have thought most of the war was fought in New England.
John Ferling: I suspect that several factors probably contributed to the Revolutionary War in the South being largely ignored for such a long time. Until well into the 20th century, most graduate programs in history were at northern universities and most of the historians who were produced by those institutions were from the north. In addition, another war -- the Civil War -- subsumed the Revolutionary War in the minds of most southerners who were interested in history. Thankfully, however, numerous excellent books on aspects of the war in the South have appeared in the last few years. Thoughtful historians such as Lawrence Babits, John Buchanan, Carl Borick, Walter Edgar, Don Higginbotham, and David Wilson have turned their attention to the fighting down South, and the magesterial PAPERS OF NATHANAEL GREENE, which is now complete, is a treasure trove for those wishing to study this war below Virginia.
It's a pleasure to "speak" with you today sir!
I've read "A Leap in the Dark", "Setting the World Ablaze", the biographies of Washington and Adams and have enjoyed them all. As a member of the "Neighborhood Friends of Mount Vernon", I'm a tremendous admirer of the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and our first President.
I also believe there is one of Washington's aides that has not gotten the recognition he is due: Nathanael Greene.
Do you address the accomplishments of this under-appreciated general in "Almost a Miracle"?
John Ferling: I came to a much greater appreciation of General Greene as I wrote this book, and I agree with you that he has been overlooked. His conduct of the war in the South in 1781 was extraordinary. In fact, I think only Washington's Trenton-Princeton campaign would measure up to it, and even then Washington's campaign lasted only a week, whereas Greene's was conducted over a period of nine months. Greene succeeded in effect in driving his opposite number, General Cornwallis, out of the Carolinas and into Virginia, which set up the climactic moment of the war, the siege of Yorktown. Washington walked away with all the credit, but in a very real sense it was Greene that made Yorktown possible.
Washington, D.C.: About a generation ago, I went to graduate school to study Colonial America. I was particularly interested in the Revolutionary period. The more I learned, the more I wondered why guys from the backcountry, particularly in the South, fought -- what made them feel they had common cause with Bostonians hampered by the British blockades, or even, generally, what made them feel "American" all of a sudden instead of British or even Virginian. (I'm not talking the intellectual and political leaders here; I'm talking about the illiterate farmboys who died of measles in New York before they saw any shooting, miles from where they normally lived.) Years of studying the nitty-gritty of the social, economic, and political history of the time -- years of poring through letters and wills and local court records -- and the closest answer I could come up with is that young men the world over and in all times like to leave home, run around with foreign women, and make things go "boom," and the Revolution gave these guys a chance to do that. In the interim, I haven't been keeping up with the scholarship as well as I might have done, so I'm taking the short cut of asking you: Are there any better theories out there?
John Ferling: Well, I suppose adventure was a lure for some, and certainly, as in many wars, societal pressures to bear arms was a key factor in enlisting. Smooth-talking recruiters can't be dismissed either. Beyond a doubt, many southerners, like their counterparts up north, were drawn to enlist because of the cash and land bounties that were offered. In addition to those personal factors, many men, I think, really believed in what the American Revolution supposedly stood for. Thomas Paine, in COMMON SENSE, wrote of independence giving Americans the opportunity to control their own destiny. Some read into Paine (or republican ideology) that independence would provide a greater likelihood or rising socially and economically according to one's merit. Paine also said that the establishment of an independent American republic was an opportunity to start the world anew. He called it the "birthday of a new world." Many believed that was what the war and the rebellion were all about.
In the southern backcountry, I think many Scotch-Irish hated the British for their exploitation of Ireland. Many Presbyterians hated the idea of an established church, which of course existed in all the southern colonies. In addition, many in the backcountry saw American independence as the first step in liberating themselves from the hegemony of the tidewater section of their colony. In this sense, as Carl Becker, a famous historian in the early 20th century put it, this was not only a revolution for home rule, but to determine who would rule at home.
College Park, Md.: Was Alexander Hamilton an important figure in the war or did his importance mainly come after the revolution?
John Ferling: Alexander Hamilton became an aide to General Washington in the winter of 1777 after serving as an artillery officer first in a New York unit, then in the Continental army. The war was important for Hamilton more than he was crucial for the outcome of the war. He came to Washington's attention, of course, Washington saw that Hamilton offered him many useful talents. Later, Hamilton would say that Washington was his aegis to success. Hamilton's position as an aide placed him at Washington's headquarters, where he met influential congressmen and state leaders who would be important to him later on. Finally, Washington gave Hamilton a field command in mid-1781, and with that Hamilton gained glory in a military action at Yorktown.
Port Royal, Va.: After reading the comments and review, I am going to purchase your book.
From other knowledge: Wasn't the Revolutionary War was as much a civil war as anything else? Without the local support and consequential harassment, prosecution, and almost genocidal treatment of those pro-British, could we have ever had won the war? Which might bring us to the interesting conclusion, we might never had won the war had we applied the Bill of Rights, which had not yet been written.
John Ferling: Most contemporaries saw it as a civil war. It was British fighting against British until July 1776 when the British-Americans became "Americans." In addition, Americans fought one another. This was especially true in the mid-Atlantic states and in the South. All along, but particularly from 1777 onward, the British sought to recruit Loyalists for their army. They formed what they called provincial units, which consisted solely of Loyalists, save for the leading officers, who might be British regulars. At one point in 1780, in fact, there were actually more Loyalists serving in the British army than American patriots serving in the Continental army.
Alexandria, Va.: I have to admit I have not read your book, but according to the POST review it sounds as though it perpetuates the romantic myth that the American Revolution was won by clever American militiamen from behind trees shooting at stupid redcoats marching in lockstep in the open. Which of course, is nonsense.
I have read a great deal about the American Revolution and George Washington often found the militia more of a hindrance than a help and as for guerrillas, there were just as many guerrillas on the Loyalist, pro-British side, both in the South and in New York colony.
In fact, it was only when Washington managed to create a professional regular military force with the aid of such European advisors as Baron von Stueben was he finally able to meet the British on equal terms and ultimately cause them to withdraw from America.
Saratoga was not a guerrilla victory. Trenton and Princeton were not guerrilla victories. Cowpens was not a guerrilla victory. The final victory at Yorktown was a successful old-fashioned formal European-type siege of a fortress.
But these myths die hard. Why there are even those who think that South Vietnam fell to Viet Cong guerrillas, rather than to a conventional 20th century armored invasion of North Vietnamese regular troops!
Irregular troops can be a nuisance, but they can't defeat regular military forces unless the home government loses the will to support them. A lesson that we are hopefully now learning once again with the surge in Iraq.
John Ferling: As you will see when you read the book, I think you will see that I didn't romanticize the role of the militia. However, I did try to correct the notion advanced by Washington in particular that the militia was by and large useless. They not only played a crucial role in pacifying the homefront, but I doubt that the British regulars who fought American militiamen at Bunker Hill or in the two Saratoga engagements, or the Loyalists who tangled with militiamen at Cowpens, would have been inclined to agree with Washington.
John Ferling: I want to thank you for your questions. It has been fun for me and hopefully for you too.
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Chatological Humor (UPDATED 8.17.07)
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Gene Weingarten's humor column, Below the Beltway, appears every Sunday in The Washington Post magazine. It is syndicated nationally by the Washington Post Writers Group.
At one time or another, Below the Beltway has managed to offend persons of both sexes as well as individuals belonging to every religious, ethnic, regional, political and socioeconomic group. If you know of a group we have missed, please write in and the situation will be promptly rectified. "Rectified" is a funny word.
On Tuesdays at noon, Gene is online to take your questions and abuse. He will chat about anything. Although this chat is updated regularly throughout the week, it is not and never will be a "blog," even though many persons keep making that mistake. One reason for the confusion is the Underpants Paradox: Blogs, like underpants, contain "threads," whereas this chat contains no "threads" but, like underpants, does sometimes get funky and inexcusable.
Important, secret note to readers: The management of The Washington Post apparently does not know this chat exists, or it would have been shut down long ago. Please do not tell them. Thank you.
Weingarten is also the author of "The Hypochondriac's Guide to Life. And Death" and co-author of "I'm with Stupid," with feminist scholar Gina Barreca.
New to Chatological Humor? Read the FAQ.
Gene Weingarten: Good Monday morning. This is our Early Intro, one of several new features of Chatological Humor. Guess what? THE POLL is back.
We would like to report that it is back because the sachems of The Washington Post Online leapt to our aid. Alas, we've been unable to persuade anyone in charge -- busy people, with much on their plates -- that they must address the embarrassment of lousy Post polling software that keeps crashing. Perhaps that will someday happen. In the meantime, memos have gone unanswered. Pleas have gone unheeded. Wounded entreaties have been met with implacable silence. Whining has been countered by indifference and somnolence. Bizarre threats to sever body parts and mail them to post dotcom execs have been left hanging, as it were.
So Chatwoman and I have decided to take matters into our own hands. We have rented new software ourselves, she and I, paying for it out of pocket. Possibly The Post will reimburse us, possibly not. We ... just ... did ... it.
Please do not thank us. Your silent adulation is reward enough.
I need to report about a seismic event that has occurred within my psyche. It may affect everything -- the contours of my consciousness, the nature of this chat, the remaining oeuvre of my written works. It may stifle some of my arrogance, lessen my certitude, soften my heart.
One week ago, I drove my daughter Molly to the airport. On Sunday, I picked her up. In the interim she had worked for a week at a free, impromptu veterinary clinic in a poor, rural Chippewa reservation at Red Lake, Minnesota. She was one of dozens of second-third year vet students from around the country who volunteered their time to treat dogs and cats. Many were strays brought in by rescue workers. Many belonged to local people who could not afford vet care.
The whole event raises intriguing moral and ethical issues, not unlike those in TODAY'S POLL. Molly and her student colleagues are brilliant, dedicated half-vets. They have a lot of knowledge, but lack hands-on experience, which this exercise gave them. Molly actually spayed and neutered several animals, her first surgeries. This was a wartime field-op sort of situation, with makeshift examining rooms and operating tables; there were supervising veterinarians, but the bulk of the work was done by second-and-a-half-year vet students like Mol, who worked 12 hours a day, and slept in sleeping bags on the floor.
None of these animals would have had any care at all without this program. But the care was, by everyone's admission, at least somewhat substandard. Interesting ethically, no?
But that's not what I am writing about. What I am writing about is the fact that when I picked Molly up at the airport, she had a kitten with her. He was an eight-week-old stray, and she could not bear to let him go. He looks like a two-pound Holstein cow. His tentative name is Elmer. Here he is.
The dedicated reader of Chatological Humor knows that I am a dog person. I have written extensively about my dogs. I have a book about dogs coming out next year. I have not denigrated cats exactly, but I have not celebrated their lives in song and verse, either. I've never really known a cat before, and many of my suppositions are not that charitable. But the fact is, um, I've kind of like fallen in love with Elmer. That's the seismic change.
Molly has taken Elmer off to Cornell with her, but the rib and I, we're sort of thinking that Murphy might need a pet kitten. It won't be for us, it will be for Murph. See, so we're still just dog people, thinking about our dog.
WHAT IF I BECOME A CAT PERSON? Can a man change to this degree at my age? Will I start thinking like a cat person?
Here is a link. It is to what I believe is a spoof ad. It should be a real ad. Maybe it is a real ad. I want it to be a real ad. Thank you.
And here is another superior bit of humor (Note: May not be safe for work. -- Liz).
Sadly, I have a couple of spankings to administer this morning. This will hurt me more than it will hurt them.
The Ernie Bushmiller Extreme Lameness award goes to Jef Mallett, for a weenie-like copout end to his rather good series about Frazz's battle between self-interest and responsibility to kids. You will remember that Frazz was managing the kids' baseball team in a lax fashion to assure that they didn't make the playoffs, which would have coincided with a marathon bike race he wanted to compete in. But the kids, freed from tension, were winning and got into the playoffs. How was this resolved? By the goofiest Deus Ex Machina since some children's book author had a magic frog save Christmas.
What happened? It rained. So they canceled the playoffs. I shall repeat that. They canceled the Kiddie League playoffs because it RAINED. So Frazz competed in his race.
Second, the M.C. Escher What-Is-Wrong-With-This-Picture award goes to yesterday's Brevity. We seem to be looking at an actual war scene, with persons being bayoneted to death in the background. (Speaking of on-panel deaths). So why are the guys in the foreground doing a basic-training barbed-wire-crawl exercise? Either that's some basic training, where they actually bayonet guys in the background for verisimilitude, or these are the dumbest soldiers on Earth. They could stand up and RUN over that barbed wire.
Please take, yes, today's POLL. Exciting, no?? I have no right answers here: In fact, I have more questions than most of you seem to. I'll be sharing my insecurities, as always, midway through the chat.
The Comic Pick of the Week is a paired entry, yesterday and today's Brewster Rockit, which is beginning to appeal to me. First Runner Up is Sunday's Lio because it is so mean-spirited. Honorables: Monday's Speed Bump, Friday's Brevity, Friday's Zits, and Sunday's Agnes. Good week.
Self Decepti, ON: When my wife was dying of cancer at age 38 four years ago she asked me if she was going to survive and recover. The one thing I couldn't bring myself to do for her then, which she admitted she wanted me to do, was lie to her. Honesty was too important in our relationship for me to abandon it in the last few days, even though it might have eased her suffering a little. I'm still not sure if it was selfish of me to stand on principle when it might have been more compassionate to say what she wanted to hear. Why did I care more about my relationship with the truth than with the woman I loved?
A couple of years later, although not directly because of what happened to my wife, I once again put the truth ahead of the most important relationship in my life. I finally admitted to myself that the god I'd believed in all my life was a fictional mythological character. Part of me wanted to continue lying to myself and pretending there's a god who intervenes in the world, but for some reason intellectual honesty was more important to me than even the ideas of eternal life and one day being reunited with my late wife.
Ironically, it reminds me of what Martin Luther said: "Here I stand. I can do no other."
Do you think we have free will to abandon honesty when it really matters? Your "confession" about the man from Sierra Leone at your gate leads me to believe you understand how I felt.
Gene Weingarten: Thank you for this post. I am using it first because it really moved me.
I'm with Keats. There is beauty in truth; they may well be the same thing. It may be why I am less certain about most of the poll answers than many of you seem to be.
I think you honored your wife by speaking the truth to her. I don't think it was about you; I think it was about her.
Arlington, Va.: You and Chatwoman ... just ... did ... it? Wow. I guess this a consequence of doing the chat without pants.
Gene Weingarten: We are giants. Monsters. A fierce army of two. We [defecate] bullets.
Last poll question: I work as a psychologist in a community mental health clinic, and I see quite a few adults that are seriously considering taking their own life as the only option out of the pain and deep suffering that they are experiencing. Different clinicians have different approaches as to how to work with a patient such as this, but the common ethical principle that we adhere to is, essentially, that we value even a despondent life over, well, not living. Personally, I have run into some conflict between my professional duty and my general belief that people should be free to do whatever they may choose, so long as it does not do unnecessary harm to another. Suicide often does immeasurable harm to the friends and family involved. So, your last poll question raised my own ongoing debate about how to approach my work, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you deem the correct answer.
Gene Weingarten: It's one of the reasons I am so paralyzingly unsure about so many of those answers.
Gene Weingarten: This is a major reversal. I am going to ask a medical question.
You are indoors on a very cold day. You run outside without outerwear for a short errand, but it takes longer than you thought, and it's colder than you thought. When you get back inside, your body is racked by a paroxysm of shivers and shudders that are overwhelming. You cannot talk without a shudder. You could not, for example, drive a car in this state. It lasts about two to three minutes.
This familiar to anyone? It has happened to me since early adulthood. I've never been able to figure it out. It also sometimes happens if you wake up and the room is much colder than it should be, and you are shivering. It explodes into that.
Elkridge, Md.: Hi Gene, being Indian, I take great offense at your outright dislike of all foods Indian. First of all, what types of Indian food have you tried? Most Indian restaurants serve Punjabi food, from the Northern part of India. But there are so many more varieties of Indian food. Have you tried South Indian cuisine? Gujurati food? Indo-chinese? Cuisines from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Middle-East, and Africa use similar spices, do you not like those either?
Is there a particular spice you dislike? I am just trying to understand. I have never met a person that didn't like Indian food. I mean, 1 billion people can't be wrong. If you lived in India, and there was nothing but Indian food to eat, would you starve yourself?
washingtonpost.com: Please understand that Gene must have sanded off his tastebuds as a child.
Gene Weingarten: I cannot elaborate, because I simply do not frequent Indian restaurants; therefore, I have no expertise in types of Indian foods. I make no distinction between them.
I am pretty adventurous in eating, and categorically avoid very few foods. Among them are a few specific spices which seem to accumulate in all Indian curries. To the amusement of my family, I call them, imprecisely, the "yellow spices." These are turmeric, cilantro (coriander), saffron, cumin and caraway seed.
No cultural condemnation intended. I just despise these spices. In combination, they potentiate my revulsion.
Silver Spring, Md.: Yesterday was my birthday and a whole mess of family members forgot to send me good wishes -- curse them! But I'll feel all better if you give me a little shout out, Gene. Pretty please?
Gene Weingarten: I've never understood people's need for validation on their birthdays. Hitler had a birthday every April 20th.
Silver Spring, Md.: Why did you end the last poll question with "Did you have the right to do this?" and not a variation of "Was this the right thing to do?" as the earlier questions had asked? Having the right to do something and doing the right thing are not the same.
Gene Weingarten: You're right. Several people made this same choice. I did it that way because almost no one would have said it was the "right thing" to do. This was a different question. I am surprised at how many people feel he DIDN'T have that right.
Venus: Hi Gene, as I read your intro today about the seismic, I thought for a horrible moment that perhaps you had Found God. But no -- it's far, far better than that -- you are now in love with a cat. Hurray!
Gene Weingarten: It's more dramatic than finding God, too.
Darwinian quee, RY: Is it possible that awareness of population density triggers the creation of homosexual children? That it's a biological mechanism for the prevention of overpopulation? That would dovetail neatly into the greater prevalence of homosexuality in urban centers, as well as the research suggesting that the younger members of large families have a higher probability of homosexuality. The person in question still contributes to the health and welfare of the group, but the exponential growth of the population is curtailed somewhat. This is not an idea likely to catch on with the Catholics.
Gene Weingarten: The best answer to this was supplied by a geneticist, who said that the best scientific evidence so far is that there is no "gay gene." Gays may be produced by an in utero hormonal thing. Natural selection is about genetics. Ergo, the gay population may exist entirely outside the sphere of natural selection.
(You can argue that the propensity for hormonal changes in utero might be genetically influenced, but it still would be a whole layer removed from classical natural selection.)
It's REAL: I saw the All-Bran ad last night on WUSA, TV9. I said to wife, as it ended, "Did you see that ad? The whole thing was about the guy being able to take a dump." She didn't believe me...but it is REAL!
Gene Weingarten: I am so glad. There is another one in the series where a mason asks someone else to "pass a brick."
There is nothing wrong with becoming a cat-positive person unless -- and this is a complete bar -- you utter, even once, the word "widdle."
Elmer: You know what Molly has there? A kitler!
I made that observation to Molly! She was not amused!
Genius: Is it possible to be called a genius if you lack foresight and/or have no regard for the long term consequences of your actions?
The current barrage of paeans to Karl Rove's "genius" at winning two elections while engendering long term bitterness and distrust comes to mind, as does the maneuverings of Ken Lay et.al. at Enron during their glory years.
Gene Weingarten: Read Grover Norquist's op ed piece today. It was shockingly bloodless. Makes your point. All about winning. Liz, can we link to this.
I'm not as funny as you b,UT:...pointless sociability and friendliness, or slavering devotion and obedience... Dog-lovers base their whole case on these commonplace, servile, and plebeian qualities, and amusingly judge the intelligence of a pet by its degree of conformity to their own wishes.
(Because I'm not as eloquent as HPL either.)
washingtonpost.com: And then he went and wrote about rugose cones who rule the universe from the surface of malevolent planets.
Gene Weingarten: Nicely put, but wrong. We don't love them for their obedience, we love them for their love. No animal can love like a dog, including humans.
washingtonpost.com: Norquist: The Architect's Great Project, ( Post, Aug. 14)
It is really not that impressive:"We [defecate] bullets." They just sit in the bottom of the toilet and don't flush. I know this because an ex got shot, and they opened him up and couldn't find the bullet, and later when I was nursing him at home, he pooped it out. This is true.
Takoma Park, Md.: The strongest part of the pregnancy video was that they actually ended the sketch after the punchline. Length and rhythm wise it's almost like a comic strip--it reminded me a little bit of the Mr. Boffo shorts, just a little more drawn out.
Gene Weingarten: Well, there were two punchlines. Very hard to achieve. They were of equal value.
Yankee fan: The Scooter's dead. Thoughts on Rizzuto?
He was the corniest guy who ever lived. Just a total corny douchebag. I liked him.
Gene Weingarten: A friend just sent me an emergency email that Elmer is cuter than Baby Jesus.
Cats: You are so sunk.
Gene Weingarten: I know. You think I don't know?
Silver Spring, Md.: You wrote: I think you honored your wife by speaking the truth to her. I don't think it was about you; I think it was about her.
No, no, no. It was completely about him and what he needed and how he felt. SHE ASKED HIM FOR SOMETHING ON HER DEATHBED. Did he consider that faced with death, she might have different priorities, a different perspective? She came to need a comforting lie instead of a harsh truth. Not respecting her request, not respecting her change of heart at her death, is incredibly, incredibly selfish. I guess he feels better, though, so that's the important thing.
Gene Weingarten: I totally disagree.
Potty Hum, OR: At work, the men's and women's bathrooms share a wall - the wall with the toilets. Frequently as I am sitting on the toilet, a gentleman will sit on the toilet directly on the other side of this wall. We must share piping - as he sits, I can feel my toilet lift ever so slightly. Cracks me up every time.
Gene Weingarten: Wow. Wow. Now that has to be an unnerving intimacy.
What?!: You wrote: I would not tell a child that there is heaven, if I did not believe there was a heaven, because I would have a hard time living with myself after that.
Why on earth would you have a hard time living with yourself? Putting your own need for I don't know what over a dying child's need for comfort comes across as incredibly selfish. I can't imagine anything you would say of some possible fabulous adventure would comfort a child more than the concept of heaven. Children dont' have the same abstract and reasoning skills adults have, and reason is often hard to come by in the face of death.
Gene Weingarten: Because this doesn't sit well with me: That the last thing I told a dying child was a lie.
I think this was a very difficult question to answer. I am not as certain as you are.
Why not just tell the child she isn't going to die? That she is going to get real sick and maybe go to sleep for a while, but that she's going to come out of it good as new?
How does that sit with you?
Minnie the Mouse, MN: I've been catching up on old chat transcripts. I noticed this from you:
"My wife will always use the men's room if the women's is occupied, and they are each one-seat rooms with locks. Always. It is an act of feminism. She contemns women who stand in line, cow-like, rather than dare to enter the forbidden room."
Um, I'm surprised that your wife, being a lawyer, thinks this is an act of feminism.
My dad summed it up well when watching a news clip on women invading men's rooms in protest of lack of plumbing: "If I were to go into a woman's room, I'd probably be treated like, and possibly arrested as, a pervert."
While many facilities need to provide more than 1:1 women-men restroom facilities, or at least provide more family and unisex bathrooms, it's not appropriate to take outrage at poor design out on the patrons caught with their flies down.
Just my 25 cents here. A more appropriate feministic statement would be to tape a "women's" logo over a man's bathroom and take that over entirely That way, men would have fair warning to stay out.
Gene Weingarten: Dismount that high horse, Minnie.
I SAID that she only does it when the men's room is a one-seater, with a lock. No one is caught with his fly down. She is completely correct about this.
A few weeks ago a major debate broke out on one of the WP Baby Blogs. The essential point made was that a Father should never drive a female (read teenage) babysitter home alone. The reason is that the man inevitably will either sleep with the baby sitter or be accused of doing so. I think you have dealt with the idea that even if a man were to fantasize about sleeping with the babysitter a majority wouldnt act on such a fantasy. However it never crossed my mind that a babysitter would seek to "frame" a father. I want to say this is ridiculous but should I have my wife drive the babysitter home?
Gene Weingarten: That's completely ridiculous. Good God.
Lansing, Mich.: Jef Mallett here, writing from a bunker I'm sharing with David Chase on the Evidently Unsatisfying Endings side of town.
In my defense, I thought this was a pretty good ending. Frazz learns a lesson, gets the chance to apply it to himself and goes home happy. No one knows exactly how the race turns out, except that Frazz is happy because he raced like his players played. The actual placing isn't really necessary information, though the readers are welcome to supply that as they see fit.
As far as the lame cop-out rain-out, here is where I gratuitously lash out at Gene like a cornered badger (though less mean but still enjoying the image):
I'm not the one whose favorite game has its players afraid of rain. And maybe the weather is different in Washington DC and Miami and New York, but here in the Midwest we have these weather things called "fronts" that stick around for days. Certainly weekends. Mostly weekends, come to think of it. It's within the literary realm, I think, to cancel a Summer Squirts game on that count.
Gene Weingarten: Lame, lame, lame, lame.
At worst, they'd postpone it a weekend. But did they postpone it? Noooooo. THEY CANCELLED THE PLAYOFFS.
Elmer!: I'm so glad Elmer has finally helped you come over to the enlightened side (that side being that cats are cool, even if dogs are too). Loving cats isn't about you - it's about them. And as a lifelong cat person, I can tell you it's OK to be a cat person. You can love cats without having to be (too much of) a freak. Just accept it and enjoy.
How did Murphy like him?
Gene Weingarten: Licked him silly.
Great poll!: That is a great thing you and poll-mistress did. If The Post doesn't reimburse you, I hope you can at least take it off your taxes.
I want to explain my answer to your last question. I answered it No, he doesn't have the right to take his life. I believe anyone has the "right" to take his/her own life, but in these circumstances, I think it is not justified, as the man is thinking only of his own pain, not of the impact of his action on others, who love him, and, who might be harmed greatly, emotionally and financially, by losing him in this way.
Gene Weingarten: So he is required to live in intolerable pain? What if he were in intolerable physical pain? Same answer?
Shiveri, NG: Gene, I'm in my mid-20s and this has happened to me since at least high school. My dad would drop me off to school in the mornings on his way to work and I would start shivering (even with a coat on) by the time I got to the car. My dad and I started calling it the "d-d-d-d" dance because that's the sound I would make. I've tried to fight it, but that usually just made me shiver more. I just let it run its course and then go on my merry way.
Gene Weingarten: I wonder what it is.
Child & heaven: Gene, you didn't lie. You told the child something that a lot of people believe in, but that you personally don't.
Can you prove there is no heaven? Of course not.
Gene Weingarten: If I told the child flat out that that is what would happen, yes, I lied. I know that is bunkum.
Ifand. OR: You have graced us with your insightful analysis of many troubling pop songs, but to my knowledge you haven't yet explained what the heck "Mrs. Robinson" is about. I thought seeing "The Graduate" would help, but no, I'm as lost as before. So what did they mean and why does specifically Joe DiMaggio make an appearance?
Gene Weingarten: Mrs. Robinson, to my memory, was written by Paul Simon specifically for the movie "The Graduate." It takes place in a future time, when Mrs. Robinson is being admitted to a mental institution ("take a stroll around the grounds until you feel at home," or something). The line about Joe DiMaggio means there are no genuine heroes anymore, I guess, though I never entirely got why he ended the song there.
Anyone want to debate/ elaborate?
What about Sylvia?: This was a really tough question for me, Gene. I felt it was right to tell the wife about the goat (I seem to be in the minority) but felt less sure about if would be right to tell if the husband were having an affair with a human. What makes one worse than the other? There's the plain old ick factor (a goat?!), but that didn't seem to be what freaked me out about the scenario. After much thought, I determined that the abuse of an innocent animal is what was most disturbing, and I feel a wife has a right to know about such a horrible flaw in her husband's character. To me, his actions fell closer to those of a child molester than those of an adulterer having an affair with a consenting adult. Am I wrong on this?
Gene Weingarten: Several people have made this point. It is one I hadn't considered,because I know the derivation of this question. It is the precise storyline of Edward Albee's "The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?" And Sylvia is not being raped. She loves the man, and the sex is, um, consensual.
Tucson, Ariz.: Thank you Gene and Chatwoman for bringing back the poll! To spend your own money on it even well it just shows your love for this chat.
On to my question, Sgt. Tom Lovejoy left his police dog in a car for 13 hours and the dog died. This took place in Chandler, Arizona, where the high temperature that day was 109 degrees. However, the police department is not conducting a criminal investigation.
To be charged with animal cruelty under state law, someone must intentionally or recklessly leave an animal in a vehicle when injury or death would likely occur. Sgt. Lovejoy has been the supervisor of the K-9 Unit for 4 1/2 years. This dog lived with him. He should have known better. While leaving the dog in the car may have been an accident, it was certainly reckless behavior. I don't see why he isn't being charged with animal cruelty. Is there something I'm missing here?
Gene Weingarten: Yes, there is something you're missing.
(This is going to be a morals chat, isn't it? I like how each chat develops its own personality.)
What you're missing is that this was entirely an accident; the officer, who loved his dog, got distracted by news his son had been in a serious car accident.
This is a terrible thing to have happened, and no one should be punished. The man's own guilt will punish him as much as is appropriate.
I have seen similar cases where children were involved. I always wonder why the courts bother to punish the parent, where it was simple a horrifying mistake. That parent has died inside. There is no more punishment that you can exact.
washingtonpost.com: K-9 Dog Dies After Being Left in Hot Car, ( Arizona Republic, Aug. 14)
Kitler: My parents took in a stray, pregnant cat, which begat a kitten that looks WAY more like Hitler than Elmer does. When my boyfriend and I watched the kitties (then very young) while my parents were on vacation, we tried to get him to answer to Adolf. Turns out my dad had been doing the same thing. My mom - not ammused. She calls him "Mustache." Blah.
Gene Weingarten: In the comic strip my son and I are writing, there is a rabbit named Adolf.
Alexandria, Va.: Gene, cilantro isn't a yellow spice. Look for it near the parsley in the produce section. It's dark green. Very tasty addition to Mexican food, as in chicken fajitas.
Gene Weingarten: Duh. That's why I said my family makes fun of me. I lump em together because most are yellow.
need to know: I have a question that I've wanted to ask you for a while now, but I keep missing the chats in real time, and I'm afraid of it getting buried in one of your updates. But, here goes, since I can't change my schedule.
It has to do with your story of the weeping young woman in the airport, and whether or not you should have gone over to comfort her. There was a lot of discussion back and forth about this, with comments on both sides, and I'm surprised that nobody else asked this, unless, of course, the question was rejected:
if the weeping woman was middle-aged, would you have had the same impulse, and the same resulting dilemma? I'm scared of your answer.
While you've made some great posts lately criticizing the man who lamented growing old and never being with a young beautiful woman again, and you've been a champion and defender of the older woman, somehow I suspect that maybe, there's just a little bit of that same streak in you. You do seem to take a lot of enjoyment and even pride in the fact that young women, professing to be sexy and beautiful, are all clamoring to be your friend on Facebook, and throwing virtual panties at you in the chat. That alone does not bother me - being female, I absolutely "get" why young women are attracted to you, at the very least on an intellectual level. I know, as a person in the same generation as you, that attention from younger, opposite sex people is not merely flattering but gratifying on a level. But for some reason the airport story bothered me, when the nagging suspicion in the back of my mind said that there was a healthy mix of lust in there with your caring impulse. I almost wrote lecherous, but that's way too strong, I don't think you're like that.
Please don't say that you feel that a mature person can better handle their grief than a young - and attractive? - person. Having been in both life stages, I can tell you that is simply not true. I've been the weeping woman in her late forties in the airport. Of course, nobody approached me. I imagine, for most people, it would never even occur to them to do so. If you're the person I'd like to think you are, I'd like to think it would've caused you some mental wrestling. If not, I wonder if you'd admit that youth and beauty had a role in your desire to comfort. I'd really appreciate the honest answer.
I would have definitely approached the middle aged woman. The reason I dithered and ultimately didn't act in this case was that I was concerned about how it would look to her (lechery). There was another reason I didn't do it -- a secondary reason -- that I don't want to discuss. It's not pertinent to the issue, anyway.
For what it is worth, this was an attractive young woman, but not one to whom I was attracted.
Chicago, Ill.: Nice reference to "The Goat." Albee rocks. Saw it at Arena Stage a few years ago; terrific shoe...
If you like relations with goats and all.
Gene Weingarten: Wasn't the woman who played Stevie a brilliant actress?
Whiteli, AR: You have a family member who, from an objective aesthetic perspective, is not physically attractive. They are having an unhappy romantic life because of this. They ask you "Am I ugly?" You reply?
Gene Weingarten: You reply that the family member is not beautiful, but has some very attractive features that are really important. Then you enumerate.
Not thanking you for the poll: Ugh. I was so relieved when the poll was gone. I was hoping, in fact, that it never came back. It's the low point of every chat, most often just an opportunity for you to ride even higher on your high horse. It's funny when you get indignant and condescending to individual chatters but when you do it in broad swaths regarding the opinions of the audience at large it's just plainly distasteful. I hate the polls. I think they bring out the worst in you. Just my two cents.
Gene Weingarten: Alert: I think I am going to save my comments on the poll for the top of tomorrow's updates.
My feelings have been evolving.
Centreville:"Gene Weingarten: If I told the child flat out that that is what would happen, yes, I lied. I know that is bunkum."
Please, you know no such thing. You believe it.
Gene Weingarten: I also don't know for sure that we weren't created by an emormous hamster named Philip Clendonnon.
Arlington, Va.: Gene, when you proposed to the Rib, did you actually say, "Please help me succumb to my programmed Darwinian impulses to bond and possibly continue the species?"
And if not, why not?
Gene Weingarten: I believe I said, "Do you think we should have a baby? I do."
That was the proposal. We both understood it.
Now, 27 years later, we are dealing with what that baby has wrought. A kitler!
The whitest kid you know: Is a Charlottesville kid named Trevor Moore, who has always been funny. He did a public access show at 15 that was very funny
Gene Weingarten: Once I saw that, I googled several more of their skits. They're developing. There is one brilliant one, about guys doing a rude hand gesture. The rest are pretty weak.
They will get better. They have excellent edge.
Gene Weingarten: I believe I will not be allowed to link to the hand gesture one, but if Chatwoman permits it, I will do it in the update.
Cats and Morals: If you do get Murphy a pet, please, please, please get a pound kitten. There's no reason on Earth to get a pure bred cat. It's not like dogs where different breeds can be good for one's lifestyle. Cats, in the end, are cats.
Gene Weingarten: I like the look of mongrel cats. Like it better than pure breds. Plus, the whole rescue thing.
Indianapolis, Ind.: A friend in California and I have been arguing over whether Hillary Clinton can be elected president.
He says yes, she's coming across as a strong leader.
I say no, that her negatives are ridiculously high and can't be turned around. I think Romney, Giuliani and Thompson would beat her easily.
Gene Weingarten: I am coming around on Hillary. She has been looking presidential. She really seemed far sharper than Obama on that meeting with world leaders thing.
Philip Clendonn, ON: How dare you doubt me, puny human? Don't make me get off this wheel and smite you!
Pearls before swine: Gene, you promised to post an update last week that was supposed to humiliate Stephen Pastis. I amy have missed it, but I don't think so because I checked everyday. So what is this humiliating information?
Gene Weingarten: It's in last week's update.
Seems baseball canceled a pretty big championships in 1994. And nobody had fun or learned a lesson. If we're going to talk about lame.
Gene Weingarten: NOT BECAUSE OF RAIN.
Mrs. Robinson: I once read an interview with Paul Simon where he said that Mickey Mantle once asked him why Simon had used DiMaggio's name instead of, say, his. He said his answer was "Syllables, Mick. Your name wouldn't scan properly."
So you always have to take that aspect of songwriting into account.
Gene Weingarten: That is the same reason Dave Barry wrote "I'm In Love With a Proofreadin' Woman," instead of "Copyeditin' Woman," which is what he meant.
Lynchburg, Va.: For the person who was terrified that no man would ever think her beautiful over the age of 30, I need to introduce you to my husband. On many occasions, he is just as likely to point out someone who is over 50 and tell me she's hot, than he is to point out someone who is in her 20s.
I say this on behalf of all women.
Re: The babysitter: I've been the babysitter getting rides home many many times.
That is patently ridiculous. If you can trust this girl with your kids you can trust her in the car with you/your husband. Let's not get crazy here, people.
Gene Weingarten: It's crazy. It's lunacy. And it's ridiculous anti-male hysteria. It's also suggesting a 17 year old girlwoman is incapable of putting a guy in his place, should it be necessry, which it wouldn't.
Springfield, VA: Gene, I really hope that you got a great posting from the young conservative woman. I've had the same question about idealism/youth and conservatism for years.
Secondly, have you seen this book?
A college professor of mine wrote it, and it's brilliant. Note the homeless person in the background of the sample pages.
Gene Weingarten: Why is this brilliant? Are we to believe only Democrats want us to be safe, or for our children to go to school? This seems like naked propaganda, but hardly fair or ingenious, from the sample pages.
Quandary: While researching bigotry, I came upon the fact that Ann Coulter says she loves anything Dave Barry writes. Does this make any sense to you?
Gene Weingarten: Ann also likes my column. She said I'm the only funny lib'l she knows.
Ann likes to laugh. My theory is that she is mostly guerrilla theater. Performance art. I don't think she believes half of what she says.
Joe DiMaggio/Mrs. Robinson: I don't claim to know much about "Mrs. Robinson" or what Paul Simon was thinking when he wrote it, but when the Yankees had Joe DiMaggio day at Yankee Stadium sometime in the late 90s, Paul Simon came out into center field and played Mrs. Robinson. DiMaggio looked annoyed and confused. It was a strange choice, and made me wonder whose idea it was, given DiMaggio's well-known shyness.
My mother-in-law was Paul Simon's high school biology teacher.
Gene Weingarten: Did you ever read DiMaggio, by Richard Ben Cramer? A completely ingenious biography of one seriously weird man.
"Shy" doesn't even come close. It's not even, as it were, in the ballpark.
DiMaggio was one of the more amazing misers who ever lived, for a start. And an egomaniac of epic proportions. This book is a wonderful read.
Pantsonfi, RE: You suggest that "You reply that the family member is not beautiful, but has some very attractive features that are really important. Then you enumerate."
"You're a terrific dancer with a truly superb stamp collection." Yeah, THAT'll help the kid feel better about the dating scene.
Gene Weingarten: I meant physical features.
Suicide: As a teenager I tried suicide, I have thought about it since. I have children now and would never...even though the thought has crossed my mind. I think once you have kids, you lose your right. Adults should have the right to do what they want as long as they don't hurt others-drugs, gambling, prostitution...suicide. But once you have kids, you lose your right to off yourself. I defend those in pain who make that choice, but once you have kids, you lose that right.
Gene Weingarten: Maybe. I regard it more the way I regard divorce. You are obliged to try very, very hard to avoid it. More than just a good faith effort.
Ann Coulter: if she doesn't believe half of what she says, has she no shame? she's as bad as Karl Rove, holding up red meat to the rabid right wing.
Gene Weingarten: What if it's art?
Seriously, what if this is elaborate street theater?
Hilary Boooo: Speaking as a woman I believe Hilary can't get elected because deep down in places they might not even have analyzed yet, woman don't like her because she should have left her husband cheating lying arse. For me, it makes me question what other obvious wrong she would be willing to turn a blind eye too. And in today's world that could be everything from starving children to government eavesdropping on it's citizens.
If she had told her husband to shove it, I'd be leading the parade to elect her.
Gene Weingarten: And me, I'm tired of people voting on the basis of entirely personal things that have nothing to do with how good a president someone would be. George Bush is a fine family man, by gum.
Free Will: GW: "C'mon. We are machines." OK, Gene, as a thinking atheist, do you believe "machines" have free will? If we are machines, machines are governed by the laws of physics. The laws of physics have no place for individual decisions. Therefore, every decisions you make, from which pair of socks you put on this morning to who you marry, is decided by the laws of physics, the same way everytime a pencil rolls off a desk, it falls down. With a complete knowledge of physics and brain chemistry, we could determine how someone would react to certain stimuli, despite any delusions they have about being free to choose. Its hard to see how people would be responsible for their own actions--they had to act that way, just as a pencil had to fall off the table. I tried to think about my life like that for a while, and I just couldn't figure it out.
Gene Weingarten: I think we are machines with free will. Why is that illogical?
Re the poll: Regarding the first question, forgiveness wasn't the med student's to give. This really hit home for me. My mother has been physically and emotionally abusive to me my entire life. She knew her husband was sexually abusing me, yet did nothing to prevent it. After each episode she knew about, she would accuse me of competing with her for him. To this date, she's never accepted any responsibility for any of her actions and continues to bring misery to anyone close to her. I no longer speak to her, and would be outraged at any stranger who had the audacity to pretend to be me to forgive her. The med student was 100 percent wrong.
Gene Weingarten: I would say this is a very valid position, and precisely why that first question is not as easy as people think it is.
ID 2013846: Ok the poll is back! YES!!!
However I just wanted to let you know I tried "low sugar" Catsup. Its the best! I am still looking for 0g's of sugar, but till then I'll settle for 1gm per 16oz., vs. 4grams! per 16oz!!!
washingtonpost.com: Hey there, Westbrae Natural makes a no-sugar version available at My Organic Market. It's the bomb.
Nancy & Sluggo: Don't you go dissin' my boy Ernie Bushmiller. He's done more for clusters of rocks and hobos than all of today's cartoon artists combined.
Gene Weingarten: His rock clusters are one of the great things in all of comic history. Anyone know about this? Can someone supply a link to the rock clusters?
Joe DiMaggio: A friend of mine, who knew Joe, says that he was always puzzled by the song-- "What's that about... I'm right here", he said.
Gene Weingarten: Makes sense he would say that.
Joe was also fairly dumb.
Hello from a neighbor. I'm a 30-year-old woman, and I'm a good person. (As proof of the later, I always pat Murphy when I see her.) I have a dilemma.
I have been dating a man who is wonderful. He is so kind; and, as one of the most prominent lawyers in the country, he is whip-smart. He is not attractive, but I enjoy sending time with him because we always have a good conversation and because he is good to me.
I have met another man who is attractive to me. He is smart, although not as smart as my date. I do not know if he is as kind. But he is falling in love with me, he has told me as much, and he is wooing me. I like feeling attracted to someone.
I have tried to be honest, and I have told each about the other. Because I have a greater duty to the first, I have refused to be physical with the second. At the same time, I have limited my physical activity with the first.
Please help: what else should I do to resolve this situation.
Gene Weingarten: You need to be a big girl and make a choice.
Metro etiquette: The people who arrive on the Metro platform first -- are they considered first in line when the Metro doors open? Or is it dog eat dog? Where is the beginning of the line? On the nubby floor part nearest the track?
Gene Weingarten: It's dog eat dog, obviously. Who knows who got there first? Plus there is the added uncertainty of where the doors happen to fall.
Googlenope, Va.: I'm excited to report that I coined a Googlenope in real-life conversation. I recently received a nice monetary graduation gift from my parents, around the same time that I scheduled oral surgery. I joked that I was going to run out and blow the money on some frivolous gum surgery. Yep, "frivolous gum surgery" is a Googlenope! Knowing that helps kill the pain a little.
Anonymous: I don't think Ann Coulter means half the things she says, either. It's an act to create controversy and attention.
But the reason it's wrong and dangerous is that there are so many bigoted and unintellectual people who will believe anything a conservative says and is hypnotized by flag-waving and God-Bless-America'ing.
Gene Weingarten: Okay, but follow me here. What if that's her point? What if in 10 years she writes a book saying her point -- remember this is art -- was to show how some idiots will follow anything inflammatory?
Philadelphia, Pa.: Thank you for the update on Ann Coulter. I used to listen to her and be amazed that anyone could really believe all that she is saying. I am not saying everything she says is wrong, but the extreme and often ridiculous nature of it should have been evident even to herself.
You know, the two of you should write a book.
Plea bargain: Should Michael Vick be allowed to plea bargain the charges of dog-fighting? What would be an appropriate punishment for his part in this heinous practice?
Gene Weingarten: The criminal sanctions mean nothing. The NFL should suspend him for two years.
Joltin Joe: DiMaggio is indeed an ego of epic proportions. The funniest story I heard is that one of his demands at any event he appeared at was to be introduced last. One event he was not, and he got all pissy.
It was Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium. Mickey was introduced after him.
Of course, Mickey had his own ego. The Paul Simon quote was in response to Mickey thinking he should have been in the song. Kudos to Paul for making up a lie on the spot.
Gene Weingarten: DiMaggio had something like two million dollars in cash in garbage bags in his garage. He made the money by selling his autograph for $20 apiece.
Reminds me of self-centered, airplane seat-reclining man : Gene Weingarten: My wife will always use the men's room if the women's is occupied, and they are each one-seat rooms with locks. Always. It is an act of feminism. She contemns women who stand in line, cow-like, rather than dare to enter the forbidden room.
He claimed he was nice guy, but when on an airplane he lives by one set of rules because it is a dog-eat-dog world when flying. Obviously your wife has the same attitude under certain circumstances. Be damned with anyone else. I HAVE TO PEE NOW!
You describe her as a very nice person and I believe you. I am just saying maybe you should believe the seat-reclining man. Flying maybe his greatest fault in an otherwise faultless existence.
BTW, it is a little offensive to be considered "cow-like" for standing in line. We all have to stand in line at some point in our lives.
Gene Weingarten: I don't understand this. Honestly.
There are two bathrooms. They are identical. Each has a seat and a sink. One may or may not have a urinal. Both are for one person. Each bathroom has a lock on the door.
There is a woman in the ladies room. The men's room is unoccupied. A woman desires to relieve herself.
Why should she wait for the ladies room? She will not be inconveniencing a man, since the men's room is unoccupied.
Why is the decision not obvious? I am 100 percent with the rib here. Am I not understanding something?
(Worst case scenario: A man has to wait, like, one minute, for my wife to leave. As a reward for his inconvenience, he gets a saucy smile from her.)
C'mon. There is an issue here?
Walden Puddle: The Doonesbury series about Berzerkistan makes me wonder if Trudeau has ever written about an imaginary place before. Towns, yes, but a whole country? It feels a little...off. Like a tiny baby shark has been jumped.
Gene Weingarten: Well, towns, certainly. He had Duke be the consul of Al-Amok. So, what's the difference?
Trudeau will never jump no shark.
Buffalo, N.Y.: Just yesterday, a local prosecutor decided not to press charges against a mother who forgot to drop her child, sleeping in the back seat, off at day care. The child died in the heat.
Gene Weingarten: I wrote a (still unpublished) play that was inspired by exactly that story. Happened 20 years ago. Child baked to death.
You need to be a big girl and make a choice. : or keep looking. If neither one is a strong enought connection to make you know who to choose, keep looking for someone who does do it for you.
Oxford, Miss: I just wanted to say with regard to what you said about the mis/overuse of "random" and "awesome" last week in the updates: totally.
Richmond, Va.:"You know, the two of you should write a book."
Call it, "I'm With Psycho."
Kittens: Okay, but isn't it possible to adore kittens but hate cats?
Gene Weingarten: I am thinking, though I do not know, that if you have loved a kitten and watched it turn into a cat, you are done for. No?
Personal Politics: OK Gene, I sort of understand your complaint about voting for or against people for their personal lives, but aren't there situations when the personal offers a clue to how a person might perform in office?
I am very opposed to Giuliani because of his personal life. Not that he had an affair and is on his 3rd marriage (or so), but that he terminated his 2nd marriage in a public and humiliating fashion, without regard to the dignity of his 2nd wife or their children. Then had the infernal chutzpah to try to move the mistress into the house where his wife was residing. Low class, vulgar, demeaning to all concerned, and completely unnecessary. In making political decisions, will he make the best choices for our country, or will he take opportunities to score points off of rivals, perhaps plunging us into unforeseen consequences?
As for Hillary, I don't support her, but I am still confused about all the conservatives who with one side of their mouths condemned her for staying with her cheating husband, and with the other side, supported things such as covenant marriage.
Gene Weingarten: I think Giuliani is not a nice man.
You know who also was not a particularly nice man? FDR. A cheater, too. Also, Adrew Jackson. Very mean sumbitch. Washington was personally a ball of ice; friend to know one.
Know who was really nice? Warren Harding. Hoover, too.
Alexandria, Va.: I KNEW it. You're tracking me. My poll response was recorded with an ID number!
washingtonpost.com: Calm down. In capable hands, that ID number might make for some interesting tracking. Remember, though, that you are dealing with Gene and me. Your anonymity is intact.
Gene Weingarten: In all fairness, in previous polls, we said that your identities could not even be determined if they were subpoenaed by a police authority. I suspect, in this case, they could be. Act accordingly, I guess.
Gene Weingarten: Okay, we're done today. As I said, I shall lead tomorrow's update with my thoughts, such as they are, on that poll.
Gene Weingarten: Okay, the poll.
I have only one certainty, and it is one you shared.
A promise of confidence between friends is not meaningless. It is highly meaningful, and it should not be breached unless the reasons for betrayal are overwhelming. Linda Tripp was an awful person for what she did. If a friend confides in me that he has a terrible substance abuse problem, and I can see that he is headed for ruin, and I cannot persuade him to change, I would have to consider betraying that confidence. But it's a very high threshhold. "I'm having sex with a goat" doesn't leap it, as it were. Moreover, whenever someone decides to leak a juicy fact, I am always highly suspicious that this betrayal is done with a bit of unseemly glee.
So, I'm pretty sure of this answer; I would be troubled for my friend, I would urge him to deal with this issue more aggressively than he had, but I would not "butt" in. Ha. Haha. Hahahaha.
(Actually, I found that a weakness in the Albee play. I never felt it was entirely credible that the goat-porker's friend would rat on him to his wife.)
As to every else, my thoughts gradually skewed against the proactive approach to all of these hypotheticals, and toward the notion that truth is important. It was a long journey, and I'm still not sure I am right. Here's the problem: We're looking at a long, slippery slope.
Initially, like most of you, I sided with the medical student, who acted out of compassion, to ease the mind of a dying woman. I had very few doubts.
But what of the doctor who tells the dying man his wife survived? You guys were much less certain about that one, and yet, when you think about it, the principle is identical. If you are going to give a pass to the med student, you have to give a pass to the doctor, too. And yet, a doctor who lies like that seems just a bit ... off, no? The semanticists and nitpickers among you (I was one at first) probably decided that though the doctor KNEW that the wife had died, the med student didn't know whether the dying woman's daughter would have forgiven her or not. True, but a quibble. Both people lied.
In the first instance, I found it pretty persuasive when a chatter wrote in to say, "forgiveness was not hers to give." It was not. I blame this med student not at all -- she was acting in an instant's impulse, out of compassion -- but on further reflection I think she was wrong. A less definitive. "It's okay, you don't have to be sorry," or something would have been better. Maybe it would have worked.
The doctor erred. I bet most physicians would agree, without doubt. I'd like to hear from some. And the reason I think they would agree without doubt is that they are specifically schooled in the ethics and morals of such a sitution.
I've already said what I believe about the dying little girl, and been taken to task for it. I hold my ground. Truth matters. Very simply, I am thinking of my own daughter at eight. I could have handled that moment with honesty and left her less fearful, I know it. I should admit that whatever I told her would be a BIT of a lie -- the NAKED truth of what I really believe is too much for a child to handle, and pointless to burden her with -- so I would couch my answer in "what most people believe," and allow that there are other possibilities, but that all of them pretty much amounted to a grand adventure mommy and I wouldn't get to have for a while yet. I would also spend a lot of time talking about how, in the meatime, she will stay alive in all of our memories, and our hearts, and, darned if, as I am typing this, I am not shedding a tear.
I believe we all have that fundamental right. I believe this as strongly as I believe in the right to choose early abortion, which I fervently support. I believe the issue is identical.
I also understand the effects of suicide on a family; I came to learn them viscerally when I edited THIS magnificent story by Roxanne Roberts some years ago, about her father's suicide. I think, if it were me, understanding this, I would suffer extraordinarily before I did that to my family. And, unlike Rox's father, if I did it, I would do it as best as possible, to minimize the horror.
But the question asked whether he had that right. He had that right.
How sure am I of all of this? Less sure than usual. My arrogance is dented here.
"I could not live with myself": So, instead of providing comfort to the dying, you choose a course of action so you can live with yourself?
Exactly. Its all about you. Anything else you offer in defense is nothing but crass rationalization so you can sleep at night.
You're no different than those who believe in God because, as you say, they want to feel good that they have an afterlife. We all tell ourselves what we have to tell ourselves in order to make it through the night.
(I mean, as long as we are calling people names....)
This is in reference to the guy who could not lie to his wife on her deathbed, and you are wrong.
"I could not live with myself afterward" is not about him. It is about his conscience. And his conscience is about the feeling he had done something wrong. Who had he done something wrong to? To himself? No.
The reason I am not going to lie to an 8-year-old Molly on her deathbed is because I don't want to lie to someone I love, who trusts me to tell her the truth. It is not about me. It is about her, and my relationship to her, and my responsibility to her.
You know, the more I think about it, "you are going to heaven with dancing fairies and grandpa and your first dog, Muffin," is a copout. Very easy response. Hardly took you a second to discharge your duty to lie to your dying child, did it?
I'd rather spend tell the truth in a way that will comfort her.
Oooh, I may be getting back on that high horse, again! Back in the saddle!
Silver Spring, Md.: Today is my wedding anniversary. My husband and I aren't so happy together and have been in therapy for six months.
How should we mark this occasion?
Gene Weingarten: You should go out to dinner at a nice place you both used to love and haven't been for a while. You should talk about the past. You may be surprised.
Nancy & Sluggo: Here is a sample of the rock clusters. My kids even point them out on the road.
Bushmiller was around for a long time and not just in the newspapers. He illustrated a book written in 1931 by "Dean Stiff" called "Milk and Honey Route: a Handbook for Hobos."
Gene Weingarten: Actually, that's not a bad little strip. And yes, those three rocks were a trademark. Always three. They are worshipped by comics historians.
When I was a kid, my father came home one day with a bootleg, vulgar Bushmiller. I don't know if Ernie actually drew it, or if it was a copycat artist in the generation before PhotoShop. In the first panel a dog is peeing on the sofa, to the horror of the owner. Second panel he whaps the dog. Third panel he has taken the dog outside, and his, literally, demonstrating to him how to pee on a tree.
Last panel, the dog is back in the house. He is peeing on the sofa, but doing it standing on two legs, like the man had.
Yes, in 1961, this passed for vulgar.
Three Rocks, D.C.: Here is a brief explanation of three rocks.
Gene Weingarten: Ah, here we go. The great comics historial Scott McCloud explaining the three rocks.
FDR etc: Honestly, Gene, I can't believe it. Not that FDR was a nasty sumbitch, but that being a bad private person doesn't leak into public behavior. It's not just good/bad family man, or whatever -- that's often inaccurate, since no one has the same family. Some people are harder to live with than others. But things that show cruelty and lack of respect? Yes. I think that's a legit character issue.
I will give Clinton a pass on her private life vis-a-vis kicking the husband to the curb, but not Giuliani. As the other poster said, Giuliani showed a public viciousness that seemed to override good sense and human decency.
That's a bad thing. Much worse than being unfaithful or a bit of a stick.
Gene Weingarten: A president is like the CEO of a giant company. He is essentially a caretaker for an enormous machine that runs independently of any one person. Approximately six times over four years, the president needs to make the right call on something important. You need to choose the person most likely to make those right six calls.
It's alchemy, finding that person. Sometimes, the right decision involves the ability to be cruel and calculating and coldblooded. You realize that, right? FDR had good reason to know what was happening to the Jews of Europe. He also had good reason to delay our entrance into the war. You know what I mean? Harry the haberdasher had to make two decisions to incinerate 200,000 people in five seconds, for something that seemed like a greater good.
I am not a particular fan of Giuliani, but being a total penis to his second wife may not be a decisive clue to how good a president he would be.
Baltimore, Md.: I took a pregnancy test this morning. It was positive.
I am thrilled. And out-of-my-mind scared. I keep looking at the second line thinking it will disappear.
It will be our (long-awaited, planned) first. But in the past year or so, we've had several friends have miscarriages. Any anxiety coping strategies come to mind as I wait until my first appointment?
(I haven't even told my husband yet. He's on business and I think this is the sort of news that deserves in-person delivery.)
Gene Weingarten: So, you told me first. And all the readers.
I really love this. Can any one of the tens of thousands of people who now know of this woman's wonderful news give advice to her about how to cope with the anxiety, by tomorrow, so we can put it in tomorrow's update, so she can have the information before her husband comes home and learns what we all know?
To the new mom: Shortly after my first child was born, I heard this quote:
"Making the decision to have a child -- it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." -- Elizabeth Stone
A perfect description! Starting now, you never get to be sure that you child is 100 percent safe, and all you can do is learn trust (and pray). But for now, maybe you could take comfort that your child not out walking around (or worse, driving around) with your heart just yet.
Gene Weingarten: This is the first cool response to the secret mom-to-be from yesterday's update.
Dear pregnant and anxious: I was in exactly your shoes four years ago. When you have reason to doubt the viability of a desperately wanted pregnancy, the anxiety can be obsessive and indescribably painful.
If the bland reassurances of your family, friends, and medical support don't mean squat to you, and your anxiety is getting in the way of taking good care of both yourself and the baby, then please do what I did and let technology be your friend. Who says only your OB gets to know whether your baby is okay? Hie thee over to eBay and buy your own fetal doppler.
(Yeah, there are places that rent them, but for what they charge you might as well buy one and either use it for subsequent pregnancies or resell after the birth.)
A fetal doppler is very easy to use, and a used professional-quality one (please don't buy anything with a cutesy name!) shouldn't set you back more than $200. Expensive? Yes, but to put it in perspective, it's about the same price as an hour with a decent therapist who, frankly, won't reassure you the way this thing will, and you can use the doppler throughout your pregnancy. Because if you think you're anxious now, just wait until you're 30 weeks along and you realize that the baby hasn't been moving around much for the past few hours.
Gene Weingarten: And this is the second, practical one.
Next week, tell us how it went when you told her husband, sweetie.
Gene Weingarten: That is the same reason Dave Barry wrote "I'm In Love With a Proofreadin' Woman," instead of "Copyeditin' Woman," which is what he meant.
I'm a professional editor, and it really grinds me when people don't know the difference.
I once edited a fiercely difficult series of books for my organization and had to listen to the executive director tell a group of people that I was the "proofreader."
(Well, actually, I did that, too, but I also did everything else.)
Still makes me wince, even though he didn't mean to put me down, I'm sure.
No wonder we love you!
Gene Weingarten: Calling a copy editor a "proofreader" is like callinga novelist a "typist."
I love reading local papers when I travel. There are many, many things that make them entertainingly terrible, but if I had to pick the single factor that is most damaging to their quality, it is that they have terrible copy editors. Good copy editors can make even a very mediocre newspaper seem a lot better. Fine-tuning is important.
I am a pretty literate person, even as journalists go. My copy is considered pretty "clean," when it comes out of my computer, prior to copy editing. And yet, every book I have written, I first submitted to Pat the Perfect. So, we're talking three books. In those three books, she caught -- this is an estimate, but I'm pretty confident it is close -- seventeen million errors.
DYING CHILD - The thing that a child wants above all else is to know that he is loved. Therefore, wouldn't the best and most honest response to a dying child be "I really don't know, but whereever you go, whatever happens, I will always think of you and love you no matter what." And just HOLD THE CHILD and LOVE THE CHILD until he-she passes away?
RIZZUTO - My favorite Rizzuto story: A few seasons ago, when Rizzuto and Bill White were doing play-by-play together, White's scorecard blew out the radio booth window, so he asked to use Rizzuto's. He looked at the card and saw, in one inning, some notations he'd never seen before. "Scooter," he said, "I know what BB and SAC are, but what's WW?"
Rizzuto said "WW. 'Wasn't watching.'"
It is now my favorite scoring notation, one that I've used at least TWICE at every ballgame I've attended since.
Gene Weingarten: DYING CHILD -- Yes, but you can do better than that. I would say all that, but I would also emphasize the potentially exciting mystery that awaits. It's a thing we all get to do one day, and she is getting there earlier, etc. I think I could do this well.
Carto,ON?: Oh no, Gene, say it ain't so. The cartoon strip you're doing with Dan has a character that's a rabbit? Why does every strip out these days have to feature animals or children? Are there no other viable subjects?
Gene Weingarten: I see.And the fact that the rabbit is named Adolf gives you no clue that this might be a weeeeeensy bit different?
Free Will Machin, ES: Gene Weingarten: "I think we are machines with free will. Why is that illogical?"
1. All parts of a machine are physical (they don't have a non-physical 'soul' or 'spirit').
2. Physical objects are governed by the laws of physics.
3. The laws of physics are immutable, determined, and predictable. Given identical conditions, physical objects will behave in the same way each time. (We don't expect a brick to float in water one time and sink the next.)
4. Human beings are machines -- totally physical objects. Human thought and will is the product of physical actions: brain synapses firing.
5. Human thought is governed by the laws of physics and therefore determined.
If this is your view of humans, I don't see how you can escape that we have no free will. If we are only physical objects, how is the firing of our brain synapses different than a ball rolling downhill, beyond degree of complexity? Maybe the machine that is you is programed to behave in such a way to act as if it has free will.
Sorry, this is real "Inside Baseball" philosophy stuff (full disclosure: I was a philosophy major in college), but I just thought you might be interested.
Gene Weingarten: Okay, Aristotle. Let's examine his inductively, instead of deductively.
Obviously, we have free will. That's a given -- it is demonstrated every day. Therefore, the question is, does this mean we have some sort of "soul" independent of our body.
But any organism with consciousness also has free will. We can see free will in the actions of a goldfish. Does a goldfish have a "soul"?
If you are willing to accept that a goldfish has a soul, then I am willing to entertain the possibility that we, do, too. I am also willing to believe that our "soul," or consciousness, can be scientifically explained at some sub-cellular, bioelectric level.
Anon: Here is a question for you, oh lovely Gene. I recently ventured into the world of online dating, which it turns out, only people with a sense of humor need apply. Because some of the stuff is hysterical. Now I've had a few nice dates and meet some interesting people. Not for me, or I am not for them, but no biggie.
On one site, they provide a path of sorts for communication. Something I thought was hysterical and kind of mocked until it turned out to be brilliant as it allows me to quickly back away from guys who just are not for me by any stretch of the imagination. I've mentioned this to people and while my female friends all agree with my reactions, my male friends say I'm been a bit harsh. So here it is: Am I being too harsh for immediately shutting down any guy who says he wants only "traditional views on sexual relationships" and/or "cannot stand overweight people." My reasons for doing are this: traditional views on sex just screams boring, missionary, and only when the man wants it. I like sex. Sex is fun, and while I may not be out swinging every night, this just cracks me up. And the overweight is just wrong. I myself am not overweight but my parents are and others I know and love, and god forbid -I- gain a pound or two. Plus, I see it as an expectation for perfection when these guys (according to their pics) are no Adonises themselves. So -- Gene, am I being too harsh or is this a normal reaction?
Gene Weingarten: I think you want a guy whose ad reads in its entirety "Man ISO woman."
The show must go, ON: The last poll question is me. I have kids, old enough to get along without me, or at least they think so. I have a wife who loves me who has never felt passion for me. She mentioned a while ago that she has never had an orgasm in 24 years of marriage. She is not interested in doing anything about it and would NEVER talk to anyone else about it. I have done therapy and have been on various medications for many years. I do not have the right to check out, or I would have.
It isn't that I am absolutely miserable ALL the time. I have a laugh now and then. I sometimes spend a lot of time on the Internet looking for amusement and distraction. I wouldn't say that you are the reason for me to go on living, Gene, because that would be ridiculous.
On an unrelated topic, have you considered expanding your updates to include Saturday and Sunday? I would understand if you didn't want to. I'm sure you need a break and have lots of other things to do.
I am no expert, but I would say that if you still have the capacity to laugh, and to find enjoyment in things, you have the capacity to improve your life so that you will enjoy living it again. You may need to will yourself to take a step that seems scary to you. But you do not seem to me to be a man for whom suicide is a reasonable or even logical option.
You sound like a man who is tired, disillusioned, and bored. That can be addressed. It takes some nerve.
Beltsville, Md.: I'm writing in response to Darwinian Queery.
I take offense to his comment about Catholics and homosexuals. Catholics do not believe that there is anything wrong with homosexuality. The distinction that Catholics make in regards to homosexuality is that they do not approve of the act of homosexual sex. Therefore, in the church's eyes it is completely appropriate to be a homosexual Catholic as long as you are abstinent.
Not my beliefs, but knowlege gained from many many years of Catholic school.
Gene Weingarten: I mean no offense, but do you have any idea of how ridiculous and bigoted this sounds?
Welcome, homos. The Church embraces you as equals. Just don't do that dirty, filthy thing you perverts do when you are alone.
More Potty Hum, OR: Is this a pun?
>I can feel my toilet lift ever so slightly. Cracks me up
(How did I miss that?)
Cat name?: Just curious, why Elmer? (from the human totally owned by a cat named Spoof)
Gene Weingarten: Because he looks like a Holstein bull, and the only famous cartoon bull I could think of is Elmer. This may change. I'm not sure Mol loves the name.
Another D.C.-ver (DC-dent?): Paying for the poll? I looked at the polling We bsite. The cheap kind, which I assume you sprung for, not needing elaborate cross-tabbed data mining, is $20/month-- $5 a week. Ooooh, big man with the funds. If it hurts so bad I'll pay for next week with the money I would have given the violin guy had I been there and eh agrred to play "pinball wizard" on the violin for me.
Gene Weingarten: We are paying a lot more than that. A lot more.
Gene Weingarten: If The Post doesn't reimburse us, we may not be able to keep doing it for long.
washingtonpost.com: And let me explain why we are paying A LOT MORE. The basic rate, which you quote above, doesn't allow for survey takers (meaning YOU) to view the results. In order for us to provide the realtime results page to you we had to go for the corporate level account.
I'm investigating other options. There's a great free polling site we can use, but it may be difficult to craft some of Gene's more involved polls. The one we used this week is a snap. Unfortunately, it's expensive. So, still wanna make with the money?
Centreville Again: Centreville: "Gene Weingarten: If I told the child flat out that that is what would happen, yes, I lied. I know that is bunkum."
Please, you know no such thing. You believe it.
Gene Weingarten: I also don't know for sure that we weren't created by an emormous hamster named Philip Clendonnon.
You are correct, you don't know that. You see both as equally implausable. But I see there being an afterlife (heaven) much more likely.
Alexandria, Va.: Friend of mine believes that any parent who leaves a child in the back seat of the car to perish in the heat is guilty of murder, period. She says she doesn't even forget groceries in the car; how could an ostensibly loving parent forget a child? She thinks some parents do not want to admit to themselves they've had a child or two too many, or don't really like babies, or something, and thus (subconsciously, perhaps) use the left-in-car-to-die method to murder them. Your thoughts?
Gene Weingarten: Get a new friend.
Gene Weingarten: I have known people like your friend; they are damaged. They lack empathy. They do not understand that we are all far closer to a state of personal disaster than we like to think. One car accident, one hurtful mistake, one untimely death of someone you love, and any one of us can fall apart. We are susceptible to different things, perhaps, but we are all susceptible to disaster, and not because we are bad people. The reason that the case of the baked-to-death child affected me so strongly that I wrote a play about it is that I recognized myself. It could have been me. Absentminded, busy, baby Molly in the back seat, I forget she's there. Could have been me, and from that point onward, I am a dead man walking.
Boston, Mass.: Days before her death, I visited my paternal grandmother. Before leaving, I bent down to kiss her goodbye. She gripped my hand tightly and said "I love you." She had never said that to me before. I knew that she knew she was dying and I knew she wanted me to tell her I loved her. My grandmother was a cold woman, a mean drunk (even towards grandchildren), and (along with an eqully screwed up husband) did real lasting damage to her six children because of her mean, violent, cold treatment of them. I did not and do not love her. I replied to her "Take care." Still gripping my hand with all of her limited strength, she repeated that she loved me. I replied "I hope you feel better soon." I think telling her I loved her would have meant a small measure of absolution to her for her treatment of people here on earth, before she left for the afterlife (which she believed in). At the time, I just could not bring myself to lie. And, if I am honest with myself, I deliberately denied her the absolution she wanted so desperately because I did not think she deserved it. This was more than a decade ago, but I still feel guilty that I did not give her what she most deperately needed. She was dying. They were just words. I did not have to mean them. I don't like to think of myself as someone who will not comfort the dying, especially when there was no cost to me.
San Antonio, Tex.: Why is Lio mean-spirited? I don't get it.
Gene Weingarten: Because he has gone to the site of the Alamo, and watched horrendous death and decapitation and slaughter and whatnot, and returns happy, because he has stolen Davey Crockett's hat.
Direct all retorts to next week's chat.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.
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Join live discussions from the Washington Post. Feature topics include national, world and DC area news, politics, elections, campaigns, government policy, tech regulation, travel, entertainment, cars, and real estate.
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Travel Towels: Dry Ideas
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1. Micronet Travel Towel (425-771-8303, Ext. 220,http://www.ricksteves.com; from $19.95)
Best for: Stays in European hostels or other towel-free lodging.
Pro: The microfiber towel comes in a pouch ideal for toting toiletries to the shared bathroom down the hall. A sturdy loop with a snap allows you to hang the bag on a towel rack.
Con: Though compact, the super-size towel (62 by 35 inches) weighs almost 10 ounces dry -- and even more wet.
2. REI MultiTowel Lite (800-426-4840,http://www.rei.com; $10-$22)
Best for: Hiking trips on which your backpack is crammed to the max.
Pro: The antimicrobial nylon and polyester towel comes in a variety of sizes (medium, large, extra large) and colors (curry, beige) and easily re-folds into a mesh nylon case.
Con: The small plastic clip on the corner of the towel, used for hooking it to a bathroom rack or backpack, did not stay fastened well; a snap would have been better.
3. Packtowl (888-226-7667,http://www.campmor.com; from $7.95)
Best for: Campgrounds where you don't have to impress with a pretty towel.
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Rare is the towel that can fold up small and tight like a dinner napkin. However, in certain situations in which towels aren't provided, such as at campgrounds and beach houses, you may need to bring along your own towel or two (better than drip-drying). To the rescue: thin, mega-absorbent towels...
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'Architect' Envisioned GOP Supremacy
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President Bush once nicknamed him "The Architect," heaping gratitude on his chief strategist for helping engineer two presidential victories and two cycles of congressional triumphs.
But as Karl Rove resigns from the administration, a question lingers over his legacy: What, exactly, did the architect build?
His advocates credit him with devising a winning strategy twice in a row for a presidential candidate who seemed to start out with myriad weaknesses. His detractors blame Rove for a style of politics that deepened divisions in the country, even after the unifying attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Both sides attributed outsize qualities to him, and he enjoyed mythic status for much of the Bush presidency.
But few people -- including his Republican allies -- believe Rove succeeded in what he set as his ultimate goal: creating a long-lasting GOP majority in the country that could reverse the course set 70 years ago by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"He had visions of building a long-term coalition like the New Deal coalition for the Democrats," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (Va.), who spent two years at the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the House. "The party right now is not moving forward. It's moving backward. The branding for the party is at a generational low." Davis said that is due largely to the war in Iraq.
Rove's admirers and friends say he deserves credit for two undeniable accomplishments: building the Republican Party in Texas in the 1990s and securing GOP control at the national level, at least for a time, at the turn of the 21st century.
"He put together a strategy that defied all expectations and all conventional wisdom, and established a Republican majority in the presidency and then the two houses of Congress for the first time since 1936," said Mark McKinnon, who worked closely with Rove on both Bush presidential elections and is now an adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Once dubbed "Boy Genius" -- another nickname Bush gave him and the title of a 2003 biography -- for his mastery of the political landscape and his ability to grasp the electoral zeitgeist, Rove never clung to one political theory over time but shifted as events required. Perhaps his greatest consistency was his likeness to Lee Atwater, the ruthless and effective South Carolina operative who made Rove a protege.
It was the hardball tactics he learned from Atwater as much as his strategic vision that made his reputation and provoked an endless search by Democratic and Republican opponents for what the New Yorker magazine once called "The Mark of Rove" -- that he was behind any given campaign calamity.
To this day, loyalists to McCain blame Rove for mounting a whispering campaign against the senator during the 2000 Republican primary in South Carolina, while allies of former Democratic senator Max Cleland (Ga.) accuse Rove of engineering the tactics against the wounded Vietnam veteran that cost him his 2004 reelection bid.
Rove, a self-made intellectual who never graduated from college, came to power convinced that Republicans could remake government in a fashion that would secure conservative prevalence for years to come. The realignment Rove envisioned would have returned ownership to individuals (in the form of personal retirement savings accounts and health-care plans) and in so doing lure new types of voters, in particular Hispanics and African Americans, to the party.
But after easing Bush into a "compassionate conservative" persona that appealed to the Texas electorate while he was governor and to the political center in the 2000 presidential election, Rove shifted to focus on turning out the conservative base -- a strategy that worked for Republicans for a short time but eventually cost the party the chance to expand.
However his rivals viewed them, Rove's strategies worked, both for Bush and for the Republican Congress -- at least through 2004. House Republicans gained six seats in 2002, and Senate Republicans gained two seats that same year. In 2004, House and Senate Republicans each gained four seats.
But by 2006, the coalition Rove cobbled together for Bush had fallen apart. Independents broke heavily for Democratic congressional candidates in the midterm elections, fueling the Democratic takeover of both houses of Congress. That shift undermined the theory Rove had been credited with turning into doctrine: that driving up your political base is more important than appealing to independents or the political center.
In truth, Rove did not see it as an either/or choice. He took a two-tiered approach: encouraging Republican voters to vote for the president, as well as chipping away at more Democratic blocs of voters such as Hispanics and Catholic women.
"The lesson we took out of 2000 was that if we did things in 2004 the same as we did in 2000, we would lose," said Ken Mehlman, who was the Bush campaign manager in 2004 and then chairman of the Republican National Committee. "And so we spent four years experimenting on ways to expand support among the base and also persuade swing voters and Democratic-leaning voters to be Republicans."
It was this quality, which Democratic strategist Carter Eskew described as Rove's ability to "slice and dice the electorate," that seemed to deliver Bush victory in 2004. While Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) won 8 million more votes than former vice president Al Gore did four years earlier, Bush won 12 million more votes than he had in 2000.
"There aren't many people who have both 'vision' and practical knowledge," said Eskew, who advised Gore.
Rove sought to reach far beyond Washington. He encouraged Republicans in Texas to pursue redistricting to add GOP seats to Congress. He personally called candidates at the state level, from coast to coast, keeping tabs on minor political quarrels and intervening in primaries.
"He had a group of people around him, and the power of the RNC behind him to make sure it got done," said Chris LaCivita, a Republican operative in Virginia who was often the recipient of Rove's advice and influence. "There's no doubt that there was a renewed focus and a renewed energy on the politics of the grass roots."
From the White House, Rove traveled constantly to help nudge a local race or a state party in the direction he wanted. Such efforts were once welcomed, but as the president's popularity waned Rove's allure faded among local candidates and operatives.
"His problem is that he's inexorably linked to Bush," said former RNC chairman Rich Bond. "And the degree to which Bush is viewed favorably by history, so, too, will it Karl Rove. The degree to which history judges George Bush harshly, so, too, will it judge Karl Rove."
Washingtonpost.com staff writer Chris Cillizza contributed to this report.
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President Bush once nicknamed him "The Architect," heaping gratitude on his chief strategist for helping engineer two presidential victories and two cycles of congressional triumphs.
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